Let the Real Work Begin

Dear Readers:

The past three weeks, working on getting the printed book into circulation, has been hectic. My on-site retired professional computer consultant (aka my husband) and my not-retired professional graphic designer (aka my niece) spent numerous hours pouring over cover displays, talking in hushed tones about pixels and fonts and perspectives. Meanwhile, the manuscript had to be prepared (again by the on-site computer consultant) using the CreateSpace templates, to make it fit the print specifications. Then the documents were sent over the wonderful, magical internet. Soon the acceptance messages arrived in my inbox and generated more work because next we needed to order and wait impatiently to receive the printed book proof. Sounds exciting? You bet. Was the project completed? Not even close.

Now every single word had to be read – again. This meant another pass carefully reading all 478 pages, covers, addendums, and acknowledgements in as short a time as possible. This, of course generated more discussions and revisions and yet another submission which resulted in yet another series of messages and again the need to read the entire book again. My, this is hard work.

Finally, on Monday, February 17th, this little dude (as my Granddaughter would put it) was ready to be shipped to readers who wanted to buy the printed copy. Was this a time to sit back, relax, and wait for sales to skyrocket? Not on your life. Now the real work began.

I dusted off my sales and marketing plan and read it with fresh eyes. The first thing needed was to design and order printed postcards that could be used to contact possible purchasers via the good ole USPS. That of course involved more of the design and computer experts referred to above. Meanwhile, I was generating ideas for other things that duo could work on (did I hear groans?). Among them: redesign the website and create a slideshow of scenes from the book for the homepage.

One thing I could do was beat the bushes for publicity opportunities. I sent out email messages and posted announcements on Facebook and Twitter. From that, I was invited to participate in my first blog interview. I quickly accepted without even knowing what I was getting into. But, hey, this entire exercise has been a learning experience. Next, along came a speaking opportunity with the alumni from my high school. I am one of those weird people who LOVE speaking in public. I accepted immediately. Then I decided I needed to enter my manuscript in a national contest (which, of course, required the computer expertise of – you guessed it – my husband. He’s handy guy to have around!)

So here, in less than a week (it seems more like a month), I can check off several things on my S&M list. But goodness I have just scratched the surface. One thing I do plan on doing is getting back to my regular blog posting schedule. You heard it right here. I will be updating you in about 2 weeks. The plot thickens.