Who knew UPS had a stealth division?
Last Wednesday, I ordered proofs for my quirky travel guide Unexpected Texas and I have been patiently awaiting their arrival ever since. Until yesterday, that is, when I decided to look up the tracking info.
That’s when all the impatience began!
You see, much to my delight, the package was marked “out for delivery.” Squeee! From that point on, my ears became fine-tuned. Who knew I was so intimately acquainted with the specific sounds UPS vans make? They came down our street twice yesterday, and both times they delivered things to my neighbors.
I finally checked the tracking numbers again and saw that the status for my package had changed. So this morning my hyper vigilance for the unique squeaks and groans UPS vans make renewed itself.
And, just like yesterday, I got faked out…twice! The first time I heard the truck, I popped out the door like a hopeful prairie dog. The second time, I merely peeped out a side window.
Luckily, I’m still formatting the eBook version and that has kept me busy. So busy, in fact, that when my proof arrived, the UPS man made it all the way to the door, he even rang the doorbell, before I saw him. See what they did there? After taunting me with loud, groaning, squeaky UPS trucks for two days straight, they sent their stealth division when it was my turn!
But hey – I am not complaining. My proofs are here and they look good.
Phew!
Self-Publishing Update a.k.a. Fun with Formatting – Not!
Formatting, formatting, formatting… I am still working on formatting the paperback and eBook versions of my book. I won’t bore you with details, though. Suffice it to say that this blog post was very helpful for the eBook: The Captain’s Blog proudly presents: How to format your Word document correctly for Kindle Also, I am still learning tons of great stuff from Catherine Ryan Howard’s ebook Self Printed It’s a wonderful book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to self-publish.
Meanwhile, here are my #ROW80 goals:
Paperback Proofs:
Get my paperback formatted perfectly by Friday, February 21, 2014. With these proofs in hand, I can already see several tweaks that need to be made.Order Paperbacks to sell:
Order 100 paperbacks by Friday, February 21, 2014. At this point, I will have to pay extra to have them expedited, but my goal is to have actual books in hand to sell at the Fort Worth Oscar Viewing party on March 2nd, so I will have to bite the bullet!Plan a book release blog tour:
I’ve started on this! My book’s official release is March 3rd, 2014 and I have a great group of peeps rounded up for a week long tour. I’ll explain more next week. Oh – I bought a bunch of really great things for prizes. I can hardly wait!Re-do my Self-Publishing To-Do List:
Time to reasses this list… again! I am starting to dip into the marketing section of things, such as the book release blog tour I just mentioned.Blog 3X per week:
I missed last Friday’s blog post. Oh, well! I have a wonderful guest blogger planned for this Friday to make up for it.Reply to all comments, visit all commenter’s blogs & comment on them:
Uh – I think I did this… Man, I spent too long fighting with MS Word and fretting over UPS trucks to remember now.Visit at least 10 other ROW80 blogs:
Yes, yes! I also retweeted several posts in the #Row80 timeline.Daily writing check-in via email:
Morgan Dragonwillow and I are still checking in with each other every night – and sometimes during the day – via text and email.
What is ROW80?
ROW80 is short for A Round of Words in 80 Days. It was created by the author, Kait Nolan, who describes it as, “an online writing challenge that knows you have a life.” Basically, ROW80 is a way for writers to connect online and share progress on their writing goals. Click on the aforementioned link for more information.
To join in and cheer on other ROW80 writers, check out the A Round of Words in 80 Days website. You may also simply click on any of the blogs in the following list:
Tui Snider is an author, speaker, and photographer who specializes in North Texas travel, cemetery symbols, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction – but then, I moved to Texas!”
Snider’s best-selling books include Paranormal Texas , Understanding Cemetery Symbols, and 100 Things to Do in Dallas - Fort Worth Before You Die.
Snider has several more books in progress, and enjoys connecting with writers and readers all over the globe through social media, her newsletter and her website: TuiSnider.com.
Love your goals and most of all your proof looks gorgeous! Good luck with the final product. UPS faked me out too. They delivered my package to the post office to deliver. Mail had already come but I knew my Vistaprint order was due that day. When it got late I checked the tracking and only then noticed it was day late but had been delivered to the P.O., but AFTER the carrier would have left for the day. Sigh. Very, very stealthy.
Hi Claire, Man – that is quite a UPS fake-out all right. So glad they didn’t do that to me! :)
Oh!
I know that statue from Fancy Nancy and the Boy from Paris (my daughter was a tremendous Fancy Nancy fan at 3 and 4).
The cover is delightful. I’ll be tapping my toes waiting for the big day!
The UPS man is afraid to come to our door…we have a friendly pit-bull mix with a short little bulldog tail, and I don’t think most deliverymen know that he’s more likely by far to lick than to bite!
May your tweaks go smoothly and quickly!
Hi Shan, Ya mean there’s a kids story where they mention the Eiffel Tower replica here in North Texas? Very cool! I’ll have to look for that reference. Paris, Texas is actually quite a fun little town to explore. Thank you so much for dropping by. :)
EEE! Congratulations on the proofs! It must be so cool to be able to hold a physical copy of your book! I cannot wait to experience that feeling for myself.
Good luck with the formatting!
Hi Kathy! Thank you. Yes, it’s a very nice feeling, I must say. I’ve been carrying one of the proofs around with me in my purse. Still gotta get that eBook formatted… Argh!
It’s like gently going through your hair with a fine-tooth comb only to have it all turn into a mass of dreadlocks every time you blink. Gah!
But, yeah, the cover looks good. PHEW!!!! :)
Isn’t formatting just a blast? Your proofs are pretty though!