Something like a dream...

Last Thursday, it finally hit me. It's really happening. The dream that I fought so hard and so long for is at last within my grasp. Literally. ♥˘⌣˘♥

Because my Splintered ARCs (advanced reader copies) came in the mail. And for the rest of that evening, I was *FLOATING*. Still am.

In fact, I can't seem to climb down off of this cloud ... might have something to do with how beautiful they are. See?

One thing that really struck me was what a unique marketing tool ARCs are. They're not just some unedited paperback version of the hardback. They have all kinds of juicy info on the inside and the outside to entice buyers for the book.

So, since I can't hand out an ARC to everyone to show you, I'll share a few of the details via pictures. First, the back cover:



Hopefully, the text is big enough that you can see the different sections.

• First there's the blurb by a respected and already published author, to let buyers/readers know that fans of said author might like this newbie author's work, as well.
• Then comes the book synopsis with a hook that will hopefully make buyers and readers equally excited to invest time and/or money into the story.
• After that comes the marketing information. In other words, what the publisher is doing to get exposure for the author and the book, and in turn, helping to make the buyer's job to sell books easier.
• Book specifications follow, such as numbers of pages, price, ISBN, age recs, etc...
• The Publisher's insignia and address, and the distributor information for anyone interested in ordering.

So basically, the outside is like a really elaborate business card. :)

The inside offers a preview of the finished layout. Chapter fonts, text fonts, designs, pictures, etc... are all on display. No holds barred, this is the time to display everything the book has to offer aesthetically, like a peacock spreading out those tail feathers to get the attention of his mate. And let me tell you, Splintered has some very pretty tail feathers (thanks to Amulet's design team for their artistic talent and foresight!). 





ARC picture collage by Gabrielle Carolina







So, there's a quick peek at the ins and outs of ARCs. Congrats to those of you who've already won a Splintered ARC in one of my contests. To those of you who haven't, I'll be having one more contest for one, so be watching!

Hope everyone has a great week! As for me? I'm going back to hugging my book. See you soon! :)