Great Progress on Two Fronts!

Yesterday was a fantastic day in my anthology’s progress.  First, I started workshopping my stories with a good friend who needs feedback on her brilliant dissertation draft, the best kind of quid pro quo.  Secondly, I got a hold of my friend who is designing the book cover.

My workshopping friend gave me some outstanding advice concerning the whole language translation debate (see previous blog entry).  I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, since I read so much Junot Diaz (who is the master of this technique). She asked me, “Why don’t you translate the Spanish words in footnotes?” LIGHTBULB!  Granted, the translation process is tedious, and I am doing my own work, but whether the text is printed or online, I would rather read a footnote than an endnote or a vocabulary index. 

I also said, “I don’t know if I should make the Spanish terms clickable.  The reader might find them cumbersome.”  She gave me the look she probably gives clueless people, and said, “Are you kidding?  Readers will love that!” (or some-such).  I thought about that for a moment, and realized she was right.  So, now I am making the Spanish terms clickable, so they link directly to the footnotes. 

By the end this thing is done, I will have ALL the e-book formatting done.  I get why people pay professionals to do this work.  It is seriously tiresome work, almost the opposite of the fun part of the manuscript.

Regarding the book cover, yesterday by good friend Brett came over for dinner.  He just happens to be a professional photographer and is quite savvy with Photoshop and other software.  I explained the book concept and showed him some examples of book covers I really like.  I want an image that represents the dessert like a saguaro cactus in bloom or something.  He hopes to get it done by July (he’s busy too).  

 This is an example of a book cover I like by one of my favorite Chicano writers (yes, I like Chicana writers too, but not their book covers):

On a touching note, Brett humbly refused payment, but I still want to give him a small sum.  The dude has talent, real talent and designs other media, so I am really excited to have him on the team!

So, here’s to god-sent friends who help you achieve your dreams!  They are definitely making the labor fun and collaborative, which makes the writing process far less lonely.