What I've been doing with all the help I've gotten on this site.

First of all, thanks for all the help with translations! It's been invaluable to me!

I've been writing a series of books set in Middle-earth. Hopefully they'll get published while I'm still alive to see it. I'll try to get a license from the copyright holder(s) when it's ready.

I've got a draft layout for some of the pages in Book 1, A Tale of Two Tales. I've included the frontis pages and some sample appendix pages, too.

The Map, Title and TOC pages are intended to be 2-page spreads.

The 2 trees on the Map pages will have a dusting of colour added to them to show they are gold and silver trees giving off that colour. The two trees on the TOC pages will be replaced with a dead one with the Morgoth in the background and the other will be dying with Ungoliant sucking it dry. (Those two drawings aren't ready.) The TOC illustrations across the top show what happened to the trees.

I think I'll be tossing "The History of This History" page, not sure it's needed anymore, as I added a longer text section under "My Life Changed with a Story" that covers it in story form.

Here's the link to the pdf file:

drive.google.com

What do you think of how it looks?

Suggestions for improvement?

(PS - the book is written and is undergoing editing. Hope to be done with editing by end of September. Wish me luck!)

This looks like a really ambitious and thoughtful project. The overall concept feels very fitting for a Middle-earth-inspired work, especially with the use of maps, frontis pages, and appendix sections to create that sense of history and depth. I like the idea of the tree illustrations evolving through the story, as it adds a visual connection between the pages. Removing “The History of This History” also sounds reasonable if the information is already naturally covered elsewhere, since keeping the flow focused is usually better. My only suggestion would be to make sure the typography and page layouts remain easy to read, especially with detailed artwork around the text. Best of luck with the editing process — finishing a book is a huge achievement, and I hope you get to see it published!