More on Illustrating Your Book

Two more short videos on my experiences working with an illustrator.

Choosing One Illustration Over Another

Streamlining Workflow

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I added another chapter of The Moon Coin to wattpadd

I added chapter twelve of The Moon Coin to wattpad, meaning you can now read half the book there for free. Wattpad also started taking videos, so I posted this little teaser trailer there as well.

The Moon Coin / A Moon Realm Novel

When Lily and Jasper’s uncle disappears, Lily must search for him in the most unlikely of places: the fading realms of her childhood bedtime tales.

“For a feel of the beginning of The Moon Coin, picture what might come into being if you took C.S. Lewis and Dr. Seuss and locked them in a room until they wrote a book together. Got that? And then Dr. Seuss gets kicked out and the whole thing takes a rather J.R.R. Tolkien turn.” -V.K. Finnish, author of The Society’s Traitor, The Discoveries of Arthur Grey

Get it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JFMKB8

Read the first half on Wattpad for free: https://www.wattpad.com/43091698-the-moon-coin-blurb

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Win a Paperback Copy of The Moon Coin

Here’s what it looks like:

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When Lily and Jasper’s uncle disappears, Lily must search for him in the most unlikely of places: the fading realms of her childhood bedtime tales.

Gold Medal Winner of the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award.

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Higer Resolution Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ulfhednar/15796332821/

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Copyright © 2011-14 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

No portion of this website may be used in any manner without the expressed written consent of the copyright holder.

Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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The Moon Coin “charming and clever and beautiful and daring”

A Perfect Tales-Told-By-the-Fire Book

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By Tricia Rightmire

I’ve been working on how to phrase this review for a while, but I sit down planning to sound all clever and erudite and end up getting all wistful and making lots of hands-over-my-heart gestures at the screen, so I think this time I’m just going to go with that. . . .

The Moon Coin is lovely, folks. It is charming and clever and beautiful and daring; it’s full of adventure and surprises and courage and puzzles and characters with whom I fell immediately and permanently in love. It’s written with a younger audience in mind—think “older elementary school, some middle schoolers”—but it’s the sort of book that just begs for a blanket and some comfy pillows and a crackling fire on the hearth, with everyone piled in together and hearing about far-off lands full of faeries and dragons and cats big enough to ride (they get really crabby about that, though, so I don’t recommend trying it). It doesn’t shy away from big words or complex ideas, but couches them all in a universe that’s so rich and consuming that they’re not “too hard” . . . and it’s just. so. fun.

The downside is that it’s the first of an as-yet uncompleted series, so you can’t just sit down and binge-read through them all; the upside is that every minute in this world is delicious and grand, and makes you want nothing more than to have your own Moon Coin so you can go adventuring. Grab the youngsters who mean the most to you, settle in, and enjoy!

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From Sketch to Chapter Art, an Illustrator at Work

For me, getting to work with Carolyn Arcabascio was a dream come true. We worked from a master list of scene options, with Carolyn picking out scenes she liked and making sketches. For the prologue, Carolyn drafted three options. All three were great, but two in particular were spectacular. I first went with option 3 (one of my scene suggestions). I think we spent more time on this sketch and subsequent color drawing than on any other piece. But it never seemed right. At the eleventh hour, I asked Carolyn how hard she’d hit me if I suggested scrapping the thing and instead going with the pinky promise scene you see below (one of her scene suggestions).  Carolyn responded: “There would be no hitting involved!” and told me it wouldn’t be a problem. You sure can’t ask for better than that.

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From the Prologue: Bedtime Tales.

Click on image to enlarge.

Richard: Did you make all these sketches in the same location, Carolyn?

Carolyn: Yes, I do all of my work at a drafting table that’s situated in a little nook of my apartment in Acton, Massachusetts. There’s a bookshelf to my right and a wall of “inspiration” to my left, where I hang prints of other artists’ and illustrators’ work. On either side of my drafting table are drawers of supplies, and stacks of sketchbooks and old paintings. The drafting table faces a window overlooking a quiet street and the woods beyond it.

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From Chapter Two: A Coin of the Realm.

Click on image to enlarge.

Richard: Do you use models when you’re sketching?

Carolyn: I use a combination of models and photo references. If I need to work out the nuances of a character’s posture and really understand the perspective of it, I’ll ask whatever friend or family member is handy to pose for a sketch. Often, I’ll get into the position myself or mimic the facial expression I want to portray in order to get the feel of it. And sometimes, if there’s a character being portrayed multiple times across scenes, I’ll make a rough model of their head out of clay so I’ll have it to refer to.

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From Chapter Four: To Barreth.

Click on image to enlarge.

Richard: When drawing fantastical creatures, do you use bits and pieces of real animals for inspiration, or have you actually seen a wirtle and you’re just not telling us? 😉

Carolyn: No wirtles native to Massachusetts, fortunately! When figuring out the look of fantastical creatures, I use photo references of different animals to understand the way the anatomy might work, and then combine features as I see fit and as the story calls for. To understand the wirtle’s legs and paws, for example, I referred to a series of photographs of show dogs leaping over hurdles. The severely arched, scruffy back was influenced by photos of hyenas on the prowl. The bone-structure of the face ended up being something of a cross between a cow and a warthog, and I wanted the snout to be bare—kind of gross and raw-looking. Add it all up and, voila! We have a wirtle.

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When Lily and Jasper’s uncle disappears, Lily must search for him in the most unlikely of places: the fading realms of her childhood bedtime tales.

Gold Medal Winner of the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award.

Epic fantasy for ages 9 to 99. Visit the Moon Realm

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❍

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Copyright © 2011-14 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

No portion of this website may be used in any manner without the expressed written consent of the copyright holder.

Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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Protected: A Sampling of Characters

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Crossover: the Moon Realm Invades Barnes and Noble Bookstores Everywhere

Crossover

The Moon Realm Invades Barnes and Noble Bookstores Everywhere

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I wish I had a more exciting tale to tell, but getting a self-published book into Barnes and Noble is all about time, diligence, and whether or not they want your book.

In a nutshell, here’s how I got the Moon Realm series into Barnes and Noble. Last fall I submitted to their Small Press Dept., at their Headquarters on 5th Ave, in New York. On their website, they said that if I didn’t hear back from them I should resend, as they get 2,000 submissions a week, which means, every once and a while, they have chuck everything and start over. I got a letter back from them maybe two weeks later requesting paperback copies of The Moon Coin (the only Moon Realm book in paper at that time). That was back in November. My next task was to get a distributor or wholesaler. B&N had sent me a list of them. I sent submissions two wholesalers that could work out for me. One replied in a week with a no. The other, Baker and Taylor, took longer. On March 26th, B&N sent me another letter saying they still wanted The Moon Coin, but that since they hadn’t heard from me in a long time, they were going to take their offer off the table 30 days from the date of that letter. That seemed more than fair to me, generous, in fact. It was a bit of a bummer, though, as I’d decided in my mind that Baker and Taylor, not having gotten back to me—I’d submitted to them in January—wasn’t interested in my book. Then, on April 11th, Baker and Taylor sent an email to Gibbering Gnome press saying “We are pleased to inform you that after reviewing your materials, we would like to have your company become a vendor with Baker & Taylor.”

That was a fine day.

Since the second book in my series, The Dragondain, had come out in December, and since my original contact from Barnes and Noble had changed since last November, I decided to send my new B&N contact new copies of both titles. She called a few weeks later to say they were going to order The Moon Coin, and that The Dragondain was now being reviewed by their buyer. During that time, Gibbering Gnome Press set up its account with B&T. I sent copies of books to my contact at B&T at that time, too. Soon, I was in B&T’s system.

On July 18th, the day before I was leaving for vacation, the first two purchase orders from B&T rolled in. So, instead of packing, I spent the evening thumbing through a 55 page document on how to make a proper shipping label for B&T’s warehouse. It involved me—I’m Gibbering Gnome’s typesetter, among other things—generating a label containing six barcodes. I’d never made barcodes before. I mean, I’d order them from Bowkers, of course, but never made them from scratch. By midnight, though, everything was boxed and ready to ship. I did what packing I could, then finished up in the morning. We sent the books off as we left town.

Unrelated to all this, I’d been in contact with a B&N Children’s Book Manager since last summer. Her store is in Utah. She’d contacted me on GoodReads, and wanted to know why my books weren’t in B&N’s catalog, Bookmaster. I’d told her I was trying my best. We kept in contact during this whole process, and, now that my books were in the system, she ordered copies for her store. She’s picked out a display, and Gibbering Gnome Press has sent her posters and postcards adverts.

Now all I need to do is sit back and watch the purchase orders roll in, right? Ha! If only it was so easy! But seriously, my job now is to run around to local B&Ns and independent bookstores, handing out free review copies and letting them know that I’m in B&T, or, in the case of the B&Ns, that I’m in Bookmaster. If I’m lucky, I might be able to get in on a few signings.

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Copyright © 2011, 2012 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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The Mothership has Placed an Order for Books!

My Barnes and Noble rep called me and said she could see The Moon Coin in Baker & Taylor’s catalog, and that she was ordering copies for Barnes and Noble’s brick and mortar bookstores!!! She also said that their book buyer is currently reviewing The Dragondain (which I  sent them just last week).

Update: My Barnes and Noble rep sent me a letter confirming that The Dragondain has also been approved by their book buyer, and that paperback copies have been ordered. Woot!

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Good news for Moon Realm fans! Baker & Taylor has picked up Gibbering Gnome Press as a vendor.

Which means . . . after I slay a thousand forms, hire TRON to break into B&N’s catalog system, kill the witch, and bring back the broom to Oz . . . after all that . . . The Moon Coin is headed for Barnes & Noble!

Here’s how it happened: back in the fall, Barnes and Noble sent me a letter saying they wanted to carry The Moon Coin in their brick and mortar bookstores. The problem is that B&N doesn’t acquire books from publishers and authors, they get them from distributors and wholesalers.

Well, this week I heard back from Baker & Taylor. I’VE GOT THE BROOM AND I’M HEADING BACK TO OZ! My book is going to be available to B&N, (among many other bookstores), and a 95% of all libraries!

I have no idea how long it’s going to take me to get back to Oz, though. A couple months maybe? There’s just never a roving band of blood-thirsty flying monkeys around when you need one. Have you ever noticed that? But when I do get back, and into the Barnes & Noble catalog, B&Ns everywhere will be able to stock the series!

I’ve already heard from one B&N children’s dept manager who says she already has a special display in mind. She also plans to put up posters! Yikes!

One B&N store down, 722 to go.

In other news, I’m back up on Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116346566164783346454

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Midwest Book Review

“The Moon Coin is a fine and adventurous read for young adults,

highly recommended.”—Midwest Book Review
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This just in from the Midwest Book Review:

A good story almost comes alive in our imagination, and it may do just that. “The Moon Coin” begins Richard Due’s Moon Realm series, following young Lily and Jasper, who learn much about the place from their uncle. But when he goes missing, the kids will learn there was more to his stories than just stories, and the secrets behind them will prove dangerous as they are enticing. “The Moon Coin” is a fine and adventurous read for young adults, highly recommended.

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The Moon Coin

Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and eBook.

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Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes iBookstore,

and Second Looks Books.

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Two chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

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❍

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink™ The Moon Realm™

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ColorPage Testimonial

ColorPage, the amazing printer I use for all the Moon Realm books, asked me to do a testimonial for their website. Here it is:

Click HERE to read it in full.

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The Importance of GoodReads

If you love reading books, or talking about books, or connecting with other readers or authors, you might want to check out GoodReads. Who knows, you just might find your next good read there.

If you’re an author, one of the indicators of how well your book is doing on GoodReads is by checking how many people have put your book on their “shelf.” It’s not a real shelf, and it doesn’t guarantee that the person will actually read  your book. But it does show that they’re interested, and that you might be in their reading queue.

Here’s a graph of The Moon Coin’s shelf adoption from the publication of the ebook, through the publication of the paperback, and ending today.

That dramatic rise in the middle directly corresponds to when the paperback edition was released.

It took The Moon Coin twelve-and-a-half months to reach 1,000 shelves. It’s currently on track to surpass 2,000 shelves in just three months.

To everyone who put my book on their shelf: THANK YOU!!!

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The Barnes & Noble Letter or Help, I Need a Distributor!

It came in the mail yesterday. A snail mail letter from Barnes & Noble, postmarked New York. My wife opened it. She scanned it. “They don’t want your book,” she said. [insert explosions, screams, and that little light that came out of Sirius Black’s mouth shooting out like a bullet from mine] Okay. It wasn’t that bad. Honestly, it had been the answer I’d been expecting all along. I’m a small publisher of two books, both by me.

Then, she said, “Wait, I skimmed over this first part.” She read it aloud: “Thank you for sending us THE MOON COIN. We welcome the opportunity to review books of all types from publishers large and small. After a careful review, the buyer for the category has decided to place an order for approximately 10 copies on THE MOON COIN.”

Then I read it. Ten times. I read it ten times because I was certain that on the next reading it would say something else.

But . . . it didn’t. It’s been a whole day. I’m still in shock.

The one big hitch is that B&N wants me to get my book into a distributor or wholesaler (there’s a difference?), before they’ll order the copies. I’ve been thinking about distributors for awhile now. I even went the the Self-Publishing Book Expo in New York last month, mostly to go to a workshop on distributors. What did I learn? There’s no way I can swing a distributor for THE MOON COIN or the upcoming THE DRAGONDAIN. My unit price is just too high. 22 full-color illustrations can do that to a book, you know. I stopped crunching the numbers after I got to the point where I was losing several dollars on each book (and I just knew there were more fees). Distributors want exclusives, which means I’d have to pull the book out of my own bookstore (and all the independents that are currently selling it). Distributors want a hefty cut of ebook sales. It’s endless.

My was despair incarnate.

Then I flipped over the list of distributors B&N had sent me. A list of wholesalers, huh? What are those?

I googled them. Wholesalers don’t ask for exclusivity. Wholesalers don’t ask for a cut of ebook sales. Wholesalers don’t ask for as big of a cut.

I said all right.

Our bookstore even had an account with one of the wholesalers on the list!

I submitted the book to them today. If they give me the thumbs up, THE MOON COIN is headed to a Barnes & Noble (and thousands of independent bookshops) near you. If they give me the thumbs down . . . all is lost and I sink into a pit of despair deeper than tar is black. Stay tuned.

Here’s the actual letter:

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The Traverse City Children’s Book Festival, the Moonbeam Awards, and a literary scavenger hunt.

I just got back from a trip to Traverse City, Michigan, where the Traverse City Children’s Book Festival was held in a beautiful old Opera House. It’s lovely town right on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the people there support not one, but two amazing independent bookshops: Horizon Books, and Brilliant Books. (You can get THE MOON COIN in Horizon Books now, btw, just sayin’.)

The Traverse City Children’s Book Festival. I’m in the lower right corner.

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I got to meet a lot of amazing authors at the festival, but for me the most exciting part was meeting the kids: you would have thought they were in a candy store!

Some of the winners on display in the Opera House. (I did NOT arrange these books!)

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After the festival, we packed up, got dressed up, and headed out to the top floor of the tallest building in town: the Park Place Hotel, where the Moonbeam Awards Ceremony was held.

I’m the dude on the far right. Jim Barnes, master of ceremonies, is in the center.

Link to the press release HERE.

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Lastly, I want to mention that the GoodReads Group, Anything Goes, has picked The Moon Coin as their December Book of the Month. Anything Goes is mostly comprised of UK members, but anyone is welcome to join. I’ve been in contact with Chris, a group moderator, and she’s given me permission to put together a little international contest. So get ready for a literary scavenger hunt (drawing off The Moon Coin). The winner will receive a signed, numbered, paperback copy (I will ship this anywhere I can (except to the moon Darwyth; if you’re on the moon Darwyth then you’re on your own; sorry). I’ll post the contest here at Anything Goes on the December the 1st. So if you like scavenger hunts, be on the lookout!

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Traverse City Children’s Book Festival

I’ll be at the festival, reading from The Moon Coin and signing books.

Dates & Location

10:00am to 4:00pm

The annual Traverse City Children’s Book Festival will be held Saturday , November 10, 2012 at:

City Opera House
106 East Front Street
Traverse City, MI 49684-2509
(231) 941-8082

Tickets & Admission

General attendance is free!
No tickets are required

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Baltimore Book Festival

2012 Baltimore Book Festival

I snapped this pic holding my camera over my head. The festival gets 50,000 people over three days.

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Michael Buckley (Sisters Grimm series)

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My first book festival.

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2012 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards: Gold Medal Winner

The Moon Coin just won the 2012 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for pre-teen fiction.

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Link to the press release HERE.

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Reads4Tweens Reviews THE MOON COIN

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I would highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys fantasy. It’s suitable for ages 8 and up, although younger readers might prefer to have it read out loud to them. Lily is the main character of this book, but it will appeal equally to boys and girls. —Reads4Tweens

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Click the image directly above or HERE to read the review.

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Literary Rambles Tuesday Tips #141 and Giveaway of THE MOON COIN

Literary Rambles

Spotlighting Children’s Book Authors, Agents, and Publishing

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Literary Rambles was kind enough to ask me to do a piece for Tuesday Tips.

And they’re holding a giveaway for a print edition The Moon Coin! Go enter!

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Preview: THE DRAGONDAIN / A Moon Realm Novel

Book Two / A Moon Realm Novel

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The tale continues . . .

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Two chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

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The Dragondain

Book Two / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and ebook.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore.

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Paperback Edition Regularly $12.99

On Sale at Amazon

20% Off

Click HERE.

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 The Moon Coin

Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and eBook.

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Amazon, Second Looks Books, and Back to the Books.

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Paperback Edition Regularly $12.99

On Sale at Amazon

20% Off

Click HERE.

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Available for E-Readers:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

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