Today I got this wonderful email from my editor — book cover ideas are in! And being the sweetheart that she is, she explained that once we decide on a concept we can tweak it. I was so thrilled to see these covers — thrilled and humbled. I can’t believe we’re to this point. God is so good! He’s taken me so far even when I continually stumble and fall. This project started years ago, but I’m not going to get all misty and weepy, I’m just praising God for His incredible grace.
Now, let’s take a look at the book cover choices for Girlfriends, God, and Grace: How to Have a Great Girlfriend Adventure.

Let me say that I’m absolutely blown away by all three of these book covers!  Kudos to the designer — I don’t know her / his name, but I believe this person has either been in my closet, my head, my book, or all three. 

Let’s just take a look at these three –

Number one (boxes and shoes) — I love the shoes!  The red ones look like the Sarah Palin kickin’ red heels that I blogged about a while back, the black slingbacks are just too cute, the black low heel Mary Jane’s are just what I’ve been looking for — and the green dotted flats, well, I just have to get a pair of those! 

The colors and prints on the boxes are just …. well, just me!  The slightly funky, slightly retro blues and browns are right on point!

Number two — I just love this one too!  The photo of the two women with their hands up remind me of me and oh so many different girlfriends! I love the attitude of this cover — it just shouts ”roadtrip!”  to me.  Also the fonts are cute, the blue and brown are great, love the splashes of pink and the wonderful curvy title box, but – please forgive me scrapbooking sisters – I’m not too jazzed over the scrapbooking scissors, since these funny cutting scissors just sort of freak me out.  If we end up with this cover, maybe  we can take out the scissors.  And scrapbook girls …. I love y’all and love what you do! Please don’t judge me because I’m scrapbooking challenged! 

And I also think if we chose this one as the book cover, it’s important for me to get a cute pink jacket, some gray fuzzy gloves, and a convertible  I think it makes perfect sense — don’t you?)

Ahh, book cover number three!  Too cute.  Me and all my shoes!  That’s what it feels like, except one thing…. it’s not me on the cover, but I’m okay with it.  In fact, let’s just let people believe it’s me! And for the record, I want her upper arms… oh, there’s more that I want, but I’m practicing contentment, so I’ll just settle for her upper arms.

Now — comes your part — vote for the one you like the best:
Book 1 — the shoes and the boxes
Book 2 - the photo of the women in the convertible
Book 3 –woman and her shoes

Vote for the one you like the best — and you don’t even have to declare a party affliation. Just pick the one you like the best.

And just think your vote will count! I am turning the votes over to the Book Cover powers of Thomas Nelson. Y’all really made a difference on the title and we were able to keep Girlfriends, God, and Grace — let’s see which cover gets the most votes.

You need a picture when?

 The book is due on the shelves sometime in the Spring of 2009.  I knew I’d have to take a professional photo at some point - it’s in the contract: Author will provide an photograph for publicity use. (Apparently, they’ve heard I hate getting my picture taken).

 I thought I had plenty of time to get that done, after all the book is still in revisions.  I was slowly losing weight - really slowly, like a half pound a month. I’m a work in progress, in so many ways.

 Wednesday I get an email:

Editor:  We need an photo for the book catalog. Minimum 300 dpi in digital format

Me: (What the heck is DPI?) When?

Editor: Sooner the better, but by mid September.

 Me: Oh, crap!  (I didn’t email that response)

Me: You’ll have it.

 Follow up email from editor: Mary, if you’re having new photos taken can you do something fun.  Nothing too wild or bizarre, but try something VERY fun.  Think Anita Renfroe.

 Me: Oh, crap, again (I didn’t email that one either)

And super pooh on the nothing wild or bizarre - there goes the plans I had for the gorilla suit, pink feather boa and the flashing crown. And now I have to channel Anita Renfroe — I’m a huge fan, but I don’t even know what her author photos look like. 

 So, I sent out emergency requests to my photographer friend.  Then I remembered she had some stuff going on this week and a daughter heading off to college.  I didn’t want to trouble her, so I went with plan B - local professional photographer.

 I sent him a frantic email:

Me:  I need a photo done asap.  Can you do it?  Just need a 300 dpi picture in digital format. (wanted to sound smart)

 Photo guy:  Where are you?  and what are you thinking?

 Me:  Well, I’m here in town.  I work at the old hospital, you know the one that everyone thinks is haunted.  I’m the director of a non-profit and we have an office there.  (don’t know why I told him all this, I tend to ramble when I’m stressed)

I need this picture for a book catalogue and for the back of the book.  I need to look funny and fun, but not goofy or silly.  I want it to say “she’s someone I would like to get to know.”  So, I also need it to make me look approachable and sassy, someone with a dry wit, but not the mean kind, just the fun kind oh and I need to still look like a professional writer.  (Of course, at this point  he’s probably  thinking I was more likely a professional nutcase). Oh, and I also need to look skinny and young.  (right.)

 Photo guy: let’s do something Saturday. 

 Now, I just want to thank photo guy, Jack.  First, I want to thank him for not writing me off as a total whacko - and I admit I probably sounded like one in that last email. 

So, I talked with Jack (photo guy) on the phone and told him about the Anita Renfroe thing.  He looked her up. 

 I spent the next two days frantically trying to figure out what to wear.  Here are the final choices. 

The first is of  the two jackets I used – I wore black underneath

The second is my favorite jacket (bought it this summer and have never worn it) and jewerly choices.

I took the photos today.  It was not as painful as I thought it would be.  It was actually fun.  My oldest, Charity, came along for the show and she was my assistant and the jewelry picker.  She has much better taste than I. 

So, will I look young, fun, sassy, skinny, approachable and professional?  Who knows.  He took almost a hundred pictures of just me.  I don’t think I’ve ever had that many pictures taken of me in my whole grown up adult life.  It was good therapy for this overly critical soul.  It took a lot of prayer and I asked the Lord to just use this time for His glory.  I didn’t want it to be about how I need to lose about few (or more like forty) pounds and I didn’t want it to be about how many wrinkles have recently taken up residence on my face (I’m attributing those to the wedding).  I had fun and I serve a mighty and powerful God - and He created Photoshop.  Praise Him!

 I’ll keep you posted and show you the photos as soon as I have them.

The Official Title is ….

Girlfriends, God, and Grace:

How to have a Great Girlfriend Adventure

Thanks so much for all the votes! All the emails! And all the loving support. You all rock!
We had 39 votes at the poll!! 27 for Girlfriends, God and Grace. There were another 20+ emails with over 75% for Girlfriends, God and Grace. I’m so excited. It’s a lock now. The publisher will not change the title. Everything else may change, but the title is firm.

Girlfriends, God and Grace is the title that I came up with and pitched it to my girlfriends about 5 years ago. We were all sitting around Suzi’s table making bead jewelry (remember that craze) and between bead stringing,  I’m pitching out book titles. This is the one that stuck.

In all honesty, I came up with both titles. The Great Girlfriend Adventure is a chapter title in this book — and it’s now the subtitle. So either way, I would love it.  But Girlfriends, God and Grace is the original

Ohh, and also I didn’t look pathetic to the snazzy publishing bunch. I had my votes and some great comments for both titles. Thank you for making me NOT look pathetic.  I love it when I look like I have lots of friends — how very cool. 
Now we can return to our regularly scheduled blogging.

I sent in my completed manuscript a few weeks ago and this is the scenario I hoped would happen.

Editor: Oh, Mary, I’ve just finished your manuscript and it’s the most amazing, enlightening, uplifting book I’ve read in ages.  Everything is just perfect.

 This is reality:

Editor: Mary, here’s a long, long list of things we need to work on. 

 This is what it felt like:

Editor: Oh, Mary, is that your  baby?  Oh, she’s really ugly, bless her heart. Here’s a list of really good plastic surgeons that can fix her right up.

 Now, in my wonderful editor’s defense she wrote the most amazingly kind and gentle letter.  She opened with at “now don’t you worry, this is not uncommon” paragraph before her list of suggested changes, additions, enhancements.  All of them are well thought out suggestions that will make the book more powerful and more effective, but it hurt like heck to read it.  I cried.  A lot.  Ugly crying.  Black mascara smearing, tears rolling down my cheeks crying. 

 I don’t know why I was crying - maybe because I wanted to be the star pupil.  I wanted to have the best manuscript and I wanted her to love the work.   But I’d ripped that manuscript apart every which way to Sunday and I wasn’t 100% satisfied when I turned it in.  Something felt off, but I knew I couldn’t keep fiddling with it.  

 I just wanted everyone to love that little baby - ugly or not. 

 Girlfriends, God, and Grace has been with me for a long time.  I lived it and then wrote it.  When I turned that book in to my editor, I felt like I’d lost a limb - well, not a really big limb, but maybe a little finger or pinky toe or something.  More of something you’ll miss but can live without - not to be offensive to anyone who’s lost a little finger or pinky toe. (Now, I have this horrible dread of getting a letter from some group about my offensive lost limb blog post).    

 I rolled all of this around in my brain until about 2am and this is some of what I came up with. 

I’m a control freak. (Those of you who know me well are thinking  ‘this is her revelation? Please. ‘) God’s dealing with me on it.  I’m struggling.  Yesterday’s blog or is it today’s blog — either way, in the last blog I wrote “a place of new dependence on the Lord.”  Well, apparently I’m still a major work in progress.

I like to be in control.  I’m usually in some type of leader role.  With this book, I’m not.  It’s a scary place to be.   So, there’s lesson number one.   I’m sure there are so many more lessons to learn - hopefully they won’t make me cry, but who knows.  

I’m so blessed to be where I am - a new Christian author with a book at Thomas Nelson and an editor who believes in the work. I know that God is smiling on me and I’m learning to let go of all control.  I’m releasing it to Him.  He will do a much better job than I ever could. \

 So, I’m taking my ugly baby and we’re off to do a little work on her.  She’ll look much prettier when we’re done.  I’ll keep you posted on her progress.  Bless her little heart.