Book Illustrations are in full swing!

Hello All!!! I wanted to stop by and give a quick update. The illustrations have been in progress for a few weeks, and all of the sketching that I have been working on is starting to pay off. I am currently working on developing each of the characters. The process has been a little slower than I had originally anticipated. I started with a more cartoonish and simple style for the characters. The simplistic style proved to be too easy for me and I was not satisfied with the result so I have tried a few other angles until I finally arrived at the perfect combination of style for these characters. Now that I have found my stride I am confident that the rest of the design will come together really nicely. I am going to keep pushing this pencil around until the rest of it falls together. Perhaps we will post up some sneek peeks for you sometime soon :)

John

Getting the Ball Rolling Again...

John is on the job, and editing has been in my possession for months now. No, for over a year! My publisher is calling again and it's time to get this book done! I am seriously shocked with myself that I have sat on this for an entire year.  O_o

Well, I had lost my way and needed to find a way to get the book illustrated.  I debated, had people suggest new artists, student artists, etc. But to me,  it didn't feel right. Destiny brought me to John and I decided to give him a chance. He has been in touch and has started on the sketches and I hope to see him soon. We set up a contract and I paid a portion to get started, I will pay a portion upon delivery of the sketches, and I will pay the final portion upon completion. He seems dedicated in everything he does, so I am hopeful it will work out.

As far as editing I have been dragging my feet. I did edit and address the editors comments months ago, but waited to send it back. I still find it is good to let things sit awhile with writing. I did get back to it today after getting yet one more message from my publisher. So, I re-reviewed and sent it in! It has one more editing cycle and then they shift me to the people who assist with the layout.

The marketing department called me last week from the publisher too which I think was quite nice. When I get closer to release they will coach me and assist in doing some things I am not, so as not to duplicate but to assist. They have big marketing packages, but since this is all out of my pocket anyway, I am going to take the best advice and leave it to faith, my friends, and any followers I may develop along the way.

I spoke with a CPA too about how to be able to take a loss before I make a profit. Again. I want the profit to go to charity and hope I can at least make back what I have put into it.

I also used a local company to help me design a logo for the book series/company.  I have sat on their suggestions lately too. So I plan to get back to that and will share that with you all once I decide on the best design. Deciding is the hardest part. For now though, I have set things back in motion with the universe.