In between being feasting with my family (two big dinner parties and one lunch party in two days), I’ve been devouring books on building an author platform (more or less the same as “audience”). Whew! SEO, Twitter, Facebook. Business cards. Headshots. What a lot to think about, and do! The good news is that I don’t need to do it all at once – in fact it might be wise to wait until I have a little more of the book complete, so the people brought in by these techniques can get a better idea of what the book’s about. So I have some time to absorb all this information.
Speaking of the book, the latest post went up yesterday – on the value of persistence – and you can read it (and the other posts) at http://www.creatingcraft.com . I’ll be publishing regularly, three times a week, at 7am Pacific time Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays – unless I get too far ahead in my writing, in which case I’ll up the frequency. (I’m currently two weeks ahead, which gives me a comfortable margin for attending Complex Weavers Seminars.)
Also, I’m adding a new section at the end of each post, titled Food for Thought, with a question meant to provoke interesting discussion. It’s my hope that people will participate through the comments section, and that the comments will be as interesting/valuable as the post itself. So comment away!
I’ve also made my first entry in my new journal. You can guess what I was thinking about when I made it:
I’ll be talking in my book blog about the Terror of the Blank Page in a week or two – in fact, it’s the beginning of the chapter on gathering & organizing ideas, so you’re not starting from a blank page.
Other than that, not much news – mostly I’ve been hanging out with family. I do have some free time today, so I may essay another journal entry and/or write a few more sections of the book.
I have, by the way, tentatively decided not to start another Big Project until I feel I have the book blog well in hand. Instead I’m going to focus my intellectual energies on getting all the book stuff set up (including the promotional bits), do the class in three-dimensional design as a second project, and work on katazome-on-warps as my tactile project. This means I probably won’t have Phoenix Rising ready for the next Convergence, but that’s OK with me – with only a year and a half or so, the timing would have been tight anyway, considering all the things I’d need to tinker with/do. I may do some smaller projects instead.
Food For Thought might be overdone; what about, in keeping with your theme, “Craft For Thought”?
Hi Sandra,
I’m thinking about this. I like the idea, but I haven’t been able to come up with something that isn’t jarring. “Food for thought” is commonly used enough that people don’t have to think about what it means – they know they’re supposed to think about whatever’s coming. “Craft for Thought” isn’t quite clear enough for my tastes, but I”m having trouble thinking of something that is clear enough to suit me. I’ll have to think about this!
envious…when confronted with a blank piece of paper and handed a pencil or pen and have to write…I either fall asleep or wander off. I write well when backed into a corner, but, on the whole, would rather not….