Kudos to Online Printers

I've been working on my 'book' for about 12 years and am getting closer to the finish line.  My writing woes are not unique...it's hard to put things down and then critique yourself, and I must have 20 versions of Chapter One.  The only way I was able to get past Chapter Four was to write for real on my blog, Ruff Life at Sea and that worked pretty well, for I made it to Puerto Rico before pausing for longer than intended.

And then Covid hit.  I bought something online and received an offer inside for a free book from Shutterfly, never heard of them.  What the hell, I put together an 8x11 book covering my trip with BC across the country in 2016; snippets of the photos I didn't put on my blog at the time. That was April of last year. Each book comes with 20 pages; extra pages are around $1 each, comparable to a color copy at Office Max, I thought.  I wanted something to jog my memory when I'm old and sitting in a rocking chair, without having to hold a laptop.

This past Sunday I had to pack my belongings because of a nearby fire (we were at Level 2); so I can't take a photo of that particular book.  I paid extra for a hard cover and a few extra pages and waited for the result.  Arriving in a bright orange box, I was thrilled!  It was terrific, you'll have to take my word.

The pandemic kept dragging on so I thought I'd create another photo book of our 2013 adventure.  Then I thought, "Why not put together the How-To book you've been working on since 2009 and see how that looks, for real."

I had all the photos and most of the copy; how hard could it be to put it together?  It was a bitch, but fortunately Dad was a graphic designer and I learned from him.  I worked a little each day...I've mentioned I'm more the tortoise than the hare.

But here's the thing: while I was working I received an offer from Shutterfly for FREE UNLIMITED PAGES; four days left.  Really; they do that?  Worked my tuckus off and got it finished. What did it cost?  About $20 (and over a hundred hour's work). Nothing extra this time so it's a soft cover, but really nice.

More than one friend asked, "How/where are you going to publish?"

"I have no idea; I'll worry about that when the time comes. Right now I'm just happy to get it out of my head and on paper.  No, I can't print and sell Shutterfly copies because it would be too expensive (it's not that sort of website plus I can't rely on FREE PAGES deals); and if I sold an e-book I'd probably have to create an entirely new format but that's alright.  It's OUT!"

I was on a roll.  Once I saw how it looked for real (staring at a computer screen is not the same), I knew what I needed to change:  everything!  My photos were too dark; instructions confusing; and I'd toss it before reaching the end, if I'd paid good money...

By the time the next FREE PAGES deal arrived I hustled again to finish; but felt confident enough to buy multiple copies for various purposes.  This is an investment,  I (keep) telling myself.  Besides, I haven't figured out another way to get the writing completed AND lighten that Sword of Damocles hanging over my head.  Has it been worth it?  DEFINITELY.

My sister Hillary, a writer with her own site, Invoking the Muse, one day said, "I'd love to read your Ruff Life story like a book."  That's not the first time she's placed a positive, instrumental 'bee in my bonnet' (Hill brought me a Gourd Crafting book when she visited in Puerto Rico, getting me started down that path).  I explained in the opening paragraph how I managed to finally write it so now I simply copied-and-pasted my blog to create my first, I knew, Ruff Life at Sea paper book.

Well that needed gobs of editing, too.  I made a few more picayune edits on my How-To then concentrated exclusively on Ruff Life.  I edited the book and my blog simultaneously because I always intended the story be out there for free; for inspiration and fun for others to read.

To experiment I chose an 8"x8" format; but Shutterfly has a limit of 70 or so pages per book so I needed to break it up into two parts.  Once I got back the first version I saw where the obvious break should be:  up to the crossing to the Bahamas, then to Puerto Rico and destiny.

I'm not giving anything away here because it's already on the blog, I told you.  Besides, there are tons of entertaining stories of mishaps at sea already out there. Inevitably the two parts of my story will be together in one format and possibly available, but again, I don't need to think about HOW right now.

What I haven't published, except for occasional stories in this blog and elsewhere, is what happened AFTER I was in Puerto Rico...

"...the REST of the story," as Andy Rooney Paul Harvey used to say.  That's what I hope to sell; from my lips to God's ears.  One baby step at a time.

There are countless suggestions which successful, published authors can recommend; I'm just telling you an inexpensive method which worked for ME.  In any event, I highly recommend to aspiring (or blocked like me?) writers to take the plunge and get your book in print SOMEHOW.  Even if it's only for your immediate family.  I don't have children to leave stuff to, but the other day, after my final-final-final edit I ordered 3 copies of Ruff Life:  one for me, one for my publisher-to-be, and one to either show off or donate to Goodwill.  At least it will finally be OUT THERE.