3/3/08-3/17/08

I’ve finished uploading abby’s toned images to the server. We’ve done several re-edits at the request of shane and rita. I’ve added those pics to the server as well. I have started designing the portrait sections that we have and the one story that we’ve gotten back from the copy-editor. We are all tired and ready for this to be done. We are constantly sending a flurry of emails back and forth, which I’ll probably attach. Anything I can find arrow rock related is going to be crammed into whatever monstrosity of a binder I turn in.

We had a skype test phone call, followed by an actual two hour conversation, me on the London end, abby, rita and shane on the other end. We discussed title, back of book, various re-edits, and other points of clarification. We have chosen a title, that at least Rita and David like. Arrow Rock: Living the pioneer life. Rita likes the double entendre of the title. I don’t think people will think hard enough to see it though – I think they’ll be stuck on the idea of covered wagons and coonskin caps. Maybe I’m wrong though, and that’s exactly what tourists are looking for. I just thought the whole point of the book was to go deeper than the surface, but that title certainly does not reflect that. I know the title is supposed to sell the book though, so it’s not necessarily reflective of content. I don’t really like it, but I didn’t have support for the one I preferred, and so there it is. I understand why rita likes it, but I still think it sounds too much like a textbook. Such is life when your master’s project involves finances and other people. After all, I’m not providing the financial backing. It’s hard for me to let go, I realize what a control freak I am. Abby is a saint to put up with me for so long. I try hard to play nicely, but sometimes my passion for a project overrides diplomacy, or, as Rita pointed out, professionalism. For me, with all the time we’ve invested in this, especially between Shane, Abby and I, I feel it’s kinda past the professionalism point, though I understand the reasons for maintaining that. But, you get so deep into something, pour in so much, and that line just blurs until it’s erased. I try to tell myself I don’t care, but I DO care. And then I tell myself for the greater good of the team to take being outvoted gracefully, but I sometimes lack that perspective or ability to bend. I am aware of my sometimes difficult nature. Rita put Abby and I together because she knows how patient Abby is, and can tolerate my more stormy approach to things. I am including this in the journal because I think it’s an important thing to think about for future bookmakers: if you’re going to work with a bunch of people on a long, involved project like this where people become deeply invested at every level, then it is imperative that it be people who can work and communicate well with each other. This is no small thing – there have been times where I’ve been so tired of the project and seeming circles we occasionally go in (completely re-editing stories at this late hour) that I feel like the project will never end, that it’s hopeless, that I’m banging my head against a wall. But those are only the darker moments – there is a light at the end of the tunnel, there will be a great project to show for it, and it is thanks to my team that we all keep going during the rougher times– that when one of us gets overwhelmed or depressed, the others cheer that individual up, and we all keep going.