If you’ve visited my blog before, you’ll notice that I have a brand-new, spiffy layout.  Take a look around!  Things aren’t perfectly in place yet, but I’m pretty pleased with how things are shaping up.

I can’t believe it, but there are only 52 days and counting until Next Year I’ll be Perfect is published!  Here are some of the ways I’ve been spending my time in the last few weeks to get ready:

1.  Editing – I have been working with a wonderful editor, Nikki Van De Car who pointed out a few places in my book where I needed to “share with the class” what was happening.  Let me explain… My writing process is to let the characters in my head go about their business while I try to capture it all in shorthand.  They run the show and I just document it.  (I know it sounds schizophrenic, but it also saves on my therapy bills.)  The problem is, that sometimes I’m so busy capturing the dialogue that I forget to capture the action.  Nikki suggested that I might want to share with my readers some of the action going along with the dialogue since they can’t actually see the pictures in my head.  Sounded reasonable and made for great improvements in a few key chapters.

2.  Proofreading – I am hopeless when it comes to punctuating dialogue.  Thank you, Cathy Shaw, for fixing my commas and not making me repeat the third grade.

3.  Layout – I got weepy when I saw the font Victoria Wolffe chose for my book.  Seriously weepy.  Now, I expected to be excited to see the design of my book cover (#4 below) and I know I will need to be severely medicated when I actually hold a paper version of my book in my hands for the first time, but the font?  Who knew?  I don’t think I would have thought twice if the font was fine, but the fact is, the font was perfect and now I can’t imagine any other style.

4.  Book Cover –  Greg Simanson NAILED it.  This is the book cover of my dreams.  It hopefully conveys what the book is about as well as the tone.  Also, it is bright and cheery and should catch attention on those crowded bookstore shelves.

5.  Marketing – Wow.  Who knew how much work I would have to put into my book AFTER actually writing it?  I’ve set up a new Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/laurakilmartinauthor ), requested book endorsements from some of my favorite authors and re-designed my blog into a quasi-website which only took three all-nighters and a week off from my day job to complete…  52 days of this and THEN the actual launch?  Again, I say wow!

6.  Celebrating – Okay, it hasn’t all been hard work.  Truth be told, there may have been a celebratory beverage or two lifted to toast my book this week.  Also, I am incredibly fortunate to have a huge group of supporters cheering me on as my book gets ready to see the light of day.  Family and friends all the way from early childhood to the new writer pals I’ve picked up on the road of this journey have been excited for me and encouraging me in a way I’d never dreamed possible.