I have not been keeping this blog current for the past four years. For those of you who have visited my site, I owe you an explanation and an apology for the hiatus.
The reason for not updating my writing was my writing books. During the past four years, I have been researching cameras and writing how-to books on using those cameras for Rocky Nook and most recently Crowood Publishing. I had always wanted to be a freelance writer, and my retirement provided me with an opportunity to explore that lifestyle. Well after four years and publishing nine books with my wife, I satisfied my curiosity. It has made me forever thankful that I had not tried to career in freelance writing! The effort for writing for money is often not worth the pay.
For me, writing is hard work. The effort and time it took to research a book, to write the text, and then to proof the manuscript was time-consuming and exhausting. We figured that our book went through a least six drafts. My wife and I would argue about phrasing and grammar. The arguments could become heated. To this day, our collaborators were amazed that we could stay married after publishing ten books! One had to develop a thick skin to survive the recommendations and suggestions of one’s coworkers. The continual reading, reviewing, and revising of the chapters were wearing. The recommendations made the copy editors and layout artists became a source of annoyance, even though, I knew their job was to help us produce a better product. Invariably, while their criticisms and recommendations were excellent, but responding to their suggestions became irksome. Unsurprisingly, the effort and frustration to complete a book destroyed my enthusiasm for writing.
This month, my wife and I, decide to resume our retirement by pursuing other projects. So, we quit our writing careers. For me, what I started doing was to begin playing with my microscopes, telescopes, cameras, guns, and fishing gear. With this eclectic collection of toys, I can keep myself active and occupied. My observations and discoveries will be recorded on this blog and website.
A legitimate question is why am I bothering to resume writing? In part, this is my way to “fact-check” my observations. Too often I am swayed by prejudice, prejudgment, and fail to observe, evaluate, and assess my viewpoint objectively. Writing helps alleviate this quandary.
-Brian
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Brian Matsumoto, PhD
