Mission almost accomplished

It is a rare time when I complete a self initiated project. But I am very close to doing that this upcoming month. I started writing what has now become an ebook as a blog as a way of releasing the frustration that is so common a precipitating force and I am so glad I just did! It  Not only has it accomplished said intent but it has become so much more. I always knew I was a "late bloomer", that the late great painter, Grandma Moses, was my inspiration.  She began painting at the young age of 72. Became world renown and died at 101. So whilst I have participated in many artist forms it is fun to start a new one so near the 3rd act.  I have to say the fact that work has the actual opportunity to be read by someone so quickly is a motivating and at the same time scary factor. Internet accessibility to possibly untold numbers or no one at all, makes putting ones work out a different and more democratic process than in the past. 

So soon the project will become an ebook and the ebook will be in the Ethernet and I can move on to the-next project. Learn some new skills, push myself, expose the naked underbelly. In the words of the famous (and  infamous) Martha Stewart: "that's a good thing."

Writing an E-Book.

An idea pops into my head. Ok, the truth serum is kicking in. An idea is germinated by something I hear on the radio. I decide to move forward with the idea, thinking it should be fairly simple, as I am going to crib most of it from my own seldom read blog. There was my first lesson. While cutting and pasting is somewhat simple for us, the e-book is a very specific creature. First I would have to choose between formats (cassette or 8 track? VHS or Beta? Soy or Coconut?). The Apple world has iAuthor. A fairly simple program, much like its other "art" programs; iMovie, iGarageband... Choose a design, drag and drop. Except when you want to do something else. Then arrggghh. The Kindle uses a more complex professional program, Adobe InDesign was the one I chose, that will let you do those "arrggghh" things, but it is far more time consuming. I started to format the book in both programs. The reason one can not just pick one is because if I publish in the easier one, Apple, I am forbidden from publishing on the Kindle brand, which cuts off the largest ebook store outlet, Amazon. But to save my sanity, I did pick one, hoping that some big author would sue and that problem would go away. So far, that hasn't happened.
But the real issue is not the formatting issues. The real issue is me. As we know from past musings, I am an underachiever. Laser-like focus on one project is not my best skill. I enjoy verring away. Taking a side road. Usually to a dead end, but as they say, its the journey. But now, as the final act begins, I desperately want to leave something. It seems that just having a body of under seen work is not enough. I don't have a child (the typical way of leaving something) and although I have been a part of many wonderful artistic endeavors, I don't have that one thing to point to. Not that one can physically hold an e-book, but you know what I am getting at.
However, (can't get the legalize writing out of me, no matter how many years have passed), I am slowly chipping away at it. I have 30+ pages lined up. Pictures too. Soon I will let someone else look at it and then I will have to be open to criticism and accept that some of the things I think are funny, just aren't. But that too will be ok. Because at the end of some day, I will have something to point to, even if it is on a iPad screen.