Start

Today’s the day. I start the self-publishing journey with a web form or a phone call. Or both.

I’m sure one of the questions I’ll be asked about is services such as copy editing, proofreading, etc. I know the reasoning behind them all, but I also know they come with an additional cost. As much as I’d like to spend money to get First as perfect as possible, I don’t have unlimited funds. I’m sure plenty of authors have declined those services, mainly because I’ve read (or tried to read) some of their books. I think I’m in better shape than most, though.

When I sent the book to be edited early last year, the editor told me she’d rarely seen books in such good condition. In fact, the lack of grammar and typos allowed her to concentrate on the story rather than being distracted by all the errors. Since then, I’ve read through the manuscript at least three more times, and now a fourth, as well as reading it aloud to myself. In the current read, I’m over halfway through and found only one misspelling and one wrong word. It helps that I haven’t read it in quite some time so it’s not overly familiar and I’m able to pick out any errors.

Anyway, that’s where we start: with a polished manuscript. I’ll let you know how it goes from here.