There really hasn't been much to write home, or blog, about in February and March. Yes, the polar vortex departed, but there still has been an abundance of cold, snow, rain, wind and gray in Buckeye Country. I've stayed indoors and tried to remain warm.
While huddled in front of my computer, I've been in kind of a publishing mode. I have two books in various stages of unusual publishing, a third in the process of illustrating and a fourth just waiting for me to work on. It's kind of a new experience and a new direction for me.
I've mentioned the first two books before, but there is more to tell. Once Upon West Africa is a collection of fifty Liberian folk tales that I collected as a Peace Corps Volunteer decades ago. Over the years, I've edited, re-edited, added to and revised them. And, a year or so ago, I illustrated them as well. They've just been sitting around, gathering dust inside my computer and waiting to be discovered. Recently I met a Liberian living in Columbus, Ohio. He couldn't believe the treasure I've been sitting on. He wants them in the hands of the one and a half million students in Liberia. That's a big dream, bigger than I ever imagined. I believe he's going to make that happen.
In recent weeks, we've passed the stories back and forth, editing and re-editing. And, to eliminate 32 blank pages in the book, I had to expand 32 stories. It really made them a lot better, too. But, I have read all fifty stories at least six times in recent weeks. My Liberian friend has read them about that much as well. Every time I read them, I find mistakes. Every time! The text is surely 99.99% error-free by now. But, it is just impossible for me to eliminate that other .01%. I had no idea how hard it was to get about a hundred fifty pages perfect. I'm sure they still aren't perfect, and that drives the perfectionist in me insane.
My other book, "Pick Me!" Cried Arilla, is a whole lot shorter. I was so excited to have it written and illustrated, that I quickly printed off my own edition from an online company that prints individual books. They print expensive books. Very nice quality, expensive books. I paid $42.00 to have one copy made. And then, I realized that I really should have had someone else help me proof-read the book. It really is very hard to proof-read my own writing. My eyes know what I want to say and they kind of glide over the mistakes. And, this $42.00 book had five errors in it. Utterly maddening!
Arilla is currently in the works at a self-publishing house. But, it's not the regular kind of self-publishing house. Usually, if you do this, you get the books and are responsible for selling them. If you aren't good at that (and I don't really think I am) you might have a large pile of books in your garage. My book is being published by Elm Hill, a Christian book publisher associated with HarperCollins, one of the top five English publishers in the world. Elm Hill will use their HarperCollins connections to help promote my book. So, in my mind, it's a step above normal self-publishing.
I'm learning a lot in this whole process. This week I attended a meeting of local writers and illustrators in the Columbus area. Who knew there were enough for a meeting? I didn't know what to expect and I certainly didn't get what I wasn't expecting. It was a critique night. Authors shared their stories and others in the group gave their advice. Honestly, I never liked group work when I was a student. Nothing has changed over the years.
I don't think I'm alone in that dislike. The woman in charge said, "There's a good chance you won't agree with anything you're told in the group. But, go in with an open mind. You might find something you agree with later on when you think about it." I was doubtful.
This group had their rules. I know I'm great at reading my book. It's something I know I do very well. But, according to the rules, I had to pass my book to the left, to a woman who wasn't familiar with the text. Of course, in my very biased opinion, she didn't do the story justice. And, I honestly believe that very few people on the planet would read my story to my satisfaction. You may think the word "diva" but don't say it aloud.
There was some praise (which I always love to hear) and some advise (which the woman in charge was right about. I didn't agree with it). The contact I have at Elm Hill told me my book was perhaps the best children's book to ever come across his desk. I wasn't going to readily accept any criticism from people I didn't know.
And, then it happened.
One guy gave me advice that I really liked. Drats! Did I mention that I paid $42.00 for a beautifully made edition of my book? Of course, I did! My book was perfect as it was, except for those five typos. I needed no advice, but I got it anyway. And, I really liked it.
I don't really want to give the plot of my story away, but Arilla is a star and she wants to grow up to be part of a constellation. However, she keeps getting overlooked in the selection process, hence "Pick me!" in the title. The guy across the table said, "I want to know what Arilla did that finally got her picked. What made her shine?" (Yes, he really used the pun and I so appreciated it.) I kind of had it implied, but it needed to be spelled out.
He didn't know how much I appreciated the suggestion and hated him at the same time. It meant that I had to throw out four pages, write new text and re-illustrate it. And, it made the book so much better and it probably is going to cost me another $42.00, unless I have the patience to wait three months on Elm Hill. My favorite line in the story is now:
So our little star learned the thing she should know
and it gave her heart a warm heavenly glow.
I'm not going to tell you what she learned or how she made the change. Buy the book. It's a delightful read and beautifully illustrated. If you have any doubts about that, just ask me.
But, the cute little story makes me think. If I want to shine, if I want a warm heavenly glow, if I want to be picked to do the job I'm meant to do, what are the things I need to learn? What are the things I should know? I think that's a question that we all need to ask ourselves.
While huddled in front of my computer, I've been in kind of a publishing mode. I have two books in various stages of unusual publishing, a third in the process of illustrating and a fourth just waiting for me to work on. It's kind of a new experience and a new direction for me.
I've mentioned the first two books before, but there is more to tell. Once Upon West Africa is a collection of fifty Liberian folk tales that I collected as a Peace Corps Volunteer decades ago. Over the years, I've edited, re-edited, added to and revised them. And, a year or so ago, I illustrated them as well. They've just been sitting around, gathering dust inside my computer and waiting to be discovered. Recently I met a Liberian living in Columbus, Ohio. He couldn't believe the treasure I've been sitting on. He wants them in the hands of the one and a half million students in Liberia. That's a big dream, bigger than I ever imagined. I believe he's going to make that happen.
In recent weeks, we've passed the stories back and forth, editing and re-editing. And, to eliminate 32 blank pages in the book, I had to expand 32 stories. It really made them a lot better, too. But, I have read all fifty stories at least six times in recent weeks. My Liberian friend has read them about that much as well. Every time I read them, I find mistakes. Every time! The text is surely 99.99% error-free by now. But, it is just impossible for me to eliminate that other .01%. I had no idea how hard it was to get about a hundred fifty pages perfect. I'm sure they still aren't perfect, and that drives the perfectionist in me insane.
My other book, "Pick Me!" Cried Arilla, is a whole lot shorter. I was so excited to have it written and illustrated, that I quickly printed off my own edition from an online company that prints individual books. They print expensive books. Very nice quality, expensive books. I paid $42.00 to have one copy made. And then, I realized that I really should have had someone else help me proof-read the book. It really is very hard to proof-read my own writing. My eyes know what I want to say and they kind of glide over the mistakes. And, this $42.00 book had five errors in it. Utterly maddening!
Arilla is currently in the works at a self-publishing house. But, it's not the regular kind of self-publishing house. Usually, if you do this, you get the books and are responsible for selling them. If you aren't good at that (and I don't really think I am) you might have a large pile of books in your garage. My book is being published by Elm Hill, a Christian book publisher associated with HarperCollins, one of the top five English publishers in the world. Elm Hill will use their HarperCollins connections to help promote my book. So, in my mind, it's a step above normal self-publishing.
I'm learning a lot in this whole process. This week I attended a meeting of local writers and illustrators in the Columbus area. Who knew there were enough for a meeting? I didn't know what to expect and I certainly didn't get what I wasn't expecting. It was a critique night. Authors shared their stories and others in the group gave their advice. Honestly, I never liked group work when I was a student. Nothing has changed over the years.
I don't think I'm alone in that dislike. The woman in charge said, "There's a good chance you won't agree with anything you're told in the group. But, go in with an open mind. You might find something you agree with later on when you think about it." I was doubtful.
This group had their rules. I know I'm great at reading my book. It's something I know I do very well. But, according to the rules, I had to pass my book to the left, to a woman who wasn't familiar with the text. Of course, in my very biased opinion, she didn't do the story justice. And, I honestly believe that very few people on the planet would read my story to my satisfaction. You may think the word "diva" but don't say it aloud.
There was some praise (which I always love to hear) and some advise (which the woman in charge was right about. I didn't agree with it). The contact I have at Elm Hill told me my book was perhaps the best children's book to ever come across his desk. I wasn't going to readily accept any criticism from people I didn't know.
And, then it happened.
One guy gave me advice that I really liked. Drats! Did I mention that I paid $42.00 for a beautifully made edition of my book? Of course, I did! My book was perfect as it was, except for those five typos. I needed no advice, but I got it anyway. And, I really liked it.
I don't really want to give the plot of my story away, but Arilla is a star and she wants to grow up to be part of a constellation. However, she keeps getting overlooked in the selection process, hence "Pick me!" in the title. The guy across the table said, "I want to know what Arilla did that finally got her picked. What made her shine?" (Yes, he really used the pun and I so appreciated it.) I kind of had it implied, but it needed to be spelled out.
He didn't know how much I appreciated the suggestion and hated him at the same time. It meant that I had to throw out four pages, write new text and re-illustrate it. And, it made the book so much better and it probably is going to cost me another $42.00, unless I have the patience to wait three months on Elm Hill. My favorite line in the story is now:
So our little star learned the thing she should know
and it gave her heart a warm heavenly glow.
I'm not going to tell you what she learned or how she made the change. Buy the book. It's a delightful read and beautifully illustrated. If you have any doubts about that, just ask me.
But, the cute little story makes me think. If I want to shine, if I want a warm heavenly glow, if I want to be picked to do the job I'm meant to do, what are the things I need to learn? What are the things I should know? I think that's a question that we all need to ask ourselves.
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