The germ of an idea surfaced. I was intrigued by it and was eager to begin the journey it would involve. But life happens, and the idea was moved to the back burner, where it simmered for years. Once I finally began researching the idea, it proved to be a long, sometimes frustrating, and often interrupted journey to completion.
After years of searching, researching, writing, revising, and editing, I finally completed the manuscript, and it was accepted by a publisher. It slowly began winding its way through "the process." It sailed through the editorial steps and entered the labyrinthine tunnels leading to the final steps of the journey.
But then it seemed to disappear, as though it had never existed. I received no galleys to proof, no cover design to approve, no marketing plan to follow. Not even any royalties or royalty statements from books previously published by the company. Most distressing, I received no answers to my repeated email queries about the status of the manuscript.
The preferred release date for the book came and passed. Still nothing. I heard rumblings of discontent from other authors facing similar frustrations with the publisher. They were getting no responses to either emails or snail mail. The publisher had seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth.
I tried to be patient and to think positively toward the publisher. There had to be a legitimate reason for the delays. My contract stipulated that publication would occur within 18 months of the signing of the contract. I knew that it had been longer, but still I waited, hoping without basis that my book would soon reappear, brought back to life from the catacombs of the mysterious publishing world.
Meanwhile, interested family members, blog followers, and friends who knew I was working on the book were clamoring to know when it would be released. I didn't know. Some of them might have even begun to suspect that I really didn't have a manuscript--only empty talk.
Finally, my patience ran out. I checked the date on my signed contract and counted the months to the current date: 28 months, 10 months beyond the contracted release date. (Do you think I was patient enough?)
On the first of this month, I emailed the publisher again, this time announcing the withdrawal of my book and the resumption of all rights to it. Enough was enough, and I had waited patiently for more than enough time.
I'm happy to announce that the book, Dillon's War, is now in the marketplace, available in both paperback and e-book formats from Amazon. That's not exactly how I wanted, expected, or hoped it would be published, but that's how it is.
From the process, I learned a lot about my Uncle Dillon and the war as he experienced it, and it was fun. I learned a lot about Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing process, much of it different than their former CreateSpace process, but it was, in its own way, interesting. But I also learned a lot about a publisher, and that wasn't so good. Caveat emptor!
I'm by no stretch of the imagination a salesman, but I do hope the book sells. I know I have a small group of "boosters," people who have encouraged me along the long, lonely, frustrating journey. People like Joy Neal Kidney and Anne Claire (not her real name), my beta readers; my daughter Stacy, who designed the cover and marketing materials and handles my website; and my wife Connie. She has put up with a lot during the whole course of the journey.
Perhaps I can include some of you, my blog readers, in that group if you should be led to purchase a copy. If you do, I'd appreciate your writing a brief review of it. And tell others about it, especially those with an interest in World War II, perhaps even museums or veterans organizations that might consider selling it to their clientele and members.
The journey has been long. It's often been lonely and frustrating. But it's now over. All that remains to be done is for YOU to read it! If you do, I offer you my sincere thank you.
Комментарии