"A terrifying image flashed through my mind of Apollo in bell-bottoms and a slinky shirt."

 Editing mistakes are usually just annoying. But I find some, every now and then, which make me laugh. Like the one I found yesterday while I was editing.

 "Don't all Air Pirates know how to fry?"
 Hm...maybe...

 With me yammering on and on about my blog party - and now finally having a moment where I am free of editing - I thought I should better explain the main reason for holding it.
 When I finally got serious about wanting to publish my sister, who has a head for marketing schemes and an understanding as to how all this works, sat me down and gave me the facts straight. "Get your name out there. Get active in the internet word."
 The very idea of this scared me. The things she suggested terrified me. Blog frequently? What if I didn't have that much to say, day after day? Surely my posts would get boring if I did them five days a week. Use...Twitter?! That weird updating thing which had so many people talking? Become active on Facebook again? Facebook, the local gossip page where people go to complain. My sister was insane for suggesting all this, I thought. Even worse when she said to get into contact with authors and do...MARKETING RESEARCH! (I could have had a heart attack at this point.) Besides, my book wasn't even finished yet. What was the point of talking about a book still being written.
 Thankfully, I trust my sister and slowly did what she said. I started a blog, a serious one - okay, so it isn't SERIOUS...but it's official. You can't have everything. I set up Twitter and spent a month stumbling around in the dark on there. I made a Facebook fan page. (I didn't even have any fans. A fan page?) And I did something I dreaded. I read others blogs and commented, worrying I would end up sounding like an idiot. "Hi, my name is Jack. Very nice post....um...so, do you like coffee?" Oh yes, and I posted. Over and over - and usually my posts weren't that great. Kind of like the comments.  "My name is Jack. I am writing a book. You should read my blog because this book is interesting. Do you like coffee?"
 I also contacted authors. Yes, I emailed them. And not just little known authors. No, I went after the famous ones. (See how much I trust my sister.) My emails were very much like the comments and posts. During this time I was going with traditional publishing. So I usually said something like, "Hi, my name is Jack. I am writing a book. Can I have the name of your agent?" Shockingly enough, none of these famous authors laughed at me. In fact, two were very helpful - two I've mentioned before. Arthur Slade and Philip Reeve. They took the time to answer my email, AND add helpful hints. "When sending a query letter, here is what I found helps."
 I also followed authors on Twitter and I still talk with them. They too have given me a lot of helpful advice, as well as just being a great support.
 And I say all of that to say this.
 It is NEVER too early to start getting people interested in your work. I won't claim to have everything worked out, all the answers, or a huge following, but I am WAY ahead of where I started from. When I first began this blog the ONLY one who read it for at least a couple of months was my sister. Kind of discouraging. (Yet sweet. She would even comment just to give me a boast.) It took a lot of hard work to get my site what it is today. It was a ton of work - anyone who claims it is easy needs their heads checked.) One must put in time and effort. If you are serious about your writing start now. Talk to other bloggers, read their posts, take an interest in them. (You might even meet some great friends.) 
 And now, to my point. With the Blog Party I am hosting, I am hoping to give some of you a chance to get word out about your book. As I said, it is never too early to start, even if your book is still being written. Mine was when I first set up my blog, and I wasn't even sure it would end up being the book I published. (You have my Artist to thank for it coming out.)
 Now, I can only hope that made some sense. Listen to me, giving writing advice as if I know what I'm talking about. 
 Also, before I go, I have another update with the book. I spent the better part of an hour adjusting Clair's amazing pictures so they will look best in the book. (I will not even go into how annoying positioning pictures is. Aye, it is very worth it - these are Clair's drawings after all! But it is still a pain in the neck. They didn't want to do what I wanted them to.) However, I finished the ones I have, and I also fixed up the formatting. Now I just have to send it in for a review, then order my copy to make sure it looks nice when not on a computer.
 And, that is all. For now. 
 Allons-y! I have NaNo tomorrow - hopefully.