Write down the stages that need to be accomplished in the order you need them and go ahead and get started. You will learn as you go and it wouldn't hurt to imitate another book along the same lines. It will be like eating an elephant: it seems insurmountable at first but you just take it one bite at a time. I did write a childrens book and for me, the hardest part was not writing, illustration or printing which I did myself, but was the marketing. You should say in both the front and the back HOW TO REORDER. Give this information as many ways as possible, phone number, postal mail and email. Next you must promote the book so print a few extras for promotional use. Tell if you wish, the committees involved in publishing the book and what the profits will be used for. Decide on a price and check on what the cost of postage and envelopes would be if it has to be mailed. The printer may keep records in case there is a reprint but I would keep a copy of the original myself on a disk stored in a secure place in case there are any revisions and there usually are. Identify your potential market and sales venues.

Wow! You have lots of really good ideas. Some of you seem a little overwhelmed, like I am! Too many good ideas (and getting more every day), not enough time! Luvs, I never thought of actually sitting down with a cup of coffee and looking through my Christmas files (duh) prior to the Christmas shopping season (although most of what I buy is second-hand still there's more selection nearer to the holidays)... Karen--you can fit all your Decor ideas in ONE file???! Dreamgoddess--I love the idea of having all my jottings in one notebook--but once I turn the page the old ones are gone from my memory! You probably (undoubtedly) have more discipline than I have... OA--I do something like you do with the recipes but I use scrapbook software. I'm pleased with that because I can add text and the software treats it like a graphic--lets me move it around, put it on top of pictures, etc., but it still stays editable for when I spot a typo (very irritating to me) or want to rearrange the page. You can also add arrows or circle items in the photo or illustrations, and fancy them up if you want. I save the pages to .jpg files after I'm done. Then I can just view them with the Windows viewer. The disadvantage is there's no way to sort them or search them. I have to put them all in individual folders like Christmas, etc. If I want to have an index I have to make one in Excel or some such. I love the idea of putting all the things for each room in their own boxes. We will be moving into our new home this winter and as I unpack (my very disorganized) moving boxes I'll keep that in mind. Have to go get tons of plastic bins... Minnie tx--Yes. I've organized my articles like that in the past and there's nothing like thumbing through those nice page protectors--makes your pictures look even better. But I have SO MANY! Once I almost completed a system like that and I had 21 3-ring notebooks full and more coming all the time. I've weeded out since then (HAD TO!) and of course since I was younger there's many more formats--dvd's (stuff I recorded off HGTV, for example), Internet downloads, how-to videos on the Internet, of course digital pix that I sneak sometimes in stores, etc. So much mixed media! dd50- you've hit the nail on the head! That's me, wandering around the store, getting ideas, and wondering if I already have the stuff at home. After this over-budget house is finished, I'm not going to be able to afford buying (even something cheap) twice! neesie--DH uses a pencil and notepad for anything he wants to remember, and it works for him, but he's an engineer. They're BORN organized. lynn--I scan pix from magazines and catalogs too (they can sure mount up). But your system sounds so organized. I just finished culling about 300MB of graphics files duplicates that I had propagated all over the disk. BTW, make sure you all have backups. DH made us a little network with a big hard drive so we can back up to it. But if you don't have that, I like the little thumb drives--I got a 4 GB one for Christmas last year. That holds a lot of files! THANKS FOR ALL THE SUGGESTIONS! Seems nothing is perfect. As I mentioned, I'm using scrapbook software which makes graphics and text very easy to handle (OA--if you want "freeform" pages the scrapbooking software is better than a database like Filemaker. Databases usually require you to have your data in fixed format (which you define). For example, at least when I was using databases, you would have to define the number of pictures you could allow in each record. Of course, databases may be a lot fancier now, but their search-sort functions should require some rigidity in the format of each record.) What I really need to find to augment this is a calendar-shopping list-inventory program that takes all those ideas in my brain and makes them usable! - Magpie

Good Morning from Cookie Central! DeeMarie - I figured I had better post, as it looked like you were talking to yourself again! LOL I have all my cookies made and in the freezer except for the Pizzelles. I will do anise and orange ones on Saturday. They aren't hard, just time consuming, as I make extras to give away. I also made 13 dozen Lady Lock Squares and 15 dozen Cream Wafers to give away. Why do I do this to myself?! Jen - I mailed your package on Wednesday. It is big! Hope it gets there in one piece. I apologize now for all the packaging tape I used! LOL DMIL is getting better, but she is getting mean in the process. She can't accept help easily and she keeps yelling at everyone who tries to help her. She is still using the walker to get around, but I can tell she is getting stronger. Yesterday she ate eggs and toast for breakfast and beef noodle soup for lunch, so we are making progress. I wrapped everything I had bought and now I am waiting on some late arrivals form UPS. I ordered a couple of things that were guaranteed to be here by the 23rd, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. DD will graduate on Friday and we are having a small get together for her Friday night. DS won't be in until Saturday though, as he is driving from FL instead of flying. Luckily DD arranged to graduate at a branch campus near us, so we don't have to drive to State College. DD has been offered a temporary job in State College in her field, HR. She accepted, but she had to find another apartment, since she had arranged for someone to sublet from her when she thought she would be coming home. I am happy she found something that will give her experience and look good on her resume, but I told her she has to leave PSU sometime! LOL ((Raeanne)) - I hope your DD can make it home for the holidays. I dread the days when my kids can't be here. Patti - LOL - I read that Peanut M&Ms aren't supposed to raise your blood sugar, but I am afraid that moderation isn't one of my strong points. Also, I have found that sugar and chocolate in particular, affect my sleep, so I am trying to avoid them as much as I can. (You may ask why I made so many cookies, and I don't have a good answer for that! LOL I guess tradition is stronger than common sense!) Give Dave a HUG for me! Have you talked to Milkdud recently? I wish she would come back and post again. Donna - Did you ever get the new URL for Picture Trail. I don't have your email address. I will try sending an email through this site. Let me know if you don't get it. Are you getting in the Christmas groove yet? LOL Joanne - I hope you are able to slow down and enjoy the holidays. How is your mother doing? Besh - Are you going to have your family home for Christmas? NHSuzanne - I bet you are loving this warm weather. I hope we don't have to pay dearly for it later though. Any pictures of the eggs yet? I bet the blues ones are gourgeous! Tikanas - Did you get the gingerbread houses made yet. I have always wanted to try making one, but never got around to it. I did make Ginger Snap Cookies this year though. LOL Maddie - Waving back just in case you are waving your hands in the air. I have to finish some last minute craft projects and hop in the shower. I have some errands to run and I dread the traffic, but someone has to do it, and I guess that someone is me. Hello to BJ, John, Amy Gretchen and anyone else I missed. Later, Marci

I am so glad, Sue, I know everyone will enjoy it! Funny you mention the cost. When I first embarked on this, I was thinking it will be a big impact present where the gift is our time not the cost. Yikes, even with the 50% off, each book was $200 OMG. I didn't really expect that, but after all the work putting it together, I wasn't going to go back and trim. I may regret making them so large, 11x14, but I know i usually like photos to be bigger. I also fell for that very pricey for that "lay flat" upgrade that allow you to do those "centerfold" shots. Heck, i actually fell for every type of upgrade they offered, including a storage box. And then I have the engraved USBs and those boxes. But oh they will be so pretty. I actually went with this one because I liked the idea of putting a photo with it. They also have them in navy, grey, and Tiffany blue. I was upset that I had to switch my product to Shutterfly, but I have to give them a big shout out. They have added so many features to their books, and so many options for designing them. Plus, they still had my photos on there from 2005, though I had not done business w them in years. In some cases, they were photos i did not find anywhere else in my files. Whew. One of the best parts of making the book was doing the captions, and adding in things like scans of their footprints, their baby announcements, etc. I also commissioned DH to write a letter to each of them talking about the day they were born and their first few years. He did a wonderful job, brought tears to my eyes and made me laugh, too. We finished yesterday. Finally. Annie - love that tree! we do have a few photo ornaments, but a whole tree! Fab Running - Even from book 1 to book 3 i got better at it and fancier. There are soooooo many options and embellishments and features. And if you have the right dates on your photos, the autofill feature is a great start. Enjoy!