independent publishing

Gratitude Continues After Thanksgiving

December 3, 2014 by admin

Mason is ready for his Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love picking up the turkey from a local farm that grew it for us. I love making the menu and trying new recipes. I love the smells wafting from the kitchen. I love the relaxed feeling after enjoying a hearty meal. I really love the leftovers.

I make a full Thanksgiving dinner, even when it’s just the two of us. Fortunately, though, we had company: my stepdaughter Sarah, her fiance Neil, and Mason the dog. Mason, a Maltese/Shih Tzu mix, is a rescue dog who, just over a year ago, didn’t know how to play or walk on a leash. Now he’s flying cross-country.

We had some snow over the holiday, which is unusual for us. On Sunday we drove out to the Olympic National Park, which was a true winter wonderland, and enjoyed a pleasant, though chilly, hike in the woods. I’m grateful to live in such a beautiful place.

Lake Crescent area, Olympic National Park

This week, the opportunities for gratitude continue to pile up. Some are small — I am back on Weight Watchers and lost weight, even on Thanksgiving week. More important, I feel better and more empowered now that I’m back on the program.

When a Grandchild Dies is almost ready to return to print, thanks to on demand publishing. I am checking the proof and making some final changes, and it should be available in a few more days.

Tomorrow I will turn 56 years old, but I am in good enough shape that when I use the book Eight Weeks to a Younger Body by Joan Pagano, I can use the weight program for the 35-44 age range, and the flexibility program for 26-35. I am grateful to be strong and healthy.Bazaar Girls Yarn and Fibre Emporium

This week, our local playhouse, Bazaar Girls Yarn and Fibre EmporiumKey City Public Theatre, is presenting Cinderella. KCPT offers fine productions, and I am proud to be a co-sponsor this year as “Nadine Feldman, Author.” It’s my way of starting to come out more as an author while supporting a fine organization. Henry participates from time to time as both an actor and playwright, and I am grateful for the relationships we are building there, especially with Denise Winter, KCPT’s artistic director. I am sharing sponsorship with my good friends at Bazaar Girls Yarn and Fibre Emporium.

And finally, yesterday, with a swipe of a pen, a judge ended a lawsuit against us. I am cautious about getting too excited about this, because we didn’t “win.” The plaintiffs withdrew the suit without prejudice, so they could re-file the lawsuit. However, for now, at least, a two-year legal battle has ended. We can go back to enjoying life in paradise.

What are you grateful for?

One more Mason photo to add joy to your day!

Thoughts from 2011 #WLTcon

June 15, 2011 by admin

The Writers’ League of Texas held its annual Agents and Editors conference this past weekend in Austin, Texas. I, along with a few hundred of my new best friends, made the trek to attend workshops, make new friends, and pitch to agents. This was my second conference; I attended two years ago. In those two years, a lot has changed!

Much of the focus has moved to social media as a way of branding and marketing a writer’s work. A “tweet-up” allowed attendees to tweet their questions about publishing, and I learned that many agents LOVE Twitter. I’m still not sure about it, but if the agents are using it and sharing publishing information, I’m happy to dive in. Previously, my tweets were occasional, uncertain, and inconsistent. Now, I’m in the know–at least a little bit! I’m now following several attendees, including said agents, and it’s a great way to get information about books, blogs, agents, and writing workshops.

When I attended two years ago, I was trying to decide if I wanted to publish Patchwork and Ornament traditionally or independently. I am glad I chose the latter because it allowed me to print the book before my father-in-law died, allowing him to see and feel the book, read the reviews, and watch it win an Indie Excellence award. I made a fundamental mistake, though, in not hiring a PR service to help me market the book.

When I published When a Grandchild Dies, I had a built-in audience. Between Amazon and Centering Corporation, a publisher and seller of bereavement books, my first self-publishing efforts were more successful than many, and I took it for granted that I had some PR skills. However, Patchwork has not fared as well. Now, having attended WLTcon, I have some leads on PR firms that can help me market my current project and perhaps resurrect Patchwork. These firms work specifically with authors and small publishers, so I will look into them further now that I am home.

I had my first-ever pitch session with Amy Burkhardt of Kimberley Cameron & Associates. Amy represented The Safe Food Handbook by Heli Perrett, where I learned never to eat raw sprouts–just in time to hear about the German e. coli outbreak attributed to raw sprouts. But I digress. The agency also represents women’s fiction, including Free to a Good Home by Eve Marie Mont, which I loved. Amy comes across as reserved and quiet, which helped put me at ease, or at least as at ease as was possible. The good news? She asked for a partial manuscript! Read the submission guidelines, she advised me, and I heard this message frequently throughout the weekend. Agents will not review manuscripts where the author could not be bothered to read the guidelines.

The best part of the conference, other than hanging with other writers, was the optimism of those representing the industry. Times are tough, and it’s harder to sell books these days, but a lot of dedicated people are keeping the faith and working hard. Their passion remains strong, and for that I am grateful.

So, What Else Do You Do?

May 25, 2011 by admin

My late mother-in-law, Jenny Feldman, left behind an extensive body of artwork that she made long after she gave up the dream of getting recognition as an artist. Even when her hands hurt too much to make large works, she adapted by making little spiral-bound books of drawings. At some point in her life, though, she tired of what she called the “fine arts slog” of promoting her work and instead, made art that pleased her. Some of that artwork covers our walls, and we are proud to show off our Jenny Feldman Originals.

I shared her writings in Patchwork and Ornament: A Woman’s Journey of Life, Love, and Art, in part because I loved her, in part because I found her writing compelling, and perhaps, to a larger degree, because I wanted her to have some of the recognition that eluded her in life. I wanted that for her because I want that for me. Perhaps that isn’t the highest and best motive, but I think any writer or artist would understand.

Sitting each day at my computer, I write new work and polish existing work, knowing that much of what I do may never see the light of day. My work is less visible than Jenny’s, stored on computers and websites, but it’s a body of work that continues to grow. Will it sell? I don’t know. I will do what I can to make it so. I will make the best work I can and, if I don’t find a publisher, will put it online as e-books and podcasts in hopes of building an audience.

Whenever I meet someone knew, and they ask me what I do, I explain that I’m a writer. They always ask, “What do you write?” closely followed by, “And what else do you do?” When I went to an office every day, miserable though I was, no one ever asked me “what else do you do?” They accepted that I had a full-time job. Well, I work harder as a writer than I ever did on the job. Each morning I get up and work, writing and polishing. I contribute and submit to a critique group. I read writing books. I read endless novels, some of them not very good, to learn my craft. I blog to get in more writing practice. My husband, a playwright when he isn’t writing computer programs, understands. Writing is a profession and a practice, but for many of us, the work that we do goes unnoticed, even by family and friends.

So why do it, if there is, for most writers, little respect or money involved? What keeps us going when we have little to show for our efforts, including recognition of those efforts?

The other day I received a note from a grandmother in Massachusetts ordering a copy of When a Grandchild Dies. Her granddaughter, she explained, died at six months, and would I please send her a copy of the book? I knew that though my audience is small, I have felt much affection for those grandparents who sent me notes and told me their stories. People have told me that they passed the book around in their family so everyone could read it, and it helped them get through the pain. These grandparents may never realize how often their outreach to me has pulled me from a writer’s funk.

Today I pulled out a notebook from a novel writing class I attended a few years ago, and some loose pages fell out. When I looked at them, they were lists of possible agents, more people to research and query. Despite my moments of discouragement, I still felt hope when I saw the names. I took it as a message from my teacher, and perhaps a greater teacher, not to give up. Publication may never happen, but what if it didn’t only because I didn’t try hard enough? I don’t have enough rejections to say that I’m done.

Mostly, though, I write because that’s what I do. That is how I was hooked up from the beginning of my life, though it took decades for me to understand this. I feel better. I’m less cranky and more loving with my family. I feel alive. Maybe no one will ever know my characters, but I know them and love them as though they were real people. I laugh with them, weep with them, and sometimes get angry with them, but I can’t wait to get together with them when I get up in the morning. When I fall asleep at night, I ask questions about the story so that my mind can work in my sleep to come up with answers to plot dilemmas.

This morning I finished yet another draft of Change of Plans. Two weeks from Friday, I attend an Agents Conference, and I will share my novel, and my beloved characters, with an agent. I feel shy and afraid, but I know these women, these imaginary friends, inside and out. I will tell their stories in the hopes that the agent will agree that others will love them like I do. And, if I don’t get the message across, I have these lists of agents that fell onto my feet this morning. Hope springs eternal!

Riding (or Writing) the Bike that Matters

April 6, 2011 by admin

My husband bought a hybrid bike some months ago and has recently taken it out on several long, hilly rides. After years of riding, he can move pretty fast. “You would really be something if you had a road bike,” people tell him. Well, he does, but he chooses the hybrid instead. For him, though, it’s not about how fast he can go. It’s about building strength and getting the heart rate up. I love this about him, this willingness to do what’s right for him versus what’s popular.

We have both eschewed the typical quest for success in favor of quality of life, and he’s not the only one who’s gotten questions or comments. The one I get most is, “Oh, so you’re a writer. What else do you do?”

I’m a little sensitive to that question. It takes time to write, to read the work of others, and to study the craft. There are days when the blank page intimidates and refuses to fill, days when the prose is boring, days, when plot problems don’t resolve. There are the works that change midstream, requiring a complete rewrite or even total destruction of what came before. Yes, often writers work day jobs out of necessity while they build their reputations, but it doesn’t come easily. After years of writing on my lunch hours while coworkers considered me antisocial, it’s nice to spend my days writing. I schedule my work as I did my previous jobs, with daily to-do lists and schedules to keep me on track. I have to limit phone calls and e-mails to avoid distractions. The good news and the bad news is that I am my own boss.

I have a lot of ideas, and I’m doing my best to get them all on to the page. As I revise Change of Plans and Blood and Loam, a new manuscript, Another Ordinary Day, has popped onto the screen and demands some attention. I manage this blog and Art of the Garden. So when I get thrown off-track from time to time, I tend to fret.

These past few days I have lived with some severe fatigue. A new gym opened up down the street, and I overdid it, I’m afraid. Some years ago I had some health problems that, while healed, still cause my body to complain from time to time, and I have to focus on sustained, consistent effort rather than the “no pain, no gain” philosophy. This last week I pushed a little too hard, and now I’m paying the price.

I used to hate these enforced periods of stillness, but now I see great value in them. I can’t just spit out pages of new prose…I can focus only on one sentence at a time. This slows down the page count, but strengthens the sentences. As I rest and stare off into space, my characters come to visit. We have a leisurely lunch at a French restaurant rather than a quick run through the McDonald’s drive-through and as a result, I get a clearer picture of their wants and needs. I let go of my idea of the story in favor of what the story wants.

Also in these moments, I ask myself the hard questions about my life. Am I living authentically? What do I want from this writing life? What matters most? I’ve discovered, to my surprise, an inner voice that wants me to continue working independently, as opposed to seeking traditional publication. Now, I want to make sure this comes from a genuine desire for independence, and not fear of rejection. So I go through the exercise of sending queries, and just this morning I signed up to meet with an agent in June at a conference. I intend to continue the process for a while to test this new information.

Part of me wants the “validation” that traditional publishing provides, even though I’ve read some awful books that make me wonder how they were ever chosen. There are people who believe that self-publishers do so because no one will have them. Yes, that’s true in many instances, but I also know several talented, though unpublished, writers. But does that matter to me?

Truth is, I write for the same reason that I breathe. I can’t live without the words any more than I can live without air. I never cared about fame or getting on the bestseller lists. It’s more about expressing myself and hoping to find some people who like to read what I write. Sharing the writing is my way of interacting with the world and building relationships. Do I need a publisher for that? Not really.

Some years ago I participated in a cognitive therapy program to help me work with anxiety issues. As part of that program, I had to keep a journal, which my therapist then reviewed and returned to me the following week. In the margins of some of my entries she wrote “WPT,” or what people think. She pointed out the many ways that I would stray from my soul’s path because I was concerned about someone else’s opinion of it. Over time, I learned that I still care what people think, but I can still choose actions based on my needs, desires, and personal truth.

I may be surprised. I may go to Austin and fall in love with the idea of getting an agent and going the traditional route. I suspect, however, that I will choose to stay independent. I think it works better for my personality and way of going through life. It’s the hybrid versus the road bike. Neither is “wrong,” but one suits us better than the other.

Sharing Our Stories: An Approach to Patchwork & Ornament

January 4, 2010 by admin

Although Patchwork & Ornament will be released officially at the beginning of March, I’ve shared some advance copies with people. Almost everyone who touches it expresses similar sentiments: “Here was a woman with plenty of struggles, who had the right to be bitter, but yet found her passion and created beauty anyway.”

This is the story of Patchwork & Ornament. Here was an ordinary woman, someone who achieved a certain level of recognition in her field, though not at the level she wanted, working through the challenges of her life through art and, as we discovered after her death, a substantial amount of writing. As people read her story, they often find within Jenny Feldman’s words their own stories, their own struggles, their own triumphs. I am so pleased to see this happening over and over. One of the reasons I chose to share Jenny’s work publicly was to get people thinking about their own stories, and maybe even to write them down.

As we enter 2010, I hope that some of you writers out there get busy telling your stories. The time for shyness and timidity is past. We need to know, in both fact and fiction, what you have to say, how you feel about life, what matters to you. I agree to do the same. I’m going to share Patchwork with as many people as possible; work on finding an agent/publisher for Blood and Loam; finish and load Exodus to offer free online; and start a new novel, as yet untitled. I’m learning, more and more, to value what I have to say…and to value what you have to say as well. I’m looking forward in 2010 to learn more about the work of others who, like me, travel an independent writing path.

The Lure of the Resolution

December 30, 2009 by admin

As we count down the last minutes of 2009 and wait for a certain glittering ball to drop in Times Square, many of us are jotting down resolutions. Once again we renew promises to ourselves, and even if we have a tendency to break them as early as January 2, the lure of the resolution still tempts us, draws us in, gives us new hope of possibilities.

Generally, I don’t have resolutions, though I do like to have a focus for the coming year. For me, weight loss and other such resolutions never seem to work. When I focus on my dreams, though, I find resolutions…some might call them goals…to be effective. What about you? Do you make resolutions for your dreams? If so, how do they work out? Are there any you want to tweak for 2010?

Here’s a little summary of how 2009 worked out for me, along with my hopes for 2010:

As I write this, it appears that I will keep my promise to finish Blood and Loam by this coming Saturday. After 20 years, I’m calling it done! This means that 2010 is the time to start querying. Normally I prefer being my own publisher, but I’ve decided, at least for now, to try the traditional route with my first novel. If not, well, you’ll be hearing me podcast it later in the year.

At the beginning of 2009, I didn’t realize that I would have a completed editing project in my hands. Patchwork & Ornament, originally meant for family only, grew into a full-fledged book. Quickly. On a whim, I threw together the first ten pages and a synopsis and submitted it to the Texas Writers’ League Manuscript Contest. When I say threw together, I mean it. I had barely finished reading the journals, and most of what I would end up using lay in an unsorted pile on the floor when I entered the contest…and yet, it became a finalist! Go figure. With the final book in hand, I began to seek reviews, and we just received our first one from Feathered Quill, 5 stars on Amazon!

As with Blood and Loam, it looks like 2010 will require effort on my part to let people know that the book exists. I’ve done several news releases already, but it looks like I’ll be rolling up sleeves to write some articles as well.

I have made the decision not to reprint When a Grandchild Dies, but I will keep it alive online through pdf and audio formats. I love technology! I promise in 2010 to update the Resources section, which is now available free online at www.gal-in-sky.com/When a Grandchild Dies Resources Page.html.

So, looking at 2010, it appears that the first part of the year will be focused on marketing two very different works. I’m in the midst of moving, so current plan is to start the new novel by March at the latest. I also plan to finish and podcast Exodus (still need a final name, darn it), which I will offer as free content on the gal in sky site.

I hope that everyone reading this blog has a happy, healthy 2010! May your resolutions come to pass and all your dreams come true!