Any day now . . .

UPDATE 6/25: Secrets in Storyville was just released at amazon.com! Type the title in the search box and it will appear!
 
Self-publishing for the first time has been quite a journey for me. I didn’t expect it to be easy but I had no idea of the “glitches” I would encounter along the way. I did a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong – but, with each step I took, I learned.

 

I realized from the beginning that creating a cover was a daunting task. I didn’t even have Photo Shop on my computer but I was fortunate to have two good friends help me with that. I purchased the image for the front cover and my friend, Dave Griffiths, used his expertise to help me choose the colors and design. The same was true with the back cover. I provided the information and photo and my fellow author and friend, Marja McGraw, set it up for me. Lesson learned: Install Photo Shop before trying this again.

One of the things I did right was to take my time with the actual manuscript. In other words, not to rush to send it in. After rewriting, proofreading and editing numerous times, I enlisted the help of other authors to be my beta-readers. And yes, they found errors I hadn’t seen. So, I submitted a  “clean copy.” Crucial if you’re self-publishing because there will be no editor to catch your mistakes before the book is published.

The submission process was basically trial and error for me. Fortunately, the people at CreateSpace have been great to work with – and very patient. It turned out that the way I was accessing the Internet was not compatible with certain functions I needed to perform in order to load the cover and to check my manuscript. So, I was basically trying to do the impossible. I spent an entire day figuring out what the problem was – and reaching for the Excedrin. I sent my book for review three times before all the errors in formatting were eliminated. I ordered a proof copy in the mail after the second submission so I could double-check everything.

There were many times during the process when I shook my head and said, “Never again!” But, now that I’m close to holding my book in my hands, I don’t feel that way anymore. As Marja McGraw said to me in an email yesterday, “Inches. You’re inches from your destination.” And knowing that makes it all worthwhile!