For the last month, I've been trudging through the standard, mild depression almost every author feels when she ships a book to the publisher or book printer. Luckily, several of the books about the writing profession warned of this, so it didn't come as a surprise. And so far, I've felt it every time I shipped a new book out.
This time, I analyzed the phenomenon more thoroughly. Initially, there's a tendency to argue with yourself, thinking What the heck's wrong with me? I should be ecstatic! Dancing on air! Celebrating." But thoughts like that don't help when you're feeling down. And I finally realized there are two very logical factors playing into this funk:
(1) Writing a book takes a long time - months, sometimes years. In that time, it becomes your constant companion. You work, eat, sleep and shower with it. And you're pouring your whole being into the work to produce the very best book possible. When you ship the manuscript off, you're saying good-bye to that dear friend, companion, work-mate. And the emotional hole it leaves in your life hurts. The sudden loss of a "loved one" always makes us feel a little bereft.
(2) The other aspect is purely physical. The last few weeks of writing involve long periods of intense work. Writing, rewriting, more tweaking, proofreading, making big corrections, then little ones, then just dithering between two equally well worded sentences. The closer we come to the finish line, the hard we push. During that time, an author gushes adrenalin. The "writer's high" is accompanied by an equally amazing surge of energy. When you ship the book, the adrenalin stops. The final period of hard work and fiendish energy leaves us exhausted, and then the adrenalin that gave us such strength vanishes on the way home from the Post Office. The combined droop makes an intelligent writer feel like a a soggy noodle, and a sad one, at that.
What's the remedy? It helps to know it's normal, and considering the above two factors, very logical. It's good to work on marketing the little gem you just worked so hard on and to begin developing plans for your next book (really!). But don't expect any of that to eradicate the Author Blues. After the first two or three sad weeks , life begins to look a little lighter each day, and eventually, depending on what other disasters befall you during that process, you'll regain your balance.
Be kind to you. Birthing a book is hard labor, and you deserve some gentle recovery time.
Happy writing ~
Linda
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
New Journaling Book is Gone~
Yes, the joyfully updated and expanded 2nd edition of my book, Many Face of Journaling, is now in the pre-press department of the book printer. Shipped from the Kirkwood Post Office via overnight express, it arrived in Ashland, Ohio, before noon on Tuesday. Unfortunately the graphic artist "forgot" to send the cover art until after working hours that day. But now everything is on track.
Within a month or so, 2,000 copies of this 6" x 9" trade paperback book will be printed on 192 pages of recycled paper. The official publication date is May 2008, and the new ISBN# is 978-0-9665672-9-8.
About ISBN numbers: ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. Did you know that our books are identified worldwide by that number rather than by the title?
I'm having the books shrink-wrapped in packs of 4 books. Unless your books really will sell out in a few months, shrink-wrapping is an ideal way to keep them fresh and clean while they all wait patiently to be purchased. FYI the cost for that service at my printer is $.22 per pack. Those will be packed in cartons of about 44 books per carton and shipped to the BookMasters book storage and distribution facilities in Ohio.
About book storage facilities: Professional book storage facilities provide climate control, insurance, and an efficient staff for shipping books to distributors and wholesalers.
The last 3 weeks or so of work on the book were hectic and, towards the end, catastrophic. When I set about making the header/footer corrections following the indexing and final proofreading, I ran into problems. The file absolutely would not let me delete the old header/footer formatting nor would it allow me to replace it with new, uniform formatting no matter what I did. What should, logically, have been a straight forward adjustment, wasn't.
After a full day's worth of optimistically trying one new "fix" after another, I conceded that the entire manuscript and index file was corrupt. Whereas I had been planning to ship to the printer the following day (Tuesday, the15th), I was now praying the the entire file wouldn't have to be retyped!
Eventually, I ran it through NotePad which deleted every last spec of formatting -- both the good and the corrupt. Then this format-intensive book had to be reworked, then reindexed. A lot of intense hours of computer work went into the problem's diagnosis and remedy. But finally by the end of the evening last Friday, the file printout was ready for another final proofreading.
Sunday evening, as I did the pdf. conversion and stored that to jump drive, packed that with the hard copy, signed contract, and check for 50% into a clean white carton, I did an ecstatic little dance and thanked my stars that it was soon to become that Big Grown-Up Book it was meant to be.
Within 7-10 working days after receipt of the manuscript package, the printer will ship me the "bluelines," which are the pre-press proof copies of the book and book cover. Then I'll have 3 days to do the drop-dead check and ship it back. I'll pay about $35 for each page that needs any correction at that point. So the final proofreading before it going to the printer can save a lot of money. Still, if I discover a misspelled name or other crucial error, you can bet I'll be happy to pay for the correction.
About bluelines: They're called "bluelines" because they're produced by somewhat the same process as an architect's blueprint drawings. In addition, they smell of ammonia and the printing will quickly fade if you leave the pages in direct sunlight.
Since I've been working 6-day weeks lately, the last two days have been sweet, kick-back days of walking in the sunshine, lunching with that fascinating, energizing writer friend, and reading all the way through my daily paper.
Happy writing to you all ~\
Linda
Within a month or so, 2,000 copies of this 6" x 9" trade paperback book will be printed on 192 pages of recycled paper. The official publication date is May 2008, and the new ISBN# is 978-0-9665672-9-8.
About ISBN numbers: ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. Did you know that our books are identified worldwide by that number rather than by the title?
I'm having the books shrink-wrapped in packs of 4 books. Unless your books really will sell out in a few months, shrink-wrapping is an ideal way to keep them fresh and clean while they all wait patiently to be purchased. FYI the cost for that service at my printer is $.22 per pack. Those will be packed in cartons of about 44 books per carton and shipped to the BookMasters book storage and distribution facilities in Ohio.
About book storage facilities: Professional book storage facilities provide climate control, insurance, and an efficient staff for shipping books to distributors and wholesalers.
The last 3 weeks or so of work on the book were hectic and, towards the end, catastrophic. When I set about making the header/footer corrections following the indexing and final proofreading, I ran into problems. The file absolutely would not let me delete the old header/footer formatting nor would it allow me to replace it with new, uniform formatting no matter what I did. What should, logically, have been a straight forward adjustment, wasn't.
After a full day's worth of optimistically trying one new "fix" after another, I conceded that the entire manuscript and index file was corrupt. Whereas I had been planning to ship to the printer the following day (Tuesday, the15th), I was now praying the the entire file wouldn't have to be retyped!
Eventually, I ran it through NotePad which deleted every last spec of formatting -- both the good and the corrupt. Then this format-intensive book had to be reworked, then reindexed. A lot of intense hours of computer work went into the problem's diagnosis and remedy. But finally by the end of the evening last Friday, the file printout was ready for another final proofreading.
Sunday evening, as I did the pdf. conversion and stored that to jump drive, packed that with the hard copy, signed contract, and check for 50% into a clean white carton, I did an ecstatic little dance and thanked my stars that it was soon to become that Big Grown-Up Book it was meant to be.
Within 7-10 working days after receipt of the manuscript package, the printer will ship me the "bluelines," which are the pre-press proof copies of the book and book cover. Then I'll have 3 days to do the drop-dead check and ship it back. I'll pay about $35 for each page that needs any correction at that point. So the final proofreading before it going to the printer can save a lot of money. Still, if I discover a misspelled name or other crucial error, you can bet I'll be happy to pay for the correction.
About bluelines: They're called "bluelines" because they're produced by somewhat the same process as an architect's blueprint drawings. In addition, they smell of ammonia and the printing will quickly fade if you leave the pages in direct sunlight.
Since I've been working 6-day weeks lately, the last two days have been sweet, kick-back days of walking in the sunshine, lunching with that fascinating, energizing writer friend, and reading all the way through my daily paper.
Happy writing to you all ~\
Linda
Saturday, April 12, 2008
5 Days to Book Printing
It’s been a wild time for a quiet writer-person like me. The last time we visited on Writer's Ruminations, the revised first edition of my book, The Many Faces of Journaling 2nd edition, was being proofread.
Last Sunday morning I picked that up, made most of the changes suggested by the proofreader, and copied it to a jump drive. Monday at a quick pick-up dinner, I passed the project along to the indexer.
Obviously, at this point in the process, my schedule is measured in hours, not days.
I retrieved the indexed electronic file from her Wednesday, drove back to my place, loaded it onto the laptop, corrected a few spacing shifts, and ran off a fresh hardcopy of the whole kit & caboodle for the final proofreader. She met me at Borders and took the manuscript home for a keen-eyed, picky perusal of all 183 pages.
Today [Saturday] she called with a couple of questions about formatting and told me she’ll have it back to me on Monday – day after tomorrow. Hot dern!
If it’s early in the day, I’ll make the corrections, and ship it to the printer Tuesday morning. (Good grief! Think of all the Post Office patrons who’ll be mailing last minute tax returns that day.)
That’s almost a week ahead of my target date!
Man, do I have a go-git-‘em book crew here.
Today being Saturday and all, I headed down to Kaldi's Coffee Shop to ponder & scribble a bit on the book that could be coming out in February 2010.
What a welcome change of pace. It’s in a stage of bubbling ideas and random note taking. There's no schedule, deadline, nor any kind of structure involved, except for that far away date two years hence. For now it’s pure creative playtime.
Wish me luck as I fret over the last touches to prepare my literary baby for the real world, all fluffed and buffed and ready!
And happy writing to you all~
Linda
Last Sunday morning I picked that up, made most of the changes suggested by the proofreader, and copied it to a jump drive. Monday at a quick pick-up dinner, I passed the project along to the indexer.
Obviously, at this point in the process, my schedule is measured in hours, not days.
I retrieved the indexed electronic file from her Wednesday, drove back to my place, loaded it onto the laptop, corrected a few spacing shifts, and ran off a fresh hardcopy of the whole kit & caboodle for the final proofreader. She met me at Borders and took the manuscript home for a keen-eyed, picky perusal of all 183 pages.
Today [Saturday] she called with a couple of questions about formatting and told me she’ll have it back to me on Monday – day after tomorrow. Hot dern!
If it’s early in the day, I’ll make the corrections, and ship it to the printer Tuesday morning. (Good grief! Think of all the Post Office patrons who’ll be mailing last minute tax returns that day.)
That’s almost a week ahead of my target date!
Man, do I have a go-git-‘em book crew here.
Today being Saturday and all, I headed down to Kaldi's Coffee Shop to ponder & scribble a bit on the book that could be coming out in February 2010.
What a welcome change of pace. It’s in a stage of bubbling ideas and random note taking. There's no schedule, deadline, nor any kind of structure involved, except for that far away date two years hence. For now it’s pure creative playtime.
Wish me luck as I fret over the last touches to prepare my literary baby for the real world, all fluffed and buffed and ready!
And happy writing to you all~
Linda
Friday, April 4, 2008
2 1/2 Weeks and Still Lucid
Experience is good. Most of us suspected that, but tonight I can verify it. The orderly flow of chores threw me into a tizzy the last time I published. Of course, then I was coming out with three (!!!) books at one time—something experience has taught me never to do again.
But thanks to my prior walks along this path, the 2nd edition of The Many Faces of Journaling is moving along at the planned pace. That means that on Monday, April 21st, I’ll ship this manuscript off to the book printer and let it take its place in their production line. It’s almost all grown up now ~
The content editor did her thing on the revised author’s preface and introduction and on the two new chapters. I, in turn, made the changes I deemed beneficial, then handed off the updated and revised 1st edition manuscript for proofreading.
While the proofer has been fine tooth combing that, I’ve updated the Press Kit. So far, the new kit includes the Book Fact Sheet, Quotations from The Many Faces of Journaling 2nd. Ed., Media introduction and Sample Questions, Speaker Available Sheet, Endorsement Sheet, and the longer book review.
That’s actually enough for now, since fewer people want to see the Press Kit than in the past. Generally, it goes to bookstore event coordinators, radio or TV program directors, or non-bookstore retail locations where a book reading and signing might be well received (and profitable).
To accommodate those who don’t want the hardcopy kit, I’ll ask my web master to set up a “Press Room” on the PenCentralOnline.com web site. That’s another job—creating the list of additions and changes to the two web sites to promote this new edition.
I’m not getting out of the office much these days, and for the most part, I'm deeply grateful to just be able to work. But once a week, I recharge my whole battery bank during lunch with a brilliant and highly creative writing colleague. And one other time, I’ll get together with family or friends to stay in touch with the outside world and exercise my funny bone. I actually took a walk in the sunshine last week!
This truly is a blogging ramble. But it’ll give you an inside view of how engrossing this authoring and publishing business can be at particular times in the process. That’s why obsession is quite useful for a writer. Blocking everything else out helps you concentrate!
Pure focus on your writing is a beautiful thing ~
Linda
But thanks to my prior walks along this path, the 2nd edition of The Many Faces of Journaling is moving along at the planned pace. That means that on Monday, April 21st, I’ll ship this manuscript off to the book printer and let it take its place in their production line. It’s almost all grown up now ~
The content editor did her thing on the revised author’s preface and introduction and on the two new chapters. I, in turn, made the changes I deemed beneficial, then handed off the updated and revised 1st edition manuscript for proofreading.
While the proofer has been fine tooth combing that, I’ve updated the Press Kit. So far, the new kit includes the Book Fact Sheet, Quotations from The Many Faces of Journaling 2nd. Ed., Media introduction and Sample Questions, Speaker Available Sheet, Endorsement Sheet, and the longer book review.
That’s actually enough for now, since fewer people want to see the Press Kit than in the past. Generally, it goes to bookstore event coordinators, radio or TV program directors, or non-bookstore retail locations where a book reading and signing might be well received (and profitable).
To accommodate those who don’t want the hardcopy kit, I’ll ask my web master to set up a “Press Room” on the PenCentralOnline.com web site. That’s another job—creating the list of additions and changes to the two web sites to promote this new edition.
I’m not getting out of the office much these days, and for the most part, I'm deeply grateful to just be able to work. But once a week, I recharge my whole battery bank during lunch with a brilliant and highly creative writing colleague. And one other time, I’ll get together with family or friends to stay in touch with the outside world and exercise my funny bone. I actually took a walk in the sunshine last week!
This truly is a blogging ramble. But it’ll give you an inside view of how engrossing this authoring and publishing business can be at particular times in the process. That’s why obsession is quite useful for a writer. Blocking everything else out helps you concentrate!
Pure focus on your writing is a beautiful thing ~
Linda
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
3 1/2 Weeks and Counting
According to my schedule, it's 3 1/2 weeks and counting until I ship the manuscript (electronic & hardcopy) to BookMasters to do their printing and binding magic.
The shipping date represents the first giant step in releasing your Creative Child into the wilds of the world. After that, the author and publisher have only one more chance to catch any ghastly errors on the cover or book pages before letting go completely, at which point, it becomes a real, live book. (Stuffing the chick back into the shell at that point is a very costly process.)
It's an incredibly exciting, adrenalin-pumping time.
Here is the current situation:
^ The new chapters and updated author’s preface and introduction are now in the gifted hands of the copy editor.
^ The cover art is almost finished. Basically it just needs to have the depth of color and contrast tweaked.
^ I’ve completed about one-fourth of the job of sorting through the newest list of 1,700 newspaper editor’s e-addresses for self-syndicated news & article releases.
^ This morning I finished the first of ten pieces for the new press kit and emailed it to my kind but critical proofreader.
From here on, the only additional writing I do will be on marketing and promotional materials – getting people to notice and like my baby.
(When the author owns the publishing company, he or she must focus on about
ten tasks at once! Hence the well known term tentasking.)
My lists now have lists, but the truth is I’m on automatic pilot. After writing and birthing so many books, I know what I should be doing – and when I need to cut loose and play with jobs out of order. It’s refreshing to get all giddy and reckless once in a while, like me writing the Book Fact Sheet for the press kit before I finish reviewing the full manuscript! My, my …
Happy writing ~
Linda
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