Book deal news for Monday.

I did sell a book this month and after posting my news on the writer forums and discussion boards, I remembered my own blog! So March 2007 is the month that renews my kid's book writing career.

The book will be published this fall by Tormont in Montreal and it's called "A Princess's Crown." It's a short sticker story book, and it's about a princess, Gwendolyn, who wants a crown just like her mother's (the queen), but can't wear it because it's too heavy. It's based on an Aesop fable about a peacock who wants beautiful wings, but then can't fly because of them. In the story, Gwendolyn tries on all the royal jewels, but can't wear any of them. She receives a special crown, just like her mother's, but smaller and more suitable for her head and as a result, has a wonderful time at the ball.

The book will have full-color illustrations, a sheet of stickers for readers to try different dresses and shoes and jewels on the princesses, and a fold-out ball room where they can use the stickers to create their own stories. I publish as Trish Lawrence, but I'll try to post if and when the book makes it to the United States. I wrote it specifically for the U.S. market (American English), so it should get here.

In other news, I outlined fastidiously all weekend and took copious notes from my daydreaming (and pre-sleep) brain for upcoming kid's book ideas (I admit, I was inspired!). I plan to submit a manuscript to the Random House middle-grade novel contest that starts this spring. I have to submit by June 1 and I may not make it, but I am writing toward it. Thus, this weekend was spent brainstorming and outlining Everywhen (which is not eligible for the contest because it's not set in the United States) and another idea I had, which works for the contest, but that is still untitled and the main character unnamed. But this week should bring more progress on that if my schedule holds!

I rested and relaxed this weekend, watching kid's movies by the hour and just letting my brain roam free. It was great. Also, enjoyed the freshly mowed lawns and kids playing until late last night because of impending spring and the light that lingers longer. It is a wonderful magical time just before dark during spring and summer, isn't it?

Onward!

Finally Friday.

So how do you deal with Resistance? Read on.

So DH (dear husband) comes home last night with news of the impending contract negotiations at work (no, he's not union, but his company has contracts for their work) and it still could go either way, but he was a little worried. This means we'll a) be finding a job at another company here in the Seattle area to try and stay here, b) be moving farther north, or c) moving out of state.

Of course, we want the contract to be renewed for another however long span of time, because we want to stay here. But as we sat on our couch and talked about it, I realized something else about Resistance and its cure.

DH has to turn pro. Right now! No waiting for his company or the hiring company to tell us of their decision. They don't decide our fate, do they?

That's the main antidote to Resistance: turning pro.

You know, Tiger Woods wins lots of golf tournaments. So back in the day a few years ago, he was competing at the Masters (this story told in War of Art by Steven Pressfield) and he was set to tee off and a fan flashed his camera right in Tiger's line of sight (from behind the spectator's rope, obviously, but still!) and Tiger had to stop mid-swing. He gave the guy a look (of death, I would think) and stepped back to gather his concentration. Then, 25 seconds after being interrupted by the fan, Tiger tees off and hits the ball 310 yard down the line. (Nate, did I get all that golf lingo right? Hope so.)

Anyway, how did Tiger put his head back in that game in 25 seconds? (I would take me much longer, I know that for sure.)

By being a pro at his game. It didn't matter what anyone did, said, or though about him. He was going forward (with his face set like flint) with his plan, his goals, and his mindset firmly in stone in his mind's eye.

And so I told DH, "We're so foolish! All this time we've been concentrating on me going pro and all my plans and we forgot that you need to do it too!"

And then we came up with a next-action plan to put into place immediately. Resumes that have been requested from other top companies in the area that we haven't sent, a request from his boss's boss to reimburse his school expense (up through his master's) that needs to be sent in (even though it's moot if the contract negotiation fails), and finding out who are the "head hunters" in the area for his specialty and who's hiring right now. And then posting his resume on job boards and getting in touch with every company within commuting distance to find out what's available. That's pro. That's PRO-active. That's what Monster.com means when it says "never settle."

And so, dear reader, this week has brought an epiphany of sorts into my life. When I get people bugging the heck out of me, even well-meaning friends and colleagues who do not have my best interests at heart and want me to stay "just like them" so they are comfortable, I go pro. It does not matter if your boss refuses to support you or there are no people who "understand" you, it only matters that you do your thing. You go Pro. You aim for the stars anyway.

Next week will be interesting. I'll make sure and post how things come down.

Happy St. Patrick's day tomorrow!

Onward.

The Ides of March

Lots going on in the office. I'm excited as the Ides of March are passing. A lot coming down today: friends finding out where they placed for residency, a PhD student defends her thesis, an event this evening places old friends together after many years, and the trees are blooming in Seattle. An interesting time. It's definitely pre-spring.

I reread Steven Pressfield's War of Art last night and am amazed how his book rings true in my life. I am moving up to another level of professionalism and aspiration and the Resistance this week has been pretty incredible.

I didn't know the universe, (the devil) had so many ways to try and snatch progress out of your hands. It has ranged from potential clients upset at me because I won't get them a job with another client I already have and have had for five years, colleagues who disparage my progress and talk about the good old days when no one accomplished anything and we were all the same, and clients who cross their wires and ask me to re-copyedit a learning guide for fifth graders because they realized the writer sent them the wrong version to begin with. By yesterday, it was humorous and I was laughing.

Because, in place of the Resistance, I choose to focus on my query challenge team who have encouraged me (thanks again, Leah Ingram and team one!) to dig deep and keep at it, the clients who work with me to solve an email communication problem and offer me more work, which I had to turn down to my dismay, and the colleague who writes me emails to tell me to keep at it to beat the other query team! Who cares about that! Howeber, I realized I have a lot to resist the Resistance with in my hands already. Not even mentioning my amazing sister and mom, who both talked me out of my Resistance pothole on Tuesday night and thus, helped me do my work yesterday with aplomb.

If you're getting Resistance to a dream you're trying to reach, don't forget Gratitude. Gratitude is more from The Secret than War of Art; I'm mixing metaphors again, so I'll talk tomorrow about the main contraindication for Resistance. It's amazing and will blow your mind. Tiger Woods uses it and it works! He wins the Masters using this tactic.

Happy writing!

Wrap It Up Wednesday

We've got stuff to finish up today and I'm ready to get it done. Headed for a weekend away from the office and the work load and the sunshine is peeking out today, which makes me yearn for bigger spaces and a few hours of dreaming.

But first, we've got to wrap it up.

What's on your to-do list that's been sitting there for days, weeks, months even?

Get a timer and set it for 15 minutes. And concentrate on that task. And if after 15 minutes, you've lost interest, do something else. But if you're into it, keep going for another 15 minutes, and another. If you need breaks between, that's fine too.

People ask me all the time, "how do you do all that you do?"
There's my answer. A stupid kitchen timer and a really manipulative rewards system (M&Ms, Coke, episode of Scrubs, listen to Les Miserables while I work if I do some work first, that sort of thing).

As for me and my writing and editing projects, I'm doing great. Finished up stuff for two clients yesterday, and will finish up stuff for two more clients today, which leaves a full schedule for tomorrow and Friday, but very doable, I think.

But the best news is that I again utilized the muse through all the work yesterday and the plotting of Everywhen has begun in earnest. It's good. It takes elements from so many stories I've read and enjoyed, but with a very new, very fresh spin that I think 9-12 year olds will love. I told my husband last night and he was very intrigued, which is a good sign. My hubby reads everything: kid's books and comics and cartoons in between all his history and economics classes and his management training and hefty job responsibilities managing 20 other people.

Now to outline it, write it, get a few readers' opinions, and get an agent. I've already started writing the query letter for my agent search. It's that good!

Happy Wednesday!

A good day.

Today's fantastic. I keep getting calls from clients I love and I get to stay home and work (so thankful for this) and I just saved the first part of our heat pump/air conditioning fund, because I have this feeling that Seattle is going to get a hot streak again this summer (probably worse than last summer as a result of our very early spring this year). Whee!

But in writing news, yesterday was a great inspirational day. I am working most of the time on other projects, but in those spare moments, inspiration strikes!

In other news, fellow Backspacer Jon Clinch's first novel, Finn
is out and he's headed to Seattle this week. Wednesday, March 14 at Third Place Books in Lakewood. I am hoping to get there, but stuff is holding me back, so we'll see. However, this is a great novel (on the violent side, so not for young readers) that Huck Finn readers will just treasure. An incredible view into the world of Huck and his father and mother. Kudos, Jon!

Plus, Jodi Picoult is headed to town next month and then my other Backspacer and FLX buddy, Allison Winn Scotch will hopefully be out from NYC in May for her new novel. Keep your eyes here.

Happy writing!

How to Create Story

So I spent most of the weekend thinking about the book project I'm starting on March 22. Yes, I'm still writing my first draft of the WIP due March 21, but I like to keep my brain busy.

I find inspiration in the oddest places. For instance, this weekend I read a compendium of children's literature (starting back when kid's books were just readers used by the churches to instill the fear of God into youngsters; the children's book movement is definitely more modernized and secularized now). Yes, I am writing a kid's book next.

I'm shocked to discover that I've missed a whole heck of a lot of British books for kids that never got into my hands as a child.

My mom made sure I read everything when I was a kid. I remember cleaning off entire shelves at the library each week, much to the consternation of the librarians, and reading them all within a few days. Our family were voracious readers and we still are. However, I missed a few gems.

I read the Borrowers, but missed Joan Aiken's The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Rosemary Harris' The Moon in the Cloud (Ancient Egypt) series. I missed Helen Cresswell's The Piemakers. Also a whole pile of Diana Wynne Jones was missed. I also missed Lionel Davidson's Under Plum Lake.

And there's a whole chapter on British historical fiction for kids that I know I never read. It's disheartening, but almost makes me giddy that I have an entire reading future ahead of me.

But as for my writing, I'm concocting a middle-grade reader series that will be big. This is not a popular or modern take on a fairytale, or a series of high school chick lit soap operas that will fade within a month's time. My story must be historic, an epic, biographical, romantic, and timeless. Other authors have poohed poohed my goal, but alas, Tolkien mocked C.S. Lewis' attempt at Narnia, "bothered" according to his biographer, that Lewis attempted his own project with help from Tolkien.

I want this book to be big, so it is taking a lot of planning and plotting. I am stealing a page from R.L. Stine, Tess Geritsen, Elizabeth George, and Janet Evanovich and I'm outlining fastidiously. I'm reading books on archetypes and mythology and legend. I'm researching to make sure the idea is saleable, but enough of a twist that it excites publishing committees and editorial boards. Let's just say, I'm pinning my hopes on this one.

How's your writing going?

Oops.

Bad news for author Jeanette Winterson whose new book due out in the fall got left at Balham station in south London.

Winterson novel found in London station

Winterson is an award-winning author and although this is not like Harry Potter 7 got left out for someone to find, it's still not cool.

Friday Fun Post

So, it's time to show you my office. It's a wonderful picture of my brain.
My office shows what kind of week I've had and what kind of weekend I will continue to have. Too much to do to wind down today. I'll be working over the weekend!


The piles are because I'm behind working on my 2007 filing system. I am using David Allen's Getting Things Done, so am still looking at a lot of paper. And I've emptied filing cabinets in order to review the contents.


You'll see my busy week sustenance here--in the form of M&Ms (Costco bag).


I'm actually piling projects on the floor right now until I get some filing done. No worries, I can find my way around this office blindfolded . . . and find exactly what I need!

This is my reading corner, surrounded by bookshelves and down behind the chair is my YA, middle readers, and kid's books, well some of them.

I'm continually sorting and decluttering my work areas and shifting priorities, but I do get quite a bit of work done in this office. If it were all clean and tidy, I'd be too intimidated to work in here. The clutter calms me down and reminds me that I can dream whatever I want to accomplish.

Does my office look like anyone else's? Cluttered, or am I the only one who thrives in this?

Being an Intermediate Writer

Ever notice that most writing books are geared to new writers? And the really good classic reference books are geared to advanced writers? I've been looking for intermediate books for years, until suddenly, I realized something last night while reading William J. Blundell's The Art and Craft of Feature Writing.

What a book! If you have ever been curious how the Wall Street Journal writes such intriguing (at least I think so) business stories and how they come up with that imitable nut graf, Blundell's the one to tell you.

But, his range and scope of feature writing is so beyond mine, well, let's just say he's got a trick or two up his sleeve. Nowhere before have I seen insights like these. And I'm so intrigued, I stay up and read until past my bedtime. There are other books on writing that are advanced, as well, but I'd like to point out one thing about how an intermediate writer such as myself can utilize these advanced tomes to our advantage.

1. I don't have to use all of the advice right now. Later, as I write the five stories that have been assigned, I'll reread and pick up more.
2. I can just use one good thing (I call it the one true thing) that I've learned to good effect. That WSJ nut graph rocks MY world.
3. The thing with advanced writing books is that they make you feel inadequate. That's the wrong mindset, people. You must reach higher and farther than you've reached before if you're going to improve. You can't have things handed to you on a platter.

Thus, intermediate books should not exist, in my opinion, because what pulls a writer from new to intermediate is the realization that one must think for themselves. And that's writing.

Working on a ton of writing projects today. Hope you're writing too!

Keep at it!

Writing Wednesday!

Yeah, so yesterday, I totally slacked off on this blog thing. Why?

Well, I nabbed a couple more writing assignments and then had a brainstorm for today. Of course, a client calamity is preventing me from writing right this minute, but if I can work enough ahead (client is in India) today, I can write later. Whee!

Work on American Masquerade is moving along great. I should finish on time on March 21. I finally finished reading Jane Smiley's Thirteen Ways of Looking At the Novel, what a great book. I haven't plugged it on this blog much, but wow, if you want a rich journey through 100 novels, read this. I am reading her list of 100 novels, and the first book is The Tale of Genji, which was written 1000 years ago. Incredible book, especially the translation I highlighted here.

And if that doesn't provide me enough inspiration for my own writing, I've got the new Jodi Picoult on its way! I can't wait.

Have a great writing day. It's raining in Seattle; what a perfect day to stay home!

Happy Monday!

A very busy weekend working on my WIP, American Masquerade. My hope is to finish the first draft by March 21st. I should make it.

I'm also chock full with copyediting work and working to get booked up with writing assignments (five so far!).
Also, I am writing one essay draft per day. I have this insane list of over 100 essay topics that I've brainstormed over time and writing on one idea each day keeps me from getting jaded. Plus, I then have tons of material to send out or to use in my book writing projects.

I've been thinking a lot about Resistance (if you yet haven't read the War of Art by Steven Pressfield, you should!) and how it affects my writing. I've been writing my entire life. Each time I get back into it, there are things that I enjoy and things that I don't enjoy. I now see that the things I don't enjoy are acting as an active Resistance to my writing. I'm using them as a crutch to not write more. How sad.

Why would I let myself be held down by stupid, silly little things?

It makes no sense to me either, but it was not until I read "The War of Art" that I realized, and my husband realized, how we were letting our stupid fears ruin our life goals.

Yet there is hope.

Steven Pressfield insists that if you fear it, you're to DO it. Hate is not the opposite of love; indifference is. If I did not care so much about these things, they would not cause me pain and I would not fear them.

Now there's something to get the writing engines going today.

TGIF

Busy day, but so good.

Spent some time with a writer friend at one of our town's 17 Starbucks. We talked writing and marketing and mindset. She gave me great ideas; I gave her great ideas. It was really encouraging. I should do more of that! Hey!

Not much this weekend (dying to drive down the freeway to see my new niece, but I should stay home for three weeks in a row):

revisions on my kid's book due Monday
finish latest marketing article
work on pitches for regional lifestyle and women's mags (just got a great list of these)
write an essay each day
work on my catalog copy assignment (so much fun!)

And that is all. Happy Friday, everyone!

Happy March!

Spring is around the corner!

I'm so ready! Yesterday finished up a kid's book draft to send to the publisher, shipped a short monograph back to the publisher, and started writing another essay. This essay thing is really fun. I've done it for years without really knowing it. I've always written in journals and have notebooks full of jottings and thoughts. That's essay writing! Yippee!

New client opp emailed to me today and I'm psyched. Must keep at the to-do list for this week/weekend, so I'm getting ahead, not farther behind.

Working on AM and Everywhen and the non-fiction book. If you have not picked up Eric Maisel's book proposal book, well, you're just missing out, folks.

Reading Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid. Excellent book, his first chapter is exactly what I covered in this blog yesterday. I'll have some more thoughts on clients and branding tomorrow.

Keep writing!

Trust Your Gut

If you're about to take on a writing or editing assignment today, and something about that person just gives you a bad vibe, skip it. You must pick your clients just as they pick you.

So a client gives me a bad review and says "no, we're not a good fit." I am relieved, but ticked, because I was giving that client three strikes. She definitely struck out the first time and looking back I knew she would from the first time we spoke on the phone. How?

She's negative about freelancers in general. Usually, that's the first clue. Second, she thinks she's a good client (and makes up all these requirements for her projects that make me laugh to myself "I think we've got a loser"), and third, she's completely unstable emotionally. I end up being her therapist on the phone when we're supposed to be talking about work. I end up bailing her out of her own messes and I bear the brunt of her blame game when she screws up royally and wants to save face.

So good riddance, weirdo client woman. This post to you is the equivalent of a "you're fired" letter.

I feel great. Free at last! Now to get paid from this client's client. Thank goodness, she doesn't have accounting privileges. Gah!

Tired today.

It must be Wednesday. Happy hump day! I can tell I worked too hard and long yesterday, but I'll get cooking here.

I'd like to talk about rejection. It's the name of the game in this business. You'll get it 70% of the time (most people would say more). From tire kickers if you offer creative services, to no thanks from publishers, to your own brain refusing to do what is obviously a good move in the right direction (but that's for another post).

Rejection is not about you. The situation just doesn't fit is all. For instance, I hand sold my first book proposal to a large publisher back in the 1990s at age 23. I wrote up a proposal, walked it to the editor, sat down in her office (at her invitation), and told her why she should publish it. And she said, "yeah, I think this is good. I'd like to present this to the editorial board."

Fast forward a few months and the editorial board (after haggling and more discussion) turned it down. The editor was crushed. I was crushed. Rejection. Suddenly, the feeling that "I'm not good enough" reared its ugly head.

Fast forward to a few months later and one of their star authors writes a book on my same subject, the house publishes it, and the book flops, I mean, flops. At the time, I was just mad, then became disinterested, and finally moved on.

Now that I think back on it, I really don't want that publisher near any of my future books or near me for that matter. I had the original idea (and true, ideas aren't copyrightable, but still! A bit too close for coincidence, if you ask me) and it was a good idea! But this publisher couldn't make it fly, and neither could their star author. I think that if I'd done the book, with my enthusiasm and passion for the project, it would have done better and yes, I tried to sell it elsewhere and I still may sell it elsewhere in the future, but the point is that rejection was part of the learning process and the growing process.

That long story aside, it seems narcissistic to continue to send out our work just to be rejected, but that's how we learn what we want and what we are capable of. If I had taken that one rejection too much to heart, I never would have written nine other books, and whipped up a new book proposal, which did get agent attention and still has agent attention. And I wouldn't even be trying to write more book proposals or asking people to co-author even other book ideas in order to self-pub. Sometimes the yucky stuff pushes you into something better.

Think about it. How are you handling rejection? Are you letting it stop you or push you forward?

The Best of Intentions

I sometimes can't get past just having good intentions. Most times, best of intentions are my best fricking attribute! The lists, the goals, the breakdown of next actions (thanks, David Allen of Getting Things Done), the Kinkless lists and due dates and project spans. Yup, my brain implodes.

But yesterday, although being Monday should have sunk it right there, was a great day. I started the week off right, but dealing with the most important issues FIRST. What a lightbulb moment. I do that often, but yesterday it seemed to manifest into good vibes all day long. Plus, I was praying, praying, praying for my husband and some big things he has coming down at work right now. (Yes, I believe in God.) There's nothing like best intentions actually creating best results. It really fires you up.

Writing on American Masquerade continues; going very well. Everywhen is formulating nicely as well, but the new idea, Newsgirl, is just really gripping me. I dreamed about my heroine last night and well, she may be taking over Everywhen's spot in the line-up, so we may do some switcharoo.

Am hard at work on nf proposals. Chunking takes a lot of energy, but I have changed up my project and will post a opening chunk of the new version. It's good. Lest anyone think that Al Gore is the only one who cares about the environment; my book comes at it from a spiritual approach. Stay tuned.

Book of the week (I read it in an hour yesterday): The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (the guy who wrote Legend of Bagger Vance). Now that book will change your life. What a great gem. If it doesn't get your fire started on doing something with your life, I don't know what will.

Keep writing!

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Chunking Progress!

Okay, folks, I worked on my nf book proposal(s) all weekend long. The reason proposal is plural is that there is definitely more than one book in all this information I've amassed on my subject. Coolio!
I used Eric Maisel's book and Susan Rabiner's book and between the two of them, I came up with 25 titles, 25 subtitles, five alternate versions of this book, four more alternate versions (from most secular to existential) for this book (thus the realization that I have more books in this than just the initial idea), plus am preparing to pitch articles on the topics to magazines to build my platform before I even pitch the book to agents.

It was a great weekend. I'm still really pumped.

This week is looking good for my schedule.

I have to finish a princess book manuscript (very short for a Canadian publisher)
I have a few editorial tests to finish
I have an association article to finish (waiting to here if there's room in the March/April issue)
I have more work on the book proposals
I also have to start pitching the topic around
I also have a to-do list on my current novel WIP (American Masquerade)
Another series idea hit me square in the forehead last night; I'm super excited.

Here we go! Happy Monday!

Grey's Anatomy is crap.

Okay, so I gave up watching this show over a year ago, but was sucked in last night, because my brain was shot and well, everyone was talking about it.


Saw the first part of the Meredith "death" and knew someone had been watching too much Heroes on NBC, or mooching off your fellow ABC hit, LOST. What's with the spooky child staring with death eyes and pointing at Elliott Bay? Yikes. But really, ABC, you've officially killed the show. The whole "hovering in between" with Denny and company? Come on. She and her mother hugging goodbye? Please. Meredith opening her eyes and talking coherently to Cristina within minutes?

Oh, go jump a shark.

GA, for me, is finally dead. Oh that Meredith would have died too. Because really people, this is all about Shonda Rimes. The woman's ego is fully inflated. Perhaps we should have thrown her into the water as a life raft and skipped the whole frantic "save Meredith" frenzy.

In other news, the writing is moving forward. I swear, bit by bit, the story takes shape and has now taken on a life of its own. The protagonist is downright scary, his smooth charm and how he sweeps my heroine off her feet. This is not just a "romance" people, but a romance biography travel tale (that's four different points from Jane Smiley's thirteen ways of a novel). The more of those thirteen ways I can utilize, the better the novel.

Keep on writing!

Back in the saddle again.

Whew, February was a blur. My new niece was born, my marketing efforts have totally taken over my office, and my writing on novels and articles and essays has picked up nicely. Excitement!

Seriously, though, what a great feeling to have things balancd. I will start changing up my writing o'meters to show off my latest progress. I'm in the middle of my new first draft of American Masquerade, which is kinda spooky, but it's so good. I really, really, really like it. Let Them Eat Cake is done, done, done, well first draft at least and I'm actually super excited to get back to it after the AM first draft is down. I also have multiple ideas spouting from my research and reading for these two projects. Yikes. I need to write more and more! What a great job!

I have had multiple offers to blog for others and although the idea is really cool, I'm only looking for paying gigs (and that pay a reasonable rate!). What is a reasonable rate? Well, a freelance professional rate. I charge going rates that may seem exorbitant to you, but are so cheap compared to trying to write yourself (not everyone is a writer, contrary to popular opinion), so please don't ask me to work for nothing or for pennies.

The blogging I do is quality. It's not just blah-blah text loaded with keywords, and it's not run of the mouth chatter that means nothing. I write for a specific audience and if you hire me to write for your audience, well, you'll be happy with the end result. Very happy.

Off to finish an article for an association newsletter, work on some pitches, and I get to have lunch with a teacher friend who's off for winter break.

Keep writing!