The Beginning of the End

*cue dramatic music.

Alright, so this post isn't all that dramatic. I just needed something to liven it up.

I am thrilled to announce that The Dying God & Other Stories e-book now has an ISBN!

*cue party blowers

AND the release date has been decided. It's (are you ready for it?) Hallowe'en this year!

*cue ghost sounds

With a title like The Dying God, how could I not release it on Hallowe'en (no, there are no horror stories in there)? Of course that means that I have to scan in all the illustrations soon... which means that I have to find a scanner... which means I need to make friends with someone who has a scanner.

Do you have a scanner? Want to be friends?

I might also, thanks to a wizard of a flatmate, have a book trailer for it. MAY is the key word. She's really busy right now, and I don't want to bother her too much, so if she just doesn't have the time, there will be no book trailer.

Although I don't expect to sell to anyone but family and friends with this e-book, I'm stupidly excited about it. And, strangely, despite all the work, I'm having a blast making it.

I was stressed about having to change to format when inspiration for poems ran dry. I was beyond vexed that two of my drawings turned out soooo incredibly different from what I had wanted (one was supposed to be a horse, but turned out to be a dragon - don't ask. The other was supposed to be male, but in shading the features became really, really, REALLY feminine, so I just made it a girl). I was incredibly stressed that several of the short stories were utter crap (but thanks to a last-minute brain wave, I was able to replace the worst ones with alternative, not-so-crappy stories).

It was stressful, but now it's fun. Of course, as the deadline approaches, I'm going to be more stressed, but that's part of the game.

My one concern is that there isn't a professional editor on this one. I did enquire, and I found an editor I think I'd like very much, but I can't afford at the moment (and her prices were reasonable and quite flexible). I have self-edited as much as possible, and I hope that Beta Reader volunteers will catch the things I am sure to have missed.... but I'd feel more comfortable if there was a proper editor on board. Still, live and learn. If I self-publish again (which I plan on doing for all my anthologies, but not my novels), I will know to save up for a good editor before the project even starts.

Alright, I really do have to get to editing the very last story before I send it off to my Beta Readers. Have a great Tuesday everyone! I'll be celebrating tonight with a few glasses of wine and my own private happy dance.