Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.

I shouldn’t take the time right now to write this, especially when I have an unfinished prompt sitting in my Draft Folder. My blog has been lonely too long. Besides, I miss all of you. So, here goes:

Projects

I could have written a post for a manual labor project of remodeling a room, or rooms, an outside garden project, or installing a generator in a car. I chose something else. My first self-published book Howdy, Ma’am. The book has such a history, it took two blog posts to write the full timeline: Howdy, Ma’am: the Journey Part one and Timeline Part Two, the Journey of Book. It wasn’t my intention, but it reads like a chapter taken from my memoir, if I ever wrote one.

Brain Work & Responsibilities

When I say DIY, I mean the mental anguish work of plotting it out, writing the book, editing and revising it on my own. Proofreading and uploading it for publication. Add marketing to the DIY batch.

Let’s not forget we have to find the time for sitting-the-fanny-in-the-chair. Do you have kids and a full time job? Good luck.

Learning

We could count all the studying and research necessary to do the aforementioned as a project too. Albeit, I can’t call the project in its entirety a Do It Yourselfer. If so, I would have formatted it myself, created the book cover, and edited it all myself. Big mistake on all sides – for me. I’m smart enough to know what I can’t do.

Getting Out of Your Own Way

This girl is creative but not talented enough to create a cover or good enough to edit my own book. Many of you do your own covers and formatting. Pat yourselves on the back, my friends. A while back, I had to learn how to format when my formatter retired. I still don’t call myself an expert. Every new book takes me through a multitude of emotions from the joy in finishing it to freaking out about preparing it, publishing it, and whatever happens next. I’ve accepted this will not change.

So, yes, in conclusion, I still say one of the biggest DIY projects I’ve taken on is my dream job of writing and publishing a book.

Dear friends and visitors, can you think of an ambitious DIY project you have taken on?

Thanks for reading!

Mic drop and out. 😎 Peace.