Sunday, May 11, 2014

Precious Book Mail - Round 2!

I received another sweet package recently from a client! ("Round 1" was from the fabulous Lena Goldfinch.) This one was from Sandra Leesmith (whom you all know and love from the various blog tours that have been hosted here!). While she asked me if I'd like my own copy of Love's Promises, she very kindly sent me the whole set of books that we've worked on together so far...


I couldn't have been more thrilled!

Love's Miracles was our first project together - and one of my very first projects with Editing Through the Seasons. I helped edit some of the content and re-type the book, then assisted Sandra in re-publishing it (which was an interesting challenge, navigating the book rights and making sure we did things "by the book," so to speak!).

Love's Refuge and Love's Promises were both previously unpublished (albeit critiqued), so I edited them, and we also hired Rachelle Rea to proofread the former. It was a great experience working "from scratch" with these ones - creating the back cover copies, editing the stories, overseeing the publishing process, and introducing new Leesmith contemporary romantic suspense novels into the world. :)


And of course, you know I have to mention Lena Goldfinch, our cover designer! I absolutely love the work she's done for me and for her own books, and it's so lovely to finally see (in person) the formatting and gorgeous full print covers for Sandra's books, as well. Take a look at the back covers...


I'm in love with these two - the front covers, the back covers, and the spines! The way they capture the mood and settings are so perfect. I had a blast brainstorming with Lena. Although it was all her skill that made them happen, it was a privilege to be privy to the process and to have a say in some of the cover elements. :)

Let me also add that it's super fun to see this...


When we were getting ready to publish Love's Miracles to Amazon, Sandra asked me if I was taking "Amber Press." I ended up going with "Seasons of a Story" for my own publisher name for my books, so I was honored and pleased to let Sandra claim Amber Press. All three of the books include the publisher name on the spines, in the front matter of the book, and on the back cover. :) So sweet! Sandra even recently created a website home for the publisher: www.AmberPressPublishing.com.

If you'd like your own paperback copies of Sandra's latest releases, they're available for purchase on Amazon:
They have the matte covers, so they're soft, which I love! I'm contemplating doing that for my own books now instead of using the glossy covers.

Tell me, do you prefer matte or glossy? And have you received any precious book mail lately?

P.S. Love's Promises is FREE for Kindle today in honor of Mother's Day! Don't forget to snatch up a copy if you haven't already - and blessings to all you mothers out there! ♥

10 comments:

Litha Nelle said...

I've noticed matte paperback covers have a tendency to peel. This bothers me... a lot. It shouldn't matter much, but if I get a physical copy of a book, I want it to look good, and for a long time, so glossy paperbacks or better yet, hardcovers are preferred.

Anonymous said...

I love hard-bound books, because I hope to someday own a library-type room in my dream home - which would be filled floor to floor with hardcovers! (: The gloss vs. matte is a good question, Amber. I'm not sure, quite honestly. I suppose there are both pros and cons for the two styles.

Amber Holcomb said...

Litha,

Huh - that's a great point, and something I hadn't overly thought about! I'll have to keep that in mind. My books are currently available in the glossy paperbacks, and I do like them, for sure. :) But I LOVE the feel of the matte covers, and the fact that they don't show fingerprints. Lots to consider - thank you for sharing your thoughts on the subject!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Grace,

Oooh, that sounds awesome! Hope your dream comes true someday, my friend. ;) Hardcovers really are special, aren't they?

Since the hardcovers aren't really an affordable option for me as an indie author right now, it's down to glossy or matte - and I agree, there are pros and cons to both. I'm leaning toward giving the matte a try, though... We'll see! :)

~Amber

Sandra Leesmith said...

Hi Amber, It tickles me no end to send those books to you since you played a major role in getting them out there. Sorry I missed this yesterday as I took a holiday from email. sigh. But thank you for posting this. It is fun to see them all together.

And thanks for the tweet about the freebie also.

Have a blessed week.

Sandra Leesmith said...

Hi Litha, I've never noticed the peeling problem. Good thing to consider though. I have seen the glossy books fade over time which is why I did matte.

Litha Nelle said...

This happens to me mainly on a certain type of matte cover, where most of it is matte, but the the title/central image is glossy, for example, "The Dovekeepers" by Alice Hoffman has that texture, and peeled so badly I had to replace it. I've noticed these matte covers feel slick, and the ones that do not peel have a more "papery" texture (i.e. my paperback of "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood"). It may also be because I have a hand-sweating issue, but often at thrift shops, I see this happens to other books with the matte/glossy feel. I hope this helps!

Amber Holcomb said...

Sandra,

Aww! Well, it truly blessed me to discover you sent all three and to now have them for my bookshelf. ♥ I'm a proud auntie to your book babies! ;)

No worries about all about the commenting! I'm just glad you liked the post. :) And you know I'm happy to share about your freebie promotions!

Hope you have a blessed week, too!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Litha,

Ah - good to know! These matte ones through CreateSpace don't really have any glossy elements; they're strictly matte. So I don't think they'd have quite as much of a problem with the peeling issue, although it's possible it might happen more than with the glossy. But then the glossy has its own set of issues...

Thanks again for the feedback! :)

~Amber

Sandra Leesmith said...

Oh Grace, what a wonderful dream. I have a floor to ceiling bookcase in my office. It was my dream to have also. I love it. I love being surrounded by books. smile