Tools of the trade

I don't even want to discuss what time it is. 😑 

Considering I rolled into bed 12 hours ago, I suppose I shouldn't complain.

But I will. 😂

At this godforsaken time in the AM, we're going to discuss some tools of the trade.

Yesterday, I spent a great deal of time adding titles in Kindle Direct Publishing and https://draft2digital.com/. As I went to grab the link for the latter, I'd already sold a book I added. 🥳

But let me back it up.

LONG GONE are the days of simply whipping out a story and doing a bit of publicity and marketing. Back in the early aughts, I'd write a book. Submit. We'd edit. I'd fill out a form for the cover designer. Publish. Market.

Rock on.

Yesterday, being an Indie Author, it looked a little like this:

pulled older work I recently received the rights back 

open in Word

delete previous publisher info and add mine

FORMAT (format is now one of my "f" words 😣)

Edit

Purchase more ISBNs from Bowker at 29.50 a pop. I'd still suggest buying your own ISBN for your works. You WILL need a separate one for mediums i.e. digital or print.

Fill out ISBN information for digital book

Run my manuscript through Kindle Create program to check for formatting errors. It'll kick out a Kindle and ePub copy that should be clean to use in Kindle Direct.

Format, when needed, and curse fluently

Go to Kindle Direct, fill out data, upload manuscript.

Add cover design.

Launch previewer to check for errors.

I use Canva Premium to design my covers, except the explicit ones because Canva is a prude. If I want spicy, I use Shutterstock.

I design my covers around the time I finish, or I'm about to finish, my work. Then, because I'm rowing this boat solo, I actually design a page with the cover and tropes. And now, I design a third page I can add to Insta and TikTok and Threads. 

I throw this reel soup together in Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 with the Video Editor. My only complaint being the music selection for the background is LIMITED.

I used CapCut Web on some previous works, better music, but you have to renew yearly, and it's an expense I didn't want or need.

After adding eBook to KDP (Kindle Direct), I go back and add the ISBN for the print project.

Then to Kindle Direct. 

This time, I need to design the entire cover flap, as the digital copy only needs the front cover.

 

One of us, me me me, nearly went mental designing the full flap for "One Enchanted Evening" because I needed to find a color to complement the gold and cream colored invitation. If I didn't try every fucking tile on the massive color square, TWICE, I swear to you...

Moving on.

Also, you need keywords to add to your manuscript file. I opened my handy, dandy Publisher Rocket and opened my "keyword search" where I found similar titles and looked at their keywords to get ideas to use for mine.

If you can afford it, BUY THIS!

They're going to move to an annual subscription, eventually, and the one-time payment for access is well worth it.

I could continue to gush all about it, but we've work to do.

Add keywords and genres to KDP files.

Shuffle over to Draft2Digital to add eBooks there. 

You're not paying for any of this. Draft2Digital will take a percentage of sales. They make your book available to: 

Apple Books

Barnes & Noble

Kobo (including Kobo Plus)

Smashwords Store

Tolino

OverDrive

cloudLibrary

Everand

Baker & Taylor

Hoopla

Vivlio

BorrowBox

Odilo

Palace Marketplace

Gardners

Small caveat, some of these distributors will not accept spicy content. Roll with the punches, darlings.

Still a hell of a deal.

Then I move onto the next.

I WILL say I do Canva in blocks. I designed Insta posts for four different books, one after the next, and then threw them into Adobe to make reels.

I find this easier to keep my train of thought, hard on the best days, when I'm doing something repetitively.

I think that's basically it. 

Minus the blood, sweat, tears, and profanity.

Gotta love what you do. 💖

Combined ADHD brain

I'm fifty-three and diagnosed this year. A lot of people ask if it's even worth being diagnosed at an advanced age.

I believe so.

My wee grey matter has days like if you went to a Fourth of July fireworks show, and they set all of them off at once.

I'm nearly manic.

For those old enough to remember, it's like Alex Keaton in "Family Ties", high on amphetamines, studying for a test and rolling back and forth in his chair from question to answer and acing it. 

That's me.

In the chair.

Except, there's like twenty desks.

And I'm not acing it. 😂

Last night, I couldn't go to sleep because my mind filled with everything I wanted/planned to do today. I honestly thought about getting up and starting those, even after I took my night meds, which includes a sleeping pill.

I finally drifted off, only to wake at 4:30 this morning (have I told you I HATE mornings???) and begin again.

With a mental list. For my mental self.

Knowing I have ADHD helps. It makes sense of things I do and how I do them. It's wanting to be organized but struggling to be. It's trying to research and ending up in a rabbit hole or holes sixty-five tabs in.

It's a hundred and six post-it notes of a dozen colors atop my desk. 

It makes SENSE now.

I've always accepted and embraced my quirks. (I have my share and probably yours, too.) But it's good to know I was made this way. 

It's my vibe. 💖

It's the small things

Like trying to match the color of cover font to spine and back pieces of the book. Was I driving myself absolutely batshit attempting to do so?

You know me too well.

😂

Lordt.

I made a list, on my trusty post-it note, of the four stories I needed to revise/edit/publish.

I've finished THREE.

🥳🎉

I am SO excited about it!

*deep breath*

Now, I'll be editing/formatting (😡) "One Enchanted Evening." Not sure whether to keep the title as is, or use another one. 

I wrote "Perfect Timing" (the time travel romance) before there were 800 books of the same name. You know, back in the mid-aughts. Twenty odd years later, and I've changed it to "In His Own Time." Revisions should be SLAPPING.

What will I be doing this weekend??? WRITING ON CANARY: OUT OF THE SHADOWS if I have to duct tape my short ass to my desk. 😒

Me and my issues.

Think I may have pulled something last night when granddaughters climbed all over me. Have additional back pain on top of the usual suspects. 

ffs

And that's my world this Friday morning. Back at it. Head first into the craziness that exists in my wee grey matter. 

Need to calm down with the new and shiny and get back to the older and forgotten.

Have a great weekend!

It's the remix, baby!

Ya girl is playing with her older books and revising and revamping. New covers and edits. Fresher blurbs. Doing the most over here.

As I'm still coughing up my lungs...😑

Anyway, this morning will be me making a reel for "Programmed for Pleasure." That means Adobe Photoshop something or other and my learning curve. *sigh*

But, here we go.

I'm having fun tinkering in Canva for the new covers. Here are the ones I've revamped so far:

For readers who crave enchanted love stories with brooding heroes, brave heroines, and the magic of fate.

If you’re a fan of modern erotic romance with humor, temptation, and heat, you’ll love this tale.

If you’re a fan of bargain-for-love plots with high-stakes passion, you’ll devour Diana and Sheridan’s story.

For readers who devour fantasy romance with high stakes, dark forces, and love written in prophecy.

And that's what my short sick ass has been doing. 🥳

I'm off into the Adobe depths of trying to create something I normally wouldn't even attempt.

But seriously?

When has THAT stopped me??? 🤔😂

You may be right...I may be crazy

Judgment-free zone here. 

I've decided, in my manic wisdom, that I function better when my hair is on fire. This sounds counter-productive, but stick with me.

I'm currently: finishing "Canary: Out of the Shadows", editing "The Portrait", editing "What He Wants", buying ISBNs for my revised books and assigning them, putting together a book catalog, renaming and editing "Perfect Timing", and editing two short erotic romance stories for Christmas. 😁

It absolutely knocks my ass into the dirt, but I'm thriving with it. Well, not yesterday. When I thought editing "The Portrait" would be the hippest of beans, and I spent roughly 3 1/2 hours reformatting it. That was a nice descension into publishing purgatory. Still fucking with it. 😑

Talked to my therapist about my complete blocked feelings on "Canary: OOS". Like...I can't even bring it up and dick around in it. Something vitally important missing somewhere. We figured out I need tangible proof of my progress. 

Well, hellooooooooo post-it notes!

I used to write word count start and finish on these bad boys so I could assure myself I actually did work that day. I'd gotten out of the habit. But in my mind, it's a starter AND an alternator. I will absolutely not keep track WHILE I'm typing because then I want to pluck my eyeballs out their sockets. It's only when I do not pay attention that the story usually works better.

I love to feel accomplished. 

Don't we all?

I've run across an issue with the older books with some being in .pdf and some in .doc or .docx. That's a bit maddening because formatting is bullshit. I will stand by that statement forever. Utter. Ridiculous. Extraneous. Bullshit.

How I loathe it.

But, I'll figure it out. Hopefully. 😶

It's a roller coaster ride. 

Helps to fan the flames in my hair.

😂

Have you ever?

Certainly.

And several times today.  😒

Have you ever decided you're going to clean the hell out of a room? Strip that bitch basically down to the sheet rock and fix EVERYTHING?

Yeah.

That's how I roll.

Our Maker decided not to give me a "moderation" button. They're like...nah. This cow be chaotic, and we love it.

Cool.

Cool.

I will pull shit out of every drawer and closet. Flinging it here, there, and wherever. Then my cheeks sit in the middle and sort. It's tedious, but oh-so-satisfying.

Except.

Except when chronic pain hits a third of the way through, and I'm questioning my life choices. Except when I gaze about, and my eyes glaze over because it's a teeny-weeny-bit more than I anticipated. Just a smidge.

And then...it happens.

Are those all the socks I have? 

Is that my journal from 2012?

Do I even own mascara?

Finally found those damn pants. Remember when...?

Oooooo...what is THIS?

You feel me. 

You have been DE-railed.

As I'm fighting pneumonia and down with the sickness, I've tried to use time that I'm not horizontal into putting together an Inman Books catalog. It would have been viable before my rights were returned for earlier books, but it's exceptionally timely now.

I know there's an easier way to do this, but I'm hands-on-ing the living shit out of it, and it's been a great connector to me and my works. 

A book per page. 

But THEN!!!

Since I changed my PayPal to a business account, I had the most brilliant idea to make that my payment hub. Because of course I did.

And what the good fuck am I doing now, you ask?

Oh. My short, sick little ass is copying code like I know something.

Of course, I DO remember (with my short OLD ass), when you could create your own website and plug in code. And, there was always MySpace. 

But I didn't ask for this. There was no sign up.

Let's bottom line this bullshit.

Why, in this world or any of the others, do you think anyone can simply snap, crackle, and pop this stuff together like magna-tiles?

My wee grey matter is focusing on two different screens and three different problems. Putting code in? Sure, right after I fly to the moon and operate on my own brain.
I canna do it.

But hey! Let's at least try. 😶

Chaotic Cow with a mission.

 

Challenges

Told you I was sick, right? 

Ya girl has pneumonia. 🎉

I don't believe I've ever had this particular illness. I don't believe I ever want to have it again.

Currently trying to cough up one, or both, of my lungs.

Puts a wrench into those wonderful plans I made. 😑

I am, however, doing what I can.

Going to be honest here. I don't "get" Instagram. I have a hard time posting on it, and it drives me batshit. Thought I created a carousel reel in Canva. Tried to post it on there. HA! Silly Crystal. Then I opened up Adobe photo or video something or other and created one. 

The learning curve on that one was steep. 😒

It was a PROCESS.

First, created the pictures I wanted on Canva. Then uploaded those pictures, added music, and edited a reel. 

What did I tell you about dipping toes into unknown waters? That shit happens on the daily.

But now?

I'll be making one for each of my books. Hopefully speed up the process a bit.

Also, need to edit older books and create new book covers. Format. So on and so forth. 

Not going to hop ALL over that right now as I'm not sleeping the best (at all).

Challenges?

Oh. Plenty.

*shrug*

Just keep at it with whatever you have on hand. Little steps are still steps. It's all progress.

I'm excited for the end result.

And even MORE excited when this absolute shitshow leaves my body.