The Friday before the week of Thanksgiving, 1991, I was given the diagnosis that I had aggressive breast cancer. The jolt was sudden and severe. An unexpected and unwanted quest began. I didn’t know how long I had for this quest.
I was working as a library aid at the Angelo M. Iacoboni Library in Lakewood, CA, when diagnosed. I did not return to work. Treatment and recovery were long, spanning years.
In 1993, I wrote the original text for this short story. My husband, Ken, asked me what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I decided I wanted to go to Library School and applied to San Jose State University, Fullerton, CA campus for the Master of Library and Information Science. I did not foresee being accepted. I was quite shocked and unprepared when I received the acceptance letter.
While attending Library School, I gave my instructor, Dr. Debra Hansen, Associate Director of the School of Library and Information Science, the manuscript and asked her to evaluate it. She kindly gave me valuable comments and suggestions on improving the manuscript.
The manuscript and paintings remained in a drawer for more than 20 years.
In March 2018, while questing after my ancestors, I retrieved the manuscript and left if lying on our coffee table. My husband picked it up and read it. He liked it! I decided to copyright and self-publish it. I set up a Kindle Direct Publishing account on March 19, 2018, and applied for a copyright on March 22, 2018. I am awaiting the copyright, which I anticipate any time now. At that time, I will proceed with my quest to publish the little book.
On March 22, 2018, the Copyright application was filed with the U.S. Copyright Office.
On October 8, 2018, I contacted LegalZoom to check on the order. They responded on October 9, 2018, telling me that it takes up to 12 months after the date of filing to complete the registration. Until then, I needed to wait to receive word from the Copyright Office. I originally expected to hear by September 2018.
On December 7, 2018, I thought too much time had passed, so I contacted the Copyright Office. I received an email from the Copyright Office on December 10, 2018, telling me that the case was closed on June 17, 2018 for failure to reply to correspondence from the Office. The failure to reply notice was sent to crcorrespondence@legalzoom.com. I was never informed.
On December 11, 2018, I forwarded the Copyright Office’s email to LegalZoom, shocked and dismayed. LegalZoom told me to deal direct with the Copyright Office, they were no longer involved in this case.
On December 15, 2018, I called LegalZoom and emailed the Copyright Office. LegalZoom worked for an hour on the phone with me to help resolve this issue. I will resume the journey next week.
June 1, 2019. I am still waiting to receive my copyright.
Journey On!
