It’s been almost exactly four years since I left my corporate career. March 4th, 2019, was the first Monday I wasn’t supposed to be somewhere.
Oddly, it’s easier for me to think of myself as an instructional designer, which I stopped doing in 2011, or as the head of a corporate function, which I stopped in 2019, than as an author.
Even with a published memoir.
Even with four boxes of a published fable stacked in my living room, and six more down in my storage room.
Today, when I uploaded the new files for Sweet Baby Lover, the process went smoothly for the ebook and paperback versions. These were simply a replacement for what was already there.
But I got stuck at the large print because it was new. Amazon wanted to know what “imprint” owned the ISBN, that barcode number on the back of every book.
I’d bought a pack of ten ISBNs back in 2014, from a company called Bowker, so I typed “Bowker” in the field.
Error message.
Next, I went to Bowker’s website to figure out the name of the owner of the ISBN. There, in the Company Name field, was “Poppyseed House.”
Books need publishers and Poppyseed House is the name I made up for my publishing company. It has never felt like a real company, not like Jule Kucera Learning Solutions, with its S-Corp status and tax filing requirements.
But Poppyseed House is a real publisher. It has published Sweet Baby Lover, in multiple formats. It’s working to publish Prince Tarkten, collaborating with a company in China to print it and a web developer in Malaysia to sell it. Later this year, if all goes well, Poppyseed House will publish The Rocking House.
Poppyseed House is a real publisher.
Jule Kucera is a real author.
(Maybe I need to put that on my bathroom mirror.)
PS: This turned out to be a good idea.
Writing Update: Prince Tarkten
Prince Tarkten, the fable I wrote for Trent, is ready physically but not technologically. The full-color printed books have been delivered from China, but I’m still working on getting my website set up to sell them. Right now, the hangups are printing shipping labels and email notifications to customers. (It would be odd to order something and not get an email confirmation, right?)
With technology, all the parts need to connect perfectly and when they don’t, it can take time to troubleshoot. Fortunately, I’m working with a great developer in Malaysia and we’re close. Spitting close. At least I think we are.
Chewing the Cud of Good
Thankful for my body, my health.