Tendrils to the Moon paperback interior review

The interior paperback design for Tendrils to the Moon differs significantly from the ebook format.

Before I wrapped up the first draft, I got the idea of depicting a shadow moving laterally over a curved surface, which is what a waxing Moon looks like, at the start of every chapter. I designed each little Moon in PowerPoint, then screenshot them, cropped them in Paint, and pasted them into the .doc file.

Once I converted to the ebook format, however, I realized the white background of the waxing Moon pictures looked hideous in the ebook. So I got rid of them. For the paperback, I chose a white page to print on, and I brought back the pictures. They're very simple, but they're a nice touch, I think. I like how they give the reader a sense of progress as more and more of the Moon is covered in shadow. And maybe a sense of foreboding, too, like the doomsday clock in the Watchmen graphic novel.

Because I didn't use the footer in Createspace's 5.5x8.5-inch interior template, I lowered the bottom margin a quarter-inch, saving about 20 pages. For the header, I went with Book Antiqua font size 10, alternating my name and the title on every odd and even page.

The chapter headings and the title page use the Sitka Subheading font, the same font that I used for the title on the cover and the spine. In retrospect, I think I should have put my name under the title on the title page, instead of above it.

One thing I wasn't happy about was that the link to my blog got split between two lines. It looks like there's a hyphen in the link, when there shouldn't be one. I caught this after Createspace approved the files, and I didn't want to go through another 2 days of waiting after resubmitting the files, so I accepted the mistake. Plus, I think forcing the link onto one line would have stretched out the line above it.

A setback I suffered when I uploaded the interior file to Createspace's servers was that it was shortening each page by about one line of text. In isolation this is no problem, but it rendered the table of contents incorrect. I retried uploading the interior file several times, and the problem kept occurring. I got around this by converting the .doc to a .pdf, which freezes text, and uploading that to Createspace's servers.

As always, let me know what you think in the comments. I'll reply to you as soon as I can. Also, the paperback version of Tendrils to the Moon is on sale at Amazon for $8.99. The ebook is still a mere 99 cents.

Tendrils to the Moon now in paperback

A shipment of Tendrils to the Moon paperbacks arrived tonight at the Dooley compound. I'm lukewarm on the simplistic cover as a first effort, but I like how the spine and back turned out. I'm also happy that I went with the glossy finish. It's a little dark but overall I'm pleased with the end result. I'll review the interior later.

I went with the 5.5x8.5-inch bound copy design because it reduced the production costs so that I could still sell Tendrils to the Moon for less than $10 per book. I was amazed how many fewer pages my manuscript was when I expanded the margins half an inch.

However, going with this size meant I had to adjust the original cover, which for ebooks has a 5:8 width-height ratio. Maybe in the future I'll do a short series on how I used Inkscape to design the cover.

The paperback is on sale exclusively at Amazon for $8.99. I'm also selling paperbacks out of my trunk for $7 flat (autographed, of course). The ebook is still a mere 99 cents.

Ideology in Tendrils to the Moon

Tendrils to the Moon has no ideological bent, but the characters do.

The villain, Sheridan, I would class as a post-nationalist, possibly even a transhumanist. Despite being a worldly man, he holds worldly connections in disdain, particularly that of country and family. He has multiple wives, but he has no real affection for any of them, nor for his children.

(By the way, I knew early on that I wanted to give Sheridan multiple wives, because wealthy men in ancient history had multiple wives, and that's the direction I see secular marriage in the West devolving towards.)

Sheridan is very much a universalist. He views his real legacy as that which he leaves to humankind. But that doesn't make him warm-hearted or even kind. He takes the measure and humankind and condemns nearly all of it. He loves it for its potential, not for what it is. He has an ego, but what billionaire doesn't?

Ames is less defined ideologically, but he is kind of a counterpoint of Sheridan. I'd class him as a pragmatist, with default loyalties to his family and to his crew. He resists Sheridan's ideas, but embraces them later as the setting demands a different approach. He slowly supplants Sheridan--and becomes him, in a way--as Sheridan unravels in the second half of the story.

Ames is a little paranoid in the beginning, acting suspicious of Shaun when he first comes aboard the Betelgeuse. He's uptight because this is the first mission he's undertaken with his family present. This brings out his territorial instincts, and the story shows him giving that up.

He is also described as disillusioned with his country, even though he served as a military officer for years and hails from a patriotic family. This disillusionment is covered briefly in two places, and is given as partial reason for his military retirement. Nothing really comes of this. I think it reflects a disappointment in the watering down of nationhood as well as lacking a sense of purpose in his career. He finds purpose in Sheridan's employ, trying to colonize the Moon, but whether he attains a true sense of that purpose in his heart is shown in the book's final act.

Ten years ago I would have tried to make Tendrils to the Moon into a parable, a contest of points of view embodied by these two men. While that can be a useful literary technique, I'm not any good at it. And I think it detracts from otherwise good stories. I developed Sheridan's and Ames's ideologies to give their actions deeper meaning. Ideology is part of the book, but it's not an ideological book. It's there solely serve to flesh out their characters.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think! I'll respond to it as soon as I can.

If you're interested in reading Tendrils to the Moon, head on over to the Amazon or Smashwords site to buy a copy. Or sign up for my mailing list on the right side of the blog page to get the ebook for free (click here to sign up for the mailing list if you're using a mobile device).

Tendrils to the Moon publishing update

Tendrils to the Moon is currently selling for 99 cents on the Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and Kobo platforms. Kobo is appealing because of its relationship with libraries and its foreign market presence. Smashwords is a bit of a pain because of the style guide, but worth it because it acts as a middle man for a bunch of smaller vendors.

As far as I know, only my wife has finished reading Tendrils. She called it average. Honesty is one of her best traits. I know "average" is not exactly a glowing endorsement, but I consider it a win for my first self-published book. Supposedly, the books that make it to the publishing stage in the traditional publishing world are the best. So I'm average among the best.

The distribution of free ebooks to people on my mailing list proved to be a major pain. I'm looking into alternative methods, including emailing a coupon code to the ebook on Smashwords, where you can download the book in many formats. That would still require creating an account there. We'll see.

Several people have also requested hardcopies. I'm currently designing the paperback. I went back and forth on whether to buy my own ISBN to publish under my own imprint, but ultimately decided to go the cheapest route and use one of Createspace's free ISBNs. The paperback will be available for online sale in 2 weeks at the most, I think.

A great thing about publishing ebooks is that you can fix errors quickly without interrupting distribution. I've already done so twice, mostly with grammatical mistakes that I missed in the first chapter. One of them was the dreaded they're/their confusion.

It wasn't until I saw my book in production that I realized what long paragraphs I tend to write. A single line in Microsoft Word can run to three or even four lines on a mobile device screen. Many of my long paragraphs are unnecessarily long; they include dialog and narration. I should split those in two paragraphs. I'll do that before releasing the paperback version. Once the book is printed, those kinds of things can't be fixed.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think! I'll respond to it as soon as I can.

Published!

I am proud to announce Tendrils to the Moon is a finished book and is now published!

Here's the blurb on Amazon:

All retired Colonel Montgomery Ames wants is a better life for his family. His distinguished military career, much of it spent in the harsh environment of space, earns him a coveted spot as second-in-command of the spacecraft Betelgeuse, commissioned by eccentric billionaire Wayne Sheridan.

Sheridan has grown weary of life on war-torn Earth, and he'll brook no interference in fulfilling his dream of establishment a permanent Moon colony. When he makes questionable decisions that put lives in danger, Ames must find a way to protect his family and his crew while leading them into the great unknown.

Set in the near future, Tendrils to the Moon tells the story of two men who are driven to their physical and mental limits by the greatest of endeavors: off-world colonization. To achieve greatness, however, one of them wagers more than the other is willing to pay. As they battle the elements and each other, the fate of the nascent settlement and its inhabitants hangs in the balance.

If you enjoy hard science fiction and rich characters, this adventure on Earth's closest neighbor is for you!

Approximate length: 380 pages.

Rated PG-13 for violence and occasional mild language.

Get your copy now!

Proofreading update

This is what my world has looked like for the last week:

Proofreading has been a more muscular mental exercise than I anticipated. In fact most of these revisions qualify as edits. Seeing this much red ink on every other page of a 300-page manuscript is disconcerting, but I'm buoyed by the improvements I'm making.

June 30 is in play for Tendrils to the Moon’s digital release. Stay tuned!

Editing complete

I apologize for not posting in awhile. I have been editing like mad lately. Working on this book is getting irresistible the closer I get to the end!

I concluded a 54-hour editing binge tonight, shoring up chapters 3 through 7. Fifteen days from publication, Tendrils to the Moon is ready to be proofread.

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