Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Another step...

Since Kira brought it up…

No, Kira didn’t really mention much about what went on between The Call and the issue of Whispers in the Dark (aside from the really important stuff—title, release date, cover). No discussion on the blog about edits or galleys or art fact sheets. Don’t feel bad or left out, Honorary Playfriends, she barely mentioned any of that to us! I often wondered if Kira was trying to be sensitive—not rubbing our un-published noses in the “Nyah-nyah, I have a book contract! Isn’t it cool what I’m doing and you’re not!”

I imagine many of the Honorary Playfriends wanted to hear all that minutiae between sale and store—after all, many of you are aspiring authors too, and I know I found all of that to be terribly fascinating when she did talk about it (still do, by the way.). At the same time, it can be rather depressing to have a good friend do what you’re wanting to do—even if you do get to live vicariously through her. It’s a double-edged sword. Of course, then there’s also the fact that a lot of our Honorary Playfriends aren’t writers, and it’s hard to guess how much or how little information readers want to know about the behind the scenes stuff.

I, however, am the Problem Child and, therefore, won’t worry about any of that. :-)

I got my galleys last week!

I’d heard of galleys before—the last chance to look over the book for typos and such before they become immortalized in a book for folks to email you about. I was eagerly awaiting mine, and I must say, they arrived long before I expected them. (And, yes, I’m still in Rejected-far-too-many-times Mode and cringed when a big envelope arrived from Harlequin. Never mind that I had to sign for them and no one sends rejection letters by courier service. Old habits die hard, people.)

I held my breath as I opened the package. These are Galleys-with-a-capital-G! They are Important! They are Special!

I don’t know what I was expecting—thicker, fancier paper, maybe? Some kind of binding—even just a 3-ring notebook? Bells? Sparkles? Fireworks that went off when I opened the package?

I was sorta disappointed.

They look remarkably like any other manuscript on my office floor.

Really. Just unbound paper with a rubber band around it. Courier New 12-point font, double-spaced with one-inch margins on 8 ½ x 11 paper. Pretty much exactly what I sent in, only this time the header is different and the lines are numbered. I was afraid to put it in my office in fear I wouldn’t be able to tell it from the other manuscripts in there. (Okay, so that’s a slight exaggeration. It has a title page with important-looking numbers on it and a cover letter telling me when I have to have them back to my editor. Important distinction from all that other junk in my office.)

And, trust me, going through this book with a sharp eye on every comma and preposition (because, after all, I don’t want folks emailing me to point out mistakes in the book) isn’t half as glamorous as it sounded either.

But it’s still pretty freakin’ neat. It puts me one step closer to that really cool picture Kira posted of books with her name on them.

Hmm, I wonder if they put the fireworks and sparkles and stuff in that box? (Maybe Kira just didn’t mention it…)


PC

11 comments:

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Didn't I mention it? The box came with fireworks. Not to mention the rubies, diamonds and emeralds that shot up into the sky and rained down around me in a pile of sparkling wealth. :-)

Actually, I'm not really sure why I didn't mention all the steps of the process. Considering how hard it is for me to come up with a blog topics sometimes you'd think I'd have jumped at the chance. Maybe because I just didn't think it was very entertaining. For me it was work - work I was looking forward to doing but work none-the-less.

I'll be honest and say that copy edits and galleys...not my favorite part of the process. :-) Creating a new story, new people, new problems for them to deal with is what I enjoy most.

Instigator

M.V.Freeman said...

Hmmm, PC, If you want sparkles I'll gladly rewrap the galley so it is filled with glittering stuff; I just don't want to vacuum it....*Grin*

And actually, I like to hear about the galleys and the whole process of the writing. Makes it more real; and less the stuff of imagination (What? We all can't be like Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City; who lives comfortably from a huge advance and reads exerpts while stylishly clad? Drat).

Now, I must slink back to my lair...

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to you!!! And I'm just a reader of books and I have no intention of writing any, however, I do enjoy reading about the process. Thanks for the insight.
robertsonreads

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

What?? No glitter? Well, hell.

Lynn Raye Harris said...

Dang, another fantasy ruined. No glitter.

Playground Monitor said...

As long as the hoo-hah is glittery, isn't that what counts? ::grin::

I saw the galleys when I went by PC's house last week (can't remember why, but I remember the galleys).

PM

Rhonda Nelson said...

(Precious, if you are reading, then cover your eyes.)

I loathe galleys. By the time I've written the book, revised the book, looked at the edit, and THEN galleys arrive, I am so sick of the book and its people that I would quite happily kill them off in a fiery crash. Not exactly a HEA, eh? ;-)

But alss, they are a necessary evil. Like PC, I don't want anyone emailing me with mistakes, so I always sit down with a notepad, a pen and a glass of Diet Mt. Dew and tuck in.

mslizalou said...

I'm a reader only, but I love to hear about the whole writing process. Congrats on receiving your Galleys!

Angel said...

Yes, I find it fascinating to view the whole process. The only publishing I've done doesn't require any of that type of editing on my end. I'm sure once I get to that stage I'll hate my people too, just like Rhonda. I'll be more than happy for them to go away to college without any supervision from me.

The numbers running along the side were the one thing that struck me about galleys. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing (coming from one of the people who nagged Instigator about sharing...)

Angel

Sherry Werth said...

Ya'll go right ahead and share on. This wannabe will take all the inside info you have and appreciate it. : )

Jolie said...

I second SherryW! As an aspiring writer who knows...well, jack...about what to expect or do after even finishing an MS, I'd love to hear all the juicy details. Maybe next time? :P