Anne Faye

 A couple weeks ago, I logged into Amazon's KDP service and was surprised to see that they were now offering a beta service to create hardcover books. I decided to give it a try with my latest book, The Lacemaker: A Novel of St. Zelie Martin .  Overall, the process was very similar to publishing a paperback version on Amazon, so if you are familiar with that, you'll be able to handle this one with no problem. In fact, because I kept the hardcover version the same size as the paperback (6" x 9"), I was able to use the same interior file as I had used with the paperback. It did require some adjustments to the cover, however. If you are using Amazon's Cover Creator to create your cover, you'll need to go through that process again for this version. In my case, I create the complete cover and then upload it. The amount of area needed for the spine is larger on the hardcover version which means the total size is different and visual items need to be moved accordin...

      It is always exciting when after months and months of work, a book finally has a cover. It means it is getting close to the time when a book ceases to be something only living in my imagination and becomes a tangible object ready to find its place in the world. This cover features a backdrop of Alencon lace with a photo of St. Zelie Martin in the foreground.  The book has passed through the hands of a beta reader who offered some helpful comments. I made her recommended changes (which were thankfully minor), formatted the book, and uploaded it to Amazon. My proof copy should be here Tuesday. I'm looking forward to seeing it!    Then, I will be able to do a final read, make any necessary changes, upload the corrected paperback file, create the Kindle version, and then, fingers crossed, have it go live and be available for sale. Have I ever mentioned a lot of work goes into creating a book?     

  It took about six weeks, but I finally finished typing The Lacemaker ! It ended up being about 56,000 words. Next up is proofreading and then sending it out to be beta read by a couple trusted colleagues/readers.  This has been such a project. All books are. I work as an editor in my other life. My life as a writer helps me understand the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into what they are sharing with me. After all that work, it is hard to put a book out in the world. It is harder still to have it be rejected or ignored. What if no one reads it? What if no one cares? As much as I know that the work is not me, the prospect is still painful. My life goes on whether or not this book succeeds in the world, but all the work will feel like it was for nothing. All my time and effort will feel worthless. I have had this happen with other projects. I'm not sure I can bear it again. But for now, the work continues. For the moment, there is still hope.

  I was surprised to see it had been a year since I last wrote in this blog! That post was about how I wanted to write a novel about St. Zelie Martin. I spent much of the first portion of 2020 doing research. The writing began in earnest over the summer and I fully committed to it in the fall, trying to write every day.  I prefer to write my first drafts in longhand in simple notebooks. It is easy for me to carry them when I am going places or to pull them out for a quick few minutes of writing when I have a chance. I finished the first draft last night! I ended up filling up one-and-a-half notebooks. There is still a lot of work to be done. I need to type it up. I write my second draft as I do that, making changes as I go. I'm not sure how that is going to happen. It is much easier for me to pull out a notebook and scribble down a couple of paragraphs than it is for me to set up my laptop and type. I'm going to try to take 10 minutes out of my computer time each day (I usuall...