Stumbling from the bedroom early this morning I clicked on the television. The first words uttered by the news anchorman were that Christmas is exactly two weeks away. I didn’t want to know that! Truly I didn’t.
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Yes, there is a decorated tree in our family room and the outside lights are up. That makes it sound like I’m well prepared, but guess what? I’m not. That’s just an annual trick to give the illusion that everything is under control. As is the case almost every year at this time, my cards aren’t written, the baking isn’t done, the shopping’s not finished and the gifts that need to be mailed out of town aren’t.
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But this evening I will join a group of carolers from our church singing for shut-ins and my heart will feel ready for Christmas. Advent is all about preparation, not of home but of heart. These first two weeks of Advent have focused on Hope and Peace. The next two will be about Joy and Love. When I return to my cards, baking and gifts, I will be remembering with joy those for whom these items are meant, and giving thanks to Him whose Love created Christmas.
“What do you do for a living?” I politely ask the woman sitting across from me at the annual luncheon. The hand lifting her fork pauses, eyes brighten as she shares what it is that fills her weekdays.
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“I’m a media technician for the school district.” or “I work for the city, in the records department.” or “I’m retired now, but for years I….”
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Later as we sip coffee I ask the same question of a man who has joined the group standing at the fireplace. His eyes instantly glaze over as he mumbles a barely-audible response and begins inching away.
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“Me? I’m, uh, a writer.”
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I take pity on him and don’t follow up with the usual question. I recognize the look that says he dreads the “Oh, really? What are you writing?” response. I offer a reprieve and reply, “Me, too. Have you read Donald Maass’ latest book?”
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Why is it that when you say you’re a writer people feel they have an obligation to ask for details? I don’t ask a media tech what computer problem she’s currently solving, or the city worker which record was the one she most recently reviewed. I don’t ask a lawyer to tell me about his current case. So why am I expected to have my story’s synopsis on the tip of my tongue at every encounter? Why do I feel I have to defend what I do?
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With rare exceptions I prefer not to talk about my stories. Until they are actually published I feel they are works in progress that will continue to be edited and revised before they become available for public scrutiny. Of course, if you’re an editor or agent (or related to one) feel free to ask anything you like about my writing. But the rest of you? Take your cue from my eyes. If they look glazed, please just pass me another canapé!
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How about you? Are you a writing wallflower at gatherings, or do you enthusiastically launch into conversations about your work?
NaNoWriMo statistics are out and they’re quite remarkable. Worldwide, participation was up 40% from last year and the number of winners, those who reached the 50,000 words, was up 48%. The numbers? 167,150 participants and 32,173 winners writing a total of 2,427,190,537 words. If you’re a stats geek you’ll find all the info here.
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But statistics aren’t what inspired this post. It’s the numbers and the comments from people on the NaNo forums. I never realized how common it is for people to say they’d like to write a book – people who fantasize about the possibility but who never make the attempt, or who might make a start but never see it through because finding that many words is too daunting.
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Think back. If you’ve written a novel, dredge up the thoughts you had the first time you sat chewing the end of your pencil, staring at the blank page.
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When you finally started writing did you know it was going to be a full-length novel? Or if that was your intended destination were you ever intimidated by the impending journey? Did you hit the proverbial brick wall at any point, and think you weren’t going to finish?
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If you’ve ever stood on a scale and cringed at what it told you, it’s possible you’re among the millions of overweight people who struggle with dieting. Ali Vincent, in her book Believe It, Be It: How Being the Biggest Loser Won Me Back My Life, says, “It’s a bigger issue than just calories in, calories out.” I understand that. A very long time ago I lost 80 lbs. and through the years gained it all back. I belonged to T.O.P.S. for seventeen years, getting moral support for that battle. Support is a big motivator.
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Knowing that others with a similar problem have waged and won the weight battle is also a big motivator and is one of the reasons that I am currently backing the weight loss and fitness regime that Joseph Dulaney is undertaking.
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It is also why I am looking forward to reading a new book by another of the Biggest Loser TV series participants. Julie Hadden has written Fat Chance: Losing the Weight, Gaining My Worth. You can read about how Julie initially connected with WordServe Agent Rachelle Gardner here. The book’s release is timely – who doesn’t face the dilemma of what to do about those extra holiday pounds?
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I hope to be one of its early readers and be able to post a review here before the end of January. I also hope not to have too many additional pounds to cope with at that point!
Totally irreverent but a little lovable, the Grinch who tried unsuccessfully to steal Christmas is an annual tradition in our household. We’ve seen all versions of the movie but every year the old Dr. Seuss cartoon is dragged out as the favourite. Here’s a little “green” preview for you.
Here we are, on the cusp of December, with Advent just under way and NaNoWriMo concluding. I’m pretty sure these three events have nothing in common except their timing, but each of them gives me reason to rejoice.
December,
not quite winter, no longer autumn – brings the chickadees and varied thrush rushing to chow down at our freshly filled bird feeders (surely the bears have gone to bed by now).
Advent,
time of preparation and anticipation — four weeks in which to align our hearts with heaven’s promise and prepare ourselves and our homes for the coming Gift.
NaNoWriMo,
concluding “thirty days and nights of literary abandon” — ready now to ease out of a crazy race of words against calendar and wonder about the potential of the emerging novel.
Then again, maybe they do have something in common. Potential.
A winning shout out: I did it! After three years of participating in NaNoWriMo this year I finally managed to eek out the required 50,000 words within the thirty-day time frame – in fact, with two days to spare. I’ll keep at it until tomorrow night’s deadline but the pressure’s off.
The novel isn’t done of course, but thanks to my frenetic NaNo’ing it’s well under way and now can continue at a more reasonable pace. And maybe now I can “get a life” again, and maybe a little more sleep. Ah, yes… sleep. That would… be… so… zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Happy Thanksgiving Day to all my American friends!
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to stop and consider the many blessings we enjoy. No matter our economic status, our health or family situation, I suspect most of us in Canada found at least one good thing on October 11th for which we were thankful. But I must say I envy my American friends for the timing of their Thanksgiving Day.
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Oh, I know the origins of the event… appreciation for a bountiful harvest, arrival of the English at the Virginia colony, celebration by the pilgrims at the Plymouth Plantation.
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The current American celebration, however, give or take a few days, also coincides with the arrival of Advent, when we begin looking ahead to Christmas and the celebration of the most wondrous occurrence of all time. The two aren’t really linked at all, and yet frequently Christmas decorations come out for this day and it becomes the official beginning of the Christmas season.
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I’m a little like my new granddaughter-in-law who, before mid-November proclaimed, “It’s official; I’m obsessed with Christmas,” and put up her tree. I find Christmas slips away faster every year so I want to start celebrating it earlier and earlier!
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May I be allowed to celebrate both Thanksgivings and thus move right on into Christmas things now, too? Pleeease?
After Sunday’s post I was asked to clarify my stand on self-publishing. Although it’s not an option I intend to pursue, I think self-publishing is a legitimate means of meeting the publishing needs of many writers. It’s important, however, to know what self-publishing is and isn’t.
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True self-publishing leaves the control of all aspects of the process in the writer’s hands – cover art, print style and pricing. All rights, including the ISBN, remain with the writer who also keeps all proceeds from any sales.
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Often confused as self-publishing are Print On Demand, or POD services. A POD service offers a specific package of services and the publisher will retain ownership of the ISBN and certain publishing rights. The author’s payment comes from royalties which are typically based on a book’s net price, not retail, so the author pays both the initial printing costs and a per book fee. “In fact, POD services more closely resemble vanity publishers–which is how they’re widely regarded by professional writers and publishing industry people.”* I’m told Author House is one of the biggest POD providers, and continues to grow as it consolidates with and buys up other POD companies.
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If a writer assesses his or her publishing needs, examines carefully what is offered and makes an informed decision without unrealistic expectations of the outcome, both self-publishing and POD services can be considered as useful options.
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That’s my opinion anyway. What’s yours? Have you had experiences with self-publishing and/or POD? Were they problem-free? Would you recommend them to other writers?
Everywhere you look right now writing professionals are sounding off about the new partnerships of Harlequin and Thomas Nelson with Author Solutions, to create the new self-publishing spinoff companies of Harlequin Horizons and WestBow Press.
Immediately Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America and Science Fiction Writers of America issued announcements to their memberships removing Harlequin from their list of approved publishers and stating that books published by them will not be eligible for membership or qualify for sponsored awards. Although Harlequin has now responded by promising to remove the Harlequin name from the H.H. imprint this doesn’t appear to have placated anyone.
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In a parallel to Harlequin’s self-created dilemma, Chip Macgregor summed up the Thomas Nelson situation by saying,
“The folks at Nelson probably wish they hadn’t decided to use the name WestBow. They used it for expediency (Thomas Nelson already owned it; WestBow was the name of their fiction program a few years back), but that creates real issues… Can a WestBow author now say, “I’m published by the same imprint that publishes TED DEKKER”? Yeah, they can. (And yes, the Thomas Nelson authors are livid about this.) My guess is that they’ll change this.”
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Why all the controversy? Well, there are a lot of opinions out there but most seem to be based on the perception that Author Solutions, “a vanity/subsidy press that relies upon payments and income from aspiring writers to earn profit, rather than sales of books to actual readers,”* and whose brands also include AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris, and WordClay, is equated with a less reputable, less ethical branch of self-publishing. The concern is that there will be no “quality control” on the titles that are expected to flood the market looking like they’ve been endorsed by a barely disguised big name publishing company and that will affect the reputation of authors and the status of books previously printed by the original publishers before the company names became tarnished .
I'm a freelance writer of fiction and non-fiction living on the West Coast of Canada. Thanks for visiting here. Grab a coffee and come join in the conversation.
But this evening I will join a group of carolers from our church singing for shut-ins and my heart will feel ready for Christmas. Advent is all about preparation, not of home but of heart. These first two weeks of Advent have focused on Hope and Peace. The next two will be about Joy and Love. When I return to my cards, baking and gifts, I will be remembering with joy those for whom these items are meant, and giving thanks to Him whose Love created Christmas.
Posted by Carol J. Garvin 
Posted by Carol J. Garvin 
Posted by Carol J. Garvin 
