I'm proud to announce we have donated copies of this book to each of the following libraries this year:
Shedd-Porter in Alstead, NH
Elkins Public in Canterbury, NH
Hill Public in Hill, NH
Keene Public in Keene, NH
Mason at Keene State College in Keene, NH
Simon Fairfield in Douglas, Mass
Uxbridge Free Public in Uxbridge, Mass
The book can also be seen in the Colby Memorial Library in Danville, NH.
Thanks to all of the librarians and patrons of these fine libraries!
If you would like to see this book at your library please tell your local librarian it is available via Createspace expanded distribution, offering near wholesale pricing to libraries and educational institutions. (They may need to sign up for a Createspace account if they have not already).
I'll be doing more donations as it becomes possible.
Donations are based on overall sales volume.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Now is the time...
I've figured out a way to lower the cover price, we're now offering the book at $10.00 on Createspace and Amazon!
Any store that is carrying the book should have the new price now (Comic Boom! in Keene).
Any store that is carrying the book should have the new price now (Comic Boom! in Keene).
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
A genuine publishing house?
Apparently, there may be a publisher in New England that is interested in carrying IMBH as one of their titles. I'm hitting a few snags trying to find out more, I am trying. With a little luck I'll have a lot more to say about this in upcoming weeks, cross your fingers for me!
...and a publishing update:
The publishing house I sent a copy to did not feel the book fit into their catalog and they have decided not to carry it.
...and a publishing update:
The publishing house I sent a copy to did not feel the book fit into their catalog and they have decided not to carry it.
Friday, April 17, 2015
What it took to get this far...
I'm getting some questions about how long it took to put this book together, that's a really tough question to answer!
The very first drawing I ever did for it was probably when I was about thirteen years old. That drawing is not part of the final publication but it did lead to further development of ideas and after many iterations we have the current version of the witch. (A very early version of the witch appears on the page that begins "and before you know it...")
I have drawn and redrawn most of the pages in the book over the course of more than twenty years. There is simply no way I can say what it actually took to make this based on ALL that truly went into it.
Instead, as a basis for estimation, let's look at the time it took to complete the pages that were started in 2014, specifically the wolf. I made probably a dozen concept drawings before choosing a pose and style to use. I'll estimate about ten hours for the concept phase for this page (including a very unique tree). Coloring the image and creating the background actually took about twenty hours (yep, all that fur and all those stars and every point of light on that tree are drawn). It took approximately ten more hours to finalize it for the second edition (which is why I suggest you start with images that are a lot larger than you need if you ever attempt something like this).
I can create a full page illustration in about three days with a solid plan, I did not have a solid plan so I estimate this particular page took about 40 hours, including experimentation and a lot of time trying to get the right 'feel' for the image to get it ready for the second edition.
There are 13 full page illustrations (including the cover) plus 27 other pages, some of which took a day or two in and of themselves. Let's say it took about a week to do all of the formatting and to set up the pages that are primarily text, and about one more week to get the crafts section together. Conservatively, that's 15 weeks. I said earlier the wolf took about forty hours total to get it ready for the second edition. Knowing that the wolf was one of the most straightforward pages in the project I'm going to add @50% to the time for the other 11 pages and the cover. This should help account for time spent learning how to get the book ready for publication. Most of the additional time was spent reworking images for print, improving the illustrations, and a considerable amount of time spent reformatting from the original 9x6 to the current 8.5x8.5 format. My math may be a little inaccurate here as I am @12 hours into today's work, and since my days are usually at least that long I'm going to go easy on myself and just use the number I think is right.
I started in earnest around mid December 2014. The book was first published in print the first week of April, 2015. A span of about 14-15 weeks. I have to include some time for all of the work that went in to it before I started driving toward publication.
My best estimate? It took about 21 'normal' work weeks from concept to published second edition, tallying approximately 840 hours. Knowing what I now know about the publication process and the significant difference between preparing for print versus preparing for digital distribution, I think I could create something similar in about 12-15 weeks. I hope you'll agree that it was time well spent!
The very first drawing I ever did for it was probably when I was about thirteen years old. That drawing is not part of the final publication but it did lead to further development of ideas and after many iterations we have the current version of the witch. (A very early version of the witch appears on the page that begins "and before you know it...")
I have drawn and redrawn most of the pages in the book over the course of more than twenty years. There is simply no way I can say what it actually took to make this based on ALL that truly went into it.
Instead, as a basis for estimation, let's look at the time it took to complete the pages that were started in 2014, specifically the wolf. I made probably a dozen concept drawings before choosing a pose and style to use. I'll estimate about ten hours for the concept phase for this page (including a very unique tree). Coloring the image and creating the background actually took about twenty hours (yep, all that fur and all those stars and every point of light on that tree are drawn). It took approximately ten more hours to finalize it for the second edition (which is why I suggest you start with images that are a lot larger than you need if you ever attempt something like this).
I can create a full page illustration in about three days with a solid plan, I did not have a solid plan so I estimate this particular page took about 40 hours, including experimentation and a lot of time trying to get the right 'feel' for the image to get it ready for the second edition.
There are 13 full page illustrations (including the cover) plus 27 other pages, some of which took a day or two in and of themselves. Let's say it took about a week to do all of the formatting and to set up the pages that are primarily text, and about one more week to get the crafts section together. Conservatively, that's 15 weeks. I said earlier the wolf took about forty hours total to get it ready for the second edition. Knowing that the wolf was one of the most straightforward pages in the project I'm going to add @50% to the time for the other 11 pages and the cover. This should help account for time spent learning how to get the book ready for publication. Most of the additional time was spent reworking images for print, improving the illustrations, and a considerable amount of time spent reformatting from the original 9x6 to the current 8.5x8.5 format. My math may be a little inaccurate here as I am @12 hours into today's work, and since my days are usually at least that long I'm going to go easy on myself and just use the number I think is right.
I started in earnest around mid December 2014. The book was first published in print the first week of April, 2015. A span of about 14-15 weeks. I have to include some time for all of the work that went in to it before I started driving toward publication.
My best estimate? It took about 21 'normal' work weeks from concept to published second edition, tallying approximately 840 hours. Knowing what I now know about the publication process and the significant difference between preparing for print versus preparing for digital distribution, I think I could create something similar in about 12-15 weeks. I hope you'll agree that it was time well spent!
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
2nd E-Pub edition...
After a lot of consideration I've assembled and submitted the 2nd edition e-pub with the following differences (from the print edition).
The cover is only the front cover image (no back cover).
The copyright page has been altered to be accurate to the e-pub information (removed print ISBN and LCCN info).
The dedication page has been removed (there is no way to fill in "who this book is for" in the e-pub.
The crafts section has been removed (the images in this section can't be easily extracted for making crafts with them).
The e-pub is in landscape format, it uses the 2-up page display (2 pages at a time).
I have enrolled the e-pub in matchbook so if you purchase a printed book you can get the e-pub for less than half of the usual price.
When you're at Amazon make sure the description reads "second edition" as the first edition e-pub is still available at Amazon (I've made the price higher on the 1st to encourage people to get the 2nd instead).
This officially completes the publication process. For those of you who have been following along; the LCCN and copyright certification arrived together on Monday. If you have a project you're working on this should give you a good idea of how long these registration procedures take to complete (copyright took @2 months, LCCN from start to finish @15 days).
I will continue to post news about IMBH here, including merchandise updates and special events as we approach the actual holiday. We're also planning to do at least one book signing event this summer in Keene, NH at Comic Boom!
Thanks again to everyone for all of the support and encouragement, it feels great to be here!
The cover is only the front cover image (no back cover).
The copyright page has been altered to be accurate to the e-pub information (removed print ISBN and LCCN info).
The dedication page has been removed (there is no way to fill in "who this book is for" in the e-pub.
The crafts section has been removed (the images in this section can't be easily extracted for making crafts with them).
The e-pub is in landscape format, it uses the 2-up page display (2 pages at a time).
I have enrolled the e-pub in matchbook so if you purchase a printed book you can get the e-pub for less than half of the usual price.
When you're at Amazon make sure the description reads "second edition" as the first edition e-pub is still available at Amazon (I've made the price higher on the 1st to encourage people to get the 2nd instead).
This officially completes the publication process. For those of you who have been following along; the LCCN and copyright certification arrived together on Monday. If you have a project you're working on this should give you a good idea of how long these registration procedures take to complete (copyright took @2 months, LCCN from start to finish @15 days).
I will continue to post news about IMBH here, including merchandise updates and special events as we approach the actual holiday. We're also planning to do at least one book signing event this summer in Keene, NH at Comic Boom!
Thanks again to everyone for all of the support and encouragement, it feels great to be here!
Friday, April 3, 2015
Published!
The process is complete! It took a little longer than I expected to obtain an LCCN, or maybe it did not, but no notification was received when it became available. Regardless, the book is now complete and is available through the createspace sales channel. It will be a few more days before other sales channels become active. When they do I will make a second edition e-pub available through the Amazon Matchbook program. It feels great to have (mostly) completed this project, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Ordering through createspace is the best way to show support for authors, the royalty rate is higher than other channels. Bookstores and libraries can order through createspace direct at wholesale prices - while this doesn't generate hardly any royalty I encourage any such organizations to use this channel to help spread awareness of this title.
Thanks to everyone who supported me throughout this effort, it means a lot to me and my family to have seen this through to completion.
May the spirit of Halloween accompany you throughout the entire year!
Ordering through createspace is the best way to show support for authors, the royalty rate is higher than other channels. Bookstores and libraries can order through createspace direct at wholesale prices - while this doesn't generate hardly any royalty I encourage any such organizations to use this channel to help spread awareness of this title.
Thanks to everyone who supported me throughout this effort, it means a lot to me and my family to have seen this through to completion.
May the spirit of Halloween accompany you throughout the entire year!
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
IMBSeasonal
Seasonal designs space to keep them separate from the Halloween theme.
Preview window for the seasonal store is just below the IMBH zazzle store on the right.
Lots of pastels and subtle gradients this Easter.
Of course, now that the designs are available the delivery date has been shifted to after the weekend. Ah well, I'm glad I made these designs. :)
Monday, March 23, 2015
Broken Record?
It won't be long now (he says again), the LCCN should arrive by the end of the week, then @48 hours to approve the final proof.
Zazzle continues to amaze me, I have seen a lot of positive reviews about their merchandise and it gives me great confidence to see so many people using it. They have a sweet blog flash thingy, which you see now on the right side of the blog. Refresh this page to see more designs or click on a design to go straight to the store.
Galloree still has a few unique items and print services that I have plans for, such as all-over sublimation printing and some very cool clothing choices... and socks! I'm sure I'll do some more with them soon(ish) since these can not be produced via Zazzle -yet.
I got Mom involved in making some designs over the past few days, she has made nightlights, a dog collar, a baby blanket, pillows, and jigsaw puzzles to name a few. She has been a great inspiration for me during the 'time-between' -waiting to publish. She finally got to take her first photoshop lesson, and she did very well! We wrote down maybe a dozen commands and I walked her through them, then let her loose on it. When I came back ten minutes later she had painted a bunny rabbit's ear! (So, yeah, we're working on two designs for Easter, adorable fuzzy little bunnies!)
Today was a good, long one. To all, a good night!
Zazzle continues to amaze me, I have seen a lot of positive reviews about their merchandise and it gives me great confidence to see so many people using it. They have a sweet blog flash thingy, which you see now on the right side of the blog. Refresh this page to see more designs or click on a design to go straight to the store.
Galloree still has a few unique items and print services that I have plans for, such as all-over sublimation printing and some very cool clothing choices... and socks! I'm sure I'll do some more with them soon(ish) since these can not be produced via Zazzle -yet.
I got Mom involved in making some designs over the past few days, she has made nightlights, a dog collar, a baby blanket, pillows, and jigsaw puzzles to name a few. She has been a great inspiration for me during the 'time-between' -waiting to publish. She finally got to take her first photoshop lesson, and she did very well! We wrote down maybe a dozen commands and I walked her through them, then let her loose on it. When I came back ten minutes later she had painted a bunny rabbit's ear! (So, yeah, we're working on two designs for Easter, adorable fuzzy little bunnies!)
Today was a good, long one. To all, a good night!
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Zazzle Store
Galloree's clunky interface has me looking for another outlet. Zazzle appears to be a good option, so I've been seeing what they have for offer today.
Starting out with just the Jack baby bib, and a few Witch designs, I'll be working on more soon but I really wanted to share this news.
The Zazzle store is already up and running, though it may take up to 24 hours for the new products to be visible IN the store.... Even if you don't see the Halloween images I think you'll be very happy with all of the options they give you for customization. Check it out!
zazzle.com/IMbHalloween*
Starting out with just the Jack baby bib, and a few Witch designs, I'll be working on more soon but I really wanted to share this news.
The Zazzle store is already up and running, though it may take up to 24 hours for the new products to be visible IN the store.... Even if you don't see the Halloween images I think you'll be very happy with all of the options they give you for customization. Check it out!
zazzle.com/IMbHalloween*
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Galloree Shoppe open again
The 2nd edition images are now available. I'm working on more new designs to get the store ready for a grand re-opening that coincides with the release of the printed book.
Update:
All first edition images have been removed from the shop, except for the 1st edition Full Moon, this one image may be a keeper because it gives a darker option for a background if you want to stack other images on top of it.
All of the first edition designs have been updated with 2nd edition images and are now available!
(Visit the shop)
Update:
All first edition images have been removed from the shop, except for the 1st edition Full Moon, this one image may be a keeper because it gives a darker option for a background if you want to stack other images on top of it.
All of the first edition designs have been updated with 2nd edition images and are now available!
(Visit the shop)
Monday, March 16, 2015
LCCN
Got some advice that it would probably be good to get an LCCN (Library of Congress Control / Card / Catalog Number- I've heard it called all three). Application for the LCCN must be completed before the book is published. The process takes a few days but this should be the last stop on the road to release. Having an LCCN makes the book more accessible to school and public libraries. Submitting the application for an LCCN also means that a copy of the book will be sent to THE Library of Congress for archiving. There is no guarantee the book will be accepted into the library's collection, still, I will receive the number (which is worth while). I'm expecting my LCCN will arrive in the next five days, then I will have to submit and approve the final version, a process that takes @48 hours.
This extra time that I didn't expect to have has allowed me to make a few final color tweaks and to add some additional content. The printed book will now include a section with images for arts and crafts. Each page has been labeled 'okay to duplicate' so educators should also be able to make use of these without issue. Each 'crafts' page suggests copying and cutting out the picture and includes a warning that cutting should never be done without an adult present. I hope everyone likes these a lot and finds interesting things to do with them all!
This extra time that I didn't expect to have has allowed me to make a few final color tweaks and to add some additional content. The printed book will now include a section with images for arts and crafts. Each page has been labeled 'okay to duplicate' so educators should also be able to make use of these without issue. Each 'crafts' page suggests copying and cutting out the picture and includes a warning that cutting should never be done without an adult present. I hope everyone likes these a lot and finds interesting things to do with them all!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Fingers Crossed
The third proof order is supposed to arrive later today. With all the effort that went in to the print revisions I'm really, REALLY hoping it will be 'production-ready'. So today I will be impatient, try to work on other projects, basically anything to occupy the time between now and when UPS arrives...
Sunday, March 8, 2015
First Edition Discounted
I'm dropping the prices on all of my Galloree designs for a while. This is partly in anticipation of the second edition images which are coming soon, and partly because the first samples we received were very dark. Most of the images printed just fine but the witch appears almost in grayscale and much of her detail is lost. So, to keep it simple, everything's been reduced. Some of the 1st Edition images will be removed from the store when the second editions are added so if you want a black, black cat, or a dark, dark witch, now is the time to get them.
I've also dropped the prices at the CAT Press store for the time being.
I've also dropped the prices at the CAT Press store for the time being.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
First Galloree order arrived today...
We ordered test prints on Tote Bags and Sweatshirts of the witch and Jack.
The order was placed Feb. 24 making the turnaround @11 days, pretty quick!
The XL sweatshirt is a good size for me, it's a little too big on Mom. The quality of the shirt is very good. The hood (when it's down) just barely touches the top of the printed design on the back, as planned.
The tote bags are nice and big and they seem good and sturdy.
These were created with artwork from the 1st Edition so they are a little darker than I would like, but some people may prefer the dark design so these will be updated / renamed as "First Edition (Dark)" and I may limit the colors of products the images can be applied to.
So over the next few days I'll be making new designs using 2nd Edition images and applying them to the Galloree shop. Each will include "Second Edition (Lighter)" in it's name or description.
We also ordered a coffee mug with Widget, the snow dog to commemorate the record snowfall of 2015 and it looks really great, vibrant print on a diner style (straight side) 15 oz mug. Super happy with it!
The order was placed Feb. 24 making the turnaround @11 days, pretty quick!
The XL sweatshirt is a good size for me, it's a little too big on Mom. The quality of the shirt is very good. The hood (when it's down) just barely touches the top of the printed design on the back, as planned.
The tote bags are nice and big and they seem good and sturdy.
These were created with artwork from the 1st Edition so they are a little darker than I would like, but some people may prefer the dark design so these will be updated / renamed as "First Edition (Dark)" and I may limit the colors of products the images can be applied to.
So over the next few days I'll be making new designs using 2nd Edition images and applying them to the Galloree shop. Each will include "Second Edition (Lighter)" in it's name or description.
We also ordered a coffee mug with Widget, the snow dog to commemorate the record snowfall of 2015 and it looks really great, vibrant print on a diner style (straight side) 15 oz mug. Super happy with it!
Friday, March 6, 2015
delivery date...
Should arrive mid-week.
This is going to be proof for a "Second edition First time in print".
This is going to be proof for a "Second edition First time in print".
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Final(?) Proof... Ready!
Oh my, it is so different!
Pretty much every page has undergone a major overhaul... in a roundabout way.
There has also been a lot of formatting done to accommodate the printing requirements of a broader variety of distribution channels.
End result?
-It looks very, very nice. I think I may actually be able to go to sleep when my head hits the pillow tonight.
How will it look in print?
-I am hoping my printer has given me a pretty accurate representation of what I can expect from the printing team. I've printed, revised, and printed again just about every page. Each time cleaning up images and tuning in the various adjustments to make it print in brighter colors and with better definition.
What now?
-It will take about (another) week to get this proof back. In the meantime I'll try to get some of the revised images into the Galloree shop as designs so they can be applied to anything.
Pretty much every page has undergone a major overhaul... in a roundabout way.
There has also been a lot of formatting done to accommodate the printing requirements of a broader variety of distribution channels.
End result?
-It looks very, very nice. I think I may actually be able to go to sleep when my head hits the pillow tonight.
How will it look in print?
-I am hoping my printer has given me a pretty accurate representation of what I can expect from the printing team. I've printed, revised, and printed again just about every page. Each time cleaning up images and tuning in the various adjustments to make it print in brighter colors and with better definition.
What now?
-It will take about (another) week to get this proof back. In the meantime I'll try to get some of the revised images into the Galloree shop as designs so they can be applied to anything.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Rounding Home...
Been hammering out the print issues with Halloween and thinking maybe another day or two to finish dialing it in. Most of the pages have been lightened a lot, and they've also been sharpened up to hold that detail. I've got maybe another half day's of planned fixes planned at this time, and all day tomorrow to think of more. If I don't find any new issues I'll be sending off -with fingers crossed- the 'final' proof order.
-wish me luck and inspiration
-wish me luck and inspiration
Sunday, February 22, 2015
New Designs in store!
Inspiration struck! I've put together a few new designs in the Galloree store with more images from the book. New Hoodies, Long Sleeve Tees, and a Jack baby bib so far... who knows what will come next!
Friday, February 20, 2015
Revision Submitted
I received my proof printing today, and while it looked great, I decided it's not good enough. I made adjustments to many of the images to account for the differences between the printed and the digital versions. Bumped up the brightness, adjusted saturation, and improved overall contrast to make the images easier to see from a distance. Also found just a few little bits to clean up. Second proof is in the works. I wish this delay was not happening but it will be worthwhile!
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Galloree Store update
These are all large images but they may still pixelate if the design is blown up more than 150% of it's original size.
Printed Proof -Ordered!
Printed Proof -Ordered! (and already shipped according to Createspace)
Hopefully this means a print version will be available by February 21.
-fingers crossed
Hopefully this means a print version will be available by February 21.
-fingers crossed
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
DRM free on Amazon
Now available, DRM free on Amazon via Kindle Edition...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TEOPCZG
And available for a limited time at a lower introductory price for friends and family.
This book is also enrolled in kindle unlimited and may be 'lent' to friends...
I think the limitation on that is you can lend to one person at a time for up to 14 days at a time.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TEOPCZG
And available for a limited time at a lower introductory price for friends and family.
This book is also enrolled in kindle unlimited and may be 'lent' to friends...
I think the limitation on that is you can lend to one person at a time for up to 14 days at a time.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Publishing ...very soon
It's a learning process. Apparently there is some difference between obtaining copyright for a published work, vs. an unpublished work. The book is in review in Amazon's publishing system and the copyright process is underway, I'm waiting to find out if I should have waited longer to publish. But I can't wait!! This is a project that has been underway in one form or another for so long, that waiting, now that it is complete, is almost too much to bear! Fingers crossed for a good outcome.
Friday, February 6, 2015
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