Starfire Angels series project ideas (paperbacks, covers, and more)

ID 54798543

 © Victoria Shibut | Dreamstime.com

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mothers! Every day is a reason to celebrate the children who make our lives special. I hope today is a blessed day for you and your families.

Now, on to some news for the Starfire Angels lovers out there. 

I've had some ideas stirring in my head and wonder how readers feel. I have some big projects that I need to take on, but it may further slow down my writing of the next Forgotten Worlds books. Please review the ideas below and the questions at the end of this post and leave your feedback in the comments.

Dark Angel Chronicles and Revelations - Individual Books

I know many people want paperbacks, and I want to give that to you. However, I have a lot of considerations. One is whether to pay extra for the same covers from the current Dark Angel Chronicles ebooks or use the old paperback covers. I may just resort to my old covers. I've also updated the story, so I need to reformat all of the interior files, then upload those and order proofs, check proofs and sometimes make adjustments and order new proofs... and eventually approve the final project. It can be a long and tedious process especially when working on several books at a time.

I also want to recover the Revelations series books, so that could take some days off of writing.

Forgotten Worlds Collection - Omnibuses

Other books that I want to also make available in print are the Forgotten Worlds books. I've played with an omnibus of the first five books of the series but will need to update that file and set it up to make it available; again, by going through the process I stated above with setting up paperbacks. Because that is so big, I think the hardcover option is the best quality.

Because I'll soon be releasing Book 12 of Forgotten Worlds, I think it's time to also work on an omnibus of books 6-10. That will be even thicker than 1-5, since the books started growing in length to be closer to 50K words each. I'm trying to keep them between 40K-50K, but sometimes the story dictates otherwise. The omnibuses are doorstoppers because they are 5-book editions (luckily, short novels).

Because I do all my own work, it can take a while to complete these projects; one of me can only do so much at a time. (Finding someone else to do the work and then double-checking them would take just as much time as doing it myself, plus I'll save the money, which can be put into other things and I have this down to a specific process and format after more than ten years of this.)

Starfire Angels Companion Guide(s)

I am also considering putting together a Starfire Angels Companion Guide with all the character details and world-building extras that I've put together as my series bible/wiki, plus expanding on my notes for dedicated readers to enjoy. This will take a lot more time and effort to organize, depending on how much I want to include - just Dark Angel Chronicles and Revelations or those and Forgotten Worlds to date (updating periodically as new books become available with new details)? Work with an artist for character pictures or no pictures? Ebook only or also print? These wouldn't be very many pages, at least not like the actual books, but that also depends on the formatting style that I ultimately decide upon. I would like a decorative interior (much like the gaming books my husband has collected over his lifetime), so it would take some time to design and format. Maybe I could find a gaming book designer and artists to help me put something really special together. 🤔 

All this is thinking aloud for now...

Perhaps I should create three different guides with only one in print for now for those who want it - Dark Angel Chronicles and Revelations. The other two would be Starfire Angels (the whole three-part series - DAC, Revelations, and FW) and Forgotten Worlds separate from the other two parts, since these would need to be updated regularly until Forgotten Worlds is completed.

So many considerations!

It'll be a LOT of work to put this project together. By the time I have it figured out, I might be done or nearly done with FW anyway. I would like to provide some current reference material, however, for those who are following along with what is happening in the FW series.

In Summary

As I said, all this will take away from writing time, so I'll want to spread it out. My first print priority will be the omnibus of books 1-5 of Forgotten Worlds, since I have a full cover ready to go for that. Then I'll probably work on new paperbacks for the original DAC series and Revelations before worrying about a hardcover for FW books 6-10.

Feedback Questions for Readers

Below is a summary of what I'd like to know of your thoughts. Please leave your feedback in comments to this post.

1. Dark Angel Chronicles - 
• paperback or hardcover?
• if hardcover, dust jacket or print cover?
2. Revelations 
• paperback or hardcover?
• if hardcover, dust jacket or print cover?
3. SA Companion Guide 
• Separate series guides or wait for the whole SA series (all three parts in one guide)?
• Ebook only, paperback only, or ebook and paperback?
4. What retailer do you prefer for buying your print books? (so I can figure out what source to use for printing)

Your input is greatly appreciated!