Hope 2016 is off to a great start for all of you. This post will shed light on the cryptic photo I posted New Year’s Day which simply read: ©2016. The box in the above photo was under the tree waiting for our daughter when she returned on Dec 24th from 4-month study abroad in Parma, Italy. Before she left in August she gave me 12/24 as the deadline for “finishing” my novel, Peach Seed Monkey . Inside the box: three perfect bound paperback editing copies of the book ~ made possible by a miracle called The Espresso Book Machine (EBM) ~ an incredible tool for writers preparing for publication: on-demand printing while you wait!
At a Halloween party I met sisters Steph and Judy (dressed as a pirate and her parrot); the parrot told me about I Street Press at the Sacramento Central Library where they have an EBM. For a couple of print matter geeks like my graphic designer husband, Rob and me, this was big fun: I shot a close-up of a peach seed on a rust & teal piece of metal for the cover, which Rob designed. Then he formatted the manuscript in a PDF according to the EBM specs. We drove to Sacramento armed with 2 PDFs on a flash drive: one for the book block and one for the cover. Hats off to librarian printer Gerry Ward who worked the magic that produced our three warm copies.
The I Street Press EBM is encased in glass (maybe they all are?) so you can watch your paperback cover and book block come together right before your eyes. 5 minutes later a book pops out like a warm loaf of bread! This machine is a mishmash with a high speed Xerox copier on one end to print the book block, the EBM in the middle, an Epson color copier at the other end to print the cover —all run by a Mac. As Rob said, “I love that in the middle of this high tech machine is a messy glue pot.” And so it is. After a decade of words, drafts, edits (and still more to come) for these three preliminary drafts it came down to a bead of glue the EBM lays down on the spine to hold it all together. The glue—and a powerful guillotine making three cuts—is the difference between 300 sheets of paper and a book you can flip through, wrap and put under the tree.
When the words are all dressed up it makes a huge difference. A stack of 8.5″ x 11″ manuscript pages—Times Roman, messy with edits—versus a formatted draft—dressed in a Granjon font—is like wearing sweats versus a tux. A lot can hide under those sweats but when you put on a tailored, pressed tux it shows what kind of shape you’re in.
So…fellow writers: we work hard inside our processes so why not have some fun? When you’re at the “solid draft” phase, design a fun cover, imagine your story as a book then print a copy or two—see link below—you will feel very differently about those words and see things you would otherwise miss. Sure, you can use one of many online presses and wait 5-7 days but it’s way cooler to be part of the process and walk away with your book(s). But most importantly, to dress the words is to dress the characters and show them how much you believe in them.
Next step? My devoted husband and daughter are busy reading and marking up their copies. Then I’ll go back in ( yes…AGAIN) and produce the draft that I will send to my editor/coach for final (for real) edits. I read once that a writer said you’ll know when you’re finished because when you look at your book you’ll want to throw up. I’m almost there!
To all my blog followers I appreciate your support these past years—and thank you, Miranda, for the deadline that generated this giant step. Now…enough is enough…you won’t hear anymore about this dang process until it’s time to order a copy…and may that happen before we make another trip around the sun…
LINKS
Find an Espresso Book Machine near you ~ http://ondemandbooks.com/
I Street Press in Sacramento: http://www.saclibrary.org/Services/I-Street-Press/
Congratulations, Anita!!! So proud and happy for you!!! Can’t wait to read it.
Wooho! That is great!
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Rock on, Anita! My hat’s off to you!
pretty amazing and fun machine to hear about, almost makes you believe in progress, especially the glue part. I have to say only on the west coast. The farm down the road from me does have a computer that milks to cows.
I dare say, Pete…not just the west coast! In fact there are more EBM locations on the east coast, a few in France, UK, one in South Africa and Japan…and nearest to you may be at Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge. Check out this map: http://ondemandbooks.com/ebm_locations.php
Anita, I love this post. I’ve never thought about a deadline as a gift. Thank you for that insight. You touched my literary heart when you wrote, “…to dress the words is to dress the characters and show them how much you believe in them.” Your writing resonates with me and I can’t wait to buy and read your novel.
Anita, I have not received the copy yet. I will let you know just as soon as it arrives!! Have a good day!! and a GREAT 2016!!! dick
Congratulations on making it happen, can’t wait to be able to get a copy.
I forgot HAPPY NEW YEAR ,what a great way to start.
Congratulations and good for Miranda giving you a deadline. Sometimes the child becomes the parent.
I’m so excited for you Anita! What a wonderful experience the expresso machine is, but even better is seeing all your energy of writing in the palm of your hands. I can’t wait to read your book!
Thank you, Anita. It was a pleasure working with you and your husband. By the way, the glue pot runs at 350 degrees and does have character.
We love that glue pot!
Let me just add my “I am so proud of you” to the list of others and of course YOU would find out about EBM! Congratulations with all my love and admiration. Judith
Thanks! This sounds wonderful, for you and for all of us.
Hey Anita,
Thank you for reminding us how wonderful it feels to be fully in the process of creating something – whether it’s writing, cooking, painting, gardening…anything that brings light into the world, it feels so good to be deep in it. All the best in 2016 and may you be throwing up soon :)! Deborah
Don’t you love how our children inspire us? Congratulations on a job well done (your daughter AND your book, which is kind of like another child, eh?)!!!
Oh Anita this is awesome. I’ve heard that writing a book and having it published is like delivering a baby. I say, there is no comparison. The book is much more LABOR – intensive! Ha! I must tell you that I cannot wait for “Peach Seed Monkey” because your writing just draws me in. I love writing but the difference becomes evident where I might say, “I went to Sacramento and had three drafts bound,” instead, you share the experience in a way that makes me feel like I went with you and together, we experienced something amazing and cutting edge. Surely the EBM uses the best of each technology to create its product: the Xerox copier; the Epson Color Printer for the Cover and of course the MAC! Now the characters, I know, of course. Ha! But if I didn’t know them, having read “The Gift of a Deadline” I would know Miranda and Rob, a little about their spirit and character and most importantly what an amazing support system they create for you as you have made this journey. I am so happy for you and I feel honored to be one of the many fans that you are allowing to live vicariously through you!