The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author - Chapter 16

The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author

Chapter 16

In about 10 days, UPS showed up with a package from Authorhouse –my author’s copy!
It is a long and arduous process from conceptualization to writing to editing and finally, to waiting for the finished product.
We excitedly opened the package and held in our hand the fruits of our labors.
Lady Justice wasn’t just a figment of my imagination anymore ---she was real!
Feelings of joy, pride, accomplishment and fulfillment flooded us as we held our new creation.
Not to be overdramatic or to trivialize the comparison, but the feeling was not unlike bringing new life into the world.
We hugged and laughed and examined our baby from cover to cover. She was beautiful --- everything we had hoped for.
I had received an email from Authorhouse saying they would not start production of our order until we had received and approved our author copy. I sent the email and called my book sales representative. By this time it was nearing the end of October and my goal was to have the books in hand for the Christmas shopping season, so I begged her to rush the order and she said she would.
During this down time, two things happened:
First, my mind wouldn’t shut down and the next adventures of Walt, Maggie and the other senior characters started popping out. I began writing the sequel to Lady Justice before the first book was in print.
Second, Peg and I spent hours on our deck, rocking and planning our sales campaign. Since the story was senior oriented, we decided on book signings at every senior citizens complex within 100 miles. We now live in a small rural town, but spent most of our life in the Metro Kansas City area, and we knew of dozens of libraries that could host a signing for us. And, of course, we were sure that once the book was available, all the bookstores would be excited to sponsor a local author.
So we rocked on our deck and planned and dreamed --- moving a thousand books would be a piece of cake.
My philosophy has always been, “If you can dream it, you can achieve it”. Unfortunately, sometimes reality gets in the way.
Finally, the day arrived and we saw the UPS truck coming down the driveway. He backed up to the garage and started unloading box after box after box. When it was all over and 1,065 books were stacked in our garage, we looked at each other and a wave of panic hit us.
What have we done?