Week Three- Carrying on in Faith

I attended my 40th High School class reunion this past weekend.  What fun! I enjoyed visiting with my fellow classmates, most of which I haven’t seen in 20 years.  Some have had the same career for over 30 years, some are on a second or third career, some are thinking of retiring and some say they’ll never retire.  And, yes most have raised children.  

So as I sit here reflecting back on what I have done with those same 40 years, I once again ask... what is the purpose of it all?    

My purpose has NOT been to ...  raise children, have a political career, work in a medical field, be an entrepreneur, or do one of hundreds of other things.  

So what has it been and more importantly, what will it be for this next chapter of my life?  Well, the first thing that comes to mind is TEACH.  Yes, I have been a teacher and I enjoy teaching.   I’ve taught children in middle school and high school.  I’ve taught college students and adults.  I’ve taught public school,  vacation Bible school, continuing education classes, and a college class at Ohio State.

Not only have I taught in the traditional sense, but I suspect God has, over the years, used me to teach in other ways too.  Some I recognize, others I don’t.

I believe that God is NOW using me and Cleon, the Crooked Tree, to help inspire and touch the lives of many individuals who are looking for acceptance and seeking purpose for their lives. Therefore, I carry on with this project in faith.  

Week Two - Minor Progress

This has been a stumbling week for me.  Lots on my mind with little energy to actually write it down. So, I'll take this opportunity to post some progress on the long road to print.   Here is what I have received:

Dear Pamela Dlugos,

I have just finished the line edit of Cleon the Crooked Tree. This edit addressed errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, consistency of elements, and so forth. 

Your book offers readers a poignant tale about being different. Readers are sure to feel uplifted by the positive events in Cleon's life. Well done!

All in all, your manuscript was free of errors. Mainly, I just needed to clean up punctuation (making straight quotes into curly ones, for instance), revise for clarity (such as using "Cleon" instead of "he" where I felt "he" was confusing), and adjust a few minor typos (in one spot, for instance, "to" should have been "do").

I hope you found this edit to be of assistance to you, and I wish you the best of luck in your publishing endeavors.

Sincerely,

Editor for iUniverse 

Another e-mail sent this week was a bit disappointing as the time line for the release date is 4-6 months!  I will do everything in my power to have this book available by the end of NOVEMBER.

Hello Pamela,

Thank you for your email. At this point, it’s difficult to estimate when your book will go live because we are at the beginning of the process. The illustrations process generally takes 8-12 weeks, and then we tell authors to expect for production to take another 8-12 weeks.  If time is an issue, you might consider adding the Rapid Release option. 

So, that's where I am on my path2print.  Pam