Newsletter #6 — Interior Design
March 24, 2021
Newsletter #6 — Interior Design
Come on In— As a reader, I always feel that book design helps me enter the story and understand its feel. And I suspect that in the world of publishing, designers really know what they're doing and are highly valued. Their job is to make the physical book feel inviting and feel right — but their job is also to understand that the reading experience is about the story, not about the design.
I have always been pleased with the way my published books were designed, and one of them, Women at Play, won the Benjamin Franklin Award for excellence in design (for the Sports Books category). It deserved that award: Women at Play had a lot of different things going on (main narrative, sidebar narrative, 100 photos), and the designer managed to make those things look exciting but at ease. Uncluttered.
In contrast, a novel such as The F Words does not have a lot of different things going on: no sidebars, no photos. It is, above all, a story, and I don't know about you, but I like my stories uninterrupted . . . so I don't want any design elements interfering with them.
Ana Christina Ochoa, who designed The F Words, has done a fantastic job. I'm even happier about this book than I was about Women at Play. In her design, Ana has incorporated both the spirit of the book and the action of the book, in a very inviting, semi-playful way that reflects at one and the same time the humor in the story and the seriousness of the story. I couldn't be happier — and I hope readers feel the same way!
Something About Me — I have been elected Vice President of the PWA: Private Eye Writers of America. I love private-eye novels and have been a member of PWA since it's founding decades ago. Luckily for me, it's the President who will have the task of writing newsletter articles and speaking at any conventions or conferences . . . though I will probably chime in with an article here and there.
Event Reminder — The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame has invited me to participate in their April 1 event, Chicago Baseball Classics. I will be reading from my very first novel, She's on First and also from Bill Veeck's biography, Veeck As In Wreck.
Setting— In my March 15 blog I talk about how I developed the Chicago setting of The F Words.
Pre-Order Button— Still another Pre-Order button, this one from Amazon.