I have a good excuse!

I meant to have a full post written by this morning, one about publishing, even. But yesterday I threw a baby shower for a friend, for which another friend flew out from the East Coast, and so the entire weekend was dominated with lovely social time. Both friends are writers, though, so that counts for something, right? Of course, it would be good if I was ahead enough in life to have already written a post for today, but let's not kid ourselves.

However, for those of you who may not have yet grabbed your copy, I wanted to make sure to let you know that The Whedonite is free for a very limited time (ending Tuesday night)!

Grab your copy here!

My First Solo Book Signing!

Another day and another post have gotten away from me, but I promise I'm aiming to return to my regular Monday schedule. Really.

This past Sunday was my very first solo book signing. Though I've participated in author events before, this was entirely different, and much less structured. There was a table on the street set aside for me, right outside the door to Recycle Books in Campbell, but absolutely everything else was up to me. Here's how I set that table up:

As you can see, I had all three novels set upright to (hopefully) catch attention. I also had trading cards and two different magnet designs people could grab, a few print copies of The Whedonite, signups for my newsletter, and some chocolate kisses. What do you think? Any suggestions for the setup of future events?

Why Publish? Facing Some Hard Truths

This post is coming a little late in the day. There are many reasons, including some health issues and the fact that I've been fighting with Ingram Spark—again—to get correctly printed copies of my latest book. I always question how much of the "real" world to share here on my blog, how big a window to open for you all into my life, including into my life as an author.

We're so often taught that any "negativity" will only come back to haunt us, whether it's admitting our weaknesses or addressing a less-than-stellar experience. It's a big part of why I stayed mostly quiet about my time with GMMG. (And no, that's not what this post is about; for me, that's all ancient history.)

At the same time, we're advised to be honest, genuine, and vulnerable. I try to focus on the first two, giving you all a glimpse behind the scenes and sharing all the excitement without going too far into all the anxiety, and heartbreak, and feelings of failure. Today, for better or for worse, is different.

I've published 3 novels in 10 months (August 2015–June 2016), independently. I've spent a significant amount of both money and time to make that happen. One of my novels (Mortal Musings) is up for an award, which is incredibly exciting (and nerve-wracking, since the results will be announced Wednesday). But readers aren't buying it. My other novels aren't doing so well either, with my latest release, Tasting Temptation, doing the worst of them all in terms of sales, though personally I think it's my best to date. I'm not kidding or exaggerating, folks: it's sold fewer than 15 copies total so far.

I've always known I was terrible at marketing, so I've tried hiring companies to do it for me or paying for ads, as much as I could afford. Those seemed to do as poorly as my own attempts. So lately I've had to confront the question of why I publish my work, as opposed to just writing it and letting it go. Why spend months torturing the draft into something readable and then something decent and then something (hopefully) enjoyable? Why spend hours agonizing over marketing decisions, and cover design ideas, and how to pay for it all?

And part of the answer is that I'm a perfectionist, but the real reason is: you. Readers. And yet the hardest thing for me has been simply getting my books read. So I'd like to try something new, just for those of you who read my blog.

A limited number of copies of Tasting Temptation are available for free right here—first come, first served. All you have to do is click on the link and choose your format. Fair warning: this book contains explicit scenes; please do not download it if that makes you uncomfortable.

I'm truly only doing this because I hope you'll enjoy this book. I'd really appreciate if, after reading it, you'd take the time to leave your honest review. I am toying with the idea of a reviewer appreciation giveaway to come (I'd love your thoughts in the comments on that one). If you have other budget-friendly ideas you think may help, I'd appreciate hearing those too.

Regardless, I will be taking a brief break from publishing for the foreseeable future (at least several months). Partially, this is because I need to have time to work on the actual writing and revising that precedes the publishing, and partially because I have a lot of thinking to do. I don't have any plans to stop blogging, however, and regardless of anything, there are festivities planned for Mortal Musings' anniversary in August. I hope you'll join me.

Thanks as always for reading!

Happy Independence Day!

Barbecues, family time, fireworks—how are you celebrating this 4th of July? If you're looking for an excuse to celebrate by reading, Tasting Temptation ends on Independence Day weekend, making this the perfect time to read it!

Did you miss the release-week fun? The giveaways below are still accepting entries (lucky you!), and you can hit the highlights at these posts:

• Author L.D. Rose & I discussed imaginary movie casting, the hardest part of writing Tasting Temptation, and more!
• Why Have Sex? (in Fiction)—a guest post on writing "those" scenes, plus a review from the awesome Sherry Fundin!
• Watering the Seeds of a Story—a guest post hosted by author Mary E Thompson; find out where Tasting Temptation began!

Enter to Win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Tasting Temptation

by Aria Glazki

Giveaway ends July 05, 2016.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Tasting Temptation Release Week is Here!

The second Forging Forever book releases at midnight! And you can pick up your copy now:

Amazon: US - UK - AUS - CAN | iBooks
Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords
Wordery (free international shipping!)

There's absolutely no need to have read book 1 in order to fully enjoy Tasting Temptation, but for a limited time, you can grab both Forging Forever books—autographed, if you'd like—for only $25!

As you might have guessed, release week will be chock-full of various fun (including a whole slew of giveaways, of course).

Monday:		I'm kicking the week off over on the lovely L.D. Rose's site, talking about the process of writing Tasting Temptation, imaginary movie casting, and more. Join us!
Tuesday:		"The author does a phenomenal job of describing the wine country and all the scene details throughout the book... Tasting Temptation is an enjoyable read with some very hot naughtiness thrown in." —Teri Lloyd (Review & excerpt!) Release Blitz — Excerpt + extra giveaway!
Wednesday:		"I loved Tasting Temptation even more than the previous installment in the Forging Forever series due to it’s complex story-line, the vulnerability of the main characters, and the passion between the hero and heroine...  [With] passionate and affectionate main characters, a complex story line, and the magic of the Destiny of Love Tasting Temptation is a must read." —Lightning City Book Reviews (Major SPOILER warning!)
Thursday:		Why Have Sex? (in Fiction): Guest post hosted by Sherry Fundin—& her review!
Friday:		Watering the Seeds of a Story: Guest post hosted by Mary E Thompson—find out where Tasting Temptation began!

All throughout the week, there will be many ways to win prizes, including autographed print copies, Cavaliere Vineyards wine charms & pins, Tasting Temptation magnetic bottle openers, and Forging Forever cover art prints—in a variety of combinations depending on the giveaway. In addition to the Rafflecopter below, there will be a special giveaway over on Instagram, and also some sporadic giveaways on Twitter, because we all know I won't be able to help myself!

Celebrate with me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Those of you in the US can also enter to win a print copy via Goodreads:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Tasting Temptation

by Aria Glazki

Giveaway ends July 05, 2016.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Typesetting Basics for Authors: Making Your Print Book Look Like a Novel

How do you take the text of your story and make it look like a "real" book? When it comes to print, the answer lies with typesetting, in other words formatting what text goes where on which page, how it's spaced, and more. (Want to know more about what you need to include besides the story itself? Check out this post on formatting your front matter.)

Many authors choose to hire a typesetter, because the work is very particular and time-consuming, especially without the experience or special software. However, it is absolutely possible to learn to typeset your own work correctly, and moreover, you should know at least the basics of typesetting so that you can verify that someone you hire does the job properly. 

So, for you authors or curious readers, here are the basics of typesetting (or formatting) the print version of a book:

• The rectangle of text across two facing pages must be even. In other words, the width needs to be the same (so your margins need to be equal, and the text justified), and the height needs to be the same. This is basically the most important thing in making your story appear like a normal book. However, due to other rules, this is harder than it seems. 
• Of course, if the end of a chapter faces the beginning of a new chapter, this rule doesn't apply. Wherever the previous chapter ends on the page, that's where it ends.
• The height of the text block is the difficult part. If you let the text flow naturally, the tops and sides of your text block will usually match, but the bottoms won't. So when typesetting, the spacing between lines and paragraphs is manipulated to ensure that the bottom edges of the text also line up. If done correctly, this isn't noticeable to readers.
• Tip: The text needs to align on the facing pages, but it doesn't have to hit at the exact same point on every two-page spread. Pay attention to some of the books on your shelf, and you might notice that some pages are "shorter" than others—but in a professionally typeset book, pages facing each other will always line up like a perfect rectangle.
• Pages also need to look like they're the same "color"—by which typesetters mean the density of the text. "Lighter" pages have more white space, "darker" pages have denser text, and the goal is to have the pages just about match, as much as that's possible. Text shouldn't feel too dense or too sparse on any of your pages.
• Avoid orphans and widows whenever possible. Orphans and widows are single lines (or goodness forbid, words), separated from the bulk of their paragraph by the end of a page. I say "whenever possible" because the text block ultimately rules. Sometimes, with three-line paragraphs, it's impossible to have all three lines on one page while leaving the block intact and of the right density.
• Personally, I stick to the 1–2 rule when in this situation with three-line paragraphs, meaning that the first line stays on its own, and the second two stick together. Why? Because the third line isn't full-length, so it will look especially awkward on its own. The first line, however, always stretches the entire length of your page. Still, I do everything in my power to ensure that paragraphs split 1–2 are on facing pages—so you don't have to turn the page to see the rest of the paragraph after a single line.
• Avoid multiple hyphens being "stacked"—in other words, multiple lines in a row ending with a hyphen. The argument I've seen from typesetters is basically that it doesn't look pretty, so it draws attention to itself, so it distracts from the reading experience.
• Also, avoid hyphens as the last symbol on the right-hand page, i.e. someone needing to turn the page before they can finish the word. 
• I try not to have hyphenated words go from one page to the next even on facing pages.
• You need mirror margins, which basically means that because the margin on the inside edge of the page needs to be a little larger, this bigger margin goes on the right side of a left-hand page, and on the left side of a right-hand page (the side closest to the "seam" of your book). The good news is: this requires just the click of a check box if you're using MS Word, which has a "mirror margin" feature.
• This is done because the "seam" of the book—where the pages come together—eats a bit of the page, and you want to make sure that it doesn't also eat eat part of your text or just interfere with people's ability to see the inside edge of text clearly.
• In print, scene breaks are signified by a blank space (about a line and a half worth, but this is part of the spacing that changes to ensure the text block lines up). They do not have symbols like in digital books, where page flow changes based on reading device.
• Scene breaks that come at the bottom of a page or the top of a page are marked by symbols—occasionally three stars, but often another character that matches the tone of the book or is simply liked by the typesetter (or author). This is done to make it clear that a) there was a scene break, so readers are prepared for the shift, and b) the blank space isn't a typographical error.
• The first line of a chapter or a new scene traditionally is not indented. All the other paragraphs are.
• Some typesetters also add an extra flourish to the start of the chapter, whether it's a drop cap, or a word/line in small caps, or an italicized first line (which I don't recommend, because readers may be confused about it being direct thought). If you do choose to add this type of flourish, it usually only happens at the start of a chapter, not for every new scene.
• Chapters start about a third of the way down a new page, often.
• However, sometimes chapters flow directly into one another (with an extra-large break)—usually in mass market paperbacks, to cut down on the number of pages—and sometimes people make sure that every chapter starts on a right-hand page. Sometimes people stylistically choose to do something more complicated as well. But the basic choice for fiction is a new page, partway down.

So there you go, a not-so-brief overview of how to typeset a novel. As I mentioned at the start, this is a very time-consuming process, especially if you're learning as you go, but it is entirely doable. If you have questions, let me know in the comments and I'll try to answer based on what I've learned!