Due Date

               I have a new found appreciation for authors.  Words do not magically appear on the page, although they seem to when one gets lost in the zone.  It’s not easy braiding thousands of words together coherently.  It requires a passion and persistent drive to persevere.  The time, effort and brain space demand a significant commitment.  I did it and am now trying to learn how to share it with the world.  The most quoted person of all-time, Anonymous, said, “Any fool can write a book, it takes a genius to sell one.”  I never thought about selling my book as I wrote it and hope I am not the next fool who finished one.  It does appear Anonymous was right that selling it requires a bit of genius.

               Traditional publishing companies won’t give a novice writer the time of day unless you are famous for some reason.  Self-publishing has become a respectable alternative for the rest of us.  That’s how 50 Shades of Grey began.  There is hope for the little guys.  But, it requires just as much, if not more, time, effort and money to make it happen.  This is what I am learning now.  Like any other, it is a crowded dream and a challenge to be successful.  How do you stand out, promote, publicize and market your product without yelling from the rooftops like everyone else? 

               I said my sad goodbyes to my amazing tribal members from Chicago when I returned them to the train station a week after their arrival.  As planned, Uta Mooney, from Adelaide, Australia, stayed with me for two more months.  She is a rising star in her community as a painter.  Before she ever came to America, she had begun doing paintings inspired by the images in my unfinished book.  Uta even applied to do a solo exhibition of her work, based on my book, in an Adelaide art gallery prior to leaving and was accepted.  The concept is novel and our collaboration was in full force.  While she was here, I wrote and she painted.  We talked about our art forms till the wee hours of the morning.  Maybe I don’t have to shout, maybe we can team up and promote each other as we try to further our artistic endeavors by melding the two art forms.  I’m back to that freak of nature.  Please read about Uta's journey.  A month after she left, my healthy 83,454 novel was born October 4^th, 2012.