ARCs

A couple of weeks ago I received a box of Advanced Reading Copies (or galleys) of The Devil's Mambo. I've seen plenty of ARCs before and they usually have a plain, grey-colored, card stock cover with the title, author name and the words Uncorrected Proof. ARCs cost the publisher something like eight bucks each (while the final version is around $2.00). Though my editor told me that my publisher was printing ARCs with full color, glossy covers, I was still stunned when I pulled out a copy. A thing of beauty. Looked like the final product. The fact that Kensington spent serious money on the ARC, was a huge vote of confidence in me and my novel. Usually, that kind of treatment is reserved for bestselling authors, so I was both proud and flattered.

Holding the book in my hand was an emotionally overwhelming experience. After all these years, all the drafts, the rejections, here was the novel. Finally. Seemed utterly surreal and brought tears to my eyes. And to think, it's still not the finished novel. Makes me wonder what it'll be like to walk into a bookstore and see it on a shelf. Can't wait.