LiSe YiJing

The struggle of publishing the Shenshu in Amazon

I wanted the Shenshu not only in Holland, but also in the United States. Shipping across the ocean can be expensive.

Besides, I am not a world-savvy person. I can translate and make a book, but getting it sold is not one of my talents.

The first problem was the size. The Dutch version is A5, half A4. But in the US that is not a common size. Certainly not for landscape layout.

So I took the only option, which luckily came close. It still meant that 384 verses had to be moved and 384 interpretations. And more than 100 pictures' sizes had to be changed.

A lot of work but more a matter of diligently doing it than having to think a lot. The real problems came after that.

Amazon KDP kept refusing my manuscript. Every time again an error message. I had to flatten layers.

First I tried to do that in Indesign, after googling for hours how to do it. What I needed was greyed out...

Then in the pdf-file. Again after a lot of googling. What I needed was greyed out...

When I had sent it in more than 15 times, getting back more than 15 refusals,I gave up.

Not just like that, there were problems at home which had to be solved as well, and together it was a bit too much.

And something weird was going on. From Februari until end May, everything which could go wrong, went wrong.

And then, in June, all problems got solved, and much easier than we had expected.

First of August I found the courage back to start again to make Amazon accept my file.

After 15 minutes googling, I found the solution! Export from Indesign as good quality pdf-file, but not yet ready for printing.

And then flattening in Adobe pdf. I sent it in and Amazon accepted it! It is still riddled with faults but nothing I cannot mend.

Very soon the printed Shenshu will be available in the States. No hardcover, there was no option for that. Paperback, but with all pictures.

I am happy. When I dared to look at it again on August 1, after two months of despair, I saw that it was too beautiful to put it away.