It's strange, not having the book to obsess about every night. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of work to do. I had the whole thing printed off earlier in the week (I expected to see them feed a tree directly into the printer; 85,000 words eats a lot of paper, apparently) and Julie and I have been reading over it, fixing the typos and bad bad bad bad writing moments (good lord, I had some lazy passages hiding in there). But the pace is different now. The mad dash to the end is over. Now I turn around and look behind me to see what sort of mess I've left behind.
Julie's also reading with an eye towards determining what I've forgotten to mention and, according to her recollection, what I may have gotten wrong. I don't write much about Julie here for the same reason I've mentioned before. She's read some of the things that have been written about me and about Schuyler out there, and she wants no part of it.
Writing the book is trickier, though. She's obviously an equal partner in raising Schuyler and thus as important an element in the book as myself. And yet, how can I write her story? It's not mine to write, and I don't imagine she'd want me speaking for her any more than I'd want anyone else to speak for me. She's got her own story to tell about raising Schuyler. Maybe one day she'll tell it.
Thanks to everyone who sent their congratulations, either in email or the comments for the last entry. There's now a mailing list you can sign up for, specifically for information on things like publication news, promotional events, appearances and book signings. Obviously, it's a little early in the process, so don't expect a hotbed of activity at this point. (Thanks go out to Tracy for all her help in getting the marketing side of this going. I told her that every time I need help with something like this, she seems to magically appear, like some kind of Smart Fairy.)
This list is just for fancy pants book business, by the way. For the usual tomfoolery and smartassitude, you'll have to keep coming here.
It must be a tricky tightrope walk to tell a story that so obviously involves two parents without hardly ever mentioning the other partner. I think you've done a very good job at it.
ReplyDeleteSchuyler looks just like her mommy!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
My husband has no such immunity. Poor guy.
Congrats on completing the rough draft! Now comes the interesting part wherein you hand it off to someone else who works to polish it and make it marketable without making you feel pissed off or like it's no longer yours...I mean, so I hear. ;)
ReplyDeleteGL striking the finishing balance and enjoy the ride.
Sign me up for the smartassitude. I'll leave the Fancy Pants stuff to the wearers of fancy pants...which is to say, glad to have you back.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Julie could write the forward, or some sort of epilogue?
ReplyDeleteJulie looks so beautiful and bad-ass. Schuyler has an amazing role model in her.
ReplyDeleteComing in several days late, but: congratulations on finishing (for now).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Patrick, by the way. You've done a good job writing about Julie, but not writing for her. You make a great team.
It was great to find your blog through Linda over at Sundry. I find it refreshing to read a fathers perspective in the "mommy blog" world. Schuyler seems like an amazing girl from what I have managed to read so far and I can't wait to find time to read back further than I have.
ReplyDeleteYour wife looks sooo familar BUT I live in Massachusetts... Schuyler & her look like twins ..
ReplyDelete