Posted on 4/26/2007
Hi all,
I'm still wandering around the internet researching the correct way to introduce my dummy book. I need a cover letter to accompany my book and not a query letter. I found some great links in this area, some offering samples and advice. Check these out:
Cader Books
The Fiction Forum
Writing-World.com
Query & Cover Letters: How to Get 'Em Right
Preditors & Editors
By: Stacia,
on 4/17/2007
I found this article called An Illustrator's Guide Writing and Creating a Picture Book on Meghan McCarthy's website. Her main website is very unique and a bit random...that's why I'm including links to pages for the quick approach. Another good page is her Links page...full of resources.
Enjoy!
By: Stacia,
on 4/8/2007
I realize I haven't posted an illustration in a while...and I do apologize for being reticent in my postings. My mind is definitely elsewhere!
I was productive enough to work on my dummy book for the Animal Alphabet A-Z boardbook that I finished long ago. I've really been dilly-dallying with this project but have made good progess as of late. I was going to make my own dummy book by printing my 26 pictures, tipping them onto the pages with printed text, and sew the signatures together making a little book. Wow! This would have taken me quite some time especially if I wanted to send out to more than one publisher (my understanding is that publishers don't return work, at least Chronicle Books doesn't).
I have a friend that works at Blurb.com where individuals can self-publish through an online service. I chose this option for a 7x7 book to showcase my alphabet pics. The total price for one paperback book (they also have the option for hardcover) is $12.95 (does not include tax or shipping). You can keep your book private, as I did, or place in the online bookstore to sell to your fans.
I'd downloaded Blurb's free software, input my text and images, and uploaded back to them. I'm currently waiting for a printed copy to see the results.
There are cons, such as buggy software when it comes to fonts and text placement and limitations of page layout templates. Keep in mind this is a beta version and is meant to remain simple for all end-users.
I think it's worth checking out...I'll post again when I get my book in the mail to share how the colors printed. Until then, I'll be working on my next book idea and writing my first query letter!
Good luck with it and don't forget to let us know how it turned out. Perhaps you thought about this yourself but you can make the pages separately in a specialized software for layouts and then export them as tiff files or jpg files without compression and import them in Blurb's software as if they would be full page photos. In this case you will not have any problem at all with fonts or layout limitation. Hope this helps.