Everything has been going smoothly so far, except for one small snag: my book’s description on sites . . .
→ Click to Read More of this Post: Behind the scenes book stuff]]> We’re in the phase of the book-writing process where the editors are working their magic. My voicovers, PowerPoints, and written book portion have been long done and submitted, and now the whole thing is going through technical editing and assembly. Exciting stuff!

Everything has been going smoothly so far, except for one small snag: my book’s description on sites like Borders.com, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etc. all say the wrong thing. Gaaaah! The good news is that we know why it happened: The publisher has a standard marketing blurb that all books in the Video Mentor series automatically get as a temporary placeholder… but mine never got updated with the real book synopsis, which I submitted last July.

Understandably, I am pretty freaked out about this because the standard marketing blurb incorrectly states that my book/DVD set contains hours of Flash animations, hands on labs, and simulations; alas, my book doesn’t contain these things– they were never part of the plan. My publisher’s standard marketing language is perfect for the typical tech-training type stuff that my publisher puts out, but ITIL isn’t technical training in a “click here, configure that” sense. My product contains 100% lecture and Powerpoint, and a ton of sample questions. No labs; no Flash animations; no business simulations. It’s just me being informative and charming. :-)

We chose not to include simulations and labs because this book/DVD set was never intended to be a full-blown V3 Foundation class; it’s simply designed to reinforce the exam syllabus/requirements for students who have already either taken a class or have chosen to go the self-study route. We wanted to create something to give students some extra confidence going into the exam so they could knock it out of the park.

My (irrational) fear is that the book/DVD synopsis won’t get changed in time, and people will buy the book/DVD set expecting Flash animations and labs and simulations… and when they don’t get what they were promised, they’re going to trash the book in their reviews. Do not want.

If people aren’t happy with my product because I did a crummy job, I totally own and accept that. But if people aren’t happy with my product because of an administrative error, I am going to be REALLY unhappy because I’ll have to, you know, find a new career.

Anyhoo, my publisher found the bug and they’ve set the wheels in motion to get it fixed. Now we’re waiting for various batch jobs to complete so the information trickles down to all of the various bookseller sites.

My editorial team is a great group of folks, and I know they’re doing their best to make it right, so that’s good news.

But still… it’s like watching a pot of water and waiting for it to boil.
I’m choosing to view it as an opportunity for me to practice compassion and patience. :-)

The book/DVD set has a total of six chapters. I set some deadlines for myself just to keep me on track.

At 6:30am, I finished the written portion of my book. At 6:31am, I clicked “Save” (though I click Save every 23 seconds) and Word crashed. I lost the last few things I typed, which was totally no big deal. So just a moment ago I finished retyping what I lost, and now I am officially officially . . .
→ Click to Read More of this Post: It’s 6:50am.]]> It’s 6:50am.

At 6:30am, I finished the written portion of my book.
At 6:31am, I clicked “Save” (though I click Save every 23 seconds) and Word crashed. I lost the last few things I typed, which was totally no big deal. So just a moment ago I finished retyping what I lost, and now I am officially officially done with the written part of my book/DVD set.

Tally: 133 single-spaced pages, 32,404 words.

Next: Sleep.

Pulling an all-nighter felt good, in a triumphant collegiate kind of way.

(And lest you worry that I’m submitting the book as-is after pulling an all-nighter, have no fear. It goes through about 638761 rounds of revisions plus tech editing.)

So now, the big announcement: (Drumroll please!)

I just signed a contract to create a book/DVD set for Pearson Publishing, called ITIL V3 Foundation Exam Video Mentor (quite a mouthful!). Pearson is Penguin . . .
→ Click to Read More of this Post: Big news!]]> As I said in my previous post, I had some exciting news to report, but wasn’t able to say anything until the deal was sealed.

So now, the big announcement:
(Drumroll please!)

I just signed a contract to create a book/DVD set for Pearson Publishing, called ITIL V3 Foundation Exam Video Mentor (quite a mouthful!). Pearson is Penguin Books’ educational wing, and they are also affiliated with InformIT, CiscoPress, AdobePress, QUE, etc. It’s an honor to be working with Pearson and to be a part of its distinguished authors.

This book/DVD set is intended to help students pass the ITIL V3 Foundation exam, but it isn’t going to be a replacement for taking a full class or doing the requisite number of self-study hours. Instead, this product is meant to give students confidence and an extra edge before taking the exam.

Stay tuned! If you’re interested in coming along with me on my book-writing journey, just look for posts with the category tag of “ITIL V3 Foundation Exam Video Mentor.”

Stay tuned for an exciting announcement!

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→ Click to Read More of this Post: “Squeee!” but also “Argh…”]]> Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy! I just got some really great news, but… I can’t talk about it until all the official paperwork is done.

Stay tuned for an exciting announcement!