Jim, the book’s author, came over last night for our last round of editing. All 28 chapters of his coffee table book about the Green Bay Packers are finished. That’s roughly 470 pages of design work and editing on my part, and there’s still a ways to go when you consider I need to apply page numbers and generate the table of contents and index. (I also need to color correct all of the 300+ photos according to the printer’s color profile, but that’ll be a snap. <— note sarcasm.) But, the bulk of the work is finished. It’s been an 11-month process and by the time I upload it to the printer, it will be closer to 14 months.
Wowza.
Overall, I’m pleased. Very pleased. Yet, the nit-picker in me (and editor-for-hire) will end up spending a great deal of time looking for inconsistencies and omissions. Do all the design elements line up perfectly? Are all the numbers appropriately numeric or spelled out? Have I added the copyright symbol everywhere there ought to be one? Does the color palette really mesh? Is every page balanced? And do I love that font as much as I did a year ago?
All of these things will become my priority once we’re settled in Knoxville. Jim knows I need a couple of weeks to get the house organized, the kids acclimated and to catch up on things that need catching up on (wink, wink), but he also knows that I KNOW deadlines, and if the plan is to have this book published by training camp time, then I’ve got about two months to finish the entire thing.
Don’t you know I’m already wondering: What happens next? When the book is finished and there’s nothing for me to do creatively, what in the world will I do? I’m a little nervous about that.
…
This is our last weekend in Amarillo. Packing will be the prominent activity. That, and reflecting on everything I learned while living here. A goodbye post is coming soon.
So are you hoping for a lockout and a delay to the season? that gives you some extra time 🙂
Hope your move goes well and Salem has a great, uneventful, car ride