Dear Supporters
Once again I feel as though I ought to begin with an apology for not updating you sooner. However, the last few weeks have been very hectic, getting the book ready for print. The good news is that it's getting a lot closer to publication now.
Most of the last week or two has been spent with a xeroxed copy of the book, as typeset, going through every page with the proverbial fine tooth comb, proof reading every dot and comma.
Unbound don't leave us entirely to our own devices in this pursuit, I'm pleased to say. Whilst I was spending four or five hours a day working through the pages (and seeing the book as you'll see it for the first time) they also had a professional proof reader doing the same thing. This is on top of the professional editing it had already gone through before being typeset. But that's how thorough publishers are. The photo above shows tabs on all the pages where I found little glitches -- which goes to show that no matter how much you think you've checked something previously, there are always more things to find. This is all so that, when you receive your beautifully bound subscriber edition, with your name in the back, you'll enjoy our best work.
Parcelforce confirm that this huge bundle of paper arrived back safely with Unbound yesterday. They are now merging all our markups into one master set of instructions to the typesetters, to produce the final file from which actual books can be printed. But there is one final step before you get your copy: we give samples first to people to review. We hope that some of them will have great things to say, which we can include on the jacket.
Once the reviewers have had their turn Unbound will then start the print run to bring you your copy. All being well, that should happen sometime in November. My hope from the start was that supporters would receive their books before Christmas, even though the retail edition won't go on sale in the shops until 25th January. The only thing between the freshly printed books and your letterbox will be a marathon session where I sit down and sign the collectible copies!
All this means that you shouldn't have long to wait now. But it also means that if you think you might want to upgrade your order then you'll need to do this before the print run is decided. There are a few reasons you might want to upgrade:
1. Perhaps you could only afford to pledge for an eBook back at the start of the year and now your finances are a bit healthier. You could upgrade to ensure you get the very special First Edition. Much as I love eBooks, I've got to admit that there is no comparison with a top quality hardback that you can dip into and lend to friends.
2. Maybe you pledged for the hardback but now fancy the collectible, signed by me.
3. Perhaps you'd like to get a second copy for a friend? A first edition is the ideal gift.
If you want to do any of those things then you'll need to act within the next three weeks or so. Upgrading is easy: Just go to Unbound.co.uk and click on 'Account' in the top right hand corner. Once you put in your user ID and password, you'll then see a list of all the books you're supporting. Next to each one is an UPGRADE button. Simple, eh?
There's no obligation to upgrade, of course. I'm amazed by your generosity already and I don't want to imply that I'm not. However, I would be failing you all if I didn't explain the option in case it was in your mind. The print run for the exclusive subscriber edition will be determined largely by the list of what people have pledged for. You can of course buy the ordinary retail edition in the shops come January, but I don't want people to feel they missed out by not being aware of the different deadlines.
And finally... The proof reading marathon was the first time I got to see the book as you will see it. It's a long time now since I last saw it as a marked up Word document and it's difficult to judge a book when you've been immersed in it that much. Coming back now, however, I'm delighted by the way the writing of all the contributors works to make a unique book telling an immense story spanning over half a century (and more). These are all people talking from personal experience of events that marked very different periods in British Trans People's history. I think you're going to enjoy what they have to say.
Best wishes
Christine