Publishing is…
not fast. And that’s saying a lot, for someone who works for the government. But there’s a definitely method to the process, and very good reasons for why it takes so long. And in reality, given the scope of putting out a book for sale, it’s not all that much time, but to the writer who wrote it all, it sure can seem that way. Anyway, I thought I would update where we are with BAD LAND. All of my development edits are done, so the book has gone “final” for all intents and purposes. It now goes out for (several) rounds of copy editing and fact checking, and before too long (in publishing time), I’ll be holding actual pages as the book gets pulled together. Then bound galleys will go out, as we hope to get some nice early reviews and blurbs. As it stands right now, the actual book should be out late Spring or Summer of next year. All things are tentative, of course, but that appears to be the calendar we’re working with. In the meantime, I’ve continued to make decent, if not always steady progress on the sequel, as I’ve had to start/stop as we finished BAD LAND’s story edits. Now that those are done, I can throw myself fully into the sequel.
I like where it’s at, even if I’m not sure I know exactly where it’s going.
At some point, BAD LAND’s title is likely to change, too…I suspected this was coming for a while, and I think that’s we’re going to have to do. Although the current title isn’t bad by any stretch, there are other books wearing a similar mantle, and we don’t want to get lost in the shuffle. I’ve worked through dozens of different titles, and we may have found a one or two that fits the bill. I thought writing the book itself was hard, but dreaming up a good, evocative, and memorable title has been twice as difficult.
Once we do have the new title, I’m looking to overhaul the old blog site. While it’s been perfectly serviceable, as we roll into next year and get ready for the book’s launch, I want a new website to pair along with it.
Everyone I’ve worked with so far at Putnam has been 100% wonderful. They’re walking me through the process of making my first book a reality, and it’s been fun and enlightening. I’ve also had the chance to talk with some other fantastic Putnam authors, who’ve been gracious enough to share their experiences and advice. It may not be a fast process, but it’s a very, very cool one.
It’s everything I hoped it would be when I threw BAD LAND out there in the world and hoped someone would catch it.
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