A Smashing Success

I have to tell you, us old dogs can still learn a few new tricks!

I spent all day yesterday learning how to publish a booklet on Smashwords, a free ebook publishing platform and distributor.  What this means is that the booklet I uploaded yesterday will now be available on all electronic readers--Kindle, Nook, Apple, Kobo, Sony, etc.  I publish with them, they distribute to digital print companies.

How did I do this?  With a little less hair and a lot of patience!  First, I downloaded a 92 page book that explains how to publish on Smashwords. Half the day was spent reading the instructions on formatting my booklet properly, inserting hyperlinks and bookmarks, copyright information, and making a cover.  The rest of the day was spent putting to use what I'd just learned.

I'm excited to say that now I know how to insert hyperlinks in my booklet.  A hyperlink is a URL in blue that you can click on and go right to the web site. Also, by bookmarking each chapter title, I added a hyperlink to the corresponding chapter in the Table of Contents.  That means a reader can go directly to the chapter he/she wants to read.  It was all very exciting to learn this new skill!

Plus, I learned a new shortcut.  Ctrl A highlights your entire document.  I don't know how many times I have scrolled through an entire document to highlight it so I could paste it into another document.  Now I just click Ctrl A, then Copy, and it's done.  Old dog, new trick.

The booklet I have now published on Smashwords is Winging it While Slinging it: 70 Practical Tips to Help You Keep Your Independence While Your Dominant Arm is in a Sling.  As a pamphlet, it wasn't going anywhere; now, it can go all around the world and can be purchased for 99 cents.  It should be available soon on Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc.

I shocked Fred last night when he came home and saw me back in the sling I'd used when I broke my arm two years ago.  He relaxed when I said I just wanted him to take a picture of my sling for the book cover.

Now that I know I can do it, I'm ready to attempt putting Bumps Along the Way in Smashwords so people can access it.  What a fantastic world we live in!


Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.   (or learning new things!)
Albert Einstein