As for business, I've had two other people approach me about publishing their books. I don't have anyone lined up for October yet, so the next book will probably be in November. Depends on schedules and how ready either author is to present a finished manuscript. One of them sent his book -- his biography -- to me the other day. I need to read it in depth, but I can already tell it needs a lot of editing. Yes, I know I'm supposed to take the money and run, but I don't want MRH to have that kind of reputation. I want the books to look nice and be readable. I want the authors to be proud of them whether or not the book sells many copies or few.
Here's a bit of detail on last week:
Monday: Worked on finishing the final galley for On Target: Devotions for Modern Life until midnight.
Tuesday: Worked on OTDML until 3 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Wednesday: Made several covers for OTDML. Had lunch with a friend.
Thursday: Met with the author of OTDML for six hours. Transmitted the final galley. Sometime this week or next, the book proof will arrive!
Friday: Did publicity for Secret of the Pack Rat's Nest. My contract with that author is just about finished. I need to turn over files and account info, and then that's it besides a few more mentions on Twitter and Facebook.
Saturday: Attended writers group meeting. Met with author of SPRN briefly. Ran errands around town. Came home and realized my house desperately needed cleaning, and with great force of will, was able to watch a movie instead.
Sunday: Overslept and missed church. :( Cleaned kitchen and living room. Emptied trash. Doing a couple loads of laundry. Trying to catch up on posting.
This week:
- Finish publicity for SPRN. Turn over account either this week or next.
- Start publicity for OTDML.
- Read biography manuscript.
- Clean house!
- Work on Secret Project 1. Not that it's that much of a secret, but it's a book I've thought about for a while. I want to work on it and see what I have.
- Work on Murder by the Mile. Got to finish that. Okay, re-finish it. It's done, but I really really really hate the last chapter.
- Catch up on all my posting.
- Finish August family newsletter. Yeah, it's behind. MRH took all my time.
And that's the overview of this week. Hope things are going well for you!
Oh, here are the covers for Secret of the Pack Rat's Nest and the proof cover for On Target: Devotions for Modern Life. I think they turned out well.
3 comments:
Isn't it amazing how quickly it eats your life? That's more or less what I'm up against,too.
Hugs Stephen. I'm soooo happy to see you here, too!
I like both covers. I really, really like SPRN. Thoroughly enjoyed the book, too.
You're doing a great job. Please do your best to keep your standards high when determining what you will publish.
Yes, finding that balance between the customer and the quality reputation you want to uphold will be a dance. You'll get better at it, but it will be challenging. Especially at first. You have customers on different parts of the spectrum. The people who are purchasing the book and the author seeking a publisher. There's room for give and take, but there's also a place where you either need to be firm or let go. The key, I suspect is understanding where it's a stylistic difference and where it's critical it be done a certain way.
"The key, I suspect is understanding where it's a stylistic difference and where it's critical it be done a certain way." Well put and right on target.
And thank you for the compliments on the covers. I'm getting better at them as my Photoshop Elements skills increase.
Post a Comment