So near...

I am so near to uploading both my interior and my cover files again.

This week, I read my whole book out loud to myself. That was helpful in finding bits that didn't flow well and continuity errors (Character A was sitting on this page, but standing on the next, with no transition. Stuff like that.) I also tweaked the cover; it didn't need much.

I'm at the point where I don't want to look at the book anymore, but I need to. I had to determine a "reading level" for it for CreateSpace, so I tried to use a reading level function in MS Word. It never worked (guess I hadn't set the settings properly) but I did end up going through the whole book with Word's spelling and grammar checker. And whaddaya know, I found more spelling errors (incorrect compound words, mostly) and some grammar stuff, some of which I corrected and some of which I let stand because It's Just My Style, thank you very much, Word. Oh, and I used an online "readability index calculator" to determine my reading level (7th grade).

This morning I've been messing around on the CreateSpace website, resetting my BISAC code (which tells bookstores how to classify the book), entering the price ($8.99), rewriting my book description (which will also go on the back cover)--it goes on and on. But really, I'm so near...

That's my goal for the week--uploading both files. Once they're approved, will I then order another proof copy? Do I want to? Noooooooo (that's a horrified wail). I just want to push the "publish" button. But will I? We'll see.

I think the inside is looking pretty good.

No, I haven't completely polished the front matter yet. But the body and back matter is corrected, as far as comments that I received from my proofreaders go. Whew! And of course, as I was making those changes I discovered some other areas that needed attention. For instance, my capitalization for "king," "queen," and "prince" was wildly inconsistent when the term wasn't being used as part of their name. (E.g., "The king paced back and forth." To capitalize or not? I had it both ways. And had not noticed it at all until now. Yipes.)

Does chaos theory have something to say about all this? I'm thinking of Jurassic Park, where the scientist (as I recall) assures the park builder that SOMETHING WILL GO WRONG BECAUSE IT'S ALL TOO COMPLEX. Is my book doomed to have some errors, just because? I am starting to suspect so. Still, I'll get all the ones I can.

Next up is the front matter and the cover. Check in next week to find out how close I am to publication!

Back to proofing

I have the proof copy back, and I've started making the changes in my file.

Yeah, that's really about it for this week. I've gotten through the first two chapters.

My goal for the week is to get through the rest of the chapters, fixing any mistakes, poor punctuation choices, or awkward/confusing/contradictory passages that my readers noted. Then I'll need to do one last reading, tend to the front and back material and the cover, decide on the price and who knows what all else, and zowie! Ready to roll.

See you next week.

Writing and waiting

This week, I continued to work on the sequel for half an hour each morning, and I ended up writing some new material, not just editing old stuff. So that was good.

My current proofreader will return Just Like Magic to me on Tuesday. I'd thought I might get it back last week, but my reader needed more time.

My mom keeps asking me when she can buy a copy, though, so I'm still aiming at a late September publication date. We'll see!

Almost ready for the last push

Not much to report this week. I worked more on the sequel, got my book back from one proofer, and passed it on to another.

Yup, that's about it.

It's been so long since I worked much on Just Like Magic (six or seven weeks?) that it all seems distant and vaguely unreal. However, my goal is still to get it published by the end of this month. Which means that I'll have to really get in gear when I get the book back. The Last Push.

Well, except that then there's the e-book formatting push, and the marketing push. But you know. Last Push over the First Mountain.