It seems to take forever for a book to come together, for the research to fall into place, for the writing to be completed, and then the editing, and then more editing ... but you know it's the real thing when the page proofs arrive, as did the proofs for "The Great White Bear" the other day. I'll be going through them between now and the end of the month, and adding an index as well, and then there will be little left for me to do except sit back, wait, and work with the folks at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on release and publicity strategies and materials.
Since finishing most of the work on the book, I've been taking it easy, turning down a couple offers of work in recognition of the need to recover from the 18-month ordeal that included not only manuscript writing, but also organizing the Greenland expedition, and coping with the death of my father, as well as in anticipation that other projects would kick in by July. As July approaches and the bank account dwindles, that gamble is looking increasingly like a reckless one; the next couple of months will be important ones.
Since finishing most of the work on the book, I've been taking it easy, turning down a couple offers of work in recognition of the need to recover from the 18-month ordeal that included not only manuscript writing, but also organizing the Greenland expedition, and coping with the death of my father, as well as in anticipation that other projects would kick in by July. As July approaches and the bank account dwindles, that gamble is looking increasingly like a reckless one; the next couple of months will be important ones.