Circles of Stone
Diary of a Novel on Its Way to Publication
This will be the final entry in this diary. Thanks to those of you who
have tracked this process over the last two years (the first entry was October
2001).
November 10--I received an additional 40
copies to cover two books events I have planned on the weekend of Nov. 15
(Borders Books) and 16 (at my parish church). The error in the spelling of my
last name has been corrected! All is well again. Circles of Stone's Amazon.com
ranking is now 1.2 million (and moving closer to #1).
October 15, 2003--I received my authors
copies along with 42 additional copies I will keep in my "stash" for
incidental sales. I'm shocked to discover that my last name is still misspelled
on the spine of the book. The publisher promises a quick fix to this lingering
problem. Fortunately, Hilliard & Harris prints books on a "just in
time" basis, rather than thousands at a time. Circles of Stone opened
with an Amazon.com ranking of 2.5 million (about as bad as it gets).
October 10, 2003--At last! Circles of Stone was listed today on
both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. Not all good news. The listings as
submitted to the sites by Ingram are as yet incomplete. But they are there.
Minor errors will be cleaned up within a few days.
I haven't yet received my author's copies from the publisher, but they should be
along any day now.
September 26, 2003--I received word that Circles
of Stone was being released "this week," but that the book would
not be in the circulation pipeline (Ingram, Baker & Taylor, etc.) for a few
weeks. In the meantime, bookstores can purchase books from Hilliard &
Harris. What I have learned about bookstores is that they really do not like to
go outside their standard distributors. They will, but reluctantly, and
sometimes with the result that they do not get books in time for signings, etc.
During the coming week, I will have to check with stores where I have signings
scheduled to see if they will purchase from H&H or if I should postpone my
engagements. An alternative is to get copies from the publisher and sell them to
the bookstore myself, but no one likes to do it that way.
September 16, 2003--I was assured that the
book would go to press "tomorrow." With today's amazing printing
technology, it's possible to print a book in days, if not hours.
September 15, 2003--The editor at Hilliard
& Harris contacted me with a question about the use of quotes within quotes
and how the marks ( ' ") should appear in the text. Talk about dotting
"i"s and crossing "t"s! But it's important stuff because the
book will be forever cast that way.
September 13, 2003--I spoke with the owner of
Diablo Books, Walnut Creek, CA, who told me Circles of Stone had not yet
appeared on Ingram Books's (distributor) computer system. She also told me
someone had purchased her Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) without her knowing it.
The book was on display in the store.
September 12, 2003--I received word from
Hilliard & Harris that Circles of Stone would be released "next
week."
July 8, 2003--Minor bump in the road.
Received notice today that publication of Circles of Stone has been moved
to from August to September. The publisher wants to collect as many reviews as
possible before releasing the book. If this were my first novel, I'd be frantic,
but I've been through this before. It will give me more time to work on my
promotional materials. As the saying goes, "You can't push the river"
(or something like that).
June 22, 2003--Just by coincidence, I
discovered today another typo on the spine of the cover of my book. My last name is
misspelled! Just shows you how difficult it is to proofread your own work. The
brain is an amazing computer. It wants to fill in missing bits of information to
facilitate recognition. This is especially true when you are reading the same
text for the hundredth time, as every author does in the course of preparing a
manuscript for submission and in checking galleys and proof copies of your book.
In this case, I passed over the spelling "Garotto" and could not see
the missing second "r." I must admit that I'm not a good detail
person. Fine proofreading is a real challenge for me. Moral: when proofreading,
take nothing for granted.
June 1, 2003--I have scoured the ARC for
typos and found a few that will be corrected for the final version. I confess I
am addicted to tinkering with sentences. Some changes I requested weren't typos,
I just wanted to substitute a different word or delete a word from a sentence.
All in all, I am thrilled with the book.
After rereading the story for the 500th time, I still like it. I hope you
do, too.
May 24, 2003--Today, I received my first copy
of the bound paperback version of Circles of Stone. It's every bit as
stunning as I expected it to be. It should be an eye-popper at the bookstores.
My thanks go to Stephanie A. Reilly at Hilliard and Harris Publishing for a
great job on the production end of this adventure. I have a book that I will be
proud to promote.
This is an Advanced Reading Copy (Not For Sale) that is now being
circulated to media outlets for review. The idea is that the reviews would
appear at the same time the book is released. Not several months later. My task
is to read the book to see if there are still any typos or other mistakes. It's
my last chance to get all the kinks out. My excitement for the August release is
really ratcheting up!
May 21, 2003--I received the final version of
the cover. You'll notice 
that
the color is more subdued to let the title stand out better from the background.
Also, the book announcement is up on the Hilliard & Harris website at www.hilliardandharris.com/.
Take a look.
We are now expecting an August 2003 release. Am I getting excited yet? Guess.
May 11, 2003--Today I received proofs of the
inside pages for the front and back of the book. (Found only one typo.) This
includes the title page, copyright information, dedication page, and author bio
(with photo--a first for me!). I also received the ISBN number. Publication date
is now set for August/September of this year. I was hoping for early summer but
that isn't the best time to be marketing a book. The Fall and Holiday seasons
are much better.
The next task for the publisher is to distribute ARCs (Advanced Review
Copies). This was scheduled for March, but that's the publishing business for
you. The ARCs will go to Publishers Weekly and a range of other book
reviewers chosen by H&H and me. The idea is to get some advance buzz going
for the book by the time it is available for sale.
Did I tell you yet that Circles of Stone will be published
simultaneously in hard cover and trade paperback? The reason is to reach
different markets (e.g., libraries like hard cover novels).
March 19, 2003--The galleys and cover art
have arrived. I am especially pleased with the 
cover.
What do you think? My task now is to scour the ms. looking for typesetting
errors. It's also my last chance to spot any inconsistencies in the text (and
I've found a couple). At this point, it's a case of "speak now or forever
hold your piece." Cover art and design is by Stephanie A. Reilly.
March 4, 2003--I received word from my agent
and Hilliard & Harris that the galleys and book cover will be sent to me
this week. This is always an exciting event in the life of a book. Proofing the
galleys* is important because any typos I miss will show up in the final
published version.
Getting your first look at the book cover is scary. I've provided my own
general thoughts about the cover (not about specific design, but rather in
concept). You want the cover to knock your socks off. Barring that, you hope
it's at least a cover you can live with and be proud to show at book signings
and other author events. Worst case scenario: it doesn't fit the story at all.
In my next posting to this diary, I'll include a picture of the cover.
As far as I know, we are still on track for a summer publication date.
* Galleys are proofs of the typeset pages exactly as they will appear
in the published book, except that they are printed on loose 8 1/2" x
11" sheets.
December 2002--I received Hilliard &
Harris's December newsletter listing Circles of Stone on its list of
upcoming titles for 2003. I'm looking forward to receiving the galleys in
February.
October 31, 2002 (Halloween)--Sue
Clark called to inform me that Circles of Stone is scheduled for a June
2003 pub date. Galleys are due in February. In March, the publisher will begin
sending out copies for prepublication reviews by industry journals and major
newspapers.
September 2002--This is the "dead
time" in the publication process. The book is in the publisher's queue, but
must wait its turn for attention. What's an author to do? Start working on the
next novel. I have two going. One sort of ran out of steam, so I've set it
aside. The other is coming along, but first drafts are grueling.
August 2002--At the request of the publisher
and my agent, I have begun to send the ms. out for review.
Peer reviews have begun to come in. To read them, click
here.
July 16, 2002--I signed the contract and sent
it to my agent to forward on to H&H. What's next? Once the publisher signs
the contract and returns it to me, my agent will set up a phone meeting between
the editor and me to discuss the book and ways in which we can work together to
make this a successful venture for all concerned.
July 8, 2002--I met with my agent. The
contract contains no unacceptable terms, so I agree to accept H&H's offer.
The only adjustment requested is in the number of free author's copies the
publisher will provide.
July 2, 2002--My agent called to tell me that
Hilliard &
Harris is offering me a contract for publication of Circles of Stone. I am
simultaneously ecstatic and disappointed. I've been itching to test the
POD waters. Signing with
a professional, commercial publisher is a much better career decision. It
provides the
added prestige of not having to pay someone to publish my work. My agent and I
will review the H&H contract terms when she receives it.
H&H publishes simultaneously in hard cover and paperback. This will be
my first hard cover edition.
June 2002--Impatient to get Circles of Stone published, I made
an inquiry to Virtualbookworm.com,
the highest-rated print-on-demand publisher, who immediately
offered a contract. I responded that my agent had the ms. out to one more
publisher (Hilliard & Harris)--after a dozen or so rejections--and that they
needed two weeks to read the ms. and respond. I said would get back to the POD
company once I heard from H&H.
October 2001--I signed with literary agent
Sue Clark, of Sue Clark Literary Agency, to represent Circles of Stone.
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