Wax Heart Press

It's been a while, and this isn't about fairy tales, but I officially own a publishing company! Wax Heart Press is currently selling three chapbooks.

thin is about eating disorders and recovery, Dear Somebody is about asexuality, and Lord is about faith. All are available starting tonight!

https://www.waxheartpress.com/

Announcement

Hello! As most of you know, I now own a small publishing company, Wax Heart Press, which will begin releasing books in 2020. This means some changes in my currently available books.

My current books are Goodbye and Other Words I Should Have Said, Avalanche: A Self Portrait in Verse, thin, Dear Somebody (print and digital), and And He Became a Handsome Prince (digital only).

As of today, all print book prices will be reduced by $1. This deal is valid through December 31, 2019. Beginning on January 1, 2020, all print books will no longer be available.. The digital versions will still be available. thin and Dear Somebody will be re-released in 2020. At this time, a date has not been set to re-release Avalanche and Goodbye; if you intend to purchase these books, I would recommend you do so in 2019.

https://www.jennyprater.com/

Chapbook Guide

Hi! It’s been a while; sorry. But big news will be coming soon!

I’ve gotten a couple questions lately about how I make my chapbooks, so I thought I’d do a little tutorial blog.

First, I make a list of what I want on every single page:

Then, I make a sample book out of scrap paper.

Next, I disassemble my sample book. A page from the sample book looks like this:

So I know that I need the contents of pages 5 and 6 on one side of my paper, and pages 4 and 7 on the other (this is the easiest sheet since it’s the center of the book.) So this is where things get difficult, because it depends on exactly how your printer works. You’ll have to do some fiddling around to make sure all your pages get printed right side up and in order.

After you’ve figured it out, write it down somewhere, and save it! Also save your sample book. It will make it much easier to print more copies down the line.

I print the cover separately, on thicker paper. Then it’s time for book binding! You can do it fast, cheap, and easy with a stapler; I did that on my little sample book. 

It’s a little crooked, since this isn't a real book and I’m working fast. I usually use staples if I’m going to be giving a bunch of copies away to friends and family. If you want to make it a little nicer, you can buy colored staples.

The other option, the one I use for books I’m selling, is to stitch it. You need a sewing machine for this; maybe you could do it by hand, but it would require being really, really careful. The hard part about using a sewing machine is making sure the paper isn’t torn. I set my machine to the longest possible stitch. Then I ignore the foot petal entirely. Your machine should have a dial on the side, like this:

(Sorry for sideways image; my computer is In A Mood.)

This dial will make the needle move up and down. I do the entire book by turning the dial, slowly and carefully. If you use the foot pedal, the speed will tear your page, so this is the safest way. It can be tedious and time-consuming, but you only need one line of stitching down the center of your book. It will look like this when you’re done:

Tie off the thread on both ends—you should double knot it and cut off the excess. And you’re done! You have a chapbook. 

I hope this is helpful!

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New Book Out Thursday!

It's another week without the promised "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" update; sorry! Been very busy prepping "Dear Somebody," which is what happens when one decides to create and release a book in the space of less than two weeks.

I discovered this afternoon that I was out of colored ink, so I had to go to an office supply store for ink and a fabric store for thread, but I have eight copies printed, bound, and ready to go.

 You can pre-order "Dear Somebody" from Amazon here.

You can pre-order "Dear Somebody" from Barnes and Noble here.

And you can order "Dear Somebody" from Etsy here!

(I figure it will take at least until Valentine's Day to get books shipped and delivered, so ordering starts now on Etsy; if you order yet tonight they'll go out on Monday, and if you order them tomorrow they'll go out on Tuesday, assuming of course that my somewhat lackluster postman succeeds in actually collecting the mail.)

Dear Somebody

So last week was supposed to (finally) be the second half of my "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" post. And it wasn't. Well, neither is tonight. Hopefully we'll be back on track by next week, but in the meantime I have an exciting announcement.

Dear Somebody is a chapbook consisting of 12 poems about asexuality. It comes out on Valentine's Day. The physical copy will be available on Etsy, hand-bound like thin, and the digital copy will be available for Kindle and Nook. More details, including pricing, coming soon!

Edited 2/4/19 to add:

Pricing update! Digital copies from Amazon and Barnes and Noble will be $1.99. Hard copies from Etsy will be $3.00.