This past month has been ridiculous. And exciting. Just when I thought the publishing business couldn’t possibly get any busier, it did. When 100 uncorrected proof copies of Flying through Clouds arrived from the printers, it felt like Christmas had come early. Although these advance copies don’t have the final beautiful cover, I can finally see what I’ve been working so hard towards for nearly four years.
I’ve sent out more than 70 advance copies so far to reviewers, bloggers, a few authors, selected bookshops and educational suppliers. My efforts have paid off, and Australian Standing Orders have ordered over 1,000 copies of the book. It’s a great start!
Authors, Jackie French and Bill Condon have read advance copies and graciously allowed me to include review quotes on the final cover and/or inside the book. I’m over the moon! You’ll have to wait until Flying through Clouds is published on 2 April to find out what they have to say. You can also read Bill Condon’s full review in Buzz Words in February 2017.
I’ve been lucky enough to be offered two author interviews. My answers to 12 Curly Questions will be appearing on Kids’ Book Review around April, and my Foot in the Door interview with Di Bates will be published in Buzz Words in March 2017.
I’m hoping to get more reviews in 2017, including one from Sandy Fussell, who reviews children’s and young adult books in the Sunday Telegraph. Fingers crossed they all like my book XX
In the middle of all this excitement, my proofreader (Sarah Fletcher) finished the proofreading and sent me her recommended changes in Adobe Reader. I’d just about finished proofreading the manuscript myself and making changes on one of the advance copies. I spent the following week going through the proofreader’s recommended changes and my changes to work out what changes should be made to the final manuscript. It was painstaking but a critical task. I was so pleased to send the final changes to the cover designer / layout artist (Arielle Gamble) to make the changes to the laid-out manuscript. I also sent her the Acknowledgements to be included at the back of the book.
I’ve been getting more printing quotes but I’m still not sure exactly how many copies to get printed. I’ll work that out sometime in January. I also started preparing teachers’ notes for Flying through Clouds, which will be available from Australian Standing Orders as well as on the Books page of my website.
I can’t believe I did all that in three weeks. It’s almost Christmas and I’m looking forward to putting my feet up and having a well-deserved week off. And a glass or two of bubbly to celebrate.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
