Book enters pre-production phase
Friday, January 21, 2005 at 07:39PM When you tell someone that you signed a book deal, the first question they almost always ask is, "When will it be out?" The answer I give is an honest one: I don't know.
The follow-up question is usually along the line of, "What is happening with your book now?" The answer I have given, until now, is again: I don't know.
I still have no definitive answer to the first question, although I have good reason to believe it will be released within the year -- possibly as early as this summer, although that may be wishful thinking on my part.
On the second question, I now have a better idea of what is happening with my book. It is officially in the pre-production phase, which means that the publisher isn't doing much of anything, and I, the author, have a lot of work to do and little time to do it.
Before the book goes into the production phase (which is when the publisher's work begins), I have to provide them with what is in essence my idea of a finished product. This means formatting and editing to the publisher's specifications. It is also my last chance to make substantive changes to the manuscript.
In addition to what goes inside of the book, there's also the matter of what goes on the outside. The pre-production phase is my one opportunity to have any real input on what the book cover will look like. Since I failed Coloring 101 in the 3rd grade (I couldn't stay in the lines), I sought out the help of a good friend, Cindy Anderson, a talented graphic designer out of Portland. Although she has no experience at designing book covers, she took up the challenge. I am so thrilled that she has -- and can't wait to see what she comes up with. As I understand it, she even has the Crayola 64 count box and is able to use all of the colors. I, on the other hand, never graduated from the 4 count box.
The back cover is of course where the dreaded author photo goes. That for me is possibly the most painful part of this whole process and one that I know I will forever live to regret. For the record, no, I will not be holding a pipe and wearing a tweed jacket.
So that is the answer to what is happening right now with the book. I have now less than one month to complete all of these tasks, which explains why there have been fewer journal entries this week on my blog. The good news is that once the pre-production phase is over, the production phase begins -- and that is when the fun really starts.
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