The Invisible College Trilogy: Publication Date News, July 2015

As the planned publication date approaches, the tension is rising. With the writing of the complete trilogy now complete, there is a void in my days that cries out to be filled with the next stages of activity: marketing, publicity, promotion and I hope most importantly, planning for the possibility of a follow up, whether this be a prequel, sequel, or a view of the trilogy (or elements of it), from a different viewpoint.

Before these new tasks can be progressed, there is more editing to be done. Whilst writing this post, I have received a message from my publisher providing feedback from readers of the first book.

                            ‘Everyone who has read it has enjoyed it, which is encouraging’

Revisions have been made, and the Book One pre-publication Proof will be forwarded to me during the coming week for comment and confirmation. I have been asked to review the second and third volumes again with these comments in mind.

The trilogy has been written over a number of years and is complex in detail. I still wake in the night worrying about the consistency of a particular piece of dialogue towards the end of the third volume; I must have checked it a dozen times.

I am told the publication schedule has slipped by about three to four weeks, but the above feedback makes it much more credible: it is no longer just a dream. The overriding factor that to me gives it credibility is that ISBNs have been allocated to all three books. An ISBN truly gives a book an identity; it exists (or is about to) in the real world.

More news soon. Does anyone else have similar experiences of publishing a first novel?