Self-publishing is not easy peasy lemon squeezey

Hello Writers

I finished and presented my final project to a panel at U of T, and received my Certificate in Creative Writing: six courses and a final project. Done. Feels good, but almost anticlimactic. It is so much more than the certificate. I learned so much. I am a writer. I love learning, I love proving to myself that I am, indeed, not too old to learn and do new things.

Soon, I will be a published book author. It's also done. My family stories book came in at 59,297 words and is now with my publisher. It feels amazing to have gotten to this point. I have already thought of a couple of additional stories for it, but I’m not going there.

So many thoughts along the journey to arrive here.

What if my computer breaks or is stolen before I get done? Will I live long enough to finish it? When should I stop editing and start writing new fiction stories? When do I get to write a mystery novel? There is still more work to do to get to the final product. There will, no doubt, be more editing. I need to start choosing pictures and thinking about the title and front, and back covers.

I will get it done, and my reward will be holding the book in my hands and giving copies to my children and grandkids. This was why, at 73 years old, I said, I want to be a writer when I grow up.

Later…

Well, adding pictures was a nightmare. How could I screw up something so simple?

The file manager on my publisher’s account does not like me, and the feeling is mutual. I am not a fan of using technology that is so new to me. I always think “easy-peasy lemon squeezy” and then I mess up…Hours deciding which pictures, cropping and organizing and into the file manager they went. I messed it up. All wrong. The order has to match the order of placement in the manuscript. There is a very specific way that each one has to be named, tagged and given a caption in the correct pace. I didn't know this. Did they assume I would? I was somewhat annoyed but also upset.

Later…

I got sick and felt so overwhelmed by the damn pictures. I got help from the publisher. Thank you. They double-checked and organized my pictures, and these are now in place in the manuscript, and entered in the “Projects Asset section of the  Author Account Centre, (whatever that is).

Loving writing does not include loving all this…

The publishing journey continues. I am waiting to meet my “publishing specialist” who will be my “trusted advisor and guide throughout the publishing process”. I’ll keep you posted. I will get this book done!

Take care

Gail