My “Word of the Day” on Tuesday was OVERWHELMED. My target release date for the 1st installment of my Living Between Dreams series was fast approaching, and everything that I didn’t know about publishing was on my “To Do” list.
- How do I use this InDesign book template to format my paperback?
- How do indie publishers get ARCs?
- How do we give out ARCs?
- How long does it take to print a book?
- When should I list the book for pre-order?
- Where is the money for all of this coming from?
The list didn’t get shorter as the day went on, instead it got more and more overwhelming. My eyes glazed over and my brain numbed, and by Wednesday I was fully paralyzed by the amount of work and the steep learning curve I needed to finish that work.
This was trumped by the shocked and humbled feeling I felt on Wednesday after receiving an email from my editor. But I digress.
Since Wednesday, some of my overwhelmed feeling has been replaced with knowledge and resolve. My To-Do list has gotten even longer, but at least I know where to go with some of these tasks.
- How do I use this InDesign book template to format my paperback? I found a great step-by-step tutorial from Hugh Howey, indie author and self-pub SME (Subject Matter Expert)–in my opinion. The only thing I would do differently here is do more formatting in Word first, but only because I’m so comfortable with Word. Click here for tutorial.
- How do indie publishers get ARCs? How do we give out ARCs? After a lengthy discussion with a fellow member of an Indie FB group I’m in, I got some great advice on how to create and distribute a true digital ARC. She told me that she uses Bookfunnel to distribute her ARCs to her team. It’s kind of like Vellum, but I’m not a Mac user, so I didn’t dig into anything else in that arena. Until now.
Then she said she sends her Bookfunnel email to her team of ARC reviewers. *Sigh.* I have no ARC reviewers. This also reminded me that I need to work on my Author Platform. Cue the Mailchimp! (Another thing I don’t understand, but you’ll see me try it soon!)
The other three questions, I’ll save for a later day. I have enough on my plate for this weekend. Cue the melodramatic swooning music!
What indie publishing nightmares do you have? Or questions to which you can’t find the answer? Comment below.
Daily Post: Overwhelming