Three Months

I’ve made my decision. I’ve decided on a release date for Thanmir War.

I’ve set my release date as November 5th, 2013. Why November 5th?

• It’s a Tuesday, and traditional book releases take place on Tuesday
• The baby is due late September, but may arrive early October
• It’s before the holidays

This gives me three months to take care of those pesky little odds and ends I have yet to finish. I’ve already been in business talks (ooh, sounds so professional) with a colleague about starting our own publishing company. I’ve written the script and chosen the music for my trailer, and have conscripted my best friend’s husband to help me with animation. I have my cover, know what I need to fix with formatting, and finally decided on an editor.

I’ve been in contact with ten different editors. Believe it or not, three of them failed my first test, which is quite simple. Spell my name correctly in the reply. Ah those two fateful words that have killed off three potential business ventures… Hello Lori.

*Screech!!*

Thank you for your response, but clearly you lack the attention to detail I’d expect from an editor.

Alright, so maybe I’m a bit touchy about being called Lori. It may stem from having a maiden name that was also four letters and ended with -ori. Really people! It’s an “N” in my first name. From preschool on, I’ve dealt with people misreading and misspelling my name. It’s quite humorous placing a fast food order and telling them my name is Loni, and seeing what they write. I’ve seen Lani, Lonnie, Lonny, Lanie, among others, and my favorite: Lawny. Yes, I’m grassy like that.

So when an editor calls me by the wrong name, you can bet that’s an auto reject. Editors, in my opinion, are supposed to fix problems, not create them.

Ranting aside, I’ve decided on a particular editor and have chosen to move forward with her. I enjoy her tone and attitude in her communication, I like her clarity, and her price, though not the least expensive, is within my budget. We have set a completion date of October 25th. *Deep breath* We can do this!

This does put a bit of a damper on my current critique partner relationships. I was quite torn. Do I wait? Or do I proceed? But I won’t get anything done unless I get started.

Three months. Three months to get everything squared away. I should start advertising. They say waiting until the book is released is waiting too long. Unfortunately, I don’t know squat about marketing. So, if you know someone who might be interested in Thanmir War, please spread the word. It’s going to be available on November 5th, 2013.

Now to find one of those countdown tickers…