Printed, Bound, and Perfect

I read an essay today about how some things are perfect just the way they are, and that includes books. Pages, covers, binding, and glue. The author of this essay wanted nothing to do with an e-reader. (Follow the link by @katiengibson to read it.)

I guess in my heart I pretty much agree, so I am declaring tomorrow, October 23, 2012, the official release day for the print versions of my little book, THE THANK YOU ROOM.

The paperback is a nice paperback-sort-of-size. I have seen it, and I approve. It was done by CreateSpace.com. You can find it on Amazon as well (including Amazon Europe!). The hardcover features a beautiful dust jacket designed by Scribbles & Scribes, Ink. I have seen this one too. It came to my doorstep today, and it was Christmas morning, People. You can purchase this version at Lulu.com. It will eventually be available at Amazon, too, but I am able to offer it at a much better price on Lulu.

If this was a blog for writers instead of readers, I might go on and on about this grueling (yet totally delightful process) of independent publishing. I might write about the first print versions in which I failed to include a Table of Contents or page numbers, and the font and spacing were just WRONG. I’d tell you how I had to actually purchase those little proofs in order to discover the issues. Then I (and my cover designer) had to re-format and start again. I’d tell you how my enthusiasm has been sucked completely dry and I am one hundred percent convinced no one will ever buy these lovely printed versions of my book except me, and I might buy one THOUSAND of them just for the joy of getting a book in the mail (again and again) that I have written and that is officially printed, bound, and perfect.

But that would be boring. It seems much more useful to show you the beautiful dust jacket, announce the happy release, and move on.

Ta da!

{To my local friends: I will eventually arrange a reading/release party/signing kind of thing in the area. For that matter, I may have any number of giveaways, parties, and special deals as I begin to get the hang of this marketing thing. If you might be interested, make sure to like my facebook page so news like that will show up in your newsfeed. You can find my facebook page by clicking the icon at the top right of the sidebar.}

There is an acknowledgements page in the printed version that includes a thank-you to everyone who purchased the ebook. I have a feeling many of those are my blog readers, and I am deeply grateful. If you had not done that, I would not have the gumption for this.