New Proof of Silver Awakening – Hoping Paperback Will Launch Soon – And Special Single Mother Dedication

I received what I hope will be the final print proof of my novel, Silver Awakening. 

The interior is looking so polished and professional now without all of the orphans and widows, and with a redesign of chapter headers, page numbers, and page headers...redesigned using the custom font that matches the book cover. Thank you, Erin for that font!

Also, since CreateSpace lacks color management profiles, I basically had to digitally proof the book cover off of my monitor using an Adobe Creative Suite print proof mode that most closely resembled a copy of a physical proof I had previously received from CreateSpace. Considering the circumstance, this was the best method. Relying wholly on my visual perception, I adjusted my book cover file on-screen, boosting saturation, adding or reducing contrast, lightening or darkening according to what I judged would be the likely outcome per the physical proof in hand. I also converted all linked PSD files to the CMYK color space that my ending ID File would be using. What a pain. But I got it nearly spot on after only one revision and now it looks incredible! (This is where my bachelor's degree in photography came in handy. I'm a color correcting pro.) I really do like the matte finish more now that the colors are popping out and looking as intended. I actually like it a lot more than the glossy finish that I was debating over in my previous blog posts. (1st post, 2nd post, 3rd post.)

If you would like to see all of the photos of my way better new print proof, go to my Facebook Fan Page. I've posted some quickie snapshots there.

Once I'm finished proofing this new physical print proof––hopefully it looks perfect and there's nothing else wrong with it––then I will be able to schedule the launch date for the release of the paperback edition of Silver Awakening. So excited! Fingers crossed.

Conclusion:

The paperback edition of Silver Awakening is looking so much better. I think maybe all of the printing issues were a blessing in disguise. I've prayed long and hard for help with this book. Truly, my prayers were answered by way of kind people who offered to help me and also through preparatory learning that was long ago inspired by the Lord––I was prompted to move from Arizona to Utah back when I was a SINGLE MOTHER with a lil kindergartner. I was scared, but I felt impressed to go to USU and learn skills that I haven't been sure I even need. My higher education hasn't helped pay my bills at all...it actually created the heaviest debts I own. But what I learned in school has helped me with this book. And I know Heavenly Father inspired this book. Just like Noah Steffen (a character in my novel), I also know how to tell the difference between thoughts that are my own and thoughts that aren't.

I started writing Silver Awakening when I was experiencing all of my Sins, Hims, and Whims as a Single Mother. I finished Silver Awakening as a newly married woman who is incredibly blessed.

To all the SINGLE LADIES: I know life is so hard right now, but never stop learning or working toward your goals. You will reach them. I'm still trying to reach mine. Inch by inch I will make it. You will make it too.

I dedicate this message and this post to a longtime single mother friend. (We were single moms together years ago.) She was fortunate to remarry and add to her family. Her joy lasted for a season, but she is now preparing for a brutal divorce. She will be a single mother again, only instead of one child to raise, she now has three. Lets all pray for her and her children tonight.

Nicholle, today this is for you: My heart aches. My eyes are wet. I know it's a heavy burden, but I believe that the darkest sorrows overcome will bring the brightest joys. I love you, girl! You've got this!  ;-)

Love Always,

JNP

Print Proof Number Two On Its Way

I lied. I guess I'm more indecisive than I realized. The great debate between matte and glossary finish seems open-ended.

I brought my matte finish print proof to work on Wednesday. A lot of people liked the matte, how it felt so "soft" and "powdery." Others thought, same as me, that it might be better in glossy.

"I think glossy would make the blacks deeper and the whites pop more," I said. "And maybe boost the saturation on the blues...I want it to be truer to the digital file." So goes the debate.

There was a lady who suggested embossing the letters on the cover. I had thought the exact same thing when I laid eyes on my first print proof. Unfortunately, this cool effect is not an option with cheap on-demand printing. Honestly, the quality of the print proof was mediocre. I wish I could afford a boutique printer or an overseas mass production run that I could import.

I noticed a crooked margin, which tells me that the pages are not cut straight. It wasn't even me that noticed. One of my colleagues spotted it. I hope it's not like this in production. This bothers me and I think I need to take it up with the printer...

Another thing that I noticed when I was digital proofing was the way the typesetting in a couple places contained only part of one line or one word carried over to a page by itself (end of a chapter). I had debated fixing this, but I wasn't sure it was worth bothering the formatter again over it. Although, in the end I think my critics know best. There was only one person out of about 30 people who scanned the print proof who wasn't bothered by a "widow." Everyone else expressed very strong feelings about the annoyance of lone lines and widowed words. So, I did contact the formatter for a revision on the typesetting...and I did feel like a nuisance. But from what I've digitally proofed, it was the right move. It looks much cleaner...

So, here I am, ordering print proof number two. I paid for expedited shipping because I want to release Silver Awakening, both the e-book and the paperback, on September 10th. Originally I had wanted to release at the end of August, but I ran into so many technical issues, and then of course the design process took much longer than I had anticipated. But I think it is better to delay and feel like I have a product that I'm confident in rather than hurry to meet a self-imposed deadline. Well, sort of self-imposed...I have plans to hold a book signing while in California, where I'll be heading to attend a big family/friends event in mid-September, which is why I made the Drop-dead deadline  September 10th. I don't want to miss an opportunity to help spark any potential word of mouth buzz. I mean, I'm an indie author who no one knows or cares about, right? Don't I need all the help I can get?

This has been a long and slightly difficult process. I think as I write my next novel (I'm working on Sins, Hims, and Whims of a Single Mother, but I also just started compiling all my notes for a Silver Awakening sequel, so we'll see which one I finish first.) I need to keep in mind the struggles. During this process I figured out how to make slight revisions to my e-book and I realized that while it is time-consuming, with my art education and background, it wasn't as impossible as I thought it might be. I'd like to try it myself next time...at least for my little Sins, Hims, and Whims novella. Also, I might either lay it out in In-design myself or hire one of my many friends who are designers--even if they are busy and I have to wait awhile. I learned that it is easiest working with friends who are invested in YOU...a lot less back and forth, a lot less feeling guilty for asking to change something you're not totally satisfied with, no debate about obtaining original files--originals offered up stress and worry free. The people who know you and love you just tend to appreciate you more as a person instead of treating you like a nuisance.

Nevertheless, this being said, I also feel the need to brace myself. One thing I'm certain of is that those who love you and support you are typically not as hard on you and your work as faceless strangers and armchair bloggers. This is why I've felt the need to make my very first self-published novel the best it can be.

This journey began in 2008. It's finally coming into fruition. To be determined...




- JNP

August 5th 1989

August 5th, 1989 was a tragic day for me and my family. That morning I was driving a WaveRunner on the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada and a guy who was pulling a waterskier in his blue boat crashed into me. Apparently he was watching the waterskier instead of looking ahead. It was an accident, but it changed my life. 

I suffered two broken jaws that took many years and a lot of reconstructive surgeries to repair. I have a scar on my face that reminds me of how hard that whole experience was every time I look in the mirror. I took a hit, not just physically but also emotionally. My self-esteem suffered the most. I look back on that time, reading through the pages of my journals, pondering on my feelings about myself in those days, and I see how my scar was an outward reflection of an inward mark on my heart.

I worried a lot more than I should have about what people--the wrong people--thought of me. I recall children making fun of me in elementary school, and later in junior high, trying harder than ever to fit in. It was really stressful. Kids are kind of mean. 

By the time I was in high school, which is where I met my daughter's dad, I was aching for love and affection and because of that ache I dated a guy I knew I shouldn't--tried to break up with him a couple of times but I was too insecure. I believed him when he'd say that no one would love me like he did. I learned a valuable lesson: Never marry your high school sweetheart. In hindsight, high school sweethearts are not that sweet. And I'm glad no one loves me the way my ex-husband did...his kind of love was creepy and controlling...definitely not edifying or uplifting.

Anyway, my point in bringing all of this up is that August 5th came and went again. This year, as the sun was barely rising in the early morning hours way before it was time for me to wake up to my alarm clock, I couldn't help but think of how different my life is now. I'm thankful that my insecurities--those nasty stings that hurt, those chains that kept me bound for a couple of decades, those stumbling blocks that made the road so treacherous--are in many ways behind me now.

I think those insecurities, a lot of which resulted from my tragedy in 1989, paved the way to my single motherhood experience, and even made that experience last a lot longer than it probably could have. But I'm grateful for my trials. I see how they led me to a better place, to a good man. This poem came to my mind as my heart flooded with gratitude the other day. So, I jotted down the words...tapped my fingers so that they wouldn't escape me. Life is sweet.