All I was looking for was an editor. That was the first step into starting the self publishing thing, right?

I Googled editors on Vancouver Island. I wanted to keep it local. FreisenPress was the first one to pop up, located in Victoria. I clicked the link, and found their website one of those sneaky, inaccessible ones. But along the sidebar they had a "Free Self Publishing Guide", and all I had to do was send my email, name, phone number, and maybe my book title. I don't even remember, I recall doing this mid-workout because I frequently get distracted by my laptop if it's open while I'm exercising. I immediately got the package sent to my email, and I read it over, marked down a few things, answered a few questions.

The next day I was brushing my teeth when I got a phone call -in my dead zone house I was very surprised a call made it through. Witchcraft.

A publishing consultant from FreisenPress wanted to know if I could chat. Wow, I was bloody ecstatic! I was gently being nudged along to actually doing something with my book I wrote over ten years ago. About damn time. I rescheduled the call for the following day, where I could drive out of my dead zone and actually chat without utter terror of the call being cut off.

I parked by a beautiful place with ocean views. Perfect spot. Decent cell service. Didn't have to drive too far from home.

Do you know how many big trucks pull out of the neighbouring driveway? A LOT.

So conversation was actually kinda hard because, well, big trucks.

Anyways, I had combed through the self-publishing guide (SPG) and written down all the questions and answered them so I didn't sound like a nitwit on the phone. All my years of dealing with customers on the phone at work really paid off here. I only sounded stupid once or twice.

He was personable, wanted to hear about my book, engaging. Obviously good at his job, after all, his job is to get people to sign up with FP and pay money. I felt really, really good after that conversation. We talked for about forty-five minutes. I wish I had known better questions to ask, but he sent a few emails with links, comparisons of package deals FP offers, and a custom quote. I felt all my questions were answered by the time I read the emails.

He suggested to take the weekend -a weekend on which I worked every day AND was moving into my new house- to think it over and get back to him on Monday. He sent a follow up email on Monday, and by then I decided I HAD to do it. If I backed out now, I would back out forever. They had payment plan options, and would also help crowd source if need be. I just took out a line of credit, because my credit is really good (which I haven't used, as I'm paying with my credit card to get all those Scene points I can't use right now with movie theatres closed).