Phra Jan Will be an A4, Hardcover, Coffee Table Book...

Almost there; many edits by three different people and many revisions. I'm being especially diligent and detail oriented; far more than with When Elephants Walked Backwards.

It cannot be over emphasized how important editing is, and choosing carefully who is to be that editor. I am very fortunate that my wife is an English language scholar, whose knowledge of grammar is vast.

Publishing/marketing is my personal weak point (I couldn't sell air in a vacuum), so that's the next challenge. My wife was able to market 99% of my first book's printing, some of which were bought by tourists at museums.

I will have Phra Jan printed in A4, hardback, for the 1st edition. There are 18 A4 size, full color illustrations and cover in the Himmapan Forest style by the artist, Rewat Yutto (nick name Aek). As most know, coffee table quality is expensive, even here. While half the cost of having it done stateside, it's still an expensive investment.

Since everything is in place, it appears I'll print the first 500 copies in 2014, possibly January. Five hundred is not an arbitrary number. I wanted fewer, but the costs go up steeply with any less. The net difference would only amount to a few hundred dollars (about 15%). Which translates to 300 more copies.

Democracy Now on Yip Harburg; A man You Should Know

I'll let the show speak for itself; food for thought...

Amazon Buys Goodreads; very bad news...

I've not been active there in a while, but this cuts it! I'm out of there.
Screw Amazon and the horse (cash) it rode in on...
Both here and on my website, I've stated my case against, a long time ago.

Shock! The Illustrations are Back on Track...

Friday last, my illustrator Aek, contacted my wife to make an appointment to bring the remaining 12 paintings to our home. After recovering from my shock I said yes; he came at 4 the following Sunday.
Glory be! They were everything I had hoped for (and given up on) and more.
Just as his quitting was out of the blue; so was this phone call of his renewed efforts to finish his job.
Now, they're not 100% finished; however they are about 80% (all) and I gave the final approval for the finishing details as we had discussed. Aek indicated everything would be done by the end of this month.

I have considered deleting my previous post, but have thought the better of that; this blog is about writing, editing, printing, and publishing from beginning to end with all its joys, disappointments, failures, and mistakes; the entire process unvarnished; exposed for all to see.
So it will stay.
There are some lessons here and not wanting to push the river; I'll let those gems of life soak in over the next few months.

May your coming new year be as positive as mine. Cheers.

Bad News; Very, Very Bad News for Me...

After more than 3 years; "my artist" has decided he cannot do the job.
I'm left with 6 of 18 illustrations I needed. This is a style not easily found in today's Thai artists. Obviously I was mislead by him and his intent.
To say I'm upset is a gross understatement! It doesn't begin to describe my feelings, anger, and disappointment. He has failed me, himself, and his fiance' and nearly my own will to continue.
I've no idea how I will do the illustrations at this point and it inclines me to never count on anybody again.
What I will do is; regroup, rethink, re-evaluate and find a way forward.

Last of the Illustrations

Not dead yet... ;)
I finally received the last 6 illustrations for final approval, so Aek can finish them. Oddly enough he has a genuine problem with drawing a female face. This was a problem for rendering Khun Ya as described in the story.
Not really much more to report; except this has been a major set-back for my expectations.
I can handle it... :)

Wow, has it really been that long?

Fun or not; time flies. I'm sort of stuck: The book is finished and edited for the umpteenth time, but "my" artist is slow to finish. I considered just printing the book without pictures, but have been soundly rebuffed by those who have read the manuscript.
So, I guess I'll wait for the pictures...