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2017 Resolutions: Planning to Write & Publish a Book

12/30/2016

...from conception to marketplace for inspired writers who want to be authors

Let's go with the 'sculpting a wooden masterpiece' analogy...starting with chainsaws and axes
Writing your first draft is simple, really. Just draft, draft, draft, research. Outline. Research, draft, draft, draft. Don't worry about what your writing at this point. (Seriously. You probably won't keep half of it.)

Pocket Knives and Chisels
Revise, edit, revise, and revise to your personal liking.

180 grit Sandpaper
Send your manuscript to the first beta reader for opinions on overall plot structure, character development, understandability, and general likability. Revise accordingly. More drafting if necessary to fill in the plot-holes and clear up any confusions. Edit, edit, edit. Make sure every scene and character interaction has a solid purpose.

800 grit Sandpaper
Send your manuscript to a second beta reader for plot content and character/story arcs (to see if the first round of issues have been taken care of). Be aware of too many cooks in the kitchen. Revise and edit accordingly. Try not to lose sight of your original story idea--but do listen to editing comments with an open mind. Especially if you hear the same thing from different sources.

The more extensive your changes are, the more you should consider repeating this process with additional beta readers.

AT THIS POINT...
You might be thinking about seeking an agent or publisher. That's okay, but your chances might be a tad better if you proceeded with an actual proofreader before you do. Still, an editor, agent, or publisher will most likely do a few more rounds of content editing before moving forward with a final proofreader. It's all part of the process and quite normal. :-)

Diamond Polish
Send your manuscript to an alpha reader for a final round of line editing (proofreading)*. This person will (hopefully) keep an eye out for awkward phrasing and possible plot holes (if you’re lucky), but the majority of his/her effort will be focused on punctuation and grammar. The technical stuff.

Correct any issues he/she finds (without altering character ‘voice’), and do your absolute best to not make any changes that could potentially add more errors and require an additional final edit.

*You would think by now, that every possible error has been spotted by your incredibly talented and loyal beta readers, but you’d be wrong. If you plan to self-publish, do NOT risk leaving errors for your readers to find. Because one review implying that your book should have been edited (after ALL that work!) will not only stab you in the heart, but your book’s heart as well. You can always update and republish with apologies to readers, but you can't undo those reviews or prevent people from making assumptions based on those reviews.

A few more important things to remember in this stage: Back Cover Description (draft, edit, revise, test, repeat), Author Bio, Dedication, and Acknowledgments.

The Showcase and Gallery
No matter how much time, effort, and money you’ve invested in your masterpiece, the way you present it to the world can make it or break it.

Cover Art
Your amazing story WILL be judged by the cover, even if it’s NOT politically correct to judge a book by its cover.
Just sayin’.

Interior Formatting
I still see books on my kindle where entire chapters flow as single paragraphs, whether different people are speaking or not. I can only assume it’s a formatting glitch rather than an author error, or an "automated translation" file that went awry. It’s like those memes on Facebook saying, “If you can read this, you’re in the 1% who can!” Whatever.

My free time is far too valuable to put THAT much effort into reading for personal enjoyment. As a reader, I’d be asking for a refund and I may or may not leave a disappointing review.

Promo Graphics
There are good graphics that entice people to click on something (or at least read what’s written), and ho-hum graphics that people don’t even notice when scrolling through the news feeds. Be super careful about what you use to promote your book, or what you use to represent a quote from a character. The impressions you make DO matter.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
Toward the final editing stages of your book (because many of the things on this list must be scheduled several months in advance), you should be considering plans for the following:

Marketing sites & Promotion plans
Potential swag items and Giveaways
Graphics with marketing quotes or sample 'sneak peek' text for Social Media
New banners for your social media sites (you have social media sites set up everywhere, right?)
Virtual Book Tour schedules, interviews, real life events, and book signings

Once you have a cover file or live links, don’t forget to:

Upload Goodreads library listings and link them to your author account
Claim your books on your Amazon Author Central page

Most readers (unless they are authors) will never know how much work goes into creating and producing a finished novel. There will always be that ONE error that no one caught...that ONE person who feels obligated to tell the world your research must have been done by a 1st grader...and that ONE reader who checks in every month to see if the next book in the series is published yet, making it all worthwhile.

Write because you love it, no matter what the income is.
Write because you are driven by a passion that can't be stopped.
***
Happy New Year, and good luck with your 2017 writing goals!
Cheers,
:-)
Toni Kerr

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Courage: Never Look Back (the prequel to the Secrets of the Makai series)

12/1/2016

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If you're following the Secrets of the Makai series, you'll be happy to know that there's a prequel being published in an anthology this month!

The anthology is called The Playlist: A Collection of Stories Inspired by Music, and it's being published by Pipe & Thimble Publishing with a lot of really talented authors. I'm also pleased to say that I had the privilege of creating the cover (absolutely amazing, if I do say so myself) as well as the interior formatting. :-)

Did You Know?
Courage, along with the entire Secrets of the Makai series, was inspired by the song, Lonely Stranger, by Eric Clapton. Haven't heard of it? Check it out here!

It’s a haunting melody with lyrics that struck me as both tragic and emotionally powerful. We all have struggles as we grow up, some worse than others. Our childhood experiences determine how we interact with the world, and they define personal beliefs about ourselves and others. Accepting who we are, regardless of what we are taught, is definitely a sign of maturity and wisdom. But, what if the future of the entire population rested in one person’s ability to forgive and judge others? What if he came to the conclusion that the planet might be better off without the human race?

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Mini-Book Charm Tutorial

9/22/2016

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Learn the secrets behind making these priceless Mini-Book Charms!

Over the past few years, I've had the pleasure of meeting so many amazing people in this crafty business. I've been part of book launches, keepsake collections, and my personal favorite: gifts to spouses. The charms have been put on necklaces, bookmarks, key chains, convention IDs, Christmas ornaments, wine glass tags, and crafted into many creative things (like book mobiles!)

Since I've gotten so busy with book design work, I've decided to put this crafting aside and share what I've learned about the process. Anyone can make them - it just takes time.

If you're SERIOUS about making these,
please read ALL the instructions to save yourself from having to start over.
(otherwise, the photos themselves should give you the basic idea)

BE WARNED: It is illegal to profit from copyrighted material. In other words, you can not make charms of other people's books and sell them at craft fairs, book fairs, or anywhere in real life or cyberspace without the author's permission (and often the author doesn't have merchandising rights). However, you can do whatever you want with your own book.
:-)

Items Needed:

An art Program: I use photoshop, but anything will do.
Ink Jet Printer: Ink Jet has better photographic qualities than Laser.
4x6 in High Gloss Photo Paper: HP tends to make richer colors than Epson. You can use full sheets if you're mass producing these.
Scotch Moving & Storage Tape - Long Lasting: Scotch is the only brand who could confirm that their tape has NO acid in it (it won't turn yellow or deteriorate, which gives it "Archival" qualities.
Watercolor Paper: Any brand will do, but buy it as thick as possible (such as 140#), make sure it's Acid Free, and pick one that has the least amount of texture.
Elmer's Glue: If you use something different, make sure it's Acid Free.
Acrylic Gel: I use Golden Soft Gel (gloss), but any sort of acrylic gel would work. (you won't use much, so don't invest in a huge tub)
A paint brush: Nothing fancy...it's for the glue. As a safety precaution, use a brush that's never been used with paint--otherwise the dried up dust could tint your glue. (you'll want the glue to dry clear).
Eye Pins: You can find these in the jewelry crafting department.
Jump Rings: Single ring or doubled - I think the double rings hold up better for wear-n-tear.
Hole Punch: Not necessary, but sure makes it nice.
Needle-Nose Pliers: Any kind will work, but I've found that normal-sized, household pliers work MUCH better than those tiny jewelry making pliers.
Paper Cutter and/OR Scissors
A Flower Press, OR a bunch of heavy books

STEP ONE:
Print your Cover

The first thing is to open your cover file in an art program. Make sure the resolution is set at 300dpi. If you don't have a spine and back cover, you must now make one. To calculate a new width, double the width of your front cover and add about 3/4 of an inch for the spine. (An inch is almost too big when you shrink it down.)

Use the program's guiding lines if available, and it's VERY handy if you make some sort of faint line for the right and left edges of the spine, so you know where to fold after you print.

The dimensions I use are 515 pixels high, by whatever it ends up being. When the cover is folded, the spine should ideally be about 1/8 to 3/16 in. 1/4 is too thick and tends to warp. (It's doable, but the glue takes too long to dry.)

If your cover is quite dark (like this one is), don't be afraid to brighten it up. Dark details tend to get washed out in black.

*Tip: don't make your cover taller than the width of your tape. The biggest width of tape I can find is 3 inches, and I had to order it. Normal Scotch tape is just under 2 inches.

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T overwrite your cover file. SAVE AS something else so you don't ruin your original file.

Next, make a new document sized to whatever your photographic paper is, and paste as many covers onto the page as will fit. Make sure you leave about 1/8th inch gap between each cover for cutting. I like to use 4x6 High Gloss HP photographic paper, but any size will do. (Might depend on how many covers you want to print). 4 covers fit nicely on 4x6 paper.

STEP TWO:
Seal Your Mini Covers

Now that your covers are printed, give the ink at least 30 minutes to dry. Be very aware of dust and fingerprints at this stage. In fact, wipe down your work space BEFORE you print, and make sure you're not wearing a fabric that sheds when you move. ONE piece of lint can ruin the whole book. (Depending on how picky you are - I tend to be very picky.) If you see lint/dust on your cover, wipe it off gently with micro-fiber fabric or soft cotton. DON'T USE YOUR FINGERS! You'd be surprised how the faintest touch can leave a permanent smudge.

Next, trim your covers to workable sizes. DO NOT trim them all the way to the image - wait until they're sealed before you make "final" cuts.

--
Scotch tape is Acid Free acrylic sheeting. How cool is that!! I've tried many "ways" to apply the tape, but this what I've found works best for me.

Your goal is to put tape over the entire image without creating wrinkles or entrapping dust particles. You can do this any way you choose. For me, I like to lay the tape on my work space sticky-side up.

Make sure the tape is lying absolutely flat.
Make sure there's no lint/dust in the area - there will be a bit of static-cling when you unroll the tape.
Make sure you don't use the part of tape that's been exposed to the elements (the first few inches that aren't ON the roll).
Make sure you pull the tape off the roll in one fluid motion. If you stop, you create a line in the adhesive that will show on the cover.
Make sure you know where the image is on the paper so you can eyeball placement. This may sound like silly advice, but there's not much room for error. And as you can see from the above image, the image isn't exactly centered on the page.
Make sure your paper/image is parallel with the tape.
Touch a side edge of the paper to the tape, then very carefully set it in place. You can roll the image if it helps to set it gradually, but if your tape is absolutely flat, you should be able to drop it into place (once one edge is where you want it). (Not sure if you can see in the pictures, but there's very little room for error.) Also, you can hold the image by the edges at such an angle that there's only about a half-inch drop.
After the image is down, turn the tape with the image right side up and use a cotton cloth to press out any air bubbles. Some tapes have an oil coating, so you'll have to rub that out while you're at it. If you're as picky as I am, you'll want to check to make sure there aren't scratches on surface of the tape before you buy it. If you DO see scratches on the outer layer of tape (just hold it up to the light and get the right angle), most likely they'll be on the entire roll).
If you DO have a bubble that won't press out, let it sit for a few minutes- the air will gradually escape through the paper itself.
If you get a wrinkle in the tape, there is no fix. Toss it. However, if there's a slight wrinkle, pressing it from the center in an outward direction MIGHT work.
Once the tape looks perfect, trim off all the excess paper.

Tips for cutting:

Use sharp, long bladed scissors.
Cut the tape between the covers so each cover is its own piece. (Don't be afraid to stick 6-8 covers on a single length of tape.)
Try to cut each side in ONE cut. If you stop and restart, your angle might change and you're less likely to get a perfectly straight cut.
Don't use scissors that have been used like tin-snips. A jagged blade makes a jagged cut.
Keep the image where you can see it. I'm right handed, so the image will ALWAYS be to the left of the scissors.
Do your best to make a perfect cut the first time. It's very difficult to cut a hairline of white from the cover, just because you didn't want to risk cutting too close.

STEP THREE:
Fold the Cover, Cut the Paper

Before you commit to any serious folds lines, make sure the top and bottom edges line up with each other, and that the front and back sides are parallel (They should NOT line up with each other, because of the spine).

Do not make a solid fold... just bend the paper enough to create a slight corner. Trust me on this. A rounded spine allows for more flexibility when you start adding the interior paper.

Choosing the right watercolor paper is important. As I said before, you want a heavy weight (such as 140#), NO texture, and make sure it's Acid Free. If it's not Acid Free, your pages will turn yellow and your photographic paper will break down and shift colors within a few years.

Don't waste your time with heavily textured paper. The texture will emboss itself on your cover when you put it in the press. (or when you put it under a pile of heavy books)

Cutting the paper sounds easy enough, but there are some tips and tricks I've learned:

If you have a paper cutter, use it! It makes this part of the process so much easier. Cutting by hand does have an interesting effect on the overall look though - it gives the pages more character. Like the classic books that were put together in sections rather than machine cut.
Cut strips of watercolor paper at the correct height first, since the spine line makes the width a bit less defined. And by correct height, I mean a few hairs short from each edge. (see the picture under the cutter pic). Why? Two reasons. 1) The paper will expand with glue, and it's hard to trim away if it expands out past the cover, and 2) we're going to be filling that slight gap with acrylic toward the end of the project.
Since I have a cutter (I think the guillotine style works better than the roller style), I cut several long strips at the correct height dimension, using the paper guide for consistency.
If you're cutting with scissors, it helps to cut one page to the exact dimensions you need (height and width) then use that piece as a guide every time, cutting as many pages as you need.
To determine the width of your page, insert one of your strips of paper into your folded cover, and make a line scratch at the edge (with your fingernail or a sharp object - don't use a pencil) (if you DO use a pencil.. just toss that page after you get a good measurement. Keep testing your width until it's perfect. Again, leave a few hairlines width to the inside of the cover, and leave about the same for your spine. It's very hard to trim the pages if they extend past your cover.
Just as you don't want your pages too big, you don't want them too small. The edges of your cover will hold up better if they have plenty of support.
Once you know the correct width, cut your long strips into proper pages. The good thing about using the paper guides on the cutter is that every page is cut to the exact measurement. If you don't have a guide to keep your paper consistent, it's fine. Slight variations give your pages a more classic look. (Obviously, 90 degree angles are important)
Keep adding pages to the cover until they fit loosely. The glue will add a slight amount of width, so don't over stuff your book. Make triple sure that none of your pages extend out past your cover, and trim with scissors if necessary.
For me (for covers at 515px tall), I think 7 pages is ideal. It makes an even number on both sides of the center page, which will contain the eye hook.
Cut all pages for all the books you're making before you start the next phase, because whether you're cutting by hand or with a cutter, you do get into a groove and consistency is your friend.

STEP FOUR:
Making the Channel for Hardware

I like to start by laying out 3-4 books at a time. Pages are divided into 3 groups. This particular book has 8 pages, so the groups contain 3, 1, 4 pages. This middle page is where the eye hook will go, but first we need to make some adjustments.

These eye hooks (pictured) are 1.25 inches long. FYI, don't go with the cheapest ones you can find - the finish doesn't hold up. You can EASILY use longer eye hooks and trim them down with wire cutters. 1.5 inches works perfectly fine.

Coil the straight end as tightly as you can with needle-noes pliers, making sure that you keep the coil as flat as possible. Make one for each book.
Set the coiled eye hook on the paper and make sure the "eye" part is centered.
Use a sharp pencil to draw an outline down the spine of the hook and around the coil.
Use your hole-punch to cut out the coiled part, and use scissors to cut for the straight parts.
You can use scissors for cutting everything, but a hole-punch does the job more quickly.
For the channel where the spine of the hook is, cut as close to the width of the hook as possible, so there's not a lot of wiggle room.

The width of the watercolor paper is dang close to being exactly the same width as the eye hook. If you are using paper that isn't quite thick enough, you may have to cut a channel in two pages to hold the eye hook in place.

If you end up with an even number of pages, put the higher number of pages in front of the hook. (that way, if your hardware makes a slight bump or dent, it'll show more on the back than it does on the front.

STEP FIVE:
Glue

Use a CLEAN brush to put an even coat on the back page of your cover, going all the way to the edge.
DON'T use a brush that has previously been used with paint - dried paint can tint your glue, causing it to not dry clear. Trust me, you want it to dry clear.
Excess glue will get squeezed out in the press. Too much glue makes a horrible mess. But if this happens, do whatever you can to get rid of excessive excess before it dries completely. It's a good reason to check the progress of drying books about an hour after being put in the press (or under a pile of books).
Not enough glue has the obvious problems...
When you get to the page with the cut for the hardware, make sure there's plenty of glue to fill in the holes, then 'sandwich' it closed with the next page.
The purpose of making that coil can be seen: there's NO WAY that hook is ever coming out of the book by accident.
Before you glue your last page, close the cover and see if you need more or less pages. The glue adds quite a bit of bulk to the book. Also, double check that there are NO pages that extend past the cover. Now's the 2nd best time to make adjustments while the glue is still wet. (The best time is when you're cutting pages to begin with.)
If the front cover doesn't quite reach the edge of the paper.... Before you start trimming the pages with scissors, try pressing the edges near the spine with a flat object (or your fingernail), so the cover can wrap the spine side of the pages better. It's amazing how this trick can fix just about everything. The paper is quite soft when damp with the glue.
If you have to remove a page after it's been glued, make certain you scrape any layers of paper that don't belong. It will be noticeable.
Compressing the outer edges of the pages with a flat object should be done as a last resort. It's better than trimming with scissors though... or a knife... Use scissors as a last resort.
Finally, when all the pages look good, put the final layer of glue on (put a little extra on the spine side of the pages) and shut the cover. Hold it for a few minutes, then put it in a temporary press.
A temporary press is a heavy book. :-) Or in my case, a children's board book with a heavy rock on it.
Use a folded piece of clean paper (printer paper is fine) to create a protective barrier between the book charm (with oozing glue) and your work space and the book you're pressing it with.
The pages can shift quite easily until the glue sets, so you don't want to put the charm into the real press too soon. You want the glue to hold where you want it, and THEN apply the pressure to squeeze everything tight. I keep finished books under a book until there's no more room. No more than an hour though... If the glue dries too much, putting it in the press won't have any effect. Your book will warp and probably have some uneven waves going on.
Before transferring book charms to the press, make sure to scrape away any globs of glue from the edges before they harden.

STEP SIX:
Press Overnight

I can't stress enough how important it is to work with CLEAN surfaces when pressing your book - even when pressing in a temporary situation. Inks on scratch paper can get pressed into your cover. Scratches on board books can cause unwanted textures in your cover. Globs of glue from the day before can make big dents in your cover. (If you used a piece of computer paper and a speck of glue oozed out and dried...then you use the same page for the next round of books.. you'll press that bump right into your cover.

Books can be re-pressed to fix certain things (this works 80% of the time), but once the glue is dry, there's not a lot you can do about anything.

I have an old flower press that I got from a neighbor's garage sale. It's awesome for this job. However, a stack of books works just as well. Just make sure the heavy books are pressing evenly on your book charms. If your stack isn't balanced properly, your book will be pressed with odd angles applied. Spread your books out for a better foundation, and feel free to put book charms between books if you have a lot of volume - there's no need to have more than one tower.

Again, make sure you protect your "pressing" books by placing a piece of plain paper between the charms and books. Otherwise, they will surely get a little glue on them, and then the glue will dry and cause problems later.

I keep the books in a pressed state overnight. This allows plenty of time for the glue to dry. If you pull the charms out too soon, the glue on the edges might be dry, but it's still wet in the middle. As the middle dries, the paper shrinks and causes the book to warp. If this happens, you can try pressing the book again to straighten things out.

STEP SEVEN:
Sealing the Pages

After the book charms have been removed from the press, look carefully at all the pages and scrape away any remaining glue that has bubbled out. An X-acto knife is helpful for this, but I find that prying small beads of glue with my nails works too.

Tips:

Be generous with the acrylic gel.
Use the brush to push gel into the gaps between the pages and spine.
Make sure there are no gaps by the eye hook.
Cover the pages with the gel and don't be worried about going over onto the cover. You WANT to seal the edges of the cover as well as the pages.
When you have enough gel, use a single, smooth brushstroke to make sure the gel is spread nice and even. Stroke in the direction of paper. It will dry clear, so no worries about how thick it is. (so long as it doesn't bulge out farther than the cover itself.
Be careful around the eye hook - you can clean it up later, but cleaning the hook itself can be a pain if you end up pulling acrylic away from the pages.
Wipe away excess gel on the cover as you work, but there is NO NEED to make it perfect. You'll be scraping it away when it's dry, and it's best to keep it kind of thick on the cover's edges.

Drying the Acrylic

I like to hang books to dry from bent paper clips because I have very little desk space.
You can set the books on an object, such as a penny or a lego, if you don't have anything to hang from. Just make sure the wet acrylic isn't touching anything. It acts like glue.
Let dry for 3-4 hours. Waiting longer is fine, but scraping the acrylic away before it's 100% solidified is easier.
Use a smooth, flat object to scrape away excess acrylic (pictured). My nails work fine for me. Just make sure you pick an object that isn't going to scratch your cover.
Scrape AWAY from the cover's edge. If you scrape towards the edge, you'll peel away the acrylic that's ON the edge. Best to sever it as closed to the image as possible (so the edge of the cover can remain sealed).
This is a good time to use a soft cloth to wipe away all the fingerprints and oils that might still be on your cover, and make sure there's no signs of acrylic on the cover itself. (check the spine too)
I've used Windex and 409 to tackle tough spots on the cover (such as adhesive smudges) - just be careful not to get the edges of the cover or pages wet.
The acrylic might feel slightly tacky, but it will be 100% dry in about 24 hours.

As you can see from the final image in this section (with multiple books):

Acrylic fills the gap between paper and spine (on top and bottom).
The cover's spine has ROUNDED edges to wrap the pages, not hard 90 degree angles. This allows some working room when gluing the pages.
Pages aren't perfectly stacked, but they don't extend past the cover.
The books themselves are pressed tight.
They are absolutely flat and not warped.
Eye hooks are centered. (you can make it off centered to make the book hang at an angle!)
Acrylic dried nice and even without brush marks

STEP EIGHT:
Final Touches

Now is the time to add additional jump rings. With these additional rings, you can then add key chain rings, earring clasps, other charms that go along with your theme. Have fun with it!! Browse around in the craft store and you'll be flooded with possibilities.

I realize this post is long-winded, but these charms really are quite simple to make. I can tell you from my heart, and from hundreds of authors, these mini book charms ARE worth the effort. Maybe you don't want to make dozens to give away, but DO make them as a reward for your own accomplishments. I have a collection of my personal books hanging on my computer bag, and people ask me about them all the time. It's a wonderful conversation piece.

If you have ANY questions about the process, leave me a comment and I'll be happy to share what I know.

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Wish You Were Here - Photoshop Challenge

5/4/2016

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Source images below:

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Photoshop Challenge Day 9 & 10

5/3/2016

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I've had a lot of fun doing things I've never needed to do before, and I've even gained a few wins! (not really the point of these challenges, for me at least, but still pretty cool!)

Here are the top things I've from these photoshop challenges:

1. Playing around in photoshop is called "Chopping". I did not know that! :-)

2. My photoshop skills are good enough to pass on a very elementary level, but not anywhere close to what some of these people can do. (I'm not bashing myself, just making a factual observation.)

3. My ideas (thus far) lack humor, character, and storytelling. (Elements that rank higher than skill level, or so I hear). I guess I wasn't clear on the purpose of entries and how they're voted on. I was just challenging my own skills, and posting to keep myself accountable. (I'll have to start using my writer brain!)

4. I lack creative craftsmanship. There are times when I have a good idea, but lack the knowledge to make it happen, forcing myself to fall back on an easier idea. I can see how this could improve greatly with practice, so the thought is not discouraging.

5. I need to change my thought process from "what can I do with this [that's within my range of skills]?" to "What would be unexpected, clever, and/or funny?" And along this line, I have to really consider WHAT skills I want to develop and stay focused on what I'm trying to learn. Do I really need illustration skills? I'm not quite sure.

6. Working on a daily "chop" with a higher expectation in mind takes a lot longer than one hour (the time limit I set for myself). This is the biggest obstacle for me- I really don't have time. I have real work to do, and a million other things, and I have NOT forgotten the fans of my Makai series, asking about book 4. Still, I enjoy the creative energy these photoshop projects generate.

7. Every online community has their fair share of drama, and I feel bad that newcomers can see it. I can agree the quality of submissions is not what it used to be, back in the site's glory days (heck.. I won 3 in a row and my skills are truly minimal). So I'm torn, and embarrassed. While I don't believe my work compares to professionals (and clearly they are cream-of-the crop professionals), I do want to participate, learn, improve, and get feedback. Sometimes a vote is feedback enough to know I've done a decent job. And if I do the daily challenges without submitting finals, I know myself well enough to say I won't have reason to tough it out when things get tough. But that doesn't mean I MUST submit an entry every day, whether it's quality work or not. So it's time to be more selective with what I want to invest in.

Perhaps a year from now, I'll look back at these first 10 entries and have a good laugh. :-)

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Photoshop Challenge - Day 7 & 8

4/30/2016

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This was a tough one... I knew what I wanted to do, and had to figure out how to make it happen. It took longer than I intended, but I'm glad I didn't listen to that nagging voice telling me there's no value in doing these challenges, that I have other things to do... This one really did teach me some new skills.

The most challenging thing about these missions is using only the given source. Normally, I'd just go out and find images to blend, or to use as backgrounds... So these challenges really are forcing me to be a more inventive.

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Photoshop Challenge

4/28/2016

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All right, I've had my fun. Time to get back to work. :-)

What I learned most on this particular challenge is that you lose a LOT of quality when you "save for web" (for uploading restrictions to file size). I hadn't really noticed a huge loss of detail until now. :-/

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Photoshop Challenge - Day 5

4/26/2016

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I'm actually kind of happy with this one... The only thing I didn't create from the source image is the ground-- which was taken from photograph I took about a year ago while out at the ranch. But, today's entry has a prize on it.. so all the professional people came out of the woodwork to enter. Holy smokes there're a lot of talented people out there!It's a good reminder to set the bar a little higher.

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Photoshop Challenge - Day 4

4/25/2016

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I actually did have a plan before I got started on today's challenge, but let me be honest and say it didn't work. At all. Not even close.

So, I went farther off track (because, trust me, nothing could possibly make it any worse), and then I added flames! (it was poetic at the time). By the end of my self-imposed time limit, instead of deleting the challenge and moving on with my life, I decided I kind of liked it! It's not something I would have done in the past (which is the entire point of these daily challenges). It's colorful, eye-catching (haha), and bizarre enough to get a second glance. Like hiding tasteless vegetables in yummy cupcakes.

I'm giving myself browny points for submitting this atrocity instead of deleting it. :-)

Eyepools of Purgatory

This was the daily challenge original to work with:

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Photoshop Challenge - Day 3

4/24/2016

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With the loss of a great artist sill weighing heavily in my thoughts, I dedicate today's photoshop challenge to Prince. May his music and soul live on and continue to inspire others.

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2017 Resolutions: Planning to Write & Publish a Book

...from conception to marketplace for inspired writers who want to be authors

Courage: Never Look Back (the prequel to the Secrets of the Makai series)

Mini-Book Charm Tutorial

Items Needed:

STEP ONE:
Print your Cover

STEP TWO:
Seal Your Mini Covers

STEP THREE:
Fold the Cover, Cut the Paper

STEP FOUR:
Making the Channel for Hardware

STEP FIVE:
Glue

STEP SIX:
Press Overnight

STEP SEVEN:
Sealing the Pages

STEP EIGHT:
Final Touches

Wish You Were Here - Photoshop Challenge

Photoshop Challenge Day 9 & 10

Photoshop Challenge - Day 7 & 8

Photoshop Challenge

Photoshop Challenge - Day 5

Photoshop Challenge - Day 4

Eyepools of Purgatory

Photoshop Challenge - Day 3

Toni Kerr

Be the First to Know!

Archives

Categories

Services

...from conception to marketplace for inspired writers who want to be authors

Items Needed:

STEP ONE:​Print your Cover

STEP TWO:Seal Your Mini Covers

STEP THREE:​Fold the Cover, Cut the Paper

STEP FOUR: Making the Channel for Hardware

STEP FIVE:​Glue

STEP SIX:Press Overnight

STEP SEVEN:​Sealing the Pages

STEP EIGHT:Final Touches

Eyepools of Purgatory

Toni Kerr

Be the First to Know!

Archives

Categories

Services

STEP ONE:
Print your Cover

STEP TWO:
Seal Your Mini Covers

STEP THREE:
Fold the Cover, Cut the Paper

STEP FOUR:
Making the Channel for Hardware

STEP FIVE:
Glue

STEP SIX:
Press Overnight

STEP SEVEN:
Sealing the Pages

STEP EIGHT:
Final Touches