IT IS A GO!

We have a LIFTOFF date for my book launch!

Drum Roll Please ….

June 3, 2024

My book will be available on Amazon; Paperback and Kindle!

Woo Hoo! I and my small support team jumped through all the hoops and Amazon approved every jot, tittle, margin, heading, cover … all 219 pages!!

Believe me … they check every page, especially for printing specifications, of which there are many! I found that out on the way!

I rapidly discovered that when uploading a book to Amazon, it must adhere to their template specifications. I mistakenly imagined that uploading words would result in Amazon automatically formatting pages into a book.

WRONG!

VERY WRONG!!

They don’t accept non-formatted manuscripts.

Guess what? When you decide to publish on Amazon with no third-party involvement, you take care of all the formatting on your own!

If you were using traditional publishing, this is where their publishing houses full of experts go to work for you. They edit, format, make the cover, and decide on everything about the pages and overall appearance of the book! And they are the gurus for a manuscript to become a hold-in-your-hand book! Voila!

Generally, when you opt to self publish with a self-publishing company, you would pay them $5,000 to $10,000 to perform this task for you, usually with additional stipulations. They will not market your book. The cost is to get you a manuscript in book form and print it for you. By the way, the price does not include books! And you are required to buy the books they print. They do not sell them.

When you publish on Amazon, it’s called “print on demand.” They do not print books till they are ordered, thus saving the author from buying a garage full of book! But, you set up your book to be printed and ask them to provide Amazon.com to sell your book. You then share some of the profits with them when/if the book sells. They collect the print cost and profit share out of sales and you receive a slight majority of the profit.

This world was foreign and I assumed a lot of things that were proven wrong!

Many people strongly advised me to pay for at least these two services from independent providers if I am self-publishing on Amazon. I did just that. I found a professional editor from the website Fivver. A connection I had with my son’s media company designed the cover.

It didn’t take long for me to understand that I needed help with the formatting! I didn’t know where to start! I had chapters, but that’s about it! I performed in-depth research online and found a highly reviewed app with outstanding ratings: Atticus. The price proved worth every penny.

Of course, I watched lots of tutorials on how to use the app and how to get the look I desired. And I began formatting 43,000+ words. When all 219 pages were finished, the app provides a pdf version and an ebook version of your book. The whole app is actually set up to match Kindle Direct Printing (Amazon) specifications!!

That was a dream. Had I started from scratch to build my formatting, it would have taken me so much longer!! Some self-publishers do exactly that and others hire independent formatters. I guess that was an option, but I didn’t mind learning the software and doing it.. it just took time!

I hope 🤞🏻it all comes out like I envision. Yes, I’ve seen the previews, and it looks like it, but holding it in my hands will prove it!

By the way, my “small team” comprised me, the cover designer, and editor. My designer was with me to the bitter end because the cover size has to do with the number of pages and size of book you choose.

Did you know there are three “standard” sizes of paperback books?

Choosing makes a difference.

The size has to do with profit … who would have guessed?!?!

I had loads of questions to figure out at every turn.

BUT ….

JUNE 3, 2024

It will be available to purchase on Kindle and paperback!

Needless to say, I was elated to see these words appear in my email …

Hello Elaine C. Stone,
Your book is scheduled for release on 06/03/2024.
Amazon

Hip Hip Hooray!!!

Que FIREWORKS!!!

HINT HINT …. The word “Blue” is in the title!

Counting Down,