Benjamin Descovich

Epic Fantasy Author

ebook

Big Al’s Books and Pals

by Leave a Comment

Rip-Roaring Adventure
Full of Intrigue and Espionage
Five Stars!
Elrin is a young man, not yet twenty, trying to find his way in the world without his father. He’s currently serving as a messenger between a priest he trusts – Herder Kleith – and the Guild Master. Nosing around the Guild Master’s study, waiting to deliver a missive, Elrin picks up a mysterious dagger to study. When he overhears secrets between the Guild Master and an unknown source his life is suddenly in jeopardy. Narrowly escaping the Guild Guards, Elrin flees to Kleith who dresses Elrin in priests robes and sends him across land and then to the Hoard Islands to seek the Dragon Choir for help. Kleith is unable to see the dagger in Elrin’s possession, but knows it well. It belonged to Elrin’s father, Arbajkha, who has been missing for over half of Elrin’s life.
Thus begins this rip-roaring adventure full of intrigue and espionage between political and religious leaders who wish to hold power over all the surrounding nations and the sea. Elrin inadvertently ends up with an eclectic band of diverse rebels who wish to free the Jandan slaves and restore justice to all. As with every epic fantasy there are many characters, but I found each one fully rounded and unique. I had no trouble liking or identifying with all of the heroes. The bad guys were the most vile ever to live. There are epic battles with swords, magic, and arrows on land and cannons with black powder at sea as pirates join in for their share of the spoils while still aiding the rebellion.
There are prophecies to decipher, ogres, evil redeemers, mage priests, drakkin type warriors, a beautiful assassin, a confused naval captain with a decent heart, hobbit type humans, dwarfs, a young elemental acolyte they name Amber, and dragons to boot! This intelligently told story is bound to sweep you up as the plot twists and turns with each new revelation. If you love intricate high fantasy epic adventures, Dragon Choir is worth checking out. A small warning though, this book does end in a cliff-hanger that will have you waiting on the edge of your seat for the next book.
Rating: ***** Five stars
Check out Big Al’s Books and Pals website here.

Cover Art with a Marketing Budget of Zero.

by 1 Comment

In an ideal world a writer’s manuscript is chosen for publication and a team of gifted specialists develop your manuscript into a marketable book. Publishing houses generally have departments for editorial, marketing, distribution, production, sales, legal, and creative just as a bare minimum. If you want to be an indie author you have to manage the publication process yourself.

The book cover is an integral feature of publication. It is thrust in the reader’s face immediately and is responsible for the big first impression.

The ebook cover is a thumbnail chance that someone will click on your book over a million others. An new indie with no other titles under their belt is merely a blip in the digital realm.  If that blip is your first chance that someone looked at your ebook, it had better be presentable. By presentable I mean that the title should be readable, applicable and interesting to the genre it is written for. It should stand out to the eye because of the clarity of the image not because it looks badly done. It has to be good enough to lure a click. Only then will your potential reader have the opportunity to get a look at your synopsis.

I cannot compete with the amazing artwork and cover designs seen on professionally worked covers. I’m not gifted in graphic design, fine art or anything in between. I also have a pre-launch budget of zero for my first novel Dragon Choir. What to do?

Well after scouring the web for clues I have found a solution. An ebook cover can be produced with open source software without any impact on your budget. I used Microsoft PowerPoint (which I already owned) as a simple and familiar program to create the core of my cover design. If you don’t own the Microsoft product, use an open source product, I would recommend Apache OpenOffice Impress. It has similar functionality and is user friendly too. I also used a brilliant graphics program called Gimp. It is also free and very powerful in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. I am not one of the someones.

I got around that though. Tutorials.

The web has thousands of tutorials that will take you through both simple and complicated tasks to manipulate images to your liking. I found YouTube tutorials very helpful. For amateurs like me, actual creation of new art was not on the menu. I only managed tutorials which manipulated existing images and turned them into something new. After following several tutorials for Gimp I discovered a method to create a fire swirl. You can see this on my cover design.

DRAGONCHOIR COVER

The basic process I followed to create my ebook cover is below.

  1. Source or Create the image you want to feature on you cover. Save it as a .jpg
  2. Open a new page in PowerPoint or Impress.
  3. Adjust the size of the page to 42.3cm wide x 63.5cm high. (1600 pixels wide x 2400 pixels high)
  4. Change the background colour to suit.
  5. Add a text box for your title.
  6. Add a text box for your name.
  7. Insert your image.
  8. Shuffle them around and fiddle with the font until you have it looking presentable.
  9. Save the file as an image (.jpg) rather than a slide presentation.
  10. Get feedback on the design.

Here are some important things to consider for an ebook cover.

  • It needs to match the genre you are writing for and appeal to your potential readers.
  • It needs to stand out as one thumbnail amongst many many others. Make sure it catches the eye and can be read, even when it is small. Compare yours to other ebooks.
  • The pixel count described above is important. Ebook distributors will expect high resolution covers. There is nothing worse than pixelation on your book cover.

There are alternatives for indies with cash to spend.

  • Outsource the cover design to a professional. Google “ebook cover design” and choose a designer that will suit your budget.
  • If you want to make your own cover but can’t make your own image, buy the digital rights to artwork you would like to have on your cover. There are many stock image resellers online. Once you have the image you want, use the process above to fit it into your cover design.

Does my design compare to one professionally done? No. I don’t think so. It is clean though, with high resolution and it draws the eye with bright colour and a distinct image. I am hoping that it will be different. Perhaps that will help it stand out (in a good way) when compared to book covers with brilliant artwork of glorious warriors, ruthless rogues and arcane magic.

If I go indie with an ebook I would upgrade my cover to a more professional design once my book earns enough to do so. For now though, it will serve.

Creating a platform

by Leave a Comment

In order to make it as a successful author; indie or legacy, it helps to establish a ‘platform’.

Building a platform refers to establishing a presence that connects to your potential readers, enabling them to access your work.

Writing is my priority, though I have no platform of readers interested in my work. If I publish my book into a vacuum of interest, I am leaving my success to luck. Building a platform before publication will give your writing a leg up once it is distributed. If you have written a masterpiece and only your Mum knows about it; be prepared for your book to be lost at sea for a while.

There are many brilliant works out there that are undiscovered by the masses or even their specific niche. Whilst I have no expectation of being discovered by the masses. I would like to give people who are looking for a good fantasy read the chance to find my book when it is available.

So what have I been up to?

I have created this WordPress blog, started a Twitter account, a Goodreads account and rejoined the Facebook fray. This should give any possible readers of my work the chance to connect with me and my work.

There is a factor here to be aware of when first establishing a platform to engage with readers. It is very time consuming. My editing process for Dragon Choir has slowed to establish these connections. Be aware of your time and keep writing your book the priority.

Is a book without a reader really a book? Is a reader without a book really a reader?