Acknowledgments (Matt)
Of course, there are many people behind the scenes that helped make this book happen. One of my favorite parts of writing a book is that I get to thank them publicly in front of the thousands of people who read it. So here goes:
To my wife, Diana: You’ve been my best friend for 10 years, and I’ve had the time of my life with you as we enjoy watching our family grow. No matter what the day brings, you always have a smile on your face when I come home. I could never thank you enough for juggling our lives, being such a great mom to our kids, and for being the best wife a guy could ever want.
To my oldest son, Ryan (my little golf buddy in training): Your inquisitive personality amazes me and I love the little talks that we have. Plus, the Nintendo Wii battles that we have give me just the break that I always need (even though you always win).
To my youngest son, Justin: I have no doubt that you’ll be the class clown one day. No matter what I have on my mind, you always find a way to make me smile.
To my mom and dad: Thanks for giving me such a great start in life and always encouraging me to go for what I want.
To Ed, Kerry, Kristine, and Scott (my brothers and sisters): Thanks for supporting me and always giving me someone to look up to.
To Scott Kelby: Having my name on a cover with yours is an honor, but becoming such good friends has truly been a privilege and the ride of my life. I’ve never met anyone as eager to share their ideas and encourage success in their friends as you are. You’ve become the greatest mentor and source of inspiration that I’ve met. More importantly, though, you’ve become one heck of a good friend. Thanks man!
To the folks that make this book look like the awesome book that you see: Felix Nelson, Jessica Maldonado, and Dave Damstra.
To my two favorite editors in the world: Cindy Snyder and Kim Doty. You guys do so much work on your end, so I can continue writing and working on all the techniques (which is really the fun stuff) on my end. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the help you guys give me and the effort you put into making me look good.
To Paul Wilder, Todd Willis, and Keith Lyons, our in-house IT gurus: Thanks for making sure I have a great computer and the software I need, when I need it.
I’d also like to thank the Web team here at Kelby Media: Aaron Westgate, Fred Maya, Tommy Maloney, Justin Finley, Andrew Kurz, Karey Johnson, Chelsea Beachem, and Leslie Montenegro. I write only a few books a year, but I create literally hundreds of videos, tutorials, and podcasts that go up on the Web each year. It’s because of these guys that I’m able to do that quickly and easily and get back to writing when I need to.
To Dave Moser, my boss and my buddy: Your militaristic, yet insightful, comments throughout the day help motivate me and sometimes just make me laugh (a little of both helps a lot). Thanks for continuing to push me to be better each day.
To Dave Cross, Corey Barker, and Rafael (RC) Concepcion: Thanks for the ideas you guys generate and the friends you’ve become. You guys rock!
To Bob Gager (Elements Product Manager) at Adobe: Thanks for taking the time to go over this new version of Elements (with a fine-toothed comb) with me. It helped more than you know to see your perspective and how you and your team are constantly pushing Elements to be better each year.
To all my friends at Peachpit Press: Ted Waitt, Scott Cowlin, Gary Prince, and Sara Jane Todd. It’s because you guys are so good at what you do that I’m able to continue doing what I love to do.
To you, the readers: Without you, well…there would be no book. Thanks for your constant support in emails, phone calls, and introductions when I’m out on the road teaching. You guys make it all worth it.