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Hey Everyone!

I (Robin) want to give you an update on my book project.  I finished the manuscript a couple months ago and sent it to the publisher.  I picked WestBow Press to publish it for several reasons. They seemed to have a smooth process, great distribution, but the biggest reason is that they are a sister corporation of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan.  Obviously, those names are the best in the business.  If the book does well there is potential for one of them to pick it up and run it through their channels as well.

After I sent in the manuscript, it had to go through an initial examination for content. They wanted to make sure it fit their standards for writing and Christian content.  I was quite nervous about this process.  I tried my hardest during writing to make sure I covered all the details.  However, I had not cited or sourced a paper since college (20 years ago).  Do you remember how to do a bibliography? Yeah, me neither! Ha!

They came back with 4 areas that needed changes.  I needed a couple of my endorsers to send in a permission email.  There was a story that I used in the book that they were concerned might be a libel risk.  (The person I talked about might not like being in the book) They wanted me to change the story or reach out to him and get his permission.  There was no way for that to happen so I was stuck.  I really wanted to use the story.  Then, something amazing happened.  Someone came into my office this week with the exact same situation.  I counseled him and then said, “Would you mind if I use your story in my book?”  He agreed! So I got a notarized statement giving me permission. Wow!

The publishers were also nervous about a section of a Martin Luther King Jr letter that I used. They said that I had to get official, legal permission from his estate before I used it.  Of course, I was quite nervous about this and wondered what it would take.  I looked them up online and sent an email explaining the book and portion I needed to use. They were so kind but referred me to their legal representatives in New York.  I wrote to them and they had me fill out a long legal form.  There was a blank that they would fill out that said “fee_______”.   How much would it cost for me to quote MLK?  I was so impressed by this.   How awesome that it costs to quote someone that has been dead for decades?  However, I was quite unsure about if I could afford it.  They finally responded that it would cost $150 to use the portion I needed!

The final change that the publisher needed me to do was funny and tough.  They said that I used three words that were profanity! ha!!  I never dreamed that I would be marked for profanity.  The first word was “heck”.  HAHAHAHA  The second word was “screwed”.  Those two words were easy changes.  The third word was “retarded”.  They said they do not allow that word in their books.  I was a bit troubled when I saw this.  I wondered if they even read the book of they just used software that scanned the book for certain words.  I called them and asked, “Did you actually read the book? Do you know that my daughter was born with a severe disability? Do you think I would ever use that word in a derogatory way?”  The man was very kind and said he understood.  He would take it up to the next level of management and see if he could get an allowance for it.  He sent me an email a few days later saying, “I’m sorry. You can’t use that word.  This is coming from Thomas Nelson.”  So, I changed it.   If you want to check out our thoughts on the word retarded, click on this post.

We now go through another evaluation that is a little more detailed.  It is more about structure of the writing and trying to find out if we could improve it from a literary perspective.  This is the longest part of the process.

We have been working on the cover in the meantime with Michelle Hagerty, Luke Tharp and Erica (the best critic I have!).  Those watercolor images are concepts we are working through for the cover. Icebergs are a big illustration in the book.  That pic does NOT do them justice.

We were hoping that the book would release in January, but it is looking like it will be in early spring.  The main issue is the holiday delay coming.  Oh, but what a good delay that is!