I didn’t post last night, but it wasn’t because I wasn’t writing. The truth is that I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning editing my manuscript for publication. I got up again this morning after not lots of sleep and worked all day on it. I read it page by page, refining it here and there and letting Grammarly help me where it could with misplaced punctuation and tense issues. I was editing directly on the IngramSparks website, which caused me some woes that I still don’t understand. I kept having problems with editing a page and then having it disappear from the chapter where it was supposed to be. I’m sure I’ll figure this out tomorrow after I get a good night’s sleep. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed when I’m tired.

I am becoming more aware that writing for publication is not a small task. I need to have this manuscript very clean, which is more effort than I initially thought. Clean in this context means two things to me: 1) to make sure that the story is coherent and the writing is tight, which requires cleaning up messy sentences and removing excess words, and 2) doing my best to ensure the grammar and punctuation are correct, and the writing looks right on the page, which Grammarly and the IngramSparks book template help with.

I also have the benefit of aid from Rachael and Liz, two of my daughters, and I greatly appreciate what they are doing to shepherd me along this “Author-Published” process. It’s new to me (and to them as well) so we’re all learning by doing. This is the best way for me to figure things out. I want to understand exactly what is needed, and the options available to make that happen. I did that when setting up my blog, website, and Zoom site for Story Circle Network, and I now know how to navigate all three of those platforms very well. I hope to add IngramSparks to my skillset, which requires me to figure out these kinks I’m currently encountering. If anyone reading here has any suggested readings or hacks to make any of this easier, then I’d be happy to hear from you!

But for right now, I plan to tackle a few crossword puzzles and then go to sleep.

Happy weekend to you.