I had originally thought Gerard’s poetry book would be ready for sale by November 1.

Dream on.

Then it seemed highly likely it would be ready by December 1. But then I ran into printer troubles. Trust me – you don’t want to hear the details. So the following is a very quick summary.

I didn’t want to use the print company I’d used for The Name In the Stone, even though I liked the quality of that book, because I wanted a company that would also do the mailings. I found such a company, but the quality of the photos in their proof copy was substandard. So I went back to the original company and ordered a proof from them, thinking I’d figure out a way to deal with the mailings but at least I was pretty sure the print quality would be excellent.

Today I got that proof in the mail, and the quality of the photos was bad. It was completely different from The Name In the Stone, which they had printed for me about a year ago. When I called the company to find out what’s going on, I discovered a little factoid they’d neglected to mention earlier: some time during that year, they had changed their printing machines. Often, when people make a change of that sort, it’s an improvement. They’re not even contending that this was an improvement; it was a downgrade.

Needless to say, I’m unhappy about this. I ended up ordering one more proof from them, though, this time with a different kind of paper they said should help approximate the photo quality of the essay book from last year. I wonder, but I guess I’ll find out.

I still think the poetry book might be ready before the holidays, which was certainly my original plan. But maybe not. I think it’s more important to get it looking right than to rush it for the holidays.