Author Archives: Margaret Ward

The book has been released

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Our anticipation has been running pretty high during September. First, unexpectedly, we received some copies of the paperback cover in the mail. That meant that Missing Mila, Finding Family was actually “in production.”  Then, I noticed last week that my credit card had been charged for the copies I had pre-ordered in July.  Today, Monday, October 3, the UPS truck drove up and unloaded three 40-pound cartons of books in our driveway. Tom and I were there to greet the driver. He wanted to know what he was delivering, and we told him. He seemed interested in the story, too. Tom and I  could hardly wait to open up the cartons and hold the finished book in our hands for the first time. The design department at the press did a wonderful job.

This means the months of waiting are finally over, in fact the book is out nearly a month ahead of schedule.  Now, when you order it through the press,  it  should be filled immediately. That is until the first edition runs out.  So don’t wait any longer!

http://www.missingmila.com

A Waiting Game

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Margaret & Tom relaxing in Florida

A year ago in May, I was thrilled to learn that the University of Texas Press had decided to publish my book about our story in their Louann Atkins Temple Women and Culture series. Last summer I got the manuscript into final form. The book was shortened slightly while I formatted it in a certain way for the editing process. Nelson was a huge help to me, as I also needed to scan some family photos to a high standard so that they could be included in the book.

After the book was copy edited, I had to review it all again in early November and respond to the copy editor’s questions about all kinds of details. Then in December, Tom, Derek, Nelson and I “triangulated” with folks in the editorial and marketing departments at the press about the title. We knew that the book needed a subtitle that would contain the most important search terms, but we didn’t all agree on what those words should be. After a flurry of emails, we finally all agreed on Missing Mila, Finding Family: An International Adoption in the Shadow of the Salvadoran Civil War.

In March I was sent the page proofs. I was excited to be able to get my first sense of what the book will actually look like, a 6 ½ by 9 ½ inch paperback of about 280 pages. But I still had not heard anything about the cover design. I was getting anxious. I wanted a certain picture of Mila as a teenager to be used on the cover, but the design process was up to the art department and out of my hands. Finally, just when Nelson was in El Salvador in late March the Editor in Chief sent me the mock-up. You can imagine how nervous I was to see what they had created. Tom, and Derek were standing right behind me, looking over my shoulder at the computer screen as I opened the file to get our first peek. As the editor put it, “ the designer managed to accommodate [my] dreams for the cover in a very successful and sophisticated yet accessible look. “ It is going to be beautiful.

I get asked almost every day now, “When will it be out?” “How can I get a copy?” While my work is now done–going over the page proofs to catch last little mistakes and creating an index–we’re still only in the seventh inning stretch. My book’s spot in their printing queue is in late October. For those who can’t wait, you can pre-order late this summer at the press’s website. Specifics will follow!