Yesterday, I started the final formatting of my first manuscript - I Am a Muse - for publication on Lulu. It is taking ages! But I just HAVE to get this right. The manuscript is looking more like a proper book now, with header and drop caps and all that...

I guess an early May publication might have been slightly too optimistic, as I need to sort out the cover, artwork inserts - I will be adding black and white illustrations by Sabine T - and additional (front) pages. 

Then we need to create the PDFs to upload, sort out the cover and get Matt ArtPix to work on it for me.
 
Oh, and I am going to Dorset for a week (away from the desk and the computer). 

So we might be looking at a June publication now, as I would like to request a proof copy first to check that everything is fine... It has really made me think about creating my own imprint, but it will not happen for I Am a Muse. I guess I can always re-publish it if and when I have a proper imprint... 


I have been writing too this week, I've added about 4,000 words to The Book of Thoth!

I really feel like I am doing proper "writer" work these days. 

It took me 4 days (!) but the 5th draft of I Am a Muse is now ready! 
I have cut the 93,000 words manuscript to 88,500. 

Of course, it is not completely ready to publish yet: I need to study the formatting and various instructions on the Lulu.com website. It looks horrendously complicated. 

Now I am going back to The Book of Thoth and I am hoping to write a bit more this week before work stops me in my tracks again. 

I have been "MULTITASKING" recently, trying to get stuff done. 
Freelance work has been intense over the past three months, but it's getting better this week, and therefore, I have been able to free a section of my brain (and my timetable) for my personal projects.


I have started writing again on The Book of Thoth, which is getting bigger and bigger everyday (I have always been one to over-write - my school essays were always the longest - and dare I say it, the best! ha ha - but music journalism had taught me about rather drastic word counts, as in how to write an album review in, like, 90 words? But now, I've succumbed to temptation and I've been letting myself go again!). 
I can't even start to imagine how much of the first draft I'm going to have to cut if I want to get down to a reasonable length! Oh well, that's something to worry about when the aforementioned first draft is completed, which won't be in the near future... 

I have started on the fourth draft/third draft revision of I Am a Muse, and I am enjoying it immensely. Not that much to change so far, only a few mistakes here and there, and I might need to rearrange the numbering of the chapters. There are far too many of them. 

I have started writing down some ideas for the cover, acknowledgements, spine, back cover blurb, etc. I would like to go for a block-colour cover without image or artwork and I definitely wish to avoid a cover that screams: WOMEN'S BOOK ENCLOSED! At the moment, my favourite choice is a RED cover to reflect the nickname of one of my main characters: the Crimson Lady. Something bold! Outlandish! Simple. 


I have just stumbled on this very handy little blog offering tips about how to publish on Lulu (which is the self-publishing site I'm going to use for I Am a Muse) and it's given me a few ideas about how to proceed... 
You will find the tips HERE.

I am going to sound like an old-fashioned cow, but I have decided to forgo e-books at the moment as I have read quite a few alarming stories about files getting stolen, copyright issues, etc. I have a love of the physical book and will stick to physical books in the first instance. 
Now to put them into practice myself!