Labor of Love

A lot of people (mothers included) say that writing and publishing a book is much like having a baby. I have no idea what it's like to be pregnant, but I have had pregnant friends, and I can attest that we all share in the same sentiment that by the time you're about to birth whatever it is you're excited about, YOU ARE READY. You're tired, you're excited to "meet" your new work of art, and frankly, you just want it out.

I'd say I've been "expecting" this book for four years now; much different than the nine or ten months an excited mother awaits her new addition, but since I'm not actually producing a human being named SPARKLE (though how awesome would that be?) I'd say we even out with the timeline thing.

Last night, I (read: my husband) began the arduous process of laying out the interior of the book. All 142 pages. After nearly chucking my little pink laptop out my fifth story apartment window, we came to a mutual decision that we'd utilize his graphic design skills and turn this mother out in Adobe InDesign as opposed to a word processing program. The result is a much sleeker, aesthetically pleasing book, but a hell of a lot more work. But Ryan is truly amazing and has dedicated himself to this project (as has Cara, my kick-ass cover designer who I seriously could not live without) and I am so blessed to have all of these awesome people in my life who truly care about this book just as much as I do.

To show you just how laborious this process is, Ryan and I spent seven - yes, seven - hours yesterday getting all of the pages prepped for publication. And after those seven hours, we are still worlds away from having a finished product. Between spacing, layout, choosing fonts, and studying every single book I own, there are so many details you need to pay attention to. Self-publishing platforms are wonderful, and I can't say enough great things about Amazon's customer service, but there are still major things that nobody tells you. And even after having spent years scouring forums, tweets, and articles, I still found out last night that you have to add a category to the back cover of your book so book sellers know where to stock it! And that you need to add your own barcode to the back if you own your own ISBN number (many self-publishing companies will do this for you, but if you own the rights to your ISBN, ball's in your court).

But I have to say, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. Through all the tears, all the cups of coffee, and all the moments of sheer insanity where I find myself ready to gauge my own eyeballs out, I am still in love with what I'm doing. I am learning so much and I know that the second that little pink bundle of joy is in my arms, it will have all been worth it.

mission control

 

what would bethenny do?

what the hell does "kern" mean anyway?