The boxes of books have arrived from the printer, rather unceremoniously I might add. There was no notification from UPS, and by chance I found four big boxes by the mailbox on my way to the post office. The driveway is a hazard in Winter, so no delivery trucks come down it. But usually they leave a note and expect us to pick up the parcel at the local depot. The boxes were each wrapped in plastic, and as it was a bitterly cold day with not a chance of precipitation, it hardly mattered. Still, it would have been unfortunate to find them a few days later under a pile of snow.
As it happened, I was heading to the local post office to mail the manuscript to an Irish publisher. The juxtaposition of these two events was telling. On the one hand Val and I have self-published a book, had it printed, and are now owners of many copies that we will endeavor to sell. On the other hand, I was doing what countless authors have done in the past, mailing their manuscript to an unknown publisher and an uncertain fate. I had to fill out a customs declaration form, and when asked by the postmaster as to the value of the package, all I could say was 'zero'.
What comes next? That was the question I posed to my wonderful Editor. We'll meet next week so that I can hear what she did to sell her own book through Amazon.
I wonder will I ever hear back from the Irish publisher? They said they would respond in 3-6 months.
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