Back to the drawing (and proofreading) board—again!

I'm happy to say that things are perking up a bit in the freelance department for me lately. I've just been given an illustration project that will run for a few weeks (about 30 hours worth of work). And a potential temporary proofreading position has opened up as well, for which I just need to hash out the details and see if they'll work with my schedule (since I'm working on the illustration project first). AND, I'm beginning a collaboration on a children's book with an friend of a former coworker, which doesn't pay right away but has already been to a publisher and approved, so it's definitely got a chance of turning into something good.

I'm glad this is all hitting me right now, as I'm in the early part of my second trimester (I'm 15 weeks 2 days as of today). I was so severely fatigued, nauseous, and just generally feeling like crap for the last few months that I had trouble simply going about my daily routine at home (walking up stairs, doing laundry, feeding pets, brushing my teeth, etc.). So now I'm a bit refreshed, and although I have to take it easy with the physical stuff cuz I seem to keep pulling my ab/groin muscles (a wonderful side effect of pregnancy), I can certainly sit at my computer and work.

It's amazing how good it makes you feel when you have prospects (and hope for future prospects) after several months of no work and no job leads (except for the one freelance project I did back in June). I'm hopeful that work will pick up, and even if I'm not able to find full time work, perhaps I can become a full-time freelancer at home, which has always been my dream, and would be perfect with the impending arrival of our little one in February.

May you all have great success in your career and creative endeavors!

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)