Working through CreateSpace (Amazon’s answer to self-publishing) includes the following phases:

1. Create
2. Setup
3. Review
4. Distribution
5. Sales & Marketing

Esther, Mia and The Stars is now in the Distribution phase. This is my first book, so I’m very excited! I’m enjoying the process immensely, even when things go wrong.

I’ve been meditating an extra minute every morning. This morning, I meditated for 11 minutes and tomorrow, I will meditate for 12. What I mean by meditating is concentrating on my breath and not thinking. Why is this important? Because the mind can work in overdrive and  interfere with inner peace. Meditation has (already) helped me keep calm during challenging moments. My sixth graders were very loud and obnoxious today, but I was fine. My illustrations scanned at a dpi that was too low and I had to re-scan and crop them all over again, but I just did it and didn’t feel anxious or upset at all.

I’ve written my book description:

Esther and Mia are best friends. Esther must come up with a creative solution when she discovers that Mia is being bullied. Together, they overcome this painful event and tell their story in English and Spanish.

My “About the Author” blurb:

Caroline Chung-Wipff delights in working with children who are often much wiser than adults. She lives in the desert with the love-of-her-life (Willey), her two amazing daughters and Opal the Dog Wonder.

Amazon tells me:

Your book files are still being reviewed. A final print ready cover file is needed to continue to KDP. You will be e-mailed when the review is complete.

So I wait.

Please ping me if you have any questions about the process thus far. It’s so fun!