Getting Things Right

Have you ever had a project that you had to try several times to get it to come out correctly? It could be something you've done before, but in any case, you know the steps that have to be done, and you've done them, so why won't it come out right this time?

That's been me, this past month and more, trying to get 5 books correctly formatted as ebooks. Okay, yes, there were parts of that time when I couldn't work on them; the time we were on a cruise, the 2 weeks we were fighting covid, and a weekend spent in Kansas City. But when I could work on them, it felt like I was repeatedly slamming my head against a brick wall.

I studied the instructions each time before I started the process. I would work at the procedure for 2 hours and then take a break, because it was mind-numbing, repetitive work. 5 times I formatted these books and fed them through the converting software, only to open up the converted epub file and find mistakes.

Different mistakes each time. Where were they coming from? How could I be flubbing up that badly each time, in a different way from the time before? There was the time when most of the paragraphs were indented from the left margin by an inch. How could I have made such a stupid mistake and not notice it at the time? Another time, some paragraphs were in 12-pt font, but others were in 10-pt. And then there was the time when all the paragraphs were justified except one, and it was centered. And always, always, the 2 pictures that I had added to these books would float away during conversion and wind up as much as 3 pages from where they were supposed to be, making it impossible to read 2 or 3 paragraphs of the story!

Last week, I carefully went through each epub file and noted the problems. I actually wrote them down so I could remind myself what they were. I looked for answers in the instructions. I wrote the Help people with a couple questions. I considered hiring a professional to get it done right. But there were 5 books, and that would have involved a bit of money.

Last Saturday, I swept all my chores aside and devoted the day to formatting. I had stumbled across a way to 'anchor' the pictures to a particular location, and I was going to give it One Last Try, myself. I drank lots of caffeine that day, and when I took a break, I made sure I got some exercise as well as a change of scenery. I only got 4 of them done on Saturday, but I got the 5th one done on Sunday. Then I took the rest of Sunday off and forgot the whole project for a few hours.

Since then, I have fed them through the conversion software. I've checked the pdf files, and they look great. I'll be checking the epub files later today and tomorrow. Wish me luck!

What I Did This Week

What a relief to be Not Sick any more! I have been running errands as needed, calling people as needed, surfing the internet when needed... I even managed to get out and do some yardwork this week! Not nearly as much as I'll need to get done next week, but hey, I got started on it.

I started writing a new book. Always a favorite activity!

And, of course, I had projects to do for my big new publicity push I'm trying to get done.

I did find myself taking naps during the day, an hour here, another hour there. I sleep well at night, so I shouldn't need naps. Then I noticed that those naps always seemed to happen on days when I was concentrating on those projects. I mean, more than 2 hours at a time, because after 2 hours, I was ready for a nap.

I love writing. I truly don't mind editing. But formatting a manuscript is a mind-numbing, tedious, hellish activity to do for any length of time. After 2 hours, I am yawning continuously and can't keep my eyes open. So I stumble off and take a nap. Only to get up again and put in another 2 hours of formatting.

But it has to be done. I had started by adding new back matter to all of John's books. And in doing so, I realized that some of them had not been justified when I originally formatted them and published them. So, now that's what I'm doing, going through and justifying all the text.

It doesn't help when you start finding little mistakes that snuck through all the editing I'd done. A hyphen that doesn't belong there. An en dash that should be an em dash. A major character's name that changes its spelling (by one letter) halfway through the book and then starts switching back and forth during the last quarter of the book.

Ugh! How did I miss those things?

Well, because I'm only human.

And I'm still human, even when I'm Not Sick. 

This Week

I've had a relatively calm, work-on-your-projects type of week. Mainly, I've been editing, formatting, writing, and working on a new website for a new marketing campaign. I like writing and editing; I think they're fun. Formatting is... okay. It's not the pits, but it's not exhilarating, either.

The worst has been the building a new website. While it came pretty much pre-built, with the anticipation I would personalize it to suit myself, even that much has not been easy. I've been at it about 4 weeks now, and I'm still not done.

It's built using WordPress. I do not know WordPress. I have watched all the 'help' videos that came as part of the support package, and I have reached the point where what I'm trying to do isn't covered by those videos. I can flounder around for hours trying to find the secret location to insert a button's link, or place to upload an e-book file. And still not find it.

Don't get me wrong, the support people have been wonderful. All I have to do is tell them that I can't get a picture in the position I want it, or a link takes me to the wrong place, and they will fix it for me. I feel stupid writing them 2 emails a day listing the things I've managed to flub up that day, but they fix it cheerfully. Unless it's a weekend. They don't work on weekends. I'm so jealous of that.

I thought I would at least be nearing the end of building this website by now, and it sounds like I am. All I have left is to input the links to 2 buttons and upload the ebook files for 6 books. Oh, but that's 5 formats for each of those 6 books. It could take me another month to get it all done. {No, it won't, I just did one book, and it wasn't that hard.}

And that's just for the books by John Shoberg. He has the most books published, so we're concentrating on getting the website up and running for his books. Later, we'll add books by Trudy Myers and Linda Joy. And then, of course, every time we publish a new book, we'll have to update the website.

It really is a never-ending job.

Oh, we did take a couple evenings to tear apart a Darth Vader costume. The pleather we had used to make the body suit had begun to seriously deteriorate, so we tore out the seams of the body suit to use the pieces as a pattern. This is the 3rd time we've rebuilt this costume, I think. We're going to use real leather this time, see if it lasts longer.

Looking Ahead

Okay, there's only 2.5 weeks before SF in Bartow. The products I plan to take are packed, but what about other stuff?

What other stuff, do you ask? Well, for one thing, signs. I took 2 signs to Villicon, and couldn't put up either one of them. Our main sign, MoonPhaze, needs a base and pole to hang from. Somehow, the base was taken, but the pole wasn't to be found. So I couldn't put it up. The secondary sign, for Myers Prosthetics, also got taken, but I forgot to take any tape or bungee cords to hang that sign from the front of the table. So, let's see, I need to find the pole for my main sign, and pack either bungee cords or tape (or both) for my secondary sign.

Also, it's one thing to have foam heads displaying prosthetics on a table at an indoor event. It's completely different to use them for an outdoor event, where any tiny little breeze is likely to pick up a foam head and send it tumbling down the street. We've been thinking about how to anchor the foam heads so they can't go roaming on their own. Now it's time to get our act together and make the anchors so they can be packed and ready to go. So, find a couple dowels to stick in the foam heads (they each have a hole some 4 and 1/2 inches deep in the bottom), buy a couple boards to make the bases, and spend a couple hours cutting the wood accordingly. It shouldn't take us long, if we just do it.

And finally, some signs to tape down on the table showing the prices of what we have. Most—if not everything I take to Bartow—will be on sale, and I need to let people know that. So that will probably take an afternoon or two on the computer and printer.

There shouldn't be any problem getting this all done, everything packed and ready to go... as long as we don't procrastinate too long. I've got errands to run tomorrow, so maybe I'll start by getting those dowels and the boards. And a drill bit. He said we needed a drill bit, too.

So, I'll just pat myself on the back for thinking ahead and making plans. Now to just follow through on them. Wish me luck!

PS. We did get the supplies for making the head display. Step 1 of that project done. Today I plan to search for the sign pole and the box that holds my 'miscellaneous' stuff - tape, scissors, markers and so on.