Roller Coaster anyone?

Oh my, I am just such an UNHAPPY freakin' camper! How is it that I get an email detailing that my books have shipped, complete with shipping charges but no tracking information….so I email them asking for a tracking number. I wait a respectable amount of hours and then I call them.

Yes, I called them and politely ask for a tracking number. So, it seems that no, my books have not shipped. It seems they might not even be completely printed (the hardback doesn't just make itself apparently). Bottom line? They say it could be as much as 2 to 3 weeks….I would have been irritated with 2 to 3 days, but weeks? Seriously? Then what exactly was the point of sending me an email? I think they should understand that it doesn't matter that it took me 30 years to write the stuff, I did my part and I have to wait another 2 to 3 weeks? This is like telling a pregnant woman that she'll have to carry the baby an extra 2 to 3 months. I realize I am not the only author they are dealing with, but I'm the most impatient author they are probably dealing with. I wanted to tell them "ok, well, let's see, you send me an email with an order #, shipping charges, product details but the product won't be ready for 2 to 3 weeks? Then what the hell was the point of the email? At this point I just want to tell the guy, "Ok buddy, it would be in your best interest to bump me to the top of the list". Now, I know, that isn't fair to the other author's, but like I said, I am probably the most impatient one. So, after all that, he says "I tell you what, call back late next week and maybe I'll have a tracking number for you". Honestly, I'm really irritated. Did I mention that? When I call Ron to tell him, he says "oh, then why did they send you that email?" "Exactly, that's what I was thinking" I said.

I have decided that this publishing business is a roller coaster ride. I think this is the up part; kind of dread it, it takes forever going up, but there is none of the rush on the down part like I've had the last few days. So all I can do is sit with, stewing in my R.I. (righteous indignation) and wait. Hey, I know, perhaps I should write a poem about waiting for a book of poems? It's a thought.