Book Covers and Editing Projects

I finally got a photo of the cover for one of the books I did a copy edit on.

It is for an optometrist with a really interesting story. I also accepted another ghost writing job, this one for a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. Looks to be just as interesting.

I'm finishing up the edits on another book which took me a little bit longer but hopefully I'll have it done before I leave for Atlanta next week. I have the preliminary cover for that one too, but it's not been given final approval yet so I can't post it. It is really a neat cover though.

The ghost writing and the editing have proven to be very steady work. I also have two articles coming out this next month, one in Route 66 Pulse and the other in Credit Union Business magazine. I'll post those clips on the website as soon as I get my copies.

In other news, Class Registration opens up at Amarillo College on July 24th(next Monday) for the two writing classes I'm doing this fall. They are "Writing the Great American Novel" and "Critique for Writers". I hope to see some new faces as well as a few familiar ones. If you know of anyone in this area who might like to give it a whirl, have them call AC at 806-371-2921. Or register online at www.ACTX.edu.

Money.............

I was talking to a friend recently about all the projects I have going and how it is really a balancing act. Then the subject of overdue payments came up. She said, "Don't you feel weird having to ask for money?" Ummmm....NO. I earned it, they owe it. Quite honestly, very few reputable people in the writing business are out to take you. Don't get me wrong, it does happen, but rarely. Publishers and editors live and die by their reputation. They can't afford to let word get out that they don't pay, or pay slow.

So what do you do if someone hasn't paid by the time stated? I give a friendly professional nudge. I NEVER assume anything good or bad. I see writers at meetings frequently who are complaining about not being paid, or being paid slow. I always have to ask "Did you talk to them about it?" the large majority of the time the answer is no. hmmm. I thought this was a business. And to be in business you have to act like a business person.

Let's take an example:

Let's pretend that you are a florist. You send out fliers that say people can order flowers and that you must be paid by the 10th of the month. Little Boy Blue orders flowers for his mother because she's sick of hearing the horn and you deliver them. The 10th rolls around. Then the 15th. Next thing you know it's the 20th and you are pacing back and forth thinking of terrible places to shove Blue's horn. This is unproductive behavior. Had you sent Blue a reminder, then followed up with a polite and professional phone call, you would have saved yourself a lot of stress. Blue's a busy boy and he's already moved on. A gentle nudge is generally all it takes to save yourself hours or even days of worry and hassle.

I have worked with some very organized and business-like publications and some that are more seat-of-the-pants. Generally some kind persistence really pays in the long run.

The next guy I marry....

I'm sure all of you know how incredibly glamorous a writer's life is, but for those of you who don't , here's a glimpse:

As usual, everything at my house breaks at once. Right now the ice maker in the frig is frozen in time, while water drips slowly out out of the bottom of the appliance onto my wood floor. But of course I put off calling anyone because I'm afraid he'll tell me I need a new one and I really have better things to do with my money. But then, my teenage daughter gets on a cleaning spree and tries to wash every pillow in the house at the same time. So now the washer is full of water and won't drain. Actually, it won't do anything. While I have the same sense of dread, I can't put off getting the washer fixed. So I make the call.

Mr. Fixit shows up at my door bright and early and proceeds to remedy all my appliance problems in less than 45 minutes. I am amazed at how effortless it seems and I catch myself thinking: The next guy I marry will be able to fix things.

Of course, he probably won't put up with my moods. Or make me bacon sandwiches at midnight, but you never know.

But that sparked an idea. You know how every woman has a set of 'rules' or standards about men when they are young? How many girls that you knew said, "I'm going to marry a doctor, lawyer, or a rancher(This IS Texas) Doesn't that seem silly now? If we'd been smart, we would have said "I'm going to marry a mechanic, or a plumber or *sigh* a CONTRACTOR!!"

Anyway, it made me think of an idea for another book about a women who starts a matchmaking service for women who have stopped daydreaming and want a practical, honest, hardworking guy - with skills- instead of a guy with money. And what lengths the men in their lives will go to in order to win them over. We'll see where it goes. I think the title will be "The Next Guy I Marry......."

The company of writers

Funny how I crave the company of writers. Getting together to talk about the writing biz may seem like an indulgence but it makes great business sense. It never fails when I have lunch or get together critique-wise I always learn something new about the market, trends, editors who jump ship to another company. This kind of inside info is even more valuable when you are contemplating a national conference like RWA in Atlanta in a few weeks. Knowing who has connections with who, who likes what, which newbies are the up and comers will all help you to feel at ease and knowledgeable.

Most people are amazed at how incredibly small the world of publishing is. When you understand that there are 50 or so acquiring editors in New York, it makes you realize how few people decide what is available on the shelf to read. When you couple that with the fact that most times they can't even tell you what they're looking for it can make the book business very frustrating indeed. One way to alleviate this frustration is to spend time with the multis. Who are the multis? The Multi=Published authors. They aren't a one shot wonder they've been around. They know people and connections. They hear the rumors as well as the fact and can separate the two for you. I have several multis I will be seeing this week so I can prepare myself for the stress and fun of conference.

Pricker update: someone ran over one of my little cacti....grrr......it's like six inches from my back wall in the alley......of course, being cactus, it looks like it's bouncing right back....I hope they got a flat....

And miles to go before I sleep.....

Why does time speed up when you least want or need it to?? What is up with that? I did have a productive weekend. As much as I'd like to say Frenemies is polished and ready, the best I can say is - it's close. I catch more stuff every time I read it and since I swapped view point and subplot I still catch a few stray thoughts that don't belong when I go through it. Hopefully in another week it will be more perfect. Yes I said more perfect. On the way to completely perfect. I hope.

More on the plate as far as editing. In addition to the content editing I'm doing for one project I also have another copy editing project coming in today or tomorrow. I hear it's an easy read and needs only light grammar check. Hopefully that's the case.

I'm currently working on the newsletter and will have it out soon. Here I was, worried that I wouldn't have enough info for a whole newsletter and now I'm having to decide what to cut! thanks to all for their suggestions and ideas.

One other note, for those of you that are interested in the Rita awards, Candy Havens is interviewing several of them on her blog. You can go to her website at www.candacehavens.com and click on the blog link. Among the questions she asks the nominees is how they came up with the idea for their nominated book and where they were when they got the call from RWA. Great stuff!!

Lots of work ahead...

Looking forward to the holiday. I am taking the next four days and polishing up Frenemies. I won't be doing much else, but that's okay. I got the cover art for the book I will be editing starting next week. It's really pretty good. You never know about cover art, sometimes you have to wonder what they were thinking, but luckily this one is good. I talked to the author in Canada about some of the preliminary changes and she is a very agreeable sort. Which is great.

We booked a shore excursion for the cruise in September. The Apple Rum Estate tour in Jamaica. They give you a tour, feed you lunch and ply with all the rum you can drink. Then get you back to boat before it sails. What's not to love about that? We're still thinking about the submarine tour in Grand Caymen. I think we will be doing most of our shopping in Cozumel. Which would be great if I liked to shop, which I don't, but I kind of feel like I'm supposed to on this trip. I probably won't post again until next week, so have a very happy July 4th everyone!

Pricker Update

For those of you who have been wondering, the baby cactus have had a growth explosion and now have been transplanted out to the alley to stand guard against the spray paint delinquents. I'll let you know how it goes.

On the writing front, it's been a pretty productive week. I've finalized the synopsis for Frenemies (which is a huge load off my mind) thanks to those who helped polish this up!! I am now looking forward to doing the final edits on the full manuscript over the holiday weekend. Jenny (www.jenniferarcher.net ) and Heather(grammar nazi) will be reading it next week so I want it as polished as possible. I'm sending out the partial to Tara Gavin at the end of this week so I'm crossing my fingers.

I also had another conference call with the publisher for the editing job. I gave them a quote and I can have it delivered by July 25 before I leave for the RWA conference so that works perfectly. I also sent a query to a slick that covers the Southeast Coast. Since I will be down there in a few weeks, I'd like to do a story for them.

They now have my blog linked to the Australian writers magazine, http://www.writersedgemagazine.com/ click on the Writer's Diary link and scroll down. I'm interested to see what kind of traffic flow I get from 'down under'.

The marketing booklet that I did in May for Dawson Publishing has been backed up a little. They are running behind. No biggie. A few months is a nano second in the publishing world. I will be working on the newsletter over the weekend as well. As soon as it's up, I'll send everyone a link.

Synopsis Hell

I can't believe it's been a whole week since I posted. I guess that should tell you that the writing has really picked up. Unfortunately there is never a steady flow of work. I'm either twiddling my thumbs or burning the candle at both ends. And obviously headed into the depths of cliche land. *sigh*

I did pull out the synopsis for Frenemies again and begged my friend Jennifer Archer (www.jenniferarcher.net) for her masterful touch. I have several critique partners and each has their own strength, but Jenny's is definitely in the area of synopsis. Hopefully the next couple of days I will get it into shape and ready to send finally.

In other news, I had an interesting phone call this week with the editorial coordinator for the publisher that I ghost write and edit for. While we were talking, he made the suggestion that I should consider becoming an agent. I laughed, but then later I thought....hmmmm.... maybe a few years down the road when my career is more solidified, that might be an option. You never know, but it makes me even more aware of the contacts that I'm making in the publishing world right now. Speaking of which, the RWA Conference in Atlanta is only a few short weeks away. I'm formulating my strategy and figuring out which editors I need to contact or speak with again. I'm sure it will sneak up on me (like it does every year) and I will feel less than prepared.

Is it just me or does summer seem to go by in a blur?? Why is it that warm weather makes me feel like I have to spend every waking hour DOING something? I need to step back and just enjoy it. And I will. After I finish this next editing job, get my synopsis in shape, do at least another two chapters on the current book, finish the gift card article, get my freakin roses planted and blah blah blah blah......

Making Your Way

Once again tonight( or is it morning now?) I am reminded that each writer travels their own path. While some are singularly fiction minded others snub their nose at that market and concentrate on 'what sells'. It frustrates me to no end that others' opinions might keep a new writer from pursuing their goals. For me I can say that nonfiction is something I write for money. Not that I don't enjoy it, but still.... Fiction I write for love. There's no other way to describe the process and differences between the two. I guess I find nonfiction easy, so I don't think about it terms of what it can do because in my mind it is a short lived piece of work. But fiction, on the other hand is very subjective. I find it immensely intriguing for that reason. How do you move one person, or a whole nation for that matter, to feel exactly what you feel as you type the words on the page? What is it that instinctively connects the writer with the reader? How can someone read mere words on a page and allow it to effect their whole life ...And their children's lives?

I can tell you it doesn't really happen like that in nonfiction. You are reporting or helping, but you aren't impacting the way that person sees their universe. I was told a while back that fiction is for fools, I should write what sells. I can only laugh at the shortsightedness of this person. How many people remember the works of nonfiction from the 19th century? Anyone?? I'll bet very few even from the 20th century. But how many of you read Uncle Tom's Cabin? The Scarlet Letter? Gone with the Wind? Shakespeare? What great quotes do you remember?

"Romeo, Romeo where for art thou?" Romeo & Juliet
"You had the power in you all the time." Glenda the Goodwitch-Wizard of Oz
"Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn!" Gone with the Wind

"Non Fiction may pay the bills, but fiction will change the world. " Dee Burks

And you can quote me on that one.

Another Great Writer....

Isn't it weird how writers just seem to connect to each other no matter their background or type of genre, we just seek out those who are traveling the same path. One really neat lady I met at the conference this weekend was Deborah LeBlanc from Lafayette. She writes thrillers for Leisure. What an entertaining speaker!! And a genuinely nice person. You can check out her website at www.deborahleblanc.com . The conference went really well for most all of my students and Hillary Sares from Kensington asked for several things from them so I'm excited. I hope several of them get their books out in the next year. They are very talented people.

I'm getting back into the swing of things this morning, catching up on email, etc. There are several things on my to do list that have been on there for several weeks and I just keep not doing them. Like finishing my synopsis for Freniemies. I hate synopses, but then, who doesn't? Time to just do it.......Bummer........

Meet & Greet at the OK Corral

The first day of the FiW conference is in the bag. Though many of my students were incredibly nervous and hesitant about encountering a big time New York editor, they all handled it very well. And guess what...She didn't bite. In fact she asked for work from several of them so I'm trilled for them and crossing my fingers that the ones who are finalists in the contest tomorrow win win win!!!! I know I keep telling them that its enough to be nominated...and it truly is....But dang it, I so want them to WIN!!!

On another note, my good friend Jennifer Archer received the writer of the year award. And deservedly so. Its great to see someone that you know has worked her butt off, finally start getting the recognition she deserves.

I also ran into a friend I haven't seen or heard from in over 16 years, Tonya Tittle. When our kids were tiny, we used to get together and talk about how much we wanted to write and how great it would be to do that for real. So I turn around today and there she is.....Just exactly like I remember her. Only this is her first writing conference. It is so weird how people retain their dreams no matter what life throws at them. I hope she continues to chase that dream.

The Prickers Have Arrived!!

For those of you who are unaware, we've been having an issue with the back wall that surrounds our yard getting tagged. We've lived in our house for 8 years and not had a problem, but this year they have spray painted our wall 3 times. No, its not gang related just kids with nothing better to do. This last time they painted big mushrooms and marijuana plants along 25 feet of wall. Artistic little delinquents. So I'm thoroughly sick of buying paint and me or some member of my family having to spend our weekends covering up their artwork. On top of that, it just plain hacks me off.

After entertaining several ideas about what to do(some legal, some not), a guy at work suggested we plant cactus in the alley along the wall to deter the worst of it. I LOVE this idea! Little prickers for the little pricks. Perfect. So of course I got on eBay and found what I needed right away. A variety of Prickley Pear similar to what you see out in the cattle pastures around here. But it grows really fast.

So yesterday the baby cactus arrived. A whole box full of misery awaiting our little artists. Hehehehehehe..... I'll let you know how it goes.

FiW Conference

The FiW Conference in Amarillo is this weekend. I'm a little concerned because I haven't gotten my confirmation yet, but so far neither has the other few people that I know are going so maybe they are really back logged. I know there is a lot more interest this year so hopefully that means many more people. I called to get the final info for the fall classes that I'm teaching at AC. I will be doing flyers to put in the bags of the conference goers. Since so many of my former students finaled this year, I'm hoping there will be a lot of interest.

Thanks to all of you who posted or sent me emails about the newsletter I am planning! The overwhelming majority of interest seems to be in the marketing and promotions area although information on how to get into freelancing ran a close second. I hope to have the first issue out in July and right now I'm thinking about doing it Bi-Monthly. I plan to have my wonderful little autobot send out emails when its ready so you can go to my website and pull it up. I thought this was better than sending an attachment with all the viruses out there these days. And back issues will be available with a click of the mouse!

I will be putting in little short tips and pieces of interest as well as notifying you of great books that will be coming out in the near future. I have yet to dream up a title for it, so if any of you have any ideas on that, let me know. Also, if any of you have a book coming out, or tips or comments that might be useful to other writers, email me and I'll include them as well.

Top page count

I have figured out that the top page count I can manage is 40-45 pages per day. That's it. I've discovered that I need a mental break of about 45 minutes to an hour for every ten pages or so that type. Even if I am still awake and have more time to write, I get to about page 42 and the neurons refuse to fire anymore. Its almost like they organize a walk out. I have also learned that it is dangerous for me to drive after an extended writing session. Like you've had a bottle of Nyquil. Very weird.

The ghostwriting project is outta here!! I'm so happy I could spit! I had to set a few things aside to get it done, so I will be getting back to those this week. Now that I know that sustained effort will produce tremendous page counts, I'm excited to give it a go on my other projects. I'm also contemplating starting a monthly newsletter as my contact list has grown. Maybe something with writing tips and new and exciting market directions...what do you all think? What would you like to see in a newsletter?

Looking forward to the Holiday

So much to do, so little time. I have really been looking forward to this weekend. I have many writing projects to work on, but I also plan to play in the dirt some. I have a few more roses to plant and I bought some pompass grass to fill in a large eyesore out back by the alley. We will be kidless so I hope to get many things on my revolving to do list done including sending out several queries for projects I hope to work on next month. That's the thing about freelancing. You only get out of it what you put in and if you get lazy the bank account shows it.

I also spent the morning hearing about a cruise to Mexico my friend Bruce just got back from. It was on the same cruise line that we will be traveling on in September. I can taste the sea spray and fruity drinks already. September seems so far away, but I know it will creep up on me suddenly just like graduation did. I still need some markets for the cruise articles so I'll be sending those out the beginning of next week. I will also be printing up my fliers to distribute at the FiW conferences for the classes I am beginning this fall at Amarillo College. I hope some of my former students will be receiving awards at the conference they are incredibly talented people.

Middle of the night....

Okay I realize it is the dark dead of night....but still.....I got a few articles scanned yesterday and posted them to their links on the website.I realize that it's no big deal to most, but for the web challenged it's really somthing.

I was rereading the article on Romancing The Big Easy. I can't help but think back to those days in 2001, when we went to NOLA.....I wonder about those we talked to - those who are left.I still wonder if things are okay;how are they coping ....what changes have they made.I want to be there...to ask....to experience......to relive the incredible VIBE that is New Orleans.I emailed a magazine to see if they are interested in this kind of story. Hopefully they will be. This is a story of human frailty, human perserverence...How could they not be interested?

Blah Blah Blah

You never know how much you can really get done in a short time until you are pressured to do so. I know I've always been a deadline kind of writer. I NEVER miss a deadline. Maybe that stems from being an editor and having to deal with flaky writers who missed deadline after deadline and then turned in crap. So I have this really big project and I figure to get it done I have to produce volumes of pages. Over last few days I've done 80. Can you believe it?? 80 freakin pages. Granted it's nonfiction, which I'm pretty comfortable with, and its in an area that I happened to like very much but still.....80 freaking pages!!

This begs the question, Why is it taking me so long to finish my other projects?? Am I just lazy or what? I think it's because I don't have a deadline. If someone was standing there waiting on the finished product, I know I'd already have finished. So here's the deal sports fans. The summer (June & July) will be my clean up months. I hereby vow to finish the first draft of Come As You are by June 30. I also vow to finish the rewrite on Frenemies and SEND THE PROPOSAL that's been sitting on my desk since January. AND I promise me and the powers that be to get my nonfiction book proposal finished and out the door before Conference. And that's by July 26th.

Make no mistake that I will still be pumping up the freelance articles as well.....very busy summer ahead.

Graduation Excitement

Graduation went really well. North Carolina is such a pretty place. And as always, Duke is soooo organized. We left last Thursday and spent several days with the kids before the big day. We drove to the coast, visited the historic district of Raleigh and ate at the Angus Barn, which is apparently the Big Texan of North Carolina - sort of. The decor is similar, large barn-like structure with antler chandeliers and primitive type wood tables. But everyone is very dressed up - and so is the menu. It was great for a graduation celebration. Graduation itself was a great experience and I can hardly believe that I have a kid that is a college graduate. I should feel old, but I don't for some reason. I'm really proud of her. I have pictures to follow as soon as I figure out how to get them on here.

I also read two books while I was enroute (well I actually read four, but didn't like two of them so we won't talk about those). One of the good ones was the new one by Mary Kay Andrews, Savanna Breezes. Its struck me as really ironic. I am working on a book that is in two first person points of view, but I hadn't seen it done well by anyone currently out there. But this book was a perfect example of two first person points of view done very well. And it worked.


The other one I read was a book called 'The Book of Joe'. This was a really interesting read. It is about a writer who wrote a scathing book about his home town that was made into a big movie and then, when his father has a stroke, this writer has to return to face a whole town full of very angry people. It's funny(especially the part where the reading club drives by his family's house and flings copies of the book on the lawn) but also delves into the idea of how to resolve old hurts and heartaches and still come out not seriously screwed up. For any of you women who are writing from a male point of view for some of your scenes, I highly recommend this as a study in what guys think and how they relate to each other.

Maybe Myrtle

My sister and I are traveling together to the graduation extravaganza this weekend. We had to fly out on Thursday, since it's mother's day weekend. Who holds graduation on mother's day? Apparently Duke, and every other college in North Carolina. So we will have some time on our hands before the big event. We're thinking about taking a day trip down to Myrtle Beach. My husband and I went a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. It's no South Padre, but still is nice.

I may see if my sister wants to go down to the plantation we visited last time that's south of Myrtle. It was a strange and unusual experience. It's hard enough to confront the idea of slavery and what that meant in your head, but to go and see it in person was pretty hard. The thing that bothered me the most was that some of the people, who were period actors, had ancestors who were slaves on the property. I couldn't hardly grasp what that must be like and still can't . But I would like to go again and take some awesome pictures with my new camera.....which is STILL in the box.

Its always fun to go new places and see new things....and then return and hit the highlights again. One highlight we will not be experiencing is the Cooper River Bridge! Once was quite enough!

Graduation Excitement

So my oldest daughter is graduating college at the end of this week. I can't believe it. I remember when she left like it was yesterday.....wait a minute it WAS yesterday. And now its over. Just like that, she's a grown up. She called last week squealing(yes, squealing) as she had signed her first lease on a little condo in Durham, where she is planning to make her new life. I can hardly remember that kind of excitement, and refuse to dampen her spirits one bit with talk of 'reality land'. Let her be excited. You're only young once.

I also bought a new digital camera to take on the trip to Durham, though I haven't taken it out of the box yet. I got a nice one, reasoning that my kid will only graduate once and I don't want crappy pictures....and then there's the cruise this fall to consider as well. I want great photos of that too.

I worked on several projects that are in various stages of completion this weekend. I also went to Linda Castillo and Ronda Thompson's book signing. They are always a treat. I plan to try and get some work done the next three days before we leave for Durham. We'll see how far I get, but I have to think that I've come pretty far already, and I just have to do at least One Thing everyday. What one thing did you do to further your career today?