Relaxing on the hotel’s king-sized bed. October, 2017

As one who has lived with cats for nearly thirty years, I know all too well what it means to say that something is “like herding cats.” (For those unfamiliar with the expression, it means that you’re trying to gather and organize disparate items/events/personalities and it seems that each has a mind of its own and wishes to go off in a different direction.) Even when you love the cats dearly, as I do, herding them can sometimes drive you a little bit nuts.

An apt corollary would be “like indie publishing.”

Three years have passed since I published State v. Claus. At that time, everything about indie publishing was entirely new. I was learning at a breakneck pace even as I finished editing the manuscript, researching designers and buying ISBNs and forming an LLC and figuring out the myriad details it takes to move from a Word document to an actual in-your-hand book that looks perfectly at home on a shelf with all the other books. (For those who’d like to know more about that experience, I invite you to read the series of posts I wrote at the time, beginning with this one.)

A year later, I published a novella, My Brother, Romeo. Romeo was much easier, in large part because a novella is so short and because I published it exclusively as an ebook. The biggest challenge with Romeo (other than selling it) was figuring out the cover. I used the same cover designer as I had for State v. Claus, but ultimately, I had to purchase the license for the font I wanted. Still, compared to my first book, publishing Romeo was a cake walk.

Putting together Becoming Mrs. Claus is also easier than its predecessor, in large part because the groundwork is done. I already own my ISBNs. Tuxedo Cat Press is up and running. I’m using the same cover designer. Because of some issues with my previous interior designer, I’m using my cover designer for that part as well. It’s been months since I began contacting the holiday markets I participated in last year to ensure they’ll have room for me again, and I’ve emailed some new ones for this year. (It feels odd to be planning for the holidays on what is expected to be the hottest day of the summer so far, but such is the life of anyone hoping to sell books in December.)

One of the things I learned from my first publishing experience was that it’s impossible to do this job without the extraordinary generosity of others. To that end, I have several wonderful people who are even now reading and commenting on Draft #3.5, one of whom just sent me a lovely email with her large-view comments and will be mailing the marked-up document. In addition, other generous members of the literary community have agreed to provide blurbs (which are those quotes you see on book covers and in ads where an author you love tells you why you’d love this book, too).

At this juncture, scheduling and remaining flexible are my biggest challenges. All of these lovely people who have agreed to help have busy schedules, professional commitments, and personal lives of their own, and they’re helping me on top of that. The ability to pivot is key. I need to provide the interior design team a final final manuscript by the end of September, which means that the very second I get comments back on #3.5, I need to get to work on them regardless of what my billable work schedule and other commitments require. In addition, two of the authors providing cover blurbs have advised me that they won’t be able to do so until mid- to late October. Luckily, my cover designer has indicated that this shouldn’t be a problem, except that his wife already told me that they usually take a few days off at the end of October; I’m trying to pin down their vacation days for my planning purposes.

Which is why I’m presently holding in my mind the notion that Becoming Mrs. Claus will launch in early November, and I’m not getting any more specific than that. I’d hoped to set up pre-orders, but I’m not certain there’s a point if I can’t do it fairly soon. (Also, I think you have to have a firm launch date in order to make that work.) I didn’t bother with pre-orders for my other books, so that’s something to learn about, if only to determine whether it’s worth doing if the lead-up to publication is less than three months.

Of course, writing and publishing are only two of my jobs in this life. I also have a day job which traditionally experiences a lull in the summer and ramps up immediately after Labor Day, but which is experiencing a welcome revival now. My elderly mother is requiring more care. Bills are beginning to come in from my appendectomy last month, which means conversations with health care providers and the insurance company about how to juggle everyone during the day job’s summer lull. (Hence the welcome revival.) My house painter will be starting work in the next couple of weeks, weather permitting. And so on, and so on.

So, adjustments must be made. I’ve stepped down from the board of directors of the chorale, and I’ll be taking a sabbatical from singing with them this fall. Fortunately, Ned’s chemo treatments are down to biweekly instead of the weekly appointments we’d had since late May. Other obligations, including lawn care and leaf raking (just a couple months away!), will likely require outlays of cash in order to afford me the time to attend to other matters, book-related and otherwise. I’ve already begun to inventory the supplies I have on hand for book events, distinguishing between what I truly need versus what I’d like as well as placing orders early to take advantage of discounts and avoid last year’s issue with rush surcharges. (Who knew bookmarks would be so popular?)

I still need to gather all the disparate bits and pieces involved in publishing and selling a book, but the truth is that I’m glad to do it. Last winter, I thought that publishing this year was going to be impossible. Miraculously, things are coming together. If it means herding a few cats to ensure that everything is completed on time and the book is the best it can be, then herd I shall.

Photo credit:  Наталья Шеф on Pixabay