The reason that I haven't posted here in so long is that I haven't been able to log in to Weebly. I have made numerous attempts but none of them were successful and the support team was not helpful. So sorry!
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There are two ways that my book can be purchased at this point. You can go directly to the publisher's website belleislebooks.com, or you can contact me and I can mail you a book. At this time, the publisher is selling my book at the full cover price of $16.95 (plus tax) and shipping costs. I am currently selling my book for $15.00 (including tax) and an additional $5.80 USPS postal delivery cost (which when added together equals $20.80). If you are interested in purchasing a copy from me, send me a message and we can work out the details! I will have a P.O. box by tomorrow (7/30/14) and I will post that address asap!
A third grade student named Rinka from Half Day School (the school where I worked for the past five years) lost both her parents and an older brother in an automobile accident in Arizona during Spring Break a few days ago. My mind is numb trying to comprehend this tragedy. And my heart is void of any ability to experience her pain. It must be terrible. So I ask you all to join me in praying for Rinka.
I cleaned Rinka's classroom every day for the past year before I retired, I must have occasionally straightened her chair when I vacumed her classroom floor. I cleaned the lunchroom where she sat with her classmates every lunch hour. And I read my book this past Fall to all the third graders, including Rinka. It is a very sad thing to think of what she is going through right now. Her happy and innocent child's world has been shattered. Please say a prayer for Rinka. My publisher informed me that I would have to wait until early this week for the "soft proofs" of the front and back covers to be sent to me by the printer. This should be the last delay before my book goes to print.
And today I received a very disappointing (but understandable) piece of news from the elementary school district where I worked for twenty-six years before retiring this past December. Laura B. Sprague school was going to have an author's assembly for me this Spring. But due to a number of complications (including, I suppose, the numerous delays I have experienced getting my book to press), that author's assembly has been cancelled for this school year. I am a little bummed. I had wanted that author's assembly to be the very first public presentation of my book because of the special place that school holds in my heart. It was where the idea for the book was born and it is where the most influential experiences surrounding it happened. So, it is with a heavy heart that I accept this bit of information. There were some changes that needed to be made on the front and back covers. More tweaks than changes really! But because there was something that needed to be done, the book hit another speed bump! This should be a short delay though. The printer will be sending me a "soft" proof (which means an electronically sent one") and then, after I approve it, the presses will finally start printing my book!! I can hardly believe it!
I know that I said in my last post that this one would be about teachers and students from school district 103 in Lincolnshire, Illinois, but I have good reason to postpone that focus. Yesterday my mom began chemotherapy.
I know that I have given a lot of people credit for helping me get my book published. But I think I should have started at the beginning. My mom is an amazing woman. She models perseverance! My dad and mom decided to have a big family. We have one! There are six girls and six boys in our family. And my mom always reminds us that there are three angels in heaven that are our siblings whom we will meet there. (They never had the chance to be born due to miscarriages.) I wouldn't be here or be in such an amazing family if it were not for the hard work of my mom and dad. I only have two children and I can hardly imagine what it was like to be the parents of twelve! I am so blessed to have been raised in my family by these two wonderful parents. Okay! Okay! I know that I told you all just yesterday about the soon arrival of the Printer's Proofs. But I can't help myself!! We drove into our driveway after work today and saw the UPS delivery we have been dreaming about for months wrapped in a plastic bag (due to the inclement weather this morning) and hanging on our front door's handle! We rushed into the house and my wife, Marilyn, quickly pulled out the Next Day Air PAK. We opened it and stared in fascinated unbelief at my book in its' proof form. It came with a "cover" that is exactly what the book cover will look like, but with lines indicating where the trim and spline locations will be. The book itself is three-hole punched with a separate ring in each hole. The proof is put together exactly in the order the book will be printed. As soon as I finish this post, I will spend the remainder of the night checking it over carefully for any mistakes. I pray that I don't find any because at this late date they are very expensive to correct. Hopefully, all the previous proofs by me and my editors will have already caught anything that was wrong!
And before I finish this post I want to ask your prayers for a few extremely special people in my life. My mom, my niece, and the daughter of a dear friend, are all fighting different forms of cancer. My mom has bravely chosen to undergo chemotherapy to prolong her life. There is no cure for the advanced stage of cancer she is fighting. My seven year old niece, Keegan, is also undergoing chemotherapy. She has leukemia. The form of it that she has is the more curable type, but Keegan has been battling the cancer on more than one front. A few short days ago she was rushed to the hospitlal with a life-threatening blood clot. And she has more than two years of difficult treatment still in front of her. And, Ava, the daughter my dear friend, Esther, has been diagnosed very recently with the worst type of leukemia. Ava is only five. Her parents are heartbroken over what is happening to Ava. My three year old grandson, Hudson, is struggling with life-threatening allergies. We have all been trained in how to use an epi-pen. And this weekend we are attending a CPR class so that we will be prepared for any anaphylactic emergency. So, as much as I am enjoying this season of excitement surrounding my book, I am also acutely aware that the world doesn't revolve around me. I am thankful that these wonderful loved ones have helped me to realize how precious the gift of life, and especially love, really is. So if you are reading this, thank you for caring enough about me to follow my publishing journey. But may I ask you to say a prayer for those loved ones, in my life and yours, who have opened our eyes to what is really important. May God bless you.. Woo Hoo! Had to interrupt the postings I have been doing about paying it forward to let everyone know that the publisher contacted me yesterday and told me that the Printer's Proofs of my book would be arriving via UPS at my house on Wednesday (tomorrow)! It is very hard to believe that this day has finally arrived!
Printer's Proofs are actual pieces of paper and not electronic digital images like all the previous proofs that I have received have been. This means that the actual printer who will be printing my book has prepared the necessary means to produce it and wants to make sure before they go to press that everything is as it should be. As soon as I give approval to these proofs, the book will go to press! What a long amazing journey this has been! I want to continue in this post to recognize other wonderful people who helped me achieve what I have been stretching towards for many, many years.
Leslea Newman, an author of substantial accomplishments, was invited a few years ago to come to Half Day school as an author in residence. In the midst of her busy schedule of student assemblies and classroom visits, Leslea kindly allowed me to ask her for her opinion on my book. In a matter of minutes, she pinpointed a potentially serious flaw in my story and advised me (in general terms) how to fix it. Her help propelled me forward and allowed me to be prepared for the next surprise on my journey towards publication! My brother Larry saw an open door that I would never have discovered, and gave me the means to walk through it. His daughter, Taylor, was working for the publisher (Brandylane Publishers, Inc.) that eventually chose my book for publication. Larry saw the possibility that Taylor's summer job presented, and made me aware of the potentially golden opportunity it offered. His caring conscientious phone call began the series of events that eventually ended in a "Congratulations!" letter from my publisher. My niece, Taylor, whom graciously became my own personal editor, helped me to prepare my book (and me) for publication. She was a godsend (literally)! Taylor spent many lengthy hours helping me sand off the rough edges of my initial manuscripts. She then guided me through the complicated (to me!) process of submitting it. There are MANY requirements that must be met to be published, and the book itself is just one of them. Taylor helped me get through the unfamiliar labyrinth of details and tie them all together in a nice tidy package. When she felt I was ready to proceed, she walked my book into the publisher's office and left it there to stand or fall on it's own merits. With her help, it stood! Thank you Taylor! My next post will concentrate on the teachers and students of School District 103 in Lincolnshire, Illinois. They were the inspiration and encouragers whom made "What Happens at School When You're Not There?" a reality. Continuing in my effort to recognize many of those whom have helped me get to this point in the publishing process, on whom I would like to focus some attention:
Susan Maas (the mom of Nick, who was at that time a Sprague School student) approached me with the idea of writing a book about what happens when the children go home after the school day ends. That was the spark that inspired my book's genesis. Susan was thinking it would be a good idea if the school children learned how much work it took to clean the school after they left for the day. She envisioned a book about janitors vacuuming, mopping, and emptying trash cans. But her request ignited in me the idea to put to ink all the fun stories I had been telling children for years about elephants, alligators, birds, and ants creating havoc in the building when the children were not there. Brod Bagert, an author in residence in April of 2006 at Sprague School, demonstrated to me what fun it could be to write children's books. Patty Lathrop, the librarian at Half Day school, convinced me that beginning a web site for my book was not as impossible as it first seemed to me. You are now visiting it! (Thank you, Patty!) Christy Adler, the principal at Laura B. Sprague school (where I worked for almost 20 years), actually sat down with me one evening for many hours and generously helped me create my original web site. Her kindness left me speechless. She is an incredible principal with a lot on her to-do list, but she took the time to help me launch this web site! On my next blog entry, I will continue to honor the investment of as many people as I can remember for their contributions to the launching of my first book. |
AuthorEdward J. Denecke is an aspiring children's book author. Archives
February 2023
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