Catchin' Up!

Without explaining the whys and wherefores, it's been a while since I've posted on my writing progress. So in a quick shot, let me bring you up to date. I've been working on several projects the past couple of years. One in particular is the project I have given the working title of "Nite". (I like one-word headings for my working titles.)

"Nite" is the culmination of 30 years of reflection, research and work. By saying that, I do not mean it is a memoir. I mean that what is getting onto the paper is a distillation of input and output over an extended period of time.

I finished the rough draft not too long ago and have been working it through several revisions. It appears that now is not a good time for the publishing industry -- unless you are a name or have connections. I am or have neither. And I'm not sure that is the direction I am to go.

In recent years, getting your own book published has moved from the level of "vanity" (isn't all publishing a form of vanity anyway?) to another segment of acceptable publishing. Recent advances in technology and the whole internet-computer transformation of the publishing industry have radically altered the writing, printing and marketing world. And that revolution is not over yet. Some bemoan this transformation in the time-honored manner in which all changes are bemoaned. I, for one, love both the changes and my dusty traditional books, though I must say I am having a hard time knowing what to do with all my papyrus scrolls.

So I am catching up on this brave new world and have launched a new publishing name: Fanno Creek Press. The first book will be the completed version of this project called "Nite" and we hope to have it out by the end of the year.

Right now it is in an extensive editing phase. Not me. No one does an honest job of editing their own work. "Not that phrase. I spent days on those words. If you take that out, the whole manuscript is ruined." You get the idea. So there are others doing the dirty work and I will blast them into infamy in my "Acknowledgments" section when the book comes off the presses.

My goal (notice that is not the same as a promise or a commitment) is to update you in this blog on a regular basis, let's say at least once a month, or more often when I really have something to say. Or if not, just because I feel like it.