What is it like to finally get the book you wrote in your hand for the first time?

After working over a year on writing, organizing, revising and illustrating my book I opened up the mailbox, and there it was at last; a priority envelope with a copy of my work, BEYOND THESE DARK LANDS ARE EDGES OF JOY, WORDS OF COMFORT AND HOPE, my Collection of poems. 

On the inside, I am dancing for joy. 

I went upstairs to my desk and opened the packaging. The book looked beautiful and just the way I hoped it would be. I sat down and looked at the illustrations I made for it and was very happy with the drawings. I was able to open the book and sit in a chair and read it for the first time as an audience and not as a wordsmith full of doubts and second guesses. It was a time of sweetness and pure indulgence, it was the only worthy way to reward my work. 

The printing company, The Book Patch, did a nice job, I was afraid it would be an inferior job or second-rate, but not at all. They took my work and produced a book that would stand with pride on the bookshelf at any store. I am eager to show it to all my friends. 

I am immediately aware of the many people who helped me along the way; without their help, I would

Holding My Book
 At Last!

not have been able to accomplish this task. I am very grateful for their help and encouragement. 

But this is not the end of the road because as hard as it was to write the book I am beginning to understand that promoting and marketing it is much harder. 

Obviously, I have the blog and the Facebook page, and a website under development. But I am beginning to see that getting my book of poems to market may be the harder part of the enterprise.

I've been thinking of this project as a piece of creativity and an expression of my devotion to God and service to others. Now I have to think of this book as a product or a piece of inventory and myself not as an author but as its marketing agent. In fact, if someone were to ask me I would not say I am a poet or writer, I would say that I am a publisher in a niche market.

So the moment of elation is over. Now I am going to go and write a business plan.

(c) Adron 2/28/18

What Is My Purpose For This Collection Of Poetry?

I have written poetry since elementary school. I love the art form, and the way poetry can say something in a meaningful way. For some people poetry is cathartic, a method of therapy, self-discovery, a way to vent, for others it is a powerful tool for communication.  For me, it is some of that but something more.

GOD SAID, DONT WRITE THAT ONE (FOR NOW)
When I started this project I was already working on another one but felt that God was calling me to turn from it and build this collection, instead.

GOD SAID, WRITE THIS FOR NOW
I was sitting in church and listening to the pastor preach and I don't remember what he was preaching about but somehow I began to think about all the hurting people in this world. I believe that my writing is a way to help others. Maybe my poems will help them take a step forward or maybe my poems will inspire them to keep on going and not give up. Maybe my poems might give hope to someone who feels they are at the end of their rope.

THE VISION (I mean that metaphorically- I am a poet)
This book of poems might reach someone who would never go inside a church or see a counselor. A concerned friend might share it with someone who is going through a loss or hurt. A pastor might leave it after praying with someone over a tragedy and they can read it when they are ready. It might be in the lobby of a house of worship and a person with a secret pain might pick it up when no one is looking and later in quietness find comfort and hope.

GOD GIVES US DREAMS
I always wrote poetry and always dreamed of publishing a book. I believe God puts dreams in our hearts to help guide us. Of course, the primary way He reveals His will is through His Word the Bible. From the Scriptures, I know His will is for us to share the Gospel and be His witness. So balancing the scriptures and my dream to publish my poetry I wrote this book of poems for those who are hurting and struggling with the deepest hurts and losses in life. In this book are words to comfort and hope to people. It is not another book of cheap overused platitudes, nice sayings or vague nonsense but offers hope that is thoughtful and substantial. I wanted the meanings to be easily found but leave you with much to think about while pointing to the God of all Comfort and His Christ.

THE GOOD NEWS
This book concludes with an appendix which is a three-page explanation of the Gospel of God's love and His Son's sacrifice to pay for our sins. I hope that the poems and scriptures will be used by God's Spirit to prepare a person's heart so that when they read through to the end and they will learn how they can have hope in Christ.

(c) Adron 2/25/18

Should my Book of Poetry have a Theme?

Should I arrange my book of poetry with a theme, or should I just put a random bunch of my poems into a collection? I thought about it a lot before starting this project. Many questions came to my mind such as, would a collection based on a theme be pretentious or insincere?  Would working within a theme cause my writing to be forced and not as good as I would like it to be? Would it compromise my focus?

NO THEME?
It is easy to just randomly put a bunch of your favorite poems into a collection and title it something. I suppose there are times where that is O.K. Maybe random poems can be the theme of your book. A collection of favorites might not have a theme and might be fine.

PROS
There are a lot of good reasons to work within a theme.

• A theme will give the collection unity and the reader will have expectations as they travel through the collection.
• A theme will give it a place in the market.
• A theme makes it easier to explain what the collection is all about.
• A theme will help the reader know what to expect.
• A theme will give the collection structure.
• A theme is more engaging and offers the chance to explore a subject in diverse ways.

CONS
There are reasons to not give the collection a theme.

• You may run out of interest or inspiration.
• A themed collection requires more commitment.
• The subject of the theme may require a lot of research.
• Whenever you have inspiration you can write without worrying if it fits the theme.
• You need to know the subject well or your collection will be laughable.
• You might get done and wish you had chosen a different theme.
• You might never get done.
• Everybody is writing about the same theme.
• Maybe no one is interested in the theme you choose to write about.

YES
After giving it much thought I choose to base this collection on a theme. I felt passionate about the theme of God's comfort.  There are a lot of hurting people in the world, people whom God loves. I believe we should use our gifts and talents for good whenever we have the opportunity. So, I chose to make this collection about comfort and hope in God during times of personal darkness.

Time may judge my wisdom.


If you would like to read a sample poem choose the link below for the website.

(c) Adron 2/17/18

Learning How to Put Illustrations Into The Pages Of My Book Of Poems, Using Word.

For my book of poems, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges Of Joy, I drew about 100 individual illustrations, one for each poem. I had no idea what I was getting into!

I wanted the illustrations to fill the page and be behind the poems. At first, I thought I would use Word and open the shape feature on the insert tab in the toolbar, then use "fill" to insert the picture behind the text. That worked ok but since the illustrations were ink drawings and therefore black the words got too hard to read and the picture had what looked like a lot of black smudges making a rough rectangle where the poem was. I tried to add a layer with another shape to block out or fade the illustration just behind the words but lost too much of the image.

I next tried to open a shape and place it somewhere on the page to the right of the poem, since most of my poems are like a column there was room on most pages. The image on some pages looked ok but on many, they lost effect or some area of the picture that was important was too small to appreciate.

So as I did each page I went back into my picture files and used photo gallery to crop, (after making copies of the original) so the smaller picture would still be effective. Each picture fit nicely on the page though some were disappointingly small. I liked how it was not a poem in a picture but a picture illustrating a poem.

The insert shape feature on my toolbar offers many shapes and I thought it would be nice if some were round, others square, and a few rectangles. I did not like how inconsistent it looked like someone couldn't make up their mind and it seemed amateurish. So I redid each page with the illustrations as a circle. Again, I lost some of the edges of some images and had to return to cropping, and since my illustrations were originally a rectangle to insert them into a circle caused Word to distort the image. I went back to every image and cropped again into a square so the picture would not be distorted when I inserted it.

It was starting to look good.

I was afraid that the outside edge of some of the drawings would get lost because they went beyond the page margin. I was not happy with guessing where the margins were on each page even though I set the margins. There is a "View" feature on the toolbar and I found one of the pulldowns was a grid. I used the grid and found it lined up with the margins. Using this grid I could place the images within the margins of the page. The grid took away the guesswork. The grid helped me to make sure each image was the same distance from the poem, the page bottom, and the outer margin, so there was consistency.

It was a lot of work and took about 60 hours of my time over two weeks, but after spending three months drawing the pictures I was not going to quit.

As I review I know there may be a little tweaking here and there but I feel the book is becoming a product I will be proud of.

If you would like to read a sample poem choose the link below for the website.

(c) Adron 2/7/18

What Happens When Your Finish Illustrating Your Book Of Poems?

I've spent the last three or four months illustrating my book of poems, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges Of Joy.

I am relieved to have finished the last drawing. These illustrations are all black line drawings. Each drawing took about six hours and had at least three drafts. I used multiple techniques to create them while trying to maintain a consistent style across all the pictures. I am happy with my work even though a couple may need further revision.

It was harder to draw the illustrations than writing the poems. It was harder because I wanted to balance each poem with its illustration; then to have each illustration share a theme throughout the book. So I drew a road in almost every picture. It is a road in which the reader travels through this land. I was afraid that there would be too much of the same thing and that all the pictures would look like the same road scene, so I spent a lot of time looking at pictures getting ideas.

So my question is now that I've finished the drawings what do I do next? Do I scan them into my computer or download a photo image from my camera?  Do I save them into PDF format and then cut and paste them into the manuscript? Do I format the manuscript into PDF for the printer first and merge the drawings in somehow? I'm working in Microsoft Word, (I know it is primitive when there are better publisher products out there, but I am poor), so I cannot edit PDF files. I think I will scan them into my computer then cut and paste the drawings into the Word doc and then convert the entire manuscript into a PFD for the printer.

I did a test on one page and I am really happy with how it looks.

(c) Adron 1/25/18

How Many Friends Should Preview My Book of Poetry Before I Publish It?

I have worked hard on putting together a collection of Poems for my book, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges Of Joy.  I want my hard work to show and for my readers to be blessed by it without being distracted by errors.

Sometimes a person gets so involved with a project and so close to it that they cannot see everything objectively. I sometimes get so romantic about my work that I do not see any problems and assume everyone understands what I am saying. So I have asked some friends to review the project to catch any issues and advise me.

To have some friends read my poems and give me feedback is not as easy as it sounds.

• First, my friends are very busy people; they are all professionals in one way or another, so I am a little reluctant to impose on them. 
• Second, would relationships be strained? What if someone was afraid to make an honest criticism? Would they begin to avoid me, and would I have injured that friendship? 
• Also, who should I ask? I can't ask everyone, so what if someone I did not ask feels left out and hurt?  
• I will need to give them copies, but printing costs money and even though I do not expect to make money on the collection of poems I do not want to go broke publishing it either.
• What if I asked so many people I later couldn't remember who? 
• What if I gave a copy of my work to some well-meaning friend and they misplaced it? That could cause problems with copyright and ownership later on. 

I settled on five friends who I respect for their deep faith in God. These friends are very educated, sophisticated and intelligent people. I am confident in their opinion. Five seemed to be a good number since I could afford to print five copies. I could easily remember who has copies of my work.

Four have responded. The fifth is overwhelmed with work, so I do not expect a response soon, but I anticipated this would happen to at least one. Those who have responded so far have had words of praise and encouragement. Few have given me a suggestion or two which I accepted and seek to incorporate into the project.

I will be sending this to the printer in a few weeks and feel more confident in the project now because of the help of my friends for which I am very grateful.

I do not know if five is the number of friends I would use in every case and for each book of poems I write. Next year I might feel more comfortable with ten or just two, but I think for me five reviewers is working out very nicely.

If you would like to read a sample poem choose the link below for the website.

(c) Adron 1/15/18

How Hard Is It To Draw 100 Illustrations For A Book?

I have decided to illustrate my collection of Poems, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges Of Joy. I thought this would be easy; it is just drawing, so how hard can it illustrate a book of poems?

I started two months ago, and I have been working daily on it, so one would think I would be done by now. The good news is that I have just a few dozen left to draw. Of the hundred-page manuscript, about 94 are actual poems that need illustrations.

A GOAL
I could have approached the task in several ways. Having a goal helps, and my goal is to average one a day. Focusing on an average frees me from the stress of feeling like I failed my goal one day. Some days I can do two illustrations to make up for a missed day.

PLANNING
For me, planning helps. I plan a week ahead and decide seven to draw and do a quick sketch for each. These drawings are speedy and look like a child's scribbles. Having the ideas rough sketched gives me a head start each day.  This brainstorming session means the ideas are already expressed, which is a big boost to starting each day.

IT IS A LOT OF WORK
My drawing method uses a light-box. The light shines through, enabling me to trace my drawings over and over until they are right. I know that each illustration will need to be redrawn two, three, or more times; I accept this process and can't get upset if, after I have drawn a picture, I see a way to improve on it and need to redraw it again. This means I am doing over three hundred drawings to have a finished book that is visually appealing.

I work a regular full-time job, so I have limited time. After I get home and have time with the family and dinner, I say to myself, "Ok, time to go to work," and I go upstairs to my second job of drawing pictures for the book. I work from 7:00 pm until bedtime.

PAPER TO DIGITAL
Once each picture is done, I scan it to the computer and look at it again. When I review work in a different medium or format, I see problems or find where it can be improved. Usually, it is minor adjustments by this time, and I can easily use the computer to fix a little problem.

I put the drawing into a digital mock page in Word to see how it might look when printed, and I hold my breath. Some needed major changes at this point, and on occasion, I had to draw a new version, but most have been OK.

YOU SAY FUN?
You might say, "Oh, you are having so much fun! You are doing something you like when you take pictures for the book."  Yes and no, I am having fun, and I am not. When a hobby becomes a serious endeavor, it is work, and work is hard, but when I finish a picture, and it is the way I want it to look, I feel glad for the accomplishment.

I am excited about how it is all shaping up, and I look forward to this collection of poems being an encouragement to many.

If you would like to read a sample poem, choose the link below for the website.

(c) Adron 12/19/17

What Happened When a Psychology Professor Read My Poems

My collection of poems, Through These Dark Lands Are Edges of Joy, is intended to encourage and give hope to people going through dark and difficult times but it can be seen as advice or counsel which I am not qualified to give. I was concerned that my poems may fall short of the goal of encouragement or that what I consider to be good, and hopeful, sentiment may be bad advice and inappropriate.

Fortunately, I have a professional friend who teaches psychology at a Seminary. I asked him if he would be willing to read them over and alert me if in his professional opinion anything I wrote was some kind of bad advice.

He said he would be glad to look them over but he was very busy with his practice and teaching three classes at the seminary so it would be a while before he could get to it.

I was afraid that this might be one of those things that comes between friends and makes things awkward. I was anxious to get his thoughts but I was afraid to ask him every time I saw him. Occasionally he would say that he had not forgotten but that that the pressures on his time were great and I would reassure him that I was not in a hurry for his observations.

I was surprised on Friday when he gave back the manuscript. At first, I thought that he was unable to review the work, but instead, he said that he made time in his busy schedule to look them over and had no concerns about the content of the writing. I do not want to put words in his mouth but he was generally positive and encouraging.  He said he found it to be very hopeful and he was looking forward to seeing it published.

He had only a few observations about the structure of the manuscript and made some minor suggestions about style, like a word in a title, and that I should include a table of contents.

I was very reassured by his encouragement and extremely grateful for it.

(c) Adron 11/12/17

Should I Illustrate My Book Of Poems?

I like to draw and paint so friends know me as an artist and I wonder if I should illustrate my book of poems. Will it enhance my book or subtract from it?

MAYBE NOT
My first thought is that poets who illustrate their own work are seen as amateur and juvenile. It is the kind of thing that a kid in middle school does.

When someone opens a book of poetry and it is only words then they must focus on the words; illustrations can be a distraction and alter the reader's interpretation of the poem unless the statement of the poem is so clear that it begs its own point.

If the illustrations are poor quality or badly done then the effect will prevent the reader from appreciating the writing.

BUT MAYBE
In the world of self-publishing poetry, there are mountains of books published every year so the challenge is to stand out from the crowd. Perhaps tasteful and quality artwork can give the book a broader appeal.

NICHE
When you see a book of illustrated poetry you think it is a gift volume, the kind that is in the gift card aisle of the grocery store or sold at craft shows and indi-book-conventions.

In this modern world niche is everything. It is how you market and where you find your identity, so maybe illustrating the collection might give me a place in a nitch.

DO I WANT TO DO ALL THAT WORK?
I have about 85 poems in the collection. To create passable illustrations would take about ten hours each, which would mean working full time for two months.  Instead, I could design a few and cycle them over and over throughout the book, or do something generic and put the same one on each page and then only need to create a few.

WILL I EVER BE DONE?
If I do illustrate it, even in part, then I am afraid that it will push back the release and publication even more.

Since I envision my book as something that people would give to friends who are feeling down I think it would be best to enhance the gift book nature of it. That means I will probably draw some illustrations.

(c) Adron 10/12/17

Should I Edit My Manuscript Electronically Or On Paper?

I have been trying to make some revisions and tidy up my collection of poems, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges of Joy, so they would be ready for publication. I have been going back and forth between the computer and paper versions of my manuscript trying to determine the better method of editing my poems.

I am kind of a visual person so the way things look affects my approach to it. When I see the pages laid out it gives me a feel for the overall presentation and spirit of the book.  On the other hand, I want to create a serious and professional piece of literature, so I must use the computer.

PRINT ON PAPER
I have found that looking at the paper version gives me a sense of spirit or soul of the poems and not just grammar or sentence structure.

ORGANIZING
Printed pages make it easy to lay the poems out on the table and see them as a collection rather than as single pieces on the monitor screen.  I can use different strategies like spreading them across the table or putting them into stacks. I can see groupings and progression through the collection.

CREATIVE PROCESS
I can write out comments and experiment with things on paper in a way I can't with the computer. I can write out a new line and look at it in comparison to other lines in the poem. I can draw arrows to move things up or down or switch words around. I can draw a line through a word and consider removing it without removing it on the computer which means a hassle of back-clicks if I want to restore it.

Then after I have marked up the pages I can return to the computer and change file, then print it out and set the old and new side by side to compare the changes.

MY MOOD CHANGES
I know I can do all these things on the computer but when I relax in my favorite chair and hold a few pages I have a different mood as I read the poems. I can look at them with a new freshness. I can read them to enjoy and not as a project. For a moment I am not being a worker in words but an audience, and I am able to see the poems the way my future readers will.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but seeing the pages and touching the paper gives me a sense of interaction that I lack using the computer.  Somehow I feel better connected to the printed page than I do on with a digital image on a screen, but the functionality of the computer gets the work done. I guess I will have to struggle to find balance in my efforts between paper and electronic.

(c) Adron 10/1/17

How Should I Respond To My Editor's Observations?

My editor returned my collection of poems with some suggestions and observations. They are mostly good and positive, which I ate up. But she made a few comments which caused me to reevaluate my entire project.

It is important to use the advice of others who you trust. They will see things you miss and point out things you might not have considered because you are so involved with the project. So, if the advice is honest and sincere you have to give it some respect.

One of her observation was that there was a sadness or tone of depression in many of the poems and that influenced the overall voice of the work.

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I have noticed before that my poems had a lot of phrases that invoked images or feelings of sadness. I was not sure if it was some internal reflection on my part since as their author I had a unique connection with the poems. Now I know the reader finds the same voice of sadness.

This is not good news to me. I wanted the book to be one of encouragement and hope not a rallying flag to some self-pity celebration. If I revisit and edit each poem I will have a big job on my hands and may have to push back publishing to early spring.

I am committed to the vision God gave me to write a collection of poems that can be given out to encourage people and point them to God. For this to happen it has to be a meaningful product that one person will be blessed by and then want to pass it along, not something that will get them depressed and toss the book away.

I believe this project is important and will bless many people. Since anything that is worth having or doing is also worth the price and sacrifice I will take her advice and revise the collection one poem at a time. A large number will require attention. I think some only need a line edited out, or another line added to turn it around. There may be a few poems that I will have to remove completely. I may add one or two that celebrates joy, and hope.

I am grateful for her help in making this book a light and hope for many.

If you are in need of encouragement or know someone who does order a copy today,
 you will glad to have this book.

Use the button to order your copy. Thank you.

Should I Add To My Manuscript of Poems?

I have a finished manuscript of poems, titled Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges of Joy, Poems of Comfort and Hope, but I wonder if I should add a few more poems while my wife edits the punctuation and stuff, or say it is done and be done?

MY ORIGINAL VISION
I have a couple of poems that were not quite ready when I asked her to edit them. I was thinking then that it was time to move forward to the next step. My vision for this book is that it would not be such a long collection that no one would read the entire thing. I wanted the reader to get the full effect of the collection when they needed it so I was going to keep the book short. Besides, if it is short it will have fewer pages and would cost less to produce and less to sell.

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There have been a few pieces that have been in the back of my mind. They were in an early state of completion when I decided to declare my book finished.  But since my wife is doing the editing for me over the next few weeks I thought I could finish them and slip them into the collection.

I am afraid that if I take this approach I will keep adding one more and then one more and so on and never see it as a finished work. It will become a huge volume fraught with redundancy and become meaningless.

THERE ARE SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER
Though I see each poem and every page as a tiny treasure I know I must be merciless to prune pieces that weaken the message.

I need a standard which says for this reason or that a particular poem will be included, or for this reason or that a piece must be purged.

SO, STANDARDS
I'll add poems if they meet these guidelines;

• The poem must be unique in the work; it should say something that no other poem says.
• The poem must have the same style as the rest of the work.
• The poem must share and enhance the theme of the project.
• The poem must generally add to the feel and message of the book.

Of course, that means if something is in the collection already that does not meet these standards they must be chopped out.

THE BENEFIT OF GUIDELINES
I know people think that serious poets are intuitive and sensitive people who are connected to some either of creativity.  Creativity is a good start but success is the results of discipline and hard work. Using these guidelines will help me make a better more successful book.

WILL I ADD THEM?
I believe that based on the guidelines I articulated above one of the poems has a place in the work, so I will slip it in the folder among the other pages when my wife is not looking, another poem is a definite possibility that needs further consideration. There are others that I believe will be in on of my future projects.

* * * * *

Thank you for visiting my blog.  See the links above for information on when the book will be published and pricing.  

If you are in need of encouragement or know someone who does you should order a copy today,
 you will glad to have this book.

Use the button to order your copy.

 Thank you.

 

Should I hire an editor service for my book of poems.

I have finished a full draft of my book of poems titled, BEYOND THESE DARK LANDS ARE EDGES OF JOY, Poems of Comfort and Hope; it is the result of a year of writing. I have written and rewritten each page more times than I can count. Now I want to have it edited for grammar and structure.

PRICE IS NOT AN ISSUE - (because I am poor I can't pay any price, so it is not an issue).
I could pay an editing service and the price varies from a few hundred dollars to thousands. I believe the project is worth the investment, not because I hope to make any money on it, poetry books never make money, but I believe in the message of hope and comfort. I believe that the Lord has given me an opportunity to bless others through this project. However, I do not feel able to engage an editing service.

BUT
I do not feel that my grammar is up to the task so I have taken a multi-step approach.

FIRST
First, I take full advantage of the benefits of Microsoft Word. It is my first level of spell-checking and grammar. I have found a trick that helps me to exploit its effectiveness. I will paste a page into Word and then change the font to something completely different. I think my subconscious does not recognize the writing and I feel like I am reading something new and I see errors in my writing.  I do this many times changing the font type or size each time.

Another technique to check my writing is to read it out loud, then you catch mistakes.

SECOND
The second thing that has helped me has been the free version of Grammarly, an online grammar checking service. I use the free version because I am neither able nor not willing to spend the money for the subscription version. It is not that expensive but I am poor.  I really like Grammarly and recommend it to anyone who is writing any project. It causes me to look at my work fresh. Grammarly catches things that Microsoft Word misses.

THE BEST FOR LAST
The final and most important step in editing my book is my wonderful wife. She is a school teacher. She teaches ESL, English as a second language, in the public school, so I asked her to look my work over. I admit that I was a little fearful. It would be different if I was hiring a stranger. A stranger might not care much, but a family member may have a more emotional involvement.

She is starting the school year, so she has a lot on her mind and her time gets eaten up by being a teacher. In the first weeks of school, I think she works between 60 and 70 hours. Teachers have all sorts of in evening back-to-school events, parent-teacher meetings, conferences, online learning modules (something new), and lesson preparation. After the first few weeks, her schedule settles down to almost normal.

She has started reading and editing my poems and is about a quarter of the way through.  I think after a few weeks she will be done and I will be able to start formatting it for the printing company.

To read a review CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron 8/29/17