Support

Friends are those who, when you only see the darkness, will light a candle for you.  When beset by doubts, they will lift you up.  When you need a hug, will hold you in their thoughts if they cannot physically reach you.

To everyone who responded to my survey - thank you for responding.  You have lit enough candles to help me see my way...

No Perspective

As I mentioned previously, after wringing my brains out for the better part of four + years, off and on, I became completely devoid of of any kind of perspective on what I had done.

Today I took a wee look at the manuscript and - while there is still work to be done - and I'm not entirely sure - still - that it is going to be of use to people, I'm in way too deep to stop now.

Ms Editor has 'notes to self' sprinkled throughout and I can see where she is going with those notes.  However a book is a static thing and weaving is active.  How well will my words and the photos illustrate what I am trying to convey?

I just don't know.

However. 

However, I do have the DVD that was done for Interweave Press.*  I am hoping that between the book, the DVD, the video clips I've loaded onto You Tube and these blog posts, that people will be able to figure things out and find the best practices for their own approach to weaving.

Ms Editor has commented that it might be possible to embed live links to the You Tube videos for the pdf version and/or provide the URLs for the print version so that people can go look if they want to see the actions.

And this is one reason why I hired professional help.  I have learned over the years to do some things on the internet, but this sort of thing (embedding video links, publishing something like a book for on line purchase) is way above my pay grade!

Several people have asked about the print version of the book, what kind of format it will be.

We are looking at 8 x 10" page size and there are options for soft cover and hard cover.  Of course hard cover will cost more, but it might be possible to have three or four formats - a pdf/Kindle, soft cover, hard cover.

Each format would have it's own price of course and some time and effort will be required to figure it all out.  I think each format also needs it's own ISBN number and once the ms is 'done' and sent out to the review readers, perhaps there will be time to get those things sorted out.

As mentioned previously I have been convinced to offer a pre-publication opportunity.  It won't exactly be 'pre-publication' as much as it will be a chance for me to order in a significant number (thank you to all who took the time to respond on my survey) of printed books and have them shipped to me for signing.  I would then ship to those people who 'pre-ordered' from me.  Printing a larger number of books takes several weeks so they would be shipped out sometime in late January, early Feb, depending on when they arrive here.

There may also be an additional incentive to purchase directly from me in the pre-pub opportunity - still working on that.

Once the actual ms is completed and sent out for the reviewers, there may be more tweaks to be done based on feedback, plus I may have opinions/feedback of my own.  Apparently I have opinions.  I'm sure you'd never have guessed!

My flight to meet for the final view/editing is booked for Nov. 27, which was my father's birthdate.  We are still hoping to push publish on Dec. 2, which was my brother's birthdate.  That will give several days for the two of us to sit and review the entire thing and then...leap...


And before I forget -

One of the things I have been asked about is wholesale orders for shops.  Once I have final pricing figured out, I will work out a wholesale price for shops and they can order from me as part of the pre-pub order that I will be putting in.  Stay tuned...

Currently reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

* wait until a sale comes along, which they do especially around holiday time...

Thoughts on Publishing a Book

My little library with electric stapler used to staple the samples into Magic in the Water

One of the things I did in high school was take typing and a class called Office Practices.  The latter class looked at various things one might do if they were working in an office -  double entry bookkeeping, using a calculator (before there were digital ones), maintaining files, working on large projects that required research (pre-Google).  I also acted as editor of the school newspaper, writing and typing the content onto Gestetner stencils.

When I left high school I worked a variety of jobs, mostly office work because I had the training in terms of typing, filing, bookkeeping, developing a budget, reading financial statements and so on.

So when I became a weaver I already had experience in running big printing jobs, researching for big projects, knew how to touch type at a fairly decent correct words per minute.

It wasn't that big a stretch to begin developing class handouts for workshops and writing magazine articles.

Over the years, I was involved in conference planning and execution, flying all over the continent teaching, organizing materials and handouts for the classes.  In other words, developing and executing multiple Big Projects.  Frequently concurrently.

I started the Guild of Canadian Weavers master weaver program, where once again I had to think through and successfully execute the course requirements, then for the final level research and execute a paper.  In those days it was called a monograph.  (Several published books were developed out of the monograph master weavers wrote for the guild tests - Linda Heinrich, Jane Evans, and mine being just three.)

So it wasn't that huge a leap from monograph to deciding - at the urging of many - to turn my research on wet finishing into Magic in the Water.

As part of that publication I decided that the most valuable thing I could do was provide before and after samples to illustrate the change that happens when you do a+b+c and then wet finish it so that people could see and touch the loom state and the wet finished samples.  I felt that this would convince people of the necessity of doing wet finishing (and maybe help them understand why I use the term wet finishing instead of 'washing'.)

At the same time as I was planning, writing and weaving the samples I was also production weaving for a fashion designer as well as myself.

I will be completely honest.  Not only was it hard physically, it was hard financially and emotionally.

Eventually I stopped counting how much the creation of Magic actually cost because it had grown like the proverbial Topsy and to really know just how much it cost in terms of money was too scary.  By then I had invested too much to stop and denial was the only way forward.

My goal was 1000 copies.  I started with 20 projects, before and after samples.  Typical warp was 40 yards, 48" wide.  Eventually I would add some more as I tried to sell all of the copies.  In the end I sold about 900 complete (or enhanced) copies and 100 went as reduced project samples copies (or donations.)

When asked when my next book would be I would say "Not in this lifetime!"

And yet.  And yet.  Here I am.

This time the internet is a thing.  Websites for on line publishing are available.  The topic doesn't require actual samples, but colour photos are 'easy' and people can have a choice between pdf or print-on-demand.

The content of The Intentional Weaver is not meant to be a 'how to learn to weave' but tips on how to get better results by explaining - as best I can - the science of textile creation.  Of explaining how things work.  Whenever I have taught I find that if people are told why something is happening, they can better understand how to change what they are doing in order to get closer to what they are aiming for.  How to make intentional choices instead of just doing anything they can think of.  (Which isn't bad, just not my approach to textile design - others may have differing opinions.)

By helping people understand the mechanics of the equipment, the inherent fibre characteristics and how spinning can affect those characteristics, how the change in density will affect the function of the cloth and basic info on understanding weave structures, I hope to help people along the slippery end of the learning curve.  To make things less frustrating, more enjoyable.  By providing information on ergonomics, to reduce discomfort and even possible injury.

But most of all, I hope to encourage people to learn as much as they can and work with intention - if they feel that is appropriate to their practice.

I spent the better part of four years (in between various health crises - my own and my mother's) wringing my brain out onto the paper.  It was about this time last year (likely on the way to the cancer clinic to find out that yes, indeed, the cancer was back again) that I found myself in tears, completely unable to even look at the manuscript.  The decision to hire a professional editor was not made in haste - it was another level of expense I would have to build into the investment I would need to make into bringing this information to people.  But again - I had spent too much time and energy to give up when I was now close enough to see that I could not afford to stop, again.  As I had with each health crisis.  This was just one more and I didn't have to do it All By Myself - there were resources out there who could help.  And I needed the help.

So I turned the manuscript over to Ms Editor and I focused on weaving the textiles that I felt needed to be included to understand the weave structures I felt needed to be in the book.  And let the editor do her job.

The Intentional Weaver is, in it's way, almost as big a job as Magic.  There will not be samples, partly because I don't think I will live long enough to produce another Magic!  But I could write as completely and clearly as I could about the things that all weavers should (imho) need to know if they want to design and create their own unique textiles.

I have intimate knowledge about what goes into producing a book from a self-publishing point of view.  The concept through to planning, writing (editing, editing, editing for clarity), the photos required, the samples to illustrate, all the way through to marketing, shipping, so on and so forth.

I had originally vowed to not do any shipping this time because I was all too familiar with how much work shipping Magic was and with the blurb.ca website willing and able to do the shipping for me?  Why on earth would I do that.

Except people wanted to buy directly from me.

So I had a chat with Doug and he and I will do this as part of a pre-publication effort.  My editor has also encouraged me to do pre-publication offer as well as friends - it was not an easy decision, but with the support of Doug, we can do this together.

The blurb.ca website does no marketing as such for their authors, but they do provide marketing advice and some tools.  Since I have done this before - it is not my first ro-dey-o - I will likely put most of my effort into my known marketing connections.

I have asked several people if they will read the ms when it is ready and if they like it, provide a cover blurb.  Because it will be helpful if potential buyers have not just my perspective and word, but honest feedback from others.

For anyone not familiar with publishing, there is much work done that never sees the light of day.  People sometimes ask why books cost so much.  Why can't authors/teachers just share what they know?

Bottom line answer to that question is...authors/teachers have to eat, keep a roof over their heads, pay the electrical bill to keep their computers running, keep their vehicle running so they can take stuff to the post office, etc.  I don't know of a single weaving/spinning author/teacher who is independently wealthy.  So we have to charge for our work.  Because that is what writing/teaching is - work.  It is our work.  Our profession.

And as much as I would like to share for free?  I cannot.  You do have my word, however, that whatever price I put on it will be as low as possible.  The reality is that the retail price has to cover the investment I have and will make in terms of making the book, the percentage I will have to pay to blurb.ca for their service of providing bandwidth for the book, the print-on-demand price of them doing the printing, the financial fees (banking, Paypal, credit card fees) - and all those 'hidden' costs that businesses pay just to stay in business, like sales taxes (GST will be charged for in Canada purchases), accounting services, and so on.

This past weekend saw our first craft fair of the season.  I started the season low on inventory.  And while I didn't get as much weaving done as I'd hoped due to the fall and tearing up my knee pretty badly, I cannot focus on that.  There are two more shows to do.  I won't likely be able to get any weaving done now until after we are home from Calgary.  At which point it will be time to pack and leave for the final push for The Intentional Weaver.

We are still on track for Dec. 2.   And I fight against the doubt, uncertainty and fear of doing another book.  But my mother always called me stubborn.  And so I persist...because yes.  I am stubborn.  And I will do this thing.  I'm in too deep to stop now.  Sink or swim time...

Table of Contents

Page two of the Table of Contents.

If you heard a squee, that was me, downloading the professionally edited rough draft of The Book.

I immediately hied myself to Staples, where I printed it out in all it's full colour glory.  And gulped at the price.  It was a cool $125 to print it out, double sided, hole punched, full colour, currently 204 pages, 160+MB file.

Given that, plus we still don't know final cost via the website, my checking the prices of other weaving books...and I'm going to have to go higher than planned in terms of retail price. 

Ruth has done a great job of detailing the contents on the contents pages (there are three), which should make finding what people are looking for a lot easier.

There is still work to be done but at some point you just need to see it on the page, especially if the whole point is to offer print-on-demand.

We are more or less set up for the first craft fair of the season.  Taking a closer look at the binder full of pages is going to have to wait until next week. 

But it feels like a huge hurdle has been cleared.

Currently reading Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.

Swimming Upstream

A reminder today that even though it feels as though I'm swimming upstream, the stream will end, the deadlines will come - and go - that I can only do the best I can do.  And that I don't need to do it all by myself.

As women, conditioned to taking care of everyone else, we forget to take heed of the flight attendant - when the oxygen masks drop, put yours on first.  If you help everyone else before you help yourself, you won't be able to help anyone at all, very quickly.

One of the reasons I love the fibre community is that it is comprised of a large number of strong, capable women.  Women who take care of each other.  Who encourage and support each other.  We are very much a community.

Tomorrow will be fraught for me.  I have to get to the lab to do the blood work needed before my cancer clinic appointment.  I have a flu shot booked for 11:30.  And Doug will be unloading and starting the set up of my booth at the university by himself while I go to the clinic for my three month appointment and Rx renewal.

In terms of my health, well, what can I say.  I'm living with cancer.  For me it's a chronic condition, much like people living with other chronic conditions.  I have daily medication to take.  Medication which comes with a list of adverse effects that curtail my life.  On the other hand, I am living with cancer, not currently dying from it.  Truth be told, my cardiac issues will likely take me out before the cancer does.

The next six weeks are a pressure cooker of deadlines.  However, I have lived my life with a rolling thunder of deadlines so that is not new.  What is new is the constant feeling of being unable to do much.  Of feeling fragile.  Tired.

I would say I'm getting old, which is true, but most of my issues are related to adverse drug effects.  So I must daily remind myself that I am not lazy, I'm tired.  I must remind myself to be careful in the words I choose.  I am not a slug, I am resting.  I am not giving up, I am rationing my energy.

I choose to encourage, support and be a cheerleader for others.  I recognize that I am now old enough to mentor younger people.  I have done enough, seen enough, traveled enough that I can begin to step aside and let those with more energy step up.

Wayne Dyer talked about the stages humans go through.  Mentoring was one that he felt was perhaps the most valuable.  So I choose to embrace that role.  Which is one reason why I am so determined to get the book out into the wider world.  So that those who find it useful, will be helped.

As always, Weave Like a Pirate - Accept the things I share, Adapt to make them more appropriate for you, or Reject as being not helpful.  AAR.

But most of all, I embrace my friends who have helped me in getting the book to this point.  I literally could not have done it without you.

Disappointment

One of the most difficult things about writing a book - any book - is the fear.

Will readers be disappointed?  Will I deliver content that they want to read?  Will they be satisfied with the price they have paid for the book?  Will they tell their friends it's good...or bad?

I am not alone in feeling this.  I follow a number of authors on line and most of them, in one way or another, have to grapple with this fear of failure.

A work of fiction takes - typically - a year, sometimes longer.  Technical books can take a lot longer.  A friend was involved in writing a textbook for higher mathematics on a rather esoteric aspect of the science and it took them (there were three as I recall) three years from conception to publication.  She got the first actual in print books last month.

An archeologist I follow on Twitter is in the process of writing a book on latest developments in her science and it took her a year to write it with publication date next August (last I heard).

It's been a while since I've purchased a weaving book and when I went looking realized that publishing a book in such a small market means that prices simply have to be higher.  As I've gone through the publishing website crunching numbers I was trying very hard to keep the price as low as possible, but realized that it was going to take forever to pay off the cost of publishing the book. Feedback from people who have commented here and on Facebook has encouraged me to go a little higher.

But every time I notch the price up...the fear returns.  Will I price myself completely out of the market?  Will early purchasers be disappointed?  Will they tell their friends to not bother?  Sell their copies at huge discounts, just to get rid of it?

Ms Editor says she is very near completion of the ready-for-review version of the ms.  We have asked three people to read it and - if they feel it worth it - provide a cover blurb.  Another has agreed to read and provide an introduction.

My friends have kept me going forward on this project, helped me push through the fear.

And you, gentle readers, have responded to the survey in a way that a) warms my heart and b) ramps up the fear.  Will you all be disappointed?  Or will you find it helpful?  Only time will tell...

Topsy

The photo is a scanning electron microscope image of a single silk filament.  It is finer than a hair and deceptively strong.

Our world, our society is made up of strands of connections in so many ways.  None of us is singular.  We all interact with others, sometimes forming close bonds with them, sometimes lives becoming twined with another.  As the silk filaments are grouped together, they grow first into a yarn, then several of these yarns may be twisted into something larger - and even stronger - than just itself, all on it's own.

Well, my project has done much the same thing.

It started with an idea.  An idea that grew and expanded, originally from fewer than 100 pages to now?  Potentially over 200.  It has grown with the input and energy of others.  First my alpha readers who gave me crucial feedback.  And I continued to add information as I thought of other things that really needed to be between the covers of one book.

Much of what I know I have learned by trying things.  Sometimes I failed.  And rather spectacularly at that.  But each failure was just another step on the journey of learning.

I always thought of Edison who, when asked how it felt to fail to find a filament for the light bulb more than 600 times responded that he had not failed!  He had found 600 plus ways of NOT making a light bulb filament!

Today I worked on the bibliography.  Ms Editor has already begun pulling book titles out of the manuscript but that was just the tip of the iceberg.  So today I rummaged through my library and tried to format the information in a way that would cause the least amount of work for her.  I'm not sure I entirely understood her directions, but I worked on it for nearly 90 minutes and ended up with another page - more with the actual font that will be used.

So the book grew by at least another two pages, just today.

And that didn't include any magazine articles, DVD's or other media.  Which I am still thinking about and may - or may not - include.

However, when I talk about the input others have had into this project?  I must also acknowledge all the people I have learned from.  All the class instructors, the authors, the workshop/seminar leaders, the people who exhibited their textiles at conferences and who talked with me over meals.  My friends who contributed projects for illustration and inspiration.

All of those people are also a part of this project.

Learning a craft is seldom done without some sort of input from others.  And with their contribution to my foundation of knowledge, this publication is growing.  Just like Topsy.