Pencils Down

To update you on the cover, it's done and it's wonderful. I can't tell you how good it feels to have it, to love it, and to have gotten here by listening to my gut and reworking the path. That's kind of a theme of the book, but happily, this time it didn't take me 20 years. Progress!

The designer who did the cover will also do the layout, and so I'm on the cusp of handing over a completed manuscript, no backsies. He's being very patient, but the thing is ... I've hit a corresponding dip in confidence about the entire enterprise. Funny how I thought I'd be able to get this over the finish line without at least one more of these.

Currently obsessing over last looks, extra spaces, paragraph breaks and other irritating necessities. Minor issues have taken on an outsized importance, as if a wonky indent will Ruin Everything. But there's going to be a lot I can't do about how people feel about this, so it's not surprising I'd obsess over what is more black and white.

In other news, I've engaged with a book marketing professional, which is a huge relief. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to get thing thing off the ground on my own, and I feel like I'm in great hands. If I can work my way out of this confidence hole, that is. The work is never done.