December

December. How is that possible? Time for a post to the Insecure Writers Support Group, created by Alex Cavanaugh (thanks Alex!). 

Our topics are fears, struggles, insecurities, challenges, or encouragements as writers. This past month I’ve touched on all of the above.

My first two books were published with the help of a publisher, relieving me of any of the formatting issues. For my latest novel, Time Trials, I flew solo as a self-publisher. Hence the fears, struggles, insecurities and challenges.

I have always used a professional editor (which I highly recommend), and once I handed over the finished project I thought I had time to kick up my feet, and take a much needed deep breath.

Wrong.

Little did I know the worm hole I was days away from being hurled down. 

Each editing rewrite took only a day or so…there were three. Editing done.

Scramble. Scramble. Scramble. Blurb, title page, dedication & acknowledgements, copyright page…and then the formatting. Should be simple.

Wrong.

Not that formatting was difficult, I had just never done it before. And to top it off, I’d set a deadline to format, submit, review, publish, order, & have an initial shipment delivered in time for a possible book signing on December 5. EVERYTHING I attempted got screwed up and had to be redone…twice. Submitting a 8.5 x 11inch formatted manuscript for a 6 x 9 inch book didn’t work. Who knew? Cover design, margins, indentations, headers (different for even and odd pages), page numbers, page breaks for new chapters…any of this sound familiar to you who knew where the stones were when you walked on water?

Throwing myself on the floor, kicking, yanking my hair, screaming…every childish prank I could think of I pulled…royally. Then poof…it was completed.

Oh….

Sunday night I hit the “submit” button on CreateSpace. Done.

Okay, time for a little breather.

Wrong again.

Monday morning I wake up to an email: “Congratulations! Your book has met our criteria. Your book will be published on Amazon in 3-5 days.”

Wow, that was fast.

But wait…it gets better.

Later that afternoon I find my book is already up on Amazon.
What? Amazon has nothing better to do on Cyber Monday? They said 3-5 days! 

This is happening too fast. It's going to be out there! On the big "Zon!" Will anyone like it? 

Sound familiar?

 

Now the encouragement: you too can make it through this crazy maze of self-publishing. It's a wacky ordeal of jumping through hoops...but worth it. As for the formatting lesson, I will certainly make notes for the next go-round. But it’s done. Today, I’m kicking up my feet…and waiting for the next something or another. But with a smile.