What is more daunting: the beginning idea of a story or the finalization of a book going to print? I have experienced my initial idea for Song of Jaybird, research, and writing process to reach the final product of a book.
As you read this blog, Song of Jaybird has gone to print.
How do I feel? Scared. Nervous. Relieved.
In retrospect, my research was exhausting but enjoyable. The mental strain of chronological order was demanding and satisfying. The facts documented were specific, and the timing had to be correct.
The editing meant proofreading, reading, and rechecking over and over again. Which never ended because there was always something to fix. It wore me down because I was afraid of missing something. Eventually, it reached a point when I finished.
Then, when the Floral City Heritage Council accepted this book for publication, I was grateful and elated, and yes, scared. The real challenge for me was trusting the graphic designer, with this “child” of mine, to reformat, configure into pages, and pace the page turn to engage my readers.
It was important for the story to be told within seven years to document newspaper quotes that comment on debt peonage, longleaf forest, and turpentine, which weave throughout the narrative.
When Janet sent me the first PDF of the book format, my mistakes glared at me, which had to be fixed and fixed again. We experienced computer glitches, glyph snags, missing italics for newspaper quotes and phrases, advertisements and letters, and newspaper clippings. We had to remember the dialect constantly appeared as misspelled and accepted a few “widowed” words.
The cover was also a challenge; the blurb on the back was against a dark background of the forest. Janet brightened, whitened, and shadowed the text to make it work. So, the forest could be seen through the text.
Janet admitted from her years of experience, hitting the submit for print made her nervous. I agree with her. There were several ‘final’ PDFs, only to find one more thing; then I realized I made a small mistake: a line drawn on the cover, which appeared out of place. Once we made adjustments, it was complete and has gone to print for publication. I am relieved.
Now, I must prepare for the next phase of Song of Jaybird, which is reaching my readers.
Do you enjoy reading historical fiction? Do you know someone who does?
I hope Song of Jaybird will be on your books-to-read list.
