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| Sas Freeman |
Naively I went into this with my eyes tightly closed. It is now four years since my first stroke and the intention was to get my book written and published to help fellow survivors and their families. And it isn’t yet, quite on the shelves.
Despite my difficulties learning to read again, following stroke and having to limit the time I am able to look at a computer screen. The writing was somehow easy, possibly because of the passion involved, the desire to help others and hopefully prevent them making the same mistakes by learning from mine.
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| Sas Front Cover2 |
Addressing each of these issues one by one, I eventually found an editor in the states. Why I couldn’t find one closer to home, I have no idea but delighted to have found one and a good one too, who also agreed to take me on. I didn’t question further.
I was suddenly on cloud nine, not realising at this stage how far away I still was from being published. I had yet another excitement to come when told by my editor, it was so well written it wasn’t going to cost as much as initially quoted as it wouldn’t need so much editing.
In my mind, this meant I would be published within a few months, this incidentally could be twelve months ago. I lose track now of what happened when. Excitement builds as we reach the final edit. I hadn’t taken into account despite all the track changes made and returned somehow between the UK & the States the different software reverted words back from British to American spelling and language and visa versa.
Things like ‘trash’ & ‘waste’ elevators & lifts and. Pub have a totally different meaning in the states to in the UK, so they should be changed.
We begin the exercise again and again, and yet again!
This is becoming a little like a tennis match!! Alongside all this, thanks to my editor the cover design is underway, my biography, testimonials and book descriptions all complete & submitted I feel I am edging closer.
We eventually, having had similar experiences with proofs for the cover as the manuscript, arrive at a cover design to run with, it all begins to feel real. The excitement growing my editor tells me to check the manuscript for the last time then ask two others to do the same for me, as it is so easy to miss mistakes having read it so many times. Eventually we are there, ready to submit.
It is about to be put together with the cover, it’s ISBN number, foreword and the e-proof sent for my final checking and approval. People are asking “when will it be out”, confidently I say in the next week! How wrong and stupid, was I?
This was nearly a month ago. I could not open the proof due to software difficulties, followed by an error their end then to add to it all a good old British thunder storm right over head, lightning struck and took our phone lines, broadband out. Another weekend and no work on the book.
The following week new phones purchased, situation resolved - eproof finally downloaded only to notice an error. One error means you reject the proof submit a new pdf and wait ten days.
My ten days are up, excitement once again thinking this time surely I will be able to accept and publish, my book will be out there. It wasn’t to be. Somehow a heading from a photograph had also appeared within text, again another rejection, wait another ten days. This time having submitted an additional pdf, extra cost are incurred.
When asked this time when will it be out, I quietly reply, I’m not absolutely sure but I hope within the month. Whilst awaiting these ten days we are trying to design the spine and back cover, it needs to be a wraparound of the front. I didn’t realise beforehand these designers’ only design front covers as they design for eBooks only which don’t have a back cover. I will save you this story/ saga.
I want mine to be in print version also and would love it in audio version if I could, as often many of us have difficulties reading immediately following stroke. I haven’t yet managed that route.
I haven’t ever believed in anything I’ve attempted before, as much as I believe in this book and how it will help people, both survivors and their whole family. It is that conviction that has kept me battling on.
This is what it will look like, out sometime very soon?!?
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