Wednesday 30 July 2014

Late Night Writer ...

I have been lucky enough to have two poems accepted in the last couple of weeks.  Just as well really because I seem to be writing more and more of them, lately.  In fact I may even load another batch onto Wattpad if I am not too tired when I have finished this.  If I am too tired well - it will have to wait till tomorrow.  The way I look at it is that I have had two articles published this year and two poems accepted, so I am getting there.  Kind of.  And tonight - fanfare and drum roll - I actually did send My Writer to David at Publish Nation - a couple of days later than planned but done now.  Now I ride the uncharted waters of self-publishing.  I am an Indie author.  You know that movie "You Got Mail" starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan?  When Tom's character first suggests to his online confidente that perhaps they should meet, we see him write the message on his lap top then his finger hovers over the send button for a few moments before he actually clicks it.  Well that was me five minutes ago with My Writer all loaded onto an email and my finger hovering over the send button.  Then I shrugged and just sent it!  It is in the lap of the gods now!

One of the things I really adore about all this tech stuff is that manuscripts can be sent in this way without all the hassle of packaging them up, getting them weighed, dithering over whether to send by recorded delivery or not, buying huge chunks of stamps ( not forgetting one for the acknowledgement postcard and some for the return should it be rejected, God forbid), pushing it into the letter box - and then just waiting. And waiting.  And waiting. I mean you knew it would be at least three days before it even arrived.   Then it would likely as not sit in the slush-pile for weeks.  With email - bam - it's gone!  Whatever would our forebears have made of that, I wonder?

I had this title come to me the other day.  It keeps coming back to haunt me.  The title is Three Times Thirty Fishes.  There I bet that's got you intrigued.  Well believe it or not no matter how intrigued you are, I am ten times more so.  What does it mean?  I have no idea.  I only know it keeps coming back to me over and over again.  I suppose the rest of its story will come to me in time but if you have any ideas feel free to tweet and let me know.  Because damned if I know!

And - at 23.03, I ...yawn ... think it's bedtime o'clock.  Wattpad - see you tomorrow ...


Monday 14 July 2014

Publish Nation Wins ...

A long, long time ago - half a century in fact - a funny little girl missing three front teeth decided that one day she would be a writer.  It was all she wanted.  When she was twelve, during a class discussion on future careers, she announced this - matter-of-factly - to a class of her peers.  And later still, at fifteen, during a Careers Talk with the Careers Officer, she said it was what she wanted, was all she'd ever wanted and would always remain everything she ever wanted.  That was me of course.  And it is still an obsession, even after all this time.

Naturally, as with everything, you have to learn your craft.  You have to take the blows that come with inevitable rejection slips, get back up and live to fight another day.  You make mistakes and learn from them.  You never ever ever lose sight of that dream - be it dancing, writing, sport, cooking, teaching.  Whatever it is, if you know you want it, it will come.

Back in 2011, I was sitting in a library one day when this idea hit me - bam - right between the eyes.  I took up my pen and began making notes right away.  Those notes soon became the first draft of My Writer.  It was written in an absolute frenzy in just over a month - at bus stops, on trams, in coffee shops, on tea-breaks, well into the night knowing I'd be getting up early the next day.  This story was itching to be told.  it had to be told.

Over the course of the next two years, it was rewritten again. And again.  And right up until earlier this year it was being tweaked, prodded, encouraged, nurtured and enticed as I tried publisher after publisher, agent after agent.  It wasn't as if I was a complete novice.  I'd had two books published by a traditional publisher a year or two earlier and had a track record of published work twice as long as my arm.   I was getting excellent feedback.  An editor I sent it to said "This will be published."  And yet here we are half way through 2014, I have just turned 57 and it remains unpublished.   So I have taken it upon myself at last to actually self-publish it and I have decided to go with Publish Nation.  Their website answers all the right questions, hits all the right notes and their prices are the best in the market place.  There are some good testimonials and I have seen their books for myself so I know they are of good quality.

I have dabbled in self-publishing on a small scale before.  Six poetry books - all of which sold really well in the locality.  Plus the very first one I ever put together where I actually produced half a dozen copies on my little word processor and gave to people - and of course the Young Writers' book last year "Word Magic". With Publish Nation, of course, I will be going to a new level.  The odd thing is that I have considered self publishing My Writer several times before but it never felt right.  Now  feels right so tomorrow I am going to read through it again just to make absolutely certain it is up to scratch and on Wednesday it will go over to David.  I am about to boldly go where I have never been before.  Wish me luck.

Monday 7 July 2014

Uhhmmm........................

Still trying to fathom out my Kindle Fire HD.  It is my birthday tomorrow and I so wanted to get it by then! Never mind.  I will get it eventually!

Have been writing soooo much poetry lately.  I sometimes even surprise myself at the sheer volume of output!  Did you see my Rock 'n' Roll poem on Wattpad?  Ridiculously proud of it!   Oh and my second guest blog has appeared on the e-magzine Women Writers, Women's Books? And I may yet be asked for more so fingers crossed.

Have sent My Writer to yet another publisher.  I will not give up on this ever because I know it will sell. There is nothing else like it on the marketplace! Why shouldn't it sell?  I once said I could see it becoming to Creative Writing, what Ballet Shoes is to dancing.  And, having now run a writing group for children, I know there is a call for it.  Children must be encouraged to write because if they aren't, come 2057 there will be no new writers - just word machines churning out words for money.  You can see how passionate I am about this.  Kids are the most natural and talented story tellers in the world.  Their imagination, at this age,  is boundless and infinite and completely spontaneous.  Watch a couple of three year olds playing and you'll see what I mean!  Sorry to harp on; I will hop off the proverbial soapbox now.

Am seriously thinking of getting someone else in to help me run the Young Writer group.  Not too sure how to go about this but I might see if I can get an appeal in the local paper.  It would really help because there'd be more continuity  with the sessions.  At the moment I am having to just fit them in whenever I can.  it would be a lot better if it could consistently run at fortnightly intervals so if you know any writers in the Croydon area who might want to help keep the momentum going, please send them in my direction.  It is really important.

Okay - that is it for now.  Am off to play with my new toy.

Good Writing everyone!