FIRST PASS PAGES: A celebration.

THEY HAVE ARRIVED!!!

That's right, my First Pass Pages* are here!!!

Yes, I hugged them.

Yes, the sight of them made me cry.

My first thought was, "We did it!" (We being myself and everyone who edited, critiqued and all around supported me on this journey.)

My second thought was, "It's going to be a book!"

Now, around this time you're probably thinking, "Well, DUH, Chelsea, of course it's going to be a book. Had you not figured that out?"

Well, sure I had. That is to say, Yes and No. Obviously, and kind of.

Here's the thing. When you're hopin', and wishin', and prayin' for success in the publishing world (and then you get real, and start WRITING), it sometimes feels like all you hear is "Nope." So once you actually hear, "YEP!" even though you are OMG VERY EXCITED and all together over the moon, the whole thing feels very surreal.

It is only through the passing of each milestone (rounds of editing, cover design, galleys, ARCS, etc.) that it starts to sink in that Ye Old Manuscript is, in fact, going to be a book.

This moment is one of those times.

IT'S GOING TO BE A BOOK!!!

*For those of you baffled by the curious language of publishing (and trust me, I'm still learning), First Pass Pages are a print-out of how the novel pages WILL LOOK once they're in the actual book (with the proper formatting and fonts!) My job (hinted at by the ominous red pen in the photo) is to sift through these pages for typos, formatting errors and anything that will make the book look NOT CORRECT. Wish me luck!