Giving Blessings

I thought about using the title "Giving and Blessings" but opted for brevity.

First a word about giving. The writing community, I've found, is the givingest bunch of people. I can speak especially to mystery writers and, so far, horror writers. The most experienced are willing to take time out and lend a hand to new writers. In fact, there's a wealth of information that writers have posted on their blogs. Some examples are Alexandria Sokoloff's Three Act lessons, Beth Anderson's synopsis writing lesson, and Michael Bracken will even tell you how to write for the "trues" if that's your inclination. If you Google properly, you can find tons more lessons given for free from those who know how to do it.

On to giving blessings, which was my original idea for this post. I went to Santa Fe last week for Left Coast Crime, and mystery fan convention that moves around west of the Mississippi and will be held in Sacramento next year. I met with many of those generous mystery writers, and some fun fans and librarians, the treasures of the literary world.

This site, http://www.thesantafesite.com/history.html, says Santa Fe, New Mexico is the oldest capital city in North America and also the oldest European city west of the Mississippi. All of New Mexico is, with Florida, the oldest areas settled by Europeans in this country. The Spaniards (along with the Jewish people who were expelled from Spain the same day Columbus sailed) made their way to New Mexico, settled the area, and have been there ever since. They, of course, settled in land already settled by the Pueblo Indians. The history was not one of peaceful coexistence, and the Europeans eventually defeated the Pueblos and took possession of Santa Fe. The Indians today live in ancient pueblos, some very near Santa Fe, and produce artistic pottery, jewelry, rugs, and other arts and crafts. I can't go to Santa Fe without buying jewelry and have some pottery from there, too.

With the violent history, you'd think the Indians in the area would be bitter and resentful. Instead, they join in the tourism industry of the area and one tribe even welcomed the Left Coast Crime convention to Santa Fe. The Ohkey Owingey Pueblo performed a Buffalo Dance for us, permitted pictures, as a blessing on our gathering. I was so touched that tears streamed down my face as I snapped picture after picture of the serious, dedicated dancers, ages one and a half (although she didn't dance) to, I think, sixteen.

 

I posted all my pictures on facebook, but I've put a few here if you don't have the time or inclination to click over there.

This link is available to you even if you're not signed up for facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81061&id=1317370777&l=c15894f496

Burning Bridges: Sometimes You Should Just Keep Your Mouth Shut!

I hate to admit it, but I've always been one of those people. You know, the ones that have trouble keeping their yaps shut. My favorite saying is, "If you don't have anything nice to say, come to sit next to me." Unfortunately, this has gotten me into trouble from time to time. My foot lives in my mouth. Sometimes I even put salt on it to help it taste better.

Yep, it's that bad.

However, even I know that when it comes to writing, it's never a good idea to lose control of the yap. Especially when it comes to rejection or a bad review.

If you haven't read the post by Ernie from yesterday, check it out. That was my inspiration for today.  The author's behavior in the post Ernie directed us to blew my mind! Basically, an author sent her novel to be reviewed by someone who has their on online review site. The reviewer liked the story but hated all the typos and grammatical errors in it, and of course, commented on that. The author blew a gasket and accused the reviewer of being a liar. All sorts of other craziness ensued.

It was like reading a soap opera written just for bloggers.

The thing is, the author said a lot of things which will probably come back to haunt her later. I know that if I were an agent or publisher, I'd have to think twice about working with this individual. Reviewing her work on my blog site would be out of the question...unless, I needed a good laugh.

The internet is not a chalkboard where things can be easily erased. What you say online lives on and on and on. Authors, think before you spew words you can't take back. Sure, there are injustices in the writing world, but handle them privately, and even then with care. 

Don't burn bridges because you can't handle rejection or criticism. Take it with a grain of salt, and if you must, come sit next to me. Or find someone you can vent to who won't betray your secrets!

Curious about what went down? Check out the previous post.

Here's to keeping your mouth shut!

What Not to Do as an Author

The following has gone viral. (Warning, adult language is used in spots.) This is an object lesson in how not to respond to a negative review of your novel(s).

The Greek Seaman: by Jacqueline Howett

Ernie

Publicity, Promotion

The above are other words for selling, of course. And now that an author has to not only write, but sell their own books, more and more of us are--for the first time ever--working in the sales department.

If I'd wanted to be a salesperson, I tell myself, I would not have become a writer! In the Good Old Days, a writer wrote, a publisher published and sold. Alas, no more. Publishers are stacking that task onto the backs of the writers. Which means, there are a LOT of brand new salespeople in the world of literature.

My only attempt at selling was a job I quit just before I got fired from. (See sentence above that begins: If Id' wanted to be....) I'm hoping I'll prove better at selling my own dang book.

So far, my attempts have included guest blogging, trying to be active and visible online, and booking myself into a couple of mystery conventions. I chose large confabs that fans attend. A writers' conference isn't going to do it for this purpose. Wednesday I leave for Left Coast Crime in Santa Fe, and in late April I'll attend Malice Domestic. These are both well established venues for promoting and selling. With that in mind, and having been told I could probably count on having my book available by mid-April, I'm booked as an official New Author at Malice Domestic. Three other authors and I, all from Mainly Murder Press, went together on an ad in the program. It shows a placeholder cover that I designed, but it's at least getting my name and title before people. There have been a few holdups, so I'm having to cross my fingers that my book will be ready for Malice, but I have faith!

I'm now emailing people to see if I can get some pre-publication (or maybe *at* publication) reviews. I've had some good results, but no one has broken my door down to get my attention.

In the past few days I've designed bookmarks for this book. The cover is not the final version, but the publisher told me I could use it for promotion.

Meanwhile, I learned that an anthology that has been in the works for some time is probably being printed this week! So I'd better start promoting that, too. Today I had a dozen postcards printed up at the local print shop. I forgot to have them cut, so I'll go by my husband's office and borrow the paper cutter as soon as I finish this.

I've read mixed results for online ads, so I'm not going to do any of those yet. Both the above-mentioned volumes are paperbacks, but I'll eventually put out an e-book for the novel. At that time I might do some online ads.

Some authors have had good luck with give-aways, which I'll try when I have the physical product to give away.

This is all stumbling in the dark, though! Baby steps.

The Glamour of Writing

The other evening I was sitting around with the my writing group, the gang responsible for the illustrious little blog you are currently reading, pondering the very nature of writing itself. It's been said before and will be said again that writing is a lonely business. You can social network as much as you want, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to you, the computer, and whatever freaky little story you've got wandering around in your head.

My friend and fellow contributor to All Things Writing, Kaye George said, "It isn't about glamour. It's about hard work."

Ain't that the truth!

I sometimes think about writers who were well known not only for their work, but for their lifestyle, too. Truman Capote comes to mind because he was a fixture on the New York social scene for many years, a kooky little guy with an annoying voice that made writing seem...cool. Or F. Scott Fitzgerald. The parties he and his wife, Zelda, (now why doesn't anyone name their kid that anymore?) were legendary. True, he may have been a raging alcoholic with lots of issues but hey--he still made writing appear glamorous.

I don't need glamour to be a writer and as Kaye pointed out, writing is hard work. If you spend all of your time doing the social network thing, when you do you have time to just write? Granted, we live in a time where social networking, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and dozens of others are important for a writer to use in order to attract a following. But a some point, do you lose sight of why you are social networking in the first place?

Writing isn't glamorous, but it can be rewarding. I would love to hear other thoughts on social networking vs plain old writing time. Drop a comment and share your thoughts with the gang from All Things Writing!