The last six weeks has been a marathon of design, review, editing, fact-checking and proofreading.
I want to say one thing about proofreading. It is a long, painstaking, manual process. Four people proofread the galley proofs for MMS – these are like the proofs you get from a photographer – and every person found something different. If a fifth person proofread them, they might unearth something we left behind – a typo, a duplicated word, a missing word – but I doubt it. Or at least, I hope not. (One professional proofreader I worked with years ago used to read a manuscript backward. Amazing what you find when you are not reading the context, but rather, just the words themselves.)
Today the book was sent on CD via courier to the printer. By next week we will know the printer’s schedule. Tentative publication date is August 1.
My brand-new website will go live about when the book is published. (NOTE TO MY FAITHFUL SUBSCRIBERS: YOU WILL HAVE TO RE-SUBSCRIBE. More on that later.) My blog and website will now be on the same platform, which makes them easier to update, which is a good thing, since we now switch gears from “down and detailed” to “fast and furious.” OH – and the website will include an interactive map of the Muskoka Road! Very exciting, very unique.
Patrick, my publisher at Muskoka Books has already turned his attention to marketing activities. Launch events. Contests. Personal appearances. Magazine articles. Something for everyone along this road!
Hang on to your hats.
Congratulations Lee Ann! What a momentous moment! You must be both exhausted and thilled. Hats off you; what an accomplishment. Your faithful readers and I are looking forward to getting a copy of your book into our hands!
Ah..you can see that it is I that neds a proofreader, just for my comments. Sigh. Of course, I meant to say “thrilled”.
I give up. (!!!)
Ah, Karen, so funny. Proofreaders rule. (I neds to be thilled!)
What a milestone!!!!!!!!!!! Time to celebrate….. More tonight.
Now the fun begins. Congratulations! Your next book will be much easier now that you’ve gone through all the hoops with this one.
M2, I think I’ll wait awhile before even thinking of the next one. 🙂
Okay, now I must know what the other proofreaders found that I didn’t! I’m super anal that way. I want a detailed list :). (Just kidding. Mostly.)
Congratulations on it finally going to the printer – hope it makes for a super relaxing long Canada Day weekend!
I’ve decided I have to be much more tolerant when I read books that have mistakes in them. Imagine if a book only had one proofreader. Instead of what I now think is the required six… or ten…
I’m thrilled that you’re at this point. It’s going to HAPPEN! You dug deep, Lee Ann — and you made it to the last kilometer on THE road. Way …. to ….. go!!!!!! xoxo
How exciting! I can’t wait.
Teresa
Congratulations Lee Ann you deserve a nice holiday. Hope you will keep writing on your blog, love getting it on Monday mornings. Have a great a day.