Let's see how some of the other characters began and turned out.
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| Bethany's three princes |
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| Three princes, final version |
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| Bethany's old woman |
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| Old woman, final version |
Sunday, 9 November 2014
The Princes and the Old Woman
The Transformation from Lotus Flower to Princess
The illustrators next provided a storyboard, with one colour illustration and the rest in black and white line drawings. Here we discussed the transformation scene.
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| Bethany's original resembles Birth of Venus in how she emerges from the flower off balance. (Note: Birth of Venus is a nude painting, be aware before following the link with young children.) |
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| The storyboard original resembles Aladdin's lamp in how the magic pours from the flower. |
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| The final version resembles the Hindu goddess Lakshmi (alternate picture) and the Buddhist Quan Yin, who also stand on a pink lotus flower. |
Bringing the Lotus Princess to Life
Creating illustrations was the next step in the process. First we decided that, although some of Bethany's illustrations were amazing, the quality was not consistent enough for publishing (and Rebecca's scanning skills were not adequate for publishing quality). So Word Alive Press provided a team of illustrators to take Bethany's concepts and re-create them in professional quality. Bethany and Rebecca looked at examples of Word Alive's children's books and thought about the style of illustration they were interested in. They wanted simple illustrations that nevertheless reflected both a Chinese style and the personality of Bethany's originals.
The illustrators began by providing character sketches of Mei Lien and the Emperor. Here are Bethany's originals, the first version from the illustrators, and the final version. You can see how the characters stayed the same, but the final quality was much better than Bethany and Rebecca could have achieved at that time.
The illustrators began by providing character sketches of Mei Lien and the Emperor. Here are Bethany's originals, the first version from the illustrators, and the final version. You can see how the characters stayed the same, but the final quality was much better than Bethany and Rebecca could have achieved at that time.
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| Mei Lien on her balcony |
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| First character sketch -- so exciting to see! |
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| Final character sketch |
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| Bethany's "Confrontation with Emperor" |
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| Final version |
Saturday, 8 November 2014
How can I get a copy of The Lotus Princess?
So glad you'd like to buy one of Bethany's books!
The very best is if you can make it to the Launch Party, Nov. 29, 2014, 1-4pm (just drop in, or come at 2pm for the reading). If you want to make sure we don't run out before you get there, you can reserve it ahead of time by emailing lotusprincess2014 (at) gmail (dot) com or talking to Rebecca.
If you can't make it to the launch party, or need to get it in the mail before the Christmas rush, you can email lotusprincess2014 (at) gmail (dot) com or contact Rebecca and she will get it to you sooner. If you live nearby, we'll make arrangements for personal delivery. If you are not local, it costs $6 shipping in a photo mailer to prevent bending, or $3.25 if you just want it in a plain paper envelope. (If it arrives damaged in the photo mailer, I'll replace it for free. Choose the paper envelope at your own risk to save some money. Shipping cost will increase for more than one book.)
If you buy from Rebecca directly, it costs $20 each for fewer than 10, or $18 each for 10 or more. (They make great Christmas presents.)
It is also available from our friend Deb on her homeschool book website:
http://www.homeschoolcanadastore.ca/products/the-lotus-princess
(scroll down if you don't see it immediately). She's charging $19.99 plus tax and actual shipping costs.
It is available on Amazon.ca for $22.81 (Canadian) plus tax, eligible for Super Saver Shipping if you buy over $25. Amazon.com has it for $17.48 (US) plus tax and shipping. Follow the links in this paragraph or search "lotus princess zimmerman".
Barnes and Noble has it online for $17.12 US plus tax and shipping, and since it is available online it should be in the in-store ordering database as well. So you can go to your local Barnes and Noble store and have them order it in.
It will be available at Christian bookstores, Chapters, and other bookstores soon -- ask them to order in a few copies for their shelves when they order yours!
The very best is if you can make it to the Launch Party, Nov. 29, 2014, 1-4pm (just drop in, or come at 2pm for the reading). If you want to make sure we don't run out before you get there, you can reserve it ahead of time by emailing lotusprincess2014 (at) gmail (dot) com or talking to Rebecca.
If you can't make it to the launch party, or need to get it in the mail before the Christmas rush, you can email lotusprincess2014 (at) gmail (dot) com or contact Rebecca and she will get it to you sooner. If you live nearby, we'll make arrangements for personal delivery. If you are not local, it costs $6 shipping in a photo mailer to prevent bending, or $3.25 if you just want it in a plain paper envelope. (If it arrives damaged in the photo mailer, I'll replace it for free. Choose the paper envelope at your own risk to save some money. Shipping cost will increase for more than one book.)
If you buy from Rebecca directly, it costs $20 each for fewer than 10, or $18 each for 10 or more. (They make great Christmas presents.)
It is also available from our friend Deb on her homeschool book website:
http://www.homeschoolcanadastore.ca/products/the-lotus-princess
(scroll down if you don't see it immediately). She's charging $19.99 plus tax and actual shipping costs.
It is available on Amazon.ca for $22.81 (Canadian) plus tax, eligible for Super Saver Shipping if you buy over $25. Amazon.com has it for $17.48 (US) plus tax and shipping. Follow the links in this paragraph or search "lotus princess zimmerman".
Barnes and Noble has it online for $17.12 US plus tax and shipping, and since it is available online it should be in the in-store ordering database as well. So you can go to your local Barnes and Noble store and have them order it in.
It will be available at Christian bookstores, Chapters, and other bookstores soon -- ask them to order in a few copies for their shelves when they order yours!
Wednesday, 5 November 2014
The Books Arrived!
The copies of Bethany's book finally arrived today!
It is so exciting to see her name in print!
The official book launch party will be November 29, 2014 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Langley Christian Middle School (22702 48th Ave., Langley). A book reading and question period will be held at 2 p.m. All are invited!
The Lotus Princess costs $20 and will be sold at the book launch party. It is already available on Amazon, and can soon be ordered from Chapters and other bookstores (it takes a bit of time to get into the bookstores' databases). If you can't wait for your copy, contact Rebecca at lotusprincess2014@gmail.com and she'll see about getting one to you sooner.
It is so exciting to see her name in print!
The official book launch party will be November 29, 2014 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Langley Christian Middle School (22702 48th Ave., Langley). A book reading and question period will be held at 2 p.m. All are invited!
The Lotus Princess costs $20 and will be sold at the book launch party. It is already available on Amazon, and can soon be ordered from Chapters and other bookstores (it takes a bit of time to get into the bookstores' databases). If you can't wait for your copy, contact Rebecca at lotusprincess2014@gmail.com and she'll see about getting one to you sooner.
Thursday, 30 October 2014
Polishing the Story
The publishing process began with editing the text. Bethany had done a good job on her assignment, so there weren't many spelling or punctuation errors. However, there was still room for some improvement.
Word Alive provided a professional editor, Kerry, to work with Bethany to hone the wording of the story. Bethany began by putting her questions in comments in the Word doc containing the text, and sending it to Kerry. Kerry responded with her suggestions, and Bethany and Rebecca implemented some of those and responded with further questions about others. At each stage, Kerry would create a new version which included the changes everyone had agreed on.
The biggest change made to the text was expanding the ending. Initially, the story closed with a sentence or two. Bethany rewrote it to make it about as long as the introduction, so the story felt more balanced. Another significant change was adding a sentence explaining why the three princes suddenly entered the story. A few other sentences were rearranged or rewritten to make them clearer.
At this time, Bethany and Rebecca also worked on the summary for the back of the book, and the author bio (the sentences about Bethany on the back cover). They decided not to include an author photo for privacy reasons.
After a few times going back and forth with questions and suggestions, Bethany, Rebecca and Kerry were all happy with the final text, and Rebecca sent Word Alive the official approval to move on to the next stage in the process.
From Thought to Reality
Six months or so later, Rebecca, Bethany's mom, was unemployed and looking for ways to earn some money, and she remembered Bethany's teacher's suggestion. Maybe publishing The Lotus Princess would be a good way to stay busy and earn money.
At that point, Rebecca started researching different ways to publish a story. There are lots of guides out there on "how to get your story published," but there are two main ways of doing it.
The old way was to send your story to publisher after publisher and agent after agent, hoping one would find it worth working with. This was difficult in the old days, when stories could be rejected hundreds of times before being accepted. These days, it is hard even to find a publisher who accepts manuscripts directly from authors! In this way of publishing, the publisher has a lot of control over the final product, and the author gets paid royalties for their work.
The new way is called "self-publishing." In this way of publishing, you pay lots of money to a company who then publishes your book for you. You have to sell it yourself. There are also lots of self-publishing companies out there, and they all offer different options for how your book is published and distributed.
While Rebecca was doing this research, a teacher in Bethany's school published a children's story book (Sunbeam Music by Sarah Froese). Rebecca decided to look into the company that published for her, and eventually decided to go with that company for Bethany's book.
The Lotus Princess is published by Word Alive Press. They provide editing and professional illustrations, and they make sure people can order your book from Amazon, Chapters (Indigo), Barnes and Noble, and other book stores. This is called "distribution" and it's very hard to do on your own, since most book stores won't take books that don't come through their own channels.
The final step in starting the process was paying for the services of Word Alive. Rebecca's Oma (grandmother) was willing to loan Rebecca the money to pay for the publication of the story. Money was exchanged, legal contracts were signed, and the publishing process began!
(By the way, if you are considering publishing your story and you decide to go with Word Alive Press, be sure to mention Bethany's name so she can receive a referral bonus.)
At that point, Rebecca started researching different ways to publish a story. There are lots of guides out there on "how to get your story published," but there are two main ways of doing it.
The old way was to send your story to publisher after publisher and agent after agent, hoping one would find it worth working with. This was difficult in the old days, when stories could be rejected hundreds of times before being accepted. These days, it is hard even to find a publisher who accepts manuscripts directly from authors! In this way of publishing, the publisher has a lot of control over the final product, and the author gets paid royalties for their work.
The new way is called "self-publishing." In this way of publishing, you pay lots of money to a company who then publishes your book for you. You have to sell it yourself. There are also lots of self-publishing companies out there, and they all offer different options for how your book is published and distributed.
While Rebecca was doing this research, a teacher in Bethany's school published a children's story book (Sunbeam Music by Sarah Froese). Rebecca decided to look into the company that published for her, and eventually decided to go with that company for Bethany's book.
The Lotus Princess is published by Word Alive Press. They provide editing and professional illustrations, and they make sure people can order your book from Amazon, Chapters (Indigo), Barnes and Noble, and other book stores. This is called "distribution" and it's very hard to do on your own, since most book stores won't take books that don't come through their own channels.
The final step in starting the process was paying for the services of Word Alive. Rebecca's Oma (grandmother) was willing to loan Rebecca the money to pay for the publication of the story. Money was exchanged, legal contracts were signed, and the publishing process began!
(By the way, if you are considering publishing your story and you decide to go with Word Alive Press, be sure to mention Bethany's name so she can receive a referral bonus.)
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