| Author |
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C. E. Winterland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 17, 2001 - 09:45 pm: |   |
Well, with the advent of my breakout into public life recently (hehehe) I'm hoping we may have some of my RMFW homies and friends from the conference and crit group stop in.
My guess is that they'll want to post somewhere perhaps other than the "Publish America" section, so I'd like to invite you all here for general writing discussions. Toward that end I'm also moving the "Patch" tale to the main topics page so that everyone can participate.
RMFW folks, and in fact any new members to the Mindsight Forum - BE WELCOME, I think you'll find a great bunch of folks here, and that is what will bring ye back 
C. E. Winterland |
Nancy M. Segovia
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 08:55 am: | |
Hi all,
I've totally re-designed my web site and added some new features like a
newsletter, a forum, and a poetry section.
If anyone has the time to check it out and to comment on the new look,
I'd be grateful for any advice. You can find it at www.nancymarie.com
Smiles and blessings, Nancy Marie |
Dennis Collins
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 10:08 am: | |
Marketing tips..........
This is something that has been helpful to me so I thought I'd share it with those of you who haven't heard about it. John Kremer, author of, "1001 ways to market your book" has a periodic mailing that he sends to subscribers. It's just a list of marketing hints that he picks up from various sources and passes along. They don't all suit every author but there's an occasional gem included. you can sign up at: johnkremer@bookmarket.com |
Nancy M. Segovia
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 - 10:48 am: | |
Hi Dennis,
I tried to send an e-mail to subscribe to that newsletter
and got an error message.
I think I will try to go directly to the web address and
see what happens there.
Thanks for the tip, by the way.
Smiles and blessings, Nancy Marie |
Gloria Marlow
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 08:54 am: | |
I hope this is the right place to ask this question. I wasn't really sure what category is should go under, but here it goes:
Is it normal to feel unsure of your work even after it's been accepted, etc.? Of course, I thought it was good when I sent it in, but self-confidence has never been my strong point. Now that word is spreading and people are stopping me at the kids' schools and at my college and church and the local convenience store to ask when and where they can buy my book, I am petrified.
What if they hate it? What if they love it? I don't know which one scares me more. Does anyone understand this?
And the thought of going to writers' conferences and things like that? You can't even imagine the fear that puts into me. What if I, this frumpy HICK housewife with the worse southern drawl you've ever heard has to talk to people about my book and/or myself?
So, has anyone else experienced this? Does this signify as I was told by someone else, that my book wasn't ready to be sent in, since I am uncertain about it? Or do other authors feel surprised that someone actually likes their book, besides themselves and their mom?
Someone please assure me that I'm a nice sane writer, not some paranoid, neurotic, crazy woman. Or you can just tell me the truth....
Gloria |
Nancy M. Segovia
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 10:08 am: | |
Hi Gloria'
First for the bad news, according to Ernest Hemmingway,
"All writers are crazy, the only question is were they
crazy to start with or did writing make them that way?"
(Or something like that. It is one of my favorite quotes
and I have had it posted on the walls of my many and
diverse offices for over 16 years.)
Now for the good news. Being, insecure about our work goes
with the territory of being a writer. At least it does
for me. As a writer, we put our hearts and souls, and
thoughts and personal memories, and consciousness out
for the whole world to see. Jeeze Louise! how many
people do you know that communicate verbally that way?
I mean if I said everything I thought about everybody
and everything, I would probably be tarred and feathered
and run out of town. If they didn't hang me up my by toe
nails first, that is.
But isn't that exactly what we do as writers?
And, with writing, if we are really, good honest writers,
well then we have to admit to ourselves, at least I do,
that I could have done better. That another word, another
phrase, another metaphor, etc. would have worked better
that what I ended up choosing. So, knowing that, of course
I am going to be insecure about.
And, again with writing, to use one of my favorite examples
it's like learning to play the piano. You may have some
basic talent, heck you may even be a prodigy, but if you
don't practice and use that talent, well it just never
gets any better. So, the more you practice the better
you get. So, even if your first novel is great, rest
assured that your next one will be even better, because
you have practiced.
I am going through the same thing. What if nobody likes it?
What if the reviewers the critics hate me. And, especially
what are they going to think we they see my picture on the
cover and look at me now. (I've gained some weight back
since that picture was taken.)
But, then I think of all the critiques I've gotten of the
manuscript and the fact that my agent likes my work enough
to represent me, and so I put those other thoughts aside
and dwell on the good stuff instead.
I hope this makes sense to you and I hope it helped some.
Smiles and blessings, Nancy Marie |
Barbie Perkins Cooper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 02:19 pm: | |
Gloria:
How I can relate to the emotional roller coaster a writer receives when publication dates are near. Before Condition of Limbo arrived (I never received a confirmation date for publication) I experienced every sad, horrifying emotion you described. Although I'll be psychoanalyzed for saying this, I imagined little voices echoing to me, telling me that I was not a writer, and never would be. Levels of euphoria, elation, and great sadness danced inside my head, while I continuously asked myself 'what makes you think you can write.'
I believe I posted some of these moods once on this site, probably somewhere in the archives. So, yes, what you are experiencing is quite normal...at least, when I spoke with my doctor about it, that is what she said to me.
Think of your new adventure as an author similar to childbirth. I know, guys, it is a horrid metaphor for you to comprehend, but it is definitely something we of the female gender can relate to. At first, you are euphoric when discovering that a child is developing -- something magical and difficult to describe. You nourish your body and that child, only to feel abandoned, empty, and draped in a veil of darkness when the child grows into an adult and leaves you behind.
Hey, what do you expect -- good metaphors now -- when a writer finds difficulty concentrating!
After I signed the contract and realized Condition of Limbo was to be published, I was swimming in a despair I could not describe. Now, I realize the despair was only the self doubts of fear --- fear of success --- fear of rejection --- and fear that is still within me.
Do not allow those fears to beat you! Take a deep breath and repeat to yourself that you will be fine. Public speaking will help you develop the confidence. If you need help with presentations, I can give suggestions. For several years I worked as a recruiter, so public speaking is extremely easy for me. I never meet a stranger!
Remember one thing -- do not allow the fear to take over, and stop feeding negativity. Do not say that you are a 'frumpy HICK housewife with the worse
southern drawl you've ever heard' ... unless ... you can develop that housewife into a character who wishes to speak!
Speaking only for myself, I have experienced those mixed emotions you are dealing with. Feed the positive...accentuate the positive, while refusing to allow the negative to bring you down!
Good luck, Gloria! |
Gloria Marlow
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 02:33 pm: | |
Thanks, Nancy! I guess insanity, like misery, loves company. It makes me feel much better to know you're all crazy, too.
You wouldn't believe how glad I was to finally send my manuscript back and know I couldn't change one more thing! I think I would have kept changing and adding and taking away forever if I hadn't had a deadline. As a matter of fact, I sent it in two weeks before my deadline so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. That didn't really help, but, at least, I can't "fix" anything else.
Maybe I should try to get reviewed. Maybe if someone I really don't know liked it, I would feel a little more secure. My mom loved it! She's brutally honest, but I think she's also probably just a little prejudiced, huh?
Anyway, thanks! |
Gloria Marlow
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 02:50 pm: | |
Barbie:
Didn't see your message until after I answered Nancy's. Thanks for your words of wisdom. The thought of public speaking---YUK! I had to speak at a PTA meeting the other night, again---YUK! Five minutes of my stuttering something incomprehensible about how important it is to volunteer! It seemed like thirty minutes! I would have done better to write it all in giant letters on poster paper and held it up for people to read themselves.
No fear though, I am on the upside of the roller coaster this afternoon, and I will give it another try. I have to give a oral presentation in each of my classes in college this semester so I will get plenty of practice.
Okay, so I'm taking my deep breath and I'm trying to beat the same little demon that asked you "what makes you think you can write" because he's on my shoulder now. As a matter of fact, I was thinking that just this morning. So, I'll be okay. And I won't call myself a frumpy hick housewife anymore, but the drawl thing...YUK! Oh well, I guess some people like the drawl, as the wife of my boss a few years back said, "It sounds warm and fuzzy". Is that a good thing?
So, I am moving forward. It's really too late to worry about the book not being good enough, because it is getting published. And someone may love it and someone will probably hate it. And I will live in the happy medium in between. (At least for this afternoon.)
Thanks!!
Gloria |
Dennis Collins
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 05:04 pm: | |
Magna Cum Murder...........
Just out of curiosity, are any of the other mystery writers who visit this site, planning to attend the "Magna Cum Murder" writer's conference at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana? It will be Oct. 26-28. I've heard from Mike Manno and he's still undecided at this time. It's definitely an enjoyable weekend complete with a very entertaining fan club.
Hope to see you there. |
C. E. Winterland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 06:53 pm: | |
Gloria -
Actually what you REALLY need is to go to a conference. You won't be expected to speak hehehe. You'll get to see TONS of other writers and realize that they are all just like you.
For chrissake... look at Stephen King... have you ever seen a bigger nerd? Not that his looks have anything to do with anything (and I love his work, by the way).
If people love your work that's good.
If people HATE your work - EVEN BETTER!!!! The person who loves your work is not going to tell you NEARLY as much about why as the person who hates or has issues with it. Ok... so maybe that's a bit extreme, but you get the point.
One thing that the president of the RMFW kept saying at the conference I was at is: "All writers are introverts - YOU have to speak first!" (that landed us at a party in the 'hospitality suite' with the hotel security asking us to be quiet hehehe)
So just in case you think I'm wierd and have no fears whatsoever... let me tell ya, part of putting word to page is wondering if people will like it. In a way, the difference between a great writer and a bad one is that very wonder or fear of the reader's reaction. If you didn't care or feel anything about your books coming out, we'd all be worried for you.
If you are able to fearlessly put your work out there for everyone in the world to read, your work would probably be boring hehehe.
CEW |
Gloria Marlow
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 09:06 pm: | |
Okay. I'm better now.
How in the world could I not be? I just listened to our President give a truly awesome speech...and he did it all with a drawl.
Seriously, that was a truly awesome speech, and it reminded me, as I've been reminded time and again the last week, that some things are important and some things aren't. Some things you can change and some things you can't. The things you can change, you change. And the things you can't change, you build on or around.
There, that's my philosophy for what it's worth.
Sooo, thanks for letting me vent my little neurotic insecurities on ya'll. And thanks for the assurance that I can be nuts and it's okay.
And about Stephen King, would we love him near as much if he wasn't such a nerd? (Probably) I've told someone before, I just love to turn to the back page of a book and see someone who looks like a normal everyday, don't look, Barbie "frumpy housewife". It's much more inspiring to us "real people" who are aspiring authors than seeing someone dripping in diamonds and money.
Gloria |
C. E. Winterland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 09:24 pm: | |
Oh goodie... so when you have some diamonds and money, Gloria... I'll take them off your hands hehehe 
CEW |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 09:52 pm: | |
Gloria,
At this time, only two people have read my book, and they both gave me great reviews, but I am scared to death about what the public will actually think. I really laid my life out there when I wrote the book and let all those that I love know all of my mistakes and problems and foibles and indisgressions throughout my whole life and for everyone to know that, frankly, SCARES the HELL OUT OF ME!! I tried for 35 years to cover up and block and hide all the feeling that I put into the book, and those thoughts and feelings wouldn't let me not put them in the book, for all that they are worth.
Am I scared, you bet, but I had to write it, so I had to let it go and give it a kiss and a hug and a prayer. And that is what I would recommend you do. BTW, IF you get diamonds and money, I would not be too proud to stand in the giveaway line.....
Claudia |
Gloria Marlow
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 21, 2001 - 01:40 pm: | |
Nope, the diamonds and money will be all mine. And these three hellions running around my living room. And this man who put up with seeing the back of my head for months while I sat at this computer writing this book. And I am just sure there's going to be lots and lots of diamonds and money, huh? Especially at- what is the average royalty around here? Twenty bucks a year? Just kidding.
May you all be rich and famous, and infinitely happy soon! And may someone find great enjoyment in all of our books!
Gloria |
Gloria Marlow
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 21, 2001 - 01:43 pm: | |
Nope, the diamonds and money will be all mine. And these three hellions running around my living room. And this man who put up with seeing the back of my head for months while I sat at this computer writing this book. And I am just sure there's going to be lots and lots of diamonds and money, huh? Especially at- what is the average royalty around here? Twenty bucks a year? Just kidding.
May you all be rich and famous, and infinitely happy soon! And may someone find great enjoyment in all of our books!
Gloria |
Nancy Mehl
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 03:51 pm: | |
Thought you guys might like to see a preview of my "other" novel being published by St Kitts Press.
If you go to www.stkittspress.com, there is pre-release info there, and you can read the prologue and first chapter.
They are taking pre-release orders for half the retail price!! No one asked me about that!!! I don't know whether to advertise this or not. Half price royalties certainly don't thrill me, although my publicist says that most authors are just happy to make a sale!! LOL!
Still waiting for my free copies - and my big advance from PA! LOL! It's not a big deal since I got a much larger advance from St Kitts - made a copy of the check and am going to frame that. I really want to see Graven Images up on Amazon - but nothing yet.
Sorry I've been scarce - just got my column in to MyShelf.com. One of our own, Mr. Dennis Collins, will be featured next month. Be sure to check it out. Anyway, on the day of my deadline - I started getting really sick. Not much voice right now - and I feel pretty punky. So...it's off to bed. Hubby will have to figure out dinner. Think he can do it???? LOL!
Talk to you all soon.
Nancy |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 03:58 pm: | |
HI All,
I have a question and I remember that Dennis gave a rundown on the answer, but it was a while ago and I don't remember how the thing plays out.
I looked at my listing on Amazon this morning and I am ranked at 1,683,765,
so what exactly does that all mean?? My step-son has a book out and he is listed at 929,379 in his ranking, his book has been out for a few months, and so, what does all that mean??? I am more curious than anything, but since my book just made the listing at Amazon, I want to know how they arrive at those rankings.....
Claudia |
Nancy M. Segovia
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 08:49 pm: | |
Get well soon, Nancy. And don't worry about hubby.
They can usually manage something even if it's only
bar-b-qued hot dogs or peanut butter and jelly. He
won't starve. Just take it easy and get better.
Smiles and blessings, Nancy Marie |
C. E. Winterland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 27, 2001 - 08:29 am: | |
A wind whistles hollowly through the pages of the forum...
Is there anyone to hear? |
|
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