It gets smashing hard...

... to do everything and don't go mental!

So, here we go. I go mental like twenty times per day, from "Nobody's ever going to read my book" to "I'll agree to Vin Diesel playing the main character, Dan". Yes, because they both are bold.

In any case, the journey of an indie author (self-puplished, non-traditional, etc) is like a rollercoaster of emotions and I really hope that I will avenge you all, my brave readers, by taking you on a helluva ride when you read The Synchrotron.

While the anticipation is building - is it building? Can you feel it? - let's see what the kitchen looks like.

Well, the main stove is on fire, the sous-chef is lying drunk under the table, and the whole fridge of eggs has gone off a few minutes before the Michelin delegation.

1. I have booked myself a monthly slot on Netgalley - apparently all the big hips live in there and if you want your book featured in XXX Today (please, USA, not Afghanistan), that's where you go, too. Victoria Editing coop has been so kind and accepted me into their loving embrace. Here is the link

   https://victoryediting.com/services/netgalley-co-op/

2. I need to hurry up and finish my ARC copies by the beginning of May or, in the worst case, middle. On a positive side, I have the text all written (halleluja!). On a negative side, I have grand issues with my book cover and haven't purchased my ISBNs yet.

3. BOOK COVER!!!!

   no

   B-O-O-O-O-K C-O-O-OOVER!

Fail.

When I published my non-fiction DIY IP Book (here if you're into that kind of stuff), I ordered a book illustration from an amazing illustrator and then cooked a simple cover from (shit and sticks as we say in my home country) that illustration and some blue squares in ppt. It didn't look particularly serious but that wasn't the intention.

For the Synchrotron, I wanted it to be smashing through readers' eyes straight to their hearts, so I spent a day getting quotes from people on Fiverr who promised to make me the sexiest ever book cover. Here I encountered the first obstacle. Most of the guys on fiverr operate from stock photos, but there weren't many (ANY) stock photos of the synchrotrons available, apart from for editorial use.

Nil probleme, I thought. The fantastic Paul Topham (Prof, Dr, etc) has created me a vector image from scratch. We can use that! I have given it to the lady who promised me to create a book cover exactly like the image I sent her, but better! and without the use of AI!

And that's where it all went ahoy. Hang on here, and I will share the various book cover iterations that we both suffered through. For now, let's just summarise the result: we couldn't marry our creative visions and went our separate ways. She moved on to an easier client (hopefully!), and I moved on to Canva to cook my book cover BY MYSELF!

So, please don't ask me when the book is launching. I get to write like 0.0001% of my time.

On the positive side, I've educated at least six strangers about what a synchrotron looks like. Love it. Time not wasted!

What is next?

Book cover reveal.

Short story coming soon [I need to get subscribers somehow]

Finish ARC

Check with my alpha readers how they are doing and if they need therapy.