Hard Copy Books, a change of plans

As you may have seen, Volume One is published (in limited release) in both the Gnome-sized and Big People Books. Those books are available for purchase on-demand via an e-mail inquiry or directly from the studio in Southampton.

Volume One of  The Big-People has 109 pages and an MSRP of $29.95,
     it is the same as Book One of the Gnome-sized Book
Volumes Two & Three have approximately 275 pages each and will be more.

All of the Gnome-sized books have an MSRP of $8.95

 Book One is Published, but the remaining books in the series are being published differently than previously planned. Those changes are described below.

Current Status

The layout and mechanicals for Volumes Two and Three are now almost finished (sans a number of illustrations) and able to be published as prototype books. As I've mentioned elsewhere, there are still in excess of three hundred illustrations required to complete the series and those illustrations need to be funded. However, all the other work of writing, proof-reading, design, and layout for the entire Storybook series is completed and almost ready for press.

All that is needed for completion of the Illustrated Storybook Series is the insertion of missing illustrations, a still significant effort and cost, but a relatively minor amount of work, comparatively speaking when looking at what it has taken to get this far with the project and set it up publication.

The layout for the HDTV e-Storybook is still being completed, which also involves narrating the books. I've discussed that product elsewhere. Adding animations to the e-Storybook will take place after the remaining illustrations for the book series are complete. This, of course, also requires significant funding, so that will be the focus of attention after all layout work, including HDTV is completed.

I expect to shortly publish Volumes Two and Three as prototype hard copy books, as this is required to budget out the final release version of the books and determine the MSRP.

The plan was to release a seven book collection. Those seven books are based on the number of pages that can be contained in the smaller Gnome-sized books (100 pages +/-). But the Big People books are not limited in the same way. Each of the Gnome-sized books has an MSRP of $8.95 and  Book One can be purchased directly from IMS in any quantity at any time. The books are published on demand. There is a discount schedule, but to secure a full keystone requires a purchase of quantities in excess of 5k units. Inquire for details.

The Publishing changes are as follows;

The Gnome-sized Books
     are published as a seven book series;

Book One; 
(available for purchase)

An Introduction to 

The Gnomes of New Hope 

The remaining books consist of scenes from 

Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure

(pending release)

 Book Two; Act I, Scenes 1, 2, 3

Book Three; Act I, Scenes 4, 5, 6

  Book Four; Act I, Scenes 7, 8, 9

Book Five; Act II, Scenes 10,11,12

Book Six: Act II, Scenes 13, 14, 15, 16

Book Seven; Act II Scenes 17, 18, 19, 20

The Big People Books 

        are published in three Volumes; 

Volume One 

An Introduction 
to 
The Gnomes of New Hope 
MSRP = $29.95
(available for purchase) 

Volume Two 

Act One 
of 
Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure
MSRP = to be determined
(pending release)

Volume Three 

Act Two 
of  
Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure
MSRP = to be determined
(pending release)

I'll Continue this post later.

AG

IMS Management

Refer to IMS Management for discussions regarding Operating Expenses and other financial matters relative to managing The Gnomes of New Hope and other pertinent subjects of this nature.

HDTV e-Storybook

Well, you may have seen one of my posts somewhere, in which I have written about the HDTV format.

Some time ago I realized that if people were to have any interest in the e-Storybook, they would likely be happier if they could put it up on their HDTVs. So that has been my work for the last six months; to convert the previous e-Storybook design over to the 16:9 format. 

Well, that has brought with it some other design modifications. An example of my most recent effort is to replace the font I used for the lyric sections of the book. I had used a thin line font for the songs. As it turned out, that worked fine for a printed book, but not so good for an electronic book. What a drag! What a lot of work! So that's what I am doing now. 634 pages. Ugh.

Another design thing is this; I created a page background. Here's an example if that...

As you can see, the page has a mottled green texture. That texture works pretty good on the printed page. It's borderline, in terms of being distracting, but it creates an atmosphere of "earthiness" , so I like it. But when it comes to the electronic book, it remains borderline, only in this instance, it "sort of" creates a conflict between the background and the text. I created a new background file that allows me to control the depth of that mottled effect. The problem there is that I would need to redo the entire book if I change it. I may do that in the future, but for now, I just need to get this e-Storybook finished. The background will have to do for the time being.

That is an example if why a subscription page is the best approach to giving people access to the whole book series. There are so many changes happening on a regular basis, that joining the subscription page will always give you access to the most recent changes, additions, updates and expansions to the stories. The beauty there is that once "Zach and Zebby's Grand Adventure" is finished (for release to everyone) then I can start to add some of the other "Gnomic Tales". So using the subscription page really does create a greater value. All the stories will also be available for purchase as hard copy books, it's just that those books will be published "on-demand".

So the first book is available. Send me an e-mail. I still need to examine the PayPal page to get it set up properly, so in the mean time, just e-mail me. If you explore this blog, you will find other posts about pricing and sales and stuff. There's an order form you can print out and mail in. You can try the PayPal. If it works great, but I'm not sure, it's been awhile since I tried to set it up. Here's a photo of the "Gnome-sized" book. 

If you can't find the flyer and order form below, e-mail me and I'll send it to you. AG