Sent the book to the publisher!

Yesterday I packed the manuscript off to the publisher, one day before the August 1st deadline. It’s a wonderful feeling to have it turned in! Now the ball is in Schiffer’s hands, and I can relax for a few weeks. But the process is far from over. Not even close.

After the book is turned in, a check-in editor will make sure that all the bits and pieces are in place. Then the Schiffer team creates the cover of the book, decides on the title, figures out the approximate page count, and develops the catalog entry from the marketing materials I sent along with the manuscript.

Once that’s done, an editor will go through the manuscript – mostly addressing issues of formatting and style. Then the editor will send me the first galleys for review. After I’ve reviewed them, it goes to the layout and design folks, who will arrange the photos, text, etc. as well as designing the overall style of the book. I’ll get a week or so to review the layout, following which it goes to the production team, who will work with the printers to generate the book.

And then the advance copy of the book will arrive on my doorstep. Once that’s reviewed, Schiffer will order the full print run. And – finally – my book will be published.

Didn’t realize it would be so much work? Neither did I! Fortunately, the Schiffer team will be doing most of the heavy lifting from this point forward. My job is to review the galleys, finish any lingering paperwork (photo release forms mostly), and scour the world looking for sales and marketing opportunities. That is still a lot of work, but not nearly as much work as layout and design! So I am pleased to have the book at the publisher.

Meanwhile, I have applied to teach five classes at Convergence 2016, a major fiber arts conference. Of course not all five classes will run; in fact, I’m not sure that any of them will run. The proposed classes are (unsurprisingly) about the creative process, which is not a traditional subject for Convergence – but I figured it was worth a try. Assuming the book is published by then, it will be a great opportunity to get the word out, and of course going to Convergence is always fun.

So what next? Well, my mom arrives tonight for a ten-day visit, so I’ll be spending most of my time with her. My mom is just as craftsy as me (the apple did not fall far from the tree!), so it will be interesting to see her latest work, and of course I love her dearly and think she’s super-cool, so it will be fun to spend time with her.

And after that? It’s time to prepare for the TC-2! The bill of lading I received a few weeks ago says it will arrive August 25. There is, however, quite a bit of leeway in that, so I have no idea when the loom will actually arrive on my doorstep. So I will be cleaning out the garage in anticipation of its arrival. Mike will also be making some necessary changes to the garage – installing lighting, adding more electrical circuits, and so on. I have tentatively scheduled the loom-raising party for Labor Day weekend (in the U.S., that’s the first weekend in September), but it might move up if the loom arrives early.

I’m also planning to spend the next few weeks studying how to design and weave on the loom. Vibeke Vestby (who heads up Digital Weaving Norway) was kind enough to send me all the documentation for the loom, so I’ll be reading through that, watching the assembly video, and learning to use Arahweave (a weaving design program for jacquard looms).

So….the book may be turned in, but (as always) there is still a lot to do!

Meanwhile, since this manuscript is done, Fritz is patiently waiting for the next one. Here he is, lurking atop the printer, prepared to pounce whenever another book comes out.