Throwing in the Towel...

[Lucas in Alaska]

Kisatchie,

 I know the feeling you have on throwing in the towel. I have been an armchair model railroad for 20+ years. Started off in N scale collected boxes of 70's and 80's Union Pacific. Sold it all and went to HO CB&Q for a few years had boxes of that. Realized that HO was too big for what I wanted to do. Sold it all off again and collected several boxes of N scale CB&Q transition era stuff. I have had my current collection for about 10 years. Every year I plan on doing a switching layout sometime in the near future and it never happens...

 I am now in a final stretch of setting up a 180 gallon reef tank then finish rebuilding a John Deere garden tractor project then... work on a small switching layout. I have several times wanted to just cash it all in but I still have an interest. My origional desire was to build an N scale layout like bill darnaby but in N scale but now I just want a small fun layout.

 I actually get to go to my first operating session in over 5 years, previous work schedule wouldn't allow me to go. I think it might spur me on to get moving.

 I would also like to add I usually come to railwire 3-4 times a week and enjoy what others are doing. I have pretty much dropped all other model railroad forums.

 I know I can't convince you one way or the other but just know you are not the only one in the boat with lots of trains and no layout.

Lucas in Alaska

[woodchip]

Your plight is complicated and seems difficult to resolve. To have 3000 plus cars and no locomotives is a situation I could not have until now thought possible. One of the dangers in N scale is the relative ease that one can acquire and store purchases and trust me I speak from experience. I would suggest joining the small layout design Yahoo group. You might find that a small layout would be a good start and you can always connect them together as time goes on.
     Hugh

[MVW]

If you do not find a publisher, I'd consider taking the first book and splitting off the first couple chapters into E-books.

I'd give the first couple ebooks away for free, in exchange for an email addy.

Then start offer the remainder of the first book as an ebook for a reasonable price.

Start building a following, generate some cash and then see about self-publishing.  If the ebook fans start to embrace it, then you'll begin to have ink-on-paper folks desire it also.

That there's the recipe for success, Kiz. Or at least a great way to see if there's an audience out there eager to read your work. Do it. Besides, building an audience is a sure way to wake up publishers.

Beyond that, I would suggest separating yourself from the dream of getting rich as an author. Now, some people do, but for every one that does there are tens of thousands who never even make a living by stringing words together. Set more achievable goals, and be pleased with yourself when you exceed them.

You already have the money to build one hell of a layout. It's just that it's tied up in your thousands of cars.

Dream big, but be happy with small victories. That's good advice for everyone, and it applies equally to your modeling and writing endeavors.

Jim

[peteski]

Your plight is complicated and seems difficult to resolve. To have 3000 plus cars and no locomotives is a situation I could not have until now thought possible.

I seem to recall that Kiz had a nice collection of N scale locomotives, but he lost them all when hurricane Katrina flooded his house. Looks like he just never replenished his collection.

[nkalanaga]

IF you own your home, you could suspend the layout from the ceiling.  Run the cables over pulleys to a winch, and raise/lower it as needed.  "Looking down" photos?  Put it on the floor.  Need room, or to keep the cat off?  Hoist it all the way to the ceiling.  Want to run?  A chair under each end will keep it steady, and a third chair will let you run it sitting down.  A door should work very nicely with a cable at each corner.

[Lemosteam]

IF you own your home, you could suspend the layout from the ceiling.  Run the cables over pulleys to a winch, and raise/lower it as needed.  "Looking down" photos?  Put it on the floor.  Need room, or to keep the cat off?  Hoist it all the way to the ceiling.  Want to run?  A chair under each end will keep it steady, and a third chair will let you run it sitting down.  A door should work very nicely with a cable at each corner.

Had a Plywood slice of heaven that did just that, dropped it right atop the pool table.  Hooks and chains but the same principle.

[Rossford Yard]

I think they'd have a problem with the length of book one - 550 pages long. It would probably take them years to run it all.

Since I've already queried a couple hundred agents without success, my next step trying to get published is to try the publishers directly. We'll see how that goes.


Hmm... bet it'll be the
Hindenburg disaster all
over again...

People I know in the biz are generally against long tomes.  It is scientific fact our attention spans are shorter.  Wouldn't be surprised if someone told you to shorten by half or so.  A frequent catch phrase is "toilet reads" so there is a length of time you want to spend in there.....LOL, but seriously I think that is the way the biz is going.  Plus, if you analyze the great books, they have very low words per sentence and letters per word count.....funny because you would think that print would be the place reserved for more in depth reading, and the net for lighter casual fare.

[Scottl]

All the novels I read seem to be 1000+ pages across multi-book series, but that may be the genre and my taste.  A lot of popular books are certainly c. 250 pages.  Regardless, most authors seem to cut their teeth on shorter works first.

[Nato]

               :|Kiz, First off let me echo what the others have said, great that you are reconsidering, I like many model railroaders have too many cars and locomotives that I will ever run on my medium size layout, I too need to pair down. Sell off some cars and have money for layout building supplies when the time comes, use Kato Track, buy a couple of Bachamann 44 Ton or 70 Ton diesels for future use (I know some will dispute my choice here) or take someone up on the offer of a free locomotive. Lastly I wish you Good Luck on your publishing efforts, I know it is hard, my aunt and now late uncle co wrote two mystery novels, they practically had to self publish if they didn't hook up with a friend locally who ran a small speciality book publishing company, so keep trying. I know I speak for myself and others on this list we would miss your on line posts and those of your avitar. Nate Goodman (Nato). 

[mmagliaro]

Every time I have to clean my track, I am forever grateful that my layout is only a single-track main that fits in a 9'x12' room, and is not a giant, basement-sized "dream" layout.    For me, the fun level goes way down if I have to keep maintaining and cleaning.

Layout 1: 10' x 14' layout, double-track main with an added mountainous branchline, consumed 3 walls in a big "U",
some benchwork up to 4 feet deep.

Layout 2: 10' x 14' layout, single-track main, no branchline, much broader curves, less track, one storage yard, one industrial yard.
Still a big "U", but no more deep benchwork.

Layout 3: 9' x 12' layout: single-track, even LESS track, broader curves, gentler grades, one storage yard, one industrial yard.

My happiness and sanity level went up with each successive layout.  Partly it was because I got better at building layouts, yes.
But a big part of it was the ongoing simplification.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Let me ask a question that others seem to be avoiding...

Are you just burned out of modeling?

This has happened to me a few times. I gave up modeling for several years in college. This is why I take so long building anything.

I look at my massive inventory now and think:

"Do I need this stuff?"
"Why did I spend SO much money?"
"What is the point?"

I burned my inheritance building out the basement. Buying equipment. When I negotiated this with my wife, she would only agree if we built her a new bathroom and a house in Thailand near her family. Probably fairly sound investments (except for the trains or course). But we are now very house rich, cash poor.

God, what a high price to play with toys.

Sometimes, I just want to sell it all and watch TV.

[Kisatchie]

Let me ask a question that others seem to be avoiding...

Are you just burned out of modeling?

No, I still have a strong interest in building a layout some time in the future. It's just going to be a whole lot smaller than I dreamed (nightmare?). I'm working on a plan right now, trying to figure out how much space I'll have once the cat goes on to his reward. Maybe in a year???

Anyhow, once I figure out what I have to work with, I'll try to post it in a new Layout Engineering Reports forum.

Questions for the moderators... since I figure it will be as much as a year or so before I can actually start a layout, would it be too soon to start a new topic in the Layout Engineering Reports forum?


Hmm... I wonder if Kiz
remembers how to post
photos/images here...

[Scottl]

Half the fun is designing layouts, and there are a lot of people here to give good input.  I would encourage you to put up your ideas at an early stage and see where it goes.  We've seen some pretty cool layouts emerge, many of which were compact.

[Kisatchie]

I just measured off the space available, and it comes to 10' x 9'. My wife the digital photographer is out right now, but when she gets back, I'll have her photograph my drawing of the available space and I'll try to post it here.

 
                                   8'
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|                 |                          7.5'                                                               
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|                                                                          | 2.5"
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                                      10'


The above diagram is slightly proportionately off, but it's close enough to give you an idea what I'm working with.


Hmm... Kiz isn't working
with a full deck...

[Dave V]

Questions for the moderators... since I figure it will be as much as a year or so before I can actually start a layout, would it be too soon to start a new topic in the Layout Engineering Reports forum?


Hmm...Just do it!

Not at all!  Start the thread now and by the time you're ready to start construction, you'll have a good plan and will have stockpiled the necessary supplies.  A good engineering thread can really help you focus and should ensure a 90% solution before you swing the hammer.

As for the cat...  Does your potential layout room not have a door?  And, the cat shouldn't really be an issue during benchwork anyway.  I'm not a cat guy so I wouldn't know.  But as a devoted dog guy I couldn't imagine hinging my model railroad milestones on awaiting the death of a pet.  I would think you could get all the way to track laying before controlling cat access would be an issue.