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- The Future of Publishing

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Hello Friday!! Yet another. You seem to creep up faster and faster every week. But this Friday is special. Well, for me at least. Heading out, packing the family for yet another hockey weekend. Packing for six is a load and it should come with abbreviations and special terms. (Actually, it'd be a ton easier if someone else just did it for me: packing, thinking, & remembering. Or better yet, wash the gargantuan loads of laundry I'll have when we get back.) *Sigh, sigh.*


So here's a snippet of the terms that have been rattling inside my head all week long:
Shirts, jeans, PJ's, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks/underwear, combs, brushes, makeup, hair gel, sweaters, bathing suits, keys, money...oh, you get the picture. Helps keep my head from rotating right off my shoulders. *Smile.*


In my travels surfing cyberspace I've crossed a few different lists. One in particular I feel is important is a list of terms every writer should now. Here's a wonderful link with 33 of those terms. You've got POV, MG, DL, and many more. Pretty cool!! 


Do you have any terms to add to the list? Share, share.... 


You can copy my packing list for future reference if needed. ";-)  

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writing it out: Book Deal Celebration!

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What really is a story opener--action, quiet, dialog, inner thoughts, or a combination? The one thing we all know is that it has to hook the reader. Why bother reading if it's not interesting, right? Let me tell you where I am right now. I have this story and both my main protags, like most, have tons of baggage in their backgrounds. I swear I've written twenty different beginnings to this story. Because I know the story so well, I'm having a hard time pinpointing what the reader would most like to be introduced to first. I have, however, found two great articles that have helped me in my profound ponderings. (Good gosh, profound...sorry, I'm thinking I'm someone else today.) Check one out Here & There.


So, anyone else ever struggle with what to tell the reader at the beginning and what to leave for backstory? Fess-up and share. How do you handle it?


(Come back soon. Next article: Prologue vs. 1st Chapter.)

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The World According to Maggie: Ten Rules for Query Letters

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I thought we'd start today out with something quirky. I'm full of surprises, spoken dully as I sigh.


You've heard of the eight ball, fortune telling, foreseeing the future, right? So I started thinking about when I was a kid, and how I loved to makeup alternative futures for my stuffed animals, myself, and even some of my most beloved book characters--loved Alice, in Alice in Wonderland, although I still think she should have kicked the crap out of the Queen. Just sayin'.


Come up with a few poignant Magic 8 Ball suggestions. Should be funny.


Example: If you will I will. Hell no. Can't touch. You wish. Denied. You get it, anyway.   

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Elana Johnson, Author: Fantabulous Followers Giveaway

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Have you ever had a day where you felt as though you'd accomplished nothing? Yeah, that would be me today. I've been from one edit to word cutting to flagging the kids out of the street and finally I resorted to doing the laundry. Blah...  But as I write this post--still avoiding the edit that is needling me worse than a pesky black fly (& man, we got us some black flies in Maine)--something occurred to me. I think it's some wisdom an aging nun at my Catholic School had told me. Must have stored it in some folder in that undefined filing cabinet at the back of my brain.


Of course her reference had been about God, but I'm going to take it and apply it here. When you feel like nothing is happening or everything is out of sync, that's when you're growing the most. Things are not always as they seem, as I'm sure we've all heard before. What a precious gem that all writers and mothers alike can take to heart. It helped me to remember. I hope it helps you, too.   

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Guide to Literary Agents - ''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest: Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance (For Both Teens and Adults)

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Who's blogs will I choose to invest myself in today? Because in all actually that's what I'm doing. With one click of my finger I visit you, I leave you a comment, I introduce myself. Pretty neat system. You now know something about me, and I now know something about you. You expose me to ideas that maybe like mine or maybe brand new and to interesting peeps that otherwise I may never have met or had the pleasure of interacting with. The knowledge, and sometimes humor, is endless. It's really an education in real life studies, not to mention a kick in the pants at a real writing career.

I've met some incredible people thus far, and I'm ready to meet more. So where will my fingers surf today? Already found a few new blogs with interesting views. Do you have a view? A blog? Tell me about it and maybe I'll just pop over and check it out.

Bow. Clap, clap. Hiss, hiss.

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Over on YALitChat we've been discussing the struggles of being mommy and writing the next hit ms that's too hot to stay on the bookshelves. (Sounds good, doesn't it?) The more I thought about it, the more I realized there are things I do everyday that may help someone else. Share and share alike, right? 


Here's my take on the multi-coat of motherhood and ink-stained hands of a writer. (Yeah, I know. There's not a ton of real ink these days, but work with me.)


1. Believe in yourself. I know that sounds simple, but if we don't who will? Stand on your front lawn and... No. Just kidding. That could get you arrested. But do say it to yourself everyday. 
2. Seek advice from reliable sources. We all know that in every aspect of life there are people with opinions about everything and then there are the real think-tanks. Find one of those. The real think-tank has experience and has most probably lived out the advice they are offering. When we first bring that baby home, every person who has a voice tells us what to do, what we are doing wrong, and what we should change. Just like when you had caller ID installed to avoid those peeps, install your own homing system for the writing advice you receive. Picking the weeds can be tough, but true advice is priceless.
3. Knowledge is power. Once you've compiled that reliable advice, begin to use it each day. Write it down. Read it out loud. I've plastered it in my office, by my nightstand, and on the bathroom wall. Granted, when the kids use the bathroom...well, I've had to make a few replacement copies there but who's counting?
4. Everyone has an opinion. I'd elaborate and begin that phrase as my husband says it, but that may get me arrested. Hah! Got to love his bluntness.  
5. Set Goals!!! I can't tell you how important this is. Set them. Write them out. Print them out and put them in your purse, your iPod, by your bed, bathroom, kitchen, and wherever. Look at them often. Start with small ones and work up to the bigger ones. I have from learning a new word every day to buying a new laptop to writing the next bestseller. As each goal is reached, mark it off. 
6. Reward yourself. This one is as important as setting the goals. When you reach a goal, no matter how small or large, go to dinner or play an unexpected game of basketball or hockey in the driveway with

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