With the publication date of August 27, 2026 less than two weeks away, I am rushing to get the manuscript and book covers posted to the distribution centers, Amazon and IngramSpark.

I do not profess to be an expert at all in this process. I am bumbling around as much as any first-time author. The fastest way for me to find mistakes in my work is to publish it. And that fear is gripping at me. So I resist the urge to go through edit #102.

It took only a few days to authenticate my account on Amazon KDP, their publishing portal. I uploaded the ebook and files for the hardcover and paperback edition. The large print / accessible edition would be too costly to print on Amazon, so I am printing it solely through IngramSpark at a ridiculously low profit margin that bookstores will probably not pick it up. This version will be available on my website.

Uploading the information was fairly easy, because I had done a lot of prior research ahead of time to create a list of keywords and categories to tie the book to its themes.

With the information in the KDP database, I sat there. Amazon was validating the information. Days went by. I returned to the web page again and again, hoping that the book would be available.

I think Fleetwood Mac said waiting is the hardest part. Maybe it is another song. But they are so right. What can I do with myself, not knowing if my work will be rejected at this final publication gate?

I know. I can pester IngramSpark to validate my account. Living in Hawai'i, my address is a point of contention. We do not get mail delivery like most of the United States. The majority of the residents who do not live in the urban areas of the kingdom pick up mail from a mailbox row in our development, a mailbox store, or a post office box. If I put my physical address, the system will assume it is a mailing address and send verification notices to a non-deliverable address. If I put a mailbox, which is what I did, the system complains that I did not supply an acceptable address.

Calling IngramSpark on the phone to settle this conundrum is no longer an option. Everything is done through email, which I consider to be the new snail mail.

After some back and forths with IngramSpark, Amazon has approved my book! Yay, I can now order proofs. At least I know the book will get published by some outfit or another on what would have been Arlinda's 75th birthday.

Finally IngramSpark came through, and I uploaded all four versions of the book. Again I am waiting for the uploads to be approved. In the meantime, I can find another part of the publication mystery to resolve.