One of the certainties about publishing is that delays will happen. They are unavoidable. On every step of the process, you can count on delays that can go from few days to few weeks or even months. Editors and proofreaders need more time; the graphic designer is busy with other commitments, you don't like the result of their work and go back for touch-ups, changes, discussions. Printer and binders have other jobs and yours will be the next on the queue but it might take some days, sometimes weeks. Have in mind that although this is a very simple, direct and straight process, define a timeline is almost impossible. Sometimes it looks like you need to take one step back for each two steps you take forward. And trust us when we tell you that you will regret each step back that you avoided.

It is a long and sometimes expensive process and you want it to get as close to perfection as possible. And even if perfection is impossible, you don‘t want to rush through one step just to find out later that problems could have been avoided if you had more patience. You might find out that you didn't want to wait one more day to have your cover better, but will need to wait another week because your binder has a broken equipment. Time is relative and it won't justify your mistakes.

On the other hand, balance is very important. You must know when to stop trying to perfect your work. It is not uncommon to find books on their 10th edition with simple mistakes. And you will never find a consensus on a cover design or book layout. But when to say “stop”? Hard to know. Experience will tell. So don‘t expect to have all answers in your first try. With time the quality of your books will definitely improve.