Progress

I got up early this morning and drank my coffee at my computer. One of the goals for me this week was to decide on all the pieces for the Life 101 Book. I decided to go with the columns that have been (and will be) published in the Mountain Eagle. I've got all the selections written and I'm in the process of doing the edits and selecting the artwork. I'm not through but I'm close enough to smell the barn. I will have it by Sunday.
I have a call tonight with a friend in the publishing/media business. She lives in New York and I trust her opinion. She asked if the book has local, regional or national appeal. I did not know how to respond. I know local folks enjoy the column because I am approached every time I go out in public. There is no way of knowing if the book would have a wider appeal. There is so much I don't know. As it turns out, it seems that perhaps the writing is the easy part.
Getting this thing into print may be a daunting task, but I'm excited.
I have some other friends in various areas of publishing and more than one of them seems to be trying to dampen my enthusiasm. Perhaps they don't want me to get my hopes up only to be let down. What they don't understand is that I'm not trying to compete with Harry Potter or the DeVinci Code - I'm just trying to take a baby step and learn as much as I can with this first book. The more I learn the easier it will be for the next book I write. Like the old joke goes, "you can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket."