November 25, 2009

Big news

OK, I may have broadcast it, telephoned it, emailed it, posted it, and repeated it. But I haven’t blogged it.

So in terms of big, and totally new, news—it’s not, I guess.

But it is news nonetheless.

February 1, 2010

That’s the news. February 1, 2010.

The novel’s official release date. February 1, 2010.

After so many years of writing, rewriting, rewriting again, and then—why not?—rewriting some more, it’s almost  surreal to acknowledge that there’s actually an end to all this (or maybe a beginning?).

I don’t know.

I’ll figure it out.

What I do know, though, is that I’ve got work to do.

Proofreading work.

Photo on 2009-11-18 at 15.20Talk to you later.


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November 16, 2009

Another step closer

Authors, I think, are supposed to be a cool lot. Blasé, unemotional maybe, and certainly never, ever, prone to outbursts of childish excitement.

At least, that’s my image of authors. Real ones anyway. The kind who make their living doing that authoring stuff. I mean, can you picture Elmore Leonard giggling? JD Salinger high five-ing Ayn Rand?

Yeah, me  neither.

If that premise is true, then I don’t know what that makes me. Because I just got the first proof of my novel—colour cover and everything—and I’m everything but stoic.

Photo on 2009-11-15 at 21.09

So waddya think?

As for me…

Am I thrilled? You bet.

Ecstatic? Roger that.

Apprehensive? A bit.

Nervous? Oh yeah.

Childishly excited? Count on it.

Then I read the instructions that said something about carefully reviewing the draft and sending any corrections  to the editor, who will then review it as well.

Oh great. It’s proofreading time.

I bet that never happens to Leonard…


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November 5, 2009

All about a cover

A busy couple of weeks.

.png and .pdf files are flying everywhere—from graphic artist to author to publisher to editor.

And back again.

Suggestions, comments, mild objections and words of encouragement are part of the deal too.

Try something else. Change this. Remove that. Darken (or lighten) that other bit.

All because of a cover.

It’s getting close too. The latest revision is making its way through people’s inboxes, anticipating final approval.

Or requests for more tweaking. We’ll see.

I pointed out, once before, the stark difference between writing and creating a book.

When someone writes, they write alone.

Not so when the writing is released from its almost jealously-guarded privacy to begin its transformation.

Into a book.

It’s a team game then, and the writer’s voice is but one voice among many.

And yet, it’s fun.

I generally fly solo and I’m, therefore, not used to being part of a team.

But I’m enjoying the team-ish experience—first with the editing, and now with the cover design (man, I wonder what comes next?).

And hopefully, I’ll soon be able to show you the cover.

See what you think.

But, it’s not finished yet, and besides, I think I need to find out whether it’s OK to show it to you.

I guess that too comes with being part of a team.

_________________________________________________

Yes I did change the font again. The size anyway (the font type is still the same). Opinions and suggestions are welcome.

-


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October 1, 2009

The view from here

Now might just be right for an update. A brief one.

I’m back from holidays, I had a wonderful time, it was great to be away, and, in truth, it’s even better to be back.

Since my return, Jane (my editor) has kept me hopping working on what I’ll call the book’s add-ons.

You know what I mean, right? The acknowledgements, bios, references, back-cover blurb—you know that kind of stuff.

In some ways, I find preparing all of that even harder than writing a book. I mean, have you ever tried putting together a compelling, eye-catching synopsis? Pretty difficult—isn’t it?—having to encapsulate a 300-page document into a few riveting , memorable paragraphs.

And so, the good news—at least for me—is that the add-ons are done (I just finished them today). The next step, per Jane, is design, and I’m not sure myself how involved I’ll be in that department; being a rookie at this book publishing thing, I’m finding the whole process to be an interesting—not to mention, fun—learning experience.

Oh, and for those of you anticipating the book’s release (well, including my mom, there might be one of you), I have news on that front too. The publisher’s told me he wants to avoid being anywhere near the Christmas season and is thus slotting it in for February 2010. That makes it—what?—a scant four months away, right?

So stay tuned ‘cause I’ve got a bunch of other stuff to tell you over these next four months. I may have been on holiday, but you know, I kept myself busy—writing stuff down.

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