… even when it’s already in print. Over two years ago I did a series of posts called How I Got Published outlining the start-to-finish of how Jim McDevitt and I conceived of, wrote, and ultimately sold A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense. My hope was that those posts would help other writers understand what they might look forward to when their time comes.
Consider this a follow-up on that series of posts. Readers of this blog may recall that not too long ago, I announced that A Year of Hitchcock is coming to paperback. That’s exciting news. This edition will target a wider market; with better bookstore distribution and a very attractive price, we should be able to reach a larger audience. I’m thrilled more people will be able to read the work we did.
But it also means our work is not yet done. Not merely in promoting the book — something few authors relish, myself included — but also in reading and correcting the text yet again. With the paperback edition set for a fall release, Jim and I are tasked with reading through the text again to give it another proofreading/editing pass, hopefully catching any stray errors that made it into print the first time around. This is not a bad thing, but it does mean we have more work to do.
So keep that in mind. Your work is never truly done. When you create something, you’re going to be its caretaker for the rest of your life. It’s kind of like parenthood in that respect, except books can’t mow the lawn.
