The State of the Wicket – February
Now, we’ve been getting a lot of mail, Facebook comments, tweets, and so on, asking about the status of Book Eight, the short stories, etc. So I thought I’d give you a quick run-down of what-all I’ve been doing, where it all is at the moment, a short peek at everything, and—most importantly [g]—when things will be published.
For starters, I’m very pleased to announce that The Scottish Prisoner was released on November 29th, 2011. This release also includes a “teaser” chunk from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (aka Book Eight, or MOHB (aka “Moby,” which is how I refer to it for convenience. I don’t _think_ it will be white, but it will certainly be a whale of a book [cough]). The teaser includes several scenes about different characters.
Now, I do normally work on multiple projects at once; it keeps me from getting writer’s block, and makes me generally more productive. I also think it’s entertaining to write the occasional short piece (novella or short story) that fills in a missing part of someone’s story and/or provides more depth to the overall tale.
The most recent of these short pieces to be published was “Lord John and the Plague of Zombies,” which was published last October—and which gratified me extremely by recently being nominated for an Edgar Award (for best mystery short story of the year—though it’s not all that short, really…)—in an anthology titled DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS. The anthology is edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois. http://tinyurl.com/Plague-Zombies
I’m presently writing a short story for another anthology (this one titled DANGEROUS WOMEN)—the story is called “Virgins,” and is about Jamie and his not-yet-brother-in-law Ian, as very young mercenaries in France. I don’t have a pub date for this anthology yet, but expect it will be out sometime later this year. I do post occasional brief snippets from “Virgins” (as well as other works-in-progress) on my Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/AuthorDianaGabaldon.
OK– on to Book Eight, which is probably what most people want to know about.
1) WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD is the eighth volume in the main Outlander series. (It’s the sequel to AN ECHO IN THE BONE, where allll the cliffhangers will be picked up. [g])
2) I don’t know yet if WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD is the last book in this series!!
3) I am still writing WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD!!!
A) I hasten to say that most of the mail I get is wonderful, and Much Appreciated! However, I do get a small amount of idiotic email accusing me of having already finished the book, but “hiding” it from the readers, or keeping it off the market “just to be mean” or (of all insane notions) “to drive the price up.” (It ain’t pork bellies, people; the cover price is the same whenever it comes out, and I don’t set it.) I don’t mean to be impolite here, but…geez, guys.
i) Look. Books are
a) written in order to be read, and
b) published in order to make money.
ii) Publishers do not make money from books that are not in bookstores. Ergo….
iii) Publishers want to sell books as soon as the books are ready.
iv) So do authors. What do you think I live on, while I’m supposedly keeping a book off the market to be mean? And why do you think I’d want to be mean to the people who read my books? Sheesh.
4) Right. Now, I hope to finish writing the book around the end of this year.
OK, pay close attention now….
5) The book will not—repeat not—REPEAT NOT!!!—be published on December 31st, even if I finish writing it on December 30th. Why not? Well, because…
A) Books don’t go directly from the author to the bookstore.
B) Books go from the author to the Editor, who
i) reads the manuscript
ii) discusses the manuscript with the author, and
iii) suggests minor revisions that may improve the book
C) The book goes back to the author, who
i) re-reads the manuscript
ii) considers the editor’s comments, and
iii) makes whatever revisions, emendments, or clarifications seem right.
D) The book goes back to the editor, who
i) reads it again
ii) asks any questions that seem necessary, and
iii) sends it to
E) The copy-editor. This is a person whose thankless job is to
i) read the manuscript one…word…at…a…time
ii) find typos or errors in grammar, punctuation, or continuity (one heck of a job, considering the size not only of the individual books, but of the overall series), and
iii) write queries to the author regarding anything questionable, whereupon
F) The book comes back to the author—yes, again—who
i) re-reads the manuscript
ii) answers the copy-editor’s queries, and
iii) alters anything that the copy-editor has changed that the author disagrees with. After which, the author sends it back to
G) The editor—yes, again!—who
i) re-re-reads it
ii) checks that all the copy-editor’s queries have been answered, and sends it to
H) The Typesetter, who sets the manuscript in type, according to the format laid out by
I) The Book-Designer, who
i) decides on the layout of the pages (margins, gutters, headers or footers, page number placement)
ii) chooses a suitable and attractive typeface
iii) decides on the size of the font
iv) chooses or commissions any incidental artwork (endpapers, maps, dingbats—these are the little gizmos that divide chunks of text, but that aren’t chapter or section headings)
v) Designs chapter and Section headings, with artwork, and consults with the
J) Cover Artist, who (reasonably enough) designs or draws or paints or Photo-Shops the cover art, which is then sent to
K) The Printer, who prints the dust-jackets–which include not only the cover art and the author’s photograph and bio, but also “flap copy,” which may be written by either the editor or the author, but is then usually messed about with by
L) The Marketing Department, whose thankless task is to try to figure out how best to sell a book that can’t reasonably be described in terms of any known genre [g], to which end, they
i) try to provide seductive and appealing cover copy to the book
ii) compose advertisements for the book
iii) decide where such advertisements might be most effective (periodicals, newspapers, book-review sections, radio, TV, Facebook, Web)
iv) try to think up novel and entertaining means of promotion, such as having the author appear on Second Life to do a virtual reading, or sending copies of the book to the armed troops in Iraq, or booking the author to appear on Martha Stewart or Emiril Lagasse’s cooking show to demonstrate recipes for unusual foods mentioned in the book.
vi) kill a pigeon in Times Square and examine the entrails in order to determine the most advantageous publishing date for the book.
M) OK. The manuscript itself comes back from the typesetter, is looked at (again) by the editor, and sent back to the author (again! As my husband says, “to a writer, ‘finished’ is a relative concept.”), who anxiously proof-reads the galleys (these are the typeset sheets of the book; they look just like the printed book’s pages, but are not bound), because this is the very last chance to change anything. Meanwhile
N) A number of copies of the galley-proofs are bound—in very cheap plain covers—and sent to
O) The Reviewers. i.e., the bound galleys are sent (by the marketing people, the editor, and/or the author) to the book editors of all major newspapers and periodicals, and to any specialty publication to whom this book might possibly appeal, in hopes of getting preliminary reviews, from which cover quotes can be culled, and/or drumming up name recognition and excitement prior to publication. Frankly, they don’t always bother with this step with my books, because they are in a rush to get them into the bookstores, and it takes several months’ lead-time to get reviews sufficiently prior to publication that they can be quoted on the cover.
P) With luck, the author finds 99.99% of all errors in the galleys (you’re never going to find all of them; the process is asymptotic), and returns the corrected manuscript (for the last time, [pant, puff, gasp, wheeze]) to the editor, who sends it to
(1. The ebook coding happens somewhere in here.)
Q) The Printer, who prints lots of copies (“the print-run” means how many copies) of the “guts” of the book—the actual inside text. These are then shipped to
R) The Bindery, where the guts are bound into their covers, equipped with dust-jackets, and shipped to
S) The Distributors. There are a number of companies—Ingram, and Baker and Taylor, are the largest, but there are a number of smaller ones—whose business is shipping, distributing, and warehousing books. The publisher also ships directly to
T) The Bookstores, but bookstores can only house a limited number of books. Therefore, they draw on distributors’ warehouses to resupply a title that’s selling briskly, because it takes much longer to order directly from the publisher. And at this point, [sigh]…the book finally reaches
U) You, the reader.
And we do hope you like it when you get it—because we sure-God went to a lot of trouble to make it for you. [g]
6) As it happens, Random House (who publishes my books in the US and Canada) prefers to publish my titles in the Fall quarter (between September 1 and December 31). That’s because this is traditionally the biggest sales period in the year, what with the run-up to Christmas, and therefore all the publishers normally release their “big” titles in the Fall. I’m flattered to be among them.
However, if I do finish the manuscript around the end of this year, Random House (and the UK publisher, Orion, and the German publisher, Blanvalet) _may_ decide to release the book earlier in 2013. They probably won’t set a pub date until I deliver the manuscript—which I _HOPE_ (no guarantees, mind you. Stuff Happens) to finish by the end of 2012.
(The other foreign editions—I think we’re now up to 29 countries, including Israel, Croatia, Russia, Greece, and Korea, which is pretty cool—will be out whenever their respective editors and translators finish their production processes, but I’m afraid I can’t predict that at all.)
So—that’s why the English and German-speaking readers will almost certainly get Written in My Own Heart’s Blood _sometime_ in 2013.
When I have a specific publication date, rest assured—I’ll tell you. (Webmaster’s note: WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD has an official publisher release date of June 10, 2014.)
[Amended to add that the photo above is of me sitting down to a well-earned glass of wine at the end of all this...no, really, it's of me at a dinner at Culloden House last summer. Thanks to Judy Lowstuter, who took it!]
Diana – It will be worth the wait. I’m just as anxious as everyone else to find out what happens to our beloved characters, but I’d rather the book be FINISHED prior to publishing – haha. My husband is an aspiring writer and I see (and unfortunately sometimes, experience) all the time and effort he puts into his work. It’s not an easy job!
Thanks for all your hard work and inspiration,
Julia
Mòran Taing! Thank you also for explaining the interesting process of getting a book out. I like to know how things work.
Thanks for the update, Diana. All of your loyal followers are anxiously awaiting book 8 and meanwhile stay busy with various “methadone” lists. I just discovered Outlander in July 20111, finished Echo in August, and had Scottish Prisoner sent to my kindle on opening day, November 29, so a new addict , here. I plan on visiting Scotland in 2013 with my copy of MOBY in hand, making a Claire and Jamie pilgrimage to the Highlands, and fulfilling a family goal of researching my Campbell heritage which your books have sparked a keen interest. Thanks again!
What I wouldn’t give to be able to copy-edit that book! It’s always amazing what goes into publishing and you can really tell the books where the publisher was lax because they lack continuity, sophisticated grammar, and decent formatting.
Plus, I’m going to need a few months to reread the other seven books in preparation for book 8!
One of my favorite things is that every once in a while, I need to bust out the dictionary to find out exactly what a word means here and there.
I’m sorry to hear that people can be so bothersome.. and that is using a nice word.
I would hope, that there are people like me, who out number those comments.
Readers who truly admire your books. Readers who have made your books a part of their lives.
I started to read the series when I first moved back home to take care of my aging mother. They let me escape into another world. The world of Jamie and Clair. A time a place that held me captive.
Your books helped me get through long days in the hospital when my Mom had pneumonia.
She is better now, and I look forward to reading the last book, when ever it comes.
Thank you so much, for all the hours of hard work and devotion to your readers, even the not so nice ones.
Dear Dianna, God Bless you woman! I loved everything you had to say about the process of getting your wonderful books into our hot little hands. You’ve mentioned that you don’t write your stories in a straight line and I can see your brilliance in that. I would love to know what kind of writers software you use if any.
Thanks for all you do!
Hi Dianna.
Thank you for your explanation of the process of writing-printing-publication. It definately gives one a better appreciation for the entire process. In preparation to more fully appreciate the new publications, and upcoming ones, I have been re-reading the entire series and thoroughly enjoying every page…. again. I think your creative process is brilliant! Blessings on you and your family. Be well.
Thank you Diana for the update and taking the time to fill us in on the progress.
I remember the first time (many rereads ago) that I read outlander and fell in love. I have recomended this series to many of our book group readers and I still chuckle when a few days later I get the calls ” ooh why cant we find a man like Jamie”
We are planning a “girls trip” to Scotland in 2013 and I can tell you, a lot of ladies will be standing by the standing stones anxiously hoping for any type of buzzing to meet their dream man
Thank you Diana for all your efforts. Your “true” readers need no explaination, we see it and feel it every time we pick up your wonderful work!
Ooo! Can I be an editor, please?! LOL! Only half-kidding here! Thank you, Diana, for explaining all of this too us. I am trying to be patient, because all good things take time, but it’s good to have a round-about idea of when our waiting will be rewarded.
Blessings!
Wow I had no idea how much went into getting a book to us the readers! Thanks for the explanation. Love love the series & can’t wait for the next book but will do my best to be patient by reading everything else you’ve written amongst other good books. There just isn’t enough time to read everything I want to. Good luck with finishing the book this year & the pub process.
Diana,
I’m just glad you are keeping us all in the loop. Best wishes to you, and write on!
Can’t wait for the next sequel and certainly hope there are additional volumes! One question, what happened to your email assistant? I have not received email updates for a long time? Thanks for all the fun reading.
Dear Diana–
Oh–we changed/rebuilt/updated the whole website about a year ago, and Rosana (who built the original site and did a marvelous job for _years_ in maintaining it) chose to retire at that point, since the new site was set up in such a way that I could manage it myself. I _think_ that you can still get updates; on the home page of this site, there should be a box that lets you follow me on Twitter, find my Facebook page, or receive RSS feeds–I think that last one is probably what’s most similar to the earlier email updates.
–Diana
I have been reading series since the beginning and am always amazed that Diana has to explain this process each time. However, on the bright side it also means so many more people are reading them that another explanation is needed. ( at least I hope that is the reason) Happy writing!!
Dear Vicki–
I do figure it’s the result of new people finding the books–and I’m happy to explain as needed (though I admit that I mostly ignore the ones who keep asking about movies and casting, and leave it to the kind souls who know the answers to provide links to the newcomers). One of the unexpected side-effects of longevity [g], but I’m not complaining!
–Diana
I eagerly look forward to the next book whenever it arrives on the shelves. Each of your Outlander series books is an incredible reading treat and worth waiting for.
Diana I have worked in publishing for over 13 years and I have never read a better explanation of how a book gets written, edited (again and again), laid out, designed and printed! Amen!
It is a thankless process and people are typically astonished to find out how long the process actually is for an author/editor and production staff. For my own part, I came in at the design phase (layout and cover) , through to the printer (bound galleys and all). WOW!
It is a ton of work that probably does not seem easier even after doing it as many times as you have.
Thank you for taking your time and for doing the research that is needed to make these books so unique. I just finished Fiery Cross and spent much of my time last evening brushing up on my Gaelic (ha!) with the help of your companion guide (thank you for this as well).
People are just to bloody impatient these days with all this new technology. I for one am going to read the next 2 books…slowly, and then read Scottish Prisoner.
Je suis prest, when you are…
Major thankies for the blog post. Really Cool.
I patiently await MOHB and all the other short stories you are working on. I love your daily lines, they keep my interest running at high gear.
Moran Taing!
You make me laugh (“It ain’t pork bellies, people!”)! But you’re awfully sweet, making a genuine effort in response to the goofballs with the conspiracy theories about your twisted ‘just to be mean’ or ‘driving up the price’ plots. I can’t think of another author that would take the time. It indicates to me that you’re a person with a lot of empathy. Thanks. :o)
P.S. You might want to refer them to Jean Auel–she’s left her readers dangling for over a decade before!
Dear Kelly–
Yeah. [g] George RR Martin is a friend of mine, and over a recent breakfast he asked me, “Do you have ANTI-fans?” Evidently he does; people who actually make a _hobby_ (apparently they have an official website, of all things) of reviling him in public for taking too long to write the next book, or not writing it the way _they_ wanted it, or some similar…er…line of reasoning. [cough] Was really pleased to tell him that 99.99% of my fans are Really Nice, Highly Intelligent people–and while I don’t seem to write the kind of books that attract nuts [g], even the odder of my readers tend to be pretty benign.
–Diana
Hi Dianna,
I always re-read the series from the beginning before reading the newest so I appreciate to no end when you give release dates so I can plan my reads. By the way, with every re-read I find something new. Must be the stage I’m in? I read the first book at 23 on maternity leave and now it sounds like that same baby will be in college when I read the latest! That’s awesome legacy-type stuff!
Thanks for giving us another book (and don’t give thought to the inpatient crazy people)!
A fan,
Melody
THANK YOU DIANA FOR ALL OF YOUR CREATIVE TALENT…..YOU HAVE BECOME MY MOST FAVORITE AUTHOR…..YOU HAVE SPOILED ME ….YOUR WORK IS INCREDIBLE.
I ANXIOUSLY AWAIT FOR ANYTHING NEW……………………..