I am a perfectionist when self-publishing — okay, maybe not right now at 2:59 a.m. when I can’t sleep, but generally speaking! So before giving birth to my third mystery novel #Fatal Reaction on Valentines Day 2014, I edited and re-edited a hundred times over. Caution: Sleep deprivation causes me to exaggerate.

I drove my developmental/copy editor #Diane Piron-Gelman (wordnrd@earthlink.net) nuts with my formatting changes. And #Gin Kiser, graphic design artist for my book cover (wordsugardesigns@gmail.com) actually went into labor upon completing the final edit of several edits! No, Gin did not choose to go into labor as a less painful alternative!

My drive for perfection didn’t end with the book’s publication. I was going to be doing a speaking gig and planned to distribute post card-sized copies of the front and back book cover of #Fatal Reaction. Off to #Office Max I went! A week later, upon questioning veteran mystery author #Marilyn Meredith, I learned that an author can name the town, but not the authentic location, that a fictional crime took place. Thankfully, #Office Max changed two words on the back-side of the post card. My speaking gig had already come and gone. But when I speak/book sign at #Printers Row Literary Fest in Chicago on June 7, I’ll be distributing the new post card.

My point is that an author must be both diligent and vigilant in managing the final product that goes out into the book world. A self-published book should be written, formatted, and marketed as accurately as that of a big publisher — and sometimes better because the author’s professional reputation is at stake.