I am going to be doing two separate Poem a Day challenges and I am going to be doing the Fae 50k. I am going to be going for a daily habit more than the word count. The fun thing is that you don’t have to do 50k to win the Fae 50k you merely have to write daily. I am going to be trying to get as much word count as I can each day.
I Think I am going to just leave my Monday as a single poetry post for the remainder of October and figure out what I want to replace Publishing Demystified with in December.
Though a couple of the volumes had a vote each this one received the most over all of the platforms. So I am as of Tuesday afternoon at 430pm only five poems away from finishing Human Shaped Verse. I have no doubt that I will have it done within the next few days and starting on Lost Notes. The others will get written eventually. They will go back into the rotation for the next volume as I get finished. I usually pick five that feel right and present them to everyone as choices when I get within ten poems of completion of a volume. It is slightly random in that respect.
The purpose of this one is simple. Most likely everyone here knows I run Fae Corps Publishing and I have been doing this in the background for a while now. I plan on talking clearly about the tools I use for publishing, and the way that each one works. Demystifying what I do. Is that to say that I will be making my own self unnecessary? No, because my experience is valuable. I just feel like so much of the process is made out to be harder than it needs to be.
Today I want to discuss the basics of what a manuscript needs. This should seem like common sense…but it really isn’t.
First off what size is your book?
For the Fae Corps Publishing books I keep the size the same unless it is a children’s book. we publish 6×9 books. that keeps the template I use the same. it is always going to be 6 by 9 with 1 inch margins. (I use the same margin all around. not everyone does that, but I like the way it looks on the page.)
Each book needs the same thing to be a well put together book. 1. a title page 2. a copyright page 3. contents/acknowledgements/etc 4. body 5. about the author/about the publisher
The title page is the simplest part. It is an introduction to the book. it needs to have the title, any subtitle, the author name and possibly the illustrator name. Occasionally a small illustration to draw attention to the title. Think of it as a cover letter for your story.
The copyright page is a bit of a legal document. it has the copyright declaration – don’t use this without permission and it is not your story kinda stuff. it is also where you list your editor and cover designer. it’s where you note anything legal you need to.
The contents/acknowledgements sections are going to be up to choice. not everyone wants to add table of contents, or acknowledgements, or even author notes. This is where they would be put in.
The body. I recommend using the same font for this section and I actually recommend you choose one that is easier to read. gentium book basics, Garamond, Book Antiqua, Courier, or if you really must Times New Roman. (I really don’t like TNR and will go out of my way to avoid it. it offends me to have to read anything in it. I realize it’s an industry standard but I hate it.) Try to keep the font size around 12-16. You want to keep the page count respectable.
About the author/about the publisher… this is supposed to tell the reader where you can be found… it should be in 3rd person and have at least some sort of ability to find your work elsewhere.
That is what I expect to do with each of the manuscripts I format.
I will leave on the bottom of the post the upcoming calendar. I feel like that will help.
May –
24th -Anthology Fae Propaganda
29th – (not a release date but I will be on the Owl Light Network reading Pip and Friends Live)
June –
4th – Anthology The Owl Light Menagerie (a special venture with the owl light network)
14th – Hope Splashes by Patricia Harris
21st – Chasing Ghosts by Serena Mossgraves
July –
1st – The Life Collection by Ashira Datya
5th – The Lightning War: Grounding Unit by Parker LaVitte
19th – Falling in Flames by Ashira Datya
August –
23rd – Beneath the Deep Wave by Andrew McDowell
September –
6th – The Fall by Amima Raziel
20th – The Magick Saga Collection by Ashira Datya
October –
18th – My Gothic Angel by Laj & Khoury Hawkins
25th – Anthology Nightmare Whiskers
December –
1st – unknown by Raz T Slasher (middle grade) (*though I don’t normally have an unknown in my list of release dates… from a couple of authors I will take the chance for “kids week” and save the spot. If I don’t get the book from them I will just have an empty spot for the day. But I think that they are worth it.)
2nd – where’s my Sugar by Patricia Harris
3rd – Pip 4: Pip that is not Yours! By Patricia Harris
4th – Anthology Fae Recipes
5th – Unknown by CM Snow
6th – kids week open
7th – kids week open
8th – Hood of Sedna by Mina Skye
13th – Anthology Honesty in Verse
2025
I will get those listed closer. I feel like if I were to put them on the blog it would put too much pressure. I have “penciled” in dates for several authors for 2025 already.
So, this is a new type of post. It’s going to be generally a Monday thing – I am going to try to schedule it for the ten o’clock time but if I have any schedule issues this may be the one that I don’t get done.
The purpose of this one is simple. Most likely everyone here knows I run Fae Corps Publishing and I have been doing this in the background for a while now. I plan on talking clearly about the tools I use for publishing, and the way that each one works. Demystifying what I do. Is that to say that I will be making my own self unnecessary? No, because my experience is valuable. I just feel like so much of the process is made out to be harder than it needs to be.
I will admit that I am going to be posting my opinions on the process here… this is my personal blog after all. I will not be using any other author besides me for giving examples. The reason is that I prefer to protect my authors. I’m more than willing to list the upcoming releases for Fae Corps Publishing here, and I likely will.
I am really proud of the work my authors have done. It’s just that if I have a situation that I am going to be tearing apart the process… I don’t think I should do that with anyone else’s stuff.
I will explain why I have certain procedures for the anthologies, and what they are. Including one that seems to surprise most people. I will be explaining my own opinions on the way that anthology design and publishing should be. Again, this is a heavily flavored with opinion section for publishing. (Hence why I am doing it for my personal blog and not doing it for Fae Corps Publishing’s blog)
The first one is more about the post type in general, but I figured that I would include a small schedule for Fae Corps Publishing releases for the rest of the year…(Not linking these as not all have a link yet and those that do would make it clunkier than I need it to be) Though it is tight, I have left a little wiggle room for me to squeeze in my own poetry volumes or maybe something that Serena might finish.
May –
10th – Taming the firestorm by Ashira Datya
24th -Anthology Fae Propaganda
29th – (not a release date but I will be on the Owl Light Network reading Pip and Friends Live)
June –
4th – Anthology The Owl Light Menagerie (a special venture with the owl light network)
14th – Hope Splashes by Patricia Harris
21st – Chasing Ghosts by Serena Mossgraves
July –
1st – The Life Collection by Ashira Datya
5th – The Lightning War: Grounding Unit by Parker LaVitte
19th – Falling in Flames by Ashira Datya
August –
23rd – Beneath the Deep Wave by Andrew McDowell
September –
6th – The Fall by Amima Raziel
20th – The Magick Saga Collection by Ashira Datya
October –
18th – My Gothic Angel by Laj & Khoury Hawkins
25th – Anthology Nightmare Whiskers
December –
1st – unknown by Raz T Slasher (middle grade) (*though I don’t normally have an unknown in my list of release dates… from a couple of authors I will take the chance for “kids week” and save the spot. If I don’t get the book from them I will just have an empty spot for the day. But I think that they are worth it.)
2nd – where’s my Sugar by Patricia Harris
3rd – Pip 4: Pip that is not Yours! By Patricia Harris
4th – Anthology Fae Recipes
5th – Unknown by CM Snow
6th – kids week open
7th – kids week open
8th – Hood of Sedna by Mina Skye
13th – Anthology Honesty in Verse
2025
We already have scheduled Ruan Bradford Wright’s sequel to Toe rag for February. We have a tentative schedule for Dahlia Black to release a book in January. Of course there is two anthologies planned. And kids week.
I know for a fact that Parker LaVitte is planning on doing at least 4 books in his series. Mina Skye has several in hers. Ronald W Gillespie Jr is working on another one. And Amina is working on something amazing as well. Andrew McDowell is working on a third book. All of them are not sitting still… and then there’s Raz. He owes at least one more book of the Silence is Crimson series.
Now when each of them will get the writing done? That I don’t know. I don’t force deadlines because I feel like they stiffle the creativity.
Perhaps with this thread I will be able to open the door and share the publishing thing with more people. Make it less complicated. I have been doing this since 2010. I have learned a lot of things the hardest way.
So this is from one of the anthologies I have been working on getting published. The part I am so very happy about is the AI Generated Content section.
They are definitely asking about what is happening in the creative process. I will on occasion use AI Tools for the assistance of editing. (Spell check is an AI tool. Pro writing Aid, Grammarly are both AI Tools. ) but I don’t rely on them solely. I don’t like how they try to change the voice of a piece. I use them to assist my edit. But I still use my own judgement. And I NEVER use AI for creating anything. If I can’t do myself I would pay another artist who can. (And I have commissioned art in the past).
I cannot tell you how happy I am to see Amazon asking for the origin of the work now. I have read some of the AI Generated Content. It is garbage. So as far as I am concerned Amazon should warn buyers that AI is responsible.
I don’t often do Nonfiction. Still when I started Fae Corps I did some writing classes for the groups we did. I decided to compile it and release it as a book. There is world building, character development, writing poetry, and children’s books. This is a quick help guide to all writers. It is currently on pre-order with a release date of October 13th. Get your copy Here.
Serena decided to do a book similar to my own Anthology Alumni. Hers is all short stories. She chose not to include the ones that are pieces of extended stories.
If you are interested here is the link. It is due to release September 22.
Second, she is going to be working on a 3rd poetry volume. We will let you know when it is available… but here is the cover for it….
And if you have not gotten it…her second one, Blood Red Rain is out for preorder with an August 25 release date.
I looked at the publication list and I realized that as of August I have 9 separate books personally (with One of them being Serena’s) published this year. And I know that I will be doing at least one children’s book in December.
Some years I barely manage to get 3 books ready for publishing.
I am not sure what the productivity streak has been caused by, but I am so very happy about it.
So, I was on Owl Light’s Unprinted Pages…They will be uploading the video to the channel soon…We did it live and then the replay gets uploaded…that is the way this works. It got my brain jumping. I have been writing since. I will be posting links when the review period is done…Lunatic Asylum Screams – my second memoir is now due out Aug 4. (I still need to get that up on paperback and other various sites….just started that process.) and Serena’s Blood Red Rain is now less than 15 poems away from being done writing…and I don’t think I am done writing tonight. So…Check out Owl Light’s channel…seriously they are inspiring…
oh also…I will be posting a link later when it’s live…I did a nifty little journal with my art on the cover. maybe I might do more…
It shouldn’t be something I feel so virulent about. I am aware that AI has it’s uses. I just cannot accept that it is being pushed into the creative space.
Drawing, writing, and other creative endeavors are not something that should be easily reproduced…
I have since 2014 used Evernote for my writing. It allowed me to do a notebook for each volume. It allowed me to organize me…
Evernote decided to send out an Email. Not only were they raising the price…to almost double….which I really dislike but would be fine with paying because it feels like I had something that worked for me…
But they also announced that they were adding AI to “Clean up your notes after a meeting.”
Nope.
No way to opt out. Just here is AI. It will help you. Although I did reach out via email… and the response was that the AI was an optional thing…but when I said that they needed to say that because the original email said nothing about options… and I got a uhm response.
I dislike Microsoft products and avoid them like the plague. I only use windows because I cannot get a couple of my programs to function in Linux. However…Since I cannot find any other option that has all of the options I need other that Evernote…I switched to OneNote.
This is going to be a learning time for me.
I have no idea if I am going to be able to do the same amount of writing, or if it will help me write more…or what.
Pattimouse 