thomas rubino wrote:For the first twenty years we lived here, I only had a hand-drawn map of the septic tank's location.
Of course, eventually, the tank backed up and needed pumping.
The Dig was on... OMG, what a nightmare.
Large holes to nowhere in our driveway. We finally had to uncover the line from the house and follow it until we located where the tank really was.
After two days of digging, we finally found the tank!
I was concerned about what kind of "tank" might be buried. Since the cabin was built in 1930, there was a significant chance that our tank would be a 1928 Ford with the drain pipe stuffed inside...
Thank goodness it was a real metal septic tank. The next issue would be whether the tank was rusted out.
The pump truck was called, and shit started moving; as it emptied, I was happy to see that our tank was still solid!
Now I knew for sure where our tank was located.
I foolishly thought it would be 20 years or more before I needed to pump it again... so... I buried it...
Think again, bucko... a few years later, I had trouble again.
Digging up the tank was not a big deal, except the 4' of snow on top...
This time, the tank did not need to be pumped; it had become paperbound at the entry point.
Some "plunging" with a stick had things moving again.
Having muddy, frozen dirt, I opted to use free sand to cover the tank top and put plywood over the rest.
The following spring, I fixed it for easy access.
A 55-gallon olive barrel with a removable screw-on lid was purchased.
I cut the bottom off at the appropriate height (gaining a new drain pan for the shop) and rounded the cut to match the curve on the septic tank.
Mud and snow were long gone, and I used the sand and new dirt to backfill.
Now, just at ground level, I can open the barrel, reach down with the fancy hook I made, and open the tank for inspection or cleaning!
Takes about 5 minutes!
It beats the hell out of the two days of digging the first time!
Josh McDonald wrote:I've written a few novels and self-published one. I've also done a lot of reading and reviewing of other people's self-published novels, so here are my thoughts from that experience.
1. Almost all of the self-published novels I've read were weak. Most had ideas that could be made into a great story but missed the mark on execution--usually due to weak characters. My best guess is that they didn't get good editing or were unwilling to do as much work as their editors suggested. I look at my rough draft as about the 40% mark on writing a good book, as I think some fall into the trap of thinking a rough draft means "almost done".
2. People often recommend learning to format for e-book yourself, but you can also have it done for a couple hundred dollars, so it's really a time vs. money question. I spent the money, but I think the right choice is individual.
I may be available to read an early draft and give feedback: I say "may" because I am careful about committing future time, but I'd also like to help in your mission (and hopefully, I'll simply enjoy reading it). Feel free to PM me when you're ready, or maybe I'll see it on this thread.