The Horrors Of Editing Part II

 

They say the first is the worst and I have to agree.  Especially in the past year I have learned that each time you have to go through and set up a file under a different format, or according to a different set of rules, the first time you try it is always the worst.  It's through that first time you learn, at least most of, the ins and outs.  Plus you figure out about 92% of what is causing you grief.  Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I started off with the longest work I have on hand on My PC, a story I have edited, re-edited and reformatted more times that I am willing to contemplate.  Once again and even though it has only taken a little over three weeks, it has been a nightmare, the kind of self torture that anyone with OCD hates to deal with, yet endures because we want so much to strive for perfection.

After yesterday I am sure that I am about as close to perfection as I am going to get working to have Heather's Journey: The Sound Of her MASTER"S VOICE ready for e-book publication.  Sure there are a dozen or so little "dashes" in there that I have no idea where they came from or how to get rid of them.  Sure it does not have a program created Table Of Contents, but since anyone giving advice on the subject seems to be under the impression that "Everyone" is computer savy when it comes to dealing with HTML, and when I followed all their exact instructions none of  the codes worked, One can only assume there are probably 1,000's of e-books without a program driven Table Of Contents, and instead one listing the line location numbers like I painstakingly set up Myself.  Again, probably not perfect, but I think most readers can get past the flaws considering how flawed the text was during the sligltly abridged and chapter by chapter publication the novel had initially online.

So for all intents and purposed The Sound Of her MASTER'S VOICE is done, so it's all over but the screaming.  It all comes down to getting the funds to copyright and secure an ISBN number, which will hopefully be taken care of this week.  Aside from that I need to take care of cover art and a new picture of Myself to go in the about the About The Author blurb at the end.  The pictures are a couple of simple (yeah right!) things to deal with, and I should have them done and the cover edited by the weekend as well.  So if everything goes without a snag (and I am sure there will probably be some snags) the best case scenario would be that the novel will be available sometime within the next two weeks.  (I bet you thought I was going to say next week, and I was until my pessimism won out.)


So what comes next?  Well I am already beginning to get together My next project, a short story collection themed around Fungi.  I decided in the beginning that this was something I just had to do, because if someone was going to steal it and make a single dime off having it in "their" collection, then it stood to reason it would fare well in a collection of stories that were all by Me.  Again the process is made easier by the fact that I have already perhaps worked out most of the kinks of getting the first e-book ready for publication, so as with other things when it comes to the second time, I now pretty much know what to do and what not to do, hopefully saving Myself a few headaches.  Fungi will be in this collection along with three other stories and a poem, all so far unpublished.  Unpublished?  Hell, the truth is I haven't written a single one yet.  Yes, I know.  It's pretty ambitious, so for the moment I am not sure how long it will take Me to have the collection available.

 

 

Plus still to come... My BBW story collection to be made up of both previously published and original erotic BBW short stories and poetry.  After several weeks I have to admit that the title Rubenesque & Ravishing has begun to grow on Me a little less.  I will be coming up with another title, but I think I have one in mind unless someone can throw Me a very good suggestion.  This will be another work that is going to be built as it progresses, so at this time as with the Fungi collection I do not have a specific time frame.

So just stay tuned kiddies, there's still more to come!




Master Vyle