It’s been an eventful summer. I have attended a writing conference. I’ve networked with other authors, illustrators and school counselors. And I’ve waited… and waited… and waited… for Wyatt to be published. I knew getting published would be a journey…I didn’t however anticipate that it would be a journey to a foreign land where people speak another language and time has a different meaning. After much communication back and forth, much approving of proofs, more communication, more approving of proofs… well maybe you get the picture, my book is now being printed or so I understand. How long will this process take? The response I got was 4 weeks. That was about 10 days ago. I’ll let you know how it goes…
It’s getting closer! I’ve received a couple of emails from the publisher that they have adjusted the color throughout the book and changed the color of the background on the cover. I’m nervous but hope everything will be fine. Soon they will be downloading the files to my author center and I can look at them. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we can move forward. There are a lot of reasons for my impatience. Not the least of which is that I have signed up to attend one of Dan Miller’s Write to the Bank seminars, and my hope was to have my book in hand when I go. Is this possible at this late date? I have my doubts since I don’t know how long it takes to produce the actual book and ship me some copies once it is approved.
Here’s what I’ve learned from this experience:
* Expect everything to take twice as long as you think it should.
* Just because I have a deadline, that doesn’t mean everyone else is operating on the same timetable.
* Publishing is a journey just like everything else in life.
* Make the most of all the down time by promoting the book in as many ways as possible.
As Dan Miller says, “Once you have the book published you have 10% of the work completed…”
I’ll keep you informed…
