Dear Henderson House supporters,

Happy Halloween! I’m pleased to announce that on Friday, I received my Editorial Letter from the Inkshares team:) Can you believe it’s been eight months since Henderson House won the Inkshares 2020 All-Genre Contest? I know eight months seems like a long wait, but given everything in our world that has been slowed down or discontinued due to COVID, I think Inkshares is doing a wonderful job. I’m incredibly grateful and honored to be publishing with them.  I’m also thrilled with the insightful comments and specific suggestions in the Editorial Letter and can’t wait to dive back into the manuscript and take it to the next level.

"But when is the book coming out?" everyone keeps asking. The answer is: I still don’t know, but I do know a little more about what lies ahead.

The minimum time Inkshares gives an author to respond to the Editorial Letter is two months. The recommendations in the letter are not extensive, but they’re really good and they require soak time as they are developmental. My goal is to get my revisions to the team by early January. 

Once I send the revised manuscript, the Editorial Team will read it again and we’ll see if the book needs more development or if we’re ready to move into copy editing.

When the copy-editing phase begins, Inkshares might be ready to start talking about a target publication date. Sorry, I can’t be more specific, but getting a book to press is an iterative process. If the team thinks the manuscript needs more work in January, we will continue the read-through, editorial letter, and revision cycle until we all feel the book is ready for publication.

Trust me, I’m going to do everything in my power to completely knock it out of the park on the next draft and be ready to move forward. In the meantime, I probably won’t have much news to report on Henderson House until after the holidays.

You can follow the ups and downs of my writing adventures on my professional Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CarenSimpsonMcVickerWriter/ 

Truly, I would not have a novel at this stage of publication if it were not for all of you, your pre-orders, your comments, and your engagement. We will get to hold this book in our hands and I am as excited about it as ever. Thank you again.

Cheers,

Caren

Dear Henderson House supporters,

Yesterday, I emailed the manuscript of Henderson House to Inkshares. I reached the point where the book wasn’t going to get any better without a professional editor and it felt wonderful to set it free! Well, a little scary when I pressed send, but later it felt amazing:) 

What’s Next?

We have officially taken the next step toward publication! Now, it’s on Inkshares to find the right editor for the book. I don’t know how long that will take. Once the book has an editor, we will work to get the book print ready. That might mean minor changes, it might mean major rewrites - I won’t know until I get some feedback.

Thank you all for hanging in there with me on this journey. I will keep you posted as soon as there is any news. June was a difficult month. I loved the editing process, but it was draining, and I did not have much energy left for writing. Now that the book is out of my hands, I hope to dive into Book Two and get back into my writing groove.

WE DID IT!!!!! Thanks to your support, Henderson House won the 2020 Inkshares All Genre Contest! We were number 1 out of 383 entrants. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you and pretty darn excited, too. Now the work of editing, designing, marketing, and launching a book begins.

WHEN WILL YOU GET YOUR BOOK?  Inkshares estimates that the publishing process takes nine months to a year. With Covid-19, they suspended new releases in the latter part of 2020. I don’t know if that means they are gearing up for more releases than usual in 2021 and early 2022, or if my book launch might be delayed. I will keep you posted.

The GOOD news is that I will have a team of professionals managing that process for me and helping Henderson House get the best launch possible! It also gives me time to start working on the sequel :) Who’s ready to see Frank and Bessie get married, Florence head to Tulsa and Mrs. H. move to Princeton?

HOW CAN YOU CONTINUE TO HELP? Gee, thanks for asking:) Henderson House can continue to take Pre-Orders. Pre-Orders are ESSENTIAL to hitting BEST SELLER benchmarks. So please, keep sharing the link to my Inkshares book page and encouraging folks to reserve a copy.

Also, Inkshares is known for securing audiobook/film/TV deals for its properties. I need to provide Inkshares with COMPS - what books or movies do you think are comparable to Henderson House? Please let me know. I could really use your input.

WANT TO FOLLOW THE JOURNEY? I will send major milestone updates through Inkshares. If you are interested in following all the ups and downs of this publishing adventure, please visit my website and subscribe to my blog. https://www.carenmcvicker.com/

Thank you, thank you, thank you for making my dream of becoming a published author come true ❤️

Caren