The new book is up (and paperback versions are coming soon)… but it wasn’t easy

If you’ve ever thought, “Hmmmm, I betcha self-publishing has a lot in common with that old movie A Christmas Story,” you’d be right.

Well, for me, it does.

You see, when it comes to self-publishing, I’m a one-woman show. I write, edit, format, do my own covers and run my own website. And while I love every aspect of it, when things go wrong (and they so often do), I have no one to blame but myself.

Such was the case with this new book, which was an experience I’m affectionately calling Scut Farkus. If you’ve ever seen A Christmas Story, you probably remember Scut Farkus. He’s that bully kid who taunts Ralphie until Ralphie goes crazy, and in a fit of rage, attacks him, swatting wildy and pretty much saying every word in the book.

scut Farkus
Exactly how the print-formatting software taunted me the whole time

Me = Ralphie; Self-publishing = Scut Farkus

Don’t get me wrong, my new book wasn’t Scut Farkus. It was nowhere near Scut Farkus. I absolutely 100-percent loved writing the book. It was a lot of fun. The problems happened when I decided I’d try my hand at turning it into a paperback, which I knew would mean new software, new techniques, huge learning curves…

If you could’ve been a fly on my wall… this is pretty much how it went down. (Warning, this scene is probably why the movie is rated PG.)

BUT, I did it. I’ll have a paperback up soon on Createspace for my latest book From the Bottom of the CauldronAnd the ebook version is up for all formats and vendors. (I should add, it’s currently on sale for $.99 until the 11th.) Paperbacks for my other books are coming too, as soon as I get up the nerve to face that Farkus kid again.