Well, I did it. I had to, really. I was left with no choice. I didn’t want to, but sometimes life interferes. So, I did the best I could. I really wanted it to happen before Christmas. But no. The best laid plans of mice and men…
What?
I had to put back the Unforgivable publication date. My initial goal was November 1. But a top reviewer wanted to see it three months before publication. So, I set the date to November 20. Then, a friend who agreed to edit the book got sick. He’s very good—well worth waiting for.
And a couple of the people who said they would read the book with a view to giving advance praise didn’t get the book I sent. I resent. They may get their comments back to me in the next month, but they may not. After all, they also have lives.
My To-Do List
Then there is the minor matter of all I have to do after I get everything back. I need to go through the editor’s comments, one by one, either accepting the change or modifying the text or something else. After that, I’ll read the book aloud, listening to see if it reads well.
Finally, I’ll go through the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb looking for typos. Fortunately, there are now on-line programs that help with the process.
Meanwhile, my cover designer will finish up the back cover. Well, once I give him the words anyway. What does lorem ipsum dolor mean anyway? Note to self: finalize those words! Oh,
but I need to get back the advance praise first. Are you seeing the issues?
And then, I’ll need to format the book, first learning the formatting software. After all, it needs to be pretty! I’m not anticipating that this will be difficult, but who knows?
Once that’s all done, I need to upload the book and hope that Ingram Spark accepts the files. If not, I’ll have to figure out why not, change things, and on it goes. My illustrator for the Clemmy books was stuck at this phase for months!
Marketing
And as if that were not enough, I need to post about the book, so people are aware it’s coming out, and arrange launch parties in three cities (maybe more). I was asked if I’m also coming to Australia, The Netherlands, and England. England, maybe in the summer. Australia and Europe? Not yet, anyway.
All of this has to happen while we all navigate the joys and busyness of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yeah.
This Indie publishing is not for wimps. So, the publication date is now January 18, 2024. I hope.
