Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

writing

A Bad Day Writing is Better Than a Good Day Doing Anything Else

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Today I printed a draft layout of Patchwork and Ornament. Taken from the journals and writings of my late mother-in-law, Jenny Feldman, P&O details her life from growing up in the South Bronx during the Depression, to her life as an artist and world traveler.

While I have a ways to go before it’s ready to go to print, I get goosebumps looking at the work. I am totally in love with it, not just because I love the author but because I think it’s really good.

Last year I left my corporate job with the intention of taking a year off to write. At the end of that year, my husband and I decided to extend my hiatus indefinitely, and each day I head to my writing area by about 8:00 a.m. and go to work. As with any job, some days I don’t want to do it. Some days the writing doesn’t go well, or I wonder if I will ever learn to write at all.

But today, when I look at the draft and see how far it’s come in a short time, I am filled with a satisfaction and joy that I find nowhere else. In these moments, just as after childbirth, I forget the pain and gaze with wonder at this new creation.

Writing can be isolating, lonely, and discouraging at times. We work hard, sometimes for years, and the work doesn’t always see the printed light of day. Even if it does, it may not sell. Still, I accept this life because of these magical moments, when everything comes together, and I feel like I know who I am.

Generosity and Business

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I listen to a lot of podcast authors, and they all say the same thing: be willing to give some product away, and you will build an audience of paying customers. This runs counter to everything I learned in the olden days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, but they tell me it’s true. Last weekend I became convinced that they are on to something.

While at the Agents’ and Editors’ conference, I attended a seminar on social media (hence my new enthusiasm for blogging). The two ladies who presented the seminar were knowledgeable and eager to share their wisdom. The result? I am seriously keeping them in mind for the near future to help me with the business end of my work.

I’ve taken other seminars in which the presenter was clearly protecting his or her self-interests and being selective about what information to reveal…telling just enough of the story to encourage dependence on their services. Needless to say, these are not the type of people I want to do business with.

As I proceed with this blog and other media, I hope to share meaningful information and dialogue. I love the new paradigm of building online community so we can help each other succeed. And I love the idea of hiring generous people when I need help.

What’s Next?

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Last August I began work in earnest on a paranormal thriller that won’t leave me alone. I’ve had a long history with this book, initially trying to write it more than 20 years ago…long story. Anyway, I attended the Writers’ League summer writing retreat in Alpine, Texas, hoping that someone would talk me out of finishing it. Of course, no one did!

I worked feverishly on the novel for ten months, including getting the first 40 pages or so critiqued in the Gotham Writers Workshop. I also entered the synopsis and first ten pages in the Writers’ League manuscript contest, and while I didn’t win or even make the finals with my novel (I did make the finals with a narrative nonfiction that I’m working on–yay), I received a helpful critique that identified a significant problem in my manuscript.

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I realized that the novel is still not ready to pitch. I still feel that there are some fundamental flaws that I need to address. I’m going to take a little break from it to create distance and to create some new material. At that point, I am going to get more critiques and see if some fresh eyes can help me figure out the problems.

I’ve just spent a weekend hanging out with other writers who understand the crazy road that we writers take, and it helps to know I’m not alone…that some books take years and years to complete. They are done when they are done, and no sooner.

Return from Austin Agents’ and Editors’ Conference

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I just got back from my first agents’ and editors’ conference. As someone who enjoys being an independent publisher, I confess to some resistance to exploring traditional publishing. However, it was a great way to meet agents and other writers and to learn what’s going on in the industry.

So what is going on in the industry? Well, it’s not looking good. It’s tougher to get a book published today through traditional means, and even established authors are getting less support for promoting their work. One agent told the story of an author with eight–count ’em, eight–best sellers, who was used to going on her book tours in planes and in limos, who is now driving around at her own expense.

There is still a stigma, perhaps even more so, for the self-published book. Print on demand technologies, while making it easier to get published, allow anyone to publish whether or not they have a good book.

For me, it all comes back to indy publishing. I can hire my own editors and printers and proceed as planned. If I get a significant audience, I can possibly attract a publisher. In the meantime, though, it looks like the message is “stay the course.”