An Early Christmas Present

Yesterday, I went to amazon to post a review, and I ran across Cleared for Planting. It is available for pre-order at a slightly reduced price and will be released February 16, 2015. I am delighted that something is happening, and this felt like a special Christmas present. The waiting has been hard.

My publisher still hasn't contacted me, so I don't know what's up with that. This is the first time I've felt they slipped on something. Of course, with the holidays here, things are hectic everywhere. However, I am interested to see how long it will take them to tell me anything.

The process has seemed long, but it hasn't really been. Most regular publishers take almost a year to get a book out. I had met the publishers at a writers conference in South Carolina. I went to their website, followed their guidelines, and sent in a novel proposal a few months later. Cleared for Planting was first accepted in July. I did a final revision on my manuscript and sent it in, and it was assigned to an editor. We began working through emails back and forth. I think I ended up doing about four revisions, most of which were pretty minor. We wrapped that up, and it went to the design department. After a couple of tweaks to the backcover copy, etc. , the graphic artist sent me a proposed cover. 

I liked the mountains above the title, because that was what I'd envisioned, but Emma in Indian dress surprised me. At first I wasn't sure about it, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. We ended up using this first design, and it has grown on me all the while. Since Emma is captured by the Cherokee, it does fit.

We wrapped all our design work in October. I had been first told the book would likely be released around Thanksgiving. When I later asked, that had changed until right before Christmas. The last I heard the date had been moved to January. Yesterday's find on amazon was the first solid date I've had. 

I will need to be very involved with marketing, and I'd really appreciate any help you can give. Word of mouth is really the best way to advertise. I'll be willing to come to churches, book clubs, libraries, and other groups for presentations or signings, too. All the profit from the books will go to charity, and I'm still finalizing those plans. However, this book needs to sell well, so the next ones in the series of four will be published. Pray that things go well.

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