In any endeavor this is the sort of question which either inspires excitement or dread. Recently I’ve had numerous inquiries about my book. These inquiries have begun to make me think it’s time to bite the bullet and start getting the word out. After all that was, in part, why I started this blog in the first place. I wanted a forum where I could send people so they could see my progress, especially when I feel like the most frequent answer I’ve had to give has been that I’m working on revising (yes, still). Editing and revising a manuscript isn’t a very concrete concept to someone who has never done it. It can be a long and painstaking process.
Additionally, I have been doing lots of research on publishing and marketing in anticipation of finishing the manuscript and the desire to be prepared for the next step in the process. As part of this research, I recently participated in a webinar hosted by writer, Jeff Goins, about his most recent book, The Art of Work. In the webinar he said something that stood out to me (among other things). While writing his first book, he said that people would ask him about his progress. This would always depress him because he wasn’t where he wanted to be in the publication process or in terms of his writing career. He said that by the time he finally “made it” he was glad to have a community of people to share it with. This concept impressed me because it rang true with my own ideas about creating and sharing art.
I have no idea what the journey to publication will be. Likely fraught with any aspiring author’s share of rejection, disappointment, and much more time than is ideal. All of this aside, in the end I want to be able to say I conquered my fears and went for it. Success or failure ahead, I would love to have you along for the ride.
To commence the journey (which actually started a year and a half ago when I decided to buckle down and finish the manuscript) I’m preparing a couple of series to function as a sort of “teaser trailer” in anticipation of the books.
The first will be a collection of information about each of the stories from Greek mythology which either inspired or make an appearance in the story. Hopefully you love Greek mythology as much as I do. You can see a collection of my reference material and research here.
The second will be a collection of character bios for each of the characters in my story. My plan is to include sketches and some finished paintings. You can keep up with my latest paintings in my Facebook Gallery.
My challenge will be to stay on top of all this, and pray I haven’t (as my daddy always said) bit off more than I can chew. Something my mother said recently, which has been on my mind, is that you feast in company, but you binge alone. So I suppose I can say that I’m tackling this project like eating an elephant- one bite at a time. I hope you’ll join me for the feast.
