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Nadine Feldman, Author

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self-publishing

The Path to Wonder

February 1, 2010 by admin

The backyard calls to me. My blueberry bushes are starting to wake up, with tender new leaves starting to unfurl and reveal themselves. The proud pomegranate displays its many tiny leaves like it is bragging. A precocious lemon tree requires my persistence so that it doesn’t produce fruit too soon. I wait, impatiently at times, to see what the grapevines are starting to do. And now I have a pile of concrete half-blocks to create a raised bed where the vegetables will grow. Wednesday, the new soil arrives so I have something better to plant in besides the stubborn Texas gumbo. I am a novice gardener, taking a class through Urban Harvest, but I have always known that I love digging in the dirt…and I love creating. I am delighted every day as I get to know my plants, and from them, myself.

For many years I talked a lot about life, but didn’t do a whole lot of living it. I thought I would write a book someday, but I somehow never found the time until a long illness taught me how precious and fragile dreams are by taking from me, for a time, a God-given ability. Now, two books are out, a third one is finished and ready to query a publisher, and a fourth one, which I will publish for free online, is close to completion. My writing dreams, as well as many other more personal dreams, are coming true. What has been the difference?

One thing I know for sure: following my dreams has been scary. Each creation has brought up inner fears and doubts. I think that’s why many of us spend so many years just talking about them, and making excuses for why we don’t git ‘er done. When push comes to shove, it’s not lack of time or money that stops us–it’s fear. I haven’t yet found a project that didn’t scare me at some level, but as I study the lives of other authors, I have discovered that this is pretty normal. The difference is that fear becomes a reason to do something, not an excuse not to do it. Fear becomes excitement, because it is my signpost that I am on to something interesting. I am an explorer. The work of creation becomes its own reward, and the completed project, while rewarding, more of a byproduct.

I spent the last month focusing on a move, hence the wonderful back yard with new life developing. Now, settled in, I’m ready to work again. Ready to write more. Ready to finalize a few projects. Ready to query that novel. Ready to work, ready to be scared, ready for wonder.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, creativity, memoir, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, novels, patchwork and ornament book, publishing, self-publishing, writing

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.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Blood and Loam, books, independent publishing, jeanette feldman, jenny feldman, memoir, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, novelist, novels, patchwork and ornament book, publishing, self-publishing, writing

Special Promotion for Patchwork and Ornament

November 11, 2009 by admin

Patchwork and Ornament arrived yesterday! For those who don’t know, P&O, by Jeanette Feldman, is an artist’s memoir written in a collage-style format of short essays, stories, and poetry. She tells her story of growing up in poverty in the South Bronx with an immigrant mother and disabled father. As her interest in art unfolded, she found a new and happier life filled with love, travel, and creativity. P&O includes several full-color photographs of Jenny’s work and was recognized as a finalist in the 2009 Texas Writers’ League Manuscript Contest (under the name Pentimento).

This is a labor of love, and we are honoring Jenny Feldman’s memory with a special pre-release promotion. From now through December 31, we are selling P&O for $18 (plus tax and S&H). $10 of every sale will be send to Donorschoose.org to support arts in the schools. Everyone wins! P&O will not be available to the general public until early 2010, so you get a fascinating story before everyone else, and at the same time we all support a worthwhile organization.

I believe that Jenny Feldman’s life would have been very different (and not in a good way) had she not had access to an art education. In addition, we believe strongly that an education in the arts benefits all students.

For ordering details, please visit www.patchworkornament.com. Feel free to share this with everyone you know!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, independent publishing, jeanette feldman, jenny feldman, memoir, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, patchwork and ornament book, self-publishing

Thoughts on Self-Publishing

November 3, 2009 by admin

Back from vacation, I’m trying to figure out where I left off with my various projects. Exodus is ready for fresh eyes, as is Blood and Loam. There’s also the updated version of When a Grandchild Dies. I also explored a few new ideas while I was gone, and one of those is ready for some good ol’ uncensored creative writing.

Most exciting, though, is that Patchwork and Ornament, Jeanette Feldman’s memoir, is on its way. As with When a Grandchild Dies, I am both excited and nervous. Part of me says, “What was I thinking?” Initially, P&O was meant purely for family, as a way to preserve my mother-in-law’s writings and art in book form for future generations. Still, I couldn’t let go of the nagging thought that others outside the family might find it interesting as well. When I handed the manuscript over to others, expecting a quick, cursory “that’s nice,” I found that readers didn’t want to put it down. Still, as the books make their way from Canada to Houston, I know that the real work has just begun.

As I go forth to market this book, I am aware of strikes against it. We all know that self-published works tend to be dismissed as being of poor quality, especially now when anyone and everyone can put a book out there.

Here’s the thing, though. As part of my research into this market, I read some of those self-published works. One in particular grabbed my attention. The author didn’t bother to get the book edited, and it was filled with typos and other errors. It had a plain cover, just a single color with an uninteresting title. Yet when I read it, I found it a compelling read, and I let go of my editorial eye as the story swept me away.

Maybe I part company with some of my writer friends, but I believe that the one prerequisite for putting a book out is to believe in it. I learned that from When a Grandchild Dies. Bookstores didn’t want me to come in to hold signings because “it might depress our customers.” Bereavement organizations aimed primarily at parents didn’t want me speaking, because the parent/grandparent relationship can be rocky. Even at a conference for bereavement professionals, one therapist told me, “I saw the subject of your book and almost didn’t come over to talk to you because I’m a grandparent, and I can’t imagine anything more devastating.”

In other words, getting the word out to my audience, the bereaved grandparents, wasn’t easy. I had to work hard and persist to find speaking opportunities and ways to find the people who needed the book. Yet I did so, and WGD has done well.

WGD is a self-published book. Ten years later, as I work on updating it, I know I’m a much better writer than I was then. Although I’m still pleased with the book overall, some areas need substantial improvement. Yet I have received enough letters from people who read the book to know that my efforts are appreciated. Had I waited for a traditional publisher, I might still be waiting yet today, and those grandparents and other family members who benefited from WGD would not have received the help they needed.

I agree that writers should take care that their book is of high quality by utilizing editors, cover designers, etc. We should try to elevate our work to its highest and best potential. However, we should not hold back our ideas because they might not sell, or maybe they’re not “good enough” somehow. One never really knows what’s going to sell anyway! Also, although I am pleased with WGD’s sales, that has never been my measure of success with the book. The lessons I learned, the growth I achieved, and the knowledge that I helped people in the process is what matters most to me.

Patchwork and Ornament is a different kind of book. It doesn’t have the specific niche that WGD has. That will make it both easier and harder to market. That said, I have done my best with P&O to make it beautiful, and I will do my best to find its audience. That’s the best that any of us can do–and it is what we must do, whether or not there are naysayers.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, creativity, independent publishing, jeanette feldman, jenny feldman, memoir, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, patchwork and ornament book, publishing, self-publishing, writing, writing business

The Home Stretch – And the Starting Gate

September 10, 2009 by admin

The 14th is looming…this is the day I’ve selected for uploading the Patchwork and Ornament file to the printer. Until that moment, I will continue to proofread and to make sure the pdf meets their specifications. I’ve learned a lot this week about imbedding color profiles and all kinds of other things I really don’t care to know. I wake in the night thinking about a particular page or essay in the book, thinking of something else I need to change or clarify. This will go on, I’m sure, until the files are uploaded. I’ve been on this path before, and, well, this is how I roll. I will be making changes until the last minute. This is why I have to set timetables for myself, or I would never get anything done.

Nagging in the back of my brain is all the marketing tasks that are already overdue. If you’re going to write, whether or not you use a traditional publisher, you will have the number one responsibility for marketing. Daddy Publisher no longer provides this support. As a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, I have access to some excellent resources, and I also study the work of Dan Poynter, Peter Bowerman, and John Kremer for guidance. There are endless tips on writing news releases, optimizing websites, maximizing social media, and more.

This is an odd time. On the one hand, I am about to complete a very big project. On the other, it’s really just beginning. I will take a few days to shift gears and regroup once I send the files off…then it’s off again for another run!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, creativity, independent publishing, jeanette feldman, jenny feldman, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, patchwork and ornament book, publishing, self-publishing, social media

Printers, Photographers, and Photoshop Gurus

August 26, 2009 by admin

Some time ago I pondered when and how to let go of a task and allow someone else to do it. I think I’m getting the hang of it! And it only took 50 years! Part of the problem is that I love to learn, and thus sometimes get into the weeds of projects that take me away from my primary purpose.

This time around, I caught myself after viewing a photograph, before and after it had been worked on by a Photoshop guru. Given that Patchwork and Ornament is full of color photographs (images of artwork, travel, and family), this particular photo caught my attention. It was a picture of a little boy next to someone dressed in a bunny suit. In the after photo, some of bunny’s ears were cut off…and the photo looked great. I never would have crossed such a line. This is when I knew I was out of my league.

My husband, Henry, sensing my panic, swooped in and found a guru on Craigslist who, for a reasonable fee, could remove shadows, lighten dark areas, and brighten colors. All the things I don’t know how to do and don’t have any business learning in this lifetime. We met with her, and I felt instant confidence in her abilities. Moreover, she cares about the project, which is important to me.

Henry also re-shot photographs that I had taken. His equipment and skill level are both well beyond mine.

In less than three weeks, I will send all of this to the printer. I’m confident with my layout–I think I’m doing a darn good job. But it feels good to let work go that someone else knows how to do. My job, I remind myself, is to write, edit, and publish. I’ll have to remind myself again and again, I’m sure, but for today I get it.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, independent publishing, jeanette feldman, jenny feldman, memoir, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, patchwork and ornament book, publishing, self-publishing, writing

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