Oh Dearie Me, What Have I Done?

If you're reading this, then they've finally gotten to me then my book Acacia is finally out! I did it. I have published a book. I don't feel very different. Sheer momentum alone is wanting to push me to write the next one right away, but all the advice I've heard is telling me to take a break. That isn't me saying, "Wow, I'm so good that all I can do is write!" No, what I'm saying is I'm freaking obsessive. This hobby, career, pastime, whatever you want to call it, has taken over my life. Ask anyone that knows me, it's all I talk about. I's all I think about. It's all I do (aside from watching YouTube.) Honestly, Acacia 's release is the first time I've felt that my addiction has paid off. I did something. I did something that I'm proud of. And, although I know my book has it's faults, I'm so, unbelievably proud that I accomplished something of my own. It's my first step towards an actual career...

Remember when I said publishing a book was going to kill me? Well, I was only being slightly dramatic. I had no idea how friggin' complex formatting could be. So, I write on Google Drive. It was free, easy, and just what I had always used for school. I like Google Drive. We're pals. We've been through a lot together, and it's what works for me. However, it's formatting tools can be finicky. I'm trying to make the paperback version of my book a 6x9, because its a good, small book size. Google Drive doesn't have an option (that I've found) to make the formatting 6x9. Very, very long story short, I tried nine or ten different ways of formatting it, and nothing was working. I was so frustrated that tears were threatening my eyes. There's lot more problems that I was having, and trust me, I tried everything that I could think of. Nothing worked. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch someone. Most of all, I just wanted the stupid thing to work. N...

We've made it. As I come to the final stages in publishing my book, "Acacia," I'm finally beginning to outline the second installment in the series. It doesn't have an official name as of yet, so from here on out, it will be simply known as, "Second Book." I know, it's very clever and well thought out. Leave your praises in the comments. So, Second Book is a massive task. Acacia left off on a pretty intense cliffhanger, and that means that a lot needs to happen in Second Book to remedy Acacia. However, I have also planned time for a third installment in the series, (to be known as "Third Book" until officially titled) which means that I need to save some tension for Third Book. Anyway, figuring out how to include action without having too much has always been a struggle of mine. While I think I did well with that in Acacia, Second Book is presenting some problems. Also, in Second Book, I introduce two new main characters. They were both...

Publishing a book is slowly killing me. I swear, I had no idea how much work there could be. I already wrote the book. It's nearly ready, I just need to work on the final revisions. I thought that was the hard part, but oh dear lord, it was definitely not. I may have already mentioned this, but I'm self-publishing. Maybe it's masochism, maybe it's the fact that self-publishing looked the most attainable, but that's what I decided. That leaves the work of editing, marketing, cover design, and all the stressful - I mean - fun stuff, to me. The current challenge I'm facing is cover design. There is no way on earth that I would be capable of designing my own cover, so I decided to use a website where people post services, and you can hire them online. Then, you communicate with the seller, let them know what you want, they do it, you pay the, voila. It would be so, so easy, if only I knew what I actually wanted my cover to look like. I don't. Let me tell y...

But Kaitlyn , you argue, you haven't even published your first book. When are you going to start writing a new one? That is such a good question. Honestly, I don't know. I thought that when I finished writing my first book, Acacia (working title) I would just magically be completed. A few revisions here, maybe a few over there, but nothing major. I didn't even put thought into cover design, editing, beta readers, or legitimately anything that comes after the first draft until clicking a button to publish. Sweet, sweet, naïve little Kaitlyn from 2018 had no idea what was ahead of her. Writing and outlining can be strenuous enough on their own, as you'll see towards the end of April through the summer. But publishing . I had no idea. Here's the thing that I've learned from experience, and many hours of YouTube videos: First drafts suck. You can't help it. No matter how talented you may be, your first draft will be awful. Horrendous. Tragic. Appalling....