Let's see, we'll start with Zazzle. Apparently, I cannot use my Albert Einstein quote, as it violates their content policies, so my business card order was cancelled. Ugh! But instead of emailing them to explain that a quote that is properly credited is not in violation of their terms (not to mention that the fact that I'm not making a profit by selling the business cards), I simply removed the quote and reordered. It wasn't worth the effort to make a big stink about it.
THEN Amazon had itself a lovely little glitch in their system on Monday, resulting in a lot of indie books losing their ratings. Not only that, but those with print and ebook versions were unlinked, resulting in riots, angry protesters, and authors jumping off ten story buildings. Ha, just kidding. But do I feel sorry for all the customer service rep's at Amazon that must have fielded at least a million calls these last couple of days. I did manage to speak to a very nice rep at Author Central and he manually linked my books back (thanks Andrew!). I got my ratings back, but it still might take a day or so for my books to be linked.
In book related news, I am almost done with my edits and will be sending it off to my wonderful beta readers hopefully by the end of the week! Yay! The timing couldn't be more perfect, as I realized that next week is SPRING BREAK (one of the perks of teaching at a college)! It'll be nice to have a week off and take a break from writing while my beta's tear my book apart! And it also means, I can take a mini-break and spend two days camping with the hubby and pugs. I'll probably take the rest of the time to clean the house, which has sorely been neglected these last few weeks.
It'll be a far cry from the Spring Break's I grew-up with in Texas, but being able to spend some quality time with the hubby, take a break from writing, and relaxing is just what I need.
For three months out of the year, South Padre plays hosts to partiers from all over the US during Spring Break. It's my native home and I love it, but I can do without the crowds (but I do miss the beach!).
I hope everyone has a great writing week and Happy Leap Day!! And extra day in February is always welcome, especially if you're on a publishing deadline!
Sorry to hear about your hectic start to the week - I sure hope all is fixed already. I plan to send my newest to betas in the next two weeks or so too....Oh, Boy! Ha. Here we go. Enjoy your break until those feedbacks start rolling in, Claudia.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nadja! I hope you get some time to relax after you send yours out! It's great when we have major accomplishments to share!!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... How did I miss that? Weird.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read! :) What format can I expect, btw?
It didn't affect all indies, but a lot of them had issues. I'll have a word and pdf version like last time :)
DeleteThat stinks about the Amazon problem. Luckily Andrew was there to save the day. And a big congrats about sending the book to betas at the end of the week. That must feel good.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Love your book covers. so pretty.
Big cheers for you keeping calm and for Andrew getting the problem fixed. Don't you just love good customer service!
ReplyDelete@Nicole and @Yolanda - It was a bit frustrating, but Andrew did come through. Amazon Central responded within a minute and they were very helpful! As of an hour ago, my books were finally linked, so all is well :) It goes both ways too...we have to remain calm and polite in order to get good customer service!
ReplyDeleteOh what a drag about your books! I'm glad that the ratings made it back and hopefully they'll be linked again soon. I freaked out this week when the server at my host crashed and ALL my sites were down for over 12 hours. So grateful I didn't lose any files!
ReplyDeleteOh Texas spring break...I went to South Padre one year (drove from Dallas) and it was INSANE!
Everything worked itself out in the end, whew! And that totally bites about your crash!! I don't think I would have survived that one.
DeleteIt IS insane! When I was in high school, it was fun to party with the college crowd, but then by college it was like "been there, done that!"
*groans* Sorry hear about the snafu - but at least you've got the cards coming. Too bad about the quote! Yay for finishing up edits and getting books to betas. Another step closer :)
ReplyDeleteHope your week just gets better!