Figuring out how Sections and resettable page numbers work in Pages. All this necessary so that numbers don't turn up on the preface pages of the print version of Kung Fu Zombies. When that's done, I get to do all the jiggery-pokery necessary to make sure my name and the book's name is actually legible on the spine.
And only THEN can I shill the fuck out of this noise and hope that more than one person buys it. [Dear lovely person who bought the one physical copy - I am fixing up the frontis pages and it might not matter to you, but you now own a rare deviant copy]
It's been ages from 'go' to 'whoah' on this book. More money than I planned to spend on it, too.
And when Beauties and the Beastly is edited, we have to reformat it for Pages, do all the Frontis nonse again, this time PROPERLY... and arse about with buying an Author's copy. To make certain that it's all working, before I go ahead, approve, and get that sucker out into the world as a physical copy.
I have learned from the MULTITUDE of mistakes on this book. Loads of things. Like, don't expect the SAME BOOK to have the same ISBN in different formats.
And speaking of editing - my darling Beta Readers have been ominously silent about Beauties and the Beastly. I'm one-quarter the way through on writing Rael so getting a wriggle on would be greatly appreciated. I know it's chuffy reading, but that was a stylistic choice on my part. Soldier through it, eh?
My nearest and dearest Beta Reader - aka Beloved - hasn't even cracked it open yet. Thanks, love. I have arse-kickin' boots, now. Don't make me use them.
Sigh.
If I could afford professional beta-readers, then I'd go with that. No matter how bruised my ego is on the other side of it.
But I'm not earning that much, just yet.
Like, I had enough to get US iTunes money to get that album I wanted for literal years, but that's about the limit of my buying power. Ordering albums from overseas.
I'll get there. Eventually. It's just that right this instant, it's a slog. I could do with a good break, TBH.