Sunday ROW80 rock and roll . . .

Just a short check-in. The week has gone by in a blur of final editing and formatting for Standing Stones. First with CreateSpace, then Smashwords. To do this myself has been a challenging, step-by-step process, worse than teaching myself to knit, with book in lap, yarn knotted, and painfully slow progress.

But, you are the first to know. Smashwords took my Standing Stones file on the first upload. CreateSpace should deliver its final review this week.

Release date: January 31, 2014.

A word about pricing. This 300-page historical fiction novel took me three years to write. I know. Some writers work faster; others more slowly. But when I uploaded the doc to CreateSpace, their automated menu informed me their minimum price was $13.99 for a paperback. That baseline price would generate two cents of royalty from some distribution channels and about $2.80 from Amazon.

Since I can still remember when a loaf of bread was 99 cents and not $5.00, and a cup of coffee was well under the primo price of $3.50 and up, this baseline price and the return to the writer still shocks me.

I'm setting the e-book price at $4.99 and the paperback at $14.99. Does this seem reasonable to you? I would really appreciate your comments.

Now, moving away from the publishing side, I wanted to give you an update on marketing strategies. A few months ago, someone here on ROW80 mentioned how helpful Rick Hanson's "Just One Thing" approach was in minimizing stress. I now subscribe to his newsletter and enjoy his meditative approach, though I haven't graduated to full lotus.

This week, I tried "just one thing" for marketing. I don't know if Rick Hanson would approve, but not only do I have a smaller to-do list, but progress is being made. Every day. Just one marketing thing.

ROW80 progress and goals for the coming week:

• WRITING. Back to work on Rivers of Stone (read Pathfinder). Write micro-scenes every day. OK 5 out of 7 days. Use 750words.com to move past writer's block. Send out Years of Stone to 2 beta readers, preferably Australian. Write 2 other blog posts (other than ROW80).
• COMMUNITY: Write one review a week for current reading on GoodReads (just downloaded Olivia, Mourning by Yael Politis, a 5-star historical fiction with 28 reviews and free through Monday). Keep up with reading ROW80 posts/sponsorship (just made it this week). Attend writers' groups here in Spokane. Participate in WEDS WIPpet.
• MARKETING: Practice "just one thing" daily to include contacting local book stores, potential reviewers, and book clubs. Complete author interview on Smashwords. Prepare press release.
• OTHER: Keep my commitment to family and self through healthy cooking and exercise 3x a week. Quilt if I can and Super Bowl on Sunday. 

May your writing week go well!