No Turning Back

The novel's title is "Out of Bounds".

No it wasn't chosen at random.

 

"Out of Bounds" reflects the crazy situation Kyle (my main protagonist) is facing. It also implies that, in addition to the circumstances, the characters are all acting beyond the ordinary limits. The killer, Ray, brings in scenes of mayhem. The police detective has several dilemmas and must act out of his capacity and jurisdiction. Finally, I suppose "Out of Bounds" leave some room for guessing.

I've also reached a critical publishing milestone.

I've submitted my work to the publisher, made a few decisions on publishing outlets and prices (that ultimately impacts the royalties I will hopefully perceive). It took some thinking, I assure you.

Last week, I finalised my manuscript and managed to survive a very tedious page layout process, making sure the work fits Amazon's requirements. It was long and, as a novice, quite challenging. Still, I got to grips with issues such as page size, margins, paragraph indents. Margins were the main pain in the neck.

This week, I placed my work on the Amazon's online DIY book submission service, Createspace. I also submitted a pdf of the book cover, which was designed by a friend, Bertrand. I got the front cover photo from Oscar, a photographer based near Barcelona, Spain. And the back cover palm tree photo was sent to me by a talented amateur called Kaytee. She's based in Michighan, USA.

Here's a screen shot of the cover I'm using. The front cover photo makes me think of Kyle.

 

 

So what next?

The book is currently undergoing review and I will soon be able to order a sample copy of the paperback. Once that arrives in the post and I'm happy with it, I'll push the required buttons on Createspace and the book will be available on Amazon.com. That's what will happen in an ideal world, but I'm optimistic and not considering delays just yet.

Of course, my chances of success are undermined if I go the print route only. So I'm also actively looking at ebook publishing and this will allow readers to obtain copies of the book at a lower price.

I'm aiming for compatability with Kindle and Kobo and various other ebook readers. I am primarily submitting my work to a website called Smashwords, which offers exposure with online retail platforms such as Barnes & Noble.

That's it for now. Light at the end of the tunnel.