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.

Talk to you later.

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.

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…

.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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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.

Well, that’s been pretty much me for the last ten days or so.

Typically, July is a quiet month for me. Not this year though. While trying to squeeze in a few days taking in some theatre and a comedy festival, I’ve been in steady contact with Jane (my new editor) and Alison (my new publicist and coordinator of all things bookish).

There are times, I’ll admit, that coupled with other projects on the go (more on that later) it all seems a little overwhelming. And, late last night, I figured out why.

Have you ever been in a car driven way too fast? I have. While the expert driver I was riding with knew what he was doing, it was, to me a mind-numbing experience—complete sensory overload, in fact, with everything moving too fast to comprehend.

After General Store told me, just last week, they liked my book, it triggered, I believe, that same reaction of sensory overload.  Why? Because I had given up on finding a publisher, that’s why.  And I had already mapped out my own self-imposed, self-directed, self-publishing strategy.

What I’m really saying, I guess, is the pace of my self-directed strategy was somewhere between lethargic and glacial.

Now, thanks to Jane (who continues to surprise me not only with her efficient speed, but also the quality of her editing), we’ve already got 20% of the book edited. And, thanks to Alison, we’re planning media-outlet promotions and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Which reminds me, by the way, if you or your spouse, parent, sibling, best-friend, happens to do something, with books, at the Globe and Mail, New York Times, Amazon, Publisher’s Weekly or any other similar organization, can you, you know, put in a good word?

Oh yes, I nearly forgot.

While the above was happening, I also got word that something I wrote, maybe two months ago, is getting published in Sports Car Market magazine. It’s a piece on old American cars in Cuba and it should be out next week.

What’s funny is, while I was visiting Niagara, the magazine sent me an email requesting—right now—a brief bio and a head shot. Because I had no computer with me, I searched my smartphone’s memory and sent them the only available photo. “Won’t do,” they said, “too far away.”

So my wife and I spent twenty minutes in a park, with my chintzy cameraphone and its meager 2 meg resolution, trying to capture an acceptable promo shot.

Which brings to mind….

Maybe now I can rationalize the desire for an iPhone. Hmmm, it might be tax-deductible too…