Writing and Formatting and Publishing, oh my!

I love to write. I try to write when I have time, or don’t have time, or when I get in that mood where the words have got to come out or make my head explode. I don’t like dealing with things that happen without my permission, like words being indented, or skipping lines, or, worse than anything, page numbers. These, I have discovered, are the true enemy.

Last week, after many years of writing, revising, and fighting with my computer, I finally became a published author. I went the independent route. I like being independent. Except for the page number part, which, having a ‘Word-savvy’ mother, wasn’t the end of the world.

It’s neat to be able to go into Amazon and see my book. It’s even available in Kindle, so I’m not hopelessly old-fashioned. The whole process was actually pretty painless. I complain, but if page numbers are your worst enemy, you’re not doing very badly at all.

All in all, the writing took about six years, and revising took another year, and the publishing, a mere three weeks. I am hoping to beat that record by a year or two next time!

Please check it out!

http://www.amazon.com/Chloe-Ms-Merrill-Berry-Hunter/dp/1499742045/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403206552&sr=1-2&keywords=chloe+in

Multitasking

I have always been a bit too much of a multi-tasker. Not necessarily a good one however. This time I think I have got it. I finished the last (maybe) edit/proofread of my book and handed it over to my very good friend to read and see if its mildly entertaining to her. That’s always a good sign of course. Even if its not exactly unbiased. In the meantime I have had a nagging idea in my head for some time. Several years I think, but it just wasn’t time to unlock the cage and let it out. I had to deal with my first one. Now that one is safely in a friend’s hands, ( I handed it over a bit like I put my daughter on the bus for the first time), I can relax and and let ideas flow forth. And they have been. I turned up the music which inspired the idea, and let it go. Needless to say, my hand was aching, but it felt very good. It makes me wonder what the next year will bring in my literary world.

I helped a young author

All writers should help each other out.  Well, all people should really help each other out, but that’s not going to happen any time soon, so I’ll stick with the smaller group. 

A few weekends ago I went to Baltimore for the day.  It was hot and sticky.  No surprise for the summer of 2012.  After walking around the Inner Harbor and having lunch, it was time to try to cool off .  There’s really no better place to do that than a bookstore.  Unless you try the aquarium which is also probably kept at temperatures nearing the freezing point.  (By freezing point I mean 72 degrees F) 

After entering the cave like dimness of the bookstore, I bumbled around for a while letting my transition glasses do their thing and become un-tinted.  I think I managed not to run into any people.    Anyone who has been in the Barnes and Noble’s in Baltimore knows it’s the biggest bookstore in the known universe.  I try to stay out of book stores for the most part.  I tend to come away with a much lighter wallet and more books to add to the growing piles around the house.  After leafing through some unknown books in the clearance bins and some really tempting sci-fi stuff (not clearance), I rounded a corner and saw a young guy sitting alone at a table with a pile of books.  I couldn’t see what it was but the cover looked colorful and so I neared for a closer look.  The guy smiled and we regarded each other for a moment.  I glanced at the book and saw it was a young adult type adventury fantasy thing.  Right up my alley.  My daughter’s too, who I can easily use as an excuse when I check out library books for both of us.   I gave him another tentative smile and went on my way, ascending to the next level of the store thinking that I really should check the book out on Amazon and see if there were any others in the library. 

The book kept nagging at me though and eventually after making a circle of the second floor, I just had to go back.  This time, after reading the back, it definitely grabbed my attention.  I spoke to the author for a few minutes, now joined by his even younger looking wife.  (I found that out after reading his little bio)  He said it had taken over 4 years just to do the first draft.  That made me feed fairly normal since I was going into my fifth year and already on the second draft.  He was also an english teacher for middle school kids, and probably not as young as he looked.  I wished him good luck as he signed the book and he wished me all the success I could have as well.  That night I checked the book out.  It was a fun read.  My daughter liked it for the most part, but I think it’s more geared for 11-12 year olds. 

 This author, Andy Hueller has written two books, (Dizzy Fantastic and her Flying Bicycle and Skipping Stones at the Center of the Earth- the one I got) and I am sure he will write many more.  I am glad that I helped him just a little bit by buying the book, even at retail prices and even though I had made a vow to stick to library books.  Please check these books out if you are still a kid and love  fun fantastical and quirky books.  Or if you have kids.  That works too.