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Excitingly, I'm going to make an old book (1902) available on Amazon print on demand (the demand being a landslide that may eventually reach double figures!—Still, I want to make it the best I can.)
Please could I have your feedback on covers and the short introductory and concluding blurb I'm adding.
Covers: The choice is modern or old-style. My photoshop skills are very limited, so the old design probably doesn't get much better than the picture here (a proof copy I've had done). The new copy was an earlier attempt using a cover wizard, but I now have the skills to reproduce it with a better font. I can also do the old cover in gloss finish instead of matte.
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The introductory and concluding blurb are below. In the introduction, I'm trying to balance giving people enough context for the games and currencies/amounts, without boring them or making them feel they have to memorize stuff . Is it too much info, too little, or about right? (In particular, I could drop crown, sovereign and guinea, although all come up in the text.) Thanks in advance.
In the 1870s and ’80s, “pool” is not yet synonymous with all pocket billiards games. Rather, it refers to a popular gambling game for several players. Each player has a cue ball and tries to pocket a particular opponent’s ball to make him lose a life.
£1 (or a sovereign) is roughly an average weekly wage, and smaller amounts are in crowns or shillings (s.) and pence (d.). A guinea is slightly more than a pound, and is considered a more gentlemanly amount.
Please could I have your feedback on covers and the short introductory and concluding blurb I'm adding.
Covers: The choice is modern or old-style. My photoshop skills are very limited, so the old design probably doesn't get much better than the picture here (a proof copy I've had done). The new copy was an earlier attempt using a cover wizard, but I now have the skills to reproduce it with a better font. I can also do the old cover in gloss finish instead of matte.
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The introductory and concluding blurb are below. In the introduction, I'm trying to balance giving people enough context for the games and currencies/amounts, without boring them or making them feel they have to memorize stuff . Is it too much info, too little, or about right? (In particular, I could drop crown, sovereign and guinea, although all come up in the text.) Thanks in advance.
INTRODUCTION TO THE 2022 EDITION
William Mitchell’s game, English billiards, is played with three balls on a 12x6 foot table. Points are earned by making cannons (hitting both other balls), pocketing another ball (a “winning hazard”) and pocketing your cue ball in-off another (a “losing hazard”—a good thing, despite the name). A game of “100 up” is a race to 100 points.In the 1870s and ’80s, “pool” is not yet synonymous with all pocket billiards games. Rather, it refers to a popular gambling game for several players. Each player has a cue ball and tries to pocket a particular opponent’s ball to make him lose a life.
£1 (or a sovereign) is roughly an average weekly wage, and smaller amounts are in crowns or shillings (s.) and pence (d.). A guinea is slightly more than a pound, and is considered a more gentlemanly amount.
