I’ve been feeling a bit down, lately. Getting things accomplished is somewhat more difficult in these emotional doldrums.  I’ve been feeling disjointed and unfocused, often even conflicted when it comes to how to proceed with my individual stories and pieces of art.  But I’ve got a bit done.

I put Chapter 1 of the Dragons’ Truth audiobook up at dragonstruth.com.

I added a link to dragonstruth.com over at teelmcclanahan.com, and re-arranged the page a little.

I’ve been waffling for the last week or so on exactly what colors to use for a piece I sketched out, but I spent a few hours working on it in Photoshop last night, pre-visualizing various color schemes, and came upon something which should be both in line with my original thoughts and interesting to look at.  I threw the first coat of paint on it tonight:

I also started and finished another painting this week.  I’m calling it “things i’ve lost“, and I’ll post later with more images and information on making it:

Yes, that’s my hair.

What else?  Hmm…  I’ve uploaded Dragons’ Truth to Podiobooks.com twice now; I’m told it should go online Monday.

Oh, and I’ve been Plurking a lot lately.

First, I want to start by saying that at the end of the video, there is a lie.  Or, as they say in the business world, a “future-looking statement.”  I say that Dragons’ Truth is available as an episodic download from Podiobooks.com - I have been too afraid, so far, to submit it there.  I don’t even know how long the process will take, from submission to getting online.  And even though I’ve read through all the documentation at least twice, the stress/fear-of-failure/fear-of-rejection I’ve been experiencing re: the whole thing has apparently made me feel like I don’t even know what to do to submit it.  Bleh.

But it is available in paperback, and as an audiobook on (MP3) CD.  And I got the packaging in today for the multi-disc audio CD sets.  Now I just have to wait on the new printer (which can print to MUCH smaller margins) so I can print the covers & inserts for those sets, and I’ll put them for sale, and this whole video will be true.

And yes, I’ll probably embed it again when everything in it is true.  I’m sortof just testing YouTube and my ability to make and post videos, right now.  This is my first attempt.  Yes, I looped the audio.  Yes, I know it’s a bit off.  I’m sorry.  Kill me.  I can’t afford a shotgun mic or lapel mic right now, and haven’t worked out a setup for my condenser mic that I feel safe with yet, and which looks okay on video.  I suppose the alternative is lip-syncing to pre-recorded audio, but … that’s a bit weird, too.  What do you think?

(in no particular order)

• Shave
• Make breakfast
• Record Dragons’ Truth Promos:
• – 30sec audio promo (35 seconds)
• Cancelled: – 30sec video promo
• – 60sec audio promo, incl. Ep.1&2 teaser
• Added: – 60sec video promo (I’m still finishing up onthis, but it’s recorded)
• – 60sec video promo, incl. Ep.1&2 teaser
• – 60sec audio promo for Ep.3
• – 60sec video promo for Ep.3
• – Video reading from Ch.1 (<5mins)
• Check on ASU re-admission/FAFSA (FAFSA received, transcript not yet, check later in week)
• Look at Podiobooks.com submission guidelines
• Upload basic audio promos & new outro to Podiobooks Mentorship forum
• Fold clean handkerchiefs
• Put together tithe ($5 short - get more cash before next Sunday!)
• Pay April taxes (business) (State paid - need to take $1.34 downtown for City Tax, because they don’t allow online payments yet.)
• Print First Friday balance sheet
• Do necessary filing (piles of stuff on desk)
• Recycle old Canon printer
• Look up how-to re: Bookkeeping, online
• Write followup letter for 4 First Friday contacts -  mail paper letters, if possible
• End of day: Shower

NOTE: Most of these are small, fast things.  There’s no real reason I can’t accomplish everything here in 1 day.

Oh, and I’ll come back through and strikethrough items I’ve completed, periodically through the day.  Too bad making this post wasn’t on here.

I hear it’s better for SEO (which I believe stands for “Blah Blah Blah,” or “I don’t Really Care,” I can never remember which) for me to make each blog entry contain only one topic instead of posting a big post covering several subjects.  So, tonight, multiple posts.  Let’s see if the silliness of this doesn’t cause me to forget several of my topics.

First: The Dragons’ Truth Audiobook.

I’m as satisfied with the recording as I’m going to be without doing a complete re-record from scratch, and after spending the last month recording, editing, and going over and over and over Dragons’ Truth I’ve remembered why it’s my least favorite of my novels, and have no interest in repeating the entire process immediately.  Maybe next year, or perhaps later this year, if I write a sequel (or the prequel I recently thought of and which -I believe- would make a much better book, all around), I’ll record both of them at the same time for a re-release and “box set” containing the pair.  Bleh, who knows?  Anyway, the recording is done, the mixing is done, I’ve got the Podiobook-compatible files ready and broken into eight episodes ranging from about 28min to 46min in length (avg. ~35min, if I recall correctly), I’ve got CD Master disc images of the MP3 CD and the 4-disc Audio CD versions created and ready to burn.  I’ve received the packaging for the MP3 CDs, designed it all, inside and out, and even have the first two copies burned, assembled, and shrink-wrapped. (Yay, shrink-wrap!  Very nice end-product!)  I forgot to take a bunch of photos of it being assembled to post - I’ll remember to photograph everything when I put together the first of the Audio CD packages, and do a couple more MP3 CD packages at the same time.  The packaging I chose for the multi-disc Audio CD sets will arrive Monday (UPS-willing), and I’ve begun working on the cover for that as well (which is a headache, btw, and I’m not sure my printer is up to the task.  If I forget, remind me to try: Print from two sides, 50% opacity on overlapping center, scream and cry when alignment is inevitably off), so with any luck, those will be good to go on Monday as well.  ((ooh, I forgot to buy more labels for those.  Sigh.  Add that to shopping list.))

Erk.  I just spent two hours (since the last paragraph) adding the MP3 Audiobook to modernevil.com (and updating the styling a bit).  You can now order the MP3 Audiobook.  I will add the link for ordering the audio CD version as soon as I have a copy in hand that I consider salable.  I’ve priced both the MP3 CD version and the AudioCD version a little lower than I probably ought to have, but since there’s no sales through standard retail channels (I don’t have & can’t afford mass production, warehousing, distribution, et cetera) for the audiobooks -which is to say that I’m manually making them with my own two hands and then shipping them out- I don’t have to worry too much about making sure I still get a profit after retail takes 50%+ like I do with my paperbacks; I’m the sole retailer.

The Dragons’ Truth Paperback is $12.99.

The Dragons’ Truth Audiobook on 1 MP3 CD is $12.99.

The Dragons’ Truth Audiobook on 4 Audio CDs will probably be $25.99.

If I offered a version that contained the paperback and all 5 discs for $44.99, would anyone buy it?

–Oh, and since I’ve passed 1:30AM now, I’m not going to do the other posts tonight.  At least one of them requires more Photoshop work.  I’ve made a list of them, and I’ll post more tomorrow.  LJ people who notice this post: I’ll cross-post tomorrow, too.  Goodnight!