Jeff Carlson (.Thought)

Spring

It's now been over three months since my daughter was born, and I'm only now starting to feel like things are stabilizing. Not that she knocked anything out of whack, per se, but that everything is just different enough that I haven't done some things - like update this blog. (I've been blogging about Ellie, of course, but that's different.)

So what am I up to? I've been keeping busy, like a good freelancer. A lot of my time lately, it seems, has been spent in the management and work required to get new work: making article proposals and the like. I'm within striking distance of finishing The Adobe Photoshop Express Pocket Guide, doing some work on the TidBITS site design, writing a few articles, and fielding a request to license one of my photos for a display.

With the weather turning, there's that familiar sense of renewal in the air, so perhaps that will inspire me to blog more often.

Just for the record

Yes, that's my hometown newspaper, but no, that's a different Jeff Carlson.

Goodbye 2006

The new year's arrival echoed most of 2006: it happened almost as an afterthought. Kim and I stayed home New Year's Eve, she with a cold and me with work to do, and our good friend Shannon came over to see what a Carlson New Year's Eve was like. Fortunately, she didn't have high expectations, and we delivered. We were playing a board game when the skies outside turned into a barrage of thumps and booms, and we realized that 2007 was here. (I must point out that the fireworks here in Seattle are nothing like the battlezone we experienced in Renton; that was downright scary some years, and I had a mental map of where the supplies were located in case I needed to hose down the roof should it catch fire.)

Okay, 2006 wasn't a terrible year by any means. But personally, I was often frustrated in terms of productivity (work output, which was lower, but also my capability to focus on tasks without a giant deadline looming) and a few personal issues that came up (which have worked out fine in the end, but weren't much fun to deal with).

I find myself greeting 2007 with a sigh of relief and some small measure of gratification that I'm hitting the new year in motion. In fact, I'm busy as hell, working long hours and drinking a lot of coffee. I'm more than halfway through a book update that I thought wouldn't get off the ground (my fault), I'm preparing to give two presentations at Macworld Expo next week, and at least one, but possibly two, books right around the corner. As those of us in the freelance world know, it's good to be busy, and I'm starting 2007 in an accelerated state.

All this is to say: Happy New Year, and I'll try to blog more. Which is what everyone is saying right now, but still.

NYT Notes Closure of Fremont News

The New York Times ran an article today about one of my haunts: "Time for a New Tenant in the Kingdom of Odd." The subject in question is Fremont News, a great little magazine newsstand that's half a block from my office. I buy the occasional magazine there, but I must admit that Fremont News mostly provides me with sugar and caffeine—they sell straight-up candy bars and Dr. Pepper, both of which are lacking at the healthier-than-thou PCC nearby.

However, I'm sad the place is leaving mostly because it's hard to find someplace that stocks such a wide collection of magazines. If your notion of the magazine market is informed by what you see at the supermarket, you're only viewing a small slice.

The article also touches heavily on the changing feel of Fremont, which has traditionally been a hippie enclave and is now more upscale (and expensive).

“Set your watch back five minutes,” said Brad Beshaw, an assistant manager at the store, explaining why Fremont is slightly behind the times: “Because Fremont’s the center of the universe.”

At the end of next week, however, the universe will contract just a bit and Fremont News, at least, will fall even further behind. On Nov. 18, the store, which has supplied newspapers, magazines, cigarettes and sundries to one of Seattle’s most deliberately distinctive neighborhoods for a decade, is closing for good.

“You have my permission, today only, to punch a nonreader,” Mr. Beshaw told customers who were looking for someone to blame for the store’s declining patronage.

Mr. Beshaw, 38, a scarved, pierced, bearded breeze of idiosyncrasy and good humor who awaits the next issue of The Baffler the way a teenager agitates for an instant message, said the store had suffered for a variety of reasons — including nearby bridge construction that has hurt foot traffic, demographic changes that have made Fremont more expensive and less eccentric, and the same competition from the Internet that has walloped the newspaper industry as a whole.

Deadline Hydra

With a mighty last push, I got the iMovie book out the door on time, and promptly fell into a post-book brain fog. No matter what I try, it takes me about a week to recover from a book project, especially when I'm burning hard at the end (which, um, is often).

So now I'm kicking back on the deck sipping martinis, right? Nope: I had one article due last week, one due today, another tomorrow, and one more on Thursday. Such is the freelancer's life. But I have managed to get some solid sleep since the book went out, even though it's been punctuated by some late nights (like tonight!)

It's Hard Out Here for a Freelancer

When I first began as a freelance writer, my old boss said, "Great, now you can work 24 hours a day!" He was only half-kidding, of course. Conversely, as a freelancer with no set hours, I could do crazy things like go see a movie in the middle of the afternoon (I've done it twice in 10 years).

Today feels like the intersection of the two, and is honestly one of the things I like about being self-employed. I'm pretty busy, working lots of late nights... but I also have the luxury of going up to the rooftop deck on my building in Fremont to sip a latté and enjoy the sunshine and 61-degree Seattle spring weather. (Photo taken with a Treo 650.)

WTF Mac Store

WTF Mac Store
Originally uploaded by Jeff Carlson.

I've been meaning to take a picture of this sign in the University district, but never had a camera with me... until today. It makes me giggle every time.

A Look at Tech Publishing

If you're interested in seeing a bit behind the curtain of publishing technology books, read this interesting article by David Heinemeier Hansson: Shaking up tech publishing (Loud Thinking), which talks about self-publishing and electronic publishing. Equally interesting is publisher Tim O'Reilly's notes in the comments (scroll down the page to find them), which compactly outlines the general financial state of tech publishing.

Back on the Bike

A minor major accomplishment worth mentioning: six months after getting hit by a pickup truck, today I rode my bike to the office without incident. It sounds almost silly typing this, but I realized I was more skittish than usual, and it was a bit of a relief to have to stop at the intersection where I got hit rather than zoom through a green light. I also, of course, realized that I'm not in the same shape as I was six months ago. That will change.

From Extreme to Extreme II

In January, I went from hectic insanity at Macworld Expo to the absolute calm of recuperating at my mom's farm near Dixon, CA, anticipating a busy winter. I didn't know at the time that my work schedule would be turned upside down.

One thing I've learned as a freelance book author is that you can't count on anything: royalties, for example, must be viewed as gravy, not essential income. I've written books that sold well, books that sold poorly, and books that started selling well and then nosedived. That said, it was a pretty fair bet that when Apple announced iLife '06 with iMovie HD 6 and iDVD 6 I would be updating my iMovie/iDVD Visual QuickStart Guide.

The days passed and I didn't hear anything from Peachpit. And I had to stop and take stock of what was on my plate: if I didn't write the book, what would I do to make up for the income that I was (foolishly?) expecting. I don't want to sound like I stared down an abyss or anything so dramatic, but when you're a full-time freelancer with a mortgage and bills, it can be a bit of a scramble to line up work to fill that void. So, a word to you freelancers: Start building your savings account now; someday (hopefully not soon) you'll need to tap into it. (It didn't help that I made less money at the end of 2005 due to being injured - and thereby less productive - and going on a three-week vacation halfway around the world.)

Fortunately, in addition to my regular gig at TidBITS, I lined up a few article assignments, tinkered with an idea for a video podcast (which I still might do), and started combing through my list of projects to tackle when I have more time. (Freelancers: Keep this type of list handy.) I also had the good fortune of being approached about a couple of projects (still simmering) and picked up a little graphic design work, too.

You probably saw this coming: Peachpit green-lit the update to my iMovie book.

So as of right now, my plate is filled with: TidBITS (weekly), one big book update, two articles, one new Take Control ebook and three existing titles (editing), my Seattle Times Practical Mac column (every two weeks, alternating with my co-columnist), some occasional design/DTP work, a new book that's been started but delayed by a product's parent company, and a secret book project that I'm not yet ready to reveal. And, of course, I need to pay bills (ongoing), do my taxes (only a month until April 15?), and keep an eye out for projects and article assignments to line up for the future.

Freelancers: Busy is better; stay hydrated; espresso is your friend.