And the Journey Just Kept Getting Better

After publishing to Kindle, I was completely unprepared for what followed.  I had never given any thought to how people would react and therefore I was not prepared for how I would react. I felt like I was living in an alternate universe. Everyday I would receive comments from friends and family about this endeavor. I found that most people were still not able to read it because they did not have a Kindle or weren't comfortable reading it on a device of some sort. I have exclusively read all of my books (well over 30) on my iphone for the past 2 years and silly me thought that others had caught up to this technology as well.  I guess there is still something to be said for opening a book and feeling the cover and the turn of the pages that some people will never be able to let go of.  
So my next dilemma was how to get paperback copies so that more people (including my Mom and Dad) could read the story.  I knew that I wasn't ready to query publishing houses- I had neither the time, the skill or the money needed to do so.  Back to researching I went and very quickly found that Amazon has a sister company that will print your book on demand.  www.createspace.com will take your uploaded file and print as many copies as you want and they will link to Amazon so paperback copies can be ordered there as well.  Was I dreaming?  This can't be accurate?
Well it was, it I found the process to be very easy!  I worked on editing some more, to correct more errors that I had found while reading the kindle version and set about uploading my file to Create Space.  They even had a template to design a cover.  I tried so hard to make Sandy's beautiful artwork fit with the template, but the words kept getting cut off on the top and bottom.  I was sad and discouraged because I really wanted to use her cover. Having given up on being able to use it, I started to search through the stock photos they had available.  I found the perfect picture and could not believe how well it fit with the content of the story.  There was a lake and a setting sun- was I dreaming?  This was too good to be true! When the picture was placed on the cover and I added the title and my name, I once again cried- what a very surreal moment! 

I ordered a proof copy to review and patiently waited for it to arrive.  All I wanted was to hold my book in my hands!  When it finally came, I was once again crying as I flipped through the pages seeing the words I had written so beautifully displayed!  Yes I guess there is something to be said for holding a book in your hands, feeling the cover and turning the pages!
I spent that weekend reading through it and making note of more changes. I couldn't believe, with as many times it had been edited already by me and Amy, how many small errors I still found. Once I had made those changes to the uploaded copy I was able to order a few more copies.
Finally my Mom was able to read the story!  This was very exciting for me and I loved talking to her and my Dad about the whole process.  Their excitement was my excitement and it was such a great experience for them to finally see what I had kept hidden for so long.
My Mom's words to me, after she had finished reading the story, were the best words I have ever heard- "I began reading it because it was you who wrote it.  I finished reading it because it was a great story."  It made me so happy to know that she genuinely loved the story and not just because her daughter wrote it.  This boosted my confidence a little more.
To this day, I am still blown away by the positive reviews I have received. When I published it, I still was unsure about the story and if people would like it or how they would respond to it.  6 months later, I am still overwhelmed when someone tells me how much they loved it! 
My Mom became my next editor, finding a few more tiny errors that I quickly fixed and then ordered more copies and began to promote the book through Amazon. I literally floated through the fall and can only remember a few other times in my life that I had felt so satisfied and completely happy. I think this is the real reason I wrote this book- to fill my life in a way that I hadn't been able to before.  
There is still so much more to share about this time in my life and next time I will detail contacting Rudyard Lake- as if publishing Double Sunset weren't thrilling enough, the response I received from England overflowed my cup!
I'm signing off with such a smile remembering back to September and all the excitement! 
Until next time,
I'm working on book 2- shhh don't tell anyone!