Whoosh….

…and that sound you hear is the sound of deadlines going by.

I was hoping that by this time this year, I would be holding my first real copy of my book, ‘Lex Talionis’ in my hands. Unfortunately, I was a little late getting the manuscript back to the publisher, and now the typesetter’s a little late too. That means no firm publication date for now, and some more time for me to spend biting my nails and hiding under tables convinced the moment the book comes out, I will be fodder for every critic out there.

Or worse, they won’t even know I exist.

So most of my days start out like this

…and end up like this

Anyways, the good news is, I know the editing process took a while, but I think it was worth it. And I’m confident that the delays are about having a better book, not because the publisher doesn’t care. On the contrary, Dragonwell Press is working their ass off on my behalf and I am very grateful, believe me. You get like that when you’ve actually had a publisher just close up shop and move on without ever answering any of your emails after saying sure, we’ll publish your book. So, yeah, as long as they keep talking to me and answering my emails, I think I’ll be good.

But I do kinda wish I knew before this process started what I know now. Basically, getting published involves a lot of waiting on other people. You can’t miss your deadlines–you’re the one who just has to put your head down and get it done after all. But everyone else can, and probably will, be late. That’s the nature of publishing. As long as you’re not self-publishing, that is. And I chose this path for a reason, so I get the pros and the cons.

You just have to grin, bear it, and remember that anything worth doing is worth doing well. So put the work in and learn to meet your deadlines. That way, at least you won’t contribute to the inevitable slow down.

Still, I wish someone had told me how very much you can freak out in the space of just five minutes every…single…day.