It’s a long road from sitting down to write a novel to seeing it on bookstore shelves. But if you can make it, there are a ton of great moments:
A publishing house making an offer
Signing your publishing contract (remember to use a cool pen)
Working with your editor
Seeing the cover design
Another moment is when you finally get to see your novel, which was once merely a word document, as an actual book with a spine, cover and back cover.
I recently opened a box to find my author copies laying in packing paper. These are the copies that a publisher gifts the author. I had briefly seen my novel at a book signing in January but this was the first time I got to really feel it between my fingertips and flip through it. It was the first time I read the printed words of a story I spent years writing. It felt strange but it’s something I’ll remember for a long time.
For whatever reason, each book was warm. I like to think they shot out of a printer and landed right in a nondescript box and was then sealed shut. But, most likely, the delivery truck was driving around the city on a hot day and that heat warmed the box.