Wednesday, September 26, 2007

I Authored a Book...But Have You Seen the Box???

The fruits of my labor have officially been delivered to my doorstep. In fact, exactly 1,488 copies of Why Does Grandma Have a Wibble? are neatly packaged in boxes that are now lining my wall like wallpaper. I have no complaints though. This dream is long overdue!!!

I always wondered what I'd feel like the day I took delivery of my first book, and strangely it was the most insignificant piece of the publishing process that made me smile the most. Thirty-one boxes piled on a wooden skid, wrapped in shrinkwrap, and I thought I'd be scrambling to tear open the box to make sure that the books were inside. Instead, I stood back and giggled to myself as the forklift operator moved the skid around because I was admiring the side of the box that clearly had my book's name printed on the side of each one. Like a big box of Doritos or Charmin toilet paper, it was clear what the contents were. I surprised myself that such a goofy thing could hold my attention for so long. Even when my mom called a couple hours later to congratulate me and ask me how I felt about my "big day", my first comments were about the printed boxes. I think it's easy to see how easily amused I am -- and how I can find appreciation in the little things. I think it's also easy to see that I was the kid who got the big bike for Christmas, but I played with the wrapping and the box while the gift remained under the tree!

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