I may sound far-fetched, a little bonkers, but in reality, I have read my book Birch Run over fifty times. It sounds like an exaggeration, but I assure you it is not. You might only want to write and publish your novel if you acknowledge that you will read your book over and over again.

Why did I read the book so many times? I was determined to find and correct every tiny mistake and errant punctuation mark, reformat my paragraph spacing, and correct confusing sentence structure.

Worst of all, I had to fix the errors I made while making corrections. Far and away, making more mistakes while correcting other errors was discouraging and very easy to do. These new mistakes usually involved spacing or punctuation marks.

Wow, as I read the last paragraph back, I realized it sounds confusing. Believe me, though, you will find mistakes. You are endeavoring to do on your own what a team of editors, copywriters, agents, etc., etc., etc., does for publishing firms. Doing it on your own eventually gets your book published, but it might create stress that is hard to handle.

Here are my most significant meltdown moments; there are three.

1. I mentioned in a previous post that I could not load the Kindle Create file after it was copied to a disc and deleted from my computer. My advice is to never delete anything related to the book!

2. The book was error-free, as far as I could tell. I ordered a copy with a revised cover and a new photograph that looked more like me and less like a pose. Success! The correct cover and photo were in place. I opened the book and flipped through the pages—OH NO! This is what I saw:

BCHAPTER 16

How I placed a B in front of Chapter 16 in this version I have yet to figure out!

3.The biggest meltdown. Never publish until you have read through the book many times and found your mistakes. Instead of jumping into publishing, order proof, after proof, after proof, until the book is as perfect as you can make it. Why, you may ask since the KDP app allows me to correct my manuscript as often as I like and upload the corrected copy?

Here is the easy answer. You may not know more than one book is printed out when you order a published copy. Printing additional copies saves money for Amazon. Amazon warehouses do not throw these versions away, even if you upload a new version in the future. I have eight versions of my book. Unfortunately, they have not destroyed the copies of the earlier versions. I had yet to learn of this practice before I published Birch Run. If earlier versions of my book are on the shelf and an order arrives, they send out what they have on hand.

I know this for a fact because after receiving a newer version with the right cover, I ordered again and received an earlier version. When I say this is the one time, I almost lost it, I am not making an understatement. So, lesson learned and advice given: read the book, get proof of the book, and read the book again and again until you are certain you have everything correct.

You must also create a cover if you offer the book in paperback format. KDP has an excellent paperback formatter, and I had no problem creating my book cover. I love its look. I used a photo from the '60s of my parents in front of a church they pastored. The book is not about them, although there are little things about their characters and things that happened within the book, but they fit the mold perfectly for what I thought Gordon and Peg would appear like in real life.

As you can see, I made many mistakes, but I recently ordered six author copies, and they all seem perfect. Hallelujah! This concludes my posts on my experiences with KDP, but I will be happy to answer any question you might have in the comment section. Thanks so much!

The Bucket List - So You Want to Write a Book/What's Stopping You?

The Bucket List - So You Want to Write a Book/The Lacks

The Bucket List - So You Want to Write a Book/Fears-Unintended Plagiarism

The Bucket List - So You Want to Write a Book/Fears - Ridicule

The Bucket List - So You Want to Write a Book/Kindle Direct Publishing Part I

The Bucket List - So You Want to Write a Book/A Few Mistakes Part I

The Bucket List - So You want to Write a Book/A Few Mistakes Part II