Straight Dope Message Board

[Sherrerd]

Those who follow publishing news will be well aware that one of the big stories of 2015 has been the phenomenal success of coloring books for adults. That's not "adult" in the rated-X sense (though those are being published, too)--but in the sense of an appeal to grown-up people who have discovered the benefits of sitting down with colored pencils or gel pens and coloring in an image on a page.

As an April 2015 CNN feature reported:

Atop the Amazon bestselling books list this month sat an unexpected title: "Secret Garden." It wasn't Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 novel about a sour little girl's magical place, making a book club comeback. It was a similarly named coloring book that adults were buying, for themselves, and it wasn't the only one in the top 10. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/21/living...oloring-books/

Here's a new entry in the field:



I'm a lifelong Shakespeare fan and also enjoy making pictures, so this was a natural fit. My draftsmanship is nothing to brag about, but I love composition and fiddling about with bits and pieces of our visual cultural heritage. It was fun to find actual pieces of advice in Shakespeare's plays and sonnets (as opposed to his peerless observations and descriptions). Finding appropriate historic artwork that matched the advice was an enthralling pursuit (and one in which I relied heavily on Wikimedia Commons).

This book contains 42 pages of my pastiche art to color, each page having one image to a sheet. (Many of the been-around-for-years examples of coloring books for grown-ups, particularly the Dover series, had images on both sides of a single sheet of paper. As more people have gotten into the pleasures of coloring it's become apparent that blank-backed pages are more satisfactory.) There are 21 pieces of advice rendered on poster-like pages, and 21 illustrations, complementing each pithy adage.

In the artwork, gray lines have been used (instead of black) to facilitate color blending, and to produce a more natural-looking result. Introductory matter and credits bring the page count to 96.

All ages may enjoy this book, though the fine detail of many of the drawings may be challenging for very small children. Despite the presence of the word "adults" in the title, all elements of the book are suitable for family viewing.

The book may be viewed at two sites:

https://www.createspace.com/5748487

and:

http://www.amazon.com/Wise-Words-SHA...6414763&sr=1-1

[Johnny Bravo]

Unfortunately, there's no way to get a look at any of the art. Do you have any representative samples I could look at? I kind of like the idea of a "grownup" coloring book.

[Sherrerd]

Two ways to see some of the pics: First, the back cover does show four of them, and on the Amazon link (bottom of my opening post) you can click on Look Inside and see the back cover in fairly large format. Second, if you sign in to Amazon, click Look Inside and then Surprise Me, you do get to see two more of the inside pages than you can see on Look Inside when not signed in.

Admittedly this is rather annoying of Amazon (making people sign in, in order to see more of a book's content). But of course 'that's business,' from their point of view.

For more pages: I have a few minutes free, now, and will upload a couple more pages to my pic-hosting site, then make a post here showing them.


ETA: the Surprise Me does seem to show a different two additional pages each time you go back to the page. I suppose you might eventually see the entire book's content that way--and I remember now that I've seen that fact complained about on the CreateSpace authors' message board. (!)

[Anaamika]

I color in adult coloring books. It's very relaxing and enjoyable.

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

I color in adult coloring books. It's very relaxing and enjoyable.

Yes, that seems to be the most popular selling point: that coloring can be a helpful break from daily stresses. To quote from the introduction to my book:

… The merits of coloring are many: pride in producing a beautiful page; pleasure in the colors themselves; and, perhaps most strikingly, the meditation-like effect of calming the mind while occupying the hands.

The repetitive motions of coloring, combined with the creative nature of the activity, help to focus the mind on the here and now. This centering of the mind provides a refreshing break from the stresses and anxieties of daily responsibilities. Even a few minutes devoted to this pleasing ritual of mindfulness can reduce strain and worry. The page to be colored is undemanding: your own choices are all that matter. The page contains no links or come-ons or reminders that pull and push at you; this can be a welcome contrast with a computer screen.
A page that’s ready to be colored is an invitation to become absorbed in a creative activity that makes no claims, commands, or calls for additional action. …

Here are two more (miniature versions) of the book's pictures:





The first one, in part, shows a well-known engraving: the 1888 "Flammarian" picture of 'medieval cosmology.' It's the one picture in which I blatantly 'quote from' an existing work, but I liked the way it came out and decided to use it. The other pictures are a combination of my own translations of oil paintings into drawings, and bits and pieces of period works, also translated into drawings. It took me, quite literally, hundreds of hours from the beginning of the project to completion.

[Anaamika]

I like it. I'll put it on my wish list. But then, I love Shakespeare.

[Sherrerd]

Cool! I think you would like it (and it's a nice holiday gift). ^_^

[BigT]

Now to figure out how to put out some feelers to see if Mom would like it as a Christmas gift. She colors for the stress relief, too.

[Sherrerd]

Of course I won't try to talk you out of that. ^_^ But seriously, I was pleased with the way it came out. It's large format and the cover is scored so that it bends back nicely for ease of use. The printer did a great job, I think.

[Sherrerd]

I just looked over this thread and noticed that in my opening post, the link to the Amazon page on which my book is available has been changed----by whom?!?!?!?----to a link to an eBay page. It's really annoying because the eBay person is charging a LOT more than I'm charging on either Amazon or CreateSpace.

Possibly I need to report the post...has anyone encountered this sort of thing, before? How could that link have been changed?

Here (I hope) is the correct link:

http://www.amazon.com/Wise-Words-SHA.../dp/0692538070

(Here it is as text, I think: h t t p://www.amazon.com/Wise-Words-SHAKESPEARE-Coloring-Adults/dp/0692538070---eta, only way to do that was to insert spaces in the first bit. )

I guess we'll see whether this one gets hijacked, too......


ETA: Truly bizarre: the link in the OP is back to being Amazon. How did the eBay person do that?!?!?

[raventhief]

It's eBay now.

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by raventhief

It's eBay now.

Yeah. That is really annoying--and disturbing. I just reported my own OP, and explained about the hijack.

ETA: it seems to flip back and forth.

[engineer_comp_geek]

I assume that it's viglink that is modifying the links. I've reported the problem.

[Emtar KronJonDerSohn]

Small world! I have purchased and mostly completed your book!

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by engineer_comp_geek

I assume that it's viglink that is modifying the links. I've reported the problem.

Thanks for that. (I'd had no idea that viglink could do that...yikes!)

Originally Posted by Emtar KronJonDerSohn

Small world! I have purchased and mostly completed your book!

That's great to hear! (So you found it some way other than by reading this thread?.... just curious. )

[raventhief]

I ordered one - I'm torn between giving it to my sister and keeping it for myself !

[Sherrerd]

Order another one! (Just kidding. Sort of. You understand...)

General observation, speaking of ordering: I hope no one is being fooled by the eBay thing. Why pay nearly $10 when you can get it for $5.99 (at CreateSpace or Amazon)...and know that it's a legitimate copy? The eBay ones could well be pirated, and the print quality might be rather poor.

ETA: If anyone feels like posting a review---good, bad, or indifferent---of course I'd be gratified. Reviews do help (even if they aren't glowing).

[raventhief]

Originally Posted by Sherrerd

Order another one! (Just kidding. Sort of. You understand...)

General observation, speaking of ordering: I hope no one is being fooled by the eBay thing. Why pay nearly $10 when you can get it for $5.99 (at CreateSpace or Amazon)...and know that it's a legitimate copy? The eBay ones could well be pirated, and the print quality might be rather poor.

ETA: If anyone feels like posting a review---good, bad, or indifferent---of course I'd be gratified. Reviews do help (even if they aren't glowing).

Oh i almost certainly will order at least one more

[Sherrerd]

That's good to hear. And don't hesitate to offer constructive criticism: I'm hoping to make this a series, and am willing to make changes in upcoming volumes, that people think would result in a more enjoyable experience.

One thing I've found is that the printer---while doing a great job, in my opinion---does tend to overcorrect the grey-line drawings to make them darker than in my original files. There may not be a way out of that, as I'm not able to communicate with them directly, but I'm looking into it.

[raventhief]

Originally Posted by Sherrerd

That's good to hear. And don't hesitate to offer constructive criticism: I'm hoping to make this a series, and am willing to make changes in upcoming volumes, that people think would result in a more enjoyable experience.

One thing I've found is that the printer---while doing a great job, in my opinion---does tend to overcorrect the grey-line drawings to make them darker than in my original files. There may not be a way out of that, as I'm not able to communicate with them directly, but I'm looking into it.

Got it

[raventhief]

Originally Posted by raventhief

Got it

It came in the mail today, and i am going to more closely examine it tomorrow. It seems destined to be a gift for my fellow shakespeare-loving sister, but there is a good chance I will order at least one for me.

[fridolph]

I heard this from my friend because he have this coloring book for adult. According to him, it is his stress relieving outlet.

[Whatever4]

I have The Secret Garden, and 4 or 5 others. Double-sided pages are annoying if your marker or gel pen bleeds through the paper. I have recently read a review of Fiskar's gel pens (can I do this?) which according to the reviewer do *not* bleed. She used them on a book from the same manufacturer as The Secret Garden. I've ended up using pencils on the double-sided coloring pages. I put a piece of cardstock behind the single pages, just to be safe.

[Sherrerd]

Yeah, the double-sided pages would seem to be a problem--yet authors are tempted to use them because prospective buyers may feel cheated by a page count that seems 'inflated' by pages with a drawing on one side and nothing on the other. It's kind of a balancing act--you want to be offering good value but you also want to offer a product that colorists can feel pride in when they're finished (and bleed-through isn't going to please the colorist!)

[Emtar KronJonDerSohn]

Originally Posted by Sherrerd

That's great to hear! (So you found it some way other than by reading this thread?.... just curious. )

I honestly don't remember how I came across it. I have the Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest books so it may have been an Amazon suggestion, but I halfway think I heard about it on a podcast. (Maybe Pop Culture Happy Hour? But I'm subscribed to about 30, so don't quote me.)

[Sherrerd]

Thanks, Emtar KronJonDerSohn--by coincidence, the same day I approved the final proof for the book, a family crisis occurred, and I haven't done any promotion for the book other than this thread (!). So it's nice to know that the book is making its way out into the world. If it was featured in a podcast, then I'm very pleased and grateful.

[raventhief]

I gave it to my sister and my four year old niece had declared she wants one too. So I'll be placing another order.

[Sherrerd]

Yay! ^_^

[Mona Lisa Simpson]

I am amused by this trend. I was an early adopter. Ask any nurse who works in geriatrics and/or mental health. Colouring is calming.

I will find your book and get a copy for both me and my mom.

[JackieLikesVariety]

looks good, I think I will get it.

I've been using coloring books for years - everyone else is just catching up

[Shirley Ujest]

Love this idea. It could be used as a teaching aid in high school. So, I've shared it with my teacher type friends.


Good luck with everything!

[Sherrerd]

Many thanks, Mona Lisa Simpson, JackieLikesVariety, and Shirley Ujest--I do hope you all enjoy the book!

[TheAllSeeingEye]

Sorry to be judgemental, but at least when your nana was knitting she was making something useful or creative. At least a computer game might be two player. Adults who colour in? Lets all grow up shall we, and put away childish things.

[joyfool]

You're off to a rip roaring start, aren't you?

Sherrerd, that looks lovely. I got one for Christmas to help with my anxiety and I think I'll like yours as well. I'll be ordering my childish thing today. Thanks for the head's up and don't pay the slightest attention to the naysayers.

[engineer_comp_geek]

Moderator Warning

Originally Posted by TheAllSeeingEye

Sorry to be judgemental, but at least when your nana was knitting she was making something useful or creative. At least a computer game might be two player. Adults who colour in? Lets all grow up shall we, and put away childish things.

The Marketplace is a benefit for paying members here. It is not the place to insult other's works and items for sale, or what people chose to do in their free time. This is an official warning for threadshitting and for violating our "don't be a jerk" rule.

[RobDog]

This looks like just the kind of pastime I've been looking for; something I can simply lose myself in after a day of relational database design and C# programming!

I've just ordered a copy of your book and a nice set of 72 coloured pencils and am looking forward to having a go.

By the way, it's coming to England, so it'll be completed in the home of Shakespeare, not 5 miles from the New Globe Theatre in London. Just thought you'd like to know that

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by RobDog

By the way, it's coming to England, so it'll be completed in the home of Shakespeare, not 5 miles from the New Globe Theatre in London. Just thought you'd like to know that

'Tis an honour I dream[t] not of!^_^

[JackieLikesVariety]

I got mine and I like it, now I need more/new colored pencils. I also use crayons. thank you for making this!

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by JackieLikesVariety

I got mine and I like it, now I need more/new colored pencils. I also use crayons. thank you for making this!

Thank you for getting one, and for taking the time to post! (I apologize for not answering sooner; I was hoping to have some solid information to add to the post, but so far all I can say is that the Amazon link in the OP doesn't seem to be being hijacked by that weird eBay link, anymore. So that's good!)

[raventhief]

My niece is coloring in hers as i type.

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by raventhief

My niece is coloring in hers as i type.

Apologies, again, for not replying to this when you posted it--I kept thinking I'd have a release date for my next book in what I hope will be a Wise Words series--but it's taking longer than I'd hoped. I know there are rules here about bumping threads.

But, belatedly: Thank you for getting the book, and I hope your niece enjoyed it!



On another front:


A second slam-review, possibly from a competitor, has been posted on my book’s page. Among those who make CreateSpace books, there are those who think that competitor’s reviews, intended to sink a book and prevent browsers from giving it a look, can be identified by two common elements:

1. The reviewer will claim to be unpleasantly surprised by some feature of the book that should not have been a surprise, since it’s mentioned in the book’s Description and/or is readily visible in the Look Inside preview (or even on the cover). The reviewer will express shock that this feature exists and will claim to feel bamboozled by the author.

2. The reviewer will state the opinion that ‘this book was clearly thrown together in an evening’ or words to that effect. The claim here is not only that the book is slap-dash, but that the author is trying to con readers.

As an example, here’s a hypothetical review of a work:

HAMLET, by William Shakespeare
Customer Review by Definitelynot Acompetitor
1/5 stars – Don’t Bother!
First, this book has hardly any descriptions in it—it’s nothing but Hamlet saying something then Horatio saying something then Hamlet saying something back then some other guy saying something and so on—all the way through the book! It’s ridiculous! We don’t even get told what the characters look like or anything.

Second, it’s a book set in Denmark, so naturally I was expecting some good Viking action with plundering and setting villages to the torch and that kind of good stuff. But, not even a single longboat! No ruthless men with braided beards, no blonde maidens being ravished, or anything. Just some stupid prince moping around the palace, talking to himself. It’s a total waste of space.

Obviously this Shakespeare dude just threw this together in an hour or two. Really unprofessional and NOT worth your money. I returned it. Never again!

(Ben Jonson, is that you?!?)




But seriously, folks, the two points made by the down-raters are not legitimate for my book. On the ‘how long it took to make’ issue, I would challenge anyone to look at my source materials—all listed, with URLs, at the back of the book—and try to duplicate my pictures. No one but the most skilled graphic artist could do it in less than a couple of hours, per picture, and most (like me) would take many more hours than that to make each picture. “Hundreds of hours” is no exaggeration for the amount of time it took me to make this book.

On the pictures being ‘gray lines with shading’: yes, it’s true that this is NOT the traditional “black lines outlining white spaces” type of book. But that can’t be a surprise to any buyer: I mention it in the book-page Description and on the back cover of the book (readable with the Look Inside feature). And anyone who is signed in can see several of the pages/pictures for themselves with the Look Inside. There shouldn’t be any shock, when the book arrives, that it’s not made up of black lines outlining white spaces.


Sorry to minge on at such length, but the fact is that a couple of bad reviews CAN sink a book’s chances to be seen by site users. And I really did work very hard on the book (and hate to see dirty tricks rewarded!) So I’m letting readers of this thread know that if they did get a copy of the book and liked it, I would be VERY grateful for a review of any length, even just a sentence. Some reviewers use screen names and some use their real names—either works.

Thanks in advance to anyone who considers doing this; I do appreciate the kindness involved in taking the trouble to do it.


US page is at: http://www.amazon.com/Wise-Words-SHA.../dp/0692538070

UK page is at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wise-Words-S...ise+words+from

[Sherrerd]

Yikes: that should have been "sorry to whinge on".... (The other word is apparently very vulgar.)

[WildBlueYonder]

This is the reason for the coloring pencils shortage!!! I ordered some online last week so I could get some to replenish my colors, using colored pencils by Crayola mostly

I've been drawing on computer paper evenings for like 3 years. I think its a big stress reliever and relaxing thing. (I've saved them all since the beginning)

My relatives visit on occasion and think I'm nuts for doing this. Hopefully by now they've seen the books in the store and figure I am not so crazy!

I have chalk and crayons but never have been good with markers unfortunately. Crayons are not so exact so I really never use it and chalk only on occasion-I'm a big time perfectionist

Those books on the market that I see are way too intricate. I'm not good at staying within the lines. Oh and they are expensive too! Out of my budget anyway with just being a coloring book! Maybe if they were 5 bucks but it would be hampering within the confines of a bound book. Being left handed doesnt help!

I make up my own creations every night. Mostly geometric because I am into straight lines but when I first started I drew straight lines freehand

I love using all the colors

The only stuff at the stores these days I find are either 12 or 24 and a bunch of empty peg holes. I wondered what was up. (now I know) The 100 count or 65 whatever Crayola is out of stock online so I bought smaller amount boxes. I ordered a few other brands just to add some other "unique" colors-how many different colors can there be?

In this last order I found the wood-less kind, they sort of look like crayons without the paper wrapper. Have not used them to much yet. I'd like to have them wear down on one side but not having much luck there.

Glad to hear others here know the pleasure of drawing!

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by WildBlueYonder

... I've been drawing on computer paper evenings for like 3 years. I think its a big stress reliever and relaxing thing. (I've saved them all since the beginning)

My relatives visit on occasion and think I'm nuts for doing this. Hopefully by now they've seen the books in the store and figure I am not so crazy!

Tell your relatives there have been articles in EVERY major reputable magazine and newspaper about this phenomenon: The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and The New York Times, among others.

You're not nuts: you're an early adopter!

Originally Posted by WildBlueYonder

...
Those books on the market that I see are way too intricate. I'm not good at staying within the lines. Oh and they are expensive too! Out of my budget anyway with just being a coloring book! Maybe if they were 5 bucks ...

My book is only $5.99! But I won't try to sell you on it as it sounds as if you really prefer abstract designs (not to mention unbound pages).

You do lead me to think about the handedness issue. In preparing my next work, I need to think about the way a left-handed person would experience the book.

[WildBlueYonder]

Originally Posted by Sherrerd

Tell your relatives there have been articles in EVERY major reputable magazine and newspaper about this phenomenon: The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and The New York Times, among others.

You're not nuts: you're an early adopter!





My book is only $5.99! But I won't try to sell you on it as it sounds as if you really prefer abstract designs (not to mention unbound pages).

You do lead me to think about the handedness issue. In preparing my next work, I need to think about the way a left-handed person would experience the book.

that is a good price

yeah make some left handed ones, not like we can color the pictures upside down....Put big words all over the cover "For the Left hander in you!"

[Sherrerd]

Originally Posted by heartsplayer

From what I can see, that looks to be a pretty good coloring book! And I know of someone who uses the coloring books
Pretty reasonably priced too, at $5.99.... I went into WHSmiths (in the UK) last November to get a couple of coloring books, and they cost over £15 for the two!

In US grocery stores, "$10" seems to be a pretty standard price.
Of course I'm always hoping that people will be more likely to give my book a chance if the price is low.

Originally Posted by WildBlueYonder

that is a good price
yeah make some left handed ones, not like we can color the pictures upside down....Put big words all over the cover "For the Left hander in you!"

You do have me thinking and planning. The next book in the series that I'm currently working on is close to being finished, but why shouldn't the one after that be "Wise Words from Famous Left-Handed People"....???? ^_^


Meanwhile, I thought I'd try posting some hand-colored-in (by me) pages from my own book in order to counter the slams that say things like 'this book is nothing but gray blobs'----we'll see how they translate via scanning and posting on an image-sharing site:

and


...Doesn't look too bad, on this comp, anyway. Definitely not "gray blobs"!

[Hey Hey Paula]

I just added it to our Amazon cart! I've just joined the Shakespeare Workshop at the theatre I'm a member of, so perfect timing.