Opening "The Ancient World..."

As I was celebrating the premiere of my new More “Yankee Lore” video this afternoon, the package with the new print proof copy of my book of photos and descriptions, The Ancient World Around Us, arrived. So, this is an “unboxing” video. Without a box.

This isn’t new-new, as it has been available for almost three years as an eBook, which I put together after the images had been prepped and laid out, and the descriptions written, for my 2022 Calendars.

As an independent author and publisher, it’s up to me to go through my catalog and make sure everything is hunky-dory, all editions up to snuff and still available. Catalog maintenance, I guess? Just another aspect of Indie Publishing you really only learn about by doing. And, as I’ve gone through my books the last couple of years, it’s bugged me a little that this one was only available as an eBook.

Call me old fashioned, but… it’s nice to finally have it in PRINT!

Find it here, at Amazon: https://a.co/d/2MevSGE

Some of the photos from the book, by Mike Luoma.

At first, the book wasn’t in print form due to distribution limitations. My regular Print-On-Demand source, Lulu.com, can print a book like this, but can’t distribute it wholesale the way they distribute my regular paperbacks. For a time, Amazon couldn’t print this kind of book, never mind distribute it. They can do both, now. Within certain limitations.

For example: When you go to the print book’s Amazon Page, you’ll find that the print book is shown SIDEWAYS. In using their KDP system for print publishing, one is limited by the layout options. The only large-size color option (this is 8.5 x 11) is oriented for comic book-style publishing. This works. I’m adaptable — for my purposes, the book is printed with the spine at the top. So, it is sideways, in a sense. The kicker is, I’ve asked Amazon to please rotate the cover image. BUT Amazon’s internal workings are so automated they insist that they CANNOT.

Really?

Yep. Really. Can’t do it. So sorry.

I may have said some not-so-nice-things to their customer service bots.

Anyway. That’s the story. When you do head over to the Amazon page, if you do, that is why the cover image is, indeed, sideways…