Drum roll please…So, I just uploaded the novel to Smashwords this morning. I should shout hurray, right? Not so fast.
First, I’m not providing a link to the book (although if you go to Smashwords and search Olivia Boler or The Flower Bowl Spell, you’ll find it) because I immediately found a glaring typo in the dedication—a period next to a comma [.,] that is not in the original document I uploaded. What the what??? There’s another huge typo at the very end in the title, About the Aauthor. Yes, it reads “Aauthor” on my eBook files but again, NOT on my original document. I haven’t gone over the whole thing with a fine-tooth comb, so I shudder to think what I’ll find inside the doc once I do.
[NOTE: I am adding this paragraph after I initially published this post, but don't want to bug you all unnecessarily with a whole new post. I figured it out! Before you submit your Word document to Smashwords, you need to ACCEPT ALL CHANGES in the document! This is very, very important, otherwise, typos you think are fixed (even after you've hit SAVE) might show up in the eBook files Smashwords creates!]
Also, I am waiting to hear back from Smashwords about my “Premium status” in their catalog. that could take a week or two. I’ll keep you all posted.
But typos are the least of my problems right now. I am trying to revamp my website, oliviaboler.com, on my own. Let me just say, I am not a web master. Ha! That’s certainly clear, since my already long neglected, decrepit website has completely disappear. Which is why, again, I am not linking it up here. I have lost hours since last night trying to figure it out on my own, the whole FTP, PHP, blah blah blah. Oh, these are the times independently publishing is so daunting, and I wish some kindly editor had just taken on my book and dealt with all this minutiae herself.
OK. Got to call tech support, get groceries, and upload to Amazon. What are you doing today?
It’s Ok, Olivia. I haven’t read a published book yet that didn’t have a type-o. Smashwords has a style guide that you should read thoroughly. Things like tabbing over and hard line breaks will disqualify your document for premium. Amazon is much easier and so is Nook in the way of publishing. iBooks still has some kinks to work out if you are not publishing a textbook. The important thing is blog, blog, blog. Finally, read “Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print”. Read it cover to cover. It is the best book out there to help self-publishers find all the problems you may have inadvertently put in your book. Good luck with the publish!
Thanks, Roger. I’ve gone over that Smashwords Style Guide again and again, believe me. I did their recommended “Nuclear Blowout” or whatever they call it, etc., but I think the problem might be with tracking/accepting changes on the last pass-through I did. Not sure, but I’ll let you know. Thank you for the feedback! I will definitely check out your blog.
Congratulations! So far, so good. I don’t envy you the struggle with the technology, but you’ll succeed, I’m sure. Meanwhile, Happy New Year!
Thank you, Deetje! If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth it.
I’m glad you’ve solved the problem. I’m going to be uploading an ebook to smashwords soon so I will follow your advice.
Excellent, Pete. My new problem is figuring out how to upload to Amazon. Some say it’s easier, but I wish they had a style guide as great as Smashwords. Will keep you posted.