Blog 200: The Evolution of Fennel's Journal - Part 10
The Fennel's Journal series of books began life as handwritten letters. This series of eleven blogs tracks the development of the letters into what we know today.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
2017: Fennel's Journal hardbacks and paperbacks
To celebrate the 21st Anniversary of Fennel's Priory, I decided to publish Fennel's Journal as hardbacks and paperbacks, making them available to purchase direct from me or through any bookshop. I extended each title by a third, making them more substantial and 'complete' than the magazine or early eBook versions.
The cover designs
I wanted to emphasise that the books were part of a series, so adopted a template design for their covers. The Fennel's Journal logo remained, as per the magazines, and I included the book's number in the series on both the front cover and spine. This meant that I only needed to select a suitable image for the cover, and a complementary colour to match it, and the individual character of the book would be created.
Each dust jacket features the hula hooping hanster named Gerald who features in Fine Things. He's the one responsible for my impulsive behaviour, who's featured in Fine Things.
The blurbs
The inside dust jacket of the hardbacks featured a short summary of the book and its author. Writing these was challenging, rather like crafting one's CV. Ultimately my aim was to explain why the book might be of interest and how I was qualified to write it. I much prefer to let the writing speak for itself, so included a quote from the book on the rear cover.
The contents
I took the bold move to publish the books as text only (no illustrations) as I wanted my writing to stand up on its own. Whilst the earlier magazine versions featured high quality photos, I felt that a book that's meant to be read should be read. This gave me the opportunity to give the books a traditional feel with an established font and page layout.
I was able to use the 'spare' pages within the book to engage with the reader, including a 'Stop – Unplug' question to get them to think. I included an instruction at the start of the book to make it clear that I wanted them to take the book on their adventures and read it in a suitably relaxing place.
Here are a few pages from my proof copy of A Writer's Year:
If you like this blog, you'll like Fennel's book A Writer's Year.
You might like the video of The Fennel's Journal Story.
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