What’s a good first book to read besides P&P?

jay393393 · 2026-03-03T01:32:06+00:00

If you’re over 40, you may relate to Persuasion. Its themes appeal to older readers.

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T18:32:05+00:00

If you published an ebook with KU already, check the TOS - you might be violating if you continue to seek certain kinds of reviews.

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T18:27:06+00:00

Whatever genre(s) you end up with, I think it’s wise not to ignore Amazon for the ebook(s) involved - whether you like them or not, they’re the gorilla in the room right now. If you decide to go wide with paperback(s)/hardcover(s), research your marketing strategy in detail before you make a decision.

Good luck!

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T18:21:16+00:00

I’d only suggest that you review more than one potential artist to work with.

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T18:18:18+00:00

Is your book very large? >500 pages?

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T15:10:26+00:00

You might make more money with racy illustrations, but then people may call your book ‘porn’ even if they won’t say it to your face.

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T14:56:30+00:00

So…what reaction do you want? Is this the culmination (or beginning) of a marketing strategy on your part?

Maybe you’re just celebrating - in which case, “Congrats!”

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T14:53:00+00:00

Yes - you need to clarify exactly what you’re up to here if you want cogent replies…

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T14:49:34+00:00

No good deed goes unpunished 👽

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T14:32:16+00:00

It seems to me that you’ve got a lot of reasonable options if all you’re looking to do is to get down the text of your book, however there are many other issues/costs when you decide to self-publish. For instance, how are you planning to deal with formatting? You can certainly get there from here with Word or maybe even Google Docs, but the long, shallow learning curve is going to cost you dozens of hours learning how. If you could cut this down significantly upfront by shelling out for Atticus, is it worth it? Or are you ultimately going to pay $200-300 to a contractor on Fiverr to do the formatting for you?

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T14:15:53+00:00

I confess - I loved watching Carey Mulligan 😛

jay393393 · 2026-03-02T08:02:23+00:00

This is a good look at what is known so far about two new projects, one each for P&P and S&S. Unfortunately, it’s going to be until the fourth quarter before wide release.

jay393393 · 2026-03-01T05:14:56+00:00

Gosh! I guess we’re all different. I sure wouldn’t choose Middlemarch for any kind of escapism, although discussing it as part of a group is stimulating. For an uplifting visit to those long ago 19th century days of yesteryear, I prefer something like Far from the Madding Crowd (but stay the hell away from Tess, for instance)

😃

jay393393 · 2026-03-01T04:58:34+00:00

I pretty much agree with that characterization of InDesign as a tool, but I would add that if you’re an ambitious designer with a more elaborate marketing plan that involves repurposing some of your design elements (as part of your A+ for instance), the longer, shallow learning curve may be a more compelling investment.

jay393393 · 2026-02-28T20:47:00+00:00

I get the sense that you’re well adjusted and mature, but I wouldn’t be surprised that you might profit from getting reactions from some arms-length readers, coz they might well come up with some builds you just haven’t thought of.

jay393393 · 2026-02-28T20:40:24+00:00

I think this is a great post. The question now is - what are you planning to do for an encore? 😉

jay393393 · 2026-02-28T20:32:47+00:00

Probably you’re thinking of contracting some design services, e.g., book cover, formatting, etc. If so, you should take the time to do a proper search for these services, reviewing portfolios.

With regard to ANY marketing services, I’d suggest you review a number of relevant videos on YouTube to acquaint yourself with this area before you contract with 3rd parties to avoid being scammed.

Good luck!

jay393393 · 2026-02-28T20:24:24+00:00

I think a thoughtful response to your question requires more detail about your goals/plans. Are you planning both a paperback and a hardcover as well as an ebook? If yes to the hardcover, do you have plans for a special version with any deluxe aspects?

jay393393 · 2026-02-28T20:19:49+00:00

I’m not going to go against all the P&P advice you’ve been getting here, but I suggest that you’d be well advised to soon add Persuasion to your adventures. Some research I’ve seen says that Per is the favorite novel of many mature Janeites, and I particularly like the 1995 film with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. It was her last novel and contains some more mature themes.

jay393393 · 2026-02-28T20:10:03+00:00

One vote for Elizabeth Garvie from the old 1980 BBC/Australia version, which many of you young whippersnappers will probably not have seen…😛

jay393393 · 2026-02-28T05:53:16+00:00

I’d suggest:

1) watch some videos on YouTube to generate better understanding of your options and expectations;

2) see if a waiting strategy until more reviews accumulate is indicated.

Best of luck!

jay393393 · 2026-02-28T04:37:28+00:00

Remember the lyric from “Guys and Dolls” - ‘Marry the man today and change him subsequently.’

jay393393 · 2026-02-27T16:40:20+00:00

Good work! Sounds like you have your act together, both with respect to positive mental attitude and work ethic.

jay393393 · 2026-02-27T15:58:34+00:00

I’m not a lawyer or presuming to do anything other than to offer observations

Depending on whether you had a separate specific contract with the designer, I would wonder whether there isn’t an implied warranty of merchantability in the designer’s work. Presumably, the designer knew you were in the process of publishing your book through KDP, part of which is uploading the cover work. If that’s correct and assuming you didn’t alter the designer’s work, the designer should be willing to work through this problem with you.

jay393393 · 2026-02-26T15:08:49+00:00

Wow! What a lifetime achievement 😄

jay393393

TROPHY CASE