Time to Write: First Copy of My Book

Troy Book Makers has sent me the first copy of my book, Remembrances!

If you have been

following my blog posts about this long process of writing, formatting, editing and printing you may be as excited as I am. Last month I went to Troy Book Makers with a digital copy of my book and signed a contract with them to print my book. Emails between us followed, mostly concerned with cover art. I have photos from my trip to Ireland in 2012 and thought one of those photos might work for the cover. However that was not a possibility. Photos were emailed to me as possible alternatives. There were photos of Ireland but I decided to go with a photograph of a beautiful tree, to symbolize our family tree. My first book, also printed through Troy Book Makers, has a large tree on the cover. I like that they are similar and yet each is unique.

Then I waited and watched my little country mailbox.

When I pulled open my mailbox and saw the brown package I was both thrilled and scared. What if I didn’t like the cover or the feel of the pages? What if there were too many items that needed changing? I have been working on this book, in one form or another, for many years. Was all that work leading to an attractive, well organized, clearly explained family history - - or not?

I don’t think I was breathing as I cut through the tape, opened the box and pulled out my book. I stroked the cover, rifled the pages and started to smile. I am very happy with the results!

Of course, the purpose of this single copy is to allow me one more chance to edit. The work is not over. I have read it over and found about a dozen small errors. I stuck bright yellow sticky notes on pages. Half of those relate to photo captions. The biggest change concerns two family tree charts that I’d like to reformat. I have to keep in mind that most of the people who will read this book are not familiar with family tree charts. I want the charts to be easy for them to understand, with generational labels. Back to work.

Once those changes have been made I will make an appointment with Troy Book Makers. They are only a few minutes away. I’ll take a new digital copy. Then I must sign a ‘PDF Proof Approval’ form that gives me these choices:

OK to print AS IS

OK to print with CORRECTIONS (I will send new files)

Please provide a REVISED PROOF for approval

Then I will wait for my book to print with multiple copies. There should still be plenty of time for it to be ready for Christmas. When I get the call that the books are ready for me to pick up I’ll let you know.

Related Posts:

• Time to Write: Editing, Editing & More Editing
• Time to Write: Sidebars
• Time to Write: Maps