Well I didn't meet my July 30 deadline for launching my contemporary romance All Fired Up. But it's going to happen for sure in August! Why the delay? Well there's this thing called doing something for the first time and being kinda slow at it. Like learning the ins and outs of self-publishing. For example, there's this thing called an ISBN number I had to purchase and register and self-publishing instructions I had to re-read and re-read until I finally began to get it. Self-publishing is exciting and adventurous and quite the learning experience. I didn't think I'd like it at first and I will admit to dragging my feet and hoping I could pay someone to do the many pieces of it for me. This isn't the first time that I've tried to get out of hard work. Like the time my dad felt that I should learn how to change the oil in the car. Seriously, Dad? (I didn't actually say that to him. He wouldn't have thought that funny). Well, I truly was hoping I could pay one of my sisters to do it for me while my dad wasn't looking. But I eventually crawled under the car, grumbling as I went, and followed all his instructions. But halfway through the messy oil changing process, I not only realized that my long ponytail was in the oil drip pan, but that I was liking the feeling of having pushed myself to accomplish something new. And here I go again. Sure I can't wait to get back to the creative process and work on completing the novel that follows this one, but I have to say that I'm proud of myself for pushing myself into unknown territory once again and learning about independent publishing. I've researched cover art and that it's more than a cover, it's the packaging. I've learned that print version needs its own ISBN number and epub gets its own as well. I've learned that it pays to do the tiresome proof-reading of your manuscript again and again until your eyes about pop out of your head. And I've discovered that you're a lucky writer if you have sisters who will read your manuscript for you and give you honest feedback and a friend who will edit ruthlessly and mark all the punctuation and grammar errors with so many yellow sticky notes that my manuscript looked like it had a million yellow butterfly wings sticking out of the pages. It's all paying off. All the little things are fixed, just some formatting to do as epub is formatted differently than the print version. But all these little things will add up to one big thing and that is my first published romance novel as an independent author. I'm hoping with fingers crossed that I will not look entirely like an amateur. Or I could look at it this way. I won't be a complete amateur for the next one and the next and the next...