Gah. Oof.
Patience, I tell my tired brain. Patience! But brain says, "NOW! I want to be done."Can't blame it. I'm edging ever closer to completing the project I planned to finish in July. (You know, the plans I made before life took a sharp turn at the intersection of Caregiver Lane and Lazybutt Drive.) Soon it will be done. Soon I'll be able to hammer psychological nails into my First Book Series (tm) and move on. For reals. Forever.I entered second edition print proof corrections for Controlled Descent yesterday. Spent today on proof corrections for Weaving In the Ends. Uploaded files for both book interiors to Createspace tonight and went through every last page using the online reviewer.
I must await review approvals from Createspace now. They're fast considering what they do (12-72 hours on weekends) , but it's still WAITING.After that, all I need are the new cover and the proofread for Flight Plan, and I'll be a bare baby step of away from done. Okay, a long hop. I'll have to also upload ebook editions once the print proofs pass review. Still, it's so close, and I'm past ready to lock down that constant flutter of, "I need to fix this one last thing."These were my learning books. Not the learning to write books, oh, no. You won't see those unless you stray into the hinterlands of Wattpad. No, these these were my learn-to-publish books. They will always have a special place in my heart for that, they will always be perfect firsts, but they'll never be as good as what came next.When I started this authoring adventure I didn't have much in the way of resources. I had plenty of experience with the principles of formatting and preparing a manuscript for market. What I lacked were tools, experience, and community. I am a solitary cat by nature. Networking comes hard to me.)I was and am comfortable in the harsh glare of the public marketplace. I was also comfortable flying solo and hiring out work to strangers. So I made my first books the best, most perfect first books they could be, and when the market proved to me I wasn't the only one who loved them, I started the next quest.I collected better tools and learned to use them, I made personal connections and collected allies in art, and experience taught me how to dance where before I had stumbled. Also, let's be clear, the self-publishing/formatting process has been streamlined and improved immensely in the three short years I've been in this gig.The twist? The more I learned, the more things I made, the more I yearned to make those first efforts better. Their flaws pricked at my attention, distracting me from newer dreams. At last I said, "Fine. I'll invest time and the cash I've earned into elevating those first books from first-best to best-they'll-ever-be, and then I will wash my hands of them for good."How close am I now? SO CLOSE. So close I can relax and sleep now, and dream of the done stage.