My third baby arrived yesterday, and I’m very happy I didn’t have to deliver this one on the bathroom floor, as happened with our son in December. It’s a premature birth of sorts, since the baby in question is my book, which has been delivered in uncorrected proof form. For those who don’t know, this is a bound copy of the book for review purposes. Typos and some small changes to the text (taking out a bunch of said-bookisms that slipped through, for example) have yet to be made, but it is so close to the final text to make little difference.
I am aware it is slightly tragic to take a picture of the books in the baby hammock, but this particular baby took a lot longer to create than the last two (hundreds of hours vs 30 magnificent seconds), and so deserves at least as much love. I’ve been working toward this dream of being a published author for years, so I’m sure you can forgive my excitement.
We aren’t there yet. It’s rather like climbing a mountain and reaching a plateau near the top only to see another peak ahead. The foreword by Terry Pratchett, dedications, author bio and acknowledgements are all missing from the text, but the end is now in sight, and to actually have something in my hand that looks like a book feels wonderful.
The cover was exactly as I expected, and looks very striking, but I was also pleased with the spine, which looks very funky, and the prominent quote from Sir Terry on the back, saying the book made him ‘snort with laughter’. Even if the book bombs, knowing I made the man considered one of Britain’s foremost humorists laugh gives me a sense of achievement that will remain with me for the rest of my life.
These uncorrected proofs will be going out to reviewers, so I can expect to start getting a feel for what others think very shortly. Yes, I am nervous, but I remain hopeful it will get a positive response. Fingers, toes and other crossables are all firmly crossed.