Welcome to my first official post on my first official author’s page.
Writing makes my heart glow.
I enjoy hammering the story out on the page. I like the challenge of figuring out how character X is going to get from A to B so that the storyline makes sense. I enjoy researching a plant, or what the name of that thing is, or how does an airplane fly? I get a triumphant tickle when I finally decipher how to solve a sticky plot point or how to get that uneasy emotional scene down in black and white. I like being surprised when a character ends up differently than I had originally envisioned. Fancifully I suspect that the people on the pages are living out a life independent of me.
I am even fond of reading draft upon draft. I consider punctuation and mull over phrasing. I get excited when I have crafted a sentence to express exactly what I want it to say or when I can distill my thoughts by striking out words and rewriting sentences that are superfluous or insufficient. My heart gets all bubbly when I find the right word. (I have never forgotten the quote Mr. Kerr pinned on his high school English class bulletin board: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” ~Mark Twain)
For every book and story, I have mourned that very best sentence which I have unavoidably had to slash — because the absence of that beautiful, perfect phrasing makes the story better as a whole.
I revel in the feel of printing out my final draft to edit and proofread just one more time. The tingle of concern I have when I give my story to a friend to read is balanced by my hope of receiving commentary that can make my writing even tighter, more appealing, and as polished as I can make it. I love writing, and my books deserve to be read.
What fills me with distress, agitation, and dread is promoting. I don’t want to talk about myself! I stumble over my words if I talk to more than three people at once, sometimes even blushing red with the attention — especially if the people are not my closest friends. If I spend too much time away from people (say, at home because I can’t safely go to cafes or stores anymore), when I do go, for example, to the grocery store, it feels like I’ve forgotten how to interact. I mumble, blink blankly, and cannot express myself succinctly.
If I can’t talk to people, how can I promote my books?!
I want to focus on the writing.
I want someone else to direct the marketing. I have so little knowledge about (or courage in) this aspect of the publishing business. How can I do it myself?
The kicker is that in order to get published, many agents and publishing houses look for authors willing to stick by their books, which means authors already have to be doing that before sending in a query.
This in fact is how I’ve come to view the whole promotion thing: It really is sticking by and up for one’s books, for my books. And my books are good. They will grab you, urging you to read on, to find out what will happen next. My books can make you laugh, cry, and ponder. Whether you are reading a small chapter book to your six-year-old granddaughter, or you are a ten-year-old boy flying alone on an airplane for the first time, or you are a young adult (or a full adult) reading about a girl who is trying to find her path in life, the book of mine you choose will transport you to another, enthralling, world.
Not only will my fiction fantasies take you away from your present and give you an escape into another setting, but through their similarities to real life and its real problems they might be able to inspire in you a way to tackle your own. Do you feel like your parents don’t want you, or that you can’t find your path? Read Zeka’s two-part story. Afraid of flying, or are you fascinated by clouds? Lucas and the Sky Spies would appeal to you. Do you want to reinforce for your young children the benefits of following directions? Spend time reading Alone in a Storm to them. . At the back of every book or series there is also an explanation of the real scientific facts that helped shape or inspire the story.
I love writing, and my books deserve to be read. And this is why I have started this blog: I want you and yours to know about my books, about me as a writer and person. I want you to be at least a little intrigued in finding out more about this scaredy-cat who loves to write strongly enough to start sharing her life with complete strangers.
Welcome into my world.