Publishing Update - May 2019 + I Got a Fantasy Map!
- T. M. White
- May 12, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 14, 2019
May is here, and it's time for another publishing update!
I didn't do one last month, but there's a good reason for that: there really wasn't anything new to report. 🤷🏾 No sense in making stuff up.
This month, however, is a different story...
TEROH Has a Map!
I've been wanting to get the ball rolling with some of the book and promotional content for The Elementalist: Rise of Hara, so I decided that a professional map would be a good place to start.
Something to tease while I work through the editing phase. 😉
Initially, I was talking to an artist I came across on DeviantArt, but the communication there wasn't good (took like a month for him to get back to me with an update). Instead, I started a design contest on a website called 99designs.
My experience was great!
There are two ways you can work with artists and designers on the platform: (1) host a contest to receive multiple submissions to choose from, or (2) work directly with an artist 1-on-1. I went with a contest because I wasn't 100% sure what style I wanted to go with and had two schools of thought on this. (You can check out my design brief here if you're curious.)
After I received some submissions, I narrowed down my choices to the best concepts. Later, after refining the finalist versions with the artists, I ran a short poll with my newsletter subscribers to help me pick a winning design. I was going back and forth between a more classic style map and something more stylized. Turns out readers would rather see the more classic look, so that's what I'm going with.
(Click the black arrow on the right side of the map to see the grayscale version!)
I think the final map turned out amazing, and I couldn't be happier. The artist, who goes by Alpas, was wonderful to work with, and I'm sure we'll partner again in the near-ish future. (The color version will just be used online while the grayscale version will be used in the print book.)
By the way, "Element 7" is the original name I had for the novel. However, after realizing I actually wanted to write several series in the same universe, I decided to use the name for the overall group of stories that will be set in this world.
A big thank you to all who participated in the poll!
If you'd like to participate in similar opportunities related to one of my book releases, then be sure to sign up for my newsletter near the bottom of the page.
Content Edits Are In (At Last!)
This took longer than I expected, but my editor was finally able to get his content/developmental edits to me. The feedback has been very helpful! There are definitely some things I can improve, but it's nothing huge like re-writing half the story. *phew*
I'm pretty sure that my endless drafts and help from beta readers contributed to that. 🙂
As of now, I'm working on the suggested changes and preparing my manuscript for a copy edit, which examines things like typos, word usage, consistency, formatting, etc. This is the last time I make any substantial changes to the story. From here on, it's pretty much do or die!
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