Self publishing is going to drive me to drink the hard stuff
So I've gone over a little of the process of producing a book. I have a paperback version and a Kindle version. Something I didn't know before starting this journey was both versions must be designed differently. Smart people, who are experienced with book design, will do the kindle version first and then the paperback.
The reason for this is the Kindle reader controls the experience. They get to select their favorite font, font size, and direction they want to read the book in. Therefore, it doesn't matter how I want the book to look because there is a 99% chance the reader is going to change it. You also need to design the book in a way that the Chapters can be marked by Kindle to produce a table of contents. To achieve all this you strip all the formatting from your manuscript and then go back and use a limited number of formats to highlight the few things you need to do to make the reading process smooth.
The paperback is different and you need to format the manuscript exactly how you want it. Every single detail must be taken into account and formatted so the book looks professional. Luckily I found an amazing writer who spent years designing books and he shared his secrets with the internet on youtube, Derek Murphy was a lifesaver.
So if you are still awake after that teaspoon of book design information - trust me there is an ocean of information about it out there and it will put you down if you aren't mainlining Mountain Dew.
The reason I am sharing this today is I found an issue with the Kindle version. It wasn't following the proper design. I went through the original manuscript, the uploaded version, and the final Kindle version which I downloaded to my device on Saturday the 14th. Every once in a while it seemed like there was a hard return in the middle of a sentence in the final version, but there was nothing telling it to do that in the original manuscript. Nothing I did worked to fix the issue so I spent hours redoing the entire book.
I removed everything and reworked the formatting. Uploaded the book and waited. Amazon responded today to let me know the changes I made were considered minor and they would not send anyone who purchased the book an email with the update. Which of course I find annoying since I think it's a major issue. I want the reader to have the smoothest, easiest read possible. And I want the book to look professional...to look like I put some effort into producing this book. Side note - you might be surprised to know many self-published authors don't care about anything but putting it out there...no editing, no formatting, nothing but a jumbled mess.
So if you purchased the book before Dec 16th and think the formatting is jarring or an issue. Here is how to get the updated version.
I had to delete the book on my Kindle. (I was told you could select update but my version didn't have the option) - Remember your page because it will reset the book
Find The Shadow Within and click on actions. It will be the button to the left of the title and have "..." inside
A box will open and the first choice is "Deliver to" you can select either your default device or select a device if you have a few choices.
Then you can open the book and see the corrected formatting.
Enjoy reading The Shadow Within.