Tamara L. Siuda, unplugged
Made it through mid-July and the beginning of August, the roughest weeks of every year for me, for a few years running now. The UCLA conference over my birthay went very well, I think. A liaison for the Coptic Pope told me he wants to show the paper I presented to His Holiness the next time they get together, and I’ve already been approached (twice!) about publication. Since that paper is a significant portion of chapter 9 of my dissertation, polishing it won’t be a distraction from the Looming Deadline of September 30.
It’s great when things work out and you aren’t making extra work for yourself.
Speaking of extra work: completing two books this week, one for a client (I did the layout/design), and the second for myself. I wanted both out before August 1 but fell a few hours short. Hoping to have them completed (sent a final proof to my client today in the case of the first book) and in printer hands by the end of the week.
Once my book is in the printing pipeline I need to revise my presale website and gear up for distribution. The one part of being responsible for an entire book process that gets frustrating for me is distribution; invariably books are lost, databases are read wrong, customers fall through the cracks and someone doesn’t get a book. From my end it’s mostly looking at pages and pages of statistics and not personal, but I must always remember that from their end it’s VERY personal. Each person who purchases a book from me is supporting my craft, and they did not get the book they supported - that’s a serious problem and has to be fixed as quickly as possible. Doing my best to make sure I come through for every reader so they are still willing to support me when the next project comes along. I’m so grateful for everyone who supports my work, and hope they realize that, even when we have a spreadsheet SNAFU and books end up in Albania rather than Connecticut.
We get it fixed eventually. Everything, eventually, sorts itself out. The trick is to sort it before it sorts you.
Back to the InDesign grind for a while. I can lose myself in typefaces and pica lines, but eventually even I have to come up for air and food and rest.