Marketing Phone Call

I was able to talk to my marketing director today.  It was our first phone conversation.  He told me that my book would be released on Feb. 15th!!  I'm excited about that.  We talked about some marketing ideas.  I asked about having a book signing at "Chick Fil-A." He said the publishing company had a good relationship with them so he would set something up.  The reason I wanted to go to Chick Fil-A is that it as filled with so many kids and that is the audience my book is for.  I was glad to hear that others have done this in the past.  I felt like I was on the right track. We also talked about book signings at school and release party signings.

I  placed my first book order today too.  The publisher had a special going on, so I will be getting bookmarks, push cards, business cards, some t-shirts and on line radio advertising along with my order.  I can't wait to see what the bookmarks will look like. I ordered books to take with me on book signings and to have on hand for anyone who wants an autographed copy.

I asked if the audio part had to be finished before anyone could buy my book.  He told me that the audio takes a few months and that it would not hold up the release of the book.  People can order the book as soon as it is on line. 

So now I feel like my dream of being a published author is coming true.  Each step takes me closer and closer.  I can't wait to hear who receives my book first from the on-line orders on the publisher's website.

Audio Voicing

My book moved into the audio voicing stage in November.  I was sent to a site to choose from a few different voices.  It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.  I had one of my sons help me with this.  I stared at the characters on my book as I listened to each voice.  I turned in my top 3 choices.  I am now waiting to hear back with a sample for me to ok.  The next step will be checking the narration for errors.  After that the book will move into the artwork stage.  This is where they take the artwork from the book and fit the packaging for the audio book.  I sent the audio department an email today to see when I would be sent the sample. 

A week ago, I noticed that my book was placed on the Publishers on line book store. So I decided to go ahead and create a fan page on facebook and begin to tell my friends about it.  I shared the link to my book and people started ordering!  I was thrilled.  It was hard to go to sleep after that.  I also bought a journal to start writing down marketing ideas that I learn about from others or think of on my own. I found my publisher's facebook page and joined that.  I began reading and meeting other authors.  I have asked many questions and have been given some great advice.  Some of them became fans of my facebook page and I became fans of theirs.  It is nice to finally meet other authors from the same publishing company.  I wish I would have found the Publisher's site a long time ago.

 I am waiting till after Christmas to call the marketing director.  I want to ask him if the early orders will be sent out yet, even if the audio part isn't finished yet.  I will need to place an order so I will have books on hand to begin selling before the official release date. 

Graphic Design Stage

After my illustrations were complete, my book as moved into the graphic design phase in October.  My designer started with the cover first.  She sent me 3 different ones and said to keep in mind my customers. So I decided to take all three to my 2nd grade class and let them vote on the one they liked.  They were divided between two.  I asked them what they liked about both and then sent an email to my designer asking her if she could combine the two.  She did and so the cover was finalized. 

The next phase was the Initial Proof, which is the layout design.  She took my manuscript and made it look like a book.  She integrated the illustrations.  Once she was done, I had to ok it. I needed to make sure the visual experience matched the tone of the book.  This is the time when I needed to pay attention to fonts, font size, formatting, and the spread - what the book will look like on the inside.  I was so excited to see this part.  It was the first time I saw all the illustrations.  I showed it to a few friends and they loved it.  I was impressed with my illustrator. She did a great job.

Then we went to the Final Proof phase. The designer continued to work on the layout of the inside.  She created the back cover and spine using the backmatter I created awhile back.  The backmatter is the teaser about the book.  She also put in a section about the author and a picture.   When she was done, she sent me a copy in the mail to be checked over.  I was so excited.  I brought it to school and showed it to a few people.  I even read it to my class and had them write down their favorite part and illustrate it.  I then took it home and looked over it trying to find any mistakes.  If I had found any, I was suppose to mark directly on the book with red ink and visit a link to get a correction form.   I was fortunate that I didn't need it.  My book was fine.  So I had to mail back the book, so they could use it as a color match for the final product .  I really wanted to keep it, but I mailed it in as quickly as I could so that the next phase could begin. 

Illustrations Scenes

My illustrator sent me her scene ideas that she plans on drawing for the book. If I like the ideas, then that is what she will go with. If I don't, I can make suggestions to change them. Turns out I liked her ideas, so we won't have any changes. Once I ok the scene ideas, she gets to make it the way she wants. So I am saying lots of prayers that she will have great drawings to go with her ideas. This is the part that I wish I could ok every single drawing. But they won't do that. I think they will email a few of the finished scenes just so I can see how it is going. I don't think I can change anything once they are drawn. I guess I will find that part out when I hear back from her again.

Two weeks ago I received a call from my illustrator! We discussed page size, paper type, colors and my main characters. She worked on the sketches and sent me two today in my email. I loved them. They were so good. I think the students will love them. When she said she would be sending sketches, I pictured pencil ones. These were in color so I could really picture what they will turn out to look like. I'm getting excited. I can't wait to see how the pages turn out with all the background colors and settings in it.

First Edits

I received an email at the end of June telling me what my editor would be working on and a time line for all changes needed for her department. This is basically what the email said:

July 1-16 - I will edit the entire manuscript, watching for things such as plot formation, story arc, and character consistency. You won't hear much from me these first few weeks. But don't worry, I will be working hard molding and fine- tuning your manuscript.

July 16 - I will send you the edited manuscript, which will have problem areas and my suggestions highlighted. You will review these areas and approve, disapprove, or rewrite in a different font. You will need to return the manuscript to me (your editor) on July 30th and I will combine your edits.

That brings us to now. I received an email from my editor a few days ago with my edited manuscript attached. She read over my book and then only had a few suggestions for changes. Here is what she said about my book so far.

Hello Judi,
Here are my notes for your manuscript! What a cleaver take on -----------! (keeping that part a secret.) I think your children's book is adorable and can't wait to see it with illustrations. I only have a couple of suggestions for you.

Then she went on to tell me her suggestions. I saved the manuscript to my desktop with her suggestions added in a different color. My story had only 4 strikethroughs (which are words she suggests to be taken out), 3 areas of words she suggested should be added written in blue and one area that I needed to add a consequence. So I worked on my changes, making sure to highlight what I added in turquoise. I decided I will send it back to her in a day or two. I want to wait and reread it with fresh eyes tomorrow to see if I still like what I wrote.

Here is the remainder of my timeline with the editing department.

August 13 - I (your editor) will return the clean manuscript to you with the content approval form. You will look over the manuscript thoroughly and sign the form if you are content.

August 23- You will return the manuscript and content approval form to me and I will implement any changes and then move your manuscript on to our audio and design department.

I am getting excited again. There was a long period of waiting but now there are actual deadlines for me to meet. The first edit is the beginning of my deadlines. I think the changes will improve my story.

Production Stage - Re-submit manuscript

I received an email about two weeks ago from production welcoming me again to the publishing company and the steps I needed to take. I have been so busy with work and my kids schedules that today was the first time I could look over everything again.

The email asked for me to re-submit my story to make sure it met the submission guidelines to ensure that the entire production process would run more smoothly and quickly. I clicked on the link within the email and it took me to their submission requirements website.

The first step was to review my story and make sure I had it the way I wanted it. So I read it over a few times and then decided to do some more research. I'm glad I did. I worked on adding a few more details to my story, which I hope improved it. I changed my title as well and decided on my authors name to put on the title page. Then I had to save it in a certain format. The only thing I wish I would have done first, was print it out the way I had originally wrote it. I kept saving it to the same file so now I do not have a copy of my original story. So I recommend for anyone out there who is writing a story to either print out your original or save the editing in a different file just in case you like the original better.

The next step took me to the childrens book guidelines. I had to write the "Backmatter," which is the teaser that goes onto the back. I have to say that took some time and a few prayers. I even had to call my best friend for help with my last line. I liked how it turned out though.

After that, I had to write the Author's Bio. That also took some time and wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. But I ended up with something I liked. I saved it in the format required.

My last step was to send the publishing company an email and attach my files. So now it is in their hands again. I hope I hear from them again soon.