From March, 2008, when I started writing I Knew Men, to October 2010 when the manuscript was reviewed by Marg Gilks at Scripta Word Services, my very first novel began a wondrous journey. I’ve enjoyed sharing all of my writing, editing, and publishing experiences here, and now, it’s October 2023! “I Knew Men” is a published novel!
SANTA CLAUS, DISGUISED AS A USPS DRIVER
On September 27, I received this message from Newman Springs Publishing:
“Good morning Susan,
Below is the tracking number for the complimentary copies. They just shipped yesterday, so it may take a couple of days for the tracking to update.
I look forward to hearing from you when the books arrive.
Kind regards,
Lyndie Smith
Publication Director”
From that moment on, I anxiously tracked each stop along the way from Tennessee to Maine. At last, I received the notice that the books would arrive on October 2nd before 5:45 PM. Each FedEx or USPS truck that parked on the street within my view grabbed my attention. Finally, just after 3:00 PM, a postal carrier parked and approached our building. My heart leapt into my throat. The box looked like it could possibly contain 10 copies of my book. My book. MY BOOK!
IT’S A BOOK! IT’S A REAL BOOK!
After the surreal experience of opening the box and holding actual copies in our hands, my husband displayed them on our living room mantle. I quickly snapped a photo, eager to share it with my friends and family on social media. Immediately, a dear friend called to share happy tears. Many others commented on my post with enthusiasm and excitement. My heart overflowed. I was on a cloud — a big, white, puffy, angelic cloud. I felt G*d in my heart — he was celebrating, too. To him, I give the glory; to him, I give eternal gratitude. To him, I apologize for the “f” words, the sexual content, and all the marijuana that gets smoked in my story. I’m glad he is so forgiving.
SO, WHAT’S NEXT?
Lyndie called me the following day and asked if I had inspected my 10 copies. Were there any pages missing, any smudges, any mechanical defects? “No, I said, they look great!” With that approval, in two weeks, through Ingram Content Group, “I Knew Men” paperbacks will be available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble — all the major retail bookstores. The digital copies will take a little while longer, but within a month they will be available through Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble Nook — everywhere!
And what about smaller independent bookstores? With the ISBN#, anyone, anywhere can go to their favorite bookstore and ask for a copy of “I Knew Men.” Try it, and see! Here’s the ISBN# for paperback copies: 979-8-88763-389-3
MY NEW FRONTIER
With a complimentary copy in hand, I walked into BAM! Books and asked about book signings. “How does that work?” I asked the front store manager. “Usually an agent contacts us to set that up,” I was told. “I’m my own agent,” I responded, not knowing what else to say. She gave me the email address to correspond with the head manager and added, “We just did a signing for a new author last week. So, it is something that we do.” Her words felt encouraging.
Next, I took a sunny, sentimental road trip to visit BookStacks in Bucksport, and showed the owner, Andy, my copy. We had a great conversation. He shared helpful information about working with local independent bookstores and with publishers. “Many authors go right back to writing as soon as their first novel is published,” he said. “The more successful ones do what you are doing — they get out and promote.” With his encouragement, I felt like I was on the right track. There will be many book signings in my near future (I hope)!
With so much still to learn, I am grateful for encouraging people who are helping to guide me through this new and exciting phase of life.
I’M A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! As my main character, Anna, and her family would say, “OPA!”
1 comment
Comments are closed.