postpartum depression

Okay, book is done and up on Amazon as a kindle as well as paperback. I've advertised in several Facebook pages and sent out my newsletter announcing the new arrival. Then why am I so depressed?

Here are a couple of reasons why I think I have the blues:
1. psychic exhaustion
2. no sales so far even from my friends and family
3. I am not writing

To elaborate a bit on these. Psychic exhaustion and physical exhaustion seem to always hit me pretty hard after the stress of getting a book out. My excitement is high as I put the finishing touches on it and have it formatted. Then the uploading to Createspace and kindle is another invigorating process that I love. But then comes the letdown. It is no longer available to work on. My friends, who I've been close to for several months, maybe years, have gone their own way leaving me bereft.

No sales. I don't know what I expect exactly. I guess I want whoever sees it and knows me to rush out and buy it! And maybe a few who don't know me and like the cover--because the cover is fab! This is a ridiculous expectation. But this is what is going on for me and I have to look at it closely. It's hard to let go of expectations, especially after putting heart and soul into a book, even if I know it's unrealistic. And so I check daily and become even more morose. I've thought about putting the kindle up for .99 or having a kindle countdown but for pity's sake--can no one pay a mere $2.99 for the book I just slaved over? I HAVE TO LET THIS ONE GO.

I'm not writing. This is the biggest issue for me. My days are now spent feeding the birds, walking and lying around reading or staring at the wall. (or napping) When I try to work on something I feel utterly uninspired. I know it takes time to replenish the well--believe me I've gone through this before--seven times in fact. But here I am again knowing that this is a normal reaction and yet fighting against it tooth and nail. Without writing I'm an empty shell. Not only does it fill my time, it gives me a purpose and a feeling of worth. When I'm working on a project I'm immersed in something bigger than myself, something that requires getting out of the way. The muse is in charge. And I tend to make friends with my characters and find them amusing and interesting. This is why the same characters continue appearing book after book. In Bridge of Mist and Fog the two protagonists are the children of characters in my former books. It's as though they continue on with their lives after I've written about them and I can tap in and see what they're up to.

So what is the solution to this? I suppose it's patience. And faith. Because along with all this there's the fear that I won't be able to do it again.

frustrating day

As I mentioned in the past post, Gypsy's Secret is nearly here. The Kindle version is up but has one spelling error that needs to be corrected. And there may be other small things as well. The paperback is still in process with problems with the cover. Not sure what the e-mail Createspace sent me meant but I forwarded it on to my cover designer and despite it being a weekend she sent me a new improved copy.  (Thank you Viola!) Now I'll have to wait again for the approval.

Now to the reason for the title of this post. I set out this morning with great hopes and a bag of books, heading first to find ribbon to tie around my Wolfmoon Trilogy and then speeding down the road to my local bookstores. My plan was to tie a nice red bow around the three books and offer a big holiday discount for buying all three together. Sadly this was not to be. The first one, Antigone Books, said 'they don't do that sort of thing'. I whined about how difficult it is to be a self-published author, asking if I could showcase my books somehow...the answer was NO.

The second store, Mostly Books, said I could replace the ones already on the shelves with the bow idea, but if I did so then no one would have the option to buy them singly! We talked for a while (I like the people there) but didn't come up with any sort of marketing strategy for me, although she did say she would try to get someone to read Just Another Desert Sunset--if he or she liked it, it could potentially be facing out on the 'staff picks' shelf. (I'm not holding my breath)

After that I found a new clothing store a couple of doors down and proceeded to buy myself two new items of clothing. It was my reward for at least making an attempt to market myself! Don't worry, I didn't spend much.

My conclusions from this are as follows:
1.  My books do not do well in bookstores due to too much competition and no showcasing.
2.  I will market my books in gift stores and metaphysical stores and maybe Celtic stores.
3.  I will concentrate my energy on my kindles and deal with KDP select and trying to get them seen.
4.  I will drink wine and try not to whine.
5.  I will be proud of the fact that I have 7 books out now--a major accomplishment! And maybe since 7 is my lucky number this year will start a new upward trend in sales!

Thank you for reading and I would love to hear your stories!

Last book of Gypsy is done!

I uploaded Gypsy's Secret to Kindle and Createspace this morning thanks to my intrepid formatter, Rik Hall, and equally wonderful cover designer, Viola Estrella! I'm very excited to have this final book of the Gypsy series on its way...and before Christmas!

I plan to offer a couple of .99 days for this book and maybe even one free day. If you like fantasy, time-travel, dragons, a fight between good and evil or a good love story you'll love this one!

Another update on IngramSpark. 'Just Another Desert Sunset' is supposedly published with them but I still order copies from createspace. Why this is, mystifies me. I spent $60 for promotion but have no idea what they did. I get invoices from time to time that make no sense. I also get lots of promotion material to sell in Poland and stuff like that, but when I try to follow up I can't get onto their site. I may just be an idiot but I still think their interface is really poor.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, until something changes we as Indies are stuck with lousy distribution. What bothers me even more than that are the bookstores that do consignment but never even bother to turn the covers to face out so that a person can find them! My goal before Christmas is to drive around and speak with the places that carry my books and try to do some kind of Christmas promotion. What I have planned and have implemented in one store already is to tie a ribbon around the series and offer them at a discount. At least a bright ribbon might draw some attention--the spines along with a million other books just doesn't do the trick!

I have a few more places here in Tucson that I hope will carry my books but I just need to get in the car and go there! I've been so consumed with editing, formatting and uploading that I've neglected this part of the business--and yes, it is definitely a business.

For those of you on my newsletter list you'll be getting an update in the next few days--and if anyone would like to be included in this list, sign up on my blog or send me an e-mail. There will be opportunities for discounts and deals there!

Thank you for reading!!

Postscript on Ingram and update

To follow up on Ingram. After several rounds of e-mails I was able to have my two Gypsy titles released as well as being granted a refund. Just Another Desert Sunset was allowed through without any fanfare and when I asked why I was told that it fit their criteria. I'm still confused about this but left it as is. It will be interesting to see if having the book on Ingram helps my sales.

Now on to bigger news. I am 300 words into the last Gypsy book and Viola has already done the cover for me, which I just had to share! It's fantastic!!! My favorite cover so far! Viola is so talented, isn't she? I'm very excited about Gypsy's Secret and hope to have it completed and up on Amazon before Christmas.

Which brings me back to Ingram. Should I try and get this one into Ingram or just keep it with Createspace? Viola can do the cover to Ingram's specs but my formatter has never formatted for Ingram. This will probably mean that I have to submit the files and have them do the interior which could prove to be quite expensive. But then again maybe I might luck out as I did with Just Another Desert Sunset. And so the dilemma continues. My formatter asked me why I cared? He said his wife has fourteen books out (I think that's the #) and does most of her sales in Kindle. But for some reason that hasn't been the case for me. Well, actually my sales have been dismal in both formats, but that's another matter.

I'll ponder this while I write. I'm sure the answer will come to me just as my characters have taken hold of my story and run away with it. I honestly have no idea what's going to happen next! Writing for me is almost like reading. And I have to say I like it that way.

Thanks for reading! And any and all comments are appreciated.

IngramSpark*&%$#@

I've written about this issue before but this time I have direct experience to recount. And before we get started I just have to say that I haven't given up...

I decided after several conversations with people who tried to order my books from bookstores (independent) and couldn't get them, that I should at least republish my newer titles on Ingram. Their platform is directly connected with expanded distribution and allows the author to opt for the proper discount and returnability. This in turn enables bookstores to order. As it stands now my books don't even come up when the bookstores search for them! Yes, Createspace says it has expanded distribution but what they don't say is that they don't give the industry discount nor do they give the right to return a book. My e-books will still be published through amazon kindle.

I didn't think this process would be too difficult to get through--after all, my books are already published. How bad could it be? I already understood that I would need to pay the $49 set-up fee. When I called the first time and spoke to a very nice man he told me that my most recent book, Just Another Desert Sunset wouldn't need to be put through the process since it had an isbn that I purchased separate from Createspace. All I needed to do was give him the isbn, go into my account on Createspace and uncheck the expanded distribution for this title. Easy-peasy. While I was on the phone he drafted an email (I assume) to ask that they release my book. I did as he asked but so far nothing has happened and it's been over a week.

Now to get to my other two titles. I input all the information, uploaded my finalized, formatted pdf that I used for Createspace as well as the final cover art, back and front and spine. I paid the fees. When I finished all that a message came up that the files had a problem--but no worries we can fix it for another $10! Yay! Unfortunately that was not to be. Now, they said, I needed to hire a designer. And that is where we are.

I will call them tomorrow and see if I can get this straightened out and in the meantime I sent off an email to my formatter. Do we need to reformat for Ingram? and in that case do I need different cover files? If it requires more money I simply can't afford it! (couldn't afford what I've done already) And why was I told that my first title could be done without all this? It would certainly have all the same design flaws for their publishing platform--the only difference is that the isbn didn't need to be changed.

I have no idea if this hassle is even worth it. Although the interface is easier than it used to be, trying to deal with it is frustrating to say the least. They seem to have an attitude that screams 'you fool! why can't you figure this out?' I think it's a recent reaction to complaints that has encouraged them to offer a phone number but it's nothing like talking to a person at Createspace.

Why am I doing this, you ask? At this point I really don't know. What started it was what I mentioned at the beginning. I seem to sell more paperbacks than e-books and thought it would be nice for people to have the chance to order them.

Have any of you dealt with this? If so do you have any insights or words of wisdom? Maybe it would be: stop banging your head against the wall.

Love to hear your experiences or comments. Thank you for reading!

Returning to Paradise!

I've gone through a hair pulling HELL to get my most recent book into IngramSpark. After another day of messing around with them I finally decided to LET IT GO!!!!! I went back to Createspace on my book page for Gypsy's Quest, and easily navigated to the place where I could include expanded distribution. A few buttons and 'save and continue's' later, I have officially chosen them as my expanded distributors.

I do not understand why ANYONE would choose to work with IngramSpark/Lightning Source. I inputted everything they wanted, including pretty much promising them my first born and they still kept me from getting though. Seventeen e-mails later and I ams SO DONE.

With Createspace I have paid nada to get my formatted book onto Amazon, the only cost a measly ten bucks for my personal ISBN. Since I worked with them on my first three, having them format and do covers for the first two, I had no idea how incredible they really were if you sent them your formatted ms and cover design! I would always recommend them. The only problem I've had is that when they printed my cover, the colors seemed a bit on the orange side. After speaking with them about this issue, (they have a 'call me!' feature) I decided it was too picayune to pursue.

And so my book is out, it has expanded distribution now and I am well on my way to figuring out how to market. (Did I really say that?)

More later....

Trouble in Paradise

I have my proof and it seems a little more orange than I expected, but after perusing my options, I've decided to leave it the way it is. My perfectionism can certainly drive me crazy if I let it!

The main issue now is expanded distribution. I have e-mailed back and forth with IngramSpark for weeks now. The two people I've corresponded with have been helpful to a point...and it's that point I want to discuss.

I decided to do expanded distribution with Lightning Source (IngramSpark) because I've run into trouble with bookstores who have complained that when they order my book they cannot get the proper discount through Ingram. When one does the expanded distribution through Createspace, Ingram won't give the regular discount to the buyers. Apparently this is because Amazon won't return books. Understandable since they are print-on-demand. But from what I've read and understand, Lightning Source does give the proper discount. Now if I could only get my book up on their site!

The latest missive I've had from them is that I have to pay first and give them my tax number. I wouldn't mind doing that if I could figure out where--they have seriously the worst interface I have ever encountered!

And so the e-mails go back and forth with me asking how to do things and them taking two days to answer and on and on...At this point I figure having my books on consignment is easier than dealing with them. I have them on consignment in nine bookstores now. Maybe I should just call it a day. And I have no idea what the costs will be for this service because I can't get into their website to find out! Does anyone publish with them?  I'll tell you, after the delight of working with Createspace, their site is beyond frustrating.

If anyone has any insight on this matter, please let me know. I'm tired of beating my head against the wall.

paperback writer...paperback writer...la la la, la la, la la

The paperback version of Gypsy's Quest took a mere three days from uploading the formatted ms to createspace to up on amazon! The Wolf Moon took at least a month with many revisions due to CS problems. As I spoke about in my last blog--formatting is the way to go. That and having a designer do the cover. I am NOT saying to do it yourself. Exactly how many hats can one put on one's head and not have said head explode?

This week I've put my books on consignment in two new places here in Tucson: Mostly Books and Antigone Books. Two weeks ago I sent my books off to Om Base Yoga studio in Portland, where Todd Williamson graciously put them on his shelves.

Now to decide my plan of attack for the launch. I need to reach more readers! I'm hiring Christine Myers to help me with this. I'm taking my time this time around--slow launch--it may not happen until the retrograde thing is over in early March.

I've been e-mailing with Ingram Spark about doing my expanded distribution with them. I'm still somewhat confused about the difference between Lightning source and Spark but I think Spark has less flexibility when it comes to bookstore discounts. They either do 40 or 55%--But I may be completely wrong about this. The spark rep. told me they can't do expanded distribution if I have a CS isbn--I have my own publishing name and I paid for my isbn, so hope I can get around this.

So now I'm hard at work on second book in Gypsy series...I've decided to be more disciplined this time around--setting a goal of 2000 words a day. If I stick to this the book should be released before the end of the year! However--time travel stories are complicated.

I've also decided to re-vamp my website since I am unable to do anything with the one I have. It sits there being beautiful but I want access! I will have the same url but the new one will be simple and practical, with a blog.

Hope what I share here can help other writers who are looking to self-publish...it can be daunting!

Thanks for reading and all comments are appreciated!

It's out! or should I say 'up'?

Gypsy's Quest is now uploaded to kindle--and what an easy process it was after Rik Hall formatted it for me! It was exciting to do this myself instead of waiting for Createspace. The interface with KDP is simple and straightforward. AND, this one had two spelling errors that turned out to be names--and so NO errors!!!! (a minor miracle)

 The other interesting detail is the 'look inside' feature is already activated--something I had to beg for on my last three!

My next hurdle will be sending the formatted POD files to Createspace. (Rik again) In the past CS has formatted these files for me and it's taken a long time from upload to up on amazon. In fact it has been a hair-pulling process that made me want to scream! I will be interested to find out how long it will take and how complicated it will be this time.

All in all I like hiring a formatter--way cheaper and less time-consuming.

Here's the link to my book: Gypsy's Quest  And if you decide to read it I would LOVE a review!

Thank you for reading!

the new one

I am fast approaching the release of my fourth book--Gypsy's Quest.  I can hardly believe it. This one is very different from the trilogy and will appeal to a wider audience, I think. Time-travel, Norse myth, post-apocolyptic romance with the inclusion of a magical boat, might best describe it--a mouthful!

I've gone back and forth between Createspace and Lightning Source for publishing platforms and have finally settled on Createspace. The reason? Several. First, I used their service for my first three. Second, their interface is easy as pie. Thirdly, their customer service is stellar.

The only advantage that I can see with going with LS is the ability for customers to return books. I do have my books in several bookstores but so far they are on consignment. And although this is a bit of a hassle it skirts the issue of returns. I may have mentioned in a previous post my communications with Ingram and one of my consignees. He tried to order my books directly from them but could not get the proper discount accorded regularly published books--I told him to order directly from CS but haven't heard whether he did so.

In any case, customer service, professional-looking product and link with Amazon is enough for me.

This time I'm having the book and the kindle version formatted by Rik Hall who does exemplary and fast work for a good price. I also had my cover done by Viola Estrella and I love what she came up with! In the past I had CS do all the formatting and with the first tow they also designed my covers. The process was costly, drawn out, and frustrating and took way too much time! We'll see what happens this time around! I'm hoping to get the book into the marketplace in early February evenb though Mercury will be in retrograde.

I purchased a marketing book by David Gaughran called Let's Get Visible. He talks about three different approaches to launching a book but recommends a slow launch that he refers to as 'spreading the love'. The main gist of this is to not hit markets all at once, to forego announcing the book when it first goes up on Amazon. That way you can download a copy and make sure everything is looking good. Then you hit markets one by one...

I will let you know how all of this goes...fingers crossed!

The Wolf Moon

As you can see here I finally decided on a cover for The Wolf Moon. This third choice represents a lot of angst in bringing the story into focus, which includes a good deal of romance and interesting twists relating to reincarnation...can't say more for fear of giving it away...

So the book is finally up on Amazon but not without a lengthy delay that made no sense.  Right now I'm just ecstatic that the book is for sale! Kindle is lagging but should be up soon...At this moment I am trying very hard to think positively, promoting like crazy. I've even scheduled a blog tour--something I didn't do for book 1 or 2. only doing it now because of a writer friend and a blog tour person who made it seem simple. www.aoifemariesheridan.com/‎

Said tour will start on June 14th lasting a whopping 28 days! I'll be posting about it everywhere. :)

I've done a trailer for The Wolf Moon, which you can view here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiBJJfdzHVg

My own excitement for this book is brimming over and I just hope this energy will be heading out into the universe to stop people in their tracks! (oh my gosh! I just have to go and buy a copy of The Wolf Moon!)

As far as Createspace goes--when I went with my own cover they refunded me oodles of money--something I was not expecting. Next time around I will have it formatted and a cover in place before I submit--(way cheaper) it only took me three books to figure this out. But I have to sing their praises  for putting it up on Amazon and doing the Kindle conversion...

Check here for giveaways--I plan to do them through Kindle and on Goodreads--it will be worth your while!

And so I await my twenty free copies, hoping they arrive BEFORE my husband and I leave for Portland!

formatting, marketing and other suicidal endeavors

Things are coming together, more or less. My new cover is in process...my interior e-proof should be sent to me any day now.  I have now decided, from speaking with several other indie authors, that formatting is not so difficult. Now that I have a cover designer I think I may give it a try on the next book. According to one source it will take a day. Hmm...I'm recalling my frustration just two days ago when I tried to work on my Wordpress website and the button to add a photo refused to do what it was supposed to do..I tend to go ballistic rather quickly when out of my comfort zone--especially when it includes electronic devices. But if I manage this, working with Createspace will be a breeze, without all the delays that I've had to deal with. We'll see...

This past week has been devoted to marketing. I've contacted several sites for reviews with some success. I joined a paranormal writing group on Goodreads, which has a lot of interesting discussions, including one on reviews. My book is by no means a bodice ripper but since it does have a strong love story woven into it I am calling it a fantasy romance--or should it be romantic fantasy? In any case it opens up a much wider audience and gives me more options to explore. Romance seems to be a very popular genre but there also seem to be many sub-genres, from the Harlequin type to just a plain old love story and everything in between...and what exactly are the parameters? I guess I  should read a bit more before jumping in with both feet. Some of the sites I've visited have covers that depict half naked women and men that seem to point to a storyline very different from mine. And heading off in the other direction, I've come upon reviewers who will not review a book with sex scenes!

In the spirit of my new bravado, I've signed myself up to do a reading in Portland when I'm there in June! It's easy to do such things when they are in the future and in a galaxy far, far away--how will I feel in early June? I plan to drink several glasses of wine beforehand...will my slurred words make any sense? Maybe I can enlist others and put on a little skit--a dialogue scene. That actually sounds fun and a lot more entertaining for the audience of my three friends.

Do you do your own formatting? And if so, how frustrating is it, really?

more of the same different day...

And so the createspace debacle continues. I would love to say that because I was so thorough with my editing, the book took less hassle and time to produce, but sadly that is not the case. They no longer do the 'interior changes form' and that is a good thing since it was meticulous and time-consuming in the extreme, but...I got the digital proof back with all sorts of weird formatting issues (numbers and letters where words should be)and dotted lines that didn't belong that I can't get rid of--things that were NOT in my original MS... I called them and of course it's on me to go through the entire book AGAIN and correct their mistakes. Deja-vu anyone? What is it with them?

I know what it is--they don't look at what they're doing. It is VERY annoying to pay a lot of $ and then have to clean up the mistakes they add. But on the good side I have been rewriting some rough spots--of course I could edit forever...

The other issue is that I've decided not to go with the cover they did for me, but when I asked if I could change it, they said no--only if I submit my own artwork...I guess what they meant was no unless you pay the original fee all over again. Well, on that note, I found Viola at-www.EstrellaCoverArt.com--and discovered a cover that I like a lot. And for a nominal fee I can have it altered to suit.  And so this all pushes the book release back again. But what does it matter? I'm in no rush and I mainly want it to be right.

So any suggestions for my next book? Has anyone had experience with Lightning Source? Or are they the same company; everything seems to be merging these days. Or maybe I should have it formatted myself...it probably wouldn't be any more difficult to do everything piecemeal. And it might cost less too. My main concern is getting it up on Amazon as POD as well as Kindle. Guess I have some research to do...

Process in self-publishing

Consultations and filling out of forms on Createspace have begun for 'The Wolf Moon'. So far they do not have the completed manuscript with the inclusion of front matter and back matter, but they have sent me an example of font and fleurons; it was only recently that I discovered that this was the word for the little icons that go between breaks in the narrative and also refer to the decorative features that may surround the chapter numbers. What they sent was identical to book 2, fleurons and all, and so I called and spoke with a person on my project team, explaining that I wanted a more Celtic feel. I should have a sample sheet back from them in a few days and I can make my selections.

This time around I chose the more expensive publishing option because it promised a more artistic cover (signature cover) as well as forty-five free copies of the paperback book instead of twenty. The Kindle conversion is included as well as a library of congress #. This book is twice as long as the others and I've worked really hard to make it as professional and free of mistakes as I could. So far my dealings with the 'team' have been thorough and clear and the two examples of the cover they sent were both interesting and unusual, reflecting the book's themes and in keeping with the first two covers. I chose the darker option, since the landscape and mood of this one is cold and desolate. With one simple color change this cover will certainly be an attention grabber! It will be revealed as soon as the changes are made but for now I'll only say that the main focus is Cernunnos, Celtic god of the forest.

I shouldn't say this in fear of jinxing the process but...maybe 3's the charm? I hope it continues in this vein since I'm very excited about this book and can't wait to see it up on Amazon!

For you self-publishers out there--how has your process been?

Thanks for reading...

Reemergence of the muse

Finally a moment to write a blog! I probably shouldn't be taking the time to do this, since I'm in the middle of editing Book III, The Wolf Moon, but...I have some things to share...

First of all I've backed off of FB a bit, using my extra time to write and edit. I check it from time to time but feel somewhat lost now that I have so many 'friends'. At the beginning I could keep track of things, recognizing the same names who were posting in the various groups, but now when I check I have no idea who all the people are or what is going on! I have joined over ten different groups and I think that adds to my confusion. In any case I consider my time more valuable than I did a few months ago when I hadn't begun this final edit.

About the edit--I wrote the entire book several years ago and haven't even looked at Book III for at least a year. That, combined with all the changes I made to Book I and II makes for quite a lot of work! The fun part is all the new detail I'm adding--the skeleton was there but there was no flesh on the bones! My earlier estimate of having it out in February has been moved to March and I plan to have a professional go through before I send it to Createspace.

I had a Goodreads giveaway for Saille during the month of December that seemed quite encouraging. Had over 600 people enter for the five copies that I gave away. More than I had on Amazon the last time I did the Kindle select thing...I encourage everyone to try it!

Speaking of Kindle Select, it continues to be a thorn in my side. The Moonstone is signed up until February at which time I will NOT renew. I now have Saille, the Willow on Smashwords via Rik Hall who formatted for me. Most likely I mentioned this in my last  blog but I can't say enough good things about working with him. The Moonstone is formatted and ready to go, waiting until Amazon allows me to put it elsewhere!

Another thing I wanted to share was that I have managed to get my books into three places here in Tucson. One is a yoga studio and the other two are what I would call metaphysical stores. I have a list for other places here and in other parts of Arizona and will take it one step at a time. I really enjoy the face to face aspect of this. Although maybe not as lucrative as the e-book thing, it's nice to have a personal relationship with those who are stocking my books.

One last aside--I've been despairing of ever finishing this last book of the series. The editing was not going well. I attributed this angst to two things--1. The idea that I had to get it finished and out by February--2. That the book was the END of the series.
So yesterday I had a talk with myself. First of all there is no deadline although I'd like to have it out sooner rather than later. Second, I've begun a sequel so this is not the end of the series! I asked the spirits to help me, those muses who have been by my side during all the writing. I lit a candle and burned incense and had a quiet moment before I began. And it helped get me over a rather large hurdle.

How do you deal with these issues in your own writing?

once again, she said, her eyes crossing

Not that I'm focused on pleasing my readers but--I sure would like to know if anyone is interested in my forays into deleted scenes from my book!

Now that that's off my chest, on to more pressing issues regarding publishing and marketing...

I hate to admit it, but I'm on the 4th or 5th round of edits with Createspace. How could I have overlooked all the missing commas the first few times? It's as though I'm brain dead when I look through the electronic proof...I realized today that I've been at this since March. When I first started the process I thought how much easier this would be the second time around--Saille, the Willow, was so much cleaner than The Moonstone--it would be a breeze!

I'm seriously considering hiring a proof reader before I send in the next book. And I have one who is very reasonable if anyone is interested. www.ladymyerswordsmithing.com Christine Myers is not only a reviewer, an editor and a proof reader, she is also a marketing expert who has helped me revamp my website (www.wolfmoontrilogy.com)as well as given me tips on social media marketing and several very good resources. One of these is Virtual Book Tour Magic by Dana Lynn Smith--http://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Book-Tour-Magic-ebook/dp/B006CSDJ2K Dana has several other books out as well.


And so, instead of coming out in June for the summer solstice, (can't even believe I thought that possible!) Book II has been delayed yet again--I'm now hoping for early October for the release. But in some ways this may be a good thing since I now have time to prepare for my blog tour (heaven help me) and get some other pre-release marketing out into the blogesphere. Who knows? Maybe Halloween will be the perfect time to launch Book II.

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any and all comments!

Front matter, back matter, does it matter?.....

I just read an article stating that four Smashwords e-books were listed on the New York Times best seller list--http://www.teleread.com/smashwords/four-smashwords-authors-make-the-new-york-times-bestseller-list/ Only two weeks or so ago I read another article saying that Indie authors would never be listed there. Things are changing in the publishing world and they're changing fast! Very good news for all indie authors!

I'm still not on the e-reader bandwagon. I am not capable of sitting at my computer to read a book and I'm too cheap to buy a Kindle, Nook or Ipad. Because of this I'm passing on books I would really like to read. There are two books languishing on my Kindle app right waiting to be read and reviewed..

On another subject, there have been several posts on one of my FB groups asking about where to put the acknowledgements page. When I published 'The Moonstone' I found a link on the Createspace website to Joel Friedlander who has much needed information on front matter and back matter. http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/02/self-publishing-basics-how-to-organize-your-books-front-matter/
I wrote about this in a previous post called "Let the Uploading Begin!"  but I thought I might revisit the topic since it seems a confusing issue.

If you open a traditionally published book, you will come upon several things organized in a somewhat routine fashion..
(reviews)
1. Title page--just the name of the book
2. Other books by the author
3. Possibly another title page with a listing of publisher and author
4. copyright page
5. dedication
6. acknowledgements
7. prologue

There is a fair amount of variation in these seven items. There may be a dedication and no acknowledgments or acknowledgements and no dedication. Their order may be reversed. I have seen acknowledgments listed at the end of the book. I put mine in the front because it seemed proper to give thanks to those who helped me along the way.

Working on my first book, front and back matter came as an unpleasant realization after I'd uploaded my manuscript to Createspace. I checked through the novels in my bookshelf and then followed Joel's instructions. Part of my front matter was a short pithy blurb from a reviewer, (one I managed to obtain by sending the manuscript out before it was published) raving about the book. In traditionally pubbed books, reviews can be on the back page, on the inside flap or on the first pages. And there are usually more than one. Hard to get for those of us going the self-publishing route. For back matter, I had the first chapter of the next book in the series and my bio, but there can be a glossary or translations or any number of things at the end of the book.

I wrote about Prologues in a former post, entitled strangely enough, "Writing Prologues". Other information on this topic can be found here: http://www.foremostpress.com/authors/articles/prologue.html 

A lot to think about and organize for those of us who have chosen to do this on our own. But the pay-off is control and satisfaction, even if the monetary reward takes a while.

and...now what?

Book II is uploaded to Createspace with all the front and back matter as well as the first chapter of final book. Cover has been approved. Monday was spent in service to this. Tuesday found me lazing around unable to do anything of use. People talk about depression at the end of a project--not wanting to let it go--and even though this book has more rounds of line editing and final approval to go through it is essentially done. And once Book III is completed...well, I don't really want to think about that...

Tired follows me these days, like a shadow that wants to claim me. I try to resist--is it my thyroid? my adrenals? the heat? or do I have iron poor blood? I search through my old bottles of vitamins and herbs hoping to find the magic cure. Two different kinds of ginseng, bottles nearly empty, Ashwaganda, an Indian herb for relaxed energy, bladderwrack, a seaweed good for thyroid, L-tyrosine an amino acid that supports the thyroid. I look on line, scribbling down black cohosh, avena sativa, myrrh (myrrh?).

"Of course you're tired", a little voice says. "You just finished this huge portion of your project. Give yourself a break." But the final book beckons. I've set myself the goal of having it published by the 2012 winter solstice. Edit edit edit!

I finally got myself to a yoga class today. Just the right balance of asana and meditation. On monday I plan to attend a class called Yoga Nidra which translates to Yogic sleep...Yoga Nidra is about learning to be alert while completely relaxed. The teacher said that it has an unwinding effect for the many psychosomatic aches, and chronic pains that we all carry around with us. Since the class is conducted with participants lying on the floor I ask what happens if I fall asleep. She smiles and says it doesn't matter. Are you kidding? what about no pain no gain?

Maybe this is what writing, marketing and selling should be like--maybe the harder we work at it, the less we get out of it...maybe all we need is the muse and an uncritical mind. Maybe we just need to take some time off and recharge...

starting over...

So…starting over on Book two of Wolfmoon Trilogy. I thought I had accepted the less-than-perfect cover that was the much cheaper way to go but…

1.     It’s too dark

2.     The wolves look like cartoon images.

3.     Maeve looks more like the devil’s spawn than a red-haired innocent beauty.

4.     The tree does not look like a willow 

5.   Maeve is supposed to be emerging from the tree but instead she looks like a pin-up girl with weird legs.

6.     And on and on…

It all started with realizing that I had picked the wrong size and the wrong paper color in my original order. When working with Createspace, and I’m sure every other online publisher, you can’t assume they will notice that the last book you did is a different size. Nor will they suggest that you have the spine font the same for consistency. You are on your own to get things the way you want them.

They sent me the proof electronically at first and I went through it to find mistakes. This time most of the mistakes were formatting problems on their end. And so I called. Because of the size discrepancy with Book I, they told me they would have to re-format the manuscript, which meant re-submission. I decided at that point to do another edit of the manuscript before I uploaded it. And, of course, that led to adding some more details that I thought helped the book…does it never end? 

Right now I am still editing a book that I planned to have out by June 21^st!

Looks like end of August for this one. I just hope that they come up with a cover design I like. I paid a lot more money and sent in an elaborate description, pretty much pulled from the book since the cover is supposed to be a piece of art received by my protagonist, Maeve.  Patience is a virtue, or so I’ve been told—do I have any? Not much but since we are on the road the delay is easier to take.

Will I internalize the lessons learned from Book I and II when I go to publish Book III? Three’s the charm…(another overused cliché)

Goin' south!

We are heading off to Tuscon in the RV for a week or two--need time away from my desk! (and time in the warm desert sun!) computer will come along, though--still stuff to do on Createspace and Amazon once the book goes live.

I've finally landed back on earth, able to do housework, walk the dog, go to the chiropractor...a bit too much time in a chair, I'm afraid--not to mention little to no yoga. As I write this blog I'm trying hard not to think about how I'm going to get people to find my book, or if they find it, buy it! Have a Y-tube movie in the works...should be fun but will it help? All in good time, I tell myself. For now concentrate on rest and recuperation. But what if?...be quiet, I tell my ever-busy brain--my husband has taken over the marketing bit, you can relax now...

I've already done round one of editing on Book 2. Strangely enough I'm looking forward to starting on this one--I know what the book cover should be and now that I've gone through the process from start to finish...well, hope springs eternal. Summer release date for this next one...(much better astrologically)

As soon as I get copies of The Moonstone I plan to have a give-away on this blog, so keep tuned. Also, reviews would be much appreciated!

And in a week or so, if you have a mind, check out the Q&A and review on my website...

A HUGE thank you to all of you for reading my blog as well as the support and thoughtful comments during this process...