Well I’ve finally done, I’ve pressed the big red button and my first novel is now available through Amazon in both paperback and kindle/eBook formats.

It looks like such a straight-forward and simple thing when I see it written in black and white like that, but perhaps because it’s been such a long time coming (I began writing this novel in 2006 after all) there was still a significant part of me thinking there must be something more required than simply pressing the ‘Submit and Publish’ button on the printers website.

But, while there are almost certainly a dozen other things I could’ve done, over the past few days since I pressed the button and then waiting for it all to show up on Amazon, I haven’t managed to think of a single thing that I should’ve done.

Now of course begins the mammoth job of promoting my precious new creation, and for me that’s going to involve sending a few copies off to reviewers, entering a few competitions, or just encouraging friends and folks that have been kind enough to offer support in the past to write some nice (but honest) reviews.

In parallel to this I still have a bit of work to do in getting my Glass Darkly series up and available for pre-order. This isn’t technically very difficult, the content is written including the front and back matter, but I do still want to get a couple of review copies printed off, and of course the cover artwork created, so there are a few bits of work which will need sorting out and some of which can only be done once other bits have been completed, but they’ll all get done.

In the meantime of course it’s Christmas, and while I’m still sticking to a commitment to write something everyday, this is one time of year when I think moderation is the key, and going with the flow is absolutely essential, so while I’ll be off to visit my family with the intention of getting lots of writing done, in reality I’ll be going fairly easy on myself if the general festivities start to get in the way.

Leading up to the big day, I will in all probability continue add another post or two here, but on the off chance I get side-tracked, I’ll wish everyone a merry festive season now rather than later.