I HATE CHANGE

I HATE CHANGE. There, I’ve said it. I like everything neat and in order. (Does this make me a good Presbyterian?) I work much more efficiently once I get into a routine. I like to keep things in the same place so I can find them, even in the dark.

I have no idea how some people function in the midst of chaos. I have a couple of friends who seem to live in a whirlwind. If life doesn’t shake things up enough, they create their own havoc.

I have other friends whom I have threatened to report to the Hoarders TV show. I would say I don’t know how they function except I know they don’t do it well.

I was raised by dirt and clutter Nazis. Both my mother and grandmother cleaned and scrubbed and vacuumed every day. If we left anything out of place, they threw it out. Heck, even if our things were put away, we often came home from school to discover our toys and other possessions gone. My mother always had the same answer: “You don’t need it.” (Is this why I’m a bit of a pack-rat today? Could be. But everything has to be put away so I can locate it later. Fortunately, we live in a large toy box.)

My computer came with a new keyboard. I’m still not used to it. Some of the keys are in different places, and the touch is a bit harder than my old one. Some don’t register as well. I don’t slow down well, as some of you who have worked with me and my former bosses can attest. So, I now spend far too much time editing and correcting. This does not make me happy!

The latest threat to my well-being is Amazon’s switch from CreateSpace for print book publishing to KDP Print. I manually migrated all of the books we previously published, and everything appears to be okay. However, I haven’t purchased any copies yet to be sure.

Larry’s latest sci-fi book, The McGregor Chronicles: Book 5 – Nina’s Revenge, was in process before the switch. The copies we received look fine, and they did not reject the cover.

However, I am republishing an old cookbook, and have gotten three error messages. I uploaded the original using the publisher’ credentials, so we had the original cover Larry designed using a CreateSpace template. Each time we got an error message, he changed it to be compatible with the requirements, and each time, it came back.

The ebook cover published just fine, but the one for the paperbacks (there are two of them with the same cover since one has a B&W interior and the other is in color) kept bouncing. Today he downloaded the KDP template and rebuilt the cover. I have uploaded it yet again. If they don’t accept it this time, I am planning a very loud and unpleasant phone call to them as a follow-up on the many emails I have already sent.

Yesterday I uploaded another book prepared with a CreateSpace cover template. Yet another error message. So, Larry will rebuild it using the KDP template. However, he will probably wait to see what happens with the cookbook. No sense in expending the time if we have to engage in another battle.

My armor is ready, and my sword is drawn.

PS: As I was writing this, a technical service representative called. We were able to figure out what the issues are. Fingers crossed…

Do you deal well with change? If so, please tell me how you manage it.