Getting There

Don’t let anyone kid you – there’s a lot more to becoming a published author than simply putting words onto a page! Announcing the novel KEEP ME SAFE and completing Bellamy Gayle as a WordPress site have been lengthy projects, maybe because it’s the first time I’ve reached this far in the publication process and because I’ve resisted learning how to get the site established.

What matters most to me is that I’m finally inching closer to the finish/publish line for KEEP ME SAFE. The manuscript has been plenty pawed-over: self-edited and beta-read…and it is now in Beth Prybylski’s capable editorial hands. It will return to me soon for its final editing.

The next step after making a decision about the publication location (like Amazon, for instance), will bring another learning process. That’s when I undertake the daunting task of learning how to upload the manuscript to online sellers. And yes, before you ask, the cover is already designed and paid for (and discarded). I will replace it, this time following my own not necessarily better instincts (an expensive beginner lesson).

I was warned. There is plenty of literature in print and online about what it takes to get a novel out there before the public. Being self-published is far from a simple process. I have untold respect for those authors who have successfully taken on the task. Hopefully I’ll join their ranks by early 2020 and my debut novel KEEP ME SAFE will be available in online bookstores worldwide. Ain’t that cool?

The precursor novel of the LES FEMMES series, HATTIE, will be completed by the end of this year, too, and may instead be first in line for publication. Wish me luck, friends.