Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.
- Napoleon

Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Cart / The Horse

Just now, I was thinking about what I would say on my Acknowledgements page. (Hence the subject of today's post... you know, about putting the cart before the horse.)

Every once in a while, I allow myself to wonder about things that can only happen after I get a contract. Like Acknowledgements... and seeing myself on BookTV... and signings... *sigh* Some day.

I also sometimes worry about negative reviews, and snerty people sending me nasty-grams because they didn't like what I had to say. (But not all that much.) I wonder whether I'll make the NY Times Bestseller List. I dream about what my cover photo will look like. (I'm thinking of wearing a hat and sunglasses, with my face in profile like I'm staring off into the distance.) And then I laugh at myself. First I need an agent, and then a publishing contract, and then... Yada yada yada. There's a boatload of steps to go through before any of those musings come to be.

Mind you, I don't spend too much time thinking of those future events. I just let them filter in on occasion. I revel in the dream of seeing a big display of my novels when I go to Barnes & Noble, or even just seeing them of the shelves where I will, of course, turn them cover out as I pass by. Spine space is fine, but the covers are so much prettier.

Maybe someday soon the horse will be in front of the cart where it belongs. Until then, I can dream. Can't I?

Tell me you do this, too, so I won't feel like such a rube.

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3 comments:

Rachel Green said...

Done it? I've mocked up covers on photoshop!

Travis Erwin said...

Count me amongst the rube squad as well. All of that stuff is par tof the dream.

JenWriter said...

I do it! I can't help myself. There were even talks today about how I felt about my debut novel coming out in mass market paperback verses trade paperback verses hardcover. Cart before horse? Check.