Everything Happens. (wisdom from Dr. Horrible)

I am a HUGE Joss Whedon fan. He could announce intentions to produce his grocery list and I would salivate with anticipation (like I’m drooling over the reported Dr. Horrible sequel).

My whole family LOVES Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. In DHSAB, Penny says something that really resonates with me:

“Everything Happens.”

No silver lining, no message of hope. But it’s not pessimistic either. It’s pragmatic and it speaks to me.

So, I’m less than two weeks away from my first release and there have been recent developments with my co-written manuscript, making the more traditional publishing route, that are demanding my attention. Everything happens. Time for me to take stock and work smarter.

Where I am.

eBook: Line edits are done and I am two-thirds of the way through the 60 page formatting guide for Smashwords. Working the manuscript as I go. Several loops suggested starting with Smashwords would make the Kindle work easier. Luckily, I auto format everything, which makes changes easier. I’m planning to upload this weekend.

Conclusion: eBook - so far, greatly detailed but not hard to format.

POD: Lightning Source or Create Space. I’ve done my due diligence and concluded Lightning Source really is designed for small press. As a self-publishing indie author, Lightning Source requires more time, money, and initial set up. I’ve talked to my industry insiders, including a dear friend who made her career as a bookseller for Barnes and Noble, and have determined that LS does not work to my advantage. It will not open doors for opportunities for extra distribution. As far as B&N is concerned, I’ll be classified as prepaid, POD only and forever.

Conclusion: LS is a lot more risk and I’ll have to sell a lot more print copies to recoup my initial investment. Since the focus will be on digital, I’m going to take the lower risk investment option of Create Space. I won’t work on this till after digital release, so I do have time for a few questions I want to ask other authors about their CS. And I seem to recall some loop discussions about CS reliability with royalties—must Google that.

Marketing and Promo: Working on my plan. Have a few things in the works. Need to be ready as soon as eBooks are uploaded. Feeling a bit behind on this. But I do have a kick-ass little booklet in the works for an upcoming conference.

Other: Have to prioritize co-written project and address recent developments.

Mood: Can’t describe how I feel and no time to dwell

Your turn: Any advice to help maximize and focus my THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN marketing efforts?

Read before you buy at http://www.careycorp.com/.