Alterations

My book arrived on Friday and at first glance it looked wonderful but it was soon evident that there had not been enough allowance for extra margins at the spine. This distorted some of the illustrations that go across the two pages. I left the call with Lisa, whether to leave it as is or to change it. I had also forgotten to remove a dash in my text on the back cover, which she offered to correct. The process is slightly different than with my last book, as with that one I had procured a design package and any corrections had to be written on a special form. But as Lisa created the design herself, it appears she can make the changes on her copy and submit these, which she is doing.

I must say it was a relief not to have to worry about it and to leave it up to my niece, though we couldn’t have picked a busier time for her, with a toddler, and being in the middle of building her house.

It is also a busy time for the printing company, with businesses wanting their Christmas promotional material printed. I guess the lesson for me here is patience. I am hoping there will not be too many delays on both fronts. It would be good to get the book in time for the Christmas markets.

I have always had an urgency about getting my books printed. I am not sure why this is but I knew I had to get the others out when I did, even though I kept that first one hidden away. Perhaps it was something about getting the information out there. This book is different in the sense that the urgency hasn’t been there until now and the reason this time is because these books could be potential Christmas presents and if we miss that market, it is a long time until next year.  

I also need to trust that everything will work out as it is meant. If we miss the Christmas market, then so be it. Often it is not until we look back at something that we see the gift in the disappointments or failed plans - so that’s why that happened, we exclaim.

This book has been a long time in the making. The story was written almost thirty years ago and it was several years ago that Lisa and I discussed her doing the illustrations for it. So, what’s another few weeks wait?