Not quite stalled, but...

...not going forward on the elephant book. My wife's Ajarn 3 (teacher-3) project is due the 31st; so 100% is going towards that. I help where I can. So, the book fair in BKK is history. I'm hoping to tell the printer to print on Saturday the 4th (Feb), but that may be too optimistic, LOL.

In the meantime I've started another book (my first non-fiction) and did one complete edit of Phra Jan. I hope to have Phra Jan printed in June. But, until my wife gives it the final okay, no deal, the same as with my elephant book. This has been a much longer process than I expected; partially my inexperience coupled with doing everything myself for the first time. The next book will go much smoother because I'll know what to expect.

Keep on truckin; there is no place to rest...

We've gotten the 2nd handmade version of my book...

...as scheduled and I've only found 1 mistake so far; but my wife/editor has yet to proof it because she's deeply involved with her own project for her job grade rating. I'll miss the BKK Book Fair, which I'd rather not have, but...oh well. Truly, it's not the end of the world. It's held twice a year and, just maybe, I'll have my second book as well for that second shot.

I must say; my printer is most excellent, as they have acquiesced to every request and gone out of their way to please. Given I've not had any experience with printers in the U.S.; I can't even imagine they would service us like this and not charge extra...a lot! But, I could be wrong, maybe.
One can only strive, because there is no place to rest...

Open Office.org is wonderful...

...I have used it to straighten out the screwed up formatting on my website. The two chapters from my two books are now looking proper. Centered and justified; they now look as they should for the first time. They are also edited and updated and should be error free...you are welcome to point out any errors you find.

Thanks to Open Office; I saved the files to HTML and then cut and pasted those files into the text editor on my web hosts page editor. Finally, I may be figuring this out.

No place to rest...

Seemingly, it never ends...

...the editing, that is; it just never seems to end. Editing a book is like peeling away the layers of an onion and in a way, it is similar. Fortunately, my printer (and editor) are possessed of infinite patience (more than me at times). Today, I/we finished the fourth edit of the manuscript at the office of the printer. A finished copy will be mailed to us and we will comb it for any missed errors. There should be few to none. We've distilled it down to the final liquor so to speak. This is my fault; being a newbie, I was indulgent of sophomoric colloquialisms and punctuations that soon became glaring amateurisms that offended even me. LOL. Live and learn. Fortunately my wife is a fierce editor who will take no prisoners. Perfection isn't even a consideration; but a readable book with no glaring mistakes is an attainable goal. That is all I expect. That is what I strive for. So, no more statements of future deadlines; only an announcement of a finished, published, copy in my hand: Coming soon. EOM.

There is no place to rest...

Riddles

I was just sitting there looking at the screen when I felt something wrapping itself around my right arm. Startled, I looked down and there was a cobra staring at me; not threatening, just looking.
With thoughts it said, “What will you do?”
With thoughts I said, “I don’t know.”
“You summoned me,” said the cobra.
“Are you sure?” said I.
“Oh, yes, otherwise I would not have come,” said the cobra.
“Then please tell me; what did I summon?” said I.
“You summoned me,” said the cobra.
“Did I summon life, or death?” said I.
“You only summoned me and I hold both, the choice is yours,” said the cobra.
“How is it we ponder the choices of life and death and we understand neither?” said I.
“I don’t know, because for me there is no choice; it’s one or the other, neither a choice, ever,” said the cobra.
“We humans spend a life time trying to answer the riddle of life and death,” said I.
“We non-humans live until we die; we don’t commit suicide, and there is no riddle regarding life and death,” said the cobra.
“Please, bite me,” said I.
As the cobra glided its undulating body away, across the floor, dead was I; free of the life not lived.

Here is the front and back cover for my book

Close, very, very close to printing. The bar code includes the Thai price in baht and the U.S. retail price in dollars. I was going to get two sets of stickers, but that didn't seem very professional; so I added both prices and had it printed to be integral with the book.

She who must be obeyed...

...my wife is merciless; no, fierce, when it comes to editing. She insisted that we have the last corrected copy (today) printed out as a book (by the printer) to make sure. They will mail the copy to her on Monday (including the cover art/back cover w/bar code). I couldn't believe how many mistakes she found after two previous edits. Incredible! It never ends...alas, but it must. So the only question is; how many mistakes are acceptable? My answer is; damn few. Thank god for my editor! I know she's right; but I want my book for the Bangkok Book Fair on March 26th. The looming question is; will I have it? I don't know for sure; for she who must be obeyed will have the final word, as it must be.

There is no place to rest, no more, forever (forgive me Chief Joseph).

Bar codes; mystery solved...

...My printer told me they didn't do bar codes, they said the Thai National Library supplied bar codes. I emailed the TNL and they don't supply bar codes, only ISBN's; the printer supplies the bar code. So, back to the printer; oh, yes they do, they misunderstood; no problem. So, I'll get a bar code. The learning curve is starting to actually begin to curve, finally breaking its vertical ascent. The view (so to speak) from up here is grand. Hopefully it just gets better...

My true love, Phra Jan, will follow soon. Let the editing begin.

No place to rest...

The last edit...Not!

...Today I spent 4 hours at the printers correcting the errors discovered by my wife (my editor), so the book will be error free. My illustrator (whose English is excellent) is the one who corrected the Adobe files at the printers. Now, their (the printers) files are the same as my edited files; theoretically error free. Are they really error free; probably 99%: I can live with 1%; can you? I would simply add that I'm astounded by the subtle and not so subtle errors discovered after 10 readings by me (the author) and discovered by my wife. It's a real lesson in humility and trusting somebody else to proof your writings. That's the real lesson here; let somebody else (you trust) edit your story. LOL, there's no other choice.

There is no place to rest...