Putting out a book is an interesting experience, to be sure. No matter how much you try to be prepared, to do everything just right, you always end up looking at the finished product with a little bit of… well… doubt.
The great thing about self-publishing is that, when that doubt arises, you have the chance to go back and make some changes. And that’s why less than a year after publishing my first full-length novel titled THE BLOODLINE, I took the rather drastic step of publishing a second edition of the book.
What’s different? Well, there were some minor additions within the text… a few words here and there that clarified some scenes and add something extra to the romantic elements of the story. I also added back matter, including some notes on the text, inspirations and music, as well as section on the music that inspired my writing of the book.
The biggest differences between this version and the original edition are the title and the cover. I decided to drop the “THE” from the title, going for simply BLOODLINE. I liked the way it looked on the cover and, quite frankly, as future books come to be, I liked the idea of sticking to a single word for the title. Start adding articles and such and you end up taking up the entire cover with words… and in the case of this cover, that would be a travesty.
And that brings me to the cover. I like the original cover, and in some ways it still fits into the story, but I felt that it conveyed a tone and atmosphere for the story that was darker than it actually is. So I decided to get a new cover. I looked for pre-made ones, but ultimately decided to go with a custom design. I went with Deranged Doctor Design and, after answering their questionnaire, let them have free rein. I’m telling you, I was so pleased with the result. I’ll definitely be using these guys for future covers… They rock!
Anyway, Bloodline is now available for Kindle on Amazon, and in paperback through Amazon and Createspace. I’m looking forward to seeing how it does this go-around, and I hope you read and enjoy it… And don’t forget to leave a little review. I love to hear what people think of my writing, and your thoughts could very well influence the future books in many ways, so please do let me know what you think.
GABRIELLA MESSINA WRITES 