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Phase Three-The Delivery

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cover All things PossibleAnyone who has ever had a baby knows the feeling. For nine months you, along with your family and friends, have been watching your creation grow to fruition. And finally, you deliver a beautiful bouncing baby with all its fingers and toes. His face is red, wrinkled and a little off-center but “isn’t he beautiful?”

For about a week afterward, Mom and baby are the center of attention and it’s a whirl of coos and kisses and the house is like a train station for all the people passing through just to congratulate you and hold the baby. It’s akin to being a celebrity for a while. Heady, you might say. You’ve never felt so special before. Look what you’ve produced? Well, okay, your husband or mate had something to do with it, but come on, you’re the one who did all the hard stuff. This time is so special. Even the air feels different and there’s a serenity all around you as if you’re in a cocoon. Then you notice something. Everyone’s gone. No more paparazzi. No more “viewings”, no more feeling like a celebrity. You’re down to the nuts and bolts of caring for and raising a  child.

It’s not exactly like publishing a book but the “downshift” is. Each phase of producing a novel takes everything a writer has. It incubates inside you for months. At first it’s just an idea as small as a zygote but then the story and the characters begin to grow and nudge each other around, and at times overcrowd their womb. Soon you’re waddling along rubbing your creative tummy, knowing that you’ve made it to the third trimester and soon you will have the finished product in your hands and what a relief that will be.

Editing, formatting, and at last the printing … these steps all fade together as one because once you’ve gone through editing, there’s nothing to do but deliver the baby. No turning back. All these phases are fun to some degree. You can be quietly proud of what you’ve done, but no more so than the day it comes by UPS to your door and says, “Mommy!” I love this day. For me, it’s a private time, one I savor alone with a requisite glass of champagne. It’s tradition. For one entire day I can bask in the feel of the completed book, smell the paper, and re-read the story from beginning to end. Sometimes I get choked up when I finish it and pat myself on the back. It’s a great moment.

The next day is when Phase Three begins and I am faced with a multi-page questionnaire asking me all sorts of questions for the publicity campaign and my head begins to hurt just thinking about it. If you haven’t ever considered “why” you’ve written a book, this is that time, along with “how is your book different from all the millions of others out there?” and, “what are you willing to do to promote it?” “Are you willing to hit the road and do a book tour?” “How’s that launch party coming along?” “Time to set up those book signings.” You get the idea and I have to say that having a publicity department to guide me helps but let’s face it, I’m the one walking the baby all night. It’s the things they never tell you. Remember that line? But it’s just part of the process. Some people are better at it than others and I’ve learned that if I don’t have a certain talent or strength then I need to hire someone who does. I can write. That’s what I do best. The rest has to be hired. Enter the Nanny; the Marketing and Publicity Department at Balboa Press.

I can say that I already like how Balboa Press manages all their departments and Marketing is no exception; professional, attentive, and working for the author’s best interest. I don’t get the feeling that I’ll be required to do anything that I’m uncomfortable with and I can probably go at my own pace, which I appreciate.

Part of the questionnaire is preparing for the radio interviews. This is when I better know my book inside out as well as my reasons for writing it. Luckily, I do have a reason, a couple of them. I remember the seed of the idea as I was driving home one day filled with gratitude for where I live and I thought, “The world out there is violent and chaotic, but my insulated world is idyllic. What would happen if the “world out there” intruded on my sense of security and peace? What if the violence seeped into my town, my neighborhood and my life?”

I had to rely on someone objective to answer the question, “What’s more interesting to your friends and family? You or your books?” H’m. Luckily I have someone in my life who sees into the crux of most things and he tells me that it’s impossible to separate the two. He said, “Your books are interesting because they come from who you are; your own experiences in the world while struggling to understand life and your place in it. He went on to say, “Your writing is a way of putting life into a shape where you can deal with it.” They aren’t autobiographical, but they do stem from my own pain and growth over the years. And, he’s right when he says I want to be heard and understood like most of us do. I also want to understand a world I find a little bit crazy half the time. This was especially true with All Things Possible. Definitely. I spend half my waking hours saying, “I don’t get it.” The world  and how people behave doesn’t make much sense anymore, so I write about how it ought to be. Let’s just raise the bar a little bit, shall we?

I’ve come to know that I’ll never be comfortable “hawking” my books,(phase 4) but I do love to share them. It’s my way of connecting in a real way with people. In order to do that I must fill out the questionnaire and take the wise advice of the team at Balboa Press. And perhaps my journey, my angst, my forging a path through new territories will help the next person who feels like they might be “just a little bit pregnant” with a book idea.  Maybe I’m just a midwife at heart.


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