A couple of weeks ago, I finished writing “Millie’s Further Adventures in Time,” which is the sequel to “Millie’s Adventures in time.” I know, not very original with the title.
I’ve spent the time in between then and now proof reading and editing my digital manuscript. It’s tedious and sometimes boring, but I found some mistakes and made some edits which I hope will have improved the novel.
When I thought I had that all worked out, I uploaded it to Kindle Direct Publishing. I had already set up the cover and the details of how the interior of the book should look. Once they processed the upload, then I was able to preview the novel.
It was a mess.
So I went over the formatting. Moved a bunch of stuff around and had another look.
Still not good. But better.
I have no idea how many times I went over the manuscript checking this and that, changing this and that, but it was a lot.
Finally, today, I gave up trying to perfect it (there is a blank page in the preview mode that is not there in my digital manuscript and I can’t seem to get rid of it in the preview mode no matter what I try) and ordered the proof copies.
In some ways, it is very exciting to be at this point in the publishing of my latest novel. In others, it is fairly anticlimactic. For the most part, the hardest part (the writing) is over (the exciting part), and yet there is still so much more left to do (the anticlimactic part).
I can certainly see the allure of having an agent and a publisher so that, as an author, all you would have to worry about is the writing. But I tried for a year after I finished writing “Millie’s Adventures in time” to get an agent and failed. That was the time I allotted myself at the end of which I would self-publish. Between that first novel and this sequel, I self-published three other novels.
Yes, I would still prefer to have an agent and publisher to take care of getting the book to look exactly as I would like it, promote it, and all the rest. But since that wasn’t to be, I am content to at least publish the little beasties.
So, with any luck, it should only be another month or so and then “Millie’s Further Adventures in Time” will be available for purchase.
Will there be a third “Millie” novel? Maybe. I’m knocking around some ideas about that. So, you never know …
Maddie's Mom Writes 