I Smashed the Meatgrinder

by Widdershins

I spent most of yesterday (17th)  formatting the new and improved ‘Prelude’ in accordance with Smashwords Style Guide.

It wasn’t as bad as I feared. I think a great deal of the ‘shock and horror’ about ‘the meatgrinder’ is based on fear of a steep learning curve, and a certain amount of preciousness about one’s own formatting.

The steep learning curve is indeed steep if you’ve never formatted using ‘styles’, (in Microsoft Word) which I never have, but now that I know about ’em, they’re my new best friends!

And the formatting – well, us writerly types do tend to cling to what we’re familiar with and like to use, with a grip of Adamantium. (think Wolverine’s claws) Smashwords formatting is basically my-way-or-the-highway, and the good news is, I was able to duplicate all the formatting quirks I’d evolved as I wrote, using Scrivener, on the Word Doc, which is the software Smashwords requires.

In fact it was the ‘compile’ function on Scrivener, that gave me the greatest headache. (but only because I had no idea, and still don’t, about how it worked)

So, I am very pleased to announce that Prelude is now available as an eBook. Click on the cover, over there on the right and have a peek at the first bunch of pages. (I haven’t got to Amazon yet, but it is available in mobi format so you can side-load it onto a Kindle reader)

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a bit of a blurb …

… Shamans come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, from all the continents of the Earth. We’ve been around since the human race realized there was more to existence than just the physical, and we’ll be around long after the last star has died, when the Wheel turns to renew All.

Becoming a Shaman is not for the faint-of-heart, or the timid-of Spirit. It is not an easy Path, nor should it be. The responsibilities are great and require harsh testing before one is judged capable of shouldering them.

There are many Pathways to becoming a Shaman, and I came to understand mine through my Earth-based, Goddess Spirituality, She who is the First Mother of Us All, in all Her forms.

‘Prelude’  is the story of my very first steps along that Path. It is part memoir, part Shamanic adventure, and part guidebook, with a dash of dire warning on the side.

From the moment I came across a giant statue of Bast, I knew my life would never be the same. There were times I froze, bled, burned, raged, and cried.  My life, my past, the shadows, and the shining moments, all the things I believed defined me, were challenged, until nothing but a truth, my Truth, remained.

Join me as I confront my monsters, discover my true Name, and come to understand that the Physical world I grew up with was just a tiny corner of a much vaster Cosmos.

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47 comments on “I Smashed the Meatgrinder”

  1. Wise Women Travellers says:
    18/01/2019 at 5:02 PM

    Congratulations! How Wonderful!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. bone&silver says:
    18/01/2019 at 8:45 PM

    Wow, sounds like a shamanic challenge in itself to sort out that formatting!

    Congratulations, I will have to haul myself over there soon 🙏🏼
    Well done Widds 🌈

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Audrey Driscoll says:
    18/01/2019 at 9:07 PM

    Good news! When I saw the title of this post, I thought “Uh-oh!” But you ran the gauntlet, and the book is published.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Sue Vincent says:
    18/01/2019 at 11:06 PM

    Congratulations! Now, how about coming over for a guest post? 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  5. TanGental says:
    19/01/2019 at 12:23 AM

    first congrats and second, yes, the meat grinder is at first terrifying but having used it on all my books a godsend now. Indeed when I’m ready to publish I meat grinder the manuscript before I then set in motion publishing both as an ebook and then KIndle etc. The only pain remains the Table of Contents for the ebook, being interactive and all. Apparently if you use a Mac (not me) there’s a platform called Vellum for publishing which makes all that formatting, TOC etc a doddle but hey, I’m still old school. Best of luck with the book. I’ll go and have a little lookee see!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. jenanita01 says:
    19/01/2019 at 1:10 AM

    Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.

    Like

  7. jenanita01 says:
    19/01/2019 at 1:15 AM

    Well done you! I love the cover and will be getting myself a copy later today.
    We have just run the ‘meat grinder’ gauntlet too and passed first time with one of our books.
    Years ago, it seemed a lot harder, but maybe something has improved since then. I’d like to think it is me, but…

    Liked by 1 person

  8. cjwerlingerbooks says:
    19/01/2019 at 4:22 AM

    Having rudimentary computer skills at best, and no patience at all for learning curves, I leave the formatting to my formatter. But I applaud you for having the fortitude to tackle it on your own! Looks like a good read, Widdershins.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Sue Vincent says:
    19/01/2019 at 4:49 AM

    Reblogged this on Sue Vincent's Daily Echo.

    Like

  10. Admin says:
    19/01/2019 at 7:38 AM

    Huge congratulations on navigating that maze! I’m looking forward to reading it. 😁

    Liked by 1 person

  11. D. Wallace Peach says:
    19/01/2019 at 7:38 AM

    Congrats! I’m glad you smashed the meatgrinder and got your book out. I find that formatting isn’t too bad if we take a deep breath and go slow. Best of luck with the book!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Olga Godim says:
    19/01/2019 at 11:00 AM

    Congrats! Nice cover.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Widdershins says:
      19/01/2019 at 11:23 AM

      Thanks. 😀 … it’s not bad, eh? 🙂 … in my dreams I envision something by Susan Seddon Boulet, (I fell in love with her work when I was a young impressionable thing) or even Julie Bell. 🙂 … oh well, maybe one day. 😀

      Like

  13. acflory says:
    19/01/2019 at 2:41 PM

    Congratulations! I’ve never given the Meatgrinder a try but I have heard it’s painful.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Eliza Waters says:
    19/01/2019 at 5:31 PM

    Very exciting – congrats!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Ruth Nestvold says:
    20/01/2019 at 5:40 AM

    Congrats!

    I never much liked the Meatgrinder, I have to admit, even though I don’t think I’m all that preious about my formatting. What I didn’t like was how much work it took to get a book accepted. But who knows, maybe that’s better now.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Widdershins says:
      20/01/2019 at 9:02 AM

      It was a lot of work, that’s for sure, but it wasn’t that hard. Maybe its because our editing software has evolved and the meatgrinder doesn’t have as many hissy fits. 🙂

      Like

  16. selizabryangmailcom says:
    20/01/2019 at 9:20 PM

    I totally thought you were making that word up to describe ultimate torture and horror. Amazed to find out it’s a real thing! Lol! And you ground IT instead of the other way around. Kudos!

    Also, loving the writing: “My life, my past, the shadows, and the shining moments, all the things I believed defined me, were challenged, until nothing but a truth, my Truth, remained.”

    Mysterious and intriguing. Looking forward to this,….

    Liked by 1 person

  17. CHINA ALEXANDRIA AUTHOR says:
    21/01/2019 at 4:55 AM

    VERY INTERESTING, CHINA

    china.alexandria@livingthedream.blog

    Liked by 1 person

  18. CHINA ALEXANDRIA AUTHOR says:
    21/01/2019 at 4:56 AM

    Reblogged this on LIVING THE DREAM.

    Like

  19. Searching4Self2013 says:
    24/01/2019 at 6:12 PM

    YYTAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! Congratulations on getting through the meat grinder! Can’t wait to get to my laptop to download it! Way to go, friend!!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎉🎈🎉👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

    Liked by 1 person

  20. inesephoto says:
    28/01/2019 at 2:04 AM

    Congratulations! I am sure I will love the book.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. SNOW!!! … Finally! « Widdershins Worlds says:
    06/02/2019 at 2:16 PM

    […] put the whole process with KDP on a par with my Smashwords experience. Not overly complex, but hard work. Once I’d formatted my manuscript for a printed page, […]

    Like

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