Publishing Proofs

A couple of weeks ago I received the publishing proofs of my novel, The Art of Letting Go, to check through one final time. Due to a change in my personal circumstances, I have been unable to tackle this task with as much speed and concentration as I might have wished, but it's still very exciting to see my novel typeset and (almost) ready to go.

Life has been so busy over the last few weeks, I haven't had much to time to think about reaching this point. Correcting this final manuscript is a job I do when I can snatch half an hour to myself. Just occasionally though, I find myself coming to the sudden realisation that this is actually happening. This is my novel. And it's about to be published.

I chose to accept a not-quite-traditional publishing deal because I wanted this year to be the year I stopped procrastinating or worrying about whether every decision was the perfect one, and where I started moving forward - thoughtfully, but not hesitantly. I'm increasingly glad that I did accept it. I'm still terrified it won't sell or the reviews will be terrible. Every paragraph seems to me now to be in need of repair even though I know I've re-written the whole thing about six times, read and/or edited it countless more times, been signed to an agency and had loads of positive feedback from editors. But it's time to let go of The Art of Letting Go and allow it to make its own way in the world.

Worryingly, I have found a couple of typos in the first half of the book, despite the months of work and sharp eyes of a few different people. I hope I'm catching the last remaining errors, but with the number of errors in even traditionally-published books I've come across, I fear a perfect manuscript may need a miracle. I can try!

Now I'm just waiting for a front cover and a final date...