Look Who Came to Visit!

Jorja Matthews, that’s who.

I hope by now, if you’ve either read the book blurb for No Mother of Mine or, hopefully, you have already read the book, you know who Jorja Matthews is.  She is my protagonist.  She is what my new book and mystery series is all about.

Jorja (say, ‘Georgia’) is someone who I hope you will enjoy being introduced to, along with her best friend, Taylor, and her loyal companion and furry sidekick, Piper, as well as a host of locals who live and work around the small, quaint town Jorja now resides in.  I thoroughly enjoy writing about them and I truly hope you will enjoy reading about them.

As I have stated earlier, now that the eBook is available, I have been working on making the paperback available for sale.  I finished those preparations a week ago and once I received word from the publishing company that the book was ready for review, I ordered a copy to proof.  That was on Monday and by Friday the yellow slip had arrived informing me a box too large to fit in the post office box was available to pick up.  I was elated until I realized the post office was already closed!

Thankfully, we have nice postal workers here in my town.  After a few furtive raps on the glass from me, the postal worker was more than willing to help out once she saw me holding my yellow card, most likely with a pitiful, pleading look on my face, hoping to exchange it for the box being held hostage within.

Once I was handed the box, it took all my effort not to rip it open right then and there!  But, I knew my family was at home waiting for me and they would enjoy nothing more than taking part in this exciting step in the process.

I will admit to a few longing glances at the box while I was driving and I even reached over to pick up the box a time or two, just to make sure it was still there and not my imagination.  I’m very thankful the ride home from the post office is only five minutes because even a handful of minutes seemed too long.

I thought seeing my book for sale as an eBook on the Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites was exciting but opening that box to expose an actual paperback with my name on it and my very own creation inside?  That experience is completely beyond description.  It is very surreal.  It is any and every emotion you might imagine and then some.

So what do I do now? 

Well, I need to read the book to proof it, which I have been working on over the weekend.  I need to make a few decisions regarding any changes I might like to make.  I’m sure it’s no surprise that there are a few steps in this process where I’m still learning.  As much as I research anything and everything that has to do with publishing, I’m still coming across issues I have not yet heard or read about.  Even something as minor as the color of the paper inside the book or the size of the font.  The paper is white (versus off-white), which I chose, not realizing just how bright it would be.  But, in contrast to the book cover, it actually looks good and I’m going to keep it that way.  And then there’s the size of the font.  It is larger than I expected and from the initial reviews on my computer, was not something that was obvious to me at the time.  Now that I see it in print, I’d prefer the font be an 11 rather than a 12, but to change it means to change the number of pages in my book.  Considering others factors and decisions I’ve had to make, less pages would be better except that the cover has been created specifically for the size of my book (a large 5.5 x 8.5 paperback) and the number of pages existing at the time it was initially approved for the first printing.  I don’t want to delay the process by having another cover formatted so for those who care, although it is not considered large print, you certainly won’t need to worry about squinting to read the words in my book.   

Even as new issues pop up, I know what I’ve learned from this book will help me with the second and the third and beyond.  I’ll continue to learn, which is okay.  I will never be at a point where I will know everything and I would never expect that to be the case.  But as I learn, I hope that for anyone who is also thinking about writing and publishing, maybe what I’ve learned will also help you.

It’s time to get back to proofing the book but look for information soon on how to purchase the paperback, if that is what you’ve been waiting for, as it is on track to be made available before the end of the month.

Cheers!