Today we’re celebrating the 1-year publication offer-versary for BLISS, and lots has happened since then (clearly). Here’s a quick Top 10 from the past 365 days.
1. Baby born: Did you know the gestational period for a book is longer than a baby? It’s true! Baby Clare joined us on Friday the 13th, this September…bringing with her plenty good luck for her author-dad’s year to come.
2. ARCs born too: Coincidentally, advance review copies (ARCs) for BLISS arrived the exact same day as Clare. This is a HUGE milestone for a new author: real, printed pages you can flip through. A lot went into bringing these works of art together including all the following.
3. Cover art revealed: Now you can see it—BLISS has been colorfully brought to life by Regal’s talented art team! Set partially in Chicago, BLISS is a modern-day Romeo & Juliet, in which societal constructs, not families, complicate the relationship between main character, Connor, and strong-willed, confident Danielle. The cover well-depicts Connor in his Chicago life. You’ll have to read the book to learn more.
4. Line editing completed: After a rigorous review process, Mike & his editor (who is wonderfully talented!) finished editing BLISS this spring. While the process appeared painstaking to me, Mike tackled editing with diligence and grace, underscoring the massive importance of finding a publisher who supports and believes in your work.
5. Typesetting finalized: Okay, the words are finalized, but now it’s time to lay them out on a page. A designer builds the book in digital software like Adobe InDesign to create paragraph and page breaks that leave no “widows or orphans” behind. In other words, dangling words or sentences that would look awkward on a page are moved around so the text is easier to read.
6. Digital proof reviewed: Before ARCs go to print, there’s another step to review a digital proof of the full book. This is especially fun because it’s the first time you see that official-looking first page with copyright and publishing house information…ISBN number and all! ISBN should really stand for “I’m So Blissful Now!”
7. Final tweaks made: If any edits are caught in digital proofs, there’s still time to make small tweaks that don’t fully mess with the typesetting. For instance, as I reviewed the digital proof of BLISS I realized that Mike had absentmindedly named a character in his book “Ashley.” I wasn’t about to have everyone thinking this individual was named after me, so I requested a name change. Read the book and correctly guess which character it was and coffee is on me.
8. Author headshot perfected: We had fun working with the fabulously talented photographer Joe Dammel and stylist Priyanka Premo to capture author headshots for the back of the cover. Fun fact! This professional look was captured in our living room (which underwent a light & backdrop transformation).
9. Bio written: It can be surprisingly difficult for someone so good with words to write about himself. Thanks to a little help from copy editor friend, Cara, Mike now has a bio befitting a published author. Check it out on the Regal website here.
10. ...and finally author digital re-launch! After a busy year with baby preparation, we’re excited to jump back into sharing the author’s journey to gestate a book. Re-engage with us here and on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.