Bernie Goldbach in Cashel | Photo of a Moleskine note.
I SPEND A FEW MINUTES every two months setting up the front and back matter in my Moleskine journals. I have started thinking more about elements of manuscripts since becoming immersed in Scrivener.
Front Matter. I use plain black Moleskines so there's no cover art. However, at least a dozen of the 190 pages in each Moleskine get hijacked by Mia for her art work. I'm going to elevate some of this Art by Mia to becoming cover art or sleeve art on projects
Title Page. If I ever hope to create an eBook from one of my Moleskines, I need to create the title page that automatically opens when viewing my (upcoming) Moleskine book on an eReader. The title page is minimalist. It show the book’s title, author’s name, and publishing company.
Dedication. Witty dedications work best. They help readers bond with authors (or discard them as a result of a confusing dedication).
Copyright. I've started putting Creative Commons Copyright images directly on some of my Moleskine pages because I'm snapping and saving the pages into Evernote where they can be shared with the world.
Epigraph. I'm saving quips and quotes for the beginning of my Moleskines. They can help put my journaling into context. A lot of the fragments we hear uttered by our five-year-old would fit as epigraphs.
Preface. I visit the preface of my Moleskines to update myself on how my journaling has evolved. A good preface also frames the context of my current journal.
Back Matter. I've learned to appreciate back matter after purchasing dozens of Kindle e-books.
Note from the Author. I write a note of thanks to readers, imagining that my grandson will stumble upon one of my Moleskines and discover something I've written for him. Notes from authors also passes along contact details, escpecially the hyperlinked places where they can hear me talk through earbuds. Just like Eoin Purcell, I believe the "best time to sell to a reader is when they’ve just finished enjoying one of your books".
Bernie Goldbach wants to write more. And get paid for it.
