Matters Related: What else do you put in a book besides the story?

Zoë Sharp

The eBook revolution was a burst of sudden freedom for the content of books of all types, but especially for novels. Suddenly, there was almost no limit to how much you could include alongside the actual story. A bit like when DVD replaced videotape as the movie medium of choice. Now you had ‘making of’ documentaries, directors’ commentaries, deleted scenes, interviews, stunt reels, and alternative endings, alongside the main event.

Those are the bonus features that fascinate me as a movie viewer. I’ve even been known to buy again a movie I already owned on DVD if the new edition had all those kind of extras on it. Why not the same with novels?

If your story is set in a particular (real) location, would maps of the area add to the feel of it, or provide an unnecessary distraction? Or perhaps it is more of a requirement if your story is set in a fictional locale like GAME OF THRONES.

If you write a series where the books come out at intervals, wouldn’t it be a good idea to remind the reader of the story so far, or would new readers use that to catch up and no longer need to buy/borrow the backlist?

The question is how much information do you include? The jacket copy synopsis? Or simply a couple of lines to tempt the new reader and remind the existing fans? Do you include an excerpt from the next book at the end of this, as further encouragement to keep reading?

When you read a novel, are you interested in what inspired the story, where the author got the idea from, or how they dropped on the perfect ending by some random set of circumstances? How much do you want to see behind the scenes, or will it entirely spoil the magic for you?

Do you want to read an interview with the author about the art of writing, the inspiration behind the series, or how they’ve developed the character?

Or how about extras in the form of a short story? I’ve always thought that what brings readers back to an author is because they like the sound of that author’s voice. What better way to keep talking to your reader than to give them a bonus in the form of another complete example, and one that’s easily digested in a short sitting?

The downside, of course, is the expectation factor. By this, I mean that as you read a digital book you’re told what percentage of the story is still to come. If there are a lot of extras at the end, the actual body copy of the novel could end at 80-90%, leaving the reader feeling somehow let down having thought there was at least another chapter or two to go.

So, I’m left in a quandary, hence all these questions. Once you’ve read a story, how much more story do you want to read?

This week’s Word of the Week is Barmecide, meaning someone who offers something that’s disappointing or an illusion. The word comes from the Arabic Barmakī, who was a prince in the Arabian Nights tales, who offered a beggar a banquet which consisted of decorative but empty dishes.

Getting EPUB Versions of my Books Outside of North America

If you live in the United States, or Canada, this post isn’t for you.

And, if you read your books in hard cover, paperback, or on a Kindle, it isn't for you either.

But, if you don't fit into either category, please read on.

Recently, I’ve been receiving a number of emails from folks who’d like to read my books on their Nooks, Sony Readers, or similar devices – and are unable to download the necessary EPUB versions in the countries in which they live.

So I thought I’d register two solutions here on our blog.

And then I can simply send them the link when they write.

One way to go is to download Calibre:

http://calibre-ebook.com/

It’s free.

And, if Kindle files aren’t DRM protected, you can use the software to convert them to EPUB files.

My books are available everywhere on Kindle.

And they’re not DRM protected outside of North America.

What’s DRM?

Digital Rights Management. It’s an encryption system some publishers apply to eBook files to prevent people from pirating them.

Didn’t know that?

Then you’re probably no more technically-savvy than I am.

And, for folks like you, I have another solution:

If you download a Kindle copy of one of my books, and forward me Amazon’s email confirmation of your purchase, I’ll send you an EPUB copy of that same book.

And not only that. I’ll include, as an incentive for taking the trouble, an EPUB copy of one of my other books for free.

The offer holds good for the individual titles, but not for this one:

The Essential Silva is a collection of my first three titles, gathered together into one volume, and only available outside of North America.

But, if you buy that one, I’ll send you the other two titles currently in print.

And then you’ll have the complete set.

For copyright reasons, the “international” versions on Kindle have different covers from the North American ones.

But they’re identical in terms of content.

Want to see how they all look?

Go here, to the page where my very talented cover designer, Peter Ratcliffe, displays his work:

http://www.peterratcliffe.com/Peter_Ratcliff_1./Books.html

From left to right, across the top, are all of the “international” covers Peter has done for me.

Perfect Hatred, the one with the photograph of one of the waterfalls at Iguaçu, is a book that won’t be launched in North America until December of 2012.

But it will be available in many other places much earlier.

And I will extend my exchange offer to that one, as well, when it comes out.

The email address to which you should send your proofs of purchase is this one:

Leighton@leightongage.com

There’s no time limit on the offer.

Leighton - Sunday

The Bandwagon

I’ll be going to Bouchercon in September.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Bouchercon is the world’s biggest gathering of writers and lovers of crime fiction:

http://www.bouchercon2011.com/

It’s the place we all go to discuss the genre.

Or, rather the place we used to go to discuss the genre.

Because, as Dan pointed out in his latest post, about all most authors discuss these days is ebooks.

The most read, most discussed, authors’ website on the planet is Joe Konrath’s, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing:

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

And what does he post about?

Ebooks.

Tirelessly

Incessently.

Day after day.

To the tune of “The Times They Are A-changin’”

Okay, I’m kidding about that.

But you’ve got to admit that Dylan might have been prescient when he wrote this one:

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+dylan/the+times+they+are+a+changin_20021240.html

The times have truly changed for those who compose and perform music.

Everything's gone digital.

And now it’s happening all over again in the world of books.

Ebooks are here to stay – and they’re the great leveler.

You who have never published a book, never thought of publishing anything, can now get on the bandwagon.

Those who’ve been publishing for years and years are welcome too, particularly for your out-of-print backlists.

And those of you who have a whole bunch of rejected manuscripts should certainly hop on and find a place in the crowd.

One wagon fits all.

And what a crowd it is.

A real mixed bag.

Here’s what you have to do to join us:

Dan has already pointed out how important it is to hire an editor and a proof reader.

In addition, you’re going to need someone really good to do your conversions for the Kindle, the Nook and all the other devices.

I use Rob Siders, the same fellow Joe uses:

http://www.52novels.com/

He’s terrific.

Last, but certainly not least, you’re going to need a cover designer.

Of course, you can do both the conversion and the cover design yourself.

If you are a multitalented, technically-savvy genius.

To highlight the challenges in the design area, I asked my cover guy, Peter Ratcliffe, to write a few words about what is required.

Here’s Peter:

My experience, working in advertising agencies as an Art Director/Designer, gave me a lot of knowledge in the print process. It can be extremely hard designing for print. For starters, you really need good, quality, high resolution photos and if the budget doesn’t allow you to hire a photographer, your options are to ask a colleague for a favor – which I hate to do – or do it yourself.

Personally, I took up photography lessons and bought a quality camera.

Once you have the proper images, you need a pretty decent Mac that can handle heavy Photoshop manipulation. A psd (layered photoshop file) can take up a lot memory space. I have files with over 200 layers that weigh up to 2GB. That is only one file I’m talking about. After 10 years you can imagine how much used memory I’ve gone through.

Designing for digital purposes, the web, is a lot easier and quicker – graphically speaking – no programming involved.

The outcome, the final file, is a 567 x 850 pixel, 72 dots per inch canvas (highest resolution a computer monitor can display Vs High res. = 300 dpi), and that makes finding a suitable image a whole lot easier.

But you have to watch out for legality issues.

We designers have ways to go around them.

For example, we can turn a photo into an illustration by photo manipulation or simply by tracing the outline and filling it with different textures and colors.

Technical issues aside, the most important thing is communication.

And, in that, ebooks are no different from print books

It is the visual that draws a potential reader in, makes her/him want to take a closer look.

But don’t forget that someone’s initial exposure to your e-book cover is likely to be in thumbnail size.

So a challenge that you have with ebooks, but don’t have in print, is to make sure it has high-impact even when it’s tiny.

Check out the Kindle store, and you’ll see how many authors have covers that violate this simple rule.

And lose sales as a result.

You should always evaluate any work that is proposed to you in thumbnail size first.

If it doesn’t work there, then it simply doesn’t work.

Period.

Dialogue in the writer/designer relationship is also fundamental.

If you can’t communicate with your designer, exchange ideas, let the cover grow and take form between you, you probably have the wrong designer.

If you have any specific questions about ebook cover design that I have failed to address here, please write me though my website: http://www.peterratcliffe.com/Peter_Ratcliff_1./HP.html

I’ll be happy to get back to you with an answer.

I love working with authors!

One thing I’d like to add to what Peter has said.

Tastes vary.

You have to like what the designer does for you.

Don’t ever choose a designer whose work you don’t appreciate no matter how many prizes he might have won.

If you go to Peter’s website, you can click on the word “Work” to see some of his

.

Always ask to see some samples from any designer you are contemplating commissioning.

And, oh yeah, there’s the money thing. Peter charges $350 for an e-book cover.

Believe me, he’s worth every cent.

Something else he didn’t mention: his wife is a terrific editor. If you commission a cover with Peter, she’ll give you a discount.

Leighton - Monday