09/15/2019
It's been a while since I posted about the publishing of the book. Here's the saga:
I started putting my Technique Pages, which I have used for years in my classes, into a book format a year ago, at the urging of students. I updated them with new graphics and photos. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to publish it. I looked at Blurb and several other hard copy publishers, but I wanted an ebook. This summer I looked into what amazon could do.
Their publishing site is fairly straightforward--in hindsight. But I had no idea what all those boxes you fill in really meant--especially the one that said, "You cannot change your Interior & paper type after your book has been published." and I taped black and white. My book hadn't been published yet, so that didn't matter--until later, when I had completely forgotten about it. I was more concerned with the pagination, and border bleeds, and stuff like that.
I uploaded my pdf and choose ebook. The app broke my 93-page pdf into 997 pages. It had made almost every graphic and paragraph a separate page. At that point I realized that ebooks need to "scroll"-- how am I going to keep the graphics and the text together, so they make sense. Realizing that that was a bigger learning curve than I needed at the time, I went the paperback route.
Amazon has a thing about page numbers, and I didn't want any. The book is in sections and I wanted page numbers only within each section if at all. I wanted it to read: 2 of 8, 3 of 8, etc., with no number on the first page of each section. So, every time I uploaded my book for approval, they threw it back at me (which takes about 24 hours.) I called and talked to the reps who were very patience but very firm about page numbers: they need to be consecutive. Finally, I asked them if I could put the number in the border bleeds with the content headings, which are rotated vertical text. They agreed that might work, as they would not be read as numbers, being sideways, by the publishing equipment.
My other issue, that when on for days at a time, were the bleed borders. When you want a graphic to run off the page, it's called a "bleed." Almost every page of my book has a border that bleeds off the edge. Depending on the section, it's a particular color. If you’ve taken a class from me, you will readily understand because the Technique Pages in my instructions are on many different colored papers. I interpreted this as border colors in the book, because I can't control the color of the book’s paper otherwise. To make a bleed in MS Word, which is what I composed in, you have to change the size of the page to a custom size, 8.63" x 11.25", which I wasn't aware of, until told by amazon. Then your graphic will run off the page. However, you can't see how far it bleeds in the Word doc—it just goes to the edge of the print-view page, and amazon wants lots of bleed at the edges. (A rep told me that they publish on lots of different machines and it needs extra bleed to accommodate all the machines.)
How, when I convert my word doc to a pdf, I can't see the bleed in either app. But when I upload the pdf into amazon's preview they sometimes move—I don’t know why, but I can see them--but I can't fix them in the amazon preview. I have to go back to the original doc and make the changes, convert it to a pdf again, upload it again, and wait for the preview again, which takes about an hour.
It took me a week to find all the errors plus fight about the pagination. After I “approve” it, it then goes into "review," which takes at least 72 hours to find out if it will be published.
By this time, I was thinking that I might get this together to introduce it at the American Needlepoint Guild's (ANG) National Seminar. Bingo, it's accepted!!! I see it's up on amazon's website, I order author's copies to be delivered to the seminar hotel. I order a copy off the website, so I can get it faster with my Prime account.
I go online and announce that the book is published. Everyone is so wonderful about the news. The book comes in 2 days, as I am packing for a 6:30a flight the next day................and it is black and white inside.
I was so disappointed when I saw that they had put it out in black and white. Everything I'd sent them was in color. Even the "look inside" on the web page showed it in color. I go to the amazon publishing website, and unpublish the book and cry. I am so embarrassed.
At ANG I almost wanted to hide. I had the one black and white copy and then the author copies arrived. I thought long and hard about selling them at merchandise night, but I just couldn't do it. The graphics are all in color and they look murky in black and white. It was just not right. So, I tore the covers off of all the books and left them at the hotel.
When I got back home, I went back and started all over again with amazon. Because they had issued the ISBN for the black and white, I could not change it. Remember that quote from above, so I had to go and do it all again this time taping the "color" tab. It had to be reviewed again, and they found another bleed problem and complained about the page numbering.....I talked to them again, several times....after all, it had technically been published before....FINALLY, after another 72 hour wait........and it is published again and there is a choice of matte or glossy covers:
glossy
ISBN: 9781689957328
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1689957328/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
matte
ISBN: 9781686199486
https://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Metal-Thread-Embroidery-Stanis/dp/1686199481/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
also available on: www.the-gilded-edge.com
Thank you for persevering until the end of this.…rant, explanation, apology to all with the wonderful compliments after the announcement.
This is my quick guide to metal threads and related techniques with glossy cover. With over 225 color diagrams and photos, the world of metal thread embroidery will come alive for you. My goal is to make you more comfortable with the metal threads and the procedures for working with them.
