I thought I’d give a quick progress report for where things are in my preparations to launch To Love a Prince.
Butterflies with acid wings keep flitting through my stomach as I write this, so here’s hoping nothing goes awry!

1. Cover
I found a cover artist without a six month wait list. I really liked her sample work, and I the butterflies got worse when I saw her first draft. I’ve asked to change a few colors, but I still can’t believe I’ve seen a mock-up cover with my name on it!
2. ProWriting Aid
I’ve figured out more about how to make the program work for me. It’s a good program, BUT you still have to be smart about it. There could be things it doesn’t like you must learn to ignore. You are not going to make all of the red flags disappear, which drives my OCD a little crazy. At least I didn’t make them all disappear, and I was still happy with how much stronger my writing was.
3. Figured Out More About Scrivener
Scrivener is another fabulous program I’ve just started learning. It has so much depth and complexity that it can be overwhelming. But, it is a magnificent tool. I own Scrivener for Dummies, but I haven’t been patient enough to work through it. Still, I was able to use the book and Google to figure out how to do some things I want, and I was able to save those things as a custom setting. Nice.
4. Finished running To Love a Prince through Pro Writing Aid. Again.
Once I figured the program out a little more, I re-ran my novel through it. Took some time, but I think it was worth it.
5. Finished a Final Polishing Edit
I’m not sure I will ever be “done”, but I have to let go at some point. I’m hoping this is it.

6. Met with a Pro to Get Help on the Blurb
I know attractive covers get books read. You’re not going to click on a less-than-awesome cover most of the time. I also know blurbs get books read. Once a potential reader has clicked the cover, the blurb has to convince them they want to read it.
No matter how many times I wrote and rewrote the blurb, it was flat at best. Yeah, it told about the story, but it didn’t grip you. I think the help she gave me will result in a much stronger blurb. I’m hoping I can take what I learned and apply it to the next blurb.
Next step is to format the book for ebook and Createspace. I have read tutorials on doing this out of Scrivener, but I am really considering purchasing Vellum. I want the end result to look as professional as possible, especially after all eleven drafts it took to get the story as good as I could.
Soon I’ll be trying to figure out how to launch a book. If you have any pointers on any of this, either as a writer or a reader, please share them!