Okay. I have calmed down a little (not much) after spending the afternoon putting the final touches on the proposal. Photos printed, mounted, neatly labeled, placed in the same folder as the proposal, which has been gone over twice at least. Printed on nice quality paper with the printer at the highest quality setting (not that it should make much difference for text, but you never know), carefully arranged just so, put into a folder, ready to mail.
I feel much like the instant, in a Weapons fight, before one makes the first move.
The gibbering fear has vanished, replaced by a calm certainty that yes, this is what I am going to do. No matter what happens.
Now that my proposal is going out to agents, I need to shore up my support with AIDS Lifecycle. Which means it’s time to reach out to the director of AIDS Lifecycle, and finally ask the question: will they support me in this project? I have been putting off the answer to this for a very long time, not wanting to be shattered by a “no”, but it’s time to float the question, I think. So I’m working on composing an email to the director of ALC, asking for twenty minutes of his time, so I can “pitch” the book to him and ask for his support.
I’m thinking through, very carefully, all the things I want to ask for and the approach I want to take. This is the sort of situation where you have one chance to get it right–which is not a reason to be terrified of it, but a reason to make sure you’re prepared. So I don’t expect to do it immediately, but sometime over the next 4-5 days. That will be my “book work” for the next few days.
(I am probably stressing way too much about this, since I know that Chris, the director, is quite supportive of this project and also likes me personally, but what the hell.)
Meanwhile, I have purchased another 3 kg of chocolate and 3 kg of cocoa powder, and am going to spend the next few hours cleaning up the mess in the garage. The fiber arts explosion has gotten a little bit out of hand, so I’m going to try reining it in before proceeding with other stuff.
