D-I-Why Do We Do This To Ourselves

The end of the year marks our target for releasing the first book of our new series, and even though the manuscript is in really good shape there is So. Much. To. Do.

And we’re doing all of it ourselves.

Final edits and the cover design are keeping us both quite busy. But on top of those major endeavors, we also need to write the blurb, assign the ISBN, polish up the maps and the Russian glossary, write the dedication, format everything, assemble it into an actual book, and order a proof copy. While we wait for that, we also have Amazon keywords and other metadata to figure out. Then the making-it-available-to-readers workflow can kick in, which itself has multiple steps.

This part of being a writer is exciting, in its way, but it’s the dirty, open secret of the writing life. There’s so much other stuff you need to do, stuff that takes a shit-ton of time away from your writing. (All those things listed in the previous paragraph? That doesn’t even include any real marketing.)

At least with two of us, we can spread the work around a little and each focus on our strengths. We make a great team, if we do say so ourselves. Still, we’re running out of year real quick at this point. Better get back to work!