One hundred twenty-five and counting.: seanan

One hundred twenty-five and counting.

One hundred twenty-five days. That's all that remains between me, in this moment, as I'm typing this, and me, standing in a book store, holding a copy of Rosemary and Rue in my hands. Which will probably be shaking. I'm intending to creep quietly into a large chain store where nobody knows me, pay retail for the first copy I can find, and then go sit in a bathroom and cry for a good long while. And then I will dry my face and go back to the business of dealing with a release, IE, "being perky and accessible," "signing books and being charming," and "not reading my Amazon reviews." (For serious. I have been forbidden to read my Amazon reviews, and I support this commandment. I'm going to be crazy enough that week without the extra feedback.)

One hundred twenty-five days. I received my page proofs in the mail on Saturday, and have been dilligently crawling through them with a red pen, hunting and killing any errors that I find. If it makes it through the proofs, it's my fault. So I have to hunt and kill like a velociraptor trying to feed her young, aware that any mistakes made in the prehistoric jungle could lead to being eaten by a larger predator. Okay, so maybe it's not that bad. I mean, we're not at "burst into tears during the Hellboy II credits because I just figured out a continuity error" levels of high-strung yet, and we may not get there ever. But it's definitely very brain-and-stress-intensive, as well as being a fascinating exercise in reviewing my own text.

One hundred twenty-five days. My cover flats came in yesterday's mail. Actual, printed covers with my actual, printed cover image and my actual, printed back-cover text. My name and the title of the book are both embossed. After I finished crying, I started to laugh hysterically, because—without my having any actual input or control over the graphic design—I have wound up with a first novel whose title is presented in large, embossed, eye-catching, pumpkin-fucker orange lettering. Did you need proof that I control the universe? Because I actually got proof that I control the universe. And the proof is awesome.

One hundred twenty-five days. My to-do lists are starting to look like an elaborate piece of conditional theoretical math, because, of course, they fall down every time I need to wait for somebody to get back to me. "If X has not happened, Y; if X has happened, Z" is becoming a distressingly common entry. (And if you're wondering why I'm doing lists that far out, you haven't checked my schedule recently.) I'm trying to make things as unconditional as I possibly can, simply for the sake of my own sanity. And Kate's sanity. And Vixy's sanity. And The Agent's sanity. And the sanity of anybody else who has to deal with me between now and the end of September.

One hundred twenty-five days. That's when you get to meet Toby properly and in print for the very first time.

I'm so excited I could scream.

bercilakslady

April 28 2009, 16:16:22 UTC 8 years ago

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"(For serious. I have been forbidden to read my Amazon reviews, and I support this commandment. I'm going to be crazy enough that week without the extra feedback.)"

Out of curiosity, is this a blanket forbidding, or just for the first little while?

*hugs* I'm glad you're so excited, and I hope that you manage to stay sane while you wait.

the_s_guy

April 28 2009, 21:11:38 UTC 8 years ago

I'd second the shunning of Amazon reviews. There is never anything on there that an author needs to read, and plenty of careless random cruelty, accidental and otherwise. Let the publishers sift through it if they feel they must; they have thicker skins about such things.

So, when's the first booksigning tour? :)

seanan_mcguire

April 29 2009, 14:13:00 UTC 8 years ago

Northern California is shaping up nicely, and I have a bunch of conventions planned over the next year. My publicist at Penguin (which distributes DAW) is going to help me with additional signings and events.

aiglet

April 29 2009, 13:35:13 UTC 8 years ago

I think we're aiming for blanket, actually.

Now all we have to do is keep *other* people from reading them *to* her. I figure we can always excerpt "the good bits" and do a "best hits of Amazon reviews" at a later date -- it's not like they go away.

April 29 2009, 13:40:53 UTC 8 years ago

That sounds wise.

If you'd like help finding the "good bits", let me know.

April 29 2009, 14:12:16 UTC 8 years ago

Hopefully, blanket forbidding. I'm usually good at resisting the urge to poke the scabs, but as Kate says, it can be a bitch-kitty to keep people from sending me the reviews.

(To be clear, this isn't "protect poor delicate Seanan from negative feedback." If people have a central complaint, I'll absolutely hear about it. It's "let's not listen to people complaining ad nauseum that Toby isn't Anita Blake, because we like having a blonde who's not under her bed.")

April 29 2009, 14:18:21 UTC 8 years ago

Fair point. I didn't think you were hiding from negative but useful feedback, as I do actually know you. I just wanted to be clear so I didn't do something that would be unwelcome. Now I know.

That said, I know myself, and I'm probably just going to squeak at you about how awesome Toby is, and not be able to provide any sort of constructive criticism. It's why I'm never a beta reader for friends, just a copy editor on occasion. Helping students' papers not suck is a whole 'nother matter, though that profession is behind me for the moment.

April 30 2009, 02:15:23 UTC 8 years ago

I didn't figure you would think that, but thought it might be good to post, in case people who don't know me that well wander by the thread. :)

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