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.
Widdershins Worlds 
Congratulations! How Wonderful!
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Thank’ee kindly. 😀
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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 🌈
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Thanks. 😀 … It’s been quite the journey … and I’m rather pleased with the destination! 😀
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Good news! When I saw the title of this post, I thought “Uh-oh!” But you ran the gauntlet, and the book is published.
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Thanks. 😀 … if it’d been the other way around my title would’ve been something like, ‘I fought the Meatgrinder and the Meatgrinder Won’ 😀
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You wrestled it to the ground! 😀
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Until it was a quivering heap of defeated jello! 😀
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🤣
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Congratulations! Now, how about coming over for a guest post? 😉
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Thank you! 😀 … Put the kettle on, I’ll be right over. 🙂
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I wish 😀
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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!
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Thanks. 😀 … I’m beside myself excited! 😀 … I’m not a Mac user either, so old school here too. 😀
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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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…
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Thank you. 😀 … It was an interesting experience doing the editing, because I had to rewrite the parts that were obviously meant to be read as a once-every-ten-days blog serial into a read-from-front-to-back book. If you come across any typos or formatting glitches please let me know. 😀
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I bet it is perfect!
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There’s bound to be at least one typo. It’s a writerly fact! 😀
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No, I won’t have that. Not from you!
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Heh, heh, heh. 😀
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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.
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Thanks, CJ … it was an all day venture, but I took my time and got there in the end. 😀
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Reblogged this on Sue Vincent's Daily Echo.
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Huge congratulations on navigating that maze! I’m looking forward to reading it. 😁
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Thank you. 😀 … there was nothing like the feeling of getting to the end of that process and hitting ‘Publish’! 😀
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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!
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Thank you. Me too. 😀 … yeah, I didn’t rush it, that made a huge difference.
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Congrats! Nice cover.
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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. 😀
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Congratulations! I’ve never given the Meatgrinder a try but I have heard it’s painful.
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Thanks. 😀 … I think it has to be approached as an engineering task rather than a creative one.
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lol – that’s kind of…daunting. :p
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Very exciting – congrats!
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Thanks. 😀 … I feel like I’ve passed this huge hurdle and there’s no stopping me now! 😀
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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.
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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. 🙂
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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,….
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Thanks. 😀 … I hope you enjoy the rest of it too. 🙂
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VERY INTERESTING, CHINA
china.alexandria@livingthedream.blog
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Pleased to meet you, China. 😀 … and thanks for the reblog. 😀
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Reblogged this on LIVING THE DREAM.
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YYTAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! Congratulations on getting through the meat grinder! Can’t wait to get to my laptop to download it! Way to go, friend!!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎉🎈🎉👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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Thank you! … I hope you enjoy it. 😀
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Congratulations! I am sure I will love the book.
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Thanks. I hope you do too. 😀
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[…] 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, […]
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