Monday, December 31, 2012

DONE! Again...

I know I've said this like, a billion times...but I'm done. Again. There was just the little matter of changing my present tense verbs with 'ing' into past tense verbs with 'ed'. Duh. I mean, geez, the book is written in past tense, for heaven's sake. But there are past tense occasions where you can and have to use an 'ing' verb. I know...blah, blah, blah.

I've uploaded my updated file to CreateSpace and await answers to some graphic design questions. Then, I can order another proof. I'm looking forward to reading Dream Weaver as a book rather than a manuscript. Of course, that's a laugh. Like I'll ever be done editing.

So here's the plan: (in no logical or coherent order)
Establish an 'Author's Page' on Good Reads.
Pay Shawn for his artwork
Begin selling e-books of Dream Weaver
Print 100 hard copies for book signing and conference
Promote Dream Weaver Novels Facebook page
Connect with other self-pubbers

Yeahno. I got nothin' to do.

So Happy New Year to all of you. May your heart clearly see your dreams and may your soul have strength to chase them! Happy and prosperous 2013!

Friday, December 14, 2012

2 ARC's from CreateSpace

It's been an exciting week. After at least 8 upload attempts and an issue with embedding my fonts, I finally got Dream Weaver uploaded and approved by CreateSpace. I ordered 2 ARCs and started reviewing the digital copy. I'm wishing now I had reviewed the digital and then ordered, but there's just something about me that makes me follow directions. Just once, I should step out of line, throw caution to the wind and say 'what the hell?' and do things my own way. Oh well. Still so excited to see my hard work in print.

The cover looks great, but I'm commissioning a friend from PNWA to do a piece for me. His name is Shawn Foote and he is an amazing artist who uses multi-media in his work. And besides, he's an awful sweet guy.


Happy Christmas to all...yes a nod to Harry Potter there. The magic lives on!

Monday, December 10, 2012

5 Copies of Dream Weaver from NaNo and CreateSpace

As a winner of NaNoWriMo I received a list of prizes I could claim. One of those prizes was 5 free printed copies of my manuscript from CreateSpace. How cool is that?

So, I did a final spit and polish on Dream Weaver and submitted it to the CreateSpace website. After no less than 8 uploads, I finally managed to embed my fonts and got my manuscript layout and cover design approved. And today I ordered 2 copies of the ARCs (Author's Review Copy) that should arrive by Friday, Dec. 14.

I hadn't actually planned on self-publishing for another few months. I planned on continuing my campaign of submitting partials and query letters to agents and editors. But how could I pass this up? There's no law that says you can't self-publish AND take the traditional route to publishing your book. As a matter of fact, if you can drum up enough sales, it makes your story all the more appealing to those AEs out there.

So now there's a billion more things I'll need to do, like create an author page on Good Reads...Who knew so much goes into the publishing of a book besides actually writing the book? Despite having spent the last 4 years learning all I can about the trade, I still feel very much like the tyro writer I was before. There is so much to learn, so much to do. Many thanks to all of you who have helped me along the way in more ways than I can describe.