Little Pieces of Done, part II

 

how it started

how it's going

The 'how it started' photo isn't really accurate because it 'started' long before I got to that stage of creating a bibliography.

This book was the one I didn't want to write.  Actually I swore I would never write another book after I finished producing Magic in the Water.

And yet.  

And yet.

I was teaching and more and more I was focusing on issues of ergonomics and efficiency and understanding the principles of the craft.  Not to tell people what to do but to show them that what they did would produce certain results.  And if they wanted different results, perhaps they needed to change what they were doing.  And what they needed to do was affected by things like physics and anatomy.

If it hadn't been for a student who asked for a recommendation of a book for the techniques I had demonstrated for a class I was teaching, I probably would never have written the book at all.  Because I knew how challenging it would be to try and put into words phenomenon that in many cases needed to be demonstrated.

I had done the video for Interweave Press and thought that would be the end of it, but...a video can only show so much.  And what needed to be shared went far beyond just the demonstrations of posture, position and shuttle handling.  Because the craft is more than 'just' the physical activity - as important as that is.

If a person is going to master the craft, they need to be open and receptive to analyzing their results, and then changing what they are doing to meet the needs of their equipment, materials and skill.  And sometimes we get set in our way of thinking and need a nudge.

So I began.

And then life happened.  Repeatedly.  And I kept putting the effort on the back burner, vowing I was going to cut my 'losses' (loss of time, energy and brain power already invested) and let the manuscript 'die'.

Until something would happen and I would open the Word file and peck away at the keyboard again.

But truly, I did not want to write this book!

Over and over again, I was shown that it was necessary, and I kept at it.  For the best part of five years.

Until I realized I had done the best I could do and really needed professional guidance, so I contacted someone I knew who does technical editing and asked how much they would charge to help me complete the task of bringing this book, the one I didn't want to write, into final form.  From the time I contacted her until publication date was about 14 months.  During the writing of the manuscript my mother became sick (again - she'd been having health issues for 5 years) and died, and I was chairing a conference committee as well as travelling to teach and production weaving.

And I was having my own health issues.

If it hadn't been for Ruth Temple and her encouragement, support and keen editing eye, this book would have never seen light of day.

So when Facebook showed me the 'memory' from this day 4 years ago, it all came flooding back - all the little pieces of 'done' that got this book 'born' and into the wild.  

If you think the book is of value, you could review it for your guild.  I don't sell on Amazon, but there are other sites, like Good Reads where it could also be posted.  And you can buy it from blurb or if you want a signed copy, I left 15 signed copies at Sweet Georgia Yarns.  And if you want to learn from me, my classes on School of Sweet Georgia continue with two more in post production AND my lectures every two months, plus feedback and questions answered on the forums.

The greatest gift you can give an author is a good review posted somewhere.