The Pumpkin Dream - New Borders and Dingbats

After spending some time with "The Pumpkin Dream" (Industry Version) that I had devised for CreateSpace (via Amazon), I started to feel it was missing something. While the book felt fine in its original 7"x7" format for Blurb, the new 7"x10" page felt a little too open to me... and it wasn't long before I was pulling out InkScape (during this past week) and testing some spooky border flourishes for the pages. One such result (below) is this new internal page border, of which a slightly updated version, will soon makes its appearance in the final CreateSpace/Amazon version:

I thought this was great fun to create! And from this border started to go a little crazy putting dingbats in a variety of place - now on the credits, dedication, and biography pages...

From there it was time to attack the cover which was actually the first thing that started to bother me, after I had initially termed the book complete. I felt the cover was not only too plain, but the cover illustration (which at full size has alot of detail) instead looked like a swirl of mush in a reduced size in both real life and as a thumbnail on a web screen. Taking a cue from the border work and dingbats of previous pages, the result came out in this manner:

I have just uploaded these changes to CreateSpace and am awaiting the 48 hour file preview whereby the system makes sure they are printable files. I believe they have just rolled out a new system that lets you publish a book thru now, without having to wait for the proof to arrive at your door, (although I have to say they were always VERY speedy about getting proofs sent). When the files are approved, I plan to go ahead and have that process for sale on the Amazon website. (I'm not sure how long it will take images to update on the Amazon website, so I will submit some images to the book's gallery to make sure the new version is visible with all these new borders and dingbats.

An Industry-Standard Sized Pumpkin, Almost

Okay, well the 4th proof (sigh) is on the way, and hopefully this will be the last... as I attempt to get a version I feel comfortable enough to release on Amazon's publish-on-demand service called CreateSpace. Keeping my pitchforks crossed:

I was almost instantly happy with the Blurb version. It's a nice square shape with a classic poem-left image-right layout, with semi-gloss (not shiny) color printing, in an accidentally rich orange akin to some early Halloween decorations that mix in just a touch of red. So far it's my favorite. I worried though that with a "boutique/vanity printing" costing more, and with one single shipping fee (which feels a might expensive to my artist's pocketbook), I was skeptical about many people ordering it there. However, if you can, that's the one I recommend for quality and layout. Blurb just upped their prices by $1, so it's now currently $22.95 plus shipping.

(The Pumpkin Dream on Blurb)

After that, I looked at CreateSpace which is Amazon's P.O.D. service. For a much more affordable range of print options, I could offer the book from them (and more people) at a lower cost in an industry standard size - with a catch - unlike Blurb, as a DIY kinda project, I had to completely recreate my layout, (in a layout software that you yourself provide, so I had to try a new-to-me freeware program called Scribus - see below):

The layout of the book for Amazon

Well, after days of work, that turned out okay, and I like the quality of the proofs I've received, but I've been going back and forth on the actual image quality (pretty important for an illustrated book). Part of the problem was my own, as I tried to process them differently for this particular printing - first sepia, then screenish blue, then pure black and white, none of which looked great. Note, I'm also trying to print on their matte paper which isn't helping. (I think you can upgrade to additional options of quality but that would defeat my purpose to create a more affordable version).

After all that, the fourth proof will return to the tried and true classic orange/black/white colors. I'm hopeful I will enjoy it, in the same way I enjoy the Blurb version. And that the Amazon version at a cover price of $14.95 with better shipping options, will be another great option of the book.

Pitchforks crossed...