New Book

All right!

I suppose it eventually came to this - though I CERTAINLY didn’t foresee it happening!

I’ve “written a book”.

Well….. what I’ve actually done is to edit 44 of these postings (at the suggestion of some of my family and friends), and publish them in a book.

It’s called “Musings of a Story Teller Wannabe”.

Catchy, huh?

“How did you find a Publisher that thought enough of the book to ‘go for it’, Mike.”

I didn’t.

I am publishing it myself.

Cost me $369 for just one book. But, that means that any number of these books may be ordered, then bought, in a timely manner - for a “going” price.

IF there are any royalties at all (at a dollar a book), they will be used to offset the original cost that I am “laying out”.

I have to give our son John the credit for finding me a “self-publisher” to do this. It’s on the Internet. I just send them the finished “manuscript” (Ooooh! That sounds so ‘chic’, doesn’t it?), and they “put it all together”.

It’s going to be on Amazon Books, and Barnes and Noble, as well as being available at other national bookstores - on the Internet. I have an ISBN number.

A week later:

I’ve hit a “snag” on publishing this “book”. The Word Processor on which I wrote it is different from the one the “Publisher” uses, and I’m having difficulty getting the right print type; paragraph indenting; page numbering; title page; table of contents; author’s picture; etc. done right.

It grieves me that I have lost a week to this dilemma, but my habit is that if I don’t feel secure in taking the next step in any venture, I “mind the checks” - that is: SLOW DOWN! I pray a lot, looking for some answers, but right now I’m stuck.

Who knows what will be in this next paragraph, AND, when the paragraph will be written.

Of course, procrastination could be involved, I suppose. But I feel a little tentative about the whole project anyway, and until I can “still” the “butterflies” in my stomach, I might wait for Guidance.

Still another week later:

John said he could “convert” my file to one the publisher could use, if I e-mailed my file to him.

I’ve done that, but now, he asks me if I can send him another file as an “attachment” that he can use. I don’t know what that is.

I’m waiting to talk to him, to see what I can do.

Yet another week:

I was talking to John about the book, and I asked him just how I could send him the file, instead of just the written word.

He explained it to me, and within the hour, I had sent him the file, and less time later than that, he sent back two different files they can use.

So, this morning, I e-mailed my contact person there, and she explained how I could get into my file, send them $369 from my debit card, and get on the way.

I did that, then I shortly received three e-mails as a receipt, plus further instructions on what to do.

One of the things just mentioned is that, in addition to the author’s picture on the back of the book (Timi Neff took some shots for that), I need a sketch, or illustration for the front of the book, ostensibly providing a drawing description of the title.

I discovered that one of the night Aides here named Jessica Pikey, does sketches, so I gave her a sample picture of me at the computer, and asked her to draw something like that, or another view altogether, that would depict “Musings of a Storyteller Wannabe”, the title of the book.

Again, I can say, “I’m on my way!”

I don’t know yet how to get the photo on the back cover; the sketch on the front; and up to 10 or 12 photos inside the book, in 300 dpi.

Somebody will surely help me - I think.

If this all comes about, as dumb as I am about it, don’t tell me there are not miracles!

Yet another week later:

In the receipt and letter I got back, it indicated a new name to contact. I’ve done so, with some difficulty, since the e-mail has to have a reference number, something like this, the example they used:

[ ref:00A00bA0.00000AbA0:ref ]

I sent 4 or 5 e-mails with some version of this. One time I used the wrong brackets, and another, the right one at the beginning, but wrong one at end.

I just now sent another, that DIDN’T return because of an improper subject. I followed up with two more, just a little different, and finally, it was accepted.

I’m anything right now, since I am thoroughly confused. Hopefully, the next paragraph will be better.

Next day:

I’ve heard back with further instructions. I’ll TRY to follow them!

Next day:

I’ve JUST NOW (11:20 AM, November 13, 2009) sent the “manuscript”. Whether I did it right or not, I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll hear.

Later that day, I “uploaded” 13 pictures - including the sketch for the front cover, and Author Photo for the back.

Horrors!

They came back, indicating that the files were too long. I had included 6 photos in each file.

Did it over again, 3 photos in four files, and 4 in another.

They didn’t come back.

My representative there said she had sent my manuscript to the formatting department, and that I would hear from them when that was finished.

Wow!

Who said “writing a book” was simple?

I hope you’ll forgive me for this Biblical reference, but I just couldn’t help thinking about the “travail” of “preparing” the book, then the joy of having it published, as it relates to this passage in John 16:21:

“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the angush, for that a man is born into the world”.

After the book is once in my hands, I’m sure I will NOT remember this “travail” I am now going through - with the book.

Since it will be several weeks, probably, until the project is finished, I think I’d better post this now. If there are “dramatic developments” in the project later, I’ll probably post them as well.

Whew!

“Brethren, pray for us!”

Oh………..she just said I uploaded the 13 pictures “perfectly”.

Will wonders never cease?

Next comes the “Table of Contents”. That is, the list at the front of the book indicating what page each chapter starts on - all 44 of them. Can’t do that, though, until the “formatting” department finishes with it, numbering the pages.

Complex, huh?

That’s what I’ve been thinking ever since I started this project.

Time to post this thing. More on “the book” will come later.

Author photo on back cover: