The waiting is always the worst.

After two and a half years of plowing ahead, Bill Myles and I finally have a manuscript. Rather I should say, a draft of one, all 28 chapters and 277,000 words of it. Last week we got the courage to take the big plunge. We kicked it out of the nest, and sent it off to a dozen readers, to see if it could fly. "Tell us," we asked them, "do we have a diamond in the rough, or instead, fools gold?"

It was a big step. When you put your heart, soul, and sweat in something, you get so close to it and believe so much, that it is hard to get an objective look yourself. So with fear and trepidation, but also hope, I bound up a dozen copies and asked our readers group to give us their best shot.

They should be quite capable of doing that, as Myles Traveled is doing some traveling across the country itself. Boxes went off to Kansas City, Chicago, and St. Louis. In Ohio, the destinations included Lima, Mount Vernon, Columbus, and Lewis Center. Within our readers group, we have represented a TV Sports Anchor, a former editor of a major metropolitan newspaper, and a former Dean of the School of Library Service at Columbia University. There is also a Corporate VP, an author of Black History, a teacher (also a published author), a former University Athletic Administrator, a communications specialist, and for good measure a couple of ordinary fans. Last, but certainly not least, there is the Heisman Trophy winner.

So now we wait. Once we hear, we will keep what they like (hopefully everything), and fix anything they don't (hopefully not a lot). After, that it will be off to shop for a publisher. Anyone know a good one! I'm listening.