Moving Forward Toward Indie

Hello from Portland, Maine. Shelley here, waving, but with hopefully a bit more flesh on my bones than the skeleton in the photo below. 

This was taken on a walk around the arts district in Portland on a glorious fall day. Hubby Craig and I had a marvelous time visiting an artist's studio, breakfast at the Miss Portland Diner, a few hours at the Portland Museum of Art, a drink at Novel Book Bar & Cafe, and dinner with friends. 

My Olivia Lively books are set in and around Portland, so whenever I'm there, I feel as if I'm half in the real world and half in the pages of my stories. I sort of feel like I might run into Liv at the coffee shop or strolling through an art gallery with her new friend, artist Emsley Ballard-Monihan, especially when walking in the Bayside area which has been gentrified from industrial warehouse cluster to industrial warehouse chic. 

I've made progress in my indie-publishing experiment. I made an Amazon KDP account which was a fairly simple process (until they asked me to verify my identity and upload my license info. Anytime there is an online form to fill out, the Guam quasi-status as a US territory comes into play. Is it a country? Is it a state of the USA? It's both. And neither. It doesn't play well with online forms and systems.) 

Next, I decided to invest $149 into the lifetime purchase of Atticus software for book formatting. I followed directions on pre-formatting my book in docx first (using styles), and that did, indeed, turn out well. I'm still learning the Atticus software and what it can do, but it is pretty simple. I like the various pre-formatted design templates. You can see how your book looks on various ebook devices plus print. 

The next step will be to print it out for my proofreader. Then I will need to create the full print cover with front and back and spine, make the corrections, and upload all the files to Amazon. So far, I have to say I think I'd rather learn this all myself than pay a hybrid publisher to handle it for me. I'm pretty confident I can do a good job with the design and files as long as I have these tools. The only thing I'll lack is a "publishing company logo." I'm not ready to create an LLC or an official press. Yet. 

That being said, I have so many ideas for books as well as several finished manuscripts just begging for revisions. It is quite freeing to think I can publish them if and when I want so that my loyal readers can enjoy them. 

I hope you are enjoying your October and are finding all kinds of good books to read. 

Here's what I've read lately:

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Shaw Connolly Live to Tell by Gillian French

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

Currently Reading:

Granny Dan by Danielle Steel

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Ciao, friends! 

Writing Classes

 Happy Independence Day! We’ve lived through another Arizona June, and now we have to endure July and August and part of September before we can remember why we love Arizona in the first place.

I complain, but it is a dry heat, which truly does make a difference. And I know. Remember that I grew up in eastern Oklahoma, where 98 degrees is accompanied by 98 percent humidity and 98 million mosquitos, gnats, and midges. And cockleburs. And no air conditioning, at least when I was young. (Besides, we walked twelve miles to school in our bare feet and lived in a box in the middle of the road.)

So thank you, Mr. Carrier, for inventing the air conditioner and making life infinitely easier for us Southerners, even if it has made us wimpier. (P.S. I am aware Air conditioning is bad for the environment and try to temper my use. But I do use it, since I can't afford to move to a cooler climate and I don't want to die. And don't blame Mr. Carrier. He didn't know...) 

I'm working on a new book as hard as I can. It's taking longer than usual since it's a new cast of characters and a new setting and I have to take time to get to know them and how they react to the horrible situations I put them in. I'd like to finish by next month. Partly because I made a bet with our beloved previous Type M-er Hannah Dennison that we'd both finish out new novels in August, and partly because I've agreed to act as writer in residence for the Glendale AZ Library system from September through November, and that's going to take most of my time. Because A) I haven't done a Writer in Residence program since the pandemic and I'm going to have to review and update my programs, and B) I live an hour away from Glendale AZ so I'm going to be spending a lot of time traveling.

However, if you live in the northern Phoenix metropolitan area and want to do a deep dive into writing techniques and tips, do come see me in Glendale this fall. 

Speaking of writing classes, The Society of Southwestern Authors—Valley of the Sun Chapter will present a workshop on indie publishing on Sunday, July 28, 2024 at 2 p.m. You can enjoy the FREE workshop at home on Zoom. The Zoom invitation will be sent out twice: one week before the workshop and a reminder two days before.

The workshop will include two handouts, the first being a checklist of important tasks to consider before publication from covers to blurbs. The second is a list of local and national organizations for writers. You’ll receive the handouts along with the first and second  Zoom invitations.

Three speakers who have all published traditionally as well as self-published will share their experiences: DEBORAH J LEDFORD, SUZANNE FLAIG, AND ART KERNS. 

If this sounds like something of interest to you, email Margaret Morse, President of Society of Soutwestern Authors – Valley of the Sun, and she will send you the invitation.