As posted last week, I have been swamped working on two publishing projects that have completely dominated all of my blogging-time. I apologize to all, but I’m fairly sure that you will understand. To my fellow authors out there…Please pity me. I am in the middle of two, simultaneous ‘final proofs.’ For the readers, this process is the last stretch in the marathon of book publishing and it is perhaps the most tedious and important. A ‘final proof’ is the very last chance to review, edit, and make changes before the files are shipped off to the printer only to return at a later date as a nice, shiny pile of bound-together pages.

My editor and proofer have also logged-in some serious time over the last two weeks and as a result, I am sure that both of these books will be much better than if I had gone it alone. Their insights and expertise greatly improved the final product. The plus in all of this midnight-oil burning is that I will have two books coming out literally within 10 weeks of one another. (And as my speaking schedule is brimming, I’ll have plenty to sign and sell.)

That said, there are only so many hours left in the day and until I complete these tasks, I am stretching each and every one that I can to its limits. I have been working on writing my lectures, obtaining photos, and creating my PowerPoint during the day at the office and then working on inputting the book edits via my laptop at night after the kids go to bed. 2 a.m. for me is becoming the norm.

This past weekend my wife and the little ones went north to visit the relatives in PA and I stayed home with the older kids who had previous work-commitments. This enabled me to get my entire ‘Honey-Do’ list done and best of all… I never touched a computer. What a liberating experience!

The irony of this is that if it weren’t for these darn gray boxes, I would never have pursued writing in the first place. I’m far too lazy with a pen and I absolutely hate writing by hand. In fact, the only ‘words’ that I’ve physically written in the last ten years is my signature and the occasional Post-It reminder. My hypocrisy has no end as even though I detest computers, I have 6 in my house and spend about 12 hours a day on them.

So there it is. The first book files will be delivered this week and I already have one lecture done and another well underway. I will say this, once I finish this ‘To-Do’ list, I’ll be very thankful for the ‘Honey-Do” that is sure to follow. It won’t involve a computer in any way and the royalties will be better, because I’ll get to eat them.

(PS. I also have some new posts I’ve been saving. They will be appearing randomly over the next few days. Thanks for your patience.)