The Toy Cop Comes to Create Space

     For some reason, maybe it was the larger trim size I'd chosen, formatting and proofing American Zen was a breeze compared to The Toy Cop. It took a dozen uploads before the margins all around were just right and even after I'd uploaded the final manuscript to Create Space, they still screwed up the chapter breaks. They're higher up than they should be (The Chicago Manual of Style dictates chapter breaks be a third of the page down), which resulted in quite a few blank pages. A panicked call to the help desk proved fruitless.
     So I just said, Fuck it and went with the proof they'd given me. Blank pages in a book, to me, are no different than selling a music CD with dead air. But I just got sick and tired of fiddling with the margins and going over every single chapter break to make sure it was exactly 11 spaces down. Bottom line, The Toy Cop is finally for sale on Create Space and as with American Zen, I ordered a hard copy for myself.
     I realize the unit price is a little more expensive than paperbacks go for but when I have the time and the energy, I'll widen the margins a bit and reduce the page count (presently weighing in at a Tom Clancy-esque 610 pages), which is helping to keep the price at just over $11 with shipping.
     But obviously, I think it's well worth the money because not only is it a hell of a story drenched with tension and high concept drama, I'd worked on it for 14 years and the work shows. And I wouldn't have gone through this re-formatting hell if I didn't think it was worth the effort.