Re-editing complete

After the whole trademark issue with the Gamebook , mentioned in a previous post, we had some serious thinking and work to do.  First off, we had to check that none of the other names we were using were trademarked in the same way. Then as the main character had changed, some of the secondary characters names had to change too as they wouldn't made sense to anyone familiar with Barsoom. We also found that the objective of the book, the "mission", had to change!

None of these were/are major changes, and I've just completed my required edits.  I also took the opportunity to fix a couple of minor issues that I had spotted in the P.O.D. version that had slipped through all of the proofing.

I've handed the work back to my collaborator so that he can do his changes.  He's actually got the most work to do for this revision.  Not only the text edits, but he is also "cover man", and he is going to have to remake the cover using the new title and cover blurb. He's very good at that sort of thing, but I appreciate it is a lot of work.

Disaster!?

As mentioned in a previous post a KA Cartlidge and myself recently released a gamebook featuring "Tars Tarkas" a secondary character from a book that's in the public domain.  To our disgust and horror we only just discovered the name "Tars Tarkas" has been trademarked!

Although the original book is in the public domain, a company has trademarked the names of pretty much all of the characters. As a couple of hobbiest authors we are not in any position to mount a legal battle over anything, so for the moment have withdrawn the products from sale until we decide what to do.

It's a blow, but not an insurmountable one. It has highlighted the danger and trouble you can run into using someone else's world, even if it's in the public domain.  Whatever we decide to do with this project, I have learnt that I should do a trademark search before starting writing in someone else world.

I'm going to file this one under "Doh!" ... or maybe not, because that word has been trademarked too!

Gamebook released in ePUB format

My latest collaborative book project has started to become available via electronic outlets. "What is it?" you ask!

Well, here it is. Tars Tarkas of Mars. This book is based in the "John Carter of Mars" universe and is a prequel of sorts to the first John Carter book, "Princess of Mars".


In this gamebook adventure we follow Tars as he carries out a solo mission to recover a lost treasure.


It's not an ordinary novel, but rather a game in a book. You read the first entry and are given some choices about what you want the protagonist to do, and depending on the choices you make you will read different segments, thereby controlling how the story is told and the eventual outcome.


Your choices in this game can lead to the successful completion of the mission or even to the death of Tars!  Check out the Kindle link below and take a look at the sample, if you've never seen this sort of thing before you're in for a surprise.




The book is available as a DRM free ePUB from LuLu.com and on the Kindle.  Soon to appear in print as a print-on-demand book, and in the iBook and Nook stores.

WITHDRAWN FROM SALE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE ( just found out that "Tars Tarkas" is trademarked, what a bummer!)
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Hard copy from the POD for proofing

Today I received a hard copy of the gamebook from the P.O.D. company. It sure does look good, but of course I'm biased!  The cover put together by my collaborator has really popped into life when printed on shiny card. He's done an outstanding job of work.

I'm glad I paid for this copy as it's highlighted a couple of issues that need to addressed and a revision made.  Just like all stories need to be revised and edited before release, print editions all need to be printed and checked before going public.

In this case the bar code on the rear has crossed over some of the blurb text; it's come out significantly larger than I expected. Secondly despite all of the read throughs and double and triple checking, there is a sub heading that is not highlighted as it should be. Drat! and double drat!  You must always check the release before you blurt out and tell the world.  If I hadn't checked I could have been pushing a sub-standard text on an unsuspecting public.  However the joy of POD is that I can just make a minor revision online and it will be good to go!

Nearing the end

My currently most advanced writing project is a collaboration.  It's the first collaborative writing project I've ever worked on and has been a blast.  It's also the first "game book" or "gamebook" that I've ever written.

Now there is a chance that you kind reader do not know what a gamebook is!

Simply put, it is not a traditional novel but rather a game in the form of a novel. The story is split into  numbered entries, usually a paragraph or two long each. You start reading at the beginning and after a page or two are presented with a story based choice. As an example, you might be informed that if you want the protagonist to take the left hand fork you should turn to entry109 or if you want the protagonist to to take the right, turn to entry 205. Almost every entry ends with a similar choice, thereby giving the reader the chance to guide the narrative.

There have been a number of game books over the years and some very famous brands, the two best known being "Choose your own adventure" and "Fighting Fantasy". Our book follows in the footsteps of the latter in that it is a fantasy adventure style game that actually calls upon the reader to roll a die now and then in certain situations.

The collaborative nature of writing the book has been fun.  We started by devising an overall plot then split the actual task of writing so that we had 2 sections each to write.

I found this style of writing rather different from usual.  For a start, each entry had been plotted out before the actual writing began, it was like have an outline detailed right down to the individual page level. It made the physical writing extremely easy.  Each night as I sat down to compose an entry or two, I didn't have to consider plot, it was already detailed. All I had to do was effectively fill in the blanks.

I had in the region of two hundred entries to write, most of those I wrote at the rate of two or three per evening and then up to as many as ten on Saturdays and Sundays.  It gave me a very simple writing experience.  No planning or plotting each time I sat down to write, no need to reread the last chapter as the story was kept fresh in my mind as I was writing every day. Just writing a couple of entries meant I would only spend at most half an hour at the keyboard before getting on with something else.

I'm currently preparing a P.O.D. version of the finished book to go on sale at LuLu, with luck that might be finished this weekend.  After that my esteemed partner-in-this-crime will be preparing other digital formats which we'll put online as they are completed.