I just got the final covers from the logo artist, so Jake and the Dynamo and Dead 2 Rites are almost ready to go out the door. I need to get some last ducks in a row, but it’s now for sure happening.
I’m really excited and also nervous. I’ve never done this before, so in my head, I’m envisioning getting the printed paperback and finding the cover all screwed up because I miscalculated something. I suppose if that does happen, I can probably (?) go back to the artists to fix it. Both were a pleasure to work with.
I’m currently finishing up my final work on Rags and Muffin, so commissioning the art for that is on my radar along with the launch of the two for which the art is complete. Considering my experience, I might go back to exactly the same people for the artwork.
With that in mind, my thanks to Barbusco Comics for the art and Nodsaibot for the logos. Their prices were reasonable, their demeanors upbeat and professional, and their turnaround times good. Barbusco, especially, is crazy fast.
I know I haven’t posted much of anything lately that isn’t about my own projects, but I ask for your patience. I’ve put things together for a logo artist who does impressive work, and though I haven’t quite sealed the deal yet, I’m optimistic that this exchange will result in completed book covers
Once that’s done, we will have two books ready to go with a third on the way. The publication date will depend on the logo artist’s ETA, so I won’t presume to give that final date yet.
I had an issue with a particular logo I needed to make these upcoming book releases look as official as possible, but I think I have that worked out. It appears I have also found someone to do the title graphics for the covers; I have to wait for my publishing logo first, but then we’ll go ahead with finishing up the cover designs.
I’m hesitant to give a definite date still. I’m new at self-publishing, and my last projection (last month) is obviously something I didn’t make. However, barring unexpected contingencies or work simply taking longer than I anticipate, I don’t know any reason why Jake and the Dynamo can’t see its re-release this month. If we make that happen, I intend to open Dead 2 Rites for pre-order at the same time. Its actual release will be a month later.
Things are also progressing well on Rags and Muffin. Again, I best not give a date, but I see no reason it can’t release soon after the two Jake and the Dynamo novels.
As for my optimistic goal of getting five books out this year, I think four is more likely, but aside from despondency and laziness and family issues, there is no reason I can’t get out four.
Also, I haven’t decided yet on cover art for Rags and Muffin, but I’m so pleased with the artwork of Eduardo Barbosa that I might employ him again.
Obviously, I’m behind the timeline I was hoping for, but I’m new to self-publishing, so that’s not particularly surprising. I’m waiting on a few things and also spending this evening putting together a package for the next guy I’m commissioning.
I can also tell you I’m approaching finished on the final product of Rags and Muffin. Haven’t quite decided what to do with its cover art, but I really should have three books ready to go in the near future here.
As for both Jake and the Dynamo, logos and title designs are all that still need to happen. I wanted the cover art and formatting squared away for both of those before commissioning the title designs so the artist could do both at once.
Here is a color version of the detail from the cover of Dead 2 Rites, which I previously posted in black and white. This is the sequel to Jake and the Dynamo, which will be available again soon in a newly revised text; when it goes up, Dead 2 Rites should simultaneously become available for pre-order.
The character featured here is Magical Girl Metal Huntress Vanessa Van Halensing, a vampire-hunting rock starlet who battles the forces of evil with her crucifix keytar. She plays, let us say, an instrumental role in the story that unfolds in this exciting second volume: Ancient conspiracies, alien gods, murderous cabals, and sugary foods come together in an effort to destroy the remnants of the human race—and only Jake and the Dynamo stand in the way!
I know I don’t post enough these days; aside from my projects, I’m getting used to the new baby. But I have some good news: The cover art for Dead 2 Rites, the second book of Jake and the Dynamo, is well underway.
My plan is to get both covers completed at once; then I will re-release the first book and offer the second for pre-order. I will hire a logo artist to make the graphics to go over the cover art, but I want to have both covers in hand first so I can offer them to the logo artist to do all at once.
In the image on this post, you can see an initial sketch of Van Halensing, the vampire-hunting rock starlet who features prominently in Dead 2 Rites.
Since I’m new at this, I’m still not comfortable giving a projected release date because I’m unsure how long the logo art will take, or whether there might be some additional delays on the roll-out. But I am still hoping to release Jake and the Dynamo this month and Dead 2 Rites a month later.
In the meanwhile, I am still working on the manuscript of Rags and Muffin, tightening the prose and putting on the final polish before I generate the books. I like the work of my present artist but haven’t decided yet whether to use him for Rags and Muffin or to find someone with a more gritty, and perhaps photorealistic, style, which I think would be more appropriate for this particular book, which is less cartoonish. There are plenty of pro cover designers who would be interesting to work with but also more expensive.
Here is a detail from the new wraparound cover that will grace the re-release of Jake and the Dynamo. It still needs to go to the logo artist for title graphics and the blurb and so forth, but it is otherwise complete, thanks to the impressively fast work of Eduardo Moura Barbosa.
This (finally!) captures the image I have long wanted of Jake and Pretty Dynamo together: Dynamo flying on her board with a panicked Jake hanging by his fingertips. Although not precisely like any particular scene, it captures the relationship between these two characters in the early chapters.
I’ve got the cover art farmed out for both Jake and the Dynamo and its sequel, Dead 2 Rites. With fingers crossed, I proclaim that Jake and the Dynamo will see its re-release next month, and Dead 2 Rites the month after. I can’t absolutely confirm that yet because art is the major factor again, and I’m not the one making the art.
The re-release is a new edition with a revised text as well as new formatting. The screenshots here are from Dead 2 Rites, but the J&tD re-release will look the same.
The new edition of the first book will be thicker than the previous one though the revised text is slightly shorter. The second book is a hefty 530 pages, partly because it is a long novel (132,000 words) but also because of layout: The layout of these books is more polished than before with a larger font and wider line spacing for more comfortable reading.
The internal illustrations of the first book will be the same. Roffles Lowell was not entirely pleased with the way his drawings originally turned out in the paperback; however, aside from uploading the biggest and best files I can, I have no real control over the appearance of the illustrations, so I assume they will look the same as in the first edition.
For Dead 2 Rites, however, Roffles produced black-and-white versions that we hope will print more clearly.
Example of an internal illustration.
Both books will feature full-color internal illustrations in the eBook versions. The books will go up on multiple platforms simultaneously, but on this blog and in my social media accounts, I will probably only advertise the Amazon versions since that’s where sales rank really matters.
Print editions with full-color internal illustrations are possible, but there would need to be a strong interest.
I am starting in on the formatting of Rags and Muffin, which is the now-official title of my third book. This begins a separate series. Previously, the working title of this book was written as Rag & Muffin to emphasize the pun, but that would likely cause a lot of grief later on since HTML and ampersands don’t get along. An ampersand will likely appear on the cover, but the official title has “and” in it.
I just hit a major milestone in the effort to get my books (at least three with hope for five) out this year. It’s late where I am, so I’ll give more details later, but let’s just say I am most relieved that I can move ahead, as this particular phase—as things often do—took longer than I anticipated.
In any case, it’s exciting! Once Jake and the Dynamo makes its reappearance, I will have the long-awaited sequel Dead 2 Rites out the month after.
I’ve almost finished plugging Jake and the Dynamo into Vellum. I’m still deciding whether I actually want to commit to this software’s steep asking price. It doesn’t offer a lot of customization, but it does remove a lot of major headaches. I’ve got pretty much the entire text and the illustrations plugged in and now just need to clean up a few artifacts from the reformatting. I admit it looks really clean, and it shows how it will come out both in print and on several devices.
My only serious complaint at the moment is that I can’t add a caption to a full-page image. I can insert illustrations with captions, but then I can’t make them as large as I want.
