In the long saga that has been “Bats, Balls, & Burnouts” there have been many landmark moments. This week provided another such moment, and it was a big, although unexpected, one. Going into the process with publisher Outskirts Press, I was not aware that my manuscript would undergo an editorial review after submission, and I assume my lack of awareness about that subject had a lot to do with my focus on writing. I have done very little digging on the Outskirts website, in terms of policies and other obligations, throughout the process. I just stayed laser-focused on the writing. Either that or I used the writing as a perfect excuse to not dig into the minutia.

After I did submit the manuscript, my Outskirts publishing representative let me know that it would be immediately forwarded to the review board, and their findings and recommendations would probably take one or two full business weeks. When I asked what sort of things they’d be looking for, my rep said, “Editorially, we need to make sure your manuscript is of a high enough quality for Outskirts to fully get behind it, in terms of promotions and sales, and that it follows our guidelines for socially acceptable material. Beyond that, they’ll be looking for copyright issues and other legal things.” That made perfect sense. I just hadn’t thought of it.

I’m a pretty confident person when it comes to my writing abilities. I also know I was a much better writer at the end of the book than the beginning, and I’m fully aware that Outskirts publishes material from a wide range of authors, who all have different skill sets and styles. I hadn’t even thought of my material being reviewed prior to production and publication. So, of course, I got just a tiny bit worried. What if they hated it?

In just a matter of a few days, I got an email from the woman at Outskirts who had reviewed my manuscript. In the subject line, she had posted congratulations for my acceptance. That was a very good thing. I exhaled.

Most of the letter was real “nuts and bolts” stuff about what we do next, what copyright guidelines need to be met, and other important details we’ll have to address as we move forward. But, she also inserted a more personal note, right near the top of the email. This is what she wrote:

“You’ve truly done a remarkable job of writing your story and detailing your experiences in a way that draws the reader in. Memoir writing is one of the most challenging genres to tackle and this manuscript flows so well you really made it seem effortless. I can see this book not only engaging sports enthusiasts but anyone who can relate to “plowing forward” – which makes this appealing to a wide audience. In your work, your narrative voice is just great – very familiar and easy to follow.  It looks to me like you have meticulously gone through your document revising and smoothing things out. Excellent job.”

Acceptance was good. This paragraph was great. My doubts were extinguished like a small flame under a deluge of water.

Of course, much of the credit for those compliments goes to my style editor, Greg Halling. The “voice” and flow I used throughout the book is a direct reflection of his guidance and mentoring. To that end, late last week I took a prized possession up to the UPS Store, here in Woodbury, and asked them to package it carefully, and include the “Thank You” card I had just bought at the Hallmark store around the corner. And I asked them to ship to a Mr. Greg Halling in North Ogden, Utah.

On the card I wrote “Because you’re a champ! Hold Wally high and celebrate this victory!” (For the record, the Wally was from the 2004 Dallas race with the Worshams.)

So, the bottom line is that I still don’t know exactly how long we still have to wait before we can hold a copy of “Bats, Balls, & Burnouts” in our hands, but we’re getting there and the acceptance email was yet another wonderful “feel good” moment in this process. It’s good to be accepted!

Here at the ranch, we have a lot of white stuff. Over the weekend, our fearless weather forecasters in the Twin Cities were telling us about the jet stream, and how it would be wavering both north and south of us for a few days, bringing “light snow flurries” and “colder temperatures” through Wednesday. They figured we might get 1-3 inches of fluffy powdery snow.

We got a little more than that. It’s been snowing, on and off, since Monday and a lot of ice was still on the ground when it started. It’s been a little slippery out there, but this is Minnesota and we live in the Twin Cities. The plows and salt trucks have been out in force, and hardly anyone has missed a beat.

Barbara had an appointment early yesterday morning, as in leaving the house at 6:30 early. When she got back, she said, “This is why I love Minnesota. An army of plow trucks are out there. Everyone is just going about their business.”

I’d say, all told, we got at least six or eight inches, and the mounds of snow next to our little road are pretty high. In shopping center parking lots, where they scrape it all off and pile it up, they’re mountainous. I’m tempted to scale one and put an American flag at the top.

Back in the world of racing, the Winternationals are only four weeks away. Isn’t that amazing? It’s going to be very odd to not attend the opener in Pomona, but I’ve decided to stick to the plan with the book and wait until we have a firm publication date, or at least a “pre-order” date on Amazon, before spending the money on travel to the races. Once we get to that point, I’ll most likely be making it to a lot of races, and I’m hoping to find a way to put the book on sale at a souvenir trailer out there on tour. It’s all about making sure people remember me and this project, and getting out there to publicize and promote it. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Wilber’s Snake Oil. It cures all your illnesses, freshens your breath, improves your memory, and builds muscle mass. It’s the greatest product since Silly Putty!”

And speaking of racing, I think the question I get the most from blog readers around the world is “What are you going to do once the book is published?”

Well, as stated above, right after it’s published I plan to put our marketing, PR, and promotions plan into motion. I see that lasting throughout the NHRA season. As for 2018, I really don’t know. I’m open to just about anything, and wouldn’t mind taking on the next great writing challenge, but I haven’t exactly narrowed down the options yet. Just like I wrote at the beginning of this blog installment, I’ve tried to stay laser-focused on the challenge at hand, and we aren’t anywhere near done with that yet.

One of they key reasons I took this past year off to write the book was the fact I was really tired of the travel. 20 years on tour is a long time. So, I’m not guessing that going back to that lifestyle will be at the top of my list, but there will probably always be options out there for freelancing, consulting, and even doing some more P.R. work that doesn’t entail 125,000 miles of air travel a year.

We’ll see. We’ll just plow forward and see what opportunities are like out there. I do have a couple of other book concepts floating around in my head, but haven’t seriously pursued those yet. Writing someone else’s book could be interesting, in terms of an authorized biography, and that would be a whole new concept and style to tackle, which would be fun. This old dog is yet to be done learning new tricks.

I might also win the lottery. That’s Plan B. Probably would need to buy tickets in order to bring Plan B to fruition, though. I think that’s how it works. Apparently they don’t just call you up and tell you that you won. There’s always a hitch.

A little bit of a short one this week, but Barbara and I have a couple of meetings today and I need to get going. Just remember this: It’s good to be accepted!

Bob Wilber, at your service and about to be published.