Seefer Elliot ATWAO giveaway

The book review blog, Books for Kids, is featuring Seefer Elliot and the World Aside Ours in their "Leap into Books" giveaway.

If you would like a chance to win a free paperback copy, hop on over (sorry for the horrendous pun (I couldn't resist)) to this great blog...

Converting Word DOC or DOCX to Mobi

For as many writers that you have talked to, you have probably found the same number of unique opinions on what software to use for completing your work. I have been offered Scrivener, Writeroom, Darkroom, Open Office, Q10, classic pen an paper, Google docs etc. All of them have their advantages, but for me, they all have one huge disadvantage - unfamiliarity. I don't want to waste time trying something new. I have a perfectly good word processor on my computer that has been with me since I've been writing term papers in the 90s. Microsoft Word is not the best thing out there, but I know the ins and outs of the program better than anything else. So when it comes time to write, I don't want to have to think about where the paste special command is hiding.

If you are like me and make do with Microsoft Word, then you may have encountered issues with turning your .doc or .docx files into an HTML that works for Kindle. Hopefully, this checklist will guide you through the process.

The Seefer Elliot Continuum: Perpetuation - Chapter 1

1

This cannot be happening to me again!

Seefer Elliot hugged the wall of the cold, dark basement below Harrison Middle School. A few weeks ago, he grew quite familiar with this subterranean corridor and the workshop at the end. At one point, trapped inside while would-be alien captors ran amok in the school above him. This time, however, he was on the outside of the uninviting room while a gun-toting secret agent beckoned for him.

“Those stairs are blocked off, son. This room is your only way out. You might as well come back in here,” called out the man. “Now, or the cop gets it!”

“Don’t listen to him, Elliot! Find a way out!” Officer Booth yelled into the dark hallway. With a bullet already in him and a barrel looking to finish him off, Booth used his fleeting breaths to encourage Seefer away.

Seefer heeded Booth’s advice. He wasn’t about to face an armed man, but was not exactly free to escape either. His entire left leg was formed in a cast, a result of injuries he received from battling a giant gigaverm. Instead, he waited in the shadows of the corridor. How did I get myself into this mess?

***

Using A Seed File

I went crazy trying to fine-tune the formatting on Seefer Elliot's ebook. Writing it in Microsoft Word was convenient, but when it came time to publish it as an HTML file, the code was virtually unusable.  I had to copy and paste chunks of data from one file to a brand new template. If you would like to publish a clean mobi file on Amazon (that can easily be converted to epub afterwards), copy and paste your work into this template:

Seefer Elliot and the World Aside Ours - Chapter 1

1

“No!” Seefer Elliot shot up from his pillow holding his hands over his eyes. “I’ll get up. I’ll get up.”

His mom walked away from the window having just thrown open the curtains. Seefer curled up in a ball trying to shield his blinded eyes. The sun’s rays shined into his room with a brilliant luminosity.

“Please…my blanket…I need it.”

Mom had pulled the blanket away five minutes earlier – her first attempt of getting him out of bed. Her maneuver proved to be unsuccessful and required a more convincing means of execution.

“Honey, if you were responsible enough to wake up the first time, I wouldn’t be forced to use such cruel measures,” she said. “You should learn to set your alarm.”

“I did!”

Mom shot him a look of disbelief as she headed out the door.

“I really did! You never believe me.” Seefer didn’t understand how this could happen. He did actually set the alarm. Was the volume on too low? Was it set for 7 p.m. instead of 7 a.m.? He looked over at the clock on his nightstand. The power was on, but something was peculiar.

The hour slot flickered between 7 and 8, while the minutes didn’t look like numbers at all. Upon closer inspection, Seefer got a whiff of something burning. It smelled like a crayon melting on a radiator, not the most pleasant odor.

He mumbled, “Broken. See?” But his mom was nowhere near to behold the proof. There was no surprise in seeing yet another electronic device break in his house. It seemed to happen quite a bit lately.

How Awesome Are You, Createspace?

Last June, I started writing the manuscript for Seefer Elliot after months of outlining. Finishing up in October, I spent the next two months editing and polishing the text to make it ready for publishing. Welp, that day has arrived. I am moments away from approving the proof I received from Createspace.

The book was completely formatted for print and approved by the reviewers at CS, but I didn't want to approve it without first seeing a physical copy first. I highly recommend this. It is both sensible and thrilling for an author to be the first to see his/her book. To hold nearly 8 months worth of work in your hand is empowering and rewarding.

I have yet to be disappointed by CS's services. I ordered copies of I'm One and Sleigh Me! upon their release and I was more than pleased by the quality of the illustrations printed on the cover and pages. The colors were vibrant. The lines were clean. And the font was crisp.

I had no doubt that Seefer's print would look anything but brilliant, but there is still something to be said about getting the dead tree in your hand. That shiny gloss cover. The 98% brightness white pages. The Futura Media chapter headings looking so snappy in black ink. The culmination was exhilarating.

For a service that prints on demand, the quality is quite amazing. No fees up front. Only about $4 a copy. It was economical, but not at the expense of quality. Consider it for the next project you work on.

In a short while, the digital and hard copies will be available for all. I'm glad I got the chance to enjoy before the masses. :)

Book Cover: Decided

The good people at Reddit helped me through the decision process of picking a cover for Seefer Elliot and the World Aside Ours. I gave five very different options in my last post and it was not surprising to hear very different opinions from the commenters. Over 125 people gave me their choice, but it was the constructive criticism that proved to be so valuable.

For example, while some people liked option 1, their reasons made me steer in another direction. They compared the cover to Animorphs or other book covers that came out in the 90's. While I don't disregard those types of books as bad in any way, I rather distance myself from a look that is over done.

Option 5 had some votes, but ultimately I decided that it is just too cartoony. One commenter said that 12 year olds want to think they are reading ahead of their age level. If there was a cartoon on the cover of this book, I'd be attracting the wrong audience. Seefer Elliot is not meant for 9 year olds.

Option 2 was never a serious option, but a foil for the other four. Option 4 had some merit, but ultimately, I felt it was too vague and "hey, look at here at this cool glowing kid."

Ultimately,  I went with my original favorite, #3. It is adult enough to attract young readers at the older end of the spectrum, but it keeps the whimsy that YA books need.

The original draft, as I posted it on Friday. Here is the final(ish) product: