Almost There

I just finished this last edit of The Flower of Knighthood, and am going to do one more starting tomorrow to look for any lingering typos and to make sure of the changes I made. My web design friend is still working on building the page to put the book up online, so I still have a little bit of time to look over the manuscript again before he is ready to plug it into the site. I made a few additions to the notes section in the back, not on this pass-through but on the previous one, and I think they really helped get my point across on a few concepts. Amazing that this late in the game that is still happening, which is the reason I have not called this done yet but instead keep working on it. I designed some business cards today exclusively for the book which direct the recipient to the website page. They look sharp. I am going to have them printed this weekend and take them with me to France to pass out along with the ten-page samples I also intend to print shortly. Everything is coming together.

Progress On All Fronts

I made another sale on Etsy yesterday, to someone in Central Texas near where I grew up. I also am two-thirds through this edit draft of my book, and I got my materials to my web designer friend for the books page on my website. I designed the layout and wrote the text and he's going to format the text stuff and link the page to my PayPal account so I can take orders online by the end of this week. I packed most of my things for France, too. I spent some time streamlining exactly which clothes are the best to take with me, the ones that pack well and are versatile enough to mix together so I look good and don't get bored but also don't have to take too much. I have lots of clothes at home but I prefer to travel light. I may be running around Paris some with a wheelie suitcase, so it has to be manageable.

And Yet Another Edit Readthrough Finished

In my endless round of edit drafts on The Flower of Knighthood, I just finished another one on the train this morning. I am going to print out the book for one more onceover to proofread the changes I just made, and then that is it, it goes online next week. I'm taking about fifty samples with me to the conference to hand out to anyone who is interested, and I'm printing business cards, too, to direct people to the "Books" page on my main website so they can download a free sample or the paid complete text.

My Etsy shipment to the Land Down Under arrived, and the purchaser loved the item, so I've now got 100% positive feedback from all of my customers. Sweet. No more sales yet, but I'll work on the shop this weekend. I have an idea how to improve the presentation of some of my arts and crafts items and I'll see if I think it works. I plan to start packing for my trip this weekend, too, and I'm going to the Los Angeles downtown library this Friday or Saturday afternoon to do some travel magazine research. The pitch template I wrote sounds good, and I just need to configure it to some particular publications. I wish I'd been able to send it out sooner, but with the book editing, setting up the online shop and planning the trip itself, I just haven't had the time until now.

Yet Another Progress Report

I'm two thirds done with this edit round on The Flower of Knighthood, and in the last fifty pages I've only made three changes - adding one comma, changing "over" to "above" because it made the line flow a little better and changing "that" to "his" where either would do. So I'd say it's going quite well, if it's down to such trivial changes, and so few of them.

I got my train tickets in the mail yesterday for the round-trip from Paris to Rennes and back, and that made the trip more real to me. I also wrote a really good pitch letter for travel magazines to try to wring some paid work out of this journey, as well. I've had a mental block on that, and yesterday it suddenly just poured out in about an hour. I think I needed to finalize a little bit more of my exact itinerary in Paris and in the area around Rennes and Mont St. Michel in order to be able to write it. I did that this week, narrowing down the sites in Paris that I really want to see (St. Denis, Montmartre, Montparnasse, the Ile de la Cite, the Champs-Elysees, the Louvre, and the Latin Quarter) and the small side trips I am going to try to complete in Brittany and Normandy (Avranches, Saint-Malo and the Forest of Broceliande). I only have three days in Paris and six in Rennes, and a conference to go to, so I have to cram in a lot in limited time, and until I sat down and got online and figured it all out, I was a bit befuddled. I looked at the Metro website and got a sense of the subway system and how to use it, and I looked up the things I want to see and how to get to them and also how close they are to each other so I could come up with a realistic timetable. I want to use every second in Paris to see stuff because I don't know when I will be back, and I definitely feel the same way about northern France, because I may never go there again, if I have no compelling reason. I am going to try to hit the things that interest me the most. Avranches has a museum that houses the manuscripts from Mont St. Michel cathedral and that would truly complement my confirmed visit to the Mont. The forest is in a lot of the Arthurian stories, and I really want to see it. It's also very ancient and beautiful, a true Old World oak forest with Druidic history. Saint-Malo is negotiable for me, I'd rather see the other two, but if I have time, it looks cool. It's a walled medieval city that was a center of coastal pirate activity.

I fulfilled my first two Etsy sales, and got positive feedback, very nice feedback, actually, so I'm golden with that. I was a little worried because each package took longer to arrive than I expected, but they got there. I'm just waiting for the Australia mailing at this point. I have fifty-four items posted and more to list this weekend. I bought a pretty necklace on Etsy, too, a vintage 1970's mother of pearl dove that looks like the Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost plays a huge role in my Parsifal book, because it's associated with the Grail, and I really wanted the necklace. It was $12.99, who could argue? I love '70's stuff, too, the really elegant things like pretty disco dresses and little suede shoulder bags and some of the boho stuff that's very feminine. The necklace falls into that category. The bird is about three inches long and hangs on a necklace of beads. It's so pretty I can't believe it did not cost more.

Weekend Update

I posted more stuff in my Etsy shop over the weekend, and noticed I now have eleven fans. Yaay, it's gone viral! I don't know how people are finding me because I've done no promotion yet within the Etsy site community, but they are indeed finding me. Once I get everything posted that I have to sell, I will look into promoting the store. I've found Etsy shops in searches I did for one particular kind of item so maybe the same thing is happening with mine. I may just start conversations with all of them and ask. Nothing wrong with doing a little market research.

I'm almost one quarter through another edit of The Flower of Knighthood, too, and aiming for June 30 to go live online with the book. I was telling more people (also writers) last night about my books and they got really interested, which is a good sign.

I also watched four movies this weekend, numbers two, three and four in the Harry Potter series, and The Illusionist, which is one of the best movies I have ever seen. My brain is so fried from reading and from writing shop listings that I am craving visual stimulation and relaxation. I've watched more movies in the last month than I have in the past year and a half, maybe longer, and I feel better for it. I've worked so hard for so long on my books that I severely needed to blow off steam. I'm noticing that I am going back fresher to this latest (last? hopefully) book edit because of the diversion and input of images. The well is collecting rainwater again. It was running a little dry from me pulling up bucket after bucket of creative wellspring. I am refilling it now so I will have inner resources to go back and get to work again on editing Parsifal and on writing the next book, The Engagement of Sir Gawain. I've also got to focus on my music again at some point. I was leafing through my lyric book the other night and flipping out on how many songs I have and how long it has been since I worked on them. That's another part of my life well-deserving of some real attention.

Status Update

I finished another edit readthrough of The Flower of Knighthood this morning. I'm also moving forward with getting it online, and when I ran out of manuscript on the train this morning, finishing it before I reached my destination, I started in again on Parsifal, which I also carry around with me for just such occasions. I don't know how good an idea it is to try to go back and forth on two separate book edits, but I've been wanting badly to get back to Parsifal and it felt good to do so even for just a few minutes. I'm very proud of it, too, and writing it was intensely personal.

I am getting very excited about going to France. It's only three weeks away as of today. I've been planning my two and a half days in Paris to maximize my time, and also the excursions I will be taking in Brittany and, hopefully, Normandy as well. I am staying in Rennes, and I hope to go to Avranches, Saint Malo and the Forest of Broceliande as well as the day trip I have already booked to Mont St. Michel. I have the conference for five days and several events in Rennes, so I have plenty to do. In Paris, it's all about Notre Dame and Saint Chapelles on the Ile de la Cite, the Champs Elysees, Saint Denis and the royal chapel, the Louvre and the Latin Quarter. I am staying three nights near Pere Lachaise so I plan a brief trip there, too. I am pitching the trip to travel magazines, hope someone takes me up on it.

I've now got ten fans on Etsy, though I have not made any further sales. I took some great pictures of new items a few days ago and I will list more this weekend.

Intellectual Property

Here is a really good interlinking chain of intellectual property articles:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-berry/ebooks-copyright-piracy_b_108319.html

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/the-e-book-test-do-electronic-versions-deter-piracy/

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/can-e-publishing-overcome-copyright-concerns/

http://stevenpoole.net/blog/free-your-mind

I am all for the internet and the free dissemination of ideas, but there is the reality that people who spend the bulk of their work time generating content need at some point to get paid if they are to continue to do so. I've spent years of my life working on my books and I hope people find enough of value in them to want to pay to read them. It's not vanity or ego, it's simple reality. I have earned absolutely nothing so far on my books, and I sacrificed the pursuit of moneymaking activities while I wrote them because I felt they had greater value than anything else I could generate. I'd like to earn something material from them to put towards my retirement. Making art is something of a luxury but so is consuming it, and if a content consumer benefits from what he reads, he should be willing to pay for the value. Making art is also not entirely a luxury, it's a driving need for some of us that is as important as air or food or water, and I feel that what it contributes to human culture and development is important enough to pay for.

Another Day, Another Edit Update, and Some Philosophy

I am more than halfway through another edit of The Flower of Knighthood, and am fast approaching the end-of-June deadline I have set for myself of getting the manuscript up online as a paid download and free sample. I am emailing back and forth with my web designer friend to set up a linkpage to Paypal and to set up the space on my existing website for this function. Exciting times. My housemate, scientist/artist/Renaissance man Ryan Wartena, is a tireless promoter of my work, and he sat me next to some interesting people (authors Daniel Pinchbeck http://www.realitysandwich.com/blog/daniel_pinchbeck and Paradox, a many-years alumnus of Burning Man and writer of performance pieces, both of whom are good friends with Ryan) at a dinner party we hosted on Friday night and told them about my forthcoming books, which started a lively conversation. He also told another writer friend who visited on Saturday about my books, and made me go get a draft to show her, demanding to know when I would have copies for him to give to his friends. So, yaay, Ryan! I am very grateful for his support, and for that of everyone at my artist's community. I promised to get him some copies by the end of the month when I get the download up.

The theme of the weekend seemed to be that everyone I talked to is seeking to make more time in their lives for writing. My housemate Brent Heyning (owner of Toyshoppe, http://toyshoppepro.com/) has done film crew and special effects and music road crew for years, and wants to focus more on developing his own projects, most of which involve a lot of writing. We talked some about how I managed to carve out time to finish two books, and I told him I cut out a lot of other activities and also maximized my available time every week by taking public transit as much as possible and using that space to write instead of having to be the one paying attention to the road. In NYC that was a non-issue, since I already took the Staten Island ferry and subway everywhere, but in Los Angeles, committing to public transit is a big deal. I freed up at least ten hours a week to devote to writing by doing that. I also cut out most television and movies and used my evenings to write, because what was happening in my head and on the page was far more entertaining to me than anything anyone else could make. I've been blowing off steam lately by watching movies because I reached a point of real deprivation with over a year of avoiding them, but it was still a sacrifice that was worth it to me. Brent was encouraged, and he asked me if I want to set aside some group writing time at some point. I've never tried that, so I am up for it. I'm kind of a freak when I write; I light incense, play medieval music and stare into space a lot, and occasionally get up to sort clothes or papers just to get a mental break for a few minutes, and then go back to my notebook. It can't be very exciting to watch, but being around anyone creating anything can help jumpstart the process of art so maybe it would be mutually helpful. The dinner party Friday was a fundraiser for a temple to be built at Burning Man this year (I am not a Burner, but many of my housemates are and consequently I meet a lot of people from that social circle) and the organizer Amanda also told me during Saturday cleanup that she wants to write more. I gave her the same advice I gave Brent, and told her to start a blog also. She does a lot of interesting projects for Burning Man and other things, and that would be perfect grist for the blog mill that might help her get writing assignments. She and Brent both said that they tend to overschedule themselves with projects, and that they feel they need to stop doing that and focus inward. I encouraged that in both of them. The way I see it, if you want to pursue something, then you are supposed to do so. There is something in it that you are being drawn to in order to unfold your own potential. I told Brent to focus on his most immortal ambitions. I figure no one will really remember me for the work I've done simply to support myself, or even much for my magazine writing, but they will remember books and music. That's what I am going for, my biggest ideas that really mean something and that will live on after I am gone. That is the only kind of immortality humans can achieve, and the best thing any artist can contribute to the world. Art is for everyone, I firmly believe that anyone can create something, but truly dedicated art really is kind of rarefied. It takes a lot to say no to everything else in order to devote yourself to creation, and that commitment shows. The things I want the most in this world are a family and a thriving career as an artist. I am not married yet, and I don't have children yet, either, and I decided that until I do have those demands upon my time and energy, I will use all of my available resources towards my art. I dearly want to have a family, but can't make that happen until it's ready to materialize, so I am spending the luxury of my time alone on what I value.

I also spent some time this weekend working on my Etsy shop and have almost fifty items listed, with more to post this week. I also sold a dress to a lady in Australia and shipped out the first two items I sold, to customers in Chicago and Italy. The web rocks - how else could you reach a worldwide audience with vintage clothes, let alone with books, music, etc?

Happy Day

I am having a really good day so far. I opened my email to discover that I made not only my very first sale ever in my Etsy crafts shop, I made another sale right after that. Both were for small amounts, but that's fine, nothing in my shop is terribly expensive. That's part of my philosophy - I set the shop up to generate funds for my art projects, not to get rich. I know I am probably selling mostly to other artists and the vintage/thrift crowd, so I price things reasonably.

I also finished my edit of The Flower of Knighthood. I have a few changes to make to the manuscript, and will give it another proofread after that. I have to do some yard work in a group effort at the artist's community this weekend, but will spend the rest of my free time on the book and on getting more sale items posted in my shop.

Work VS Entertainment - Work Wins Again

I was so tired last night that I was tempted to watch a movie, but I got home a little earlier than usual, and after resting for a bit, I decided to bite the bullet and work on my book some more. I am very glad that I did. I am now only twenty-three pages away from completing this edit round, and I am very, very happy with the manuscript at this point. I'll finish this review tonight, and print the revised draft for another read-through going into this weekend. I've been working on editing the book non-stop now since March, and I am so tired I am about to fall down, but I love what I have accomplished. I am excited about meeting people at the Arthurian conference and telling them about it, and after a brief rest, I will start up again on my editing process for Parsifal. I was working on it from January through March when I realized I needed to go back to The Flower of Knighthood, and I want to get back to the Holy Grail book. I've also been percolating on the next book, the third one in the series, The Engagement of Sir Gawain, and an unrelated play I've been working on for a long time that is also written in poetry, and some other project ideas, mostly connected to my music. I have not been doing much magazine writing lately because I've been so focused on my books, but I need to get back to that, too. It fills another need I have in my creative life, and I also get to meet interesting people when I do magazine articles. I have been spending some time recently working to find good places for promoting my books, by joining Arthurian discussion boards and researching conferences and conventions. I plan to take at least one more media class in the fall at UCLA to gain some more skills, and after the conference is over, I am going to start seriously saving money to upgrade to a new laptop so I can speed up my progress on all of my projects. I've gotten a lot done the first half of 2008, and have big plans for the second half, too.

Knighthood is Flowering

I am more than two-thirds through the latest edit round of The Flower of Knighthood. I've made a couple of small word changes that really improved the manuscript. I wasn't even looking to do so, they just came to me as I was reading it. It really pays to be so diligent. You never know what you will find that you can make work better. I am hoping to finish this current once-over by this weekend. I gave my web designer friend the deadline that I want this up as a download by the end of this month at the latest, so we can iron out any problems before I go to France. In order for that to happen, I need to finish this round fast and do at least one more in order to check the changes I just made. Do you think I can do it? I think I can!

The Goblet of Fire is the Holy Grail

No wonder I like Harry Potter so much:

http://www.harrypotterforseekers.com/alchemy/alchemy.php

This is awesome. I love alchemical studies, and my second book, Parsifal, is highly alchemical. I am finding out that elements I put into it unconsciously are turning out to be deeply mystical alchemical symbolism. I knew there was a lot of deliberate alchemical symbolism in the Potter books, but I bet some of J.K. Rowling's stuff is also unconscious. The alchemy is an inherent process in the archetypal psyche that is activated by the process of seeking God and one's spiritual destiny. Developing one's creativity is a highly effective means of activating it.

I especially like this quote from the website linked above:

If you read Harry Potter with this symbolism in mind, the story will transform from an exciting battle between good and evil to a method of absolute liberation from death, suffering and evil.

Righteous.

Validation

Five people now list me as one of their favorite shops on Etsy! I posted some more items last night, and plan to put more up tonight. I also got almost halfway through The Flower of Knighthood over the weekend. I will work on it tonight, too.

Update on Crafts, Book, and Conference

I spent some time today listing more items in my little Etsy store, and discovered that three people from the Etsy community have listed me as a favorite shop! That made me feel good. I haven't even really gotten going yet and people are noticing me already. I'm going to spend a lot more time tomorrow working on it, and working on the book edits. I started again Thursday evening with another re-read of The Flower of Knighthood. I also looked over my trip preparation notes for the French conference I will be attending next month, and worked out my next steps and budgeting timeline. I figured out exactly how much I need to spend on the train from Paris up to Rennes ($152 round trip) and am going to pay for that and the balance on my lodgings this month. Then all I will need is money for the trip for food, taxis and activities. Everything else will already be completely paid for so I don't have to worry about it.

Book Review

All right, I finished another edit of The Flower of Knighthood this morning, one day ahead of schedule. I'll make the changes to the manuscript this afternoon and start reading it again for what I hope is the last time. I think I'll take the evening off first, though.

Booking

I am about three quarters done with this Flower of Knighthood edit readthrough, and I am really happy with the results. I worked on it last night instead of posting more stuff on my Etsy store online. I just didn't have it in me to tackle any more of that yet (it's a surprisingly involved process to post things, consisting of five separate steps including writing a detailed product description - I plan to space that project out over the next few weeks so it does not become too tedious), and I wanted to work on the book. This evening will be devoted to it as well, and I plan to be finished with this pass by the weekend if not before. It's going quite fast, so it may in fact be done earlier. My friend is researching the best way to post the download version, and I am going to do some web updates to www.fleurdamour.us this weekend to create a separate page for the books. I need to update the site anyway, I have not touched it at all in quite a while and it needs some attention. I am going to make some pages to promote the book on social networking sites, too. I was just reading a gloom and doom article about the book publishing industry, so maybe it is best in the long run to do the self-publishing route. I see my books as only one part of my creative output, and maybe it's better for me to retain control across the board of all of it and promote it as a whole.

UFO's - Updates on the Flying Object

The flying saucer got a parking ticket! There are parking Nazis in our area, and the solar saucer was left too long in the same spot. Imagine how the the agent felt ticketing a flying saucer. And, my housemates told me they were hanging out with a friend of theirs named Spaceman while at Lightning in a Bottle. He is not connected to the saucer, but how funny is it that they hung with the Spaceman, then brought home a UFO? I told you I live in an interesting place.

Music Box a Little Off-Key

I was late to the Ladytron concert on Friday night because of this:

http://cbs2.com/local/Chase.Crash.Suspect.2.737325.html

It happened right in front of me. I was at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, and suddenly a low-speed car chase was occurring, with this car ultimately trying to go the wrong way down Hollywood, and then trying to turn onto Vine, all while being pursued by about seven cop cars and a helicopter. The cops lost patience and smashed into him, almost sending his car plowing into the crowd waiting for the bus. I ducked into a recessed doorway in case they started shooting, but they wrestled the guy into submission fast. Then they blocked the street off and it was hard for me to get home, but I finally did, and waited for the excitement to die down, because the concert venue, the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater, is only about two blocks from there. I got a decent parking spot on Sunset, but I missed all of Modwheelmood. I thought they were the second band, but apparently I was mistaken. I sat down just in time for Datarock, who were cool, but I was disappointed when the next act was Ladytron. I wanted to see all three bands. I'm cursed with Modwheelmood. This is the second time I've tried to see them and something happened to prevent it. It was just a weird evening in general, since it got off on the wrong foot and never quite righted itself. Nothing quite like a good old-fashioned Los Angeles murder suspect bizarre car chase. We're known for that kind of thing worldwide and I had front-row seats for that show if not for the music one. I'll give a more detailed rundown of the parts of the concert I did actually see on my music blog, click through on the sidebar if you are interested. I'll write and post it when I have a minute.

Photos

I just installed my digital computer software and uploaded my photos into the program folder. They look great, see samples above. I'm going to work tomorrow on getting them onto Etsy along with product descriptions.