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working writer wending her way through the labyrinth that is self-publishing

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Gremlins and not the fun kind

Shall I go into the latest debacle with my book? I'm beginning to wonder if there is some gremlin sabotaging things! Two days ago I had a long talk with 'a person who shall remain unnamed' at CS because I got the e--proof back from them with NONE of the most recent changes corrected--at first I went ballistic and then I decided that it had to be some confusion on their part--and sure enough, like ships passing in the night my e-mails seemed to cancel out the phone conversations I'd been having with them on a daily basis...(don't even ask me to explain what that means) and so she put me on hold while she discussed it all with my 'team'. When she came back on the line she assured me all was taken care of and the e-proof would be in my inbox by end of the next day--didn't happen. So today I got an e-mail advising me that the physical proof would be shipped out in the next day or two. What?

Okay, on second thought that sounds good. It means the book is closer to being up on Amazon and they must have corrected the mistakes or they wouldn't be shipping it to me, right? WRONG WRONG WRONG!  I went to my 'project toolbox' to see if they had sent the high resolution cover proof I had asked for since I need to revise my website. It was not there but...I discovered an interior proof that had been sent today...great! I opened it up only to discover that the mistakes had not been corrected--and so another call had to be made. This time I didn't get the same person and when I asked about her I was told that she had left for the day and wouldn't be back for a week! See what I mean about gremlins? While speaking with another woman who knew nothing of the project, my voice kind of seized up and grew gravelly and I needed to drink a bunch of water.

By the end of the conversation we had resolved the issue, (or so I hope)--I should get the e-proof tomorrow and I may or may not get an uncorrected physical proof in the mail but no worries because if it's uncorrected another will be speeding on its way!

Okay--note to Createspace from disgruntled customer or maybe I should say 'suggestions for customer service'--Have ONE contact person and maybe one back-up in case of illness etc...per project. That way you form a relationship and the person knows what the hell you're talking about when you call in every other day--e-mails could be addressed to this, let's call her a project coordinator, person as well.

Does this sound reasonable?

P.S.
Everyone at CS has been very helpful and made me feel as though everything was going to be all right despite evidence to the contrary...






4 comments:

  1. I'm glad you live in a beautiful and peaceful setting. It must help : )

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  2. Samantha Smith
    Frustrating!!

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  3. Nikki,
    This is a straightforward process. So straightforward that some writers with thick skin and stubbornness can do the work with no help from CS. I'm surprised they can't get it right, especially if you paid for their service.

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