How to cross the finish line

If you’ve read the nearly two dozen blogs I’ve shared, you know I’ve traveled far in my publishing journey for “I Knew Men.” As I prepare to cross the finish line of production, leaving this exciting, exhaustive effort behind, I hit an unexpected roadblock.

BRING ME THE BIG KNIFE … AGAIN

After going through the five reviews and edits of the original 99,700 words, then tweaking the page design that Newman Springs provided, followed by submitting the cover design, my heart started beating faster. My novel was nearly ready to go!

And then, I read the back cover summary again — laid out with the cover art, the bar code, everything — and my heart sank. I was giving too much away, it was too wordy. Just as I’ve done time and time again, I got out my editing butcher knife and hacked at it until it read much better, cleaner. I sent the changes to my publication director, Lyndie, and expected to do the big cartwheel. Just one more little proof with the changes and “I Knew Men” would really, truly be done!

NO HOP

There was no cartwheel, not even a little hop. After submitting the new back cover text, fear took hold. I called Lyndie to tell her to disregard my email with the new back cover summary. I explained my angst. She was very reassuring. “There’s no need to rush this,” she said. “Take your time. Why don’t you read some back covers in the romance section at a bookstore? How about if you pull a quote from your story to put at the top of your summary?” She recommended keeping it to just a couple of paragraphs with something personal at the end. “You can have up to 400 words, but I don’t recommend it.”

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

That evening, I thought about my conversation with Lyndie. I liked the idea of starting the summary with a quote. One immediately came to mind, from a scene when our main character, Anna, is at a low point: “How do you mend your heart when it’s been broken over and over and over again and you never get a chance to repair it even once before it happens again?” I tried it out and thought it might work.

Instead of rewriting the summary, however, I decided to start this blog. When I opened the website to begin, these words jumped out: A Head Full of Tunes. My quote was here all along! From there, the summary wrote itself. It was done in no time. I felt like doing a cartwheel!

Before submitting it to Lyndie and crossing the finish line, I turned to my friends on Facebook. Motivational speaker Jim Rohn states, “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” I wholeheartedly believe this is true. I am proud to say that my friends and family — my beautiful, clever, smart, positive, loving, caring people — are the ones who gave me the courage and confidence to take on this publishing dream. They were the ones whose feedback counted most for the back cover summary.

When I shared this final piece, I was overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, their encouragement, and their helpful input.

Anna may have a head full of tunes, but I have a heart full of gratitude.

Onward, to publication!