Okay, Tuesdays and Thursdays are my "days off" --in other words, the days I can focus fully on doing things for G.U.P. Well, the baby was sick over the weekend and that has spread to most of the rest of the family (not me, yet, but probably won't be long). So ... the baby is better and went to daycare but the older 3 kids are ALL home from school sick. My wife was on-call on Sunday so she has today off. She isn't feeling well either. So much for a day of getting work done and having a nice lunch date with my lovely wife.
Well, the day shouldn't be a total loss. I hope to get some work done in a bit. The problem is, I still need to get some Christmas decorations taken down, with people sick over the weekend I didn't get it done. Not thrilled with the idea really, probably wait until this afternoon and see if the kids are feeling well enough to help. My oldest was able to finish a piece of toast before dragging himself back to bed. He is the one that is truly very helpful, we'll see if he is recovered later.
Speaking of my oldest, he did a drawing for me a few weeks ago that I need to scan and put on the Art page on the G.U.P. website.
The cartographer in England that I have been hoping to work with got in touch with me earlier this week, as I figured the holidays hit him pretty hard with distractions. I was planning to wait until today to get back in touch with him but he contacted me first, a very good sign in my book. I did email him with some concerns though. A friend of mine told me that when he lived in England the bank would charge him the equivalent of $20 to deposit or cash a check drawn on a US bank (in dollars)--that is in addition to the currency exchange fees. I need to find a way to pay without someone getting hit with fees that essentially negate anything I am paying. I believe I can do this via PayPal, and I have the Paypal website up in another window to go check it all out.
Goals for today, review a submission that came in right before the holidays, finish up a couple of sketches, get some writing done (2,000 word goal for today). I will try to post later with how successful I am.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Wow!
Well, interesting things have been happening lately, along with, well, not-so-interesting things...
Short post as it is very late and I have dealt with a sick infant all evening long. Getting thrown-up on gets old very fast.
Anyway, I discussed my idea for a children's game with several game companies and some distributors last summer and in early fall. The main reason for setting up G.U.P. was to gain experience in order to eventually work on releasing the game. Distributors told me that it would be a difficult sell as it didn't easily fit into a classification. Well, one of the companies I talked to contacted me via email and is interested in "purchasing the outline and ideas." Interestingly, when I read between the lines, the wording seems to indicate that they might already be working on something similar and they have decided to buy me out too just because I talked to them about it before. Not really sure, but I will talk to them about it. I can call the person I spoke to before next week, or wait and meet with him in person when he is in San Antonio later this month or in early Feb. I don't see a reason not to sell the game idea, particularly if they are working on something similar, there is no way I can compete with a company that is already established making and selling educational games. After all, I proposed the idea to them first because I thought they could do it best.
This could create a bit of a dilemma for me. I am frustrated with the way some things have gone lately, and now the original reason for starting the company could well disappear. On the other hand, I HATE the idea of stopping the company due to this. I would much rather press forward. As it is, I already have several products very close to completion, I simply can't imagine stopping. Well, fading fast and the baby is actually asleep. I'll try to spout off more about it tomorrow, but knowing me that means Tuesday (my "work" day).
Short post as it is very late and I have dealt with a sick infant all evening long. Getting thrown-up on gets old very fast.
Anyway, I discussed my idea for a children's game with several game companies and some distributors last summer and in early fall. The main reason for setting up G.U.P. was to gain experience in order to eventually work on releasing the game. Distributors told me that it would be a difficult sell as it didn't easily fit into a classification. Well, one of the companies I talked to contacted me via email and is interested in "purchasing the outline and ideas." Interestingly, when I read between the lines, the wording seems to indicate that they might already be working on something similar and they have decided to buy me out too just because I talked to them about it before. Not really sure, but I will talk to them about it. I can call the person I spoke to before next week, or wait and meet with him in person when he is in San Antonio later this month or in early Feb. I don't see a reason not to sell the game idea, particularly if they are working on something similar, there is no way I can compete with a company that is already established making and selling educational games. After all, I proposed the idea to them first because I thought they could do it best.
This could create a bit of a dilemma for me. I am frustrated with the way some things have gone lately, and now the original reason for starting the company could well disappear. On the other hand, I HATE the idea of stopping the company due to this. I would much rather press forward. As it is, I already have several products very close to completion, I simply can't imagine stopping. Well, fading fast and the baby is actually asleep. I'll try to spout off more about it tomorrow, but knowing me that means Tuesday (my "work" day).
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year!
Okay, this is a day late. I was going to post last night but I forgot my Blogger password and, well, was lazy enough while watching football that I didn't go look it up. The New Year is shaping up to be busier than the last, but that is how I keep out of trouble ;).
I have a number of goals for the year that I plan to post up here, and I can even put a few up here right now.
First, more focus and effort on G.U.P. I plan to do this by having set workdays and times dedicated to nothing but the company. I have done this by arranging things with my wife as well as daycare time for the baby. This started working very well during December and now that the holidays are over, it should work even better.
Second, better organization and communication. I need to have better lines of communication with the freelancers that are or might be working for me with G.U.P. as well as better communication with publishers that I am working for or want to collaborate with. This means that some of the "dedicated company time" is going to be set aside specifically to send emails or make phone calls. This communication includes time on my own company forums (that I should have open for connecting to sometime soon-they are set-up, I just need to organize the topics, etc.) as well as other forums.
Those are some major, long-term goals for developing the company. I have a few other short-term goals that are somewhat unrelated. These include things like, re-do the living room (new floor, probably re-paint, new furniture--yes, I have already budgeted for these, the money has been saved in the bank waiting to get this done), re-paint the boys' bedrooms and the kids' gameroom, and probably new carpet upstairs by the end of the year.
When I really start writing things down, well, the lists get pretty long. My wife surprised me at Christmas with a new Palm pilot. I have never really used an organizer like this before, but I am truly enjoying it. I can put all of the different events for the children into the calendar, and each can have their own color. This means a simple glance at the calendar shows any overlapping events in plenty of time to make carpool arrangements and/or other driving arrangements. It is also very handy for organizing addresses, phone numbers, etc. All of those can be categorized too.
Well, I am on "bonus time" right now as my wife just took the kids out to lunch. I need to get a few things done with the extra time. I wish they were all company related, but they include such thrilling things as changing lightbulbs, cleaning up a few things, etc.
I have a number of goals for the year that I plan to post up here, and I can even put a few up here right now.
First, more focus and effort on G.U.P. I plan to do this by having set workdays and times dedicated to nothing but the company. I have done this by arranging things with my wife as well as daycare time for the baby. This started working very well during December and now that the holidays are over, it should work even better.
Second, better organization and communication. I need to have better lines of communication with the freelancers that are or might be working for me with G.U.P. as well as better communication with publishers that I am working for or want to collaborate with. This means that some of the "dedicated company time" is going to be set aside specifically to send emails or make phone calls. This communication includes time on my own company forums (that I should have open for connecting to sometime soon-they are set-up, I just need to organize the topics, etc.) as well as other forums.
Those are some major, long-term goals for developing the company. I have a few other short-term goals that are somewhat unrelated. These include things like, re-do the living room (new floor, probably re-paint, new furniture--yes, I have already budgeted for these, the money has been saved in the bank waiting to get this done), re-paint the boys' bedrooms and the kids' gameroom, and probably new carpet upstairs by the end of the year.
When I really start writing things down, well, the lists get pretty long. My wife surprised me at Christmas with a new Palm pilot. I have never really used an organizer like this before, but I am truly enjoying it. I can put all of the different events for the children into the calendar, and each can have their own color. This means a simple glance at the calendar shows any overlapping events in plenty of time to make carpool arrangements and/or other driving arrangements. It is also very handy for organizing addresses, phone numbers, etc. All of those can be categorized too.
Well, I am on "bonus time" right now as my wife just took the kids out to lunch. I need to get a few things done with the extra time. I wish they were all company related, but they include such thrilling things as changing lightbulbs, cleaning up a few things, etc.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Merry Christmas
Okay, I really was going to post more often than this. I guess this will end up fairly long then. First, the work side of things...
I do have some website updates that I still haven't uploaded. This is because they include links to the forums that I set up. I haven't been ready to set all of the various sub-forums or monitor the forums so I haven't uploaded the links yet. I don't really expect the forums to take off right away, but that is okay. In any case, I need to be able to stop by them myself to monitor them.
I really hoped to have products out by now, but that simply hasn't happened. Early last October I decided to go with color cover art that would go for the entire City Streets line. I contracted with an artist to have that work done. He crapped out on me. I was spectacularly disappointed as I was paying pretty well and the contract promised to pay On Delivery. At the same time I contracted with a graphic layout specialist to create some easy-to-use templates for the City Streets line (and another possible line). I was paying toward the high end for the layout templates because these were going to be re-used. Again, I contracted to pay "on delivery." Well, nothing got delivered and this really, really threw me. I emailed several times and allowed an extra month. Still nothing. I had to send messages "rescinding" the contract due to non-delivery. I can't contract with someone else and then have someone deliver something late and demand payment. This brought me right up to the holidays so I made the difficult decision to go ahead and delay releases for as long as necessary to get things done. I have several locations written but I still need art and cartography.
Cartography is one of my other difficult areas. I have someone that was planning to do at least one map for me, possibly more. I'll be in touch with him again after the holidays are over (ie. next week).
It is "interesting" to be on the publishing side now. As a freelancer I have people that owe me literally thousands of dollars (I believe the total is about $5K US now), now I see why publishers would complain about people having work turned in late, etc.
It looks like the strongest luck I have is with writing, several people are working on short manuscripts now. I am hoping the delays due to art constraints won't frustrate those writers. I want to have 4 solid products already finished before I release the promotional freebie. I guess this means 5 products finished and ready, and I am not there yet.
Okay, brighter times, fun and family.
We have had a wonderful Christmas here. My parents spent some time with us before Christmas, then we had a relaxing Christmas with just our family before heading off to Houston to spend time with my wife's family. Christmas morning the kids actually let us sleep late. The baby woke up fairly early, but fell back to sleep and my wife let he and I stay in bed until around 9 AM. That is total decadence for us. The children loved their gifts, although our 8 month old was content to play with the paper and boxes for a while before moving onto his toys.
I have heard stories about horribly stressful Christmas Days for some, I guess we are lucky. We spend a lot of time reminding the children of the "reason for the season" and teaching them to be thankful for what they have. I can't say there wasn't some stress before the holiday while getting ready, but really, that has always been pretty minor.
The weather here in San Antonio has been wonderful so the kids have had a lot of time outside, along with plenty of time inside on their new video games. We have been able to simply relax and enjoy ourselves a bit. My wife just got back from taking the kids off to the Library (and a little shopping) so I suppose I better finish this up.
I guess the next thing we have coming up is New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. We don't even have plans right now. We are just letting things happen and it is amazingly stress-free. I don't really do "resolutions" for New Year's. I do make lists of goals though. I will probably list those here in a few days so I have a nice reminder next year at this time of what I did, and did not, get done.
I do have some website updates that I still haven't uploaded. This is because they include links to the forums that I set up. I haven't been ready to set all of the various sub-forums or monitor the forums so I haven't uploaded the links yet. I don't really expect the forums to take off right away, but that is okay. In any case, I need to be able to stop by them myself to monitor them.
I really hoped to have products out by now, but that simply hasn't happened. Early last October I decided to go with color cover art that would go for the entire City Streets line. I contracted with an artist to have that work done. He crapped out on me. I was spectacularly disappointed as I was paying pretty well and the contract promised to pay On Delivery. At the same time I contracted with a graphic layout specialist to create some easy-to-use templates for the City Streets line (and another possible line). I was paying toward the high end for the layout templates because these were going to be re-used. Again, I contracted to pay "on delivery." Well, nothing got delivered and this really, really threw me. I emailed several times and allowed an extra month. Still nothing. I had to send messages "rescinding" the contract due to non-delivery. I can't contract with someone else and then have someone deliver something late and demand payment. This brought me right up to the holidays so I made the difficult decision to go ahead and delay releases for as long as necessary to get things done. I have several locations written but I still need art and cartography.
Cartography is one of my other difficult areas. I have someone that was planning to do at least one map for me, possibly more. I'll be in touch with him again after the holidays are over (ie. next week).
It is "interesting" to be on the publishing side now. As a freelancer I have people that owe me literally thousands of dollars (I believe the total is about $5K US now), now I see why publishers would complain about people having work turned in late, etc.
It looks like the strongest luck I have is with writing, several people are working on short manuscripts now. I am hoping the delays due to art constraints won't frustrate those writers. I want to have 4 solid products already finished before I release the promotional freebie. I guess this means 5 products finished and ready, and I am not there yet.
Okay, brighter times, fun and family.
We have had a wonderful Christmas here. My parents spent some time with us before Christmas, then we had a relaxing Christmas with just our family before heading off to Houston to spend time with my wife's family. Christmas morning the kids actually let us sleep late. The baby woke up fairly early, but fell back to sleep and my wife let he and I stay in bed until around 9 AM. That is total decadence for us. The children loved their gifts, although our 8 month old was content to play with the paper and boxes for a while before moving onto his toys.
I have heard stories about horribly stressful Christmas Days for some, I guess we are lucky. We spend a lot of time reminding the children of the "reason for the season" and teaching them to be thankful for what they have. I can't say there wasn't some stress before the holiday while getting ready, but really, that has always been pretty minor.
The weather here in San Antonio has been wonderful so the kids have had a lot of time outside, along with plenty of time inside on their new video games. We have been able to simply relax and enjoy ourselves a bit. My wife just got back from taking the kids off to the Library (and a little shopping) so I suppose I better finish this up.
I guess the next thing we have coming up is New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. We don't even have plans right now. We are just letting things happen and it is amazingly stress-free. I don't really do "resolutions" for New Year's. I do make lists of goals though. I will probably list those here in a few days so I have a nice reminder next year at this time of what I did, and did not, get done.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Decisions
Okay, I just noticed that some of the website updates for G.U.P. weren't uploaded. That is okay though, I am in the midst of doing some more. Taking a bit more time on things now and trying to be more patient. The holidays have slowed everything down for me. Strangely, my boys still have soccer and basketball practices, yeah, yeah, I know, they should have a break from that too.
In any case, the cover art I contracted for the City Streets line never materialized and the person I contracted with to create layout templates for the CS line and another unannounced line never sent anything back either. These two items I was paying pretty well for but I guess the exchange rate made that pay pretty poor too. I guess I believed that when people signed and returned contracts the work would get done. November 15 is long gone now and these two crucial pieces of work simply haven't appeared. If anyone knows some people interested in this, let me know. I think I am going back to the original black and white cover idea I first had. The color cover isn't going to work out. I don't think a new artist will be back to me quickly enough with a color cover to my specs. We'll see.
The most painful decision is the massive delay in releasing anything. I don't want to release promotional products until I have a line-up of products to promote. While several locations are written, more work is to be done, and I want to have 4 products FINISHED and ready to go before putting up a promotional product.
I have a few sketches that I will be using, I will probably post those up on the website sometime soon. My 12-year old did a sketch for me too, it came out pretty well. I will scan that soon as well. Hmmm, maybe I need to get him to stretch his artistic skills this holiday break and do a few more character sketches for me, possibly some buildings too.
My parents are visiting this coming week. This means I will either a) get a lot done as they help by playing with the baby or b) get practically nothing done as we wander around San Antonio looking at the sights and my folks go and look at houses (they are thinking about moving here eventually). I am guessing if the weather is nice it will be (b) otherwise, maybe (a).
Oh, Mike and Todd, thanks for the suggestions, nice to know that maybe 5-6 people actually read this ;).
In any case, the cover art I contracted for the City Streets line never materialized and the person I contracted with to create layout templates for the CS line and another unannounced line never sent anything back either. These two items I was paying pretty well for but I guess the exchange rate made that pay pretty poor too. I guess I believed that when people signed and returned contracts the work would get done. November 15 is long gone now and these two crucial pieces of work simply haven't appeared. If anyone knows some people interested in this, let me know. I think I am going back to the original black and white cover idea I first had. The color cover isn't going to work out. I don't think a new artist will be back to me quickly enough with a color cover to my specs. We'll see.
The most painful decision is the massive delay in releasing anything. I don't want to release promotional products until I have a line-up of products to promote. While several locations are written, more work is to be done, and I want to have 4 products FINISHED and ready to go before putting up a promotional product.
I have a few sketches that I will be using, I will probably post those up on the website sometime soon. My 12-year old did a sketch for me too, it came out pretty well. I will scan that soon as well. Hmmm, maybe I need to get him to stretch his artistic skills this holiday break and do a few more character sketches for me, possibly some buildings too.
My parents are visiting this coming week. This means I will either a) get a lot done as they help by playing with the baby or b) get practically nothing done as we wander around San Antonio looking at the sights and my folks go and look at houses (they are thinking about moving here eventually). I am guessing if the weather is nice it will be (b) otherwise, maybe (a).
Oh, Mike and Todd, thanks for the suggestions, nice to know that maybe 5-6 people actually read this ;).
Saturday, December 8, 2007
42
Well, I hate to say it, but I am 42 today. This pretty much means it was my "day off" from most things. I got to stay in bed while my lovely wife got up and made breakfast and the kids stayed quiet and let me sleep in. I didn't get up until almost 8:00. Last night we went out to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant, which, in San Antonio, means something. Today we had a number of family things to do, but my wife and kids gave me plenty of free time to just relax. This means that tomorrow I still need to put up the outside Christmas decorations.
One of the things I did today was create a forum for Generic Universe Publishing. I need to get a logo finalized and pop that up, I also need to take care of the website a bit. I hope to have some of those things done sometime tomorrow. That might get hurt a bit by a basketball game in the middle of the afternoon. No, not NBA, 9 and under CYO ;). If I don't get things up tomorrow, I SHOULD be able to get them up on Tuesday. Monday is shot so it won't happen then.
'til later...
One of the things I did today was create a forum for Generic Universe Publishing. I need to get a logo finalized and pop that up, I also need to take care of the website a bit. I hope to have some of those things done sometime tomorrow. That might get hurt a bit by a basketball game in the middle of the afternoon. No, not NBA, 9 and under CYO ;). If I don't get things up tomorrow, I SHOULD be able to get them up on Tuesday. Monday is shot so it won't happen then.
'til later...
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Getting on a roll ...
Okay, it has been a busy day, but for a while today I was really on a roll and getting some writing done, a bit of sketching done, and some other more boring things done. Then a lot of other things popped up screaming to be taken care of. Maybe I can get back up to speed later tonight. We need to head out for a school event tonight. Come to think of it, I should be calling the kids inside to make sure they are read to go. I THOUGHT I had time to post, oh well.
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