The Printer’s Proofs Have Arrived!

My excitement levels are almost unbearable! 

But then I put that aside, to get on with the job of checking the manuscripts for the final time. 

Already I discover why hard copy proofs are so necessary – there’s a layout problem with one volume. I hadn’t realised until I saw it ‘in the flesh,’ so to speak, instead of scrolling down onscreen.

A lesson in trust

Initially I forgot to ask the printer to supply proofs before going ahead! It’s so long since I was involved in the production of a physical book, not just ebooks. That hiccup made me wonder if something had suddenly gone wrong with the serendipity with which this project has so far been blessed. (What? Did the Universe not support it after all?)

Oh, me of little faith! The printer had only got as far as doing the covers when I realised and called a halt – and the covers are lovely. Whew!

Then, the resulting delay actually worked to my advantage. 

I’d invited my stepdaughter to visit, to help me (finally!) go through her late father’s papers. I’d been putting that off too long. She came to stay for a few days this week, we got the job done, and in the course of it we found among his papers some of mine – including a great photo of me at the time of the Pentridge poetry workshops which my memoir is all about. I’d forgotten I had it. 

In fact, I put out a call a little while ago, to old friends and colleagues, to see if anyone had snaps of me from that era. Seems they’re quite rare! But one friend sent me a couple from only a few years later, and I chose one of those for the book. The photo my stepdaughter and I came across is very much better, and from the right time. 

If I hadn’t caused a delay to the printing by being belated in requesting proofs, and if Cecilia hadn’t come to help me with her father's papers this particular week, just before the proofs arrived, I’d never have found that photo in time to insert it into the book in place of the other.

Serendipity is still happening!

Note: Yes, printer’s proof copies usually come bound, but this printer’s binding machine was damaged in the last of the severe floods we've had here in recent years, so at present she sends the binding out to a colleague. It's not essential at this stage, and would be an extra cost and more delay.

The Books Are With the Printer!

I’m excited that I can now share with you the covers of the Pentridge trilogy, as I am calling the forthcoming three books.  

(To see the writing on the back covers more clearly, click on each pic.)

The trilogy label might be a little misleading, as I wrote only two of the three, although I have some writing in the third (which was actually the first). But I can claim a degree of authorship of that one too. 

The first edition of Blood from Stone, the poetry anthology emanating from Pentridge Prison, was published in 1982 under my then imprint Abalone Press. I am also the publisher of this new edition, under my own name.

Simultaneously with writing my memoir of that time in my life, and with all the renewed interest in both the history of Pentridge and that of the Melbourne poetry scene of the eighties, it seemed the time was right for a new edition of Blood from Stone.

The Memoir, as you'll see from the first illustration, is called Breaking into Pentridge Prison: Memories of Darkness and Light. (There was plenty of both!)

Then there’s the little spin-off chapbook, Letters to a Dead Man, which can stand alone, but is directly related to the memoir.

I was very lucky to find a local printer. Like most things associated with this project, it happened serendipitously. I didn’t think we had any book printers in this town, but I had lunch with a friend who mentioned that she was getting her family history published as a book by one of the printers here. It’s not the major part of their business, but I’ve now seen samples of the books they’ve produced and they do a lovely job. It’s a nice coincidence that I have a history with this printer, from many years ago when I was conducting a lot of Reiki classes and they used to do all the printing associated with that.

It’s particularly convenient to use a local printer, because I’ve decided against travelling to Melbourne for a book launch there. Travel’s a bit arduous for me these days, as I age, so it will be a Zoom launch instead, in October, and later a local launch in person. It’s a smallish print run initially. The plan is to go to POD and ebooks a little later on.  Stay tuned!