I've been a visual artist for something like forty five years. I've been extremly lucky in that I have a supportive and involved family - and my paintings and sculptures have met with steady acceptance and enough monitary success that I can feel good about my choice of career. A bit of native talant and a Northern European stubborn tenacity also helped me in a good way. At some point a few years ago, I decided that large wooden boats - of which I've owned three, are really just big sculptures in disquise - so I found a tired old classic ocean racer in Maryland and brought it back to St. Paul, Mn. where I spent two years restoring it to it's former beautiful self. It is 42' of lumber built in England in 1937 and now resides in Valencia, Spain where her new owner lives.
So fascinated was I in the process and in the challenge of my wife and I teaching ourselves to sail that I decided to write a book about the experience. I've always loved words and books, but never thought I would write one. The book took me a year to write, and once I sort of got in the groove, the task became very pleasant as I tapped away on my little keyboard. At some point the book was finished and I put the manuscript in the mail to a publisher in New York who produces nautical books. I didn't write a synopsis or a query letter or send three chapters that might characterize the book, or list potential competing books on the market because I had no idea at the time that was the way one is supposed to proceed. I just sent the manuscript and a short letter of introduction. I had approached this book project like I approach making art. I start, I work towards an end, I adjust as I go, and I don't fight the process because I am a proponent of the Japanese philosophy called "Wabi Sabi" whose three tenants state: Nothing is perfect, nothing is ever finished and nothing lasts forever.
This is not to say one doesn't strive for perfection, finish and long life. It simply means that I try to avoid the standard creative constipation that we all are so subject to. As I get older, this feeling gets stronger because time is now a factor. So, when I received an email from the publisher offering a contract to publish and a check for a thousand dollars and a promise that the book would appear not only on Amazon.com but would also appear on the shelves of Barnes and Noble - well, I was thrilled. I was also feeling like this was indeed very much like making any other art. You do your work, present it to the public and if the public likes the work, a circle has been made. Simple and fun - when it works that way.
The book was printed and distributed, I did some book signings, received mail from around the world from other wooden boat restorers, made a little money and had lots of fun as a new author. I still have fun with that book even though the boat is no longer mine. Since that was so much fun I decided to write more books. I've written two more and am working on another - and here's where things get hairy. In the process of writing these two more books, ( which has taken a couple of years) I've learned how incredibly lucky I was to get a publisher to accept that first little manuscript and how oblivious I was to the outrageously complex and convoluted publishing system as it exists today. Everyone said "Hey Jack, now that you've been published once, you're a shoe in for more books." NO! My second and third books had nothing to do with boats so my original publisher was not of course interested and he wasn't into connecting me with any of his publishing pals.
The more I learned about the system, the more unreachable the whole book writing idea seemed to be - and the numbers regarding submissions submitted and submissions chosen and the dollar return for the effort and the whole draconian set up in the publishing world made me question why I wanted to be involved at all.
Stay tuned and I'll tell you why - and what I did about it. If you're interested in the boat experience you should read "The Lilibet Logs" published by Sheridan House and available at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble or Sheridan House Publishing.com
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