Playing “Ketchup” this Week
I know, I know… I didn’t get my IWSG up last Wednesday, and I can see from my blog stats that I’m not the only one who noticed!
Sorry!
I was just too dang busy prepping to sell my newest book, Paranormal Texas, at Dash Beardsley’s Wake the Dead Show down in Galveston. It was a frantic week, and I’m behind on a slew of things, so this week is all about playing “ketchup.” Better late than never, eh? (I’ll make the rounds of other IWSG blogs soon!)
Everything’s easier the second time around!
Y’know how the first time you do something, even if it’s a simple task, it takes longer because you are learning? Well, one of my goals last week was to make the North Texas Paranormal Resource Guide available as a free download for peeps who subscribe to my email list.
Easy enough – now – because now I’ve done it. But last week? Last week I didn’t have a clue, so I plodded through the whole process, and it took forever. And that was just one of many little tasks last week that I forced myself to bumble through.
Looking back, prepping for the paranormal conference forced me to do a bunch of niggling writing chores I’d been putting off, so while it was frazzling, over all it was really good.
Buh-gocking through my to-do list
Still, running around like a beheaded chicken is not my preferred modus operandi. And here’s the real nail-biter: my books didn’t show up until the night before I left town.
Gah!
While it’s nice to say that Paranormal Texas is hot off the press, I swear these copies were still steaming!
In the worst case scenario, I could have only sold copies of Unexpected Texas, but this was a paranormal-themed conference. The perfect audience! Not to mention that the whole reason I bumped up my release date from October 1 to September 1 is so that I could sell at Dash Beardsley’s Wake the Dead Show.
A CreateSpace Caveat
So, if any of you use CreateSpace, here’s something I learned the hard way. Y’know how when you order your books from CS, they give you a projected delivery date?
Well, every other time I’ve ordered a shipment of books to sell, they have shown up a couple days earlier than predicted by CreateSpace.
This time, my books showed up a full 8 days *later* than the predicted delivery date! There is a reason for this, however, a very simple reason, although it took me a while to figure it out.
Shipping vs Production
After digging around the CreateSpace forum, I finally realized that when you order books, you are given an estimated delivery date. This delivery date refers to the speed with which your books will be shipped. It has nothing to do with when your books will actually be manufactured – which is something that can vary considerably!
So, if CreateSpace is backed up and takes longer than usual to print off your books, that “estimated delivery date” you’ve so happily written on your desk calendar in bright red pen is utterly meaningless!
Lesson learned!
So that’s my IWSG check-in for this month. I look forward to seeing how things are going with all of you!
What is IWSG, anyway?
IWSG stands for “Insecure Writers Support Group.” It’s a monthly check-in for writers of all stripes. Its creator, Alex J. Cavanaugh, describes ISWG like this:
“Purpose of IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!” – Alex J. Cavanaugh
Check out other IWSG Posts by Clicking this Badge:
