When I realised I was two books behind, new editions became vital. Not only did I want to add “Commences” to the “Also by ….” but also add its blurb to the Fleet Quintet novels at the back of the book. I decided to go several steps further, though, and standardise the layout of every single edition. For the paperbacks, this mean the same font, the same size font, the same layout, the same fancy font for the title page and chapter titles etc etc. For the ebooks, there’s slightly less work as the font type and size is the same throughout, but an ebook gives you the chance to add links. And you have to make sure that every single one works.
This is a lot of work.
I have six published novels, one published novella and ten published short stories. There are three different platforms: KDP ebook, KDP paperback, and Smashwords. This means that I may be working on three different editions of one single title. Once you start multiplying these numbers, you may understand why I felt a bit exhausted just contemplating so much work. I mean, why bother.
Pride comes into it. As well as the desire to have a beautiful product to sell. Quite a few of my books are going to be getting gorgeous new professional covers. I want the inside to look professional as well! Yes, I know – lots of people get OTHER people to do the work for them. This is not how I work. I know what I want and how I want it and I know I can do a good job. Why pay for something that just requires time, patience and dedication?
I may be completely mad by the end of summer but I will also be able to move on from my beautiful new editions to other things. All those other novels that are dying to be written! As September always feels like a fresh start to the year, I aim to have my new editions out by the end of August. Providing I don’t go completely cross-eyed checking all the font sizes of the return marks…….