Old Wounds--New Beginnings (Part III)
Table of Contents and Formatting
First time we met, I told you about of backstory about my idea for Old Wounds—New Beginnings. It’s origin story, if you please. And I shared the cover. Then I gave you a brief overview of my mad interpretation for crafting the perfect (or imperfect?) Table of Contents. Now, I want to show you what the table of contents will be and how doing one ultimately led me to a unique (and hopefully not as confusing) way to do the formatting.
FORMATTING
What do I mean by format? Well, not so much the interior pages as: Hardcover, paperback and ebook.
So, before we take a look at the TOC, let me first discuss my zany idea. I have a couple stories that are good and long(ish). Well, mainly, I have these two stories that I feel deserve to stand out amongst the rest in some unique way. And so, I thought why not make them unique to their format. Here’s what I mean:
Ebook copies will include 13 stories. These 13 stories I will have shared here, on Substack. Though, by the time they make it to print form, they will have been rigorously edited by myself and others. So, while you may feel like you’ve read them, they may very well be different come publication time! [65,000 words]
Paperback copies will include all 13 stories from the ebook version, plus one more story that will not have been shared on Substack. I’ve decided to finish MIRA (currently unfinished) and make it a story unique only to those who purchase the paperback. [70,000 words]
Hardcover copies will have all 13 from the ebook, MIRA, plus an additional story, also not shared on Substack. Bringing this special edition to 15 short stories in total. It’s a twisted tale of The Wizard of Oz. I’m not going to release the title for this one yet, but the story is currently sitting at 11k and will likely be around 15k words when done. [85,000 words]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ebook / Paperback / Hardcover
Happy Last Day
The Secret Keeper
Murder Factory
The Mermaid and the Pirate
Bone War
The Hanging Tree
What Big Teeth
The Potion
Hanover Massacre
Empty Casket
Two Little Orphans
Happy Eater
The Eternal View
Paperback & Hardcover Exclusive ONLY
MIRA
The Isle of Shadows
A Wizard of Oz Twisted Tale (title tba)
Because of these additions to the PB and HC editions I’m thinking about putting some sort of “sticker” image or something on the covers to signify that they have additional stories. This might seem completely cheesy to do. Mock-ups forthwith before I proceed with this idea. I may just rely on informing about the additional stories in the book description itself.
For those who are curious from a planning perspective, each format will require its own unique ISBN. The only time an exception can be made is if you:
Don’t intend to sell your book via any online digital platform.
You will accept a FREE ISBN from an online retailer. Which people will often do.
In brief, I own more than enough ISBNs that I purchased from Bowker. I recommend, if you can afford it, at least getting their 10-pack as you can at least publish two, if not three, books just from them. I’m looking at going the route of not making my ebook purchasable via digital platforms (such as Amazon) and selling it myself directly. Another option I can take is to simply get a free ASIN (Amazon specific ISBN) but this will lock my ebook into Amazon which I don’t like.
However, when it comes to paperbacks and hardcovers, having your own ISBN, and not accepting a free one is, IMHO, the only way to go. Each version requires its own ISBN. And if you create an audio book (I don’t think I’ll be doing that any time soon) then it will require its own ISBN as well.
This means I’ll need at least two ISBNs when I create each version.
Some other interesting facts you might want to know:
Paperback 5 x 8
Hardcover 5.5 x 8.5
I went with these sizes because they are universally used. This means I would have an easier time of finding them available when I tested out Amazon KDP, Lulu, and IngramSpark when deciding which one I want to go with. At the time of writing this I am leaning towards using IngramSpark as they are who I’m currently using for my 100 Word Stories series of books.
Next time we meet I’ll share a brief few sentences about each story.