Craziness

1/16/2012 decision , scary , self-publish 0 Comments

It’s kind of crazy here right now.

The first crazy thing is we’re still dealing with a health issue because the ultrasound results found a centimeter size mass below the right thyroid.

Yikes!

Another test will be preformed this week and possibly a biopsy.

The second crazy thing is I decided to self-publish, ‘Beyond the Eyes’ the first book in my series, hopefully sometime in March. The thing is though, I don’t know diddly squat about formatting my book to an ebook and paperback. Therefore, I have to find a computer savvy person to do it for me, or talk me through it and hold my hand.

I’ll admit; I’m a complete moron when it comes to computers. I did find somebody to do my cover art for me, which totally rocks. I’m excited about that and will post it here when it’s finished. I’ll also keep you guys up to date on my self-publishing journey so you can ride the wave with me. Just hop on my huge surfboard and we’ll ride it together.

I know.

I’m a dork.

But I want you to know you’re not alone, and I want to share my experiences with you so maybe you can learn from them and get a glimpse into the scary world I’m embarking upon.

Yeah, it’s scary. I mean, this is a HUGE decision that has the potential to crush me. I’m bombarded by so many fears that if I think about them, I start shaking like I would if I had to stand on stage and give a speech in front of a room full of people.

So why am I self-publishing then?

I’m doing it because I believe in my book(s) and I’m tired of the query process and agents saying they like my story, I write well, my story is intriguing, please don’t give up, but sorry it’s not right for their list, or regrettably they can’t take on another client–blah, blah, blah.

I have nothing against agents and totally respect them. I understand they’re busy and have constraints they can’t slip out of, but I’m not going to let another year go by while my story goes unread. I love it too much and want to share it with the world.

Yesterday I emailed Createspace and Lulu so I should be hearing from them sometime this week. For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, they do POD (print on demand) books, along with other things. I’m not sure which one to use to do a trade paperback of my book(s). My critique partner told me a lot of the self-publishing books she reads and reviews go through Createspace, so I’m leaning toward them. But we’ll see. There’s another company a fellow writer of mine told me about called Bookbaby, so I think I’m going to check them out as well.

There’s SO much to do. I’m trying not to get overwhelmed or think about how crazy, scary this is. It’s a lot of hard work and time consuming, but I’m enjoying it. And although I’m scared to death (not that I haven’t already mentioned that) I’m excited as well. I figure if I take it in baby steps, I won’t end up in a little ball, sitting in the corner, rocking back and forth, mumbling gibberish.

Anyway, I better get back to it. If anybody that’s reading this knows how to format a book to an ebook, I’d love to hear from you. :)

I’m going to work on my blurb now, and go through some sketches the girl that’s doing my cover had sent me. I’ll be back on Friday with hopefully some good news.

*fingers and piggies crossed*

Have a good Monday and week. Be safe and happy.