Having a book published—even if self-published—is slow and painful. You are the only one who’s in a hurry. The others? Well, they have a hundred, maybe a thousand authors in line at any one time; so you just have to wait your turn. A menu of milestones must be met: Re-structures and re-writes; line-by-line edits, argue with yourself, the editor, and the “Chicago Manual of Style” about some arcane rule of punctuation; review and revise the layout; insert the internal art; find an illustrator to create the cover; work with a designer to lay it out; adapt it to the printer’s specifications; wait for your ISBN number…. Nothing happens in parallel. No one will move to the next step—or even discuss what that might be—until the current step has been completed. That’s why it takes so long. “Stay focused,” you tell yourself.