Happy Release Day!

It's finally here, the official release date for WORKING STIFF. Now starts the nail-biting and book signing and agonizing over how sales are doing, what stores are carrying it, and what I can do to convince the stores that aren't carrying it to do so. It marks the start of my obsessing over sales rankings on Amazon and B&N.com. And it means doing something I'm not very comfortable with: self-promotion. I'm not a "look at me!" kind of person, so in the past I've always adopted more of a "look at it!" strategy, drawing attention to the book rather than the author. And since the author is a bit schizophrenic this time, with two different identities, I think I'll stick with this strategy.

Despite all the angst, it's definitely time for celebration, too. This baby was one long pregnancy: eight years from the time I finished writing it to its birth today. During that time it has stayed essentially the same, with little editing other than one or two spots where a phrase was added, or deleted, and a couple of corrections to misspelled (and in one case, misused) words.

It is exciting to know it is now out there and, like a newborn, its potential at this point seems unlimited. But there are no guarantees and like the child who grows up to be a slacker, or a criminal, or a deviant, or whatever other failing you want to pick, this baby may or may not live up to its potential. I will nurture it, of course, to the very best of my abilities and give as much as I can to help it succeed. But its future remains a vast unknown, a fact that is both exciting and terrifying.