Now In Paperback!

My proof copy!

I've told you before about my adventures with publishing this book as an ebook.  This was a "book of my heart" that was turned down by NYC because it was too edgy.  I finally got it up as an ebook in the last few weeks.

I was a nervous wreck - but my fans seem to love it!  It is a little weird to keep getting emails from my mom's friends (this is a very, very spicy book) who tell me things like, "It really got my juices going..."  Then I get follow up emails from my mom saying, "your book really got my friends' juices flowing..."

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the results.  So, I decided to take it to the next level and make a paperback version available on Amazon through CreateSpace.  Apparently, I have some fans who prefer paper - so this motivated me to give it a shot.

I found this process far more intimidating that formatting the manuscript for an ebook.  I'd designed a cover that worked great as a thumbnail in ebook stores, but I needed a high resolution wrap around cover for the trade paperback.  Then, there's fonts.  And page breaks.  And blank pages before chapters.  At some point, someone recommended Hot Damn designs and I contacted them.

And that's when I discovered that there was no way I could do this myself.  If I did, it wouldn've been 2 years, not weeks before it was up.

Even the questions that the fabulous and amazing Kim Killion had for me made me realize I was lost.  There's a lot to think of and I really wanted it done right. 

I got the proof in the mail last week.  It's GORGEOUS!  I couldn't be happier!  It should be available for sale in a week or two at Amazon.

Now, I'm not saying you can't do it yourself - you probably could.  I'd been pretty independent before on these projects.  But most authors are way smarter than me when it comes to technical stuff.  I'm glad I went the route I did and I'd use Hot Damn again (and not just because it's fun to say Hot Damn!). 

Producing the book for sale is basically free - there's a $20 fee if you want it to go out to other markets, and I did.  And I paid a little for the proof to be fedexed because I'm crazy.  My only concern was with pricing.  Once all was said and done, CreateSpace told me the minimum I could charge for the book was $10.71.  That's a weird price.   And $10.99 seemed weirder.  So I went with $11.99.  I don't know if that will affect sales - but I'll keep my Girlfriends updated.

 When all is said and done, I'm thrilled with the whole process.  Going indie was scary, but holding a real, high quality book in your hands is AMAZING.  And the fact that I got to create the cover and write the copy was so cool - NY doesn't let you do that (and I do have one really ugly cover my publisher stuck me with). 

I highly recommend it.  If you have any questions - don't hesitate to ask.

Leslie Langtry