A Difficult Birth

 This morning I had labor pains.  Writers often compare the act of writing to giving birth one painful line at a time, but I’m done writing that book.  This is after the book has been written.  This is time to sit back and relax, epidural-style, while my novel is gliding its way through the printing process.

I am intrigued by how often I’ve been wrong about things in the whole publication process.  It’s been a good education to be sure. 

Early this morning, I received a call from my publisher. (When your publisher calls before 8:30 AM, it can’t be terrific news.  That’s another thing I learned today.)  The printers have informed her that the hard bound books will not be ready before the 25^th of October.  My book launch party is on the 21^st.  (Heavy sigh here.)

My eternal optimism awakens.  This could be a good thing.  It will give reviewers more time to review the book.  For those who are curious, most of the big reviewers like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus only review books pre-publication. 

But now I must reschedule the book launch party.  I’m thinking November 4^th, but I have to get that date confirmed by the venues.  I sent out all those snazzy invitations (now snazzily misleading), and I need to track down all the people I invited via email.  This is the painful part, the anxious part, where I fret and wring my hands and wonder if anyone will show up on the new date.  (Or worse, if anyone will show up on the old date.)

So here is my suggestion for those who are planning book launch parties soon:

1. Don’t plan the party until one month before the pub date.
2. Don’t mail the special order invitations until 3 weeks before the event, just in case the pub date does change.
3. Keep careful track of everyone you have invited, including emails and phone numbers.  This I have done, thank goodness, so the rest of my day will be sending emails.

This is what my publisher calls “a difficult birth.”  But she also assures me that the baby will be beautiful, and we’ll all go gaga over it soon enough.   Yes, but I’d still like that epidural, please.

On Stars and Glimmer Train and Free Sodas

I've been avoiding blogging over the past few days because I thought perhaps if I didn't blog, then maybe the stars would magically align and I'd arrive home one afternoon and see a huge FedEx box on my doorstep with a jiminy-christmas-stack-full-o-books inside.  Those advanced reader copies I'm eagerly awaiting.  Alas, the stars haven't aligned, and I'm still waiting, with not much to update on my blog except to tell you that waiting on the printer is punishing and particularly painful. A little alliteration there to keep the mood light because I found myself down in the dumps this weekend. Book readings: check. Publicist: check. Launch party: check.  Book itself: to be announced.  That kind of anxiety. 

Until I realized that hey, I have a book being published by a real publisher!  A little delay is nothing to whine about! I keep telling myself this, so you don't have to.  My publisher is giving me updates on the printer-status, so until I hear the magic words that my galleys are ready, I'll refine those letters and gift baskets to the kind people who have agreed to read (and possibly just might) review my novel for the masses.  

So, although my publicist and I are stuck in the Twilight Zone (not that Twilight) I have been making myself useful in other ways.  I'm writing in spurts on my third novel-in-progress (my second novel is under review by the publisher), and I've written an article on the craft of writing for Writer's Ask, a bulletin published by Glimmer Train Stories.

One last update: my under-21 and austere guests who attend the book launch after-party on the 21st of October at Trinity Hall will be served free sodas and tea.  Huzzah, T.H.!