Checking in

I'm not posting as often these days, but I'm hardly idle. I have been transcribing a lot of my journal entries for the last couple of years (pen and spiral notebook are the only way to do creative first drafts, as far as I'm concerned). Not all of them, just the ones (that I'm willing to share) that form the back-story to my sabbatical year. I'm hoping to take these notes as well as my blog postings here and make a book. I keep reading about how all these people have ditched jobs that just weren't right for them and found something much better, often after taking some time off, but the details of the time off and the whole process are less than sparse. Well, I want to chronicle what it's like to go into this adventure, boring/anxious parts and all, and what happens after the year is over. Obviously, I can't finish this project until I have actually lived it, but I think there's enough material here for a fairly decent book.

I have also sent in a couple of short stories and a poem to see if I can get them published. Just small literary journals for now, but if I can get some publications on my track record, I'm hoping for bigger and better things. Duotrope has been a big help in locating suitable venues and keeping track of where I'm submitting what. Also, I found out that there is a self-publishing site called BookBaby where you can get your e-books out into the world. Several of the local musicians I follow have been using CDBaby (which is affiliated), so I'm going to have to check out this BookBaby thing. Leave me a comment if you've had any experience with them.