I got my KDP groundwood paper paperback print sample! Some thoughts:
Groundwood paper quality is acceptable. I probably wouldn't have noticed much was off if I only ever saw that one. Color is fine. Feels like what I expected from print on demand.
However, I got the "cream" paper first so (1/...)
For SpinoffWIP I have a few comps in mind - one is on my physical TBR shelf. I like the "reformed playboy" trope present in Becka Mack's Consider Me but it's the wrong sport and different character age range. Hoping the others will be a little closer fit.
There isn’t much creepy about my contemporary sports romance, but I dug deep into offseason training loads and read an academic paper on reasons NCAA athletes choose not to consume alcohol and the differences by gender.
"I protected my son from the situation his brother is in."
I want to love the groundwood one because that's like, free profit margin per book in more royalties, and supposedly it is more eco-friendly. But I will feel better taking peoples' money if they get a better quality product, so I will stick with the cream.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk
okay so @jaxdevora.bsky.social has ripped my heart out of my body via a manuscript that made me feel SO viscerally but it's fine it's fine it's fine
day job was long and stressful today, but i took a 20 minute lunch walk and voice dictated 330 words and colored in a "stress relief" coloring book while I did a listening-only work task and I feel better. Only 2 more days until vacation!
I compared the two. The cream paper is definitely superior - thicker, the print quality is higher (more DPI). The pages stay together more so the book feels firmer, not floppy. It sort of balances out the meh print quality of the cover
Also, the groundwood one was a little shorter? For some reason?
Don’t have any I dislike in Where We Land. In SpinoffWIP I am still fleshing this out but the antagonist is basically not a girl’s girl and not supportive of the FMC for petty reasons. Not cute. But she serves a purpose.
Dexterity is a big thing in my SpinoffWIP. The MC is a baseball pitcher so he has good control. He also has accidentally built some decent drawing skills because he takes art classes for college credit since he is dyslexic.
