As a writer, I should have some creative way to introduce my first e-book to the world, right? Wrong. Here’s the best I can do with trembling fingers and gritted teeth.
These seven flash fictions are to give people who are unfamiliar with my writing a chance to try it for .99 cents. It also gives “fans” something to tide them over until the Complete Collection is finished, which should satisfy everyone until my first novella is released, which should then hold everyone over until my first novel dazzles the world, lol.
See? I have it all planned. And it begins with Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions.
Available on Amazon for Kindle: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions
Available on Barnes & Noble for Nook: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions
More Details:
The production of an e-book for an indie author is emotionally, physically, and time draining. I formatted the book myself, a wonderful romp through HTML land with the guidance of Guido Henkel. My hat’s off to this man (though I don’t endorse horror novels). He personally answered all my questions via his blog and through email. If you decide to publish an e-book and don’t want to tackle the formatting yourself, I recommend you hire this expert.
Then there was the cover design. Wow. My mama, Lynda Kay, went through headache after headache with that, tweaking, redesigning, changing font, adding layer after layer after layer. She used the freebie, Paint.net, to create it from this free stock photo:
All that to say, our only resources were time and heart to invest in this project. Which brings me to the stories themselves.
They were written, edited, read by third parties, self-edited, edited by my mom, who passed them back to me, sent back to her, back to me, back to—anyway, I lost count. Then most of the stories went to my dear friend, Rachel Phelps for editing. Back to me, back to my mom, back to me, back to my mom…
Even after they received the green light from everyone, and I began formatting, I was still editing.
Tested in the Kindle app on my computer, I began the upload process on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. I checked the preview of the doc and the cover picture. Things weren’t right and I sent more emails and texts with cries of help. Not sure if it was just a lousy, inaccurate preview, I finally clicked publish. Next thing I did? Sobbed. For ten minutes. Not from joy, unfortunately, but because I wondered if I’d done everything wrong and failed miserably, forced to go back to square one. I had to wait until the book finished the review process—the next day. The thing that got me through the night? Prayer. God granted me peace and patience.
The first time I saw my e-book on Amazon, I squealed. The cover was fine. I checked the interior. Off center. I cried. Sent another email to Guido with my source file. He pointed out potential problems. I corrected those, and uploaded again. Another long wait. I checked. It seemed to have updated, but the preview was still off center. I left it alone, checked back a couple of hours later, refreshed, and…cried. It was perfect.
With all the bugs worked out, the upload to Barnes & Noble went smoothly.
After all that, I’m offering this e-book at .99 cents. Why? Because it’s a labor of love, a learning experience. My prayer that goes with each copy is that God will reach His hand through the words and touch the heart of the reader.
That’s my writing dream.
Months of work–was it worth it? Yes. Every critique, every frustrated “I can’t do it.” Every moment, every tear.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:4 (NKJV)
Please share this blog post with your friends and family, via email, your blog, Facebook, Twitter or whatever your favorite outlet. My desire is to see as many people touched by these stories as possible.
I hope you enjoy Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions.
For Him,
Sarah Elisabeth
Available on Amazon for Kindle: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions
Available on Barnes & Noble for Nook: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions
Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions
Heart pounding. Heart wrenching. Heart tugging. Raw and realistic, these short stories show a third side of the coin.
With the gift to find real meaning in a story, award-winning author Sarah Elisabeth creates tales to stir the heart and evoke deep, often buried emotions. Not one to shy away from tragedy or crisis of faith, she explores human conditions through engaging short stories.
“Sarah, your writing is so clear and evocative that there are moments I forget I'm reading and just experience the story.” Rachel Phelps, Multi Award-Winning Master Author
Third Side of the Coin (Seven Flash Fictions) contains seven gripping short stories, and is a prelude to Third Side of the Coin, Complete Collection.
These seven titles include:
I’d Rather Die—Faithwriters.com Editor’s Choice. In a few minutes, a woman must decide to deny her faith, or die.
“People need to read this story.” Jessica Turner-Stotz, Fan
Everything—After turning his life over to Jesus Christ, a man learns his greatest battles are yet to come.
“The raw emotion of your story is incredible. I lived this exact story with my own wife over the last year. Your words couldn't possibly be more accurate.” Gerald Shuler, Flash Fiction Master
Forgotten—Faithwriters.com Editor’s Choice. The lonely elderly. Forgotten by God?
“This story touched me in ways you will never know. Thank you.” Cheryl Harrison, Blogger
Secure—Faithwriters.com Editor’s Choice. A grandmother struggles to connect with the estranged granddaughter now in her care.
“Pain and the promise of healing is so alive—yet restrained—in this very sensitive piece.” Noel Mitaxa, South Eastern Australian Pastor
Understanding—The impact a letter can have—on the sender as well as the recipient.
“The more I talk about my past suicide attempts, the more I open up. You may never know the difference you might make in one's life by penning these words.” Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom, Writer and Mother
Scarred—Truly redeemed? A woman reaches out to help a former heroin addict begin her new journey.
“This is an adult piece with raw emotions and an ugly all-too-human subject. You offered God's grace...” Mona Purvis, Retired Executive
Third Side of the Coin—A foolish error costs one news reporter more than her career.
“Your character's pain was raw…I could feel it, see it.” Lollie Hofer, Teacher
I decided to try a little (pun intended) micro fiction. Hope you enjoy this story with no title.
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