UPDATE

by Earl Staggs

About a month ago, I decided to join all those people getting rich by selling books in the exciting new world of digital publishing. It’s easy, they said. Upload your books so the millions who have bought Kindles, Nooks, and other electronic readers can buy it. You’ll be rich and famous in no time.

Instead of a novel, I decided to set the ebook world on fire with a collection of my published short stories. I’ve been writing short stories for a number of years, and it’s sad to think of them as retired and gathering dust.

So I jumped in. Easy? Not for tech dummies like me. What do I know about HTML? What’s a pixel? I had to learn a whole new language and do things on my computer I had no clue about. All these years, I resisted learning them. I learned how to write in Word, I learned how to do Email, and that was about it.

But I persevered and struggled to learn new things one excruciating step at a time. Did I mention it took me nearly a month? Easy? Right.

Halfway through the project, my wife stuck her head in the door and asked, “How’s it going?”

“Terrible!” I cried in anguish. “I can’t stand it. I’m going to kill myself.”

She sighed. “Again? Well, make it snappy. Dinner’ll be ready in half an hour.”

Somehow I managed to get through it and my collection, imaginatively titled, SHORT STORIES OF EARL STAGGS, is now up and available on Amazon for Kindles and on Smashwords for all other ereaders.

I’ve even had a few sales. Not the thousands of sales that will be coming in soon, but it’s a start. The rich and famous part won’t begin until I do a lot of promotion and advertising to let the world know it’s available.

But first, I’m going to set up a print version. That way, I can advertise that it’s available both ways. Millions of ereaders have been sold, but there are still plenty of people who don’t have one. I don’t want to leave them out.

That means jumping into the fray again, learning more new stuff, and probably reaching the brink of self destruction again.

Hopefully, I can get through it and then relax and let the rich and famous part happen.

It’s easy, they said.

Right.

Earl Staggs

SHORT STORIES OF EARL STAGGS now available for $2.99 on Amazon for Kindle and on Smashwords for other ereaders.

Here’s a free one – Read "The Day I Almost Became a Great Writer," a short story good for a few laughs at earlwstaggs.wordpress.com