Practicing What I Preach

Drawing by George Bellows

Practicing What I Preach

Something I’ve noticed about being a writer is that personal goals are never static.

When you get one publication, you want another one.  When you beg, borrow or

steal to successfully persuade an entry-level publisher to accept your work, you

want a bigger publisher  with greater name recognition for your next work.

My first chance at electronic publication came when I lived in Christchurch, New

Zealand roughly a year after New Zealand’s deadliest earthquake.  My wife taught at

Canterbury University for a semester. I came along and had a great time. I came to

admire the resilience of the people even more than the beauty of the islands.  I had

hoped and, to some extent expected, to find other writers at the university. I thought

there would be coffee shops with internet connection and that I would be able

meet New Zealand writers.  My expectations were not met. Although I had a

remarkable time with the incomparable Lyn McConchie and  attending the Ngaio

Marsh Awards, I wasn’t able to make other connections.

I did have hours of uninterrupted time, which allowed me to make mistake after

mistake in formatting for e-publishing.  I have always been a jump-into-the deep-

end-to-learn-how-to-swim sort of person. I find theory especially helpful after I’ve

muddled through something on my own.

The only free internet connection I could find was at the local Mc Donald’s, a

short bus ride from where I lived.  Libraries, which ordinarily had free internet

service, housed government agencies that aided survivors of the earthquake. While I

visited Christchurch the last group of people made homeless by the quake

moved out of temporary shelter into more permanent homes.  Sewer systems

were in the process of repair and houses were still being evaluated in terms

of which could eventually be rebuilt and which had to be abandoned. 

The government focused on re-establishing basic services, transportation and repair

of essential buildings like hospitals. I have to admit reconstructing internet cafes

and the faculty gathering place wouldn’t have been my highest priority either.

Under those circumstances I ordered kiwi burgers (fried egg and beet root on a

hamburger) as I eventually worked my words into Smashwords and Kindle.  I was

working, “without a net.”  The only help I could access easily was the assistance

offered by Smashwords and Kindle. At that time I was proud of what I had done. 

But that was then. I have been telling writers early in their careers not to publish

books that are not yet ready for prime time.  My formatting was definitely less than

prime time. I finally decided to take my own advice.  So I contacted Maureen Cutajar

whose formatting skills are much better than mine (whose aren’t?)  She

reformatted them.  I can recommend her services highly at

 http://www.gopublished.com/  She was helpful, responsive and her charges were

quite reasonable.

 Now, finally, if you download my books, you can read them easily. I don’t have my

mistakes hanging around my neck like an albatross.