Yes!!
Around 10 this morning, UPS arrived with a shipment of 366 copies of Dancing Barefoot from my printer! I nearly cried when I opened the first box, and saw “By Wil Wheaton” right on the cover.
My wife took pictures while I signed the UPS thingy, which I’m debating putting up, because I had major bed head. 🙂
I am just totally overjoyed. I feel like . . . well, like a *real* writer. When Anne and I opened the first box, and I held those books in my hands, I felt light-headed and tingly all over.
“I am so proud of you,” she said, “you’ve worked so hard on this, and here it is!”
We started packing orders right away — but not until I gave her the promised first copy.
Packing was really fun. Here we are, with this really cool, professional website, and this big old business plan, and filing cabinets and accounting books, and pre-inked stamps and all that crap . . . sitting on the floor of our living room, in our PJs, filling orders. It was awesome.
We completed 100 before I had to leave to meet with some producers who are putting together a pilot that seems REALLY cool. The meeting went very well, and I’m excited as hell to work with them. I hope it all works out.
Here’s the crazy thing: the producers, who are very professional and CLEARLY know what they’re doing, contacted me because of my website! How awesome is that? They actually liked it that I am so honest and opinionated on this little chunk of 1’s and 0’s, and that fits right into the show they’re doing. I guess we’ll talk more about the pilot when I get back from Hawaii.
One last thing. I gave a copy to Ryan before I sat down to write this entry and he said, “Really? I get to have one?! COOL! I’m going to read it right now!”
He’s sitting on the couch behind me, reading some of it aloud (he’s in the story “Ready or not, here I come!”)and he keeps telling me how much he likes it. I totally feel like I’m going to cry because I’m so happy.
And now I am off to the post office to officially send out my first 100 orders, to the first 100 people who bought my very first book.
Yay!!