I had a good Christmas/New Year’s. I saw movies, went out to eat, had friends over for dinner, took great walks along the beach. And Michael and I drove down to Del Mar in Northern San Diego County so we could meet up with my literary agent, who’d flown in from New York with her husband to vacation with family; we stayed at a charming boutique hotel there called L’Auberge.
It’s steps from the beach and has the best homemade granola I’ve ever tasted. (I know, I know. Granola isn’t exactly exciting, but theirs was absolutely delish and was served with fresh fruit and very tasty yogurt. Not a bad breakfast at all.)
Mostly, though, I worked over the holidays. I’m in the process of having 11 of my novels converted into ebook editions (now that’s exciting since they’ve never been available in that format). Not only was I filling out author marketing questionnaires for each of the books, but I was conducting a talent search for a designer who could come up with fabulous covers for the novels. I wanted designs that would be specific to each story but that would have an overall “look/concept” in order to easily identify my “brand.” Where did I find such a designer?
On a web site out of Australia called 99designs. If anybody needs a logo or a wedding invitation or even a T-shirt, not to mention a book cover, I urge you to visit 99designs. What happens is that you sign up, state what it is you need designed, and hold a contest in which their entire international community of designers can submit entries. Over the course of seven days, you view all the designs, provide feedback, narrow the contest down to a maximum of six finalists and pick a winner. You can spend whatever you can afford (there are three packages offered). It’s not only easy but fun, and I ended up choosing a designer in Germany. She’s now hard at work creating a look for all 11 of the ebooks and I’ll post the new covers as soon as they’re finished.
My other project was reviewing the catalog copy for You’d Better Not Die Or I’ll Kill You, which Chronicle is publishing this year. My editor was in touch to say my manuscript is going into production and that I’ll be hearing from their copy editing department soon about whether I need to edit the book for length. After that, I’m sure their design team will weigh in; Chronicle does such a great job with books like mine so I feel confident that if line drawings and sidebars and boxed off sections are called for, I’ll have them.
And finally, a friend and I spent many hours brainstorming the TV series we hope my L.A. agent will pitch. It’s way too early to talk about the project except to say we laughed a lot while we were banging our heads against our computer screens.
So while I wasn’t spending the holidays stretched out on a lounge chair, I enjoyed myself. The truth is, I love to work. Crazy me.
Happy New Year (again) busy bee…wish I loved my work like you do….what a blessing! Congrats on all the projects in their various stages. 2012 will be a great year for you and I look forward to hearing about it all.
Same to you, Ruth. I think I love to work because it makes me feel productive. Also, there’s the fact that when you’re a writer it’s up to you to generate work. No writing, no deals, no paycheck. You have to keep throwing things at the wall and hope that something sticks, as they say. I guess I’m lucky that I have a lot of ideas. Here’s hoping 2012 is a great year for all of us.
Maybe that’s why I haven’t taken the ‘writer plunge.’ Not sure I could perform under the deadline pressures….although my tax work is deadline driven, it’s not creative (or shouldn’t be – LOL!), so that aspect of the pressure is absent. Writing..someday…perhaps.
If tax day isn’t a pressure deadline, Ruth, I don’t know what is! And yes, you should write someday. It’s never too late.
Happy New Year Jane!
Congrats on all these great ideas and ventures.
I can’t wait to see the TV series. (already read the books!)
I wanted to thank you for this tip (99designs)
This is exactly what we have been looking for.
As I mentioned Rick has a new patent on something that he has developed. while it is currently sold online we want more. I secured retail space in all ace hardware and working on the big box stores. But we need new retail packaging to more it forward as well as new distribution.
Due to our new situation it’s been a bit harder to get it off the ground as one can imagine…. slowly but surely we are moving forward.
We have had some companies as well as free lance graphic artist/designer to try to give us the look we are going for our retail end of the project.
Either they give us childish pictures or they just aren’t getting what we are asking for.
All the while of course forking out more money to them with no results.
This link gave us what we think we need.
Rick submitted the first bit of information necessary and we’ll see how this goes.
We are excited. The cost isn’t much compared to what we’ve already spent on terrible design.
So we both thank you!
Peg, I’m thrilled that you and Rick are using 99designs! I’m happy to provide tips about how to run a successful contest so just ask if you need to. The most important thing is to go on the site A LOT (you can’t always rely on their emails to tell you when someone has submitted a design or left a comment). And provide feedback on each design in a clear and timely manner. The designers really appreciate the feedback and want to win the contest. Also, reaching out to the “watchers” and inviting them to participate is good, as is checking for others on the site who’ve done similar work to what you’re looking for. The one problem I’d mention is the time difference/language difference. Many designers are in Europe, so your designs may come in at odd times, and English may not be their first language, which means you really have to be clear in your directions. But wow – the price is definitely right and the talent is there. It’s totally worth a try for you. My winning designer came in late in the contest. Now she and I are working together one on one. I feel lucky to have found her. Good luck!
What a nice batch of wonderful and encouraging news for the new year. My wish for all of you is that your ventures and adventures become successful…and the sooner the better!
Jane, you are a Wonder to Behold with all your projects. Congrats on the successes to date, and let’s hope it’s just the start. Very interested in reading your latest in the nonfiction category, especially. All that artwork is fun to read about as well, so keep us posted.
Much Luck to Peg & Rick on their “something”…what is it? Would love to just see it & think, “hey, I know who makes that!” And if it’s hardware-related, with all our current/future home renovations, we could be in the market…!
Good Luck Too to Ruth and any writing ideas. Often when asked what I’ll do in retirement, I say that I’d like to write a novelized account of what REALLY went down at this agency. We always laugh that nobody but nobody would believe it…got all the elements you need, from sex&drugs&fraud etc. to national security intrigue…couldn’t possibly all have happened…but my oh my, ‘twould be fun to write it all up…
I’d love to know what Peg and Rick have up their sleeves too, Dave! Hopefully, we’ll be reading about their invention and telling everyone to use/buy it. You should definitely write a thriller based on your experiences at work. I see a Robert Ludlum bestseller waiting to happen.
Dave – you’re in DC right? let me know if you want a free sample I would be happy to send you one.
(you too Jane)
http://www.easy-restore.com
It was a happy accident on a chair and then our boat. We have boat detailing companies down at Smith Mountain Lake (we have a home there as well) that were blown away. We need to move this along to get this on their shelves by spring.
Peg, I love your product! Obviously I haven’t used it, but it sounds great and very needed. Who doesn’t have outdoor chairs that could use help. And when Michael had his sailboat, it would have come in handy for sure. Good luck with it. The name is perfect.
Miz Peg…missed your response post yesterday (had to take Son #2 to Bal’mer for a follow-up doctor’s appontment)…but after checking out your “product,” it sounds like WOW!! Just this weekend, I was trying to find room in our outdoor shed to shoehorn in our 4 big lawn chairs, all made with vinyl-strap seats & backing, seeing how hideous they’ve become and wondering what to do. Would LOVE to get a free sample, and then hopefully sing your praises to my amigos and various/sundry relatives. Gimme a call at my office sometime…the DC area code plus 512-0314 will do the trick…would enjoy hearing your velvet voice too, if you can endure my “velvet fog” (okay, it ain’t exactly Mel Torme)…!
Meanwhile, Miz Jane, I wanted to tell you that my one-man ‘crusade’ for “The Artist” continues. As I’d hoped, the entire branch of my Francophile fam’ly in ‘Bama was VERY intrigued & excited about going to see the movie — including their French friends (one is a Count from ‘la belle pays,’ whose daughter lives in Paree and knows the actor from other roles, etc.). Except that it hasn’t come to B’ham yet. Ah, c’est dommage. This must be horribly old news to you, but I do enjoy telling folks how I found out all about it, and digging up the trailer on YouTube for ’em. One of these months…?!
Glad you’re drumming up interest in “The Artist,” Dave. The movie should open nationwide soon, especially after the Oscar nominations are announced in a few weeks. And, of course, if it wins anything it should be playing everywhere.