After spending way too long writing A Stolen Woman, I rushed the launch. I posted about that. That was the foreshadowing of things to come. So, one component of my launch was pre-order. Tons of time, I thought. Tons!
So it's up on pre-order for an introductory price of 99c. I didn't pay a structural editor. I know how to structure a book by now. But I did pay a proofreader. He picked up a lot, offered changes I didn't like, but my books are set in Ohio, and I'm not. All is going fine. The formatter is set for the 15th (or so I think) and the launch date, the 25th. Tons of time. *Pfft*
Then the formatter emails me on the 9th. Am I ready? What? Um...yeah, okay. Apparently it was the 10th, not the 15th. But that's okay. I'm in control.
My first couple of betas come back and tell me there are still typos. That's also okay. Remember? Tons of time.
The formatter corrects the typos, and I relax. The useless launch begins to kick in and I discover to my delight that I have 68 pre-orders. My last pre-order attracted five, so in comparison, I'm Nora Roberts. Meanwhile, one of my alpha betas comes back to tell me there are a couple of minor continuity errors. She's not finished, though. Evidently, she has a list. Crap! I list those errors to be fixed, wondering what all the others are, when the second alpha beta comes back to tell me she's just started the book, and also has a list.
OMG! And now I have 71 pre-orders, two lists of errors, and three days to get the final ms in.
Time passes like a freight train. The betas are still reading. But how do you hurry someone who's doing you a favor?
I check the KDP site to find I now have seven hours to get the final manuscript up because it has to be up 72 hours before publication. I have seven hours to get an already p***d off formatter to correct issues I haven't received yet, and I have to be at work in 45 minutes for a four-hour shift. I contact alpha beta #2 and explain. She's in the bath, but grabs her Kindle and starts messaging me errors on Facebook. But I'm on the other side of the world and I have to leave for work. I have a four-hour shift from 8am to 12. The pre-order is due to lock me out at 12:52pm. The instant noon ticks over I race home from work to find alpha beta #2 has sent me her notes...then discover that the email I sent warning the formatter about my impending deadline has come back to me because...I replied to my own email and sent it to myself.
I dash off another email and at 12:35pm, the formatter emails me - he'll do his best but he's just started the changes. I have a previous version ready to push publish on, but the errors are awful. I'm dithering. Do I publish? Do I wait? The suspense is killing me.
I'm still dithering when Amazon tells me I have 7 minutes to upload my final draft. I'm just about having a heart attack. Sweat bursts on my brow. Then the formatter sends back. With four minutes on the clock, I upload the file and collapse in a heap as Amazon clicks and whirs, then locks me out with one minute to go and the latest version loaded.
Does this sound like you? Or am I the only one?
So it's up on pre-order for an introductory price of 99c. I didn't pay a structural editor. I know how to structure a book by now. But I did pay a proofreader. He picked up a lot, offered changes I didn't like, but my books are set in Ohio, and I'm not. All is going fine. The formatter is set for the 15th (or so I think) and the launch date, the 25th. Tons of time. *Pfft*
Then the formatter emails me on the 9th. Am I ready? What? Um...yeah, okay. Apparently it was the 10th, not the 15th. But that's okay. I'm in control.
My first couple of betas come back and tell me there are still typos. That's also okay. Remember? Tons of time.
The formatter corrects the typos, and I relax. The useless launch begins to kick in and I discover to my delight that I have 68 pre-orders. My last pre-order attracted five, so in comparison, I'm Nora Roberts. Meanwhile, one of my alpha betas comes back to tell me there are a couple of minor continuity errors. She's not finished, though. Evidently, she has a list. Crap! I list those errors to be fixed, wondering what all the others are, when the second alpha beta comes back to tell me she's just started the book, and also has a list.
OMG! And now I have 71 pre-orders, two lists of errors, and three days to get the final ms in.
Time passes like a freight train. The betas are still reading. But how do you hurry someone who's doing you a favor?
I check the KDP site to find I now have seven hours to get the final manuscript up because it has to be up 72 hours before publication. I have seven hours to get an already p***d off formatter to correct issues I haven't received yet, and I have to be at work in 45 minutes for a four-hour shift. I contact alpha beta #2 and explain. She's in the bath, but grabs her Kindle and starts messaging me errors on Facebook. But I'm on the other side of the world and I have to leave for work. I have a four-hour shift from 8am to 12. The pre-order is due to lock me out at 12:52pm. The instant noon ticks over I race home from work to find alpha beta #2 has sent me her notes...then discover that the email I sent warning the formatter about my impending deadline has come back to me because...I replied to my own email and sent it to myself.
I dash off another email and at 12:35pm, the formatter emails me - he'll do his best but he's just started the changes. I have a previous version ready to push publish on, but the errors are awful. I'm dithering. Do I publish? Do I wait? The suspense is killing me.
I'm still dithering when Amazon tells me I have 7 minutes to upload my final draft. I'm just about having a heart attack. Sweat bursts on my brow. Then the formatter sends back. With four minutes on the clock, I upload the file and collapse in a heap as Amazon clicks and whirs, then locks me out with one minute to go and the latest version loaded.
Does this sound like you? Or am I the only one?