Wow, has a week gone by already? Shut the front door! And here I am, at 8:45am on a Wednesday with no draft ready for the site’s weekly update.

Yeah, I got only one thing to say . . . speedrun!

Okay, so, some big news. Really big news. News that means nothing without a little context.

It happened I believe in March of 2022, I was sitting down with my best bud Zach at our favorite restaurant. We both have been writing and sharing our work for a while. I had been toying with the idea of asking Zach if he would like to do a co-op book.

And before I could ask, Zach asked me “So Buck, you want to co-op a book?”

Great minds think alike. From that day forward, “The Last Job: File 3454” was in motion. We laid out a plan of attack, Zach would do the odd chapter and I would do the evens. Towards the end we share the last chapter to round things off. Every Sunday we would call, proofread and exchange ideas, and have a good laugh and even serious discussion about philosophical topics.

Zach made it clear from the beginning that this project was not going to be just for fun. He wanted to publish it and I was all for it. Thing was, this would make “The Last Job” my very first published work. I’ve written so much since 2016 and besides sharing some with Zach, none of it has been shared with anyone else.

Taking this journey with Zach had opened my eyes to the process, trials and hurdles, and overall work needed to get a book published. It amazes me how much is involved and yet looking back it all makes sense. Zach had recently posted a blog about doing formatting of a book on his own, which I shall link here:

Zach vs Formatting

Yeah, there is a lot to take in. There are Alpha Readers, Beta Readers, Editors, Formatters, Cover Artists, and a menagerie of ways to get a book printed with unique rules and requirements. It's rather daunting but also intriguing.

This will be a challenge I must face and face alone without Zach joining me. I’m learning things second hand but it's better than being completely clueless going in. I have one project in mind that I’d like to be my first solo published work. I won’t go into detail until I’m sure this project will see the light of day.

But soon, very soon, I must take the journey on my own and not be afraid to share all that I have created. One of my favorite movies is “What About Bob?” and the lead’s catchphrases is “Baby steps . . . [stressful and frightening action that must be take to move forward.]”

Baby steps . . . share with Beta Readers.

Baby steps . . . give to the Editor.

Baby steps . . . do formatting or find Formatter.

Baby steps . . . find Cover Artist.

Baby steps . . . get published.

Luckly, Zach has been an outstanding Alpha Reader for the one project I have in mind to publish next.

Zach had been my Alpha Reader for many things. We are currently going over a project I will simply call “Kling.” “Kling” was something I wrote in November of 2012 and was the first work I had written to completion. Well, completion is a loaded word. There is a lot of work that needs to be done with that cosmic horror. And as far as I know, there is no writing journal for “Kling” so its history is lost to time.

Anyway, soon the page for “The Last Job: File 3454” will be updated with all the info and proper links to Barnes & Noble and Amazon. There is a third button there that will remain linkless unless by some chance Zach and I find a third printer.

You can find “The Last Job: File 3454” here!

It’s been one hell of a road, ironically since the story takes place on a never ending road.

And there are more roads out there to ride solo . . . Han Solo.

Be Safe and Enjoy Reading!

—Buck

Written on the day post, 10/30/2024 and I have to do the title picture next . . . getting on that NOW!