Day 115

I was supposed to stop after 100. I was also supposed to update this blog more often. But my urge to write has taken an extended vacation (that's a topic for another time, another place).

So anyway, here we are.  115 days. I didn't get to the 300 sales mark I was shooting for. Maybe I didn't publicize enough. Maybe I'm not a savvy marketeer. Maybe the book wasn't engaging.

But I did make it to 108. Which isn't half bad.

I had a long chat with Ozzie Chick a couple weeks ago about my motivations behind this book. Once upon a time, it was just about writing it. I was going to put pen to paper, give it a go, and stick it in a drawer. Honestly, I never thought I would actually finish it.

Then, I got caught up in the excitement of it all. I had visions of living the life of a writer. Of leaving the office behind and setting up shop at café tables with a Moleskine and a chewed-up pen.

But that, too, passed. Realism kicked in. And then I thought long and hard about what I wanted and realized what mattered the most was that people read it. Read something I had created. Something I had brought into being from nothing. Something that was just mine, that someone else could make theirs.

And it happened. 108 people took my story into their lives, even if only briefly.

I'm happy with that.

And now that these 100 days of Kindle publishing are over, my baby starts a new phase as a printed book.  It may not be everything I dreamed of, but it's pretty close.

The create-space e-store for In the Past Imperfect

Day 75

I finally got the digital proof back from Createspace for the interior of my book. My level of excitement is perhaps a bit disproportionate to the significance of the event, but "Shoot! It's starting to look like a REAL book!" The Kindle version just didn't seem to have the same impact.

Of course now the problem is that I need to proofread again. For some reason, I wasn't too fussed about the Kindle version still having the odd sly typo that managed to escape my attention (and that of the dozen friends that helped me proofread the first time around).

But a typo in the print version? On someone's shelf? Sitting there, immortal, for all to see like a shameful scarlet letter "T"? I'd be mortified.

Fortunately, I've once again managed to round up 4 more trusty friends (including one English professor) to lend a hand. Which just goes to show how many people you really need to make a book - and I don't mean the ones that take commission.

Isn't it beautiful?!

Day 61

So it turns out trying to get lots of people to read a Kindle version of your book is actually quite hard. Especially when you're a nobody.  Reviewers won't look at it.  Book groups won't consider it.

And friends complain you can't sign it.

The "real book" still has its die-hard fans out there and, let's face it, I'm one of them.

So after much soul-searching, I have decided to go and self-publish in paper.  The service I used is CreateSpace, which is affiliated to amazon.  They try to sell themselves as being "free" for the author, but really that's only the case if you're some kind of expert graphic artist / layout person.  Which I am not.  These were the instructions for do-your-own interior:

1. Make sure the dimensions of your document match your trim size (including bleed if applicable).
2. Make sure all live elements are within the proper margins or safe zone.
3. Export your file as a print-ready PDF. Be sure fonts are embedded.
4. The maximum accepted file size for your book interior is 400 MB.

Sure.  Can we have that again in English, please?

I decided to cough up the minimum required cash, just for formatting.  I didn't get the copy-editing service, I didn't get the editorial service, I made my own cover.  I'm a little worried about what will come out when it's done... 

But it will look something like this.