Time to get the photos under control

For the first time ever – in the 23 years since I’ve had kids – I’m seriously behind in my photo albums. Both of my kids have stuffed-until-bulging baby albums. When they started school, I began annual albums, and they both have an album for every year. Until now. The boy kid doesn’t like me to take pictures as much. It’s apparently embarrassing to have a mother who wields a camera in pubic. So . . . I stopped.

Now it’s his senior year of high school. And guess what? He has a total of maybe five photos in his senior album. I hate that!  There are other reasons, of course. He’s an athlete, and it’s really hard to take good photos from a distance. He’s also a debater. No parents ever go to debate tournaments, so no photos exist. I have never seen the kid debate!

I used to be more involved in the PTA and school functions. Used to constantly volunteer for something. But I’m not at the school very often anymore. Still, there was homecoming, and summer vacation, and college visits, and Christmas.

Since my son’s been in high school, I’ve launched a new career. I'm busier. Have to say, my writing gets in the way of my scrapbooking.

And then, there’s Costco. This, I believe, is the biggest reason I’m behind in my albums. There isn’t one close to my house. Every time I go, there’s an issue with their machine. The place is always crazy busy. Unfortunately, it is the cheapest place to have prints made.

But as I look ahead to spring break, and lots of pictures, I’m reminded that I still haven’t done anything with last year’s spring break pictures. If I wait any longer, that puts me a whole year behind, and that begins to sound overwhelming. I’m going to have to set aside some time to deal with this. And though I dread it, I think I’m looking at a trip to Costco in the near future.

Girls weekend . . . fun times to treasure

Ah, it's the last day of my girls weekend at home with my daughter. Dad and the boy kid are off skiing. Of course, we'll be glad to have them back, but it's been a fun -- and too quick -- few days. We've done a lot of eating out. We've watched several movies, both at home and in the theater. We've munched on cookies and popcorn and chocolate. Turns out we're quite compatible in these things.
We've spent quality time together, and also apart, each retreating with our laptops for a few hours.

She's given me valuable feedback on some of my works in progress. I haven't done a lot of writing, but I've done some reading. Was able to finish my book club read for the month, and completely read back through my newly finished romance novel.

Even though we've been at home, it's been like a mini retreat. Staying up late, sleeping in (a little). Being on our own schedule has been nice. Reality will hit tomorrow. And we'll have home issues to deal with, laundry, taxes and FAFSA to get done, and activities to schedule. And in a couple of weeks, she'll be gone again. These little weekends will become less frequent as she moves away, goes back to school and launches her career. I think this one will stick in my mind . . . fun times to treasure.

Chatting with Readers is Refreshing!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face with a group of readers who belong to a book club at the local library. It was so much fun! I needed this. I needed to connect with real people, people who enjoy books, but aren't authors.
I've met some wonderful authors in the past year, as I've joined the publishing industry. But so many of them have been in cyberspace only. And often I've felt that I was caught in an endless loop of authors promoting to authors.

It was good to meet people who enjoy reading and were willing to spend a few minutes listening to me talk about my books. They happily took bookmarks and asked question. They thumbed through the books and declared them to be interesting and well-written!! YAY! This is a big deal, because, I'm sorry to say,  several of them mentioned having seen self-published books that were embarrassing in their lack of professionalism. That, I'm afraid is an uphill battle.

The other big battle for a self-published author is getting in front of readers, finding an audience. So, I'm very grateful to the library for inviting me, and to the lovely ladies for indulging me. I think I've got a second wind now! Maybe this would be a good time to tackle that next chapter! :-)

On gatekeepers

I read an article a couple of days ago that has stuck with me. Actually, I’ve decided it offended me. It was about gatekeepers – agents, editors and publishers as gatekeepers. About the need for gatekeepers to regulate who gets in and who doesn’t.

All of this is with respect to self-publishing, of course. Because without gatekeepers, mediocrity will reign, and books and publishing will go to hell.

I have to agree with one point: without the gatekeepers keeping people out of the book business, there’s going to be some trash out there. I believe that’s true. But so what? Isn’t one man’s trash another man’s treasure? I’ve paid good money for books I ended up disliking. I’ve read published books I thought were trash. I’ve purchased many a product over the years that didn’t live up to its billing or my expectations. Don’t we live in a buyer-beware society?

Here’s my problem with the gatekeepers. They’re the brick wall (the last lecture by Randy Pausch). They may be keeping people from achieving a dream. How long does an author have to wait to get through the gate or over the wall? Is it a certain number of years? Must they have a certain number of dusty manuscripts under the bed? Or a specific quota of rejection letters? A certain amount of money spent on workshops, classes and conferences? What’s the measurement?
 We hear all the time how busy and overworked agents and editors are. It seems to me, there simply aren't enough to go around.

This is America, where we’re supposed to be able to follow our dreams. We tell our children they can be anything they want. Yes, that might require a lot of years of hard work. It might mean making some sacrifices, but we tell them it will pay off in the end, that hard work and perseverance will make their dreams come true.

But what if it doesn’t? What if Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, had decided sixty rejections were as many as she could stand? She’s said it was number sixty-one that finally gave her a chance. What if an author never finds that one agent/gatekeeper that clicks, and agrees to crack open the door? Why shouldn’t an author have other options?

Now, I happen to love libraries and bookstores, and I want to see them survive, even thrive. And I really want to see one of my manuscripts published and sitting on the shelves in one of those places some day. I would like to feel the validation of being plucked from obscurity by a gatekeeper. But that’s not to say I’m willing to beat my head against the brick wall indefinitely. Finding a way to go around the wall, or punch out a brick or two, to take another path is the way of survivors and entrepreneurs. Having an alternative is a good thing.

Thumbs Up

The results are in! Four out of five judges in the RWA Golden Heart contest liked Surprise Son! One of them gave the manuscript a perfect 9! Woo-hoo! Unfortunately, there was that one judge out in left field, the lone dissenter who kept the manuscript from finaling. That's sad, and annoying. But the good news is that if the judges mirror real life, and real readers, four out of five thumbs up is fabulous. That tells me that if I end up self-pubbing, I've got a good shot at connecting with readers. And that, of course, is the goal. I'm encouraged!

Back to reality

Ahhh. Laundry going, bills paid, surfaces cleared, bags unpacked . . . and another spring break is history. Had a great time, celebrated a milestone birthday with our daughter, saw a good friend. Now it's back to reality. Hoping to spend a couple of hours curled up with one of my stories and get some productive writing done. Even though I can look outside and see that spring has sprung, it's cool and cloudy and rainy. Since I can't be out working in the yard, it's a good day to stay inside and work on my latest manuscript. Got tea, got computer. Catch you later.

Two down, dozens to go!

Just put the finishing touches on my second novel in the Mainstream with Strong Romantic Elements genre. Well, actually, my second novel was completed last year. This is the re-write of my first novel. Numbers three, four and five, plus a women's fiction, a non-fiction about my daughter's college search, a short story, and other miscellaneous pieces are all in the works. It's enough to keep me busy for a very long time!

Now my dilemma is figuring out to whom I should send the completed manuscript. The same agents I sent my other novel to? Or should I find a whole new list of agents? I've read and heard numerous times how many authors get a hundred rejections before they finally find the right agent. Honestly, I don't see how an author could come up with a hundred viable agents to query. I'm surprised by how many agents out there either aren't open to submissions or still aren't taking email queries. I can't figure out why agents would rather get stacks of paper in snail mail rather than electronic submissions. Do they think authors are less serious about their work if they don't go to the trouble and expense of copying/printing, going to the post office and paying for postage? I'd just rather be working on my next manuscript than running errands!

website workday

Just scheduled an all-day work session with my critique partners! Yay! Can't wait. We may do a little reading and critiquing that day, but mostly, we're going to design a website. Since we all write some form of romance, we're teaming up to create one site that will give each of us an online presence in addition to our individual blogs.
Published or not, agents and publishers say all writers need to build a platform and start reaching an audience on line. Yes, it takes away from writing time, but it's part of the bigger picture, the whole package.
Already we're building a backlog of ideas and articles to include on the site. Key lime pie, anyone? Watch for a great recipe from J that ties right into her novel set in fabulous Key West. We'll introduce ourselves, our stories and our characters, and share blogs and thoughts on writing, romance and publishing. And, hopefully, we'll have a little fun in the process.
Stay tuned!

New Year's resolution

Let's see. Here's an easy one. My goal for 2012 is to get published.

Oh, wait. I can't control that. Okay, my goal is to get an agent. Darn. Can't control that one, either.
Well, I guess my resolution will have to be to keep going – keep writing, keep revising and editing, and keep meeting with my critique group.
Not as easy as it sounds. With busy schedules it's hard to get together even once a week with my critique partners. It's hard to convince my spouse I'm not wasting my time because I'm not entirely sure that's true. It's hard to justify the amount of time I'm spending on my writing with no income to show for it.
Typical writer's angst, I suppose. As I write this, I'm reminded of a favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption. The main character (Andy) tells a fellow inmate that hope is a good thing. His friend responds that hope can drive a man crazy. I have to agree with both of them. Hoping can be exhausting. But to not hope, is to give up.
So, I hereby resolve to continue reading and writing, to keep exploring and learning and, above all, to not chuck it all in the trash and stop trying.