Update on Warden 4 (Roost of the Roc)

A few weeks back, I wrote on my blog that I anticipated completing Warden 4 this month. Thus I had hoped that this post would be an announcement that it was finished. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll need a few more days, although I'll still probably make the January deadline.

There is good news, however. For starters, the cover is essentially done. I'll take another look at it over the next day or so to make sure there's nothing that needs to change, but I think it's pretty much complete except for a few technicalities (e.g., making sure the print cover is the right size.) Also, my editor knows it's coming, although I think I told her something like "soon" rather than a definitive date. That said, I plan to  give her something concrete in a day or two.  

So in a perfect world, I'll finish the manuscript in a few days, review it, and then fire it off to my editor. While she's doing her thing, I'll let my cover artist know what the dimensions for the print cover should be based on the page count and also finalize the descriptive blurb for the book.  Just in case anyone's interested, here's the formula for calculating the cover size for the print version:

Minimum Cover Width: Bleed + Back Cover Trim Size + Spine Width + Front Cover Trim Size + Bleed

Minimum Cover Height: Bleed + Book Height Trim Size + Bleed

(And just FYI:   "Bleed" is .125 inches. Also, the size of the spine width can vary, based on the type of paper used - for example, cream paper vs. white paper.)

Anyway, the bottleneck, as you can imagine, is my editor.  She stays busy, so there's really no way to estimate when I'll get the manuscript back. I'm hoping it will only be a couple of weeks. Then, of course, I need to review the manuscript again, then get it to my formatting guy, who can usually turn things around in a couple of days. At that point, I'll upload the book to Amazon and hit "Publish."

All in all, there's a possibility that Warden 4 will get released in February, but early March is a better bet. I'll know more after my editor gets it and [hopefully] provides an estimate of when she can be done. Needless to say, I'm praying that it's sooner rather than later.