"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.