Wrestling with Subheads, Holding on to Stories
Tuesday, December 16, 2025 – Orlando, Florida
If you’ve ever worked with Kindle Create, you’ll know it can be both a blessing and a curse. Today, I’m spending several hours fixing subheadings in The Jim Garraty Chronicles—particularly in Reunion: Coda. It’s a formatting issue that has haunted every book I’ve published since 2023, from Reunion: A Story to Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen.
For me, subheadings aren’t just decoration. They’re anchors. Because Reunion: Coda spans multiple timelines and settings, I use them to orient readers—lines like “7:05 AM – SMSH Music Department” or “6:10 PM – The Last Rehearsal.” It’s a technique I borrowed from technothriller writers like Tom Clancy and Harold Coyle, and it’s become part of my storytelling rhythm.
Unfortunately, Kindle Create has a habit of “correcting” capitalization in ways that make subheads look clumsy. Even when I format them properly in Word, the app insists on producing titles like “An Unexpected Turn Of Events.” Fixing these errors is slow, manual work, and it drains creative energy I’d rather spend writing.
I’ll admit it’s hard to stay motivated when sales don’t match the heart I pour into these stories. Reunion: Coda and Comings and Goings received kind reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, yet the numbers remain discouraging. Writing fiction is tough enough when readers are eager; it’s tougher still when you feel your work is met with indifference.
But here’s the truth: I’m going to finish this omnibus. I’ll keep writing new stories. Storytelling has been my calling since 1978, and I believe in the worlds I’ve built. What I need—and what every writer needs—is a supportive audience. If you’ve enjoyed my work, I invite you to share it: buy a copy, leave a review, recommend it to a friend, or even place it in a Little Free Library. Every gesture helps keep these stories alive.
Because at the end of the day, I’m a writer. And writers tell stories, even when the formatting fights back.
A Certain Point of View, Too 
Leave a reply to schingle Cancel reply