It’s really real!

I was going to blog more about the wedding, but I had a surprise show up at my house today. Page proofs from Harlequin!

I think it hit me for the first time today. I really sold a book. They really are going to publish it. I almost want to pet the manuscript like it’s a little puppy. I’ve been a bit superstitious and haven’t read the manuscript since I sent it off on September 1st. This is good because I’m truly looking at it with a fresh set of eyes.

Right after I sold it, I had to complete an Art Facts Sheet which involved assembling a one-page synopsis along with answering various questions from a visual standpoint.

The book was then sent to the copyeditor and when I opened the package, here’s what one of the pages looks like:

The lines were numbered, and one of the more unusual changes for me to see was replacing double quotation marks with single quotation marks. It’s a little strange on the eyes. I’m looking forward to seeing which of my American spellings were changed to British spellings.

Now, I’m sure published authors must look at page proofs and think–Oh boy. Here we go.

But these are my first ever page proofs. I did a little dance in my kitchen. This is my first book! I’m looking forward to diving back into the story. I will try to refrain from changing the word colour color.