Formatting an e-book for publication is a simple matter, though it can be tedious. Here are the steps I follow when formatting.

Step 1 - The Text

Select all text in the document and change it to a size that looks a little too large. For blind folks like me, 12-point font is not always easily readable on a tablet. It can also appear small in an online e-book sample, like the kind you see on Amazon. I choose to err on the side of caution when selecting a text size. I favor 14-point. Better to possibly have a reader scale down the text size on their e-reading device than to have an Amazon sample that looks like crap.

The font style is important, too. You want something easily readable but not dull. I am a fan of Times New Roman. Something about it just looks... right. I can't explain it. Avoid mono-spaced fonts (all characters are the same width) like Courier New. While these are great for editing, because mistakes are more noticeable, they are not pleasing to the average reader's eye.

Once you have landed on a font style you like, scroll somewhere in your document that contains italics or bold lettering. When you've located a suitable area, make the font style change. Some font styles wipe out formatting like Italics; you don't want that. You can always undo the change if this occurs, but you want to notice it immediately.

While you're at it, and have all the text highlighted, convert it to single spaced if it isn't already.

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Stay tuned for more from indie author and blogger Kendall Bailey (@KBaileyWriter) on how to properly format an e-book, later today on The Official Prose. Blog at: blog.theprose.com/blog.

goddamn it

i'm scared of myself again

i'm afraid

i'm going to cave in

(part of me

can't wait to fall)

there's something

in the bottom

of a swimming pool

that pulls me towards

the deep end

(i want to give in)

i would give my all

for my last breath

(some nights i beg for death)

some nights i put up my fists

tell myself i can write my way out of this

use the pain as fuel

(i'm a fucking fool)

[Author’s note: Because of the personal nature of this piece, I ask that it not be shared outside of our Prose community. Thanks.]

Both my parents are in their 80′s. For Christmas, since there isn’t a single thing they needed or wanted, I gave them the gift of myself. Living three hours away, I don’t spend enough time with them. And they need my help. And they say they miss me. I miss them, too.

So, this was the week they cashed in their gift. I told them to make a list of the things requiring my attention so we could have a game plan.

The first thing on the list was to help my father pick out a walker. Let me tell you, that might sound like a pretty simple errand, but when your father has always been a huge force in your life - strong and robust - this was a painful exercise I would not wish on anyone. There was a lump in my throat throughout the entire process because I could see how defeating it felt for my dad. When we went to lunch afterward, he burst into tears...twice. It was only the fourth time in my entire life that i’ve seen him cry. The first time was the passing of his mother. The second was during an intervention for someone he loves. The third was the passing of his brother. All reasonable and relatable, and external. This time was different. This time it came from within, from abstract thought that scared him and made him sad. It was so much harder to watch.

The second thing they wanted me to do was amend their wills. Like a revolving door on a busy building, four people went in and two people came out, just like that. Things have changed since they wrote them thirty years ago. But back then, they seemed distant and hypothetical. Now, things are getting real and the documents urgently required updating.

Next up: early spring cleaning - closets, drawers, boxes... Fourteen jumbo contractor bags later and we barely put a dent in over 50 years of accumulated memories spent in this house. All the while, my mother was reminiscing about the time she bought those beautiful shoes or which dress she wore to which wedding. Going through their clothes brought the past to her mind, but it made me think of the future, of things I didn’t want to think about. Thank god I brought the dog with me. It gave me an excuse to get some air and hide my feelings.

In their presence, I do what I always do; I am a performer. I sing and joke and keep it light. I challenge them to Jeopardy while we eat our evening meal. We laugh and talk and it keeps our minds off the real reason that I’m here.

It’s been exhausting, on every level. So, even though I’m younger by many decades, I have been the first to go to bed every night. But once I get there, I lie awake in the dark of my childhood bedroom, and worry. I worry about them falling on the stairs. I worry about them slipping in the bathroom. I cannot rest until I know they’re safe in their bed. And when I leave them in the morning, after their dentist appointments and a trip to the dry cleaner, I will worry some more on that three-hour drive home. I’ll worry that one of them might not be here the next time I come back.

The weight of that is the heaviest thing of all.

I gaze at the authors that write here on Prose,

Amateurs and unbelievable pro's,

The pieces I read are so vibrantly put,

I know that my own work will never match up,

It's not about ranking, it's not about fame,

It's not about staying ahead of the game,

It's simply that even the best that I do,

Is never as good as the writing from you,

But just being here among lyricists pure,

Your words are amazing, they dazzle me sure,

And though I may never be up there with you,

It's just such a buzz reading all that you do,

So shine on you diamonds and sharpen your mind,

Together our words will astound humankind,

The future of writing is right here on Prose,

Come one and come all join our literary show.

Enjoy having summers off

Having meals prepared for you

Laundry fairies that do your wash

Free things/allowances

Great friends

Try new things

And travel every chance you get

These are the things you will miss when you get older.

But above all else, remember youth is only a short period of time so do not waste it worrying about what others think of you. Just be yourself. That is good enough!

There are things

You can't un-see

No matter how much you try

They haunt your dreams

And Stalk your mind

A nightmare that is always seen