I don’t know about other authors, but for me, there’s a huge difference between reading proofs and reading one of my books after it’s actually been printed up and published, and other people are expected to pay good money for it.
When I finally get my author’s copies of the book, I always open it with some sense of trepidation. Is it really any good? Will people like it? Or is it more like one of those awful books I review from time to time–full of clumsy writing, silly characters, dopey dialogue, and bogged down in an inane plot? It was with all these daunting questions in mind that I began to read The Fugitive Prince.
How many typos are going to be in it, that should have been corrected? How many pages full of nonsense have I perpetrated? With my mind so full of doubts, it takes me a while to get into the book.
The good news is that, halfway through the book, I’m reassured that it’s all right, after all. Hooray, I didn’t write a turkey! I haven’t cheated my readers! It’s actually good!
It’s quite a load off my mind.
I know I’ll go through the same song and dance with The Palace. Oh, well–that’s just me, it can’t be helped. At least I’m not blase about my work. Maybe if I had 700+ titles published, like Barbara Cartland, or 600, like John Creasey, I’d be able to ease up a bit.
So… I like the book, and now I can’t wait to see if readers like it, too. And of course that’s what really matters.
I would have purchased the book for my boy, but the shipping costs to Canada are $22-a bit much for us.
Dave
It’ll be available in Kindle format by and by, Dave–no shipping cost at all. If you’ve read any of the others, I’d love to hear from you.
PS–Are you sure about that? Is the $22 for the book plus shipping? If the $22 is for shipping alone, I’ll have to look into that.
Great news that #5 is out! I bought “Bell Mountain” at the Chalcedon booth at the FPEA homeschool convention in Orlando and read it to my 5 children (ages 12-19, all adopted from east Asia). They loved it and begged me to get the next book. I just ordered the whole package (all 5) online at Chalcedon. We can give away book #1 to our friends! Thank you for your work to further God’s Kingdom. Keep it up, Lee!
I should be thanking you!
I like to post book updates here from time to time. Book #6, The Palace, will be the next one published, and I’m currently writing #7, The Glass Bridge.
As this is “old” you may not read it but I thought I’d share the thoughts that came timmediately to my mind: Before printing and distributing, I ask all my friends to edit! You can see I’m a coward!
Dorothy, everything I write goes through my wife first. I trust her to be honest, and to let me know if my work isn’t up to snuff. Then I have editors, real ones who get paid for editing. The problem with them is that they have become such fans of these books, they might miss or overlook slight errors in artistic judgment. Oh, well… I can only do my best.