Using symbols in Photoshop to create your cover - Part 1

For the next three Fridays I'm going to offer something different. During our 'How to Self Publish course we emphasise the importance of a professional cover, designed in a way that it begins to tell the story of a book. As a supplement to those videos and as a way of showing you what we offer, I have recorded a short series on using symbols (i.e. brushes and custom shapes) in Photoshop to create your cover. (You can use similar techniques in Photoshop Elements.) As a bit of fun, I've chosen a fictitious cover for a James Bond book. I hope you enjoy it and that it will inspire you to try it for yourself.

Click on the link below.

1-01 Using symbols in Photoshop

Thanks to the wonderful artists of Deviantart.com for their skill in producing the brushes and shapes featured and offering them for use.
Check out our 'How to self publish' courses at Indie Authors Scotland.

A smoother way to a close shave

Merkur 38 Safety Razor

Until quite recently I hated shaving. I hated it with a real passion; it was a painful chore that drove me to distraction. That was until a good friend introduced me to a better way to shave; one that doesn’t include a multi-bladed, burn-inducing razor from either of the big two companies. So today I thought I would share my smoother way to a close shave.

Equipment

You will need

• A face towel
• A badger-hair shaving brush. It's worth buying a good brush as it will last you around thirty years if you look after it.
• A lubricant like Geo F Trumper's Skin Food which will help to reduce the friction of the blade on your skin.
• A fine shaving cream. Never use a gel or a foam, they don't lubricate your beard anything like as well as a good cream.
• A good quality double-sided safety razor is essential. You can spend anything from £20 up to £200 on a razor but there are two things to consider. The weight of the razor and how aggressive the shave you get from it. (An aggressive razor will have allow the blade to get closer to your skin.) Read reviews of any razor you consider buying or check them out in a store. It is all down to personal taste but I would suggest that a less aggressive razor is a good starting point and will save you some money on medical plasters.
• Razor blades. The big advantage in terms of cost is that the blades are better value than the multi-blade cartridges. A pack of ten of the highly-rated Feather Platinum blades cost just £1.55. That works about roughly 3p per shave.

Preparation

Much of what makes a good shave is in the preparation. If possible, leave your beard for as long as possible between shaves. The longer the hair, the softer it is, the easier it is to cut. Of course if you have to go to work every day and they expect you to be clean-shaven, that won’t be possible for you. That means your preparation becomes even more important.

1. Begin by soaking a face towel in hot water.
2. Put your shaving brush into the warm water to soften the bristles.
3. Place the hot towel over your face to help soften your beard.
4. If you have a particularly dense or tough growth, repeat the hot towel.
5. Rub the lubricant into the bristles on your face. You only need to use three or four drops for each shave, so a 100ml bottle will last between nine months and a year.
6. Create a lather from the shaving cream and apply liberally to your face using the brush.

The shave

1. On your first pass, rest the razor gently on your face at an angle of thirty degrees. (You can’t press a safety razor to your face in the way you would with a multi-blade.) Move the razor in the direction that the hair grows. This will help you to avoid pulling the hair and reduce shaving rash.
2. Before the second pass, lather your face again. This time cut across the grain of your beard, maintaing a thirty degree angle, moving the razor from each ear to the centre of your face. (i.e. From right to left on the right side of your face, from left to right on the left.)
3. Lather your face once more before the final pass. This time cut across the beard from the centre of your face towards your ear. (i.e. opposite from above.)

 The second and third passes ensure that even the smallest hairs should be cut and give you a very smooth shave. You may take a little time to adjust to how you hold the razor but it will become natural, particularly when you have nicked yourself a few times that soon teaches you the correct way.

Post-shave

1. Soak a face towel in cold water and then apply to your face. This will help to close your pores.
2. Apply the skin food or other post-shave balm to help cool your face and prevent your skin from becoming dry.
3. Wait an hour or so before applying your favourite after-shave if you wish. Waiting an hours helps to reduce the stinging effect.

You can check out some of the supplies at the Gentleman's Groom Room or you may have a local supplier. Across the Internet you will find there are a number of excellent videos and websites that offer advice on a getting a good wet shave. Gents, I hope you'll give shaving like your grandfather did a try. Believe me you'll never go back.

Alternative ways to prepare an eBook

The companies who distribute eBooks have made it relatively easy to submit a well-formatted Word document and have it converted into the appropriate file type for the various readers. This offers a simple route to publishing your eBook but it’s not without its disadvantages. The conversion of a Word document can lead to some strange results, particularly if your book contains bulleted lists. If you would like your book to contain specific fonts or decorative items, Word is not up to the task.

There is a move towards making eBooks look more like traditional books and today I’m going to have a look at a couple of pieces of software that help you to take your book to the next level.

Sigil

Sigil is an open-source ePub editor that is available for free for Windows, Mac and Linux systems. It allows you to create a properly formatted ePub document that you can submit to Amazon and Lulu. You can choose to edit the text in a panel that looks much like it would in Word. There is a range of formatting options on the toolbar across the top, which are relatively simple if you understand HTML codes but it may be a little more difficult for those of you unfamiliar with web design jargon.

I used Sigil for the first time recently and was impressed with the results. I began by converting the Word document to HTML before loading it into the program. I then had to convert the single file into multiple files by splitting it at the beginning of each chapter. (An eBook is really a collection of multiple files.) The formatting is simply a matter of applying the correct level to the headings, subheadings, paragraphs and lists. The table of contents is generated from the top-level headings, a much simpler exercise than doing it in Word.

My experience with Sigil was straightforward but I didn’t push its capabilities very far and I will have to spend more time with it to get a fuller picture but I think that it is a step up from what is possible using Word alone.

Good points: Excellent output; Simple TOC generation; Free

Bad: May be a daunting learning curve for some users

Vellum

Vellum is a new and exciting piece of software that is an indication of where eBook creation is going. Vellum allows you to take a Word document and turn it into a beautifully formatted eBook using templates. The templates each have a different style and customisable areas within them. You can choose a font for your chapter headings, add drop caps at the start of chapters or sections and add decorative motifs to chapter headings or between sections. As you can see from the preview on the right of the screenshot, these little touches can lift your eBook to a new level of quality and sophistication.

I found it very easy to use although I had one or two minor problems with the table of contents before it recognised all the pages that I wanted to include. Unfortunately, Vellum is only available for the Mac at the moment. The other thing that may prevent it from really taking off is the pricing structure. Rather than buy the software, you are charged for the final generation of the eBook, which is done on the company’s servers. With a single book costing $49.99 and unlimited books at $299.99. it is very expensive if you are self publishing.

The unlimited option has only been added recently and it may be a sign that people baulked at the original pricing model. Wide adoption of a software like Vellum will lead to eBooks that are more like their printed alternatives but it may be that the strategy the developers have chosen works against them, particularly if other people develop similar products that are more affordable to indie authors.

Good points: Beautiful templates; easy to use

Bad points: Only available for the Mac; Pricing strategy

If you've come across another alternative to Word, or would like to learn more about these programs please let me know.

You can learn more about how we help Indie Authors and our ‘How To Self Publish’ courses at Indie Authors Scotland

Classic soul revival

Soul music is above all a joyous expression of life and love. For as long as I can remember artists like Aretha, Otis, Marvin, Stevie and James have thrilled me with music that lifts my spirits and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The music of that golden age of Atlantic, Motown and Stax will forever stand the test of time but those classic sounds are being revived and Soul has found its mojo again.

At the forefront of this classic soul revival is a small label from New York called Daptone Records. 

Using original analogue recording equipment they are committed to bring traditional Soul, Funk, Gospel and Afrobeat to a whole new audience. On their website they say, “Whether your preference is for discs 7-inches or 12, LPs or CDs, this is music to be savored and felt, again and again.”

In terms of Soul there are two amazing artists signed to the label, Charles Bradley and Sharon Jones.

The story of Charles Bradley is both tragic yet heartwarming. A man who struggled for over sixty years working in the catering industry while making a little money on the side as a James Brown impersonator. When Thomas Brenneck - a producer and guitarist with the label - heard him sing he decided that he had found a truly great original artist. Bradley’s voice is filled with the pain of poverty and loss, and it deserves a place beside the artists I mentioned above. With Brenneck’s help he has written his own songs that bring the finer brush strokes of his self-portrait to life and he sings them with all the passion you would expect from a truly exceptional talent.

SharonJones, with her band the Dap Kings, has toured the world incessantly for ten years. In that time they have built up a loyal and enthusiastic following due to their energetic and exciting live shows and all that they have learned is now evident in their fantastic performances on record. She is reminiscent of some of the finest Motown artists of the sixties like Gladys Knight.

Although not signed to Daptone, ‘The Excitements’ are a band that has the same love of that classic Soul sound. Although they ring with Americana, home isn’t Detroit, Philadelphia nor Atlanta; they hail from Barcelona. Singer Koko-Jean Davis will have you thinking of Etta James or a young Tina Turner. She is backed by a band that would compare with any of the great label house bands that were the power behind Aretha Frankilin, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye.

I hope I’ve given you a tantalising taste of an amazing collection of artists that are proving that classic Soul can still make modern audiences want to dance like it’s 1968.

Five tips to help you produce a professional manuscript

The main and consistent theme of our ‘How to self publish’ courses is the importance of producing as professional a book as possible. That should begin with a professionally edited and proofread manuscript. Here are five tips to achieving that without having to spend a fortune.

1. Creative edit

Get someone you trust - a member of your family or maybe another writer - to read your manuscript to check that your story makes sense and has no gaps in it. If you are writing a non-fiction book, get someone who is an expert in the same field to do a similar check.

 2. Proofreading

Before sending it to your editor, check the book yourself for things you may have missed. Don’t use the computer you wrote it on, load it on to an e-reader or a tablet. If you don't have either of those devices then print it. It’s amazing how a different view can give you a new perspective.

 3. Get an editor

The one thing you must spend money on is a good editor. An editor is trained to look at text dispassionately and will find errors in spelling and grammar that you have missed. They have specialised skills and a good editor will help you to produce a professional book. Experienced editors may also offer help with the creative edit but make sure you specify what you expect from the editor you choose.

4. Get someone else to proofread it

It’s a good idea to let someone else see the book before you decide to publish it. There may still be one or two tiny little problems that can be identified by someone with a keen eye.

 5. Listen to the manuscript

Accessibility features are designed to help people with an impairment to get the most from their computer. There is a facility that allows those with visual impairments to listen to the content of the screen. I use this facility to do a final check of the book. By listening to it, your eye is no longer reading what you expect to read; another part of your brain is engaged and any errors become more obvious. Alternatively you could read it aloud but there is still the chance that you will read what you expect rather than what is actually written.

These tips may not completely eradicate every error - even books published by established companies can have little mistakes - but it will reduce them to a minimum. A well edited and proofread book can make a huge difference to how much enjoyment readers will get from your book.

You can learn more about our 'How to self publish' course at Indie Authors Scotland.

New season crime TV

A new year brings with it new television programming and if you are a fan of crime fiction this year has begun with a host of top series.

On Sky Living, Criminal Minds is now on its ninth series and is as dark and disturbing as ever. It features the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the F.B.I who hunt down serial killers using psychological profiling. Among the dreadful deaths, the light relief comes from the wonderful Kirsten Vangsness as Penny Garcia the team’s IT expert. Her bright clothes and snappy banter are the prefect counterpoint to the serious work of the team as they get inside the twisted mind of the killers.

At the other end of the spectrum is the lightweight but no less enjoyable Castle on Alibi. Much of the success of this show is down to the onscreen relationship between Richard Castle and his now fiancée Kate Beckett. Nathan Fillion as Castle and Stana Katic as Beckett are ably supported by Seamus Dever as Keven Ryan and Jon Huertas as Javier Esposito. The scripts range from terrorists and political shenanigans to plots where zombies or vampires appear to be stalking the streets of New York. It’s a perfect mix and Castle is a show where you can switch off and just enjoy the story.

Silent Witness is back on BBC One and there have been some major changes. After the death of Professor Dalton at the end of the previous series, the Lyell Centre has a new boss, Thomas Chamberlain. In the initial episodes of the series, he has played almost no part in the investigations and appears to have an entirely managerial role. It is a huge shift from the hands-on approach of his predecessor and I’m not sure it works. Another bizarre change is in Dr Nikki Alexander played by Emilia Fox. In previous series she could be seen wearing Laura Ashley-style print dresses and was the very picture of a respectable English woman but this year she’s had a makeover. Wearing tight trousers, her hair cut shorter and a sassier attitude might make her character more American and help may work better with focus groups but it is such a conspicuous change, with no explanation that it’s as if she is a completely different person. The stories so far have been filled with the kind of malevolence and violence as we’ve come to expect from one of the most edgy crime dramas produced by the BBC.

Sherlock’s three-programme run has already come and gone on BBC One. The stories were as complex and twisted as ever, drifting further from the canon of Conan Doyle’s original stories but it doesn’t matter. Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have created a brilliantly modern take on the old master. A large part of the success of the show is down to Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman who bring to life the characters of Holmes and Watson in a way that is thoroughly contemporary and yet totally recognisable to those of us who love the books. It is a shame that we are limited to just three programmes per series but the time-constraints on the actors and Moffatt (who both writes and is the lead producer for Doctor Who) mean we have to be content with Sherlock in small doses.

2014 has started well, let’s hope there are plenty more delights along the way.

Why every indie author needs an Amazon Author Central profile

Every independent author needs to work hard at marketing and selling their books. There is no way that anyone will get noticed by simply making the book available on Kindle and hoping that readers will arrive in their droves to buy it; everyone has to make people aware of what is on offer. Within our ‘How to Self Publish’ courses we dedicate a lot of time to addressing the options that are available to indie authors and in today’s blog I am going to look at one of those options in a bit more detail.

Amazon Author Central is a shop window that allows you to promote your work and let your readers know a little bit more about you. It allows you to collate all the books that you are selling on Amazon in one page and gives you a single link to promote on social media. If you can’t afford, or decide you don’t want a website, an AAC page is an excellent free alternative.

The first thing you should do after getting confirmation that your book is on sale is to set up your AAC profile by visiting authorcentral.amazon.co.uk (and authorcentral.amazon.com if you are selling books internationally*) where you can begin to populate your AAC page. Within the profile you can add your biography and photograph to help your readers to get to know you a little better. You can put as much or as little detail about yourself as you wish but I would keep it relevant and friendly. There is also a section where you can add details of your Twitter account to allow your readers to connect with you and establish a relationship with you. There is a facility to add videos, you can shoot a personal message or maybe a trailer for your book. Another great feature is the ability to add any events that you may be attending or hosting in your capacity as a writer. It allows you to promote book signings and other personal appearances.

The other section you need to concentrate on is not surprisingly, books. When you click on the ‘Add more books’ button you will be able to search for your book, by title, author’s name or the ISBN. Just beware I have found that occasionally a newly published book is not available immediately through this search and you may have to wait a couple of days before you can add it.

Within your AAC profile you will also be able to track your sales information, which is an excellent way to see the effectiveness of promotions and specific marketing techniques. The final section allows you to keep an eye on customer reviews by compiling all of the information from all your books in one area.

The AAC is just one of the many ways that Amazon has tried to make selling a book as easy as possible for independent authors and it is something that I think every writer should take advantage of.

If you already have an AAC page set up, why not stick a link in the comments and let people learn more about you and your work.

*You have set up a profile on each if you are selling in both the U.S. and U.K.

For more information about Indie Authors Scotland 'How to Self Publish' courses visit our website.