Did I just re-format Book 1 for print because I was procrastinating writing Book 3?

Y…yes. A bit.

It was already mostly formatted! I just cobbled together a new wraparound cover, since last time it had the Horsie Cover, and we are now on the Treeeeeeeees! Cover. The interior, which is the larger part of the effort, hasn’t changed except for the bio.*

But yes.

The Healers’ Road should be available in print on Amazon again in 72 hours, if all goes well. Other books and markets, I’ll work on as procrastination continues. (which it probably will)

The cover issues with Kobo persist, by the way. I’ve re-tried with a differently sized file, and if that doesn’t work, I’m going to pester somebody like the rank newbie I am.

* Deep breath. So, that. First, I made it shorter; second… About a week ago I came out as nonbinary (and some other things) via Facebook post, so yay?, I can mention that in book contexts without fear of it getting back to Real Life People.** In short, the new bio uses they/them pronouns. I don’t yet IRL. Hey, yet another topic for therapy!

** except my day job.

So, uh, that!

I think I’ve also clarified my approach to This Whole Thing, including why everything is late and slapdash and does not fit nicely defined genres: In my heart of hearts, I am still a fanfiction writer circa 2001. Now that AO3 has won a Hugo award, it’s clear fanfic has evolved, and I have been out of the loop for much of that evolution. Still, I remain in the mode of Writing Stuff That Makes Me Happy And Feeling Awkward About Asking For Money For It.

That’s not to say that fic writers can’t be punctual or strategic, or that they can’t ask for money; obviously Patreon does a very brisk business these days. But me, I come from the days when no one even knew to ask whether that was an option, and it still seems very strange to me that someone would pay money and download something I wrote and shelve it alongside, like, “real” books? that some moonlighting English professor or full-time garret-dwelling Author wrote?

IDK. It’s still very weird to me. Awesome. But weird.

I try not to look at sales figures nowadays because they still make me feel weird, but my spouse likes to track how many reviews and such I’ve gotten. Recently we tried to figure out where a little sales bump came from, and it turned out that one of my books had been name-checked in a thread on r/fantasy. SO THANKS, R/FANTASY! I don’t read you, actually, but thanks!

All that said, I don’t want anyone to feel ripped off for spending approximately $1.99 on this pile of words. I did work hard on it, it does mean a lot to me, and people’s time is worth something etc. etc. capitalism. Just that the urge to label and minimize what I do is strong, and hey, there’s another topic for therapy. *makes note*

Have a good one, all. Thanks for reading.