Good morning dear friends and writers.
I'm giddy with excitement, because a long gardening weekend lays before me. Hundreds of plants are lying in their pots beside the readied soil, awaiting my hands.
There are two things I want to share with you before I go off to approve your submitted work this morning. First, I received my cover art for MAZURKA from my publisher, Twilight Times Books, and I'm honored and excited to show it to you. I designed the inner image long ago, when I first wrote Gus's European mystery. It comes fourth in the series, and will be released around July. Here's a sneak peak of the image with the artist's new fonts and affects:
I created this using two photos I took long ago in Europe. The Paris skyline was created using Photoshops liquid filter, and I added the red color to the Seine because of the horrid threat that faces modern Europe via neo-Nazis, the most vile and evil villains Gus and Siegfried have ever faced. The man's silhouette came from a candid shot of old men in Germany playing out outdoor gigantic chess game!
Let me know what you think of the cover, and if it would pique your curiosity in the bookstores?
Secondly, I wanted to mention that we've been busy over at our Murder By 4 writers and readers blog. Yesterday we were honored to post an article by Gather member Marci Baun, editor-in-chief at Wild Child Publishing. She offers advice for writers who want to impress editors with their submissions! Here's a bit of it, follow the link if you want to read the whole thing and perhaps leave some comments for her.
How to impress an editor (or at the very least this editor)
©Marci Baun, 2008
When Aaron asked if I would like to write a guest blog post for Murder by 4, I thought this would be an easy assignment. Then I realized it wasn't as easy as I had thought because I didn't want this post to become another what-not-to-do list written by an editor on the rampage. So, I've been mulling this over for the past week or so with the one question in my mind of taking this subject and putting a positive spin on it. That doesn't seem too hard, but after a week of a toddler with a cold/ear ache and very little sleep, the brain stops functioning properly. Then, in the eleventh hour, inspiration struck. Rather than tell you what not to do, I will tell you what you can do that will impress me, and most likely many other editors as well. While this may seem like common sense, these are good rules to remember.
1. Read the submission guidelines thoroughly and follow them. There may be times when you are tempted to skim them, or you think, "I don't really need to know these." If you are serious about being published by that house, read them. And while you may not need to memorize them, learn what genres they publish, what they expect of you as an author (grammar/punctuation), what they don't want to see, and how to format your submission. Even if your manuscript isn't accepted, they will be impressed with the fact that you followed their guidelines because, trust me, when I receive a submission that doesn't follow them, my first tendency is to reject it. Why should I bother reading this if the author doesn't have enough professionalism to read the guidelines? Oh, and if a publisher asks you not to include them if you are simultaneously submitting, don't-especially with independent presses. You may be thinking about saving time, but should publisher ever find out, and they will, you've just closed an avenue to sell your manuscript.
2. Grammar/punctuation/spelling. Know all of them. Where do commas go? Should that verb be "was" or "were" or more active? What about quotation marks? Etc. I know this seems basic, but I can't tell you the number of submissions we receive where basic grammar, punctuation, and spelling rules are ignored or not known. If you have challenges with any of these, buy a grammar/punctuation book and a dictionary and learn.
Read the rest of Marci's advice here, if you wish.
Meanwhile, let me wish you a wonderful weekend. And don't forget to thank the veterans in your life and remember those who have fallen to win and keep our freedom. We owe them--literally--everything.
For those of you who love to write - remember to write like the wind!
Aaron
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Comments: 16
of course, since it's yours we already know I will be buying it :)
This is the first time I've read your explanation for the design and it makes perfect sense "... the red color to the Seine because of the horrid threat that faces modern Europe via neo-Nazis..." However, I'm not sure I would have picked up on the Nazis theme from seeing only the red Seine, BUT I would "get it" if I saw the armband. I wonder if you have considered zooming in on it to make it more obvious?
Then again, I know the printed version is far better than what we get on the computer screen. The same thing happened with my cover. There were certain aspects that were not evident when viewed on the computer screen but are very obvious on the cover itself.
See. all this to say, "I like it!!" ;)
Ellen - I appreciate your thoughts on the figure's mindset. Until you see the swastika on his armband, all of those are possibilities. Now, realizing he's a Nazi sympathizer (probably one of the terrorists who marched in the Neo Nazi parade in Paris in MAZURKA), does it change the impact of the cover? Add a little more ominous feel to it?
Flit - you're a sweetheart! I haven't seen what my pub will put on the back cover blurb, but it may read something like this: "This contemporary mystery, set against the dazzling backdrop of Europe, follows newlyweds Gus and Camille LeGarde as they chase down a family secret with the potential to change history. A twist of fate propels them into a web of neo-Nazis with deadly intentions. When Gus's brother-in-law is framed for the murder of the Nazi leader, the couple is plunged into a cat-and-mouse game where the stakes are lethal and the future of Europe hangs in the balance."
You're welcome, Marilyn. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you, AF, Katrina, and David!
John, thank you! I'll be stopping by your new groups in the future to check out your hilarious articles. ;o)
Marta, I had to laugh when I read your comment. Not because it was funny, per se, it was wonderful, as usual! But because my original designs had much bigger swastikas on the cover. Embedded in hillsides, waving flags, etc. But all my previous feedback told me it was "too much," that I should minimize the Nazi impact on the cover. Of course, there's much more than the central fight with evil in this book - the historical discover Gus makes about his wife's ancestry is astounding - and has the potential to change the history of the classical music world for ever. Plus, of course, there are some lovely visits to Europe - all the tastes, sounds, and sights of that lovely land are lovingly painted in this book.
Thanks, Stefania!
Beryl, I'm so glad you like it! With your experience with The Scent of God's cover, I consider you (and Marta) one of my cover gurus!
Thanks, Barbara. I don't know if I could ever recreate that sky - it was a one time play with a liquid filter in Photoshop. But it intrigued me, and seemed so different that I saved the image for "some day." Well, some day is here!
Thanks, everyone, for stopping by. You are wonderful!
Otherwise, business as usual - summer coming along, a kid surviving the angst of high school finals, etc. Thanks so much on commenting on the Lynda Barry writing workshop piece and for letting me know of that special brand of chocolate milk, which I really want to research and drink!