Monday, October 21, 2013

Day 288 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author/publisher,
Dane F. Baylis

WHEW!!!

OR

LET'S SEE, JETHRO TULL DOING, "NOTHING'S EASY", OR MAYBE THE GRATEFUL DEAD, "WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN", OR HOW ABOUT THE BEATLES AND, "PAPERBACK WRITER"! MAESTRO, STRIKE UP THE BAND, PLEASE.

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I'm sitting here with a cup of sweetened cafe au lait with chicory enjoying a personally gratifying accomplishment. My chapbook is in its 99% finished form. All that remains is the final edit and conversion from Word to a .pdf file. After that, it will be sent to the printer.
 
Being away from literary projects for so long, I'd forgotten two things. The first was what an aggravating bastard it can be pulling everything together. The poetry, the formatting, the artwork, the layout. Every detail needs attention. Every decision needs a sounding board. (Thank god for the Editor-in-Wife's input at so many points along the way.) In the end, the whole thing stands, or falls, on my decisions.
 
The second is the sense of accomplishment. I'm no stranger to the editorial process, whether for my own work, or as a member of a staff of people trying to bring out an anthology or journal. There is something about being able to go through the whole thing, in paste-up or digitally, and be able to see it all from cover to cover. That it was all mine this time was daunting at times but, now that I've completed it - it's wonderful, even with the inevitable critiques that lie ahead. Right now I'm pretty damned happy.
 
What's next? Copyright registration, for one thing. That goes in before the actual release date, just to cover my ass. Also, I'm still thinking of setting up a Pay Pal account so I can offer this, and future work, for sale on-line. Is there anyone in the readership who has done this, or is presently doing it? I'd appreciate any advice you might have. Really!
 
Not that I'm expecting some kind of poetic best seller, but I think it might be worth a try. You can get ahold of me through this blog (See the box below.), or reach me at dbaylis805@gmail.com. There's also the possibility of doing a more direct mail operation, but in the digital age it just seems too antiquated and "iffy".
 
I've already begun thinking about a 'next' chapbook. The lead candidate at this point is one dedicated to my erotic works. These have received good reactions from mixed audiences and I feel there may be an opening for them. If I can maintain the momentum, I may think along the lines of a boxed set at some point. Several chapbooks offered as a single entity, kind of the round about route to a bona fide volume of poetry.
 
In the meantime, I've agreed to be an official alternate MC for one of the local poetry venues. Hey, as much as my ego would love to dominate my thinking at the moment, this has never been all about me. That's one of the reasons I've taken so long to get around to publishing anything other than the occasional piece, whether fiction or verse. There always seems to be someone more interesting to read, listen to, or promote. Guess I'm just a little gun shy!
 
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Meanwhile...live, love, write.
 
 
Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the
page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.
 
Tomorrow,
 
Dane F. Baylis
Author/publisher.
 

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