Hi everyone,
An update on where everything now stands and the long road ahead to the finish line. The book has now been assigned an editor who will go through my manuscript and give it a good, solid kick up the arse and send it back to me so that I can rewrite it and mould it into better shape. This will take several months at least, depending on how much work needs to be done. After that, there'll be more intensive detailed edits, then copyedits (to weed out errors, inconsistencies and more) and then the proofreading stage, each of which will take weeks and months to complete. Then comes art design, the cover, possible illustrations and other exciting things that I probably don't even know about and after that, all being well, the book should be just about ready for sending to the printers and then out into the world. Unbound have tentatively scheduled it for release in spring 2020, which of course feels like ages away (not least to me!) but these are the industry timeframes involved in turning a manuscript into the finished book that sits proudly on your shelf. However the good news is that everyone who has pledged towards the book or who pre-orders it via Unbound ahead of publication should, all being well, receive their own copies several months in advance of it hitting the shops, so I'm delighted about that - it seems only right that those who made it happen should be the first to read it. Nothing is set in stone of course, but fingers crossed you'll receive your copies sometime early next year. You should get email updates from Unbound as the book navigates its way through all these various stages and of course I'll endeavour to keep you posted too.
In addition, Unbound have been in touch to talk about 'stretch goals.' Initially I was worried that this meant they were going to send me on some sort of get-fit aerobics programme but thankfully it's nothing so terrifying. Stretch goals means free bonus content which every backer will receive once the book hits a particular funding milestone.
I've compiled some 'deleted scenes' from the novel, passages which I actually liked a great deal and enjoyed writing, but which ultimately just seemed to de-rail the flow of the story and which I removed with a heavy heart - they include Keegan's ill-fated appearance on Top Gear, the trauma of being invited by George Harrison to join The Traveling Wilburys in 1988, pop star Shaggy's visit to an England training camp and more. So, if the novel manages to reach the 125% funded mark, every supporter of the project will receive these segments for free right away (ie, you won't have to wait until the book comes out) and they won't be available anywhere else.
With that in mind, please do continue to spread the word if you can - tweet about it, tell your friends, anything you can do that might reach more people who may be interested in the book (because for one thing, the more backers it has at this stage, the more attractive it will look to booksellers in terms of them stocking it on their shelves once publication day comes around).
As ever, thanks so much for your support and I shall do my best to keep you all in the loop with how things progress over the coming months.
-Scott