T Minus One Week

I think it's fitting that I'm writing this post in the first half hour of the day. I'm very close to my book deadline -- this thing is due to the publisher one week from today.

Panic, and some fear, is starting to set in. I am working past midnight, after all, and I hate writing any time after 3pm. Yes, I've got that much to do.

The good news is that the text is done. I'm going to do one more read through right before I turn the book over to my editor, but the words are just about what I want them to be. The devil, as they say is in the details. I'm going through the entire book to make sure that the entries are formatted correctly, that I've got all the off season hours for all these places (probably the most tedious part of the book), that I'm hitting word counts in all the chapters, that I'm spelling everything right, that I got the phone numbers/addresses/website correct. Today I wrote the introduction materials, the acknowledgements and the pricing guide (which I had all along, but not in a format that I could use for the book).

And there is still so much to do -- key words to be put into the index, final photo permission forms sent out and accounted for, final photos to take, list of unusual spellings to hand over to the copy editor -- all those little things that I knew I'd have to do but didn't exactly know what they'd be.

That's the panic. Where's the fear coming from? I don't want to get anything wrong. What if I input the wrong phone number and forever piss off a shop owner? I don't want any angry phone calls when the thing comes out, or to upset anyone. Well, I know that's not going to be possible. I can't write about everyone, and those who aren't included might feel miffed.

I'm tired, my shoulders ache, and my eyes are dry. I was never one to pull an all nighter, and I can't do it right now. I need some sleep to start fresh in the morning.

One more week of this. I know it'll be worth it, but, damn, I'm ready for bed.