Writing and Publishing

The distance between having an idea for a novel, writing the novel, and publishing it--even self-publishing--is long and torturous.  At least, it's been that way for me.

Over ten years ago, I began with an idea:  what would happen if an innocent person got caught with a dead body?  Building the characters, envisioning the settings, giving everything verisimilitude--all were a challenge.  I would write and let it rest.  I would pick it up again.  I would re-write.  Let it rest.  Take it up again.

Finally, last fall, the time seemed just right for publishing.  Since I had never found an agent, I took the Amazon path to self-publishing.

Oh, my!  Preparing a manuscript called for more advanced computer skills than I had ever used. 

When I saw the art work Jac, an artist friend, had created, I really believed in the whole project as an entity standing on its own merits.

What did I do then?  Immediately, even before finishing the publishing aspects, I began reviewing the second novel, another murder mystery.  Hey, I have to get this one through the process before I forget how I did it!