The Home Stretch

First of all, I wanted to note that I got a lot of emails from a bunch of you during the time that I was transitioning jobs, and you were all wishing me good luck and other awesome stuff. I wanted to thank you all, even though I didn’t reply to all the emails, ‘cause they really made my day.

And since you were all so interested… Yes, the New Job is going great. I really like it there, and the environment is (so far) so much healthier than where I was before. Now, all work places have their issues, and I’m sure I’ll figure out the ones that pertain to the New Job eventually, but for right now, I’m just basking in the novel idea that I’m not ANGRY all the time. It’s wonderful.

So, that brings me to my Other Job, which is writing.

My status on JJD4 is thus: Right now, I have edited it to the best of my (and my betas’) ability. I have also given myself a crash course in both ebook formatting, and formatting for CreateSpace (Yes, this means that there WILL be a print copy of JJD4 available. More on that in a minute.). The formatting process is not nearly as confusing as I feared, and I’m actually feeling pretty damn proud of myself. I’m trying so hard to make sure that you, the Reader, get a quality product.
So what happens next? Once I get the final formatting done (ie: number of pages set in stone for the print copy), I will be sending this to my cover artist. Then, I’m subject to her schedule. I don’t know what that timeline will look like, but I’m hoping to have things to her by this weekend. (Y’know, barring alien abduction or other natural disasters) She, however, is a really awesome artist, and I will assume much in demand. I gotta wait my turn just like everybody else, but I think it’s going to be worth it.

Once I have the cover art from her, I can start to get things ready for public consumption. The FIRST thing I want to do is order myself a few proof copies of the print version, just to make sure that it’s not horrendous.

What this means for you, if you are a book reviewer: I have decided that I will be using those proof copies as ARCs, for those reviewers who would rather have it in print than ebook. IF this is you, Mr. or Ms. Reviewer, please let me know ahead of time at kari.stewart21@gmail.com so that I can try to make sure I have enough. I may not be able to accommodate all requests, but I’m going to give it a valiant effort. (I also realize that my ARC vs. release date schedule may be too tight for some reviewers to actually read the book/post a review prior to release. This is OKAY! I’m more interested in getting it reviewed at all, than the timing.)

If you are NOT a book reviewer, I will also probably work up some giveaways pre-release date, so do not despair.

And speaking of release dates. I’ve been saying all along “Summer 2014”. Still hoping that’s going to work, don’t see a decent reason why it shouldn’t. Like I said earlier, I’ll know more once I can do my part and get everything to my cover artist that she needs. That said, I will say that I’m going to shoot for an EXTREMELY TENTATIVE (note the use of extreme caps, there) release date of July 8th. This will be subject to change, if required. (and mostly, I picked that date because I already have that week off from the Real Job, and it seemed fortuitous.)

Now, the process of getting books, both print and e-version, out and available for purchase is not an instantaneous “Push the button, Max” kind of process. I will actually probably start navigating that maze a week or two BEFORE my actual release date. This means that on some platforms, you may see the book available earlier, and on some platforms, it may get there later. I can’t control when retailers update their systems. However, we will plan on at least celebrating the release on July 8th, pending necessary adjustments. I’ll keep you all posted.

Wow, this was a lot of info. I think part of the reason I needed to write this post was to just get it all out of my head so I have room for other stuff!

Which brings us to the last and final tidbit of info, a reward for all of you who actually read this entire post and didn’t do a TL;DR. (Yes, I totally just pulled a Marvel and put the good stuff after the credits)

The title of Jesse James Dawson #4 is going to be A SNAKE IN THE GRASS.

Tell all your friends.