Thursday, April 23, 2015

Formatting

Yesterday I finished the second read through my book. When I first finished Bloodline Inheritance for NaNoWriMo it was barely over 50k words in total. Now it is at 69k, and I am glad I took the time to revise it multiple times. I thought editing was the hardest part of this book, but it turns out formatting it might actually be a struggle. My last two books, Shadows and Embers and Thicker Than Blood, I have formatted on my own. I am even using my Macbook Air again, which I used originally for my two previous books. You would think after formatting two books I would have this down to a science. Or I would have at least written myself a "how to" incase I forgot, but alas I did not.
So while the book is finished, please keep in mind that I am working alone on the formatting. The only other option I would have is to pay someone to format it for me -which I have greatly consider. Tonight I have already ran into errors, so unfortunately this might take some time for me to solve. I had this problem the last two years (especially with book #3) and remember it set me back. I definitely do not want that to happen again, so I will continue to search for answers and ask for help. If you are an indie author who has formatted your own books, any help is welcome.
Once the formatting is done I want to buy a mock proof copy of the book from Lulu. Though I won't be publishing through Lulu, I use it as a way to see how my book will turn out before doing the real proof on Createspace. (It's also a way to check I haven't completely ruined the formatting.)
Again I want to apologize for any delays, but please know I am working as hard as possible on this. If you've stopped by the "books" tab on here you can see I updated the TBA date to May/June 2015.
Lindsey R. Sablowski

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Light editing

April seems to be flying by before my eyes, and I am staring anxiously at the calendar. Since completing revisions, I've been using ProWritingAid as an editing tool to help me go through with a fine comb. Though it does take up more time I rather do it and make sure the book is fully ready. I've been getting through the chapters pretty quickly. As much as I want to say tonight I finished it all I did not -and doubt I will. I have another eight chapters to go, so my plans are to finish with the last round of edits this week.
I do want to thank everyone for being patient. I know a lot of people are at different points in the series, so some have not started/finished Thicker Than Blood. Just keep in mind that I am one person and sadly do not have other eyes to read over this. I wish I had beta readers, but alas since this is the last book it would be difficult to find any. With my next book/series I do hope on finding a few beta readers who would be interested. It takes extra long when you only have yourself to rely on with this. Just wanted to give the update as I know it is already spring and I am approaching my deadline. Of course if need be I will release in the summer if everything is not ready in time by May.

On another note I hope to be updating my blog soon with new pictures and such. As much as I would love a new theme unfortunately it's difficult to find a free one. (And I cannot afford one that costs anything at this moment.) If you have any ideas on what you would like added to the blog please let me know, and I'll see what I can do.
I know this was a short post, but I will have more to share at the end of this week. Remember keep me obligated to that deadline! (Your words really do help motivate and keep me going!)
Lindsey R. Sablowski