To create a children's book

I have this nagging idea in my mind that won't go away...I keep thinking about creating my own children's book, and I think I might actually go for it. You can publish your own work online at sites like lulu, and there are all kinds of options you can choose from for printing and binding your book. If anything, now is the moment for me to hop on this task and get things going creatively. I have time now that I'm on hiatus from my freelance job (which makes me nervous, I'll admit), and my 9 to 5 work is slow (as always). And the wedding is long over, so my free time has suddenly returned. Yay, what a concept!

Anyhow, I've had some ideas bouncing around my head for a while now, so I know I should just go ahead and get started. Although the sweetness of doing nothing but watching tv keeps calling to me, and my body and mind are tired from the summer's activities, there is still the desire in these bones to do something creative and fun and interesting (beside blogging). So there you have it. I'm leaning toward a story that involves my furry children in some way, perhaps focusing on the dogs—we'll see. It's exciting to me just thinking about the concept for the book, so that's a good sign, eh?

Well, I looked over what's for sale at lulu, and I certainly think I can crank one of these out on my own (write and illustrate). And I know a lot about printing, since I have worked for a prepress house for over ten years now, so the nuts and bolts of the book won't be rocket science to me. I just need a good kick in the butt (and lots of encouragement), because I'm not seeing myself reaching for that pencil or firing up Photoshop as I sit here and propose all this upcoming work. I'm good at the talk, but not so much the walk.

So what's making me hesitate? Laziness? Yes, I'll admit that. Fear? Maybe. Uncertainty? Perhaps as far as where to start. Yes, I have an idea to use my dogs in the story, but what style do I use? Do I work in a traditional format (pen and paper) or create the drawings on the computer? What age group do I aim for? How many copies do I make? Hey, that would sure be a neat Christmas gift to give out to my family. But that's a tall order, thinking I'd get all this done and printed by Christmas.

Sorry, just thinking out loud here and babbling quite a bit. I'm sorta giving myself a mental push and thinking through stuff in the form of blogging. Who says blogging isn't good therapy? Reminds me of why I enjoy it so very much....

Well, I'll start on the book right after I watch the "Sex and the City" movie that Pete brought home today. I need to unwind and brainstorm and formulate a plan. I know, it sounds like the lazy way out and like I'm not being very proactive, right? Oh, contraire!  This is how we artists work. We watch a little tv, goof around on the Internet for a while, blog, read some fashion magazines, raid the freezer for some Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie, blog some more, and then, ONLY then, are we ready to unleash our creativity upon the world. 

It's a very grueling creative process we go through, let me tell you.

(Book covers courtesy of lulu)