Today was the day. After all the hard work of editing and re-editing, searching for a lost copy of an edit I especially liked and then proofreading that, I can officially say I’m done with Dorian 1.
Even though the copyright law has been amended to say any work created by an author belongs to that author, in our modern world with modern ways to obtain things, the advice I received at the last writer’s conference (Dallas has a great writer’s conference in Hurst every year!) is to copyright everything! It’s horrible and it’s a terrible side of writing but it’s part of the business.
Also, I got to copyright my first self-made image of cover art. It isn’t what I envisioned but, when I finally got it done, it looked just right and I believe it represents the contents of the text. Two submissions to the copyright office for text and for artistry will hopefully be approved within the standard three months. I’ll stay busy until then by packaging up Dorian 1 for publication and getting it ready. Then, when I receive the certificate, I can publish.
Whew! I was so disappointed in myself for taking so long. I love seeing the books in paper and being able to hold them. It’s been so much fun to publish and also very much an opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone. Illustrator definitely stretches me and learning new things gets harder with every decade that goes by. (I’m still 35. Honestly.) But it is a good thing to learn new things and stay relevant in our ever evolving society.
Still quilting but it had to take a back seat as I made curtains for the MBR. The next semester starts in just over a month and I’m still considering my long term options in education. I’d like to go for a Bachelor’s but I’m still on the fence. Then there’s the continuing renovation. I’m approaching the end of creating a Master Bedroom from the rubbish-filled ‘sunroom’ (It has a lot of windows.) my Dad left behind. And I’ve still got my writing. I’ll begin edits on Dorian 2 and also the creation of the cover art. I’d hoped to publish everything in quick secession but my desire to make them look professional and something I can enjoy means I need to take my time. And that’s fine too. I’m living a dream I’ve had for decades and I want to enjoy every moment and learn all the lessons I can from it.
W. M. Tag Writes 