Publishing a book is like moving. You think you're done, and then you go around a corner and are shocked to find a bathroom you forgot to empty or a closet that still has stuff in it. Last night I had to rush over to the printer to view the proof, which is a little mock-up of the book. It was incredibly exciting to be holding it in my hand. They usually destroy these, but I made a note on it for them to save it. I want to keep it. I'm kind of sappy about stuff like that.

I had noticed a few things in reading the final proof the day before. So I made a few final edits. But really, I'm going to trust the editorial process we used. 15 editors worked over these pieces. I reviewed all of them. And then Kurt N. was kind enough to look over the entire document. We don't have someone employed to do a final copy edit. It is what it is. We're going to print.

Click here to buy a copy of Turtles all the Way Down. Ships shortly after December 2nd.

They tell me I should have the books in hand on December 2nd. Jeanene and I, along with two of the three sisters, will be mailing close to 400 copies of this book within 48 hours of when we get it.

Back when my first book was remaindered and I bought the remaining 1300 copies, I was surprised when 27 cases of books showed up at my door. Luckily I've sold those down to about 500 copies. I just realized that Turtles all the Way Down is going to arrive in about 40 cases of books. Where the hell am I going to put them all? I will definitely build some kind of furniture out of them, like I did with the Eerdmans book. I'll keep the rest in the attic, trunk of my car, hidden at the church, wherever.

I will definitely take pictures of the family mailing effort. Should be interesting.

rlp