This week I completed a five-day internship at Little People Books (LPB) as part of my stay at the HoBB (Home of BookBod). My main goal for the week was to help LPB publish their first ebook. We did this using the platform Lulu.com – a self-publishing site that allows users to publish books with their own ISBN and cover art. Our plan was to publish a digital version of an existing book originally designed at LPB, On Robin Hill. After some discussion we chose to publish the book as a PDF without ISBN, available only to LPB’s Lulu.com account, so we could test the process without incurring the cost associated with using an ISBN.
My first task was to consolidate the cover, title page and body files of the print version of On Robin Hill and prepare the layout for digital publication. I did this using QuarkExpress and Photoshop. Republishing this book as an ebook allowed me to add in a more recent back cover page advertising more recent sequels to the book and directing potential buyers to the Little People Books website.
In an editorial meeting, we discussed the concern that publishing the book online might devalue the print edition. The print edition includes two versions of the same story, one using only lower case, and one using only upper case. I suggested that publishing the digital version using conventional capitalisation, as a kind of ‘model’ for early readers, might solve the problem of devaluing the print edition and also add motivation to buy the ebook to complement the print edition. This suggestion was approved. We then uploaded the completed pages and an accompanying marketing image to Lulu.com.
Overall, we were very happy with the result, despite some colour change between the original pages and the pages seen on Lulu.com.
LPB will look further into a pricing model for their digital books and look into whether ePub format would be appropriate in the early education market. The next step will be for LPB to discuss digital publication with their other authors and assess whether Lulu.com’s reach is wide enough and captures the right audience for LPB.
I look forward to checking in with Little People Books to see their ebook publishing and vid. storytelling strategy in full swing.
Lucy Mackay-Sim
Intern. LPB.
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On completing her internship we happily gave Lucy’s the following reference:
To Whom It May Concern,
Between September 8th and September 12th, 2014, Lucy Mackay-Sim completed a one-week internship at Little People Books. During her internship, Lucy assisted Little People Books in publishing their first ebook. Lucy’s experience copy-editing online material was invaluable, as was her experience in adapting the layout of print books for digital publication. Lucy took active part in editorial meetings and was able to talk through the implications of a variety of editorial and production choices. She helped us reach a decision that resulted in the new ebook being published within budget and without devaluing the print edition of the book.
Throughout the week she spent with us, Lucy showed that she is happy copy-editing in a variety of media. She is conversant in many aspects of epublishing and helped us with our social media strategy.
Lucy also worked through a number of submissions, both illustration and text, and she has a good eye for what will and will not work in the current market.
She is confident, articulate and was quick to grasp our enterprise as a whole, which allowed to her to liase straight away with a number of our authors, illustrators and other stakeholders.
Lucy works comfortably on her own, but is also a valuable team member. When she is given a task she always finishes it to a high standard. She shows initiative and can be relied upon to carefully think through a project and make intelligent suggestions that contribute substantially to group discussions. I would not hesitate to recommend Lucy as an editor of either online or print products. She is hardworking, easygoing and a pleasure to work alongside.
A Quick summary guide of each category on the drop-down menu, top right of each page.
We Draw
We draw buildings, illustrations, products, features, infographics – sketch designs of every nature. In this category folder you will see many examples of our design process, project sketches and finished work. For fast idea communication, we also draw ‘live’ at meetings by arrangement.
We Write
We write for publishing, performance, promotion and good communication. Here you will find links to our books for children and just a few client examples as we ghost-write for the majority of our clients – remaining undercover.
We Produce
This section includes products and several product ideas ready for production. If you manufacturer or promote, let us know if you are interested in any of our new product ideas and help us launch these on the market.
Designs When we design a brochure, building, interior, garden or pair of shoes, we ‘problem solve’ having minds that always see solutions. There’s not much that we have not designed at some point but we’re up for a new challenge if you have got a good one. Click on this section to explore the practical side of our work and see how we may further your plans.
Projects and Ideas
Sift thoughtfully through the projects and ideas we post in this section because with your eyes and your input, one of them might make useful profit. We spend a hunk of our time furthering existing business ideas and supporting established projects but we enjoy fresh business challenges so don’t hesitate to ask us – we’re easy-going people; we may take risks but all risks can be lowered with good research and sound business thinking.
Personal Development
Most of us have ‘drive’ – that wonderful thing that fuels progress. For a lot of friends and business associates, we provide a ‘spirit filling station’ – good spirits with fine fayre abounding at harvest times. Read some case studies here.
When the ‘spirit moves’ people progress but if you are not progressing as you desire, your spirit may need topping up. We post things here that we discover and think may help. We do some individual ‘spirit levelling’ on request and by arrangement.
Personal Comments
Here, all personal comments are meant to be placed but you’ll notice they spill out of this section into other postings. As each blog is signed, you’ll always know who to message with any enquiries.
If you would like your comments published, please send postings to us marking them ‘Guest Comment – free to publish’ and if we love them we’ll publish them here with a credit to you and any links you may want to your web site, facebook, pinterest, twitter …..
If we love your comments a lot, you will become a firm ” Friend of the HoBB” and your name will be entered in a draw to win a free weekend at the HoBB.
Interests
Run an ‘interest check’ across us and you’ll find we like all the regular stuff such as ‘good food’, ‘great friends’ and ‘travelling to new places’ along with some less guessable interests. When you go to this folder, each blog posted is signed by the author so that you will know who to contact to share your views, own interests or simply find out more.
If we produced a wordmap of our interests it would include these words:
Stone, Wood, Global Friendships, Architecture, Space Exploration, Riding, Water, Animation, Earth Design, Aquaponics, Perspectives, Pasta Shapes, Low Tides, GuanXi, Home Grown, Books, Foraging, Gardens, Lifestyles, Growth, Fruit, Meditation, Sea life, Enthusiasm, Spring, Re-Cycling, Up-Cycling, Missing links, Being There, Restaurants, Rivers, Passions, Tree Circus, Landscapes, Hand Made Paper, Hedera, Rara Avis, Textures, Plants, Learning, Web, Ideas, Packaging Graphics, Art, Some Cars, Auctions, Beachcombing, Spirit Levelling, Theatre, Spiritual Journeys, Music, Science, Thinking beyond the Box, Autumn, Poetry, Illustration, Colours, Good Quality Closure …
Journeys
Each day another journey. Although included in this folder are all manner of blogs about people and places, some postings are bound to appear concerning deeper, more meaningful journeys, experienced by the mind and ‘felt’ by the spirit.
As an example, it would not be enough to say that physically, I visited an orphanage, without recounting the long distance leap of emotion that my mind would experience in so doing. All journeys encompass things learned or perceived along the way and if our HoBB site can impart just one tenth of the feelings experienced by its contributors, it has accomplished more than we could hope.
If your foraging for fodder and goodies takes you to memorable shops that create a fun experience, then shopping will be a joy for you. If we come across shops that enjoy having customers rather than just wallets and purses, we’ll post up their details in this folder. If you run a shop that should be praised by us because you make your work ‘personal’, let us know and we’ll support your lead where we can.
Identities We set up this ‘identities’ folder in praise of strong ‘ID’s’ everywhere. Click and enjoy all of it, for here in this folder you will get to know many true and fictitious identities over time like ‘Sleepy and the Samurai’; Gina; ‘Bill and Bertha Bamford at the Bar’ and maybe more about your own id. Click-on !
FAQ’s
Some sites use FAQ’s to try and short circuit getting involved with supplying direct answers. Visitors usually end up scrolling down lists of answers that never completely satisfy, just to find that at the end of the page, there is no email contact with the site writers, forcing them to sit on their question till it fades.
We prefer to answer all questions by email, directly, and not leave a list of questions and answers on this site. If you have a specific question we will answer it if we can. If you think of anything that should be answered for the benefit of all visitors, let us know.
Gallery
Most site statistics show that “gallery” and “photos” buttons get a lot of clicks so it’s a ‘must have’ on any site including this one. Give it time and this Gallery folder will fill out with some great shots or we will start a Pinterest account.
As I always flick through books, web pages and magazines to look at the pictures first, there’s an accompanying picture with most of the blogs posted on this site, just to make me happy.
Where are they now?
As sites like ‘friends reunited’ fade off the internet, it makes me wonder about some of the great people we have all known that have lost touch with us. With a mix of curiosity and concern, I have set up this folder to see if it acts as a beacon to information as to the whereabouts of lost contacts, friends, news on cool projects and many things I liked that don’t seem to be around any more.
We’ll see how this folder grows – it will probably show how the world changes and how circumstances dictate what and who you know.
Voluntary Support
We are always seeking new community volunteers to help us with the myriad of tasks at ‘HoBB Project House and Gardens’. These opportunities are varied and can include :
Administrative Volunteer
Special Projects Volunteer
Gardening Volunteers, who work directly with us on planting and maintain the garden displays all the while learning more about gardening
Construction Volunteer
Speakers Bureau – speakers available to any organization wishing a presentation to learn more about our gardens and current activities.
Illustration Volunteer
Book Writing Volunteer
Webmaster Volunteer
Design Volunteer
and more …
Most of the time, volunteers book well in advance and come to us through organisations like helpx.net and wwoof.org but these are usually foreign students touring the world so are with us for a brief ‘stop over’. Whether you are an avid volunteer or novice, you will be looking for new skills, new experiences and new understandings so the ‘HoBB Gardens and Project House’ simply creates these opportunities with you.
If you like to: dig in the dirt, plant, write, level the spirit, paint, move the earth, weed, build, change the world, mulch, illustrate, trim, design or maybe you just want to learn more about life, we will keep you active and lively here … no experience or relevant knowledge is needed!
It is only through the valiant efforts of our wonderful volunteers that the HoBB can continue to provide an outstanding environment where the thoughts and actions of friends can grow.
What do you need to bring? Just your enthusiasm and usually Wellington boots and gloves come in useful.
Journey and ‘make a difference’ with those who like to ‘make waves’; The HoBB Gardens and Project House welcomes Volunteers > get in touch with us.
