Artists writing ebooks

Tureen with Scarf © Maud Guilfoyle

    There is a book titled It's A Long Road To A Tomato: Tales of an Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for the (Not So) Simple Life by Keith Stewart. For some reason the title keeps popping into my head while I work on my e books. Artists are self publishing their writing as well as their artwork. Like the tomato, it's not a straight path from the easel or keyboard to market. While the technology is available to self publish there are many choices to make to get to the end "product". And that's not even considering marketing. As artists have found that it isn't enough to just post their daily paintings on the web, self-publishing writers also must create ways to promote their work.
    There is also a resistance to art e books. I can understand this as I have a large print library of wonderful art books. I love the feel of a book in hand and the quiet unplugged experience of reading a book. However, by self-publishing I am able to reach a large audience at an affordable price. My first three e books are handbooks for artists, and stem from my years of teaching.  The first one is on portfolio prep for high school students heading to art school or college, the second is on living an artist's life, and the third is about artists and money. These have links to resources and information on the web, something not possible in a printed book. My fourth e book, Art By Two, is about growing up with my artist mother, Peregrine Higgins. I am in the process of organizing her work, a large collection of drawings, journals and paintings. Though my mother was a gifted artist and teacher, she is relatively unknown outside a small circle. Publishing her artwork in e books makes it possible to present her work to the beyond this circle.

I