Hi. I'm getting super psyched for the release of Indebted. I should get the cover soon (hopefully by tomorrow). I have that excited-scared feeling so I know it will be soon! I can't wait to hold the proof in my hands (but that won't be until next week). Remaining calm is ceasing to be an option so I've been listening to this sweet rendition of CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE by INGRID MICHAELSON in an attempt to NOT freak out. I'm crossing my fingers that it will BE OK.
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I've hit yet ANOTHER SNAG in the release of Indebted. The cover is not ready. This will probably push the RELEASE OF INDEBTED to the FIRST WEEK OF APRIL 2012. I apologize to all of you who've been waiting for months for this. I'm not happy about it, but I understand that when mistakes are made the best thing to do is fix them and move on because just like in GET IT DADDY by SLEEPER AGENT: "I'M NOT A BABY NO MORE" EITHER · Here are the details for the cover: CreateSpace sent me the cover mock-up after 5:00 p.m. on 3/21/12 (which was Wednesday). I was scared to open it because I wanted it to be perfect. I said a small prayer and then I peeked. It was perfect...perfectly wrong and I thought at first it might be a joke—more like a prank. The cover was great, there was only one small problem: it was the EXACT SAME COVER as INTUITION—trees, red feather—except it says Indebted on the front.
· I called them the next morning (because they were already gone when I called on Wed.) and found out that the designer had pulled the wrong cover option off the file because there were two—one I used for Intuition's cover and the one I want to use for Indebted's cover. (The odds were fifty-fifty and I guess he was feeling lucky.) · So since it's their mistake, they're going to fix it fast and get it to me sooner than the 5-10 days, right? WRONG! I couldn't get them to help me out like that. I guess at least I now know where I stand. (I think that they should know up front that they can't break me. I've already been toughened up by my attempt to get a literary agent. They're lightweights compared to that torture.) · In the words or Winston Churchill: You do your worst - and we will do our best. I've HIT A SNAG in my plotting for a MARCH RELEASE date of INDEBTED. The release has the potential to spill into the first few days of April, making me an April fool. I'll know more in the next couple of days. I promise to update you as soon as I know for sure. I'm trying to: "RUN, WHIRLWIND, RUN" so I'm NOT like one of the girls they're sing about in this AMAZING song: GIRLS LIKE YOU by THE NAKED AND FAMOUS · Okay, here are the details regarding Indebted. First, the good news: I received the corrected PDF (interior format) proof of Indebted today. I checked all the corrections and it looks BRILLIANT! I approved it an hour after receiving it. The next step that follows is usually for my publisher to print it and send me a physical proof in the mail—the first copy of the book. (This is where the bad news comes into play.) Normally, I have the cover already squared away, however, it's not ready yet.
· I was supposed to get the cover proof yesterday. (My team leader—yes, that's what she's called, which always makes me smile because I think of Star Wars and I want to say, "Copy that, Gold leader," after everything she says—told me last Monday that I would have it in 5 business days, which is standard.) When it hadn't come by 5:00 p.m. today, I called CreateSpace. Their representative said that they're "slammed" in the art department and it could be as late as the 22nd that I receive my new cover proof. (And she hinted that it may even be later than that, so I had to thank her quickly and get off the phone so she wouldn't hear me beating my head against the wall.) This is very bad for me. I'm desperately trying to have this release by at least the 31st of March. Everything is up in the air until I get the cover, so I plan to give you updates as I get them. · In the spirit of managing expectations, I feel I should mention again another point for those of you new to this sandbox: when I say release, I mean the paperback version of my book. The eBook version usually follows 2-3 weeks after the paperback goes live on Amazon.com. (I know, Grrrr, right?) I feel the same way! I want them to go live at the same time, but that is not how they build sandcastles around here. I don't make the rules; I just try to avoid the cat poop. (And right now there's a big, steaming pile of it headed my way if I don't pull this off by the end of March.) WE ARE STILL SET FOR AN END OF MARCH RELEASE OF INDEBTED. So just like this amazing song by KINGS OF LEON: IT'S COMING CLOSER: · Here's the latest news: I submitted corrections to Indebted's PDF (interior format) today. That means that within five business days I should get another PDF proof of the book. Once I approve that one, the publisher will print the first copy of Indebted and send it to me in the mail for final approval.
· The cover is sort of a sore subject with me right now. I couldn't seem to explain my vision for the cover to the designer. I take full responsibility because I'm a writer and I should be able to describe in words what I want, but it just never came across to them based on what I've been getting for mock-ups. It came to a point in the process that I was afraid that the cover was looking "self-pub." Don't get me wrong; I am self-pub. I will own that all day and into the next; I just don't want you to be able to point to my cover and say, "Ahhhh, self-pub." I pay for it to be done professionally, so it should look professional. I know that my covers are not the norm anyway. I am aware of the genre for which I write. I'm supposed to have some smoking-hot guy on the cover—or a very beautiful girl in an elaborate ball gown walking though a field or conversely draped over a chair—or a kick-ass, tatted vixen in a leather outfit who is ready to smack the taste out of your mouth. Sex sells. Beauty is everything. I get it. But, I don't know...done and done, right? If I do it too, then I don't stand out. Not to say that mine are cutting-edge covers. I mean a feather is hardly original, especially when it comes to the kind of story I write, but there is still something about it that appeals to me. It is very, very simple—and simple is difficult for me. I find simple a challenge. Simple is appealing in another regard: because size does matter. Sometime simple comes across better when the image is small, like in an eBook ad. I am primarily an eBook author (for now, anyway). If the cover is complicated, it doesn't seem to come across as well. I am also hoping for a more universal appeal. Maybe it will appeal to others outside of the genre as well—more of a crossover book. (Marketing executives are clutching their sides right now from laughing so hard at me.) Anyway, I scrapped the cover they were working on. I called a halt to it yesterday. I'm going with the alternate mock-up from Intuition. I remember really liking it when I had to choose between the two last time. I don't get that feeling now, but I think it's because I'm really disappointed that I couldn't explain myself well rather than it not being amazing. (Sorry, bored yet?) As soon as I get the jpeg of the cover, I'll post it so you can see it. · I'm NOT going to dwell on the cover. I'M GETTING SUPER EXCITED FOR INDEBTED! I JUST READ THE LAST CHAPTER! I WANT TO TELL YOU RIGHT NOW WHAT HAPPENS, BUT I CAN'T! UGH! I'M DYING! ONLY A COUPLE MORE WEEKS AND YOU CAN READ IT FOR YOURSELVES! IT'S COMING CLOSER! I just received the PFD (full interior formatted) proof of Indebted (like five minutes ago—I'M FREAKING OUT, IT LOOKS GREAT). We're still on track for an END OF MARCH release date for INDEBTED. And just like in the song by FUN: I NEED TO GET MY STORY STRAIGHT. So enjoy this We Are Young video while I proofread... HI! We're still on track for an END OF MARCH release date for INDEBTED. I still don't have a set date, yet. (I know, shoot me, right?) And just like in this song by Adele: I'LL BE WAITING · Here's what's been going on with the publishing of indebted. I'm waiting for my publisher to return the first draft (the entire formatted PDF of Indebted) to me so I can check it. I thought I'd have it by now, but I don't. I've been haunting my inbox for any sign of it. I'll check it again...nope. Grrr...
· I received another draft of the cover last week. I wasn't in love with it, but I could be if they change a few things. I wrote them with a few suggestions for changes last Friday. Other than that, I'm just waiting. |
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