writing

Self-Publishing: Formatting Your Pages

It’s a Saturday night. Hubby’s watching TV, girls are on their phones and I’m at my desk again.

Tonight, I’m starting the process that stopped me before: formatting my pages! I got overwhelmed in March. I’m determined to see this through! So here goes.

interior_2

CreateSpace has a template you can use in Word! How easy is that? The first is the interior cover page and then a dedication:

dedication

…a blank page follows that and then the Table of Contents.

Note: I started this whole process with Udemy.com and I enrolled in the “Self Publish Your Children’s Book” course given by Tim Johnson. He has a very warm, enthusiastic manner and makes the process less intimidating. Check him out!  I got 62% of the way through. I will be completing that course in tandem with the CreateSpace.com website going forward.

I’m going to upload my content and update my blog tomorrow.

And to all….a good night!

Esther and Mia on a blanket
Illustrated by Josie Wipff  March 2016

 

 

 

Self-Publishing: ISBNs, Trim Size

Do you have your EIN yet?

Next step on my CreateSpace Dashboard: Establishing an ISBN.

CreateSpace will create one for you, for FREE. However, this ISBN can only be used on the CreateSpace publishing platform, which is OK by me, since I want to distribute through Amazon.com.

isbn

I’m choosing the most popular trim size and full-color (it’s a children’s book, afterall) and white pages (cream is not an option anyway).

interior

The next step (uploading book file) will have to wait until this weekend. I have not laid my book out yet. I’m preparing myself for a slow and (most likely) frustrating process as my scanner is slow.

 

Are you doing this with me? Let’s git ‘er done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self-Publishing First Steps

After locating my EIN which I secured six months ago, I am ready to complete the self-publishing process.

I log into my CreateSpace account and complete the banking information. It feels very strange to supply my banking info…I feel suspicious. And I wonder if this info. is safe and secure. I do it anyway.

I am prompted to choose:

createspace-screenshot

I choose Individual/Sole Proprietor because I am only planning to sell as myself, not with partners. C Corporations are taxed separately from its owners. S Corporations are not. Either way, Sole proprietorship is the simplest way to go and since I’m just starting out, this seems the best. I can always change it when I sell millions and make J.K. Rowling dough.

createspace2

…and I get to input my EIN!

Next, I am to review my taxpayer information. It’s good to go.

success

Going forward, I need to work on items in my Project Dashboard:

createspace-project-homepage

Until tomorrow!

 

 

Esther and Mia Owe Me

During this self-publishing quest, I logged into my CreateSpace account (the one I opened yesterday). They prompted me to provide my EIN (Employer Identification Number). Basically, if you’re going to make money publishing, then you need a Tax ID#. Mind you, I signed up for a wonderful course on Udemy last spring and got about 67% through it when I decided to take a break. It also recommended that I secure an EIN.

I applied for an EIN and I received it.

I then lost track of it.

And I just spent (no joke) TWO HOURS trying to track it down. I just found it.

I’m going to bed now.

So there you have it, that is my progress on the self-publication journey. Not stellar. Not satisfying. C’est la vie.

If you’re following along and pursuing self-publishing, go to this site:

Get yourself and EIN and call it a night.

 

 

Self-Publishing “Esther, Mia and the Stars”

 

I’m a newbie to self-publishing. I wrote about my children’s book a couple nights ago and I’m going to share my learning process with you in this blog. My hopes are two-fold:

  1. This will hold me accountable and make me DO IT; and
  2. You will follow along with me and get your book published too!

Coincidentally, (and doesn’t the universe provide when you with what you need when you express your desires out loud?), I was reading Choose Yourself by James Altucher and he has a chapter on self-publishing! He recommends using CreateSpace.com. I know there are a kajillion other sites and ways to do this. I’m going to try this first. They have a step-by-step process built in for you and you can then sell through Amazon.com.

Tonight, I signed up. Each night, I will do something to get closer to publishing and share it here. But for now, I have to make lesson plans for the week. I spent most of today cleaning and taking my daughters to the mall. One had Girls Day Out (she had a fantastic time with three friends) and the other needed to pick out a Homecoming dress. Done!

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My Beautiful Fresh(wo)man

I also made progress in re-typing a short story I wrote over 13 years ago (I lost the Word doc, but had a hard copy).

As long as I make consistent progress in these areas, I’m happy. As a wise woman once said:

You can have it all, just not at once.

Oprah Winfrey

“I don’t know what to write…”

I get this complaint from at least one student a day when we do our timed writing. I learned this exercise from Natalie Goldberg. Write for five (or ten or fifteen) minutes straight. The only rule is that you don’t ever let your pencil stop. Just write. No censorship.

In my classroom, students write to a prompt. For example, “What makes a good life?” And then they write. This develops a strong writing voice over time.

Of course, as with anything else in life, you must do it regularly and give it 100% each time. You will improve. Yes, you’ll write a lot of crap. But any successful person has created a lot of crap and then a few golden nuggets…

Try it!

GROI

Madonna, at the height of her career, would famously reject promotional photos with “Ew! Groi!” When asked what that meant, she answered, “Get Rid of It.”

To GROI is oddly empowering.

The only things I have ever collected are books. I have many, many books. They overcrowd my large bookcase and two closets in my house.

Yesterday, I decided to start the groi process with my prized collection. I am keeping my Sherman Alexie and Natalie Goldberg books. I’m sentimental about each since they were the writers who gave me the first sparks to write. Listening to Alexie in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place in San Francisco, I thought, Wow, stories about struggle, poverty and education CAN BE interesting! And I used to write for hours in a coffee/doughnut shop on 9th and Irving, taking Natalie’s advice to heart.

As I place books in my “Bookman’s pile,” I console myself with the thought that the public library is just blocks away. I can always check them out again later. Also, Bookman’s will give me store credit for the books they accept and if I choose to do so (and I do), they will donate the rest to a prison for inmates to read.

Already, the increased space on my bookshelf and closets bring a sense of calm, peace and freedom. I also found a gift card to See’s Candies a former student of mine gave me two years ago. I was using it as a bookmark.

gc

 

 

 

 

Writing Accountability

Having a hard time getting regular about writing?

Natalie Goldberg suggests you hook up with a fellow (local) writer. Tell her/him that you’ll meet ’em at the local coffee shop at 3pm. When they say they can’t meet, stop them and say, “No, no. I don’t want to know whether you’ll be there or not. I will go and write whether you’re there or not.” You continue this way: email, text, call your friend and make a writing date and keep it no matter what.

natalie

You could also blog or publish your work every day and tell everyone you know that you’ll be publishing daily. Believe me, there’s nothing like being held publicly accountable!

Seth Godin has excellent tips on doing this. In fact, I started writing my blog again (following a long absence) after reading about his philosophy. Godin encourages you to write every day – even badly – because it will get your brain working to think crisply, analytically, every day. You notice things more. He’s right!

seth godin

And if that monkey mind starts to chatter (“This isn’t good… people won’t like this, etc.”) tell that monkey that it is far easier to criticize than to create!

The Man with the Farmer’s Tan

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I commissioned Josephine to draw this for me. I was going to write a blog post making fun of my husband’s extreme farmer’s tan. The art morphed into a strange man with a Chinese tattoo.

I realized she caught the essence of my husband, though. Willey has an uncanny ability to relax. I’m envious of him. I have been “stuck” creatively of late and my pushing has only made me more stuck. Time to relax and embrace the suck!

 

 

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Write – Scrivi -쓰다 – 写 – escribir – γράφω

Writing it down…

  • makes an idea closer to reality.

  • creates a promise.

  • communicates ideas and feelings to others.

  • clarifies information.

  • publishes a rule or law.

  • forms a recipe or a menu.

  • extends permission.

  • announces a birth.

  • eulogizes a life.

  • expresses love.

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