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As The Gray Summer Nears Completion (Finally!), A Publishing Conundrum Arises

When you get to a certain point in writing a book, you start to think about all the ancillary things that go with getting it out to the public. Those include, of course, what the cover will look like, whether or not you should get a book trailer done and, most importantly, how you’re planning to get it published.

For “The Gray Summer,” my long-gestating novel, it appears that I have finally gotten to that point, approaching close to 50,000 words and, more importantly, the denouement that wraps everything up. While I’ve promised (and had to backtrack on) multiple tentative publication dates, it looks like I will finally get this out to market next year.

Yes, I know I’ve been teasing this for a long, long time, perhaps even longer that George R.R. Martin has been working on “The Winds of Winter.” But I really mean it this time!

Now, in addition to the logistical matter that have to be addressed that include editing, proofreading and the like, I am now presented with a true quandary. When I original published Flagrant Foul in 2008, the landscape was quite different. The Amazon Kindle was in its infancy and Android tablets and iPads didn’t even exist yet, so the Kindle app hadn’t even been thought of yet.

Also, at the time, there was really only on self-publishing platform that truly suited my needs: Lulu.com. For my part, the platform was easy to use and distribution was, for the most part, sufficient enough at the time. And, with no e-book format to really be worried about at the time, this was my best foot forward.

Like everything else, of course, things evolve. More self-publishing platforms (including ones for e-books), sprouted up, and, as a result, there are far more options at my disposal. On the print side, including Lulu, Amazon’s CreateSpace and IngramSpark, the self-publishing off-shoot of the book giant, have also appeared.

And thus brings us to my condundrum…

I consider myself, by and large, rather loyal when it comes of products and brands. However, in terms of pricing and shipping, the CreateSpace and IngramSpark do make a rather compelling argument. Wide distribution is also available through the sites, a feature that was not originally a part of either Lulu or CreateSpace (Retail distribution was limited to Amazon; wider distribution was only available through Lulu at a considerable extra expense).

So, now, as “The Gray Summer” careens (or, more likely, slowly creeps) to its inevitable climax and completion, I have to make a decision as to whether I dance with the one I originally brought to the party (Lulu) or get another dance partner (CreateSpace or IngramSpark).

Needless to say, I’ll keep you posted. Obviously, 2017 is a ways off, but who wants to wait until the last minute to decide these things?

Published inamazon kindleluluthe gray summer

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