A few months ago, a dear author friend, Vivian Vande Velde said something that made me laugh. We were talking about our upcoming book releases and she asked me why publishers refer to publication dates as release dates. She said something to the effect of, “It’s like our books our being held hostage or in jail.”
If you aren’t familiar with Vivian’s books (or her sense of humor) you should be! She’s the sweetest person and the author of 39 books! I can only imagine having that many stories in me or such amazing longevity as an author. She’s written mostly middle grade and YA, though she’s written a picture book too. So needless to say, she has been in the publishing business a very long time, and apparently, the term release day is sort of new. But it got me thinking. It does feel like our books are held hostage for a bit. We’ve written them, revised them, and edited them. We’ve done our job. But then we send them off to our publishers so they can do their jobs. We have to let go.
So maybe held hostage isn’t quite right. It feels to me like they’re sent off to college. Like my kids. I know they’re there. I try to keep my distance and let them live their lives. I try to let go. But soon my book will be released. My kids will come back home. Both are cause for celebration! So much happens to books while they’re out of our hands—all necessary things. It’s incredibly hard to send a manuscript off for a final time, but that’s just it. When it’s time, it’s time. But the good news is, the next time you see your manuscript, it will be a book. Of course, it’ll be a galley or an ARC first, but once it’s released into the world, it will be the best version of itself. It will be published. Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!
I’m almost in that stage right now. I’ll have one more pass at Pop the Bronze Balloon before I have to let go of it completely. But the incredible news is, I now have a release date!
February 18. 2020
It may be the start of glorious Fall right now and the sparkly crisp season of winter will be here before we know it. But just as the dreariness of slush sets in, I’ll have this to look forward to. Pop the Bronze Balloon will be released into the world…finally soaring into the hands of readers! Ahhh, I’m so excited! I cannot wait for that day!
That’s really all I had to say today. My long-winded round about way of telling you that in just over four months, the third book in the Crimson Five series will be available. And readers will finally learn what happens to Kia, Ander, Mare, Jax & Jillian when they embark on a globe trotting adventure. I hope you’re just as excited as I am! Okay, probably not, but thanks for being happy for me! You guys are really the best!
Have a great day, lovelies! See you next week:)
swirl and spark 