I am waiting, waiting, waiting!!  How appropriate!  I am waiting for  When Will Papa Get Home? to be professionally edited, and it’s so hard to wait.

I hope to keep my release date of Saturday, November 21, 2015–Sandia Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair, but it has been 13 days that I have been waiting.

I should have allowed more time between the editing and revising process and the release date, but the crunch happened.

Next book I will allow one month between release date and final editing and revising, so I have learned a lot.

I also have my Dad’s story, Let Me Tell You a Story, in process at createspace.com too, but I think it will be ready to order tomorrow, so I should be OK.

But tomorrow will be full if I get the final edits and revisions, because I will need to do that work first, upload the new document and then wait for their final review and approval before I can order the books for November 21.

The message of this blog–allow enough time so you’re not biting your nails worrying if you will get it all done on time.

I did receive twenty copies of “From Grannie’s Kitchen, Volume 1“–my Mom’s cookbook today, so I am good with that.

It will be OK not matter how it turns out!

I have asked seven people to be beta-readers for my new book to suggest editing or revision ideas.  It was difficult for me to step out and do this, but I knew I needed to have other eyes peruse my work before I submitted it to a professional editor.

Two people edited and revised my first book, This Tumbleweed Landed, before I submitted it to a professional editor and that worked well.

But this felt different; it’s historic fiction, so I was outside my comfort zone of poetry.

Two people have sent me their suggestions.  I am anxious to see what they have to say.

What are your feelings about sharing your work for critique?

I am vendor at the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium and into the first day.  I am selling 4 books:  From Grannie’s Kitchen Cookbook, Let Me Tell You a Story, and the 1sr and 2nd edition of This Tumbleweed Landed.

 What has surprised me is the cookbook has sold the best.  I have only one more copy left–with several people saying they are coming back to buy it.  It will be fun to see who gets the last copy.  There might be a wrestling match for it!

And the booklet that I thought would sell the best here, Let Me Tell You a Story which is the story of how my Granddad Horner put our ranch together during the Depression, hasn’t sold at all.  People look at it, then tell me their family or friend’s story that is similar.

More people need to record their family’s ranching stories so we have record of the struggle that happened to put our family ranches together.

The rain has affected the attendance today, but I have had a blast so far.  I have handed out lots of bookmarks and many people scope out all the vendors the first day and do their serious shopping on Saturday.

Today I spent 6 hours revising my new book, When Will Papa Get Home?, using Hemingway, an app I recently bought. I originally wrote the story by hand then put it on the computer. I put it aside for 20+ years and decided it was time to publish it, but I needed to beef it up.  It was only about 5000 words. 

My first book was a poetry book with a couple stories.  This book is a historical fiction book, so the genre is completely different.  

I have had a blast fleshing it out with research I have done on the Internet and with friends at home. It is now about 12,000 words and I am still adding to it.

My goal is to have it ready to publish by November. I need to have it edited after I finish revising.

Last week my brother and I visited the homestead where the story is set.  I took several pictures and will be sharing them with you. One of the pictures will be the cover.  I hadn’t been there in years and had forgotten much of the surrounding area around the homestead house. 

Stay tuned for the pictures.