ARCs! Holy Taco Church!
When an author gets copies of the book she has yearned to hold her entire life, it’s only right the book first be offered to the cat.
Porom the Cat, who would much rather nibble on my toes than pose for a photo op.
Then the book must be read to Big Blue, because that’s the kind of thing monsters demand.
Reading time for a Dragon Quest Slime.
The books were also loved, hugged, and named George.
I just have the four copies for now, and no, I haven’t decided what to do as far as contests or anything. These decisions are HARD, man.
In other news!
I’m a High Priestess of Churromancy in the Holy Taco Church. (I know, I know, you’re thinking, “Well, duh.”) But this is a Real Thing. It’s a whole bunch of awesome writers congregating to talk food and liquor and happy thoughts. To name drop, our Tacopope is Kevin Hearne and other members include Chuck Wendig, Jaye Wells, Diana Rowland, and Vicki Pettersen.
My first offering is up today: Churro Shortbread.
Yes, that’s a caduceus made of a churro and two tacos.
And because I’m hardcore, I created my own holy symbol.
Read MoreGalleys! They Exist!
No, I don’t have them in my hot little hands, but my awesome editor at Harper Voyager shared the joy over Twitter this morning.
Gorgeous galleys for THE CLOCKWORK DAGGER by @BethCato and SODA POP SOLDIER by @NickColeBooks came in today! Yay! pic.twitter.com/O9ZxVXkWDM
— Harper Voyager US (@HarperVoyagerUS) May 29, 2014
If you’ll be at BEA in New York City these next few days, they’ll be available at the SFWA booth! (And if you see them there, do take a pic and send it my way! I’d love to see.)
Edit to add: Michael J. Martinez was kind enough to inform me that the SFWA booth is giving away cards that provide a free ebook download of my book, too. Huzzah!
Read MoreTimeline to Publication
Last year, when I was still in the Cone of Silence regarding my book deal, my friend J. Kathleen Cheney posted a timeline of her books in the midst of the publication process. For a while now, I have wanted to do the same kind of thing for my books. I finally had that chance.
2013
February 22nd: verbal contract
not allowed to discuss the book deal in public at all; told very few people
July 3rd: received two-book contract to sign.
July 16th: deal announced in Publisher’s Marketplace. I then shouted it from rooftops.
September 6th: revision letter arrived. Deadline of October 31st.
the big edits; in my case, deleted 10k of 100,000 word book
October 15th: edits mailed in.
November 11th: editor accepted my edits.
December 10th: copyedits arrived, due 23rd.
these are nitpicky edits to clarify things, correct typos and inconsistencies
December 17th: turned in copyedits
Through December and January: back and forth regarding book cover details
2014
January 1-31st: wrote 83k book 2 rough draft
January 29th: page proofs arrived for book 1, due Feb 11th
page proofs are the book formatted for the actual book, but printed on standard computer paper. Only small changes allowed; mostly for typos and formatting, making sure italics are right, etc.
February 4th: mailed page proofs
February: edited book 2 draft, add another 10k
February 20th: found my back cover copy on Goodreads
February 21st: sent in dedication and acknowledgment for book 1
March 3rd: cover posted online
March-April: book 2 critiques, followed by more rounds of revision
April 14th: submitted book 2 to my editor (deadline was June 1st)
September 16th: The Clockwork Dagger to be released
September 2015: The Clockwork Crown to be released
