Random Walk's "Mission Stage One Complete"

Those words are uttered by Colonel Derek Williams, Mission Commander and Pilot of Air Force Space Command's first manned mission into space. They are the last words spoken in chapter one of my science fiction novel, Random Walk, after the crew achieves orbit around the Earth.

I too, have completed what I consider to be Stage One of my mission: writing the book! I finished the draft at the end of July, but I only just completed my developmental revisions earlier this week. With those done, the story itself is now locked-in; there will be no major changes.

That's a significant benchmark, but when you're independently publishing your own novel, it's only one stage of the work. So now, as I wait for my editor to return the manuscript again, this time with copy edits,* I am my shifting mental and creative gears for phase two: production & marketing.

To that end, I read IngramSpark's user guide yesterday to make sure I remember how  to upload my book and understand the extent of their services; I've started sending out requests for blurbs and drafted a press release; I'm working on a synopsis, back cover copy and front and back matter.^ I'm even starting to think about a book launch party!

So as I turn the corner of the midweek and prepare to enter the weekend, my hands are full with grading a writing test I gave my 3rd year students, and juggling all the little, important, time-consuming tasks associated with actually producing and selling a book. It's a busy time, but I'm excited to see how it goes. :)



*Minor changes, like misplaced commas, spelling consistency for proper nouns, awkward phrasing, etc.

^The copyright, acknowledgements and about the author content.