Be ~ Biblical Wisdom for Children isn’t really my first book. Where is the other one you are wondering?
\nIt is sitting on my hard drive. It is three pages away from completion…<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I discovered a nasty little secret that seems to be popping up more and more with online companies. It
\nis the fact that many companies are progressing you through “gates”, so they only reveal a little information
\nto you at a time. This messes you up. For instance, a major grocery store around here is touting that you
\ncan have an online shopping list, go into your account, click what you want, and for “your convenience,”
\nyou can just swing by the store and pick it up. They do all your shopping. They give you a pickup window,
\nwhich is based on the times you prefer. It sounded great. I read all the available information (I will call
\nthis door one’s information). I read all the FAQ. I read all the policies. Nothing was amiss. I decided to try it out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I created my account, and I was given a “please read this, and you might want to look at our FAQ.” I was then
\npresented with new information (we will call this door two). I discovered that the “free, customer oriented
\nprivilege” was not free. I was being given three free passes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Big difference.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hm, wish I would have discovered that at door one because I wouldn’t have progressed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, I reread all the new information. I again searched for the time aspect. I couldn’t find anything that
\nrevealed how much time they needed to get my groceries ready. It appeared there was no time frame. I realized
\nI didn’t need the groceries for another eight hours, so I thought I would use one of my free passes. I spent an
\nhour getting my shopping list ready, clicking through, and plopping everything into my cart. After 45 minutes of
\n“shopping.” I went to checkout. I was presented with the final piece of information (we will call this door three).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You needed to “shop” at least one day prior.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I was annoyed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Not only had a mentally shopped for an hour, but I now realized I had to hurry up and actually go shopping
\nbecause all my plans had changed. I fumed at my husband about how tired I am of companies not giving
\nme all the information because they hope that after my time investment I will just cave in, and they profit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It irks me reliving it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With all this being said, I gotta tell you that is how it is with self-publishing. You get some information up front,
\nbut until you start walking through the doors, you won’t know what is expected of you.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is why my first book is sitting on the hard drive. I walked through door one only to find out that the formatting
\nwasn’t what they presented at “door one.” Sure, they publish 8.5 by 11 books, but not in color, and not in landscape.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ah, that was foundational information to know.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I had to reformat the book. Not a simple reformat, but a complete reformat where I had to redo artwork. It was a
\nlot of work. It consumed weeks of my life redoing it all.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When I got to door two, I found out that I wasn’t presented with the correct information fully, which meant, I had
\nto redo the artwork again. It took months, and I couldn’t get through it all. I had, in essence, repainted everything
\na handful of times as I worked through these “information doors.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was disheartening, and I was burned out. I couldn’t get the mental gumption to do it all over again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As I was lying in bed one night, I thought of the idea for Be ~Biblical Wisdom for Children. I started writing down
\nmy ideas. I started working on it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ta, da, it came out first. However, just so you know, I am planning on going back to finish off my true first book,
\nbut that is a topic for another post.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here is some helpful advice, if you want to publish. Get yourself a little mock-up (a pretend document), and work
\nthrough the doors of a company. You don’t have to go to the end and publish it, but get yourself as close to the
\nend as possible, so you can gain all the information. You will save yourself a headache and possibly the feeling
\nof being so disheartened that you shelf your first book.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"