Author Journey: June 30, 2023 - It's Out Y'all!

 Well, it's live, y'all. But the news isn't all great. I'm almost in tears, but I'm going to keep working to perfect these details that really make or break a book. Read on to find out more. 

Author Journey: Do I Have Any Hair Left? 

Seriously, this project was almost worse than Ripples. I've been working on formatting The Tale of Outh'n Durr as much as I'm able. But since I don't do the actual formatting, there's very little I can do beyond making simple edits to the manuscript. 

Why is this so annoying? Well, here's the deal. When I read a book, I expect to see actual essay-type paragraphs, what you would normally see when reading a novel. However, my mobi file reads like a blog post - left justified paragraphs with no indentation, each paragraph separated by a space. I find that annoying in the extreme. I have taking off stars for badly formatted books, so I fully expect to get the same type of reviews. And the most difficult thing for me to handle is that Kindle sells the most ebooks, as far as I know. So the bulk of my readers are going to see that instead of a beautiful or interesting or well-written story. 

In both the epub and mobi files, the header and section divider images come up out of line in some way. They're either left justified with the chapter title, or the header image is left justified, but the chapter title is centered. Talk about distracting! Ugh...

BUT...at least the PDF version looks gorgeous. The only thing I hate about a PDF version is the full-color cover never shows up. I do like how the links and footnotes show, though. 

So my recommendation is the PDF version for now. But I don't sell those from here. I'll have to figure out how to offer that as an option. Later. I need a break so I can breathe for a bit and get used to the idea that my book is going to look awful for a while. 

Once I catch my breath, I'm going to start researching classes to learn how to format my own novels. Then I really will be the sole worker on my books, but for the actual publishing process. 

So if you'd like a copy of The Tale of Outh'n Durr, stay tuned for the link. I'll post it as soon as I'm able. (There are some verification-type things that have to happen before the shareable book link will come up.) 

Writer's Life - What's Been Keeping Us Busy

All of the things. Yes. All of the things have been keeping us busy. With the super hot and humid days we've had this June, we're having to keep a closer eye on our animals at the farm. Not only the animals, but the garden needs a closer watch, too. And with my grandmother getting older, she needs my mom more often. So when my parents are with her, the garden and chickens, outdoor cats and dogs...they're all our responsibility. It's not terrible, but it adds to the workload. 

And since I'm pressed for time today, just know that Spartacus got a new toy. I can't wait to film him with it and share it with you. 

Just Keep Writing: Friday Fascicles

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (i.e. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

What do you think? Are any stories coming to mind? 

Thanks so much for walking with me through these days of writing mayhem and madness. I really do appreciate the support and encouragement. I'm not looking forward to the reviews on this book because I know they'll be super harsh, but I am glad it's out there. And I'm doubly glad I can make minor edits without too much trouble. 

Please do come back next week. I'll have more word prompts ready to share with you, as well as book reviews. I'll also post that link to purchase your own copy of The Tale of Outh'n Durr. I hope, in spite of the formatting, you'll be able to enjoy a fantasy adventure like no other you've read and step outside of this world for a little while. 

Until next time,
Turn the page...