After hundreds of hours over several years, my latest novel, WHISTLE SWITCH, is now published and available for purchase on Amazon. Thank you to everyone who has followed me and helped out along the way. If you want to see where all this effort went, please pick up a copy and leave me a review.Continue reading “WHISTLE SWITCH is live!”
Author Archives: Jonathan Mann
Whistle Switch final approach
I think this is it: the book may finally be ready for publishing. I received an author’s proof, and remembered that Amazon tends to print a little dark. I punched up the brightness of the cover image, which is a slight shame, as some subtleties in the details get lost this way. After a bitContinue reading “Whistle Switch final approach”
Cover Art for Novel: Complete
I ended up working on the design from the rough, more and more, until I started liking the way it popped against a sharp, digitized background. I decided not to have the original artist take it any further, and I finished the cover using the rough. Here is the completed design image, with the titleContinue reading “Cover Art for Novel: Complete”
Cover Art for Novel: Photo Shoot and Artist’s Rough
The first thing to understand about taking reference pictures with a model is that you take a LOT of pictures, in all kinds of lighting, positions, and angles. Even with a pretty clear idea in your head of what you want, the process has a mind of its own (similar to writing the character!), andContinue reading “Cover Art for Novel: Photo Shoot and Artist’s Rough”
Cover Art for Novel: Concept
Once I had the initial idea, I used generative AI (I can’t remember which, but it was free) to create some concept images to give to the artist. The following are some cherry-picked results: This (above) was pretty dang good. This is literally how I imagine Alexis looks in my head, and the blood-soaked bottomContinue reading “Cover Art for Novel: Concept”
Cover Art for Novel: Inspiration
It’s been a bit but there has been a significant amount of progress made in the effort to create an original piece of artwork for my new novel, Whistle Switch. I had an idea for Alexis on the cover, looking just as bad-ass as you expect. My first thought was to have an image thatContinue reading “Cover Art for Novel: Inspiration”
Withdrawing from “traditional” publishing
I’ve decided to withdraw my manuscript from querying agents, as I am going to self-publish this novel. There are a variety of reasons for this decision, that I’ll explore below. The biggest is that I had an idea of collaborating with my father, a semi-retired professional artist, on the cover design and art. I don’tContinue reading “Withdrawing from “traditional” publishing”
Using AI in Creative Writing
I know this is a fraught subject, so let me just get this out there immediately: I don’t use AI to directly write any part of any of my novels. It doesn’t write any of the prose, and it doesn’t create any of the concepts. The writing and the ideas are wholly my own. HavingContinue reading “Using AI in Creative Writing”
Querying Literary Agents (Part 2)
I’ve found that using Query Tracker at https://querytracker.net/ to be likely the best tool for finding a Literary Agent. So far, I’ve mostly just researched potential agents, but this tool makes that relatively easy. You can find agents based on genre, which is super helpful. I was planning on just using Excel to track everything,Continue reading “Querying Literary Agents (Part 2)”
Querying Literary Agents (Part 1)
Since I’ve decided to pursue traditional publishing with my manuscript for Whistle Switch, I need to find a literary agent. Obviously, I am new to this process, so I’ve started with research. I’ve tracked down examples for a query letter, found resources for lists of agents, and gone over some basic tips. Unfortunately, I’ve foundContinue reading “Querying Literary Agents (Part 1)”
Jonathan Mann 