*note: I copied this from a thread in the bathroom today.
Some people wanted to know if this project was still going
on - and this was my response. It is JUST to keep everyone
updated, and shouldn't be taken as a rant, a complaint or
just me being bitchy in general . I just wanted to make sure
that all the authors who have been waiting SOOOO patiently
are not left out of the communication loop.
The LE tutorial book is STILL in the works. Elizabeth did a smashing job of
gathering the info and pulling it together, and then when she was unable to
complete it - I stepped in.
It's taken ages to get everything together properly and make sure that
everyone's butt is covered in the process. It took many months to get all the
signed releases returned for the tutorials (some of which had to be custom
tailored to keep the talent happy with the wording). The tutorials came in
all kinds of shapes and sizes and formats - so it's been a struggle to get
everything converted into a cohesive package.
In the midst of all this, I personally had a medical crisis which resulted in
me being out of commission for several months. Then everyone here was
very sick with the colds that were going around (three times!).
My Graphic designer came down with the flu, a really bad cold, and finally
Scarlett Fever (of all things!) before she finally had to drop out of this
project.
Right now, I have someone else working with me on the details that are left
to get this completed. Honestly, I could have it completed yesterday - but
because of all the objection, this has become a not-for-profit undertaking
and all the people working on it (including myself) are doing this in their
spare time for no moolah - so I'm definitely relying on the "kindness of
strangers". I actually just priced it out today with a firm that does stuff like
this, and in spite of me dropping the phrase "NOT FOR PROFIT" about
a gazillion times, it still came to four figures. So again - since I don't have
an unlimited staff of Graphic designers at my beck and call like Lark Books or
Step by Step Magazines, I'm doing the best I can with bribes of beads and
baubles.
Even though I've been asked, I have been hesitant about putting together
a printed listing of all the tutorials included, because I didn't want to have to
commit people if they received a better offer for their tutorials elsewhere.
I didn't think that would be fair to them. Once the book is uploaded, THEN
I will put an index page together so people can see what is included.
For what it's worth - the lessons I have learned from doing this have
guaranteed that ANY other project I do of this nature in the future will
go MUCH more smoothly. I personally made a TON of mistakes - both in
underestimating the time it would take to put together something of
this nature, and of course - my lovely faux pas where I pissed an incredible
amount of people off and hurt a lot of feelings in the beginning. But hey,
we live and we learn. I think that in in spite of (and probably because of)
all the criticism I received, it really helped make me a better person
(crossing fingers).
So - that's where that stands. The book is still on. I work on it every spare
second I get, and I have someone working on the cover as we speak.
...and for the record, there is also no immediate gratification in the publishing
world. I have several friends who have books published, and their books
took several years to come to print. It is a very rare occasion where someone
writes a book and has it come out in a very short time (unless it involves
you having sex with someone famous or politically connected. Then all bets
are off).
If anyone else has any questions about this, PLEASE feel free to email me
and I will glad to answer them for you
.