It's Been Too Long Since My Last Update...

To quote the white rabbit, "I'm late I'm late, for a very important date."  Things have been crazy hectic lately in my life, and I haven't blogged in well, way too long in fact.  I've been lax in my challenge updates and haven't had time to do anything other than work, get started on this grad school venture and try to keep up on my daily writing goal.  In terms of the ROW80 challenge the only thing I've stuck to is the writing a minimum of an hour a day.  The plus side is that I have come a long way towards finishing the book I've been working on.  I have actually surprised myself in the turn it is taking plot wise, but am super happy and excited by it.  For me, there is nothing that gets me to want to write more than when suddenly the story I'm writing takes a zig, when I had planned to zag.  The downside of this is, I have had little free time between that and well, work,  to actually blog.  That changes today.  

So this week, well starting yesterday really, I decided to put my larger WIP aside and let it marinate a little bit while I work on formatting and finalizing the short story I have written.  After looking over various websites and google-ing about a hundred million times all the questions I've had, I think I'm going to publish it via Smashwords.  Though, if I shouldn't go with Smashwords, or there are other suggestions, I am so open to them!  This is after all my first rodeo and any suggestions to help not get bucked off are welcome!

On a related note, but a little off topic, I downloaded the Smashwords Style guide which is free on their website ( http://www.smashwords.com ) and I have to say, it has been a god-send. I have learned so much about the e-publication process along the way and the do(s) and don't(s) of formatting.  I've gone through and really worked hard following each step, and now, I just need two more things, wait..three:  (1)  A cover, cause yeah this chick got a D in eighth grade art and I am so not creative like that.  (2)  an ISBN number.  Need to research that some more to find out what I have to do and how I get that, and well even it's necessary; and (3) making sure I comply with copyright etc.  That's what I will be visiting http://www.copyright.gov/ for.  I'm not too worried about this last one quite yet, cause I think I have (5) years to officially register the copyright. (Though registration is apparently not required since its automatic at creation of the work--unless I need to sue for infringement, which, yikes at even the thought of that).  At least, that is what the research has pointed out thus far.

I still have concerns about the whole pen name issue and how I get paid.  I need to see if I can register with Smashwords under my real name and get paid like that, while the author portion is listed as well, my pen name.  I know it can be done via the Barnes and Noble e-pub, just not sure about smashwords yet.  Ugh with all these questions my head is starting to spin.  It seriously is all so confusing and overwhelming to me, but I want to be thorough and make sure all my i's are dotted and t's crossed so I don't end up kicking myself later on down the road.  I literally just wish there was like a list with boxes I could check off to be sure I don’t miss a step.  But I know that, the bottom line is, I just need to look at the big picture, and be patient--that's what I keep telling myself anyways. If I do the work now and get all my answers, no matter how many I have or come up with, it will be worth it in the end when I finally get to my ultimate goal--which is to publish this thing!

As for the short story itself--well, I don't know how others will react to it.  It's the first time I let myself really open up into the story, and as an earlier blog post of mine talked about, let my vulnerabilities shine through.   Well a little bit anyways.  I think it makes the work more intense, but that also is what makes me nervous about people reading it.  This fear has become an old friend of mine it seems, but it is time I cut off all ties with him, because hr certainly isn't the kind of friend that is at all helpful, nor is the relationship a healthy one.  So my goal is to throw aside my fears and just put it out there for others to see and decide for themselves.  I don’t intend for it to necessarily sell well, or even at all.  For me--at this early stage--it's more about getting over the fear of other's even possibly reading it than anything else.  If someone buys it, well to me that's just a bonus.

So from here on out I make yet another promise to myself to continue my daily writing, as well as the reading of others blogs a couple times a week.  Good luck to all those on the challenge and I can't wait to catch up on your updates!