Accomplishments....

Due to a deal for a limited time at Lulu, I was able to purchase a test copy of my book right away. I used a promotional code to get a free copy of Second Thoughts, and only had to pay for shipping and handling. The deal runs from June 14th-July 31st, 2011, and is an incentive for authors to finish up and publish a manuscript they've been working on for whatever amount of time. I chose the cheapest shipping due to my finances, so it would take 5-15 days to get to me. I'm hoping it's sooner rather than later.

I was also able to fix my manuscript the way I wanted it, and previewed what it would look like after I uploaded it to Lulu. It turns out the alignment I needed to fix was a problem in the file conversion when I uploaded the manuscript. Everything's the way I want it, the book cover included, so I should be able to approve it for sale as soon as I receive the book in the mail.

I already have people chomping at the bit to buy a copy for me to autograph! They'll just have to wait a little bit longer!

I also need to print a retraction regarding the post-it note feature of Windows 7. It will save the note if you tell it to. When you go to close the note, a dialog box pops up asking you if you want to delete the note entirely. If you say no, it keeps the note the way it is and pops it back up whenever you open the program again. That's just something new I learned, and tested out for myself.

Endeavors....

It's about two in the morning, but I just got done fixing my manuscript the way I want it. Then I came online and found out about July Novel Writing Month starting this Friday, and took some time to sign up for that, too. I already have a head start with a new story I've been working on, so the time I'm going to be away from home, I'll use to find some free time to sit quietly and write in a notebook. I'll be out of town for a few days, but I was thinking about printing out what I have of the story so far, and taking it with me. It's the same story I started writing in November called "The Shepherdess Princess." I was stuck eventually, and was unable to get the allotted 50,000 words they wanted. I ended up stopping at 4,720 words total. That should give me some breathing room.

Anyway, I'll be spending some time on Lulu later getting "Second Thoughts" sorted out, but it could be a while before I can afford to order another test copy.

Slow Going...

I've resubmitted my manuscript to Lulu, but there's still a problem with it. I have my manuscript centered, but when I preview the submission to Lulu, it's all at the top. I remember having to manually center the necessary items in my last poetry book before it would show the pages the way I wanted them. For some reason, it doesn't work when the page is vertically centered automatically. I'll leave some pages the way they look, i.e. the table of contents, the list of other books by the author, and the copyright page. Anyway, it's quite an undertaking because this book is almost double the size of Fateful Firsts which had 131 pages compared to 199 pages in Second Thoughts.

Also, I'll be searching for the original cover design again. I couldn't find the one I just chose, but found one similar to it. I know it's there somewhere, but have other places to look on the site.

I'll spend today working on my manuscript until it's finished, or I become too tired to continue. Wish me luck this time!

I found a quote one of my friends posted on Facebook from Sylvia Plath. Here it is:

"And by the way, everything is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy of creativity is self-doubt."

I know from experience that self-doubt, and thinking your work is not good enough can hinder the creativity. Since last Wednesday, I've been pondering on this quote whenever I turn on my computer because I have it as a post-it show up on my desktop when I sign in with my password. I love the post-it note feature of Windows 7 for such times as these.

My brother never understands why I use the feature. He asked me about closing the post-it note, but I wouldn't let him. Once it's closed, the note disappears for good until you rewrite it again.

Test Copy Arrived!

My test copy for Second Thoughts: A Collection of Poetry arrived via UPS Friday around 3 pm. By 3 pm Saturday, I had all 199 pages read and edited in spots. After I finish this post, I was going to make the necessary changes to my manuscript and resubmit it to Lulu. I'll have to buy another copy to make sure it looks okay before finally approving the book. I hope to order another copy sometime this week if my finances allow it.

On another note:

I went to my friend's remembrance type ceremony yesterday. A bunch of family and friends gathered for a bonfire in her honor at one of her favorite spots, and took turns spreading some of her ashes. It was a nice gathering, and people seemed to have a little fun despite the reason we were there. We could all feel my friend there in spirit with us. It turned out to be a beautiful day for it followed by a beautiful sunset.

I bought a copy of the local paper today that has her obituary in it. I'll be cutting that out sometime this week, and getting a frame for it to put it up on a memorial wall I've created in my apartment since my dad passed away 1 and 1/2 years ago. I added one of my neighbor's to the wall when she died in April 2010.