1) Two people just ended an argument -- what is chasing around their heads?
2) It's May Day -- may poles, rebellion, "help!" -- what's it mean to you? Write a story that includes a "May Day" image.
3) Muse on the idea of birth, or rebirth, or animal babies. Your choice.
Have at it!
--hildieblog
PS == Taking deposits for the year long class as we speak!!!!
So, if you've been hanging out with me on Facebook, you probably know I finally grabbed the bull by the horns and epubbed a story.
*My story "People" won the 2nd prize from the DelMarVa Review -- a really nice and happy thing. I was thrilled to let folks know. But DelMarVa only publishes the first place win (I really need to read the fine print!). And people kept saying "when can I read it?" So I thought about sending it out and about. I did, but that would take a year probably until folks had a place where they could go read it.
And I'd really been meaning to try that epub/Nook/Kindle thing. If for no other reason than to be able to speak of it intelligently.
So I did.
you can download the nook or Kindle version of "People" here:
for Kindle
and
for Nook
(no, you don't need a nook or Kindle to read this story -- you need only download a nook or Kindle FREE app to your computer, Ipad, or phone.)
Was it easy? Yeah, it was.
Super easy? Not sure I'd got that far.
Fun? Yeah! Hell yeah!
Groovy cash flow?
Not what you'd think.
So here goes how to:
And before I start -- a huge HUGE
STEP ONE:
First you have to format your publication. This is the most time consuming part, assuming you do it right.
I watched youtube videos that walked you through the process. I used ones by a writer and former editor named Jill Williamson whose YouTube user name is Jwilliamsonwrites.
There are a series of 4 minute long videos on how to "format a manuscript FOR SUBMISSION" -- start there. Then on how to format for nook and Kindle (it's not the same. Of course.)
this is the first one -- part 1 of 5 of formatting . Keep your manuscript open in a window as you go through these steps. Just pause the video, do the advised action -- "search and replace tabs" or whatever -- and then unpause the video and go to the next thing. It starts off simplistic, but trust me, if I found it worthwhile, you will, too.
You need to go to the Amazon and Barnes and Noble sites to get accounts on "PubIt" for Nook
and
Kindle Direct Publishing for Amazon.
As you go through Jill Williamson's steps to formatting for Kindle, she will suggest you download free software called MobiPocketCreator to help you do this. HTML can be tricky, if you aren't used to it and I did it this way and it worked out -- okay -- not perfect but definitely serviceable. There are page breaks I don't love in the beginning that I COULD NOT FIX, but that's life. Maybe folks didn't notice? Maybe?
And you have to own the art. Remember that. I used a photo I took at the National Aquarium last summer.
**if you agree to be exclusive to AMAZON for the first 90 days you can get a higher royalty rate.
HEY! Is she talking about
Yes, I am.
If you go in do it too fast and don't pay attention -- you miss it.
Nook pays 40%, and Kindle 35%, unless you agree to certain exclusivity rules with Kindle, then it can be 70%. But they might also give it away free.
That sounds kinda evil, right? I didn't pay too much attention to all this because I did Nook first because it was easier, so by the time I read this, I could no longer offer it exclusively to Amazon.
Also, an interesting non-scientific note -- 5 times as many people have downloaded "People" onto Kindle than onto Nook.
On a more money related note, you don't get royalties paid until you have $10 in royalties (and then it's 60 days after the end of that month). At 35 cents royalties a download for a short story, you have to sell a bunch to make anything at all.
Yeah.
So there you have it.
Easy, but . . . Questions?
*No one writes in December
Okay, folks, it's mid-December. If you haven't written it this year, it isn't going on to happen. No one writes in December as the saying goes, so I give you the next 2 weeks off. Go eat a cookie, sip some nog, toast the incoming New Year. Stay up and watch the Geminid Meteors tonight. Don't send out, it will come back unopened. If you must charge on, just to prove me wrong, focus on planning, queries, synoses, and other silly things that matter. And send out holiday cards. You never know what might unlease new ideas.
*Funniest Book EVER (and it came out in 1889)
My gift to you this holiday season, is this book, if you haven't read it. It was written in 1889 by Jerome K. Jerome and could have just as easily been penned by Ricky Gervais yesterday. I laugh, belly laugh, hard, til tears well up, every few pages. I hesitate to say much, but I will give you this -- it's about 3 men (first person by one of them) who decide to go on holiday in a boat up the Thames. But that's like saying The Office is another workplace sitcom. You can download it for as little as 99 cents -- probably find it in print for less than that. For those interested in writing "funny" -- this is clearly the British humor primer.
*New Year's Resolves 2012
Yes, friends, it is that time of year, to make your Writing Resolutions. Do NOT resolve to write more, you will never write enough. Resolve to write one sentence on Wednesday! Resolve to meet a goal each month. Break down a big goal (I want to write a book) with smaller goals. If you only write a page a day, or 7 pages each weekend, you can easily crank out a 365 page book in a year. Use our friends, Dr Wicked's Write or Die and the lovely 750words to support you in this mission. Tools, people. Scrivner! white boards, bullentin boards, the filing box! What do you need? Did you as for a weekend at a hotel to write for the holidays? It's not too late . . . Let me know how it is going!
As 2011 winds down, as you finish your NaNoWriMo's, as your New Years Resolutions become one for the record books and December the MONTH WHERE NO ONE WRITES looms large --
I'm gonna depress you more
REJECTION
There, I said it.
It has nothing to do with what you've written, given up to have the time to write, or the quality or future of that writing.
Remember, writing is the fun part.
Sending out what you've written is:
Giddy
Hopeful
Depressing as Hell
You will get rejections. From people who didn't read the end, or even the first page, or perhaps even the query letter.
Yes, you.
And it will have NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN.
(you want to know what it has to do with?)
*the agent is at a conference and the assistant is just cleaning up
*they had a book that sounded a bit like that 5 years ago and the author was a severe pain the posterior
*the last novel they picked up is awesome and they couldn't sell it and now they are rethinking everything
*they realized just now, today, that they can't possibly do justice to their current clients and maybe they shouldn't take on another one
etc
etc
ad nauseum
Imagine you are trying to sell your house and you send letters to everyone in your neighborhood, in fact everyone you know, to see if anyone wants it. Would you be discouraged by every person who said it wasn't right for them? Would you?
And you've heard all this before from me -- but last week, NPR did a little piece on it I think you all need to listen to -- so click the link and I'll wait.
Rejection Doesn't Stop Successful Authors from Morning Edition.
Books rejected and rejected . . .
"dozen rejections"
28 rejections
60 rejections
Nanowrimo book, now bestseller . . . .but . . . more than 2 dozen rejections and . . .
Okay?
Now back to the keyboard. Only 10 days left of NaNoWriMo.
--hildieblog
Sunday is the Marine Corps Marathon. Thousands of lycra and mylar clad humans will disrupt traffic to trapse around Arlington and over bridges to DC in search of running's holy grail, to survive 26.2 miles of sneaker thumping running.
Tuesday begins the Marathon of the year for Writer-folk, NaNoWriMo, when thousands and thousands of writerly people take to their keyboards throughout November, National Novel Writing Month in a keyboard thumping attempt to crank out 50,000 words (about 200pp) by November 30th.
You know who you are.
Think you haven't trained enough to attempt NaNoWriMo?
How about a HALF-MARATHON? only say, 800 words a day, for 30 days, 100 pages, instead of 200pp. Think of it as 13.1 miles. Nothing to sneeze at mind you?
Yes, join me in a HALF-NaNo this November.
Post a comment if you are in!
Yes, there it is, I said it.
Buy it, read it , and if you don't like it, I'll buy it from you.
Last night, I managed to steal time out of my crazy schedule to go hear my old friend Carolyn Parkhurst read from her book -- just out in paperback The Nobodies Album, at the awesome new bookstore by the East Falls Church Metro, One More Page.
Please don't read the descriptions on Amazon, or on Carolyn's website or blog . They are the reason I didn't remember to buy it until it was in paper back. Sometimes "saying what a book is about" doesn't ever convey why it should be read. I heard her read a couple chunks last night and couldn't put it down after I got home (and got the kids to bed) until I finished it.
Let me tell you that this is an intense, beautifully crafted read that is nothing short of stunning. That the interweaving of the main character's inner world and struggles with personal demons play out so perfectly in her attempt to rewrite the endings of her own personal novels (both the original endings and the new revised endings perfectly inform the action of the novel), is the beauty of how she can truly weave a tale on so many levels.
Just buy the thing. Seriously. This is one you won't regret.
During the week of September 21-25 there are many literary events in the Washington DC area -- the week long Fall for the Book at George Mason University where Stephen King and Amy Tan are receiving awards along with many of others, as well as the weekend long National Book Festival on the Mall which is sponsors readings and activities with over 100 authors, poets and illustrators and cohosted by the First Lady and President Obama.
I'd like to invite you to something a little different.
BE THERE AT THE BEGINNING
Sunday, September 25
6:30-8:30
Shirlington Library
2200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206
Next to the Signature Theater
Eight alumni of the year-long Write Your Book workshop will read from their completed manuscripts. These manuscripts represent some of the best of the last 5 years and are currently unrepresented and unpublished. They include women's fiction, mystery, middle grades, and literary fiction. You will have an opportunity to hear opening pages, and meet the dedicated authors in a pleasant low stress, friendly environment (with snacks!).
I hope you can join us!
Well, it did.
I've got some things for you.
1) WRITE YOUR BOOK YEAR LONG CLASS ===I'm going to start taking registrations on my new improved ready to roll out site on May 15. Email me if you info now, but it's coming. hildiesblock at gmail dot com
2) Yes, the prompts, they are down there, scroll.
3) Whatever happened that cool Washington Independent Writer's Conference that used to happen every year? The group became American Independent Writers and the just announced this year's conference . . . Save The Date! Annual Washington Writers Conference on June 11
The annual Washington Writers Conference, AIW’s signature event, will be held June 11 at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda. We will be sending out more information to all AIW members on speakers, agents, panels, registration, and more. Stay tuned.
Okay AmerIndy -- we're staying tuned!
Okay and now the prompts!
1) May Day May Day! What's that mean to you? Are you in trouble? Are you a communist? A Reveler? Dancing the May Pole? Happy to bid farewell to those April Showers? Take a stab at it and write for 15 minutes!
2) A priest, a rabbi and minister walk into a bar . .. . no, but try creating a situation where three really unlikely people have a conversation about something super-mundane, but with a twist.
3) What's stuck in your craw? What's eating at you and keeping you up at night? Write it out, baby!
Okay so set some sort of timer and get to it!
--hildieblog
SO today, around 10am My Personal Essay online workshop starts. Last night at around 1 am, I wrote a little "lecture" on the history and definition of Personal Essay that is posted as part of today's class.
One am? Well, I wasn't sure I wanted to do it this way -- I usually get into the pool slowly in this class starting with journals and moving to essays, and then I decided to start right off with essays -- and then I had a few false starts. I reread it just now and it's remarkably coherent -- and honestly I'm starting to wonder if little House Brownies wrote it while I slept on the keys last night.
I've never posted a lecture from a current class before, but I thought enough people wonder how these things work, or if you could get a "true Hildie" experience online -- and I thought maybe this would answer those questions.
So without further adieu,
So much of what I am about to say, I learned from the Introduction to Phillip Lopate's bookstop of a book The Art of Personal Essay. I've loved this book for a long long time (the pages are falling out of my copy) and used it for courses since the late 90s.
Personal Essay dates back to the Greeks, Plato and Friends. During this time it was defined that all ESSAY fell into two categories -- The FORMAL and the INFORMAL.
A FORMAL ESSAY was one that followed a specific plan and used rules of logic, like the ones you might learn in a logic course that has a lot of p's and q's in it. A scientific experiment, a math proof, an academic paper. A formal essay on a topic, with a thesis or hypothesis, a methodology and a conclusion. It's serious, long and has "dignity."
You know, an essay.
The INFORMAL essay does not follow those rules and as we all learned around the age of 12, was an essay where you could use "I." It can ramble. Use humor. Be self-revelatory.
But there is more than that. In the 1500s, Frenchman Michel de Montaigne more formally defined that Informal or Personal Essay, as a conversation within ones head, where one struggles with a moral issue, discussing it and hashing it out in search of an answer. Enter terms like Multiplicity, Duality of Nature, and "entering a dispute with onesself."
This gets us closer to what we know today as a Personal Essay.
And you are saying, "What about David Sedaris?" He doesn't seem to struggle with moral dilemma. He writes personal essays. He's funny! Have you heard the one where he's a department store elf at Christmas! (here's the link for those uninitiated . . . . http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor
Yes, yes, yes. I'm getting there. Be patient.
At the same time -- you enter a contract with your reader -- you "take off your mask" or reveal certain things -- embarrassing, surprising things. You gain that readers confidence in your confessions through this conversational manner (sounding more like Sedaris?).
This "honesty" then, paves the way for an exploration of a situation or topic. By being so honest, admitting even that the writer is capable of some evils -- being lazy, insensitive, jealous etc, by a behavior they are not proud of -- it allows the reader to then understand them with sympathy -- and to feel their plight as they work through a moral dilemma or surviving an affront without the appropriate reaction.
The goal then being two fold in my mind (I diverge from Lopate and his colleagues at this point and head off on my own trajectory) --
*"Writers" by my own definition, write to put the "externalia" into perspective, to understand that which life has thrown their way.
*Personal essay then serves as one of the best ways for a "Writer" to write -- to get down that which is stuck in his or her literary "craw" and to write through the scene of the crime and struggle through words to put it into a manageable, mold-able perspective.
AND YET -- perhaps one of the most important things to remember about Personal Essay is then, that it follows one basic rule that fiction follow as well -- the main character (in this case THE NARRATOR, aka YOU or THE WRITER) must change from the beginning of the essay to the end. The PROCESS of working through the event, the issue, the morality, or just seeing an event from childhood through adult eyes for the first time -- it must have the effect of CHANGING the narrator, so that s/he does NOT DOES NOT DOES NOT have the same world view at the end, as s/he did at the beginning, but has grown or had a subtle internal shift. Sees the world through glasses of a different tint. A new lens.
Got it?
(well, it's a beginning).
--hildieblog
PS if you want to join the class, I believe there are 3 seats left. Contact the good folk at www.writer.org --- also there are seats left in my STRUCTURE YOUR BOOK TOMORROW, April 9, 9:30-1:30 in Arlington.
