The joy and the frustration of a book going to press, this is what I want to talk about today. We all know that before a writer can even think about printing a book, and way before the submission process, first and foremost there’s got to be a story; this story must be turned into a completed manuscript, and preferably edited and formatted to specification before submission.

The idea for this story churned in my brain when I heard about the daring escape from Kuwait by two extraordinary men. Hussein had said many times that no one, absolutely no one, could escape from him. Next in the drama appeared the journalist, who had been sought out to write the heroes’ story for a Dallas newspaper. As I put onto paper their harrowing experience that was interwoven with intrigue, faith and friendship, I began to conjure a love story beginning to unfold between the journalist and the American.

The book was a dream to write. Throughout the story, the characters took on their own personality. At times they told the author what to write with a flair for words and dialog that kept said author writing until the wee hours, many a night. These people, real and fictional, became my friends and their story became real. I hope when you read HEROES the same will happen to you.

Now it’s on paper, the manuscript is finished. What next? You might ask. Well, the writer needs a publisher. On my website, I describe how I came to choose Author House Publishers. From the beginning, Author House was not only nice, but very helpful and informative. They assisted me in selecting a publishing package to fit my needs perfectly.

The second step was the Submission. Your baby takes a gigantic step to leave home. Before arriving at Author House, HEROES (as I mentioned earlier) went through an editing and formatting process. Luckily for me, my daughter, Lisa Capehart has expertise in those areas and volunteered for the job. She plowed through 400 pages of a one-hundred thousand word manuscript with knowledge and zest. I must tell you the sample line-edit from Author House’s Editorial Department proved what we already knew, Lisa knows her business. The review told us HEROES was ready to print.

Process of publishing to be continued – – – – –

(In the next blog post I will tell you about the art work, the production, and the marketing).