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My Author Journey–Part I

“So how did you start writing?” It’s a standard question on most interviews, and I have a standard answer for it, too.

I usually say that I’ve been writing stories all my life, got sidetracked from fiction during college, early marriage and motherhood, stuck to non-fiction for a while, and then began writing stories again recently.

It’s all true, but it’s also much too neat. The longer answer is not one I can share in a pithy interview answer, but I’m going to share it here, in the hopes that it might inspire other writers who might need it.

My writing journey began, as I believe all writers’ do, as a reader. More accurately, as a listener. My father had long purposed that he would read to his children before bed every night, and he began with me, his first born, when I was barely old enough to sit still.

I can’t tell you what the first books he read to me were, but I can remember some of my favorites from the early years, from the time I was in kindergarten. We read the Katie John books by Mary Calhoun, the All of a Kind Family books by Sydney Taylor. Of course we read all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series, long before they were on television.  (And if you haven’t read those books because the TV show turned you off, please, please read them. You will hardly recognize them as being even related.)

Throughout the years, my dad moved from early elementary literature through the classics (Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austen–Daddy didn’t care for her–the Bronte sisters, Oscar Wilde, Sir Walter Scott, Shakespeare, Dickens) to more challenging books like those by Madeleine L’Engle and even Ayn Rand.  My father never hesitated to read me a book because he thought it might be over my head; he recognized that constantly challenging my comprehension and vocabulary made me a better reader and writer.

In addition to my dad, I also had a grandmother who told me stories all the time. I loved the tales from history, from her own childhood and her own adaptations of other classic stories that she shared. Add that to a mother who always had a book of some kind nearby and I was destined to be a reading addict.

The first time I remember inventing stories was after my family moved to New Jersey. We’d lived in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, California, Pennsylvania (again) although both of my parents had family back in South Jersey. We returned there when I was in fourth grade, and I joined a class who had been together since kindergarten. Kids of that age aren’t exactly welcoming to a newcomer, and I spent most of that first year very much alone.

It was then that I discovered the value of inventing stories. I couldn’t read as I walked alone to and from school, but I could make up the next part of my own story. I could invent characters and situations that were comforting and amusing and hopeful. Those stories saved my life that year, and from then on, I was always telling a story, whether or not I actually wrote it down.

But even so, I would never have believed that within a few years, I would actually be a published author.

 

Are Indie Authors Lazy?

There’s been a lot of buzz in the writing world in the last week or so about an interview author Sue Grafton gave to a Louisville, Kentucky website. In response to a question, she said, “Quit worrying about publication and master your craft. If you have a good story to tell and if you write it well, the Universe will come to your aid. Don’t self-publish. That’s as good as admitting you’re too lazy to do the hard work.”

Want to make a group of normally peace-loving people angry? Tell them they’re lazy.

I am not a traditionally published writer, but I’m sure they work hard. When I say that indie authors are the most intense, driven and focused people, I’m not taking anything away from non-indie writers. But I work with indie authors, many of my friends are indies, and I can tell you that it’s true. Most indie writers work diligently at their craft. . .and most also have at least one other job and families, some with small children.

That, my friends, is hard work. That’s not laziness.

Indie writers do all their own promotion. They keep their social media sites up to date, interact with their fans, work on blog tours, write guest posts, do interviews and run contests. They have to maintain both a virtual and a local presence, so when they’re not working on-line, they’re at local bookstores or author events or other conventions and conferences.

And the indie community is a strong and supportive one, so when writers are not promoting their own books, they’re cheering on their fellow indie authors, posting for them, tweeting and reviewing.

All of that is in addition the aforementioned ‘regular’ job most indie writers maintain, and of course their family and/or personal lives.

Oh, yes. . and then there is the writing. The editing. The revising. Choosing a cover, formatting and publishing, both in electronic and hard copy.

When do we sleep? Well, not often. And not for long.

And yet some authors would refer to us as ‘lazy’.

As I’ve said before here and will say again, I agree that writing is a craft. Are there independently published books that are poorly written, unedited and embarrassing? Most assuredly. Are there traditionally published books that could also fall into that category? Oh, yes.

The idea that the agents and editors are the lofty gatekeepers to the rarefied air of true publishing is antiquated. The notion that only those whom they admit are true writers who have paid their dues and know the reality of hard work is ridiculous and wrong.

I’m sure Ms. Grafton has her reasons for her opinion, to which of course she is entitled. But she might want to talk to a few of us and read a wider variety of our work before she jumps to any conclusions.

Catching Up. . .or What I Did Over the Summer

Remember when you went back to school in September (I grew up in places where school never began before Labor Day) and your teacher would assign you an essay about what you did over summer vacation?

Well, today’s post is that essay.

If you follow my site, you might have noticed that my personal posts have dwindled over the summer.  I apologize.  My summer began with the release of Restless on June 28th and all of the planning and work that went along with that.

And shortly thereafter, I became a full partner in Promotional Book Tours with the incomparable Mandie Stevens.  Mandie has handled the bulk of my own promotions and publicity, and she is smart and savvy.  Working with her has been a huge learning experience!

For instance, I now know how to put together a rafflecopter, a linky tool and the set up for scheduling a tour. I’m always a little slow at first, but eventually I figure it out.

You may have noticed that I’ve been promoting lots of other books on my site, too.  These are all PBT clients, and all are books I can personally recommend to you. I hope that you’ll check out these books and authors (and enter the giveaways for some really cool prizes!).

So I’ve been adjusting this summer to a new schedule, balancing PBT work, housework, child care, family time and my own promotion and writing.

Writing has been especially hard. It’s difficult for me to just pick up and write in dribs and drabs; I need devoted writing time, a few hours or anything open ended, where I can get lost in the world and let the words flow. That kind of time has been in short supply lately.

So what else have I done? Well, we have a new cat in the house (yes, that makes me the crazy cat lady officially), and she’s slowly getting acclimated to the other cats.  We didn’t choose her; a neighbor found her and delivered her to our house. But seriously, folks, she’s so cute you wouldn’t be able to turn her away either! Look at that face.  Her name is Mrs. Lennon, named by my Beatles loving children. I call her Lenni.

What have YOU done this summer?  What books did you read, what movies did you see, what shows on television captured your evenings?  Did you eat any delicious food, travel to exciting places, meet new people?  Share below. . .that’s you assignment.  Minimum 25 words, single spaced.

And. . .go.

Stephanie Nelson Anniversary Giveaway

I’m happy to help author Stephanie Nelson celebrate her first anniversary as a published author!

July 25th marks one year since I published Craved – Book 1 in the Gwen Sparks Series. It’s been an amazing roller coaster and has forever changed my life. I’ve met some fantastic people, learned a lot and most importantly, found something I want to do with the rest of my life—write.

 

The support of my readers, friends and family has been amazing to say the least. To show my appreciation, I’ve put together one heck of a giveaway. Because of you guys, Craved reached #1 on Amazon’s bestseller’s list and #5 on Barnes & Noble’s bestseller’s list. Thank you guys for making my first year of being publish something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Check out what you could win below!

 

 

 

 

Plus swag (postcards, boomarks, magnets, mousepads from multiple authors!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why review?

I love fan mail, and in the last few weeks, I’ve gotten some wonderful messages from people who really enjoyed Restless. Thank you so much!

I usually respond by reminding readers to stop by Amazon and/or Goodreads and leave me a review. The other day, someone responded, “Why? No one cares what I think about books.”

Au contraire, my friend! Reviews are essential to all writers, and they are especially important now, in the age of ebooks.  Readers go to sites like Amazon, Smashwords, BN and Goodreads looking for a book to download. They can’t pick up a physical object, skim through it and get sense of its value.  Most people judge by the cover, glance at the blurb and then skim down the reviews. Those few lines left by previous readers can make or break a sale.

So how can YOU help? It’s pretty simple. When you read a book–whether it’s mine or any other author’s–go to the author’s page on Amazon and leave a review.  It doesn’t have to be an in-depth analysis of the meaning, the plot or the characters; you can simply say that you liked it (or didn’t) and one reason why.

And while you’re there, read through the other reviews.  If you agree, hit ‘yes’ at the end.  If you don’t, hit ‘no’.  This will bring the most accurate reviews to the top of the page and keep the less helpful ones to the bottom.

Thank you so much for every kind word, every recommendation and referral. It really does make a huge difference!