I have three projects (plus a book) going right now.

1. Updating several of my books to better present them: new covers, correcting mistakes, etc.

2. Narrating and producing my first audio book, which will save LOTS of money if I'm successful.

3. Learning how to produce a hard-cover, large-print version of my newest, Leaving the Tribe.

Each of those presents a problem, often more than one.

For #1, it's the process of finding things. I keep a file of mistakes I find (or hear about), but fixing a mistake requires submitting new files in at least four places: Amazon e-book, Amazon print book, Draft2Digital e-book, and D2D print. For covers, I often have to find all the pieces I used to compose them, and for the one pictured here, I couldn't do it. I have no idea where I got the background for the book cover that looks like this, but I either failed to save it or the computer put it somewhere I can't get at it.

Making an audio cover requires squaring the shape and also leaving the bottom right corner free of important stuff so they can add what they need to. Since I couldn't find the background I used for the print and e-book versions, I had to make a new cover art, pictured at the top. It's clearly different, though of course the insides are the same. Those who know me will attest to the fact that this makes me CRAZY!

NOTE: If you missed Not Dead Yet... years ago, it's still fun, a '60s mystery with a paranormal twist. https://www.amazon.com/Not-Dead-Yet-Peg-Herring/dp/1944502157

For Problem #2, the audio book, I have completed the narration of one of my Maggie Pill books. I edited each chapter (44 of them!) to remove my heavy breathing, coughing, and...I'll admit it, saying bad words when I realize I muffed a line. Now comes turning those files into a different kind of file and putting them into a master file to submit to ACX (Amazon's audio book producing system). Just the terminology makes me wince: MP3, WAV, AUX, and so on. From what I've read, most people get rejected a few times before they conform to all the procedures, which makes it hard for me to get motivated to actually finish. What if they say I have to start all over? 

Part 3, the large-print book, seems doable, but I have questions, since I don't think I've ever even looked at a large-print book. Today I'm going to visit my local library and do that, so I get a sense of how they look. Right now my computer tells me that my book will be 1400 pages long, and that doesn't sound lift-able!

I should note here that ALL of this came from reader suggestions. Plenty of readers tell me they simply can't read physical books anymore, but hiring someone to do the audio is expensive, with rates starting at $100/hr. Other readers ask for large print, because like me, they are "mature" and their eyes aren't what they once were. One reader told me her library only buys books in hardcover, so she can't recommend they buy mine until I offer them that way.

My first publisher did hardcover books, but when I went indie, I didn't continue the practice. They also had a sub-company that turned my books into large print. All I had to do was sign an addendum to my contract that said they could. Who knew how easy I had it back then? Anyway, I decided to combine the large print and the hardcover versions in order to limit how many files I have to keep track of.

So there. I've whined about my troubles, and I'll keep you informed of my progress. It's not easy, doing self-publishing well, but I think readers appreciate it when they find an author who works at it.