My book is finally in my hands

Hi everyone. Well the day has finally arrived. I got my dark fantasy/horror hybrid novel BLACK NUMBERS print edition in the mail today. I was finally able to hold a copy in my own hands.
It was a long road to get to this point, but it was all worth it.
I can't wait to see it in book stores now!
Well a short post today. Have a great one everyone.
Cheers!
Dean

Black Numbers now sold in Print!

This is a big day for me. My dark fantasy/horror novel BLACK NUMBERS is now available in print via Fantasy Island Book Publishing. It is currently sold on Amazon and Fantasy Island Book Publishing site. It will be rolled out to select book stores, and to more national book retail websites.

I'm very thankful to my publisher Fantasy Island Book Publishing, particularly J.D. Hall and Pame Albacete who did so much work to help get Black Numbers to print.
Kind regards
Dean

Writing to save the day

I haven't written here in two weeks, which is a bit embarrassing. Time seems to slip by unnoticed sometimes. One of the most difficult things lately is finding the time to do all that needs to be done. I'm not complaining, I'm happy that I'm so busy. It is just a fact that it isn't always possible to do everything one needs to do in a day. But that is why we have a new day on the horizon.

I've been enjoying the process of preparing my novel BLACK NUMBERS for print with Fantasy Island Book Publishing. The amount of work involved was overwhelming at points, and incredibly satisfying overall. Here is a breakdown of what had to be done to get my book to the printer.

1. Have the book itself edited multiple times. I had two official edits by Fantasy Island Book Publishing editors, which were fantastic. My wife also edited the manuscript, and my friends/relatives also gave feedback. And of course, I edited the heck out of it over the past year. But one thing I've learned is that one can't fully edit one's own book. We, as authors, know what we meant to write, so it is too easy to just skip over errors.

2. Once the book was fully edited, I had to format the book file in Microsoft Word according to the print template. This took many days to get right. A huge thank you to my publisher J.D. Hall for his feedback and help.

3. I had to create a full cover, including front, back, and spine. This process was the most difficult for me because I am not a graphic artist. I spent weeks and weeks on the cover to get it right. The cover has to be made to specs based on the final book page count, book size, paper color, bleed, etc. But when I finished the cover, I was very proud of the final product. It looks professional, and it is a scary as hell cover. :-) Thanks again go to my publisher J.D. Hall for his feedback.

4. Now the book is going to the printer for a test print. I look forward to getting a copy.

I am excited to have the book in book stores. Over the past few years I would often be in a book store and dream of what it would be like to see my book on the shelf. I hope to see that happen now. I don't know how many book stores will carry it, but just having it in print is a major dream come true for me.

Well that is it for today. I'll write more as the process continues, including networking with people on Twitter and Facebook. That will be my next post. It has been an amazing experience so far.

Cheers all!
Dean