Dear Abyss... hot tip for today

Lost in a Book UK

 June 2026

Dear Abyss,

Is a project ever really finished, or do we at some stage just need to call it a day? I’ve just looked in my draft bin file, and there are many versions of my work in progress, why? Because when editing a book, it is a good idea to save the different versions as you go along, rather than just saving and overriding the old version, that way if it all goes to pot, there is always the previous version to fall back on. Of course these files soon mount up, so filing them into a draft bin puts them out of sight and out of mind, safely waiting for if they are needed.

So that is my hot tip for today:

Save old versions of work, and file them into a draft bin in case they are needed to save the day in case of major disaster.

 What major disaster could possibly happen during formatting you might wonder? Well for one thing, a new format can send illustrations scrambling to hide behind each other. Can they be found? Yes, probably… but sometimes it can be easier to just go back to the last time everything worked, illustrations can be very good at hiding.

Dear Abyss, Picture book brewing

 May 2026
Dear Abyss,

It seems that the closer the book comes to being finished, the more bits and pieces I find I need to adjust or add. I’ve painted a whole new picture for the final page, as the original was not quite right.

The cover is almost finished, putting pictures and words together in adobe, and I learnt a few new things as I went along. It seems every time I produce a new book I learn some new things; I’m still playing with some fancy word art to bring the story to life even more. At some point soon I’m going to have to stop playing and get this project finished.

Bye for now

AMS

Dear Abyss ...journey of a self publish book UK

 April 2026

Dear Abyss,

The book is finished (I think), now for all the bits that need adding after the book is finished…

The title page: 

The title is there and my name and publishing imprint name is at the bottom of the page. It still needs an illustration, which may be a version of the cover picture, which I have yet to do. 

The title page verso: 

On the reverse side of the title page, the title page verso is where the copyright information goes, along with publication date and ISBN, which I have yet to apply for, as I have already used all ten of my ISBNs and need a new stock.

The blurb: 

A first draft of the blurb is already written, and will go on the back cover of the book.

The cover: 

The cover is the first thing any prospective reader will see, so it needs to grab attention and convey what to expect inside, as well as a clear title.

So my next job is the cover.

Bye for now

AMS

Dear Abyss, The book is finished, I think... sharing the journey of building a picture book.

 March 2026

Dear Abyss,

The book is finished, I think… all the words and pictures seem to be getting along, so I’ve closed the book (file), and come out from under my rock to have a play with technology.

We’ve already had false spring, and now we seem to be dipping back into winter again, …resisting the temptation to go back into hibernation here, but with a theme of sleep, there is a good deal of yawning involved, from the characters and the author. I really must write something more lively, but it is a bedtime story, so I’m probably on the right track with yawning… zzzz

Bye for now

AMS