Things I Can't Do

 

Courting Peace, the third book in the Marita/Angel/Charli (MAC) series released on Kindle on January 14 (my late grandmother's birthday). Since then, I've been trying to get the paperback version ready to go -- in between class planning and teaching and other writing projects -- and I have come to an unassailable conclusion.

There's a reason I'm a writer, not a book designer. Oy, as my friend Annie would say.

I thought I had it all figured out about a week ago, so I requested a print proof in order to check for errors in. Well, there were errors all right. Sized like a textbook rather than a novel, the end product was far too big for easy reading. There's no curling up with this 8 1/2 by 11 monstrosity.

Make no mistake -- this was entirely operator error, and precisely why I allowed myself a month to finish work on the paperback edition. So, last weekend, I dedicated some prime time to finding and correcting the mistakes, and now I await what I hope is the final proof. If it is, I'm on target for my February 14 release date (stay tuned for details).

It's been a humbling experience, and a reminder that no one is good at everything. One advantage to getting older is that I find it a lot easier to have a sense of humor about the things I can't do. I don't want to stop trying new things, but I also decide a whole lot faster what is and what is not worth my time. Often, that has to do with how much fun the process is. Writing books? Worth my time. Creating a cover? Possibly. Doing the whole process by myself? Unlikely.

And I'm okay with that.