Dinner in the Field and other stories

I find you can discover your strengths at any age.  For example, I find I’m a better writer than I am an editor.  I have a full-length draft of a memoir that I’ve devoted countless hours to, and it’s finally finished.  I’m anxious to move on to new material. 

But finishing the book is not the same as completing the project.  Doing it right, I’m told, entails a less than sixty-second elevator pitch, a polished query letter not more than a page used to pitch the book to agents and publishers, and a synopsis not to exceed five pages.  In addition, a professional line edit is needed, the question of self-publishing answered,  and a marketing plan developed.  And what about a web page? 

I admit I’ve been spoiled.  For twenty years, both at work and in retirement, I have simply put stories and articles on Blogspot, a Google platform for bloggers.

https://daveintheshack.blogspot.com

I then put that link on my personal Facebook page and use MailChimp to send it to a list of email addresses from the shack.  It takes five minutes.  When that is accomplished, I usually go into the house, make myself a drink, and tell my wife I put out a new blog.  Done.

Readers interested in the new blog entry simply hold the control button and click the link (if they are on their computer) or touch the link on their smartphone to enter the world of Dave in the shack.  The new story is at the top, and years and years of stories follow.

But you already know that.  If you’re reading this, you successfully linked to Dave in the Shack.  It’s the only place I’ve ever published my writing, except Constant Contact at YSB (until 2012) and the Ottawa Times newspaper when they had more staff and more time to manage The Write Team. 

Thanks to that simple blog platform, I’ve always had readers, received feedback, and gotten a lot of personal satisfaction.  I’ve not made a dime.  But that was never the point.

This new publishing project is more than a blog post.  It’s forty-eight (48) related stories that together make up a full-length book.  To do a project of that size justice, you publish a paper edition and make a digital edition available through Amazon et al.  It’s real publishing.  It comes at a cost.  And it’s a considerable amount of work.

But I’ve learned not to confuse it with writing.  For me, writing has always been a joy.  Publishing a book feels like real work.  I’m in the midst of it now.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for reading to the very end.