Last January, I made a resolution to post at least once a week on this blog. I have no shame about failing to do so during the school year: with three or four jobs demanding my time, I was lucky to get three or four hours of sleep per night, let alone do any blogging.
But now it's summer, and here's what I've accomplished:
No, my novel The Single Eye is not quite ready for publication. I'm still waiting on my final two beta readers, and I have a one last editing pass to make, myself.
I also need to learn GIMP, so I can put together a cover. Yes, it would be better if I could hire someone to design it. But financially, that's out of the question. I'm going to draw on my graphic arts background and do it myself, and if the cover's no good, that's my fault.
So the book itself is on a kind of tremulous hold. But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy otherwise. After months of research and consideration, I've decided to self-publish under my own imprint. As of this past Thursday the 14th, when I heard from my state's Secretary of State's office, I am in business as a publisher under the name HENDRICK HILL BOOKS.
I'll only be doing my own work, of course. But I've got my first block of ten ISBNs from Bowker, I've obtained my Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the federal government, I've purchased domain names associated with Hendrick Hill Books and with my pen name, Catrin Lewis, and--- well, it looks like I'm serious about this.
I''m planning to release The Single Eye for Kindle and as an POD paperback by the end of August. At least, I was. But I'm hearing that it's never good for a new self-publisher to put out only one book at a time. Should I hurry up and finish the psychological horror novel I have half-done? Ought I to make an effort and crank out a sequel to The Single Eye (I have an idea for one, but haven't yet found the key to make the plot work)?
We'll see. Hendrick Hill Books exists, it's not going away, and I have plenty to do before school starts again.
