Technology learning curves can be pretty steep for an “old dog” like me. But I’ve found that perseverance, luck, and actually reading the manual are great aides to success.
The Smashwords.com manual is 72 techie-pages long. But step-by-step, it IS possible to take a manuscript from your original “Word” document to a certified eBook without tearing out all your hair. I know, because I did it!
Apparently the “eBook fad,” as I’ve referred to the phenomena of Kindles and Nooks for the past couple years, is here to stay. So the options became “get on board, or get run over.” I rather reluctantly decided to get on board.
I have written forty-two short romance stories, most ranging from 800 to 1500 words. I decided to create my first eBook by assembling them into a 45,000-word collection. I titled it “Romance 101” and created a fabulous cover for the book. That was the “easy” part. Then came the re-formatting. Not pretty, but not impossible.
Admittedly, I needed help. I got a tech-savvy friend, who loves this kind of detail-oriented project, to look over my shoulder while I whittled away at removing tabs, hyperlinking bookmarks, and doing many other things to my manuscript I never imagined doing!
“We” posted it on the Smashwords.com website a week ago. Today it was accepted into the Premium Catalog, ready now for every conceivable type of reader to download it. How exciting!
Now I invite you to celebrate with me by following the link below to see what it looks like! The first 15% is free, and the whole darn book costs less than latté! Enjoy!