Welcome to the second of author Lola Jaye's monthly guest blogs (read the first here) in the run up to the publication of her debut novel, By the Time You Read This...
Lola’s sleigh ride to publication…
(Sorry, couldn’t resist!) It is December after all. Christmas is almost here and it’s freezing outside! Oh and the countdown to publication’s ticking away madly.
When I first announced my book was coming out, there was a collective sigh along with a; “Why does it take so looong to publish a book?’
‘Well, there’s the editing, the book cover, the PR, the Marketing etc etc.’
‘Yes, but why so long?’
However, six months after my ‘announcement’ it’s now; ‘Blimey, Lola, your book’s coming out ruddy soon!’
And excuse the cliché but, doesn’t time fly…?
Since my last scribble for Trashionista: The copy-edited manuscript flew back (literally) from the Copy Editor. After which, I did the amendments and now it’s gone again, only to return in a few weeks time as (drum roll please) a proper book…! Well, sort of. It’ll actually be a ‘mock up’ of how the book will look. You know, pages bound together and everything – the first indication that I’ve actually written a book and not in fact 280 odd pages of A4 text!
More news: I now have a publicist – yes, like, a reeaal one – and she handles all my media stuff daarrling. She also arranged for a rather trendy photographer to come to my flat and take photos for the book jacket along with some ‘publicity’ shots.
And what a fab day that was!
Prancing around outside my home like a ZZ list wannabe celeb (all that posing in the mirror as a kid has seriously come in handy!) and almost freezing my fingernails off in the process. But – to quote a five year old – IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!
I’ve also been working with a web developer on my new website, which still has a tiny way to go before completion… erm… what else...? Oh yeah, I’m still updating my other blog on www.upadiary.blogspot.com so feel free to take a peep. And in between all that I’m a few thousand words into the new novel! About time too, because I was getting a little worried there. Endless evenings spent staring gormlessly at a wordless screen, nothing in my head, but blank observations about cheesecake flavours. But once the ideas for the characters came, so did everything else. And it’s all got exciting again as I get to know them one by one. Their personalities, ages, hair styles, shoe sizes; all in my head, ready to burrow their way out and onto the computer.
So, for a while there, I was in this weird position of correcting the first novel whilst starting the new one and hoping I didn’t get in a muddle with all my characters. Haven’t called anyone by the wrong name yet… but give me time.
So, Merry Christmas in advance lovely readers of Trashionista. I’m going to use the time off during the Christmas break to write as much as I can, whilst squeezing in the odd night out.
See ya in ’08 – the year I get published!
Lola’s first novel; By The Time You Read This is out in August 2008 Harper Collins
