THINK AGAIN

I thought by now I’d have published my book. Needless to say it’s been a grind at best and a nightmare at worst. But I was driving west on the 210 Freeway yesterday when it hit me that I should start over and write another book. When I went to the self-publishing agency with my original work, I paid my money and uploaded the necessary files to their author center. It seemed easy enough since it had taken more than a year to get to that point. I had an errorless, cleanly designed version of my book ready to be printed, so I thought. To my own chagrin, a tennis match began between myself and the self publishing agency about PDF specifications, photos and other details. I moved from elation to disappointment to rage. I was into these cats for $1200 and they couldn’t deal with minor fixes. But as it says in chapter 4 of 12 LESSONS I’VE LEARNED from NOT PLAYING BASKETBALL, It’s Never Always Someone Else’s Fault. I didn’t read the fine print and that’s exactly what the publisher used to fend me off. So…

I thought to my self, “Self…you’ve been blogging for 1 1/2 years or so. Couldn’t you do a daily devotional or some daily inspirational anthology based on all the blog posts you’ve done?” It was a cool breath to hear these admonitions. Someone mentioned it three months ago and I brooded over it before allowing it to dissipate. It’s funny how sometimes things that seem easy become hard, perhaps to show you that there’s more to be discovered. When I first finished 12 LESSONS…, a former book editor told me to pitch it to literary agents which I did for about a month before gettin’ real soft. Rejection after rejection poured in and that’s when I deviated…decided to self-publish. Now I’m back at the beginning forced to rethink my cowardice pertaining to the original book and the money I spent on a self-publishing package. I should’ve listened to that retired book editor who said, “Hey, you got something here.” I’m listening now.