Review of Draft2Digital's publication process

A beloved, decades-old recipe for meatballs. Other side of the card is below.

Yes, here it is! Really. Um, really. Really!!!

Lol. I've had this post on my list to write since I published Straight to the Heart: The Hawk Book Three in September. Yet I waited because I was planning to release Home and Far Away: The Enran Chronicles Book Four relatively soon. Which turned into the end of October, but in our crazy world, what's a few weeks? Hopefully if you have the ability to vote, you have exercised that right. (I'd put while you still can but that sounds dramatic, defeatist, and well, yeah.) Anyways, those plugs out of the way, here is what I think of Draft2Digital's self-publishing routine.

It was fine.

Really? That's all?

I look around, but I don't see Future or Past Me. Past Me is checking the pork meatballs in spaghetti sauce, as I made meatballs but not with beef, trying to keep red meat out of my diverticulosis diet, you know. Future Me is.... She's hovering, arms crossed over her chest, a smirk on her face. It's not as nice and you know it, she says.

I nod, because she's right. On D2D's site they claim in a few hours one's book will be sent to retailers. That is not factual. I published Home and Far Away one week ago at four thirty p.m. Daylight Savings Time. The novel didn't receive an ISBN number until after eight a.m. the next morning. It was received first at Smashwords a little after ten a.m., then to other retailers during the day. That is not a few hours.

Yet it was better than when I published Straight to the Heart on a Friday evening; that book didn't get to retailers for over a day. Was it due to being a weekend? I plan to publish Nothing More Complicated: The Hawk Book Four in January and when I do, I will release it early in the morning, hopefully on a Monday or Tuesday. Because when I published on Smashwords, a novel went live on its home page IMMEDIATELY, until D2D moved in, then books took a few hours to go live. Truly a few hours, not over twelve.

Now with all those gripes aired, and Future Me nods, dropping her arms to her sides, let's highlight the positives:

1) ISBNs are still FREE, and that's a biggie as so are my novels, WOO HOO!

2) D2D publishes freebies. Being an indie author costs me nothing but my time, energy, and dedication. Book covers are made in house, so there is no overhead.

3) My novels are finally on Amazon without my having to put them there myself. 

4) I still have the Smashwords Store to promote my books.

5) I still have a Smashwords page, although less information about me is available (read my Author Interview, formerly on said page, here).

6) Maybe we'll one day lose our right to vote freely in America, but D2D wants to make money, so I doubt my efforts to publish independently will disappear.

That last one was courtesy of my inner selves, all three of us, wanting to make it clear that we don't approve of the wickedness in our nation's capital.

So that's six good reasons to keep using Draft2Digital to coordinate my indie publishing life. Trying another outlet is:

1) Something I simply do not have the time, energy, or dedication to do in my current wheelhouse.

2) Petty, considering all the benefits if my biggest gripe is merely they are fudging how long it takes a book to go live.

Hence, I will remain with D2D for as long as I play this indie author gig, or until the government disallows it. Not to sound alarmist, but....

Future Me again crosses her arms over her chest. It's not going to come to that, she huffs.

You sure, I say, eyebrows raised.

She smirks, nods, then begins to walk away in the direction where Past Me is safe from our musings, still ogling the spaghetti sauce.

I omit the parsley, subbed in gluten-free breadcrumbs. And this time used ground pork. About time for lunch, so I'll let you know how the alterations worked in an upcoming entry!

I smile, then turn to where Future Me has paused, as she clears her throat. Yeah, I ask, again raising my eyebrows.

She sighs, then shoves her hands in her pockets. Keep writing, she states clearly.

Like when, I grouse, not having written anything since June, and that was merely a quarter of On Being Brave: The Enran Chronicles Book Five (in which you can read the first chapter at the end of Home and Far Away, yet one more wholly shameless plug).

Soon, she says, again speaking with a strange gusto in her tone.

I want to ask how soon, but I need to get my butt in the kitchen to cook some pasta, as well as wrap up this lengthy post.

She smiles, cracks her knuckles, then walks away. Soon enough, she calls, a chortle in her voice.