Yakkity-yak, please talk back.

Oh, hi.

Welcome to this edition of the "Saturday" update. If you've inadvertently stumbled on this page after searching the vast, savage jungles of the interwebs whilst looking for something else, here's the skinny: This is a weekly update of "Saturday", which is an illustrated book about an imaginative little girl named India McGreevy, her equally imaginative and somewhat neurotic parents, and a crummy week wherein everyone's patience and imagination is tested.

And speaking of everyone's patience being sorely tested, if you're one of the saintly people who not only helped the Kickstarter campaign to succeed but also stuck around for this long, thank you. I'm going to do something a little different this week: I'm going to invert the proportion of yakkity-yak to drawing. Usually, it's lots of the former and a smidgen of the latter. Not so much this week.

A quick update: The editing process is starting to pick up steam and I'm working on the last few pages that will need moderate editing (as I get deeper into the book, the pages need fewer edits). Which means the editing is getting close to being done. As far as publishing goes: I heard from another agent who said what I had heard from several other sources: "Saturday" doesn't exactly fit neatly into any particular category and as such, can't be easily sold by publishers.

So it looks like I'll be printing and selling the book all by my lonesome. I'm still considering running another Kickstarter campaign. Only this one would be for a lot less money and the book would be one of the rewards. I don't know yet, though. I feel weird about asking people for money again. It's a pride thing. Everyone was already so generous. But another campaign would theoretically (if it succeeded) speed up the printing process exponentially because you wouldn't have to wait for me to save the Benjamins. So, if you have an opinion, please chime in and let me know. If enough people want me to move ahead, I'll do it.

Ok. Even that was too much yakkity-yak. How about an entire page to wash out the taste of all that chatter:

Penny-wise and everything-else-foolish.

Hiya.

Welcome to the latest update of "Saturday" the book. If you're just joining us, "Saturday" is the story of an odd little girl named India McGreevy, her parents Fred and Elizabeth, a rotten week and the wild ride back to almost normal.

Progress report: I'm editing page 11 at the moment. That doesn't seem like much progress, seeing as how the book itself is 35 pages long. But not all the pages need editing and all the pages that needed major editing are finished. So I'd guesstimate the edits are maybe 75% complete. Which is awesome.

As for the publishing arena, things are pretty much the way they were last time we talked. I haven't found an agent or a publisher who wants to represent "Saturday" and it's looking more and more like I'll be doing this thing without commercial backing. But I'm not actually all that disappointed. It will take a little time to save the money to print these, but I'm still excited to share it with you. So no bigs.

In the meantime, here's a good example of what the editing process looks like. This panel is from page 10, which I just finished up:

In this scene, India's mom Elizabeth has just signed a school citation India received for drawing in class and not using her time wisely. It may surprise you to know that I was once (and by "once", I mean on multiple occasions) similarly accused of not using my time "wisely".

These days, of course, I'm a grown man who draws comics and cartoons and other goofy things for a living. I spend a decent amount of my free time daydreaming about what crazy or goofy thing I'm going to draw next. I also write and illustrate books that, apparently, no self-respecting publishing company would touch with a ten-foot pointy stick. It seems like any rational person would, upon reflection, decide to make better use of their time.

I, on the other hand, can't believe how lucky I am to describe my job and my life in that way. And I can't wait to share this lunacy with you.

Cheers.