Apparently I Need a Theme for Every Day

So I'm down to posting only on Tuesdays because I have this stack of photos on my desk to remind me. Perhaps I just need a theme-a-day to keep me going!

This week I cleared the calendar to complete one of my volunteer duties -- a job I've been telling myself I was going to finish each week since mid-December. I'm the yearbook editor for the Kansas Authors Club. Each year we put together a booklet detailing the activities of the club for the year, literary contributions from the members, and a directory. I took the job last year, so this is my second book. I made quite a few minor changes to the format of the book last year and they were mostly met with positive response. So this year I've gone and tweaked things a little more aggresively. In fact, all the tweaking has probably slowed my progress (last year I had it to the printer before January 1st), but I'm extremely happy with the end product. At least... I'm pretty sure I will be once I have the printed book in hand.

I have one more small document to put together to complete the project for the year. I think I've recruited a band of helpers for the mail prep part. That took a LONG time last year. Stuffing 500 books into envelopes and labeling them and preparing them for bulk mailing takes a lot of hours when you are on your own. The kids helped some last year, but quickly lost interest. This year I've recruited some KAC members from Topeka to help. I'm actually looking forward to the last leg of this project now -- feels more like preparing for a party. I love putting the book together... getting it ready to mail = not so fun. So hopefully the help will make all the difference.

Somewhere I was reading that "real writers" don't volunteer their time. There's probably something to that, but I have to say that my involvement in KAC has enriched my life more than taken from it. I've gotten to know some people who really inspire me. Through my contacts with KAC writers, I've been encouraged to try things I might not have tried otherwise.

And this year I've managed to get the job done AND get a lot of writing work done during the same time period. Busy is as busy does -- right?