Publishing Journey: My book is done and I have a publication date!

I haven’t mentioned my book in a while, though it consumes lots of space in my brain. I finished my last round of edits early this month, and just got the manuscript back from my editor this past Friday. I was hoping any remaining edits would be minor, but I wasn’t holding my breath. I have learned through this process that breath-holding is foolish.

Thankfully, the edits were very minor. I did them in one day. A few interesting things I learned while reviewing my edits:

1. I have an obsession with em dashes—very weird. I wonder what this says about me.

2. I use “after all” A LOT. This is also very weird of me. It sounds very 1800s, after all.

3. Too often, I start sentences with “There is…” followed by a description. For example, “There is a jukebox in the corner.” It’s a much better read to say, “A jukebox is in the corner.” I’m working on it. There is hope for me yet.

It trips me out that I don’t notice these little idiosyncrasies in my writing. I’m too close to it, I guess. I really think I will become a better writer because of this editing process. I’ve learned so much.

So, now the book is–oh my god, can I say it?–DONE!

I have no idea what happens now. I assume they will do a thorough proofreading in-house, finalize the cover (I’ve seen a draft and it’s awesome), and all that jazz. But, my writing work is DONE.

Most exciting of all, I have a publication date! PEOPLE WHO KNEW ME will be hitting shelves on…

Mark your calendars, people. I’m so excited that it comes out right before Memorial Day weekend. Beach read, anyone? May 24 is also my wedding anniversary–a very fortuitous date, indeed. I have chills just thinking about it. Or maybe that’s the air conditioner. They really crank it in summer.

Next up for me: I plan to resume working on the novel I started while I was waiting on edits for this one. I’ll probably take a look at some other books I’ve written and see if I want to revisit those at some point, too. Good things are ahead!