March 1st, 2020 will now be a special day for me - similar to birthdays, anniversaries, or Christmas. Not only was Le Berceau finally released on the Bold Strokes Books website, but it began a transition into a new period of my life. I can now call myself a published author.
It isn't my first publishing experience. In fact, I'm a published composer and I continue to contribute in this field. But for all their similarities, there seems to be something different about being a published author. I think I will try to explore this further in a different blog, because I haven't quite fathomed out what that might be yet.
The day passed by very uneventfully. In fact, I'm embarrassed to admit I forgot it was March 1st until about 1pm. For months, I had pictured myself sat by my laptop at 11.59pm, waiting for the hour to change and then...I don't know what I thought would happen. Maybe my emails would blow up and suddenly I'm a bestseller! And in fact, I was very underwhelmed by the experience. I tweeted, of course. But then, my publisher is based in a different timezone (USA) and I am currently at the house in France. So in actual fact, I don't know what time locally my book was actually due to be published. Further to that, the book won't be published on other online vendors (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.) until March 10th.
The publishing experience with Bold Strokes Books seemed very efficient and organised. I had my publishing schedule highlighted to me from the very beginning. Working with my editor, Jerry L. Wheeler, was a wonderful experience. Admittedly, all my work needs a lot of editing, and Jerry taught me a lot. Every sentence was picked apart, but at no point did I feel as though my voice was being compromised. I was also thrilled to receive a large box of custom Le Berceau bookmarks, courtesy of the publisher! I was consulted at every stage. I even had a say in the cover art. And yes, I am thrilled! Look at him. He's absolutely gorgeous!
In all, it has been a thrilling experience. I now have two more completed first drafts of new manuscripts, which I plan on editing intensely over the summer. I also have another idea, which I am enjoying researching at the moment, and will start work on this as soon as I have edited the other two for future submission. Whether anything comes of this or not, 2020 will surely be a productive year!
- JX
