Re-Writing, Editing, Adding, and Subtracting ~ Bookish Ideas

Well, it's that time again. Time to rewrite, upgrade, whatever, 'Working the Bench', perhaps creating a new cover for it, and maybe making it available in hard cover as well. Formatting has been the biggest issue with the self-publishing. When I convert the document to a PDF for application in the publishing program, somewhere between the PDF (mine) and the PDF (theirs), pages get skipped back -- or forward depending. For example, on my PDF, the header of a page will read "Essence Evaluation Worksheet", but when it's converted to the publisher's PDF, the header is missing from the top of the page and instead sits on the last line of the previous page. I've wrangled and spaced and entered and done everything except type the damned things out by hand, and still I hit these issues somewhere along the process. I'm going to have to do it again with the evaluation workbook. As pretty as the cover and intro pages are, this back skipping header issue is right there, front and center when you open the workbook.

I've been reading a lot about writing lately (again). There are quite a few authors' pages I've 'liked' on FB and get regular feed info from them. It's heartening to know that even now, after years of publishing, they still suffer from the same insecurities as a non-published writer does. Being a writer is a struggle, just like being a perfumer. Both art forms can be ascribed the same metaphor my old writing teacher used: to be effective, you have to 'cut a vein'. Not literally, of course. Of course. A metaphor. No references of suicide here, folks, just a metaphor for letting what's in out. Just felt I needed to clarify that point -- repeatedly.

I'm in the middle of a mad soap making binge. I received some wonderful bars of soap from a master soap maker, and then I went to the soap shop in Morro Bay and bought some hot processed bars because they are magnificent, then a few swaps of soap from different soap makers came in, so I'm awash (hehe) in soap. Begs the question, why am I making soap? Because experimentation never ends, my friend, as it shouldn't. And I've got bodies to clean.

It's all about moving forward, keeping busy, creating, creating, creating. It sounds exhausting, and sometimes it is, but most of the time it's -- it's love. I know no better way to describe it. I love what I do. Love it. Like if I could marry my art, I would. Happily ever after, 'til death do us part.

I have to go now. I have a class to teach.