Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Jan 4, 2019 13:11:20 GMT -8
Recetas de una Mujer Maya Moderna: Easy Modern Mayan Recipes by Sokky Yah is now available on Smashwords
Over 35 simple recipes made in the tradition of the Mayan in the Seye Pueblo in Yucatán, México. Also, included are a few short stories by the author about her life in the pueblo. Included are recipes for pork chops, chicken, spaghetti, desserts, soups, eggs, sandwiches, potatoes, and salads. Find recipes for Cotzitos, Gorditas, tortas featuring chaya, corn, and vegetables. Also, included are two recipes by the author's friend, Alan van Bogegraven.
Más de 35 recetas sencillas hechas en la tradición de los mayas en Seye Pueblo en Yucatán, México. Además, se incluyen algunos cuentos del autor sobre su vida en el pueblo. Se incluyen recetas para chuletas de cerdo, pollo, espaguetis, postres, sopas, huevos, sándwiches, papas y ensaladas. Encuentre recetas para Cotzitos, Gorditas, tortas con chaya, maÃz y vegetales. Además, se incluyen dos recetas del amigo del autor, Alan van Bogegraven.
Over 35 simple Mayan recipes from Seye in Yucatán, México. Included are recipes for pork chops, chicken, spaghetti, soups, sandwiches, salads and 2 recipes by Alan van Bogegraven.
Más de 35 recetas mayas simples de Seye Pueblo en Yucatán, México. Se incluyen recetas para chuletas de cerdo, pollo, espaguetis, sopas, sándwiches, ensaladas y 2 recetas de Alan van Bodegraven.
From TrueBluePress, published on Smashwords
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Post by djmills on Jan 5, 2019 12:47:24 GMT -8
Well done. Congratulations on getting your book published.
I have a suggestion for your cover image to stop the white spaces from disappearing into the background. Place a thin black border around the edge, so the image is in the shape of an ebook cover. :-)
I looked at the preview, but it stopped before the recipe pages, so I can't see your photos of the food, which was a pity. Still, well done and I hope you have many sales.
Are you doing a print copy? I have heard print copies of cooking/recipe books sells well, but I really have no numbers to back up that statement. :-)
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Jan 8, 2019 0:55:07 GMT -8
Love the image on the cover. DJ is right about changes to sharpen it. Interesting nom de plume...
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Jan 8, 2019 8:36:44 GMT -8
I made up some images that might inspire you. I use GIMP (basically a free version of Photoshop) to make these modifications, except I used Snagit to add the border. I believe GIMP can add a border as well. For the border, one thing I like to do is always select a color from the image. I think it looks better. Lots of contrast can make the image 'pop' - where as too much white looks washed out. Also, it has been recommended to drop the 'by' -- advice I was at first reluctant to follow since I try to affect an older style in my covers (my stories are all pulp style, and set in 'olden times') but I now have adopted this manner. These are only ideas, not suggestions!     |
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Jan 9, 2019 1:22:24 GMT -8
Good job, Chris. I think I like the top left best, white is a better background with the graphic. And like the corners. I use Gimp as well.
Hope you like, Ria!
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Jan 9, 2019 7:26:00 GMT -8
Well done. Congratulations on getting your book published. I have a suggestion for your cover image to stop the white spaces from disappearing into the background. Place a thin black border around the edge, so the image is in the shape of an ebook cover. :-) I looked at the preview, but it stopped before the recipe pages, so I can't see your photos of the food, which was a pity. Still, well done and I hope you have many sales. Are you doing a print copy? I have heard print copies of cooking/recipe books sells well, but I really have no numbers to back up that statement. :-) DJ, thank you for your suggestions. I do appreciate them. You are right, I do have a lot of white space in the cover image. Not sure how to fix that because it seems to be result of a process....anyway, I will try in the future to solve that problem.
Hmmm, about the food pictures, there are none. I do not have a camera that takes good pictures, so I tend to avoid them in eBooks.
This is my friend's cookbook. I helped her get it printed locally and published online.
Your observations are spot on, I have not made an investment in software or hardware to create professional quality eBooks. I do think about it. Maybe this year :-)
I dither over high-end expenditures even if it's $50 bucks.
About the print copies, I made a PDF and we got it printed locally.
And thanks for the nudge, I should load the eBook onto a service that provides PODs.
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Jan 9, 2019 7:30:53 GMT -8
I made up some images that might inspire you. I use GIMP (basically a free version of Photoshop) to make these modifications, except I used Snagit to add the border. I believe GIMP can add a border as well. For the border, one thing I like to do is always select a color from the image. I think it looks better. Lots of contrast can make the image 'pop' - where as too much white looks washed out. Also, it has been recommended to drop the 'by' -- advice I was at first reluctant to follow since I try to affect an older style in my covers (my stories are all pulp style, and set in 'olden times') but I now have adopted this manner. These are only ideas, not suggestions!
Wow Chris, thanks for the ideas. I did download GIMP at one time. I think I tried it and somehow it did not seem to work well for me. I think in the confusion of my various tech issues last year, I also stripped back to some basic software. But, the good news is my mac and other apple devices are now working, so 2019 looks better technology-wise. 2018 was techo hell.
For the online versions, I think you all are right, I will change the cover and make other changes and I will try GIMP, again.
Thank you very much for the input!!!!
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Jan 9, 2019 7:48:41 GMT -8
Love the image on the cover. DJ is right about changes to sharpen it. Interesting nom de plume... Hola Chelsfield:
Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.
Actually, the cookbook is by my friend. She is Mayan and has several names. Her birth name, her familiar name, Lucy, and her Mayan name, Sokky Yah.
I think alot about the digital divide. There are many levels in the digital divide.
On one hand, Cookbook author Jack Monroe, pretty much published her book via her smartphone. On the other hand, millions have little to no technology or access to the internet.
My friend, Lucy, is Mayan. She lives in a Pueblo, where many Mayan seek to live separate from "foreigners." Yet, smart phones and the internet are now common in the Pueblo.
When we talked about her book, she said, she wrote the book more for herself than others because Mayans don't generally use cookbooks in print or online.
Lucy lives in two worlds, Mayan and Western, and we talk alot about the loss of culture in her Pueblo. She said that once the young people got smartphones, they did not care as much about their culture. She worries about the loss of the knowledge of the Mayan. She is actually writing a book about her life in the Pueblo. Don't know if I will ever see it.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Jan 9, 2019 7:52:49 GMT -8
I made up some images that might inspire you... Wow Chris, thanks for the ideas... ... Thank you very much for the input!!!! Oh, you're welcome! I enjoy playing around in GIMP. Might get Photoshop one day, as then my buddy at work, and my brother in law, could help me when I'm stuck. But there are tons of help on GIMP online. Just search for what you want to do. Here's another I did, using dried, cracked mud as a bump map. Kind of breaks up the monotony of large expanses of pure white.  |
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Jan 9, 2019 8:12:57 GMT -8
Wow Chris, thanks for the ideas... ... Thank you very much for the input!!!! Oh, you're welcome! I enjoy playing around in GIMP. Might get Photoshop one day, as then my buddy at work, and my brother in law, could help me when I'm stuck. But there are tons of help on GIMP online. Just search for what you want to do. Here's another I did, using dried, cracked mud as a bump map. Kind of breaks up the monotony of large expanses of pure white.
Wow, Chris thanks for all your ideas. You have inspired me to try GIMP again!!
You are very creative.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Jan 9, 2019 13:12:16 GMT -8
Oh, you're welcome! I enjoy playing around in GIMP. Might get Photoshop one day, as then my buddy at work, and my brother in law, could help me when I'm stuck. But there are tons of help on GIMP online. Just search for what you want to do. Here's another I did, using dried, cracked mud as a bump map. Kind of breaks up the monotony of large expanses of pure white. Wow, Chris thanks for all your ideas. You have inspired me to try GIMP again!! You are very creative. Using bump mapping, you can make a leathery texture. Check it out on this Conan cover I made. I did this cover in GIMP..  |
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Jan 10, 2019 0:56:04 GMT -8
Wow Chris, thanks for the ideas... ... Thank you very much for the input!!!! Oh, you're welcome! I enjoy playing around in GIMP. Might get Photoshop one day, as then my buddy at work, and my brother in law, could help me when I'm stuck. But there are tons of help on GIMP online. Just search for what you want to do. Here's another I did, using dried, cracked mud as a bump map. Kind of breaks up the monotony of large expanses of pure white. Chris,I like this one the best! |
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Jan 10, 2019 1:02:15 GMT -8
Love the image on the cover. DJ is right about changes to sharpen it. Interesting nom de plume... Hola Chelsfield:
Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.
Actually, the cookbook is by my friend. She is Mayan and has several names. Her birth name, her familiar name, Lucy, and her Mayan name, Sokky Yah.
I think alot about the digital divide. There are many levels in the digital divide.
On one hand, Cookbook author Jack Monroe, pretty much published her book via her smartphone. On the other hand, millions have little to no technology or access to the internet.
My friend, Lucy, is Mayan. She lives in a Pueblo, where many Mayan seek to live separate from "foreigners." Yet, smart phones and the internet are now common in the Pueblo.
It's good she has a friend like you to help her educate others about her culture. And people using cell or smart phones, instead of PCs or laptops is not uncommon. I have read articles about African tribes using cell phones to conduct their business, especially in areas where there is much poverty and no connectivity. Heck, I know people in the UK who only have cell/smartphones, but no landlines or PCs etc! |
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Jan 13, 2019 7:04:29 GMT -8
Chelsfield, you are right, many people only have cell phones.
I feel old-school. I still use my mac's DVD player and buy DVDs.
I try to keep abreast of technology but it is becoming hopeless.
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Jan 13, 2019 7:21:16 GMT -8
Oh, you're welcome! I enjoy playing around in GIMP. Might get Photoshop one day, as then my buddy at work, and my brother in law, could help me when I'm stuck. But there are tons of help on GIMP online. Just search for what you want to do. Here's another I did, using dried, cracked mud as a bump map. Kind of breaks up the monotony of large expanses of pure white.
Wow, Chris thanks for all your ideas. You have inspired me to try GIMP again!!
You are very creative.
Chris,
I found GIMP but when I did a web search I found that it often carries malware. Plus, my mac refused to load it. I could bypass the mac's security but choose not to.
I have had problems with viruses and malware, so I am leery.
I did make a few changes to the cover and used a different process. While it still has lots of white space, it does look better. Thanks.
Since this book has been published, I will spend time this year beefing up my publishing software options. |
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