Doing the book dance!!!

IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!

It was due to a series of misunderstandings and errors that I didn't get my book two weeks ago. (It wasn't CreateSpace's fault at all.) But I've got it now and it's REAL.

More on Sunday. I just had to get this up now.

Still nothing

I was really hoping to have a photo today of me holding my book... but it was not to be. The book still hasn't arrived. It was estimated that it would be here last Monday. If it doesn't come on this coming Monday, I'm going to start making inquiries.

So--still on sabbatical! La la la, not thinking about the book at all....

What I think I will do today, though, is go to the library and use their computers to look at my book on the CreateSpace "digital proofer." Take that, USPS!

Waiting...

Yup, I'm still waiting for the proof copy to arrive. The expected arrival date is tomorow -- at least that's what CreateSpace said when I ordered it.

The funny thing is that I'm kind of scared to see it. Afraid that it'll be awful, maybe. Oh well, if it needs fixing, I'll fix it!

I haven't done anything else on the book this week, except to renew a book on self-publishing that I checked out from the library. (Not read it, really, just renew it.) I guess I'm on a short sabbatical from the book. Apparently this can be a good thing, give me some distance from it so I can see it more clearly afterwards. Once it arrives I'll jump back in.

"Your files are printable"

"Congratulations your files are printable!" That's what the email from CreateSpace said 36 hours after I uploaded the revised cover (centering of spine fixed and kerning played with to my not entire satisfaction* but oh well) and again submitted the book for review. Yes!

I was interested to see that ordering a print copy was not the only way they offered for me to proof the book. They also have a "digital proofer" which  would allow me to view my "fully-formatted book in an online virtual environment." Problem with that option is that it requires the updated Adobe Flash plugin which my computer will not support (same problem as when I originally uploaded my interior file).  I could use the digital proofer at the library, though, because they have the updated Adobe Flash there.

However, CreateSpace also offers a free, downloadable "custom-generated PDF proof that displays your interior pages side by side on a single sheet of paper." Now this I can use immediately, and also send to other people to proof. Nice.

I ordered a print proof copy right away, too (cost me $7.08, and shipping was more than half of that) and was informed within a day that it has already shipped. That's quick printing! I'm impressed.

So now, I get to take a few deep breaths before the book arrives, and then I'll plunge back into the merry world of editing. With the book in my hands! Wow...

I know there will be things to correct, so this whole cycle will have to be gone through again. But I'm still hoping to hit the "Publish" button before the end of August.

*My version of PowerPoint (2004) doesn't have fine controls for kerning. This is something else I can see if library software can help me with.

"Submitted for review"

Full cover, uploaded. (Whew.)

It was cover week here on How to Get Published Without Really Trying (Too Hard). Here's what happened:

1) I tried to make Pagemaker 7 work for me. I got it to recognize the fonts I'm using by playing around with my Font Book (it's a Mac thing). However, although two of the three fonts came out just fine in Pagemaker, Adobe Garamond for some reason came out super pixilated. Also, when I tried to apply color and transparency to a text box, I couldn't figure out how to do it. So in the spirit of not really trying (too hard), I went back to PowerPoint.

2) I played with the whole cover layout I had already started last week. I rewrote the back cover text. I played with colors, alignment, and adding more stars. (Stars are good, I think.)

3) But I had concerns about my image, its DPI (dots per inch), and if it was working out within CreateSpace's submission guidelines. So I made my PowerPoint cover into a JPEG (a simple save), uploaded it into CreateSpace's Cover Creator (using the "Pine" template), and held my breath. Nothing blew up or fell apart. Excellent.

4) At this point, though, I really wanted to know if the cover and interior met all specifications and would allow me to get a proof copy of the book. Yes, I know I'll be making changes on the cover and interior. I haven't kerned the title font properly, for example. But am I on the right track, in general? I hesitated, then...

5) At 11:15AM  yesterday, I clicked the "Submit for Review" button. Now the ball is in CreateSpace's court. They're supposed to sent me an email within 48 hours to let me know where things stand. If they say it's okay, I'll order a proof copy. I know it will take at least a couple of proofs to get everything looking the way I want it to, so I might as well get started soon. Editing a physical copy will, I think, be very different from editing on the screen.

6) After my pulse rate went down a little, I did a few more things on the CreateSpace site. I edited my "book description" and added some keywords.

So now I'm waiting. My hope this week is to get the okay and order a proof copy, and also make some decisions on distribution channels and pricing. And once I get a proof copy, it's editing time!

P.S. After writing the above post, I found I had a message from CreateSpace: I need to realign the spine text on the cover (it's not centered properly, and I think I know why) and upload it again. The interior is fine! So since I need to make a change on the cover anyway, I'll also look at kerning and such. Or anything else anyone wants to comment on (I don't promise I'll do anything, but I'll listen...) Baby steps, baby steps. I may still reach my ultimate goal, which is to get this puppy published in August and then get the Kindle version published soon afterwards.

First view of the cover

Image ©iStockphoto.com/Nikada

What I wanted to do this week was select a cover photo.

What I did this week was mock up six different covers, using six different photos, and showed them to seven different family members, asking for their input, which they gladly gave me.

With the feedback and my own opinions, I was able to eliminate three of the covers easily. But not everyone liked the same one, and there were drawbacks to them all. It was tough to decide. The image I finally went with is the one you see above, and the cover is still very much a work in progress.

Now I need to learn how to size the image correctly (needs to be 300 dpi, needs to be inserted into the cover at full size), flatten the images, include the back cover and spine, make it into a PDF, etc. etc. Step by step, I'll get there.