To produce my novels, I got to save me a lot of money. The first thing I’ll do is publish the corrected version of Central Park, in the Fall. That has priority. I’ll redo the cover art, too, using my airbrush. I think that will lend the cover a more professional look. It’s also important to correct the order forms I placed in the back of the book, making them reflect the reduced prices. I should say realistic prices. I think a lot of us self-publishers price themselves out of the overall market.

Nothing will be published by me until I have no other option left. My novels must run through my agent list first, and the publisher list second. Once those two lists are completed, about six months for each book, I’ll be free to do what I want with them. And why not? I just read that agents are having a hard time selling previously published authors. Those with good yet marginal sales. The mid-list authors. I never would have thought a thing like that possible. In fact, I’m not too sure what to think, but I will keep my eyes open. One thing for sure, this time around I’ll have a more rounded marketing plan, something all-encompassing, reaching for the readers. I’ll try to launch Central Park and one other book for the holiday market. I’ve applied for a grant to help do this, and will apply for more grants.

That leaves me with one last thing to consider, and that’s cash flow. I have one talent that lends itself to positive cash flow. I’m a good artist. I can sell my art on-line. I was hoping this blog would pick up, allowing me to showcase my art projects. But, that isn’t happening. Time to look over the social networking sites, and choose one that fits my goals, catering to the strange, bizarrely cool folks on the Web. I have the feeling Facebook is more geared to what I need. I’ll also be looking into doing cover art for small publishers. See what they need, and what I can do to meet those needs, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

I’ve been eating out the garden, and enjoying it. The first batch of beets are ready, and I always pickle my beets. Managed five pints. I did four pints of green beans, too. Large photos from now on, and below is the garden. The corn stalks are waist high. Barring a big storm, I’ll have a lot of corn to eat over the next year. See you next week.