Family Tradition
Earlier this month, I worked on removing the leaves from our front yard. This has been a significant chore since we moved into the house in the early 1970s. From then until earlier this year, we had two large trees in our front yard. One, a sycamore with leaves larger than my hand, dropped its leaves in early October. So many leaves, I had to rake them up at least twice during the month. The other, an elm tree, dropped its leaves later in November. Meaning I typically raked leaves three times during the fall.
During a severe windstorm, just before Christmas last year, a large limb from the elm tree blew down onto our roof. After we had the limb removed and examined the tree, we had it removed earlier this year. This summer we missed the shade from that tree since the afternoon sun warmed the house more than it did with the tree’s shade.
While I mowed and cleared the leaves, I remembered how much our children and then our grandchildren liked to play in the piles of sycamore leaves. We would rake the huge leaves into piles almost as tall as them, especially when they were young. They would run through them. Bury themselves in the pile, and even jump into the pile. Though there were enough sticks included, that was not a great idea.
Occasionally, one of my children would ask when I would rake because the grandchildren wanted to play in the leaves. I even got help with the raking when they came over. It was fun for me and made a chore enjoyable. It developed into a family tradition. My grandchildren are all high school age or older, so it has been a while since any played in the leaves. I miss it.
One of my favorite pictures is of my son’s children in a pile of leaves. So many wonderful memories came back as I looked through the pictures to include in this post. Family and family traditions can bring a lot of joy into our lives.
Book Update
I have come to realize the idea of getting a book published is a long, difficult, and frustrating process. As I have noted in previous blogs, I have completed the first draft of my first novel. It was sent to beta readers and I have received feedback from three of the four and should receive feedback from the fourth soon.
Once I receive that feedback, I will edit and rewrite the draft. Then, it will be sent to a Developmental Editor, who will provide an overall structural edit and provide suggestions for improving the novel. Unfortunately, the cost of developmental editing can be high, $2000.00 or more. That is assuming I will self-publish the book. Which seems like the best route at this time.
If I want to traditionally publish the book, I will need to find an agent that thinks they can sell the book to a publisher. It can take months to find an agent. They will try to sell the book to a publisher, which can take even longer. Then I will need to work with the publisher’s editor to refine the book. After completing all of that, it may take two years before the book is actually published. That seems too long for me at my age.
Once the changes from the developmental edit are complete, the book must go through a copy edit and proofread. Both of which can be expensive. I paid for two beta readers using Fiverr, Fiverr – Freelance Services Marketplace, which I thought worked well. I received excellent feedback from both of them.
In looking for a developmental editor I thought I would try both Fiverr and Reedsy, Marketplace (reedsy.com). The initial quotes I received from Reedsy were $1800.00 and $2400.00, both seem too high for me. I think I can get it for less on Fiverr.
Anyway, the total cost could be over $5000.00. I will need to sell a lot of books to cover that cost.
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