Author Archives: cabinart

The Rest of the Computer Challenge Story

I think I may have been lying on the floor by the end of yesterday’s posting.

Here is what happened next:

Mr. Funny Name sent me more instructions for Photoshop Elements, including a little image of a tool that he thought might return things to normal.

His little image was too small to see so I clicked on it to enlarge it. When it got big enough to see, I saw it had a microscopic switch for “Default Colors”. I clicked on that in my Photoshop Elements and voila! Back to normal!

So, Mr. Funny Name didn’t provide the answer, but he inadvertently gave me a tool to discover the answer. JustAnswerDotCom says they don’t charge if you aren’t satisfied, but they only say that at the beginning. Afterward, there is no obvious way to not pay. They didn’t provide an answer but accidentally showed me the way to figure it out myself. I paid.

Not a fan of Adobe products, nope not me. . . not at all. They do the job, but figuring out how to make them do the job is tricky business. This is the third Great-Big-Obstacle-To-Which-No-One-and-No-Website-Gives-An-Answer that I’ve encountered with learning to use this program, which is supposed to be the simple version.

If I weren’t so exhausted from the battle, I might be laughing.

The good news is this: all the weirdo-wackadoodle drawings have been repaired and The Cabins of Wilsonia is closer to being ready to go to the printer and I am ready to go to the cabin. (That would be in Mineral King, Land of No Electricity or Computers or Adobe anything, so there.)

Another Computer Challenge

I converted the whole book, all 176 pages of The Cabins of Wilsonia to a PDF following the printer’s instructions. This is what they require for printing, and they recommend that the client (me) look at this PDF before sending it to them. I did, and about 20 of the drawings looked like sludge. WHAT???

Does this look like a pencil drawing to you?? It looks like a film negative (remember those?) to me.

I made a list of the wrecked drawings and began reworking them in Photoshop Elements. Got about 1/2 done, and my eraser tool went wacko. I don’t know what I clicked on accidentally. The so called “Help” wasn’t helpful.

I called my friend in Seattle who has been my main helper but apparently her smart phone had gotten separated from her, a previously unknown condition; she DIDN’T ANSWER!!

I searched all over the internet, found a place called JustAnswer.com and used my Paypal account to spend $36 to get an answer; this was pure desperation!

I could have gone out to the studio to work on another project, but instead thought about curling up in the fetal position under my dining table, holding my cat and putting my thumb in my mouth. Meanwhile, I reconverted repaired drawings to PDF and saw that what I fixed prior to the eraser tool’s betrayal turned out well. This was encouraging enough that I was able to stay upright and keep working. Breathe, breathe, it is o k a y.

The only urgency was my self-imposed COME ON ALREADY!! attitude as I waited for Mr. Funny Name, the “expert”. I don’t need the books until November. October or September are fine too, but there is no urgency. (This was my self-talk to keep from losing it.)

So what happened? Guess you’ll have to tune in tomorrow. . .

Final Decisions

Did you know that the more decisions one has to make during the course of a day, the more depleted one’s mental strength and willpower become?

This could be why I feel tired. (Or is it the mural I just finished? Maybe it is that old treatment plant for the neighborhood water system that I helped demolish. . . )

Here is the next slate of decisions before The Cabins of Wilsonia goes to press:

1. Re-evaluate the cover and end-sheet colors when the paper sample arrives.

2. Decide when enough proofreading is enough.

4. Figure out how to convert the whole shebang to a PDF. (Will the computer challenges ever end??)

5. Figure out the price of the book.

6. Figure out the right discount to offer as a pre-sales incentive. You all have to have a reason to hand me your hard-earned dollars before a product is available!

Will I see you in Wilsonia over the Fourth of July weekend?

Not Yet Printed and Already Out-Dated?

There is one last drawing that needed scanning. I drew the cabin several years before I decided to make the book The Cabins of Wilsonia. The photo taken with my old digital camera just isn’t good enough for the book!

I called the customers/friends/cabin owners (all those roles and titles have blurred) to ask if I can borrow back the drawing. The wife and I discussed a trip to Clovis or a trip to Wilsonia. The drive to Wilsonia is prettier, and it is actually closer, so that’s how we did this.

It meant leaving Three Rivers at 9:30 and just blasting up and back quickly (Driving 245 down fast was FUN!!) because I needed to get to Exeter to work on the mural on Rocky Hill Antiques. After retrieving the drawing, I did a short drive around Wilsonia.

Look! The road signs used to look like this:

Now they look like this. AND I saw 2 roads that are NOT in the book – Kearsarge and Muir. it’s okay – there are no cabins on them. Probably used to be. . . sigh.

And this charming, mysterious, always boarded up, and never occupied cabin now looks like this:

Well! Who knew that the book would be outdated before it even goes to press??

More Decisions

Look at what I get to decide now:

1. How many books to print

2. What color of cover material

3. What to say on the About the Artist page

4. What to put on the cover of the book

5. What to do with the extra pages that will be necessary now that I’ve written the Acknowledgments and it ran to two pages and now I need to add seven more so there are multiples of eight (not sixteen, thank goodness) but really only six because I forgot about the About page. Phew. Breathe, chicky-babe, breathe!

I’m sure there will be more decisions ahead. Every time I think I’m almost there, the location of “there” changes! That is the world of self-publishing, and I’m THRILLED that I get to make the decisions instead of a publisher.

Doesn’t this deer look a little baffled? I can relate.

Acknowledging

Did you know that it is proper to spell “acknowledgments” with an “e”? “Acknowledgments” or “acknowledgements”: either one works.

I spent an afternoon reading acknowledgment pages in different books and saw that not a single one used an “e”. I guess I won’t either.

By reading all those pages, I learned what not to say.

“I wish to thank” – really? How about just thanking, rather than wishing to do so.
“My most sincere gratitude goes to. . .” Really? Who does your least sincere gratitude go to?
“So-and-so must be thanked. . .” This is an obligation to you?
“I must mention. . .” Is someone forcing you?

The worst thing I heard about an acknowledgment page was from The Book Designer. He told me that some people list all sorts of big names that didn’t actually participate so that those people will want to buy their books!

Now that I know what not to do, maybe I’d better get on with what needs to be done. Who knew that this would be a difficult part of building a book? And, I’d better stop asking people for help, or I’ll never finish that page.

Book Report on Small Stuff

Getting closer every week. . . closer to what? Getting the book, The Cabins of Wilsonia, to the printer, that’s what!

Shooting stars are small, but in great numbers they make an impact, just like all the tasks left to do before the book goes to the printer.

What’s left?

1. Figure out how to align the page numbers perfectly so when you flip through the book, they don’t jump.

2. Redo the page numbers, which are off because I added 4 more pages in order to have multiples of 16.

3. Make sure the page numbers match the table of contents.

4. Write the acknowledgements page (and stop asking people to help because the page will need to be revised every time someone new helps!)

5. Decide if I want a Library of Congress Card Catalog Number.

6. Figure out how to convert the whole thing to the format required by the printer.

7. Count my pennies to see if I have enough to start the printing process.

8. Oh yeah – choose the paper for the pages. They don’t have my first choice, so I will have to be sure that I don’t get careless and accidentally choose my third choice instead of my second.

Small stuff, except for that page number repair business.

See how all those small shooting stars make an impact when assembled in a meadow. Very soon all my small drawings will be assembled in a cover!

Original Pencil Cabin Drawings Available

As I began selling the original drawings for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia, I knew that the cabin owners should have first dibs on the drawings of their own cabins.

Since I am the one who chose which views and which cabins, there was a risk that some folks would not like my choices.

This means LUCKY YOU! These drawings are now available to anyone who wants to buy them. The link to my website with a shopping cart and Paypal is this.

The drawings vary in size from 6×7″ up to 7×10″ and range in price from $100-$150.

I feel pretty sure that there will be more. . . stay tuned!

Goodbye, Mitch

Wilsonia lost a friend. I didn’t know Mitch Rice for very long nor did I know him well. My husband was friends with him in high school, so Mitch was particularly warm, kind, welcoming, helpful, gracious and hospitable to me, a stranger with a camera and lots of questions. He was probably that way with everyone. I’ll miss him in Wilsonia.

Sold Cabin Drawings

Once I learned that the drawings for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia did not have to be rescanned (GLORY HALLELUJAH!), I began contacting the cabin owners that I’ve met to offer them “first dibs” on the drawings of their cabins.

I only have contact information for about 37 of the cabin owners. (Like that “about 37”? That is sort of like saying “The time is around 12:08 p.m.”) So, if you suspect that your cabin may appear in the book, use the contact tab at the top of my blog and get in touch with me.

Meanwhile, have a look at a few completed drawings that now have a new home.

Sometime I’ll show you some of the drawings that the cabin owners decided they didn’t want to buy. I find it mildly interesting, and you might too. Or maybe I’ll give it some more thought and decide not to show those. More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . .