$elling

Recently I posted over at The Writing Mother about being a salesperson and a writer. Personally, I think that you absolutely have to be a salesperson to be a successful writer. You can be a writer without a sales bone in your body, but if you want to be a success (as defined in a financial term) then you need to SELL what you write.

I'm wondering... what do you think of that? Do you think it's hard/easy/impossible to sell your writing? What sort of objections to you encounter?

Words that manifest change

Ok.
So, how have you been?
I can't believe that I've been MIA for a month, and I can explain...I think.
Actually, no, I can't. I've spent the last few weeks/months/half year dealing with what is increasingly becoming more likely that I've got 'brain damage' of some description. Not severe, I would hope, but having just been for a 'head to hip' MRI, and referred to some teams in our local hospital that deal specifically with head injuries, I'm having to face up to that.
Added to that, my University time table got shuffled quite interestingly, and I'm spending a lot of time at home, reading and studying and creating more work for myself.

My new year's resolution this year was one word.
Start.
There's a logic that I explained on my blog a couple of days ago, that if we choose one key word for our year, that we can manifest far easier. It's easier for example to say 'I want to start writing' than to say 'I want to write x words a day' It's easier still to say ' I want to have completed 'x'(where x= the amount you really need to get done this year) and then divide it by 12, and then by 4 - and plan accordingly, but when you're in a position of flux, choosing one word (start, continue, care, stop) is probably the best plan.

Words that manifest change aren't a new concept, but I don't think we use them enough - and I've had some really cool ideas how to support anyone looking to build change in their lives - something I may or may not pursue, or just document and hand off. It's hard sometimes - you get an idea, and you think it's great, and you pursue it, till another one comes along. I come up with so many ideas that I don't know what to do with myself sometimes ;).

Now, I know that I have lots of projects on the go. That's more accurate though if you say 'had'. I still own them, but one by one, I let things slide - or, in an effort to keep up, started to streamline and never finished. I have things on my todo list from before I bumped my head that just keeps getting pushed further and further down my list.
So, this week, I made a fresh start. Or started to. I don't know how it'll go, but I've pledged to document it, and document it I will.
How are your goals looking though, nearly a month in? Are you 'winning' - are they challenging enough? Too challenging?

Very Excited

Tomorrow I should be able to download the layout for my Green Horse book. My job is to go over all the text and sketches and make sure that all is kosher. I also have to add some content and have chosen to add a reader's application guide. This was my idea so that 4H groups and other horse-related groups around North America can USE the book, not just read it. But that's so intimidating to even think of... I've never created a reader's guide before. Then again, I'd never written an 85K book before and I did that without dying.

On another great note, the second half of my advance check (or cheque as we say in Canada) is making its way to me from my agent's office. And wouldn't you know it, I have something that needs buying.

Back in November some jerk hit my car. I'm sure he's not a jerk to everyone, but he sure let me know what he thought of me. I (for once in my life) kept my mouth shut and let him babble and then drove off and filed my police report. He was at fault and his insurance company accepted full responsibility. (Note to jerk, after you hit someone, it's not usually a good idea to blame them for not "getting out of" your way.)

Long story short, his insurance company has decided to write off my car because it's old and not worth fixing. It has a cracked quarter panel, that's it. What made me most angry was the fact that we don't get a choice in the matter. Even if I said "ok, I changed my mind, no claim, walking away... kthxbai..." I have no choice. His insurance company WILL be de-registering my car.

I've decided to look on the bright side and say "hey, my advance check is coming and we have good credit... AND it's the best time to buy a car." We're looking at maybe even buying new, I'm thinking a Dodge Caravan, but that's because my secret plan is to have another child eventually and we need the room!

What feels really good right now is having something to put my advance check to that benefits my family directly. Lately Major Man has had something in his craw about how much my company makes and how much I rely on our credit card to "float" my business. I just haven't gotten around to get a business credit card and I suck at accounting and bookkeeping so it's never really evident what is going where.

I think one of the things I'd like to do in 2009 is get a good bookkeeper or accountant!

And This is Why I Can't be Super-WAHM Every Day...

Or, "This is Why I Can't Stick to a Schedule"

It seems like it never fails: I craft my plan for the day or the week, carefully including all the different aspects of my busy week, then something derails it.

Some days I have monumental plans for being the ultimate writer, a model of efficiency, speeding through first drafts as if there was a fire sale on verbs. Then it happens: the interviewee is out of the office all day despite our scheduled appointment, or the school calls and I have to pick up my daughter, or the dog is sick and I have to haul out the carpet cleaner immediately or we'll have a weird green stain by the back door. (Okay, the last part was TMI maybe.)

Other days, the homemaking side of my life is at the forefront of my plans. I'm going to wash, dry and fold 7 loads of laundry, get $300 worth of groceries for $75, and finally repot that poor, wilting houseplant. Then the washer breaks, or the email dings with a rush assignment or, as is the case today, my favorite couponing site is kaput.

I'm not very flexible, really. Or maybe I'm just stretched so far that even ElastiGirl would snap under similar circumstances. Whenever a monkey-wrench is thrown into my plans, it takes me some time to wrap my head around this new course of events and switch over to a new groove. (<--That paragraph, my dears, is pure genius use of cliches and mixed metaphors. Not to be attempted by mere amateurs! :P )

Not every day is like this, of course. It's just that for every day that being a work-at-home mother seems to be the ideal lifestyle, there's a day when getting up early to shower, dress and commute seems easier.

I know it isn't true, but it's a nice little fantasy that wahm-types occasionally indulge in. It's ironic, then, that when I had an office job, I dreamt that being a writer working from home would be all rose petals and chocolate.

This has been another installment of the ongoing whine that can be heard across the Internet. :) It's not really all that bad - it's just that my $75 might only buy me $75 worth of groceries today.

This Chaps My Butt

Yet again, another author has been found guilty of being a lying liar pants on fire. And again, it's with Miss Oprah.

"On December 27, 2008, Herman Rosenblat admitted to fictionalizing portions of his life story, including how he met his wife. Based on this admission, the publisher of his forthcoming memoir — Angel at the Fence — canceled plans to print his book."

I wonder why she even has her book club. Oh, I forgot, to highlight the books SHE likes. I'm still holding a grudge against her after she made a comment about there being a lack of good books being published today and that's why she was choosing older, "classic" books. Perhaps she simply reads the books and decides what will have the best STORY. To do that, of course, she has to make it about the writer.

But most writers I know don't want it to be about them. I certainly don't want to sit and chat about me, me, me when it's about the book. The book sells the book... not the writer.

What are your thoughts?

Just keep writing, just keep writing...

The end of the year is always a time for reflection. Sometimes when we reflect on our past, we don't always like what we see. Maybe we're going through a rough time or maybe we just didn't accomplish what we wanted to. This can color the future for us. It can change our rose colored glasses into dingy grey glasses.

This is especially true for those who might be prone to depression, have seasonal affected disorder or maybe even expectations that are too high. Note I'm not talking about anyone in particular here, though I could be referencing myself. I'm not really a depressive-type of person, but I am definitely prone to some hormonally induced mood swings!

I was looking for some uplifting material to post here at the end of 2008 when I came across a guest blogger, Jeanette Hanscome, who was blogging at Tricia Goyer's site. Jeanette has had some health issues and has had to pray and re-evaluate some of her goals.

Her decision? Just keep writing. It helps if you say it like Dori would. :)

Go ahead and click on that link above and I hope you find some encouragement there!

Writing Goals for 2009

Well, it's that time again, isn't it? The time when we sit down and gather our thoughts . . . reflect over what we have done in the past year and set goals for the coming year. I can't say that they are resolutions, I don't know if I like that word or not, I much prefer the term "goals".

I try to set business goals that are specific. Like $1000 per month. But since I have sold these two books, I have to look at my goals differently. I can't hit the $1000 a month because I don't have the time to write the extra articles. But with my book proposals I can average $1000 a month, it's just paid in lump sums.

Also, I have goals to set at my full time sales job. I'm a sales manager and I work with a team of 9 salespeople. My portfolio does about $1,000,000 in sales per year and it definitely takes some planning to accomplish.

We do something called KSS. Something you are going to Keep/Start/Stop. But it's too vague for my writing.

I need something specific, a goal to hit each week. Or even goals. I've long since stopped querying (not enough time, too much to do!) and I worry that I won't have time to actually write the articles I query.

What about you? Do you have specific writing related goals? Care to share?

The Red Penis Your Friend

I could hardly stop laughing!

The Return of the To Do List

Recently I blogged about having a lot of things on the go ... specifically related to my book's pending release. For the past year I've gotten away from doing a "to do" list, but now I feel compelled to start up again. Now excuse the yucky colouring in the picture... silly yellowish lighting in my office (didn't seem that yellow!) but this is the list... due by Christmas.

I try to put an inspirational quote up on the list and this time I'm going for some tough love. It says "It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required." (Churchill)

This reminds me to just shut up and write.

So I'm going to do that now.

To-Do, To-Do, To-Do

With the upcoming release of my book, The Green Guide for Horse Owners and Riders, I have a few things on the "to do" list of my writing duties:

- figure out a good domain name (I'm considering EquineGreenGuide.com)
- decide on what prize to offer for the "pre-order" contest
- get a logo done up for the book for t-shirts and such (suppose I could choose the domain name!)

I'm really fortunate that I work in a day job that does logo and embroidery application, but I need to find a designer to create the logo.... and I'm sure I should run it by the publisher as well.

Because this is the first book that I'm going to have published, I am doing everything for the first time. I need to find a balance between spending money to make money and just waiting for money to roll in. (hahaha) Because this publishing thing is NOT quick. Every publisher is different, mind you... they have their own way of doing things, their own schedule and processes. When you sell a book and when it's published are SO different!

My other question is how one throws a "book launch" ... I know you can have more than one... one in your hometown, one somewhere else (maybe!)... so many things to do.

Oh crap and it's almost time to do my taxes again!

Driving home for X-mas

We're heading home for Christmas, as usual - since moving to a new home in 2006, we commute six hours to our family home - and we leave on Saturday.
I've written an article about handling the holidays in a stressless way, but I know that I'm going to spend the whole week running around - visiting family members in hospital - my father and his grandfather are both sick - so we're spending our time between families - and fitting in whatever we can around the rest of our time at home. It's odd to think that I lived there for so long and it feels like a different world now.
I'm finally coming to terms with our move - and I'm hoping that as soon as we've gotten settled in when we come back that I can continue to rebuild the work I've started putting foundations in place for.
I do have a question for everyone though.
one of the traditions my partner and I started after moving here was curling up in front of the fire and talking about our year - usually as close to New Year as we can manage. We set up our resolutions, and discuss goals and work out what, as a family, we want to achieve.
Do you have a ritual - or goals already? Are you looking forward to 2009 and what you can achieve?

Woot! Woot! My Book is UP!

It's not out yet, but it's UP..... on Amazon! (And Chapters in Canada! Which is like B&N or Borders.... oh look it's also up at Borders)


What do you think of the cover? I love it, love, love, love it! From what I understand, the cover illustrator entered in into the annual for the Society of Illustrators and was accepted.... now I don't know much about that but my publisher seemed really excited!

Unfortunately it won't be out in time for Christmas as it has a Spring release date, but I'm thoroughly excited to see it OUT THERE.

What I still find kind of funny is that this was the second book I sold to a publisher. The first is still with its publisher and getting ready. The second one just moved faster, not sure why! But after speaking with the editor on the Green Guide, she said that the book was going into production this coming week. Wow! It's, like, really, really real!

"I" is Interesting

My gentle high school English teacher Mrs. Callaway spent the first several months of my senior year striking all of the "I"s out of my literature essays. She was one of my favorite teachers of all time - she was strict but encouraging. (I can still see her face, stricken with the joy of epiphany, whenever she read one of my essays. It wasn't that I was really that awesome, I suspect. She was just thrilled anytime one of her students showed genuine interest.)

After a year in her class, basking in her praise and sweating under her tutelage, I finally managed to write something without the word "I" in it.

But Mrs. Callaway couldn't have predicted the breakout trend of blogging. And that's why I don't feel any tremendous amount of guilt for rejoicing like a heathen when I read How Freelance Writing Almost Destroyed My Blog. Rebecca Laffar-Smith, an Australian freelance writer and author of the Writer's Round-About blog, explains how site stats finally convinced her to make her posts more personal. And that means using "I" once in a while.

"I" couldn't be happier. And "I" didn't need more convincing. But if you want more proof - complete with graphs and bullet-points - check out SelfMadeChick.com's post: The One Word That Helped My Blog Grow to 800 Subscribers in 17 Weeks

Obviously, there are blogs that do quite well by giving readers useful, helpful information without a lot of navel-gazing. But you know, when I think about the blogs in my feed-reader, I can't think of ONE - even technical ones - that isn't written in first-person.

"I" is interesting. And I really don't think Mrs. Callaway, if she were alive and reading blogs today, would disagree.

Can you step back from your online life?

Image by uomoelettrico via FlickrI'll be honest with you, I've spent the last two weeks soul searching and wondering what I'm supposed to do with myself because of an accident that occured this last September.
I've always been a fairly independant, sharp articulate woman. I could always spell just about anything (other than my i before e's - and when my fingers go slightly faster than my brain) but at the moment, I'm finding it difficult.
My memory is shot - and there are definitive gaps where stories, characters, and plotlines used to reside - I think. The only reason I *know* the stories are missing are because I have notes that otherwise make no sense.

So the soul searching is kinda hard. I know that I have some sort of brain damage - though, I have to say, it fees really bad to say that. Like I'm belittling that kind of injury, because I'm almost as functional as I was. But I've been going looking for a lot of approval lately.
My partner noticed it first. I stopped writing and wouldn't continue till he told me it was 'all right'. Normally I have to beat him and other freinds off with metaphorical crowbars and they have to distract me to read anything that isn't second to last draft.
I did it again later in the week. I wouldn't continue with the story I was narrating till someone told me to and got REALLY frustrated, because I couldn't say what I was waiting for.

And that brings me full circle. I AM waaaay reliant on other people's opinions - and to be honest, I think that many writers and bloggers are. We seek approval all over the place, and when we don't get it, some of us start to wilt. I never used to 'need' approval, or at least, so I thought, but reading back some of the stuff that I've said and done this last year, because a freind said that I wasn't doing as 'they' expected, or because someon had attacked one of my principles, I'm beginning to wonder if that's part of the deeper problem that's taking hold. I wonder if I'm being 'wierd' like this because I've got nothing left to relate to and need to restart with *just* writing.
So I put my websites on 'dark'. It'll give me a chance to write, and find myself again, as a gift for Christmas. And to be honest, from some of the emails I've had, I think some of you need to do the same.
Give yourself the gift of joy this year and don't keep putting 'it' off. I did and I'm not REALLY regretting it. I might get a second chance, and just watch me, I'm already just itching to grab it with both hands and never let go.

I Turned Down a Book Contract

Ok. Not really. But sort of. One of my publishers was interested in a second book proposal on a specific topic and I wrote said book proposal. But when I got to the section that listed the competing books - I ran into a snag.

All of the competing books were really good. Written by good, knowledgeable people. And there were a lot of them. That meant that my little baby, my book, might only ever be a small fish in a big pond. Oh, sure, I would write my heart out and make it the best book I could. But the risks were that it wouldn't be as good as those other books. Some of them said *exactly* what I wanted to write about.

Could I write it better? Maybe. But there is a LOT of effort that goes into writing a long, non-fiction book. And I don't want to write a small stable of mediocre books. I want to write a selection of books that are very good. So that readers can have faith that my books will be well-written, well-researched and at the top of their class. They will be the big fish in the pond.

It's hard to get part-way through this book proposal (one that the publisher pretty much asked for) and say, "this doesn't feel right" because I could use the money. And suddenly I run smack into the words I've always said "I write for money". Now I'm not so sure. I might also write for the love of it, for the sake of a writing career, for the identification with other writers and for the desire to communicate with others.

And that's why I'm turning down a book contract.