the blurb search

Because “finished” is apparently never really, truly, entirely finished, I should note here on the progress bulletin board that last week I returned a last round of copy edit revisions to Beacon Press, marking yet another of this project’s progressive finishes. The next time I see the book, it’ll be bound as uncorrected proof advance copies for sending to potential reviewers. And yes, that will provide one genuinely last opportunity (no pun) for proofreading in search of stray commas and unintended double-spaces, etc.

In the meantime, the current work is the frightening and unrequitable favor-asking that is The Blurb Search. For those unfamiliar with the process, this is when the first-time author and/or his/her publisher approach vastly more accomplished authors with highly developed name recognition and ask them, politely and sheepishly (at least if it’s the first-time author making the ask) if they might carve out a few hours of their valuable and much-sought time to read a book by someone they’ve never heard of (because, alas, none of my friends are famous authors), and, if they like the book, consider penning a few sentences of recommendation suitable for plastering on the back cover of said book when it publishes in its final form (which in this case is March 26, 2013).

I won’t name the famous and accomplished authors who have so far agreed, with unimaginable generosity, to read Opportunity, Montana, because I don’t want to queer my luck (and because they’ve only agreed so far to read, not necessarily to blurb—that’ll depend on whether they like what I’ve done…), but I will say that it’s a pretty stellar sampling of the nonfiction firmament, and if I’m lucky enough to get even one recommendation out of the bunch, I’ll spend at least three days dancing barefoot and singing inappropriately vigorous renditions of “Lucky To Be Me.”

Hell, for that matter, I’m lucky now, just to have these folks reading my stuff, outcomes be damned.