The Ballad of John and...Oh, No!!!!
After four long years of interviews, research, writing, and intense editing, it was over. The manuscript for Volume 4 in The John Lennon Series, Should Have Known Better, was complete. My husband; best friend, Lanea Stagg; and I had logged in about 21 hours of sleep per week during the last two weeks of the work. It was grueling, but we knew that in order to have the promised Book Release Party at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago (Aug. 10-12), we had to work now and sleep later. Our printer, Edwards Brothers/Malloy, demanded a manuscript completion date of 29 May for a delivery date of 5 August (just in time for the books to be shipped to Chicago).
Well, at 6 a.m. on 29 May, we dotted the last "i" and crossed the last "t" and sent the manuscript off in a worn and exhausted haze. I collapsed into bed as Rande went off to work, worse for wear. But we had made it! Victory!
Then came the response, two hours later...
"We regret to inform you that Edwards Brothers/Malloy is closing it's doors permanently. As of today, we will no longer be offering book printing services..." And after a few soft-soaping summary sentences, the deed was done. The John Lennon Series had no printer.
Realizing how extremely upset I would be about this predicament, my hero husband, Rande, sprang into action right away. He Googled "Best Printers in the United States" and began calling them...there were 20 listed...from #1 right on down the line.
Now, I can hear your questions out there: "Jude, why didn't you just use Create Space or another similar venue? Why did you need a special printer? What was the problem?"
Well, first of all, as most of you know, The John Lennon Series books are very large. Create Space and other online companies who print on-demand only create books up to about 800 pages. The John Lennon Series books (well over 900 pages) must be both glued and stitched to hold together well; most printers don't offer that.
Furthermore, The John Lennon Series cover is a nice, thick linen (LOL!) fabric with a protective sealant that keeps it looking nice for years. The on-demand books are shiny, slick covers. And the paper is an off-white vellum, a high-grade paper...something the on-demand printers don't offer. I wanted all of the books in the series to look exactly the same, to have the same quality, and to last for a very long time. So, I needed an exceptional printer.
After over two hours of calling and explaining and haggling and working at it, Rande found the perfect printer for our series...Sheridan Printers out of Michigan and Ohio. They agreed to do exactly what we needed, and furthermore, they agreed to have the books ready for The Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans. By the time I opened my eyes that morning, my hero of 44 years had solved yet another huge crisis in our lives...he had located exactly what we needed, and at a price that was better than the price Edwards Brothers had quoted us!
So the good news is this: after a HUGE glitch, we are back on target to deliver your books in person Aug. 10-12 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare at the Fest for Beatles Fans. And if you can't be there for the Book Release party, your book will be mailed to you the following week. It will happen - thanks to Rande Kessler, who made it so. And a certain amount of thanks go to John as well...because the end of the story is this: the printer that Rande finally connected with on the list of "1-20 Best Printers in the U.S." was (yes, you guessed it) #9. It's true. Life really is stranger than fiction.
