So I finally did it.
I finally dragged my first novel into Smashwords, where it is being uploaded as we speak.
Not the exact cover, but darned close!
Converting it into their style was a pain in the ass, especially since I had to work in the hated Word rather than my preferred WordPerfect, but their free style guide was easy to follow.
It’s still waiting to be approved and vetted and ISBN’d and all that, but, hell, at least it’s a start.
Now, I just have to convert the second novel, and get off my ass on the third one. Oh, and try to find work. And a life.
Whatever.
*Update* Oh, hey, there it is, temporarily on the home page of Smashwords! I guess the wait is for inclusion in the premium catalog (Amazon, B&N, etc.), but if you wanna, you can read it right now!
*UpdateUpdate* Here’s the link to The Unexpected Neighbor‘s Smashwords page; I’ll put up links once it gets into other catalogs.
*UpdateUpdateUpdate* But wait a moment. Something’s weird with the formatting—doesn’t like the single quote mark. Waiting to hear how to fix it.
AbsurdBeats 
congrats, and good for you for sticking with it, it’s a book and you’re an author, one score for the intertubes
http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2011/07/just-get-yourself-high-join-babel.html
Congratulations! Cover looks good.
Thanks, dmf & Christine.
Oh, and Christine, I don’t know if you’re thinking of going the Smashwords route, but if you do, check me with about the, ah, quirks of their formatting (the most important of which I note in the next post).
I got lucky with the cover: I’d taken this shot years ago of my friend Molly’s backyard (I had to crop her out of it), and it seemed to work for a story which takes place between two houses and their backyards. I then Gimped it to add the text, then converted to a jpeg.
I’m really, really shitty with Gimp, so that part of the process was a bit frustrating, but given that I have more time than money, I was able to dink around with it enough to get something presentable.
Now, I just need to find an image (which is set in an unnamed midwestern college town, Madison, and Albuquerque) for the second novel. . . .