The Complete Book on Video!

(check out my work at http://www.meloniepacker.com)

We've Gone Digital!

...Well I suppose, since it is digital art I'm doing, you probably think I've gone bananas!

"Oh no", you say, "It has come; the moment we've all been afraid of! After all, haven't many great artists gone mad?  Picasso, Francisco Goya, Mark Ruthko and, our favorite, Vincent Van Gogh?"


What I mean is that my new book, Joy Found in the Simple Things, has been made available for download on the Kindle!  
http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Found-Simple-Things-ebook/dp/B006YG7UYI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326910788&sr=1-1

The process was a long one for us.  We had to make and remake... Because the file is mostly pictures, we ran into several problems and had to reformat, and then rebuild, the entire book.  Actually, I'm surprised we haven't gone bananas!

The key for me has been David.  Many times it is nice to have someone to lean on.  If you don't want to end up like Van Gogh and his fellows, you'd better hope you're not alone in this world!

I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.

Vincent Van Gogh

Read more:http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/v/vincent_van_gogh.html#ixzz1jpt5dvcj

(check out my work at http://www.meloniepacker.com)

Happy Day

After a long wait, and many excruciating hours of work, I got to open up my first package of published copies of Joy Found in the Simple Things!  That is a great feeling! 

A little history: The idea for this book came in December of 2008.  I worked as diligently as I could, with 3 kids, up until May of this year; taking pictures in places ranging from Denver to San Diego and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.  Weeding through thousands of photos, I worked on the best of them creating 45 pieces of art that would make up the soul of the book.  In May I began compiling (and recompiling) the book, writing the heart, designing the cover...  In July we submitted to a publisher and in October we became our own!

It turned out to be a beautiful book, thanks to all those who helped, and I have been so excited to share it!  We gave away 5 copies the first day we got it and sold 6.  I'd say that's a pretty good start!  I feel relieved to have it done, almost the way you feel after a long labor; but when you create something beautiful to add to this world you can't help but feel joy!

(check out my work at http://www.meloniepacker.com)

The Package Has Arrived...

I was surprised to find a package on our front porch earlier this week. Not because it was early; because it was late! I'd begun to think of all the possibilities involving it's untimely arrival. David did something more productive and worked hard on a "game plan" for our business if the book wasn't accepted.

David has suddenly become way more motivated than me. It is great to have a husband who believes in you so much he's willing to quit his job and run our business out of a motor home! Needless to say, that idea will really be "put through the wringer"!

The publishing company was kind enough to reject the photo book... and we are currently in the process of starting up our own publishing company!

"I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process."
-Vincent Van Gogh

(check out my work at http://www.meloniepacker.com)

Down to the Nitty-Gritty

Summer is here and is being thoroughly enjoyed by my little family and me. I find it difficult to be indoors when so much is going on outside. However, I have managed to edit and finish my photo book! (Actually, it was quite exciting in spite of the sun-shiny weather that was beckoning me...) Also, I've tackled mounds of tedious research (not so fun).

We self-published one book through an Amazon company online for a small fee (about $14) so that we could share the copy with our friends and family then discuss it. I was thrilled to receive the published book with my name boldly written on the front cover! We passed it around and everyone liked it. Then... you guessed it, I got those dreaded butterflies again. The good news is that the book could be hid in a drawer to give me some space whenever I felt nauseated. (I am so grateful I'm not doing the fair thing anymore!)

A few weeks ago, I decided to print out a manuscript and send it in to a publisher. (The manuscript cost $95... so you see why we printed the book!) Rude awakening: most publishers wont even look at your manuscript without an agent! What's an agent? Oh, he's the profit-sucking middleman that jumps in between you and your potential publisher and banks off of your life's work. It seems you wont win out there without him... Brilliant really! I ended up finding one publisher that suggests an agent but promises to look at it without one!

David is reading this book for us about true self-publishing; as in starting your own publishing company then hiring out for the printing. Interesting idea... the rough part would then be all of the extra work you'd have to put into marketing. We really don't have any capitol left to get the ball rolling. So, meanwhile, we wait. Maybe we'll get lucky; maybe not... Anyhow, I got to see my name in print!

(check out my work at http://www.meloniepacker.com)

(check out my work at http://www.meloniepacker.com)