Bears aren’t the only warm-blooded animals to hibernate. It seems to me, after the Christmas holidays, my world goes into a short state of  hibernation.  Now some of it is of my doing—enjoying the cold weather, gray skies and fluffy, white stuff less and less as I get just a bit older. But some of it, for sure, is set into action by others. There are just these inactive periods when emails don’t get where they’re going, connections get lost because of winter sniffles, aches and pains, and the frenetic activity of ordinary days is lost, as the world slowly arises from its holiday slumber. At this time of the year, my world is the polar opposite of a great sports car—-it goes from 60 to 0 in an instant. Or so it seems.

So, not surprisingly then, our publishing seminar—-the really wonderfully attended event produced by MaryFran Bontempo, Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban and myself, has also gone into hibernation, and somehow that email to sign up for the spring semester, never arrived—-in any of our inboxes. So, just a little plug as we wind up once again to empower ourselves and others to get out there and ‘just do it’, we will in fact be offering another publishing seminar on Saturday, March 20th, from 10am-noon, somewhere in Central Bucks. As soon as we are assigned a location, we’ll let you know. And we promise to come, packing even more of experiences gained from the writer’s life with us.

Check the website for details as the date gets closer: https://www.cbcsonline.com/start_cbcs.taf.

Chrysa

It’s that time of year, isn’t it? Wrapping it up seems like a good headline to sum up this seasonal time of wrapping presents, wrapping up projects, wrapping up another 365 days. 

So, let me leave you with a bit of end-of-year news and wisdom.

1. Book signings are tough. Without celebrity status or an incredibly long list of devoted friends and family members, book signings can be excruciatingly lonely, boring and disappointing. So, instead, why not come up with a way your knowledge can help others? A talk, a seminar, a workshop is much more rewarding and often a better use of time. When you offer people something, you always gets more in return.

2. Keep the most important things, the most important in your life. It’s easy to lose yourself in all the flurry of activity that writing and publishing books bring with it. But every so often, life comes along and smacks us in the face with the realities of how we spend our time, and sometimes a lesson on how we should.  A child leaves for school, a husband struggles in a business, a parent passes away, a friend becomes ill, couples get divorced, families with kids at home become empty-nesters. These life passages seem to run faster all the time, leaving us square in the path of the cliche, where has all the time gone? Lesson learned: time goes by quickly—-make sure you’re making time for what is truly important in your life.

3. Trust in yourself. Know when to listen to the outer and inner critics. Some are valid; some are not. If instinct tells you to keep plugging, keep plugging. Myriads of editors, publishers, agents and others have been proven wrong over the ages. Proper persistence often pays off.

4. Enjoy the journey. You never know where writing is going to take you. It has taken me to places I’ve never been—introduced me to people I would have never met—exposed me to topics I would never have known anything about. It’s a journey, not a marathon. Plan to enjoy it. If you don’t, take some time to think about your path. Maybe it needs tweaking or a complete makeover. Either way, it’s progress toward where you should ultimately be.

Whatever your genre, whatever your denomination, whatever your status in life—-enjoy this wintery, slow-down of life—this pause to reflect on what is truly important in this life, and focus yourself once again for another 365 days of lessons to wrap, unwrap and maybe even re-gift.

Chrysa Smith

It’s hard to believe (and somewhat cringe-inducing, I know), but the holiday season is almost upon us and with that comes the dreaded buying of the gifts.

Hard as I try to maintain some Christmas spirit while searching for just the right thing to please my loved ones, the truth is that most of the time, I end up grumbling and muttering to myself while I wander aimlessly around countless department stores for hours on end, frequently coming home empty-handed.

If your search for holiday cheer leaves you feeling more like the Grinch than Clark Griswold, I may have a solution.

On November 27th, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M., five local authors, including yours truly, Carmen Ferreiro Esteban, Chrysa Smith, Suzanne Zoglio and Sandy Cody, will bring their delightful works to the Doylestown Bookshop to ring in the holiday season in a Home for the Holidays celebration.

Signed books make thoughtful, inexpensive and personal gifts and the authors you’ll meet have scripted works for everyone on your Christmas list.

Each author targets a different audience with her work. For younger readers, The Poodle Posse series, penned by Smith, details the antics of three cuddly canines as they share their days with their loving but occasionally confused owner, Mrs. Flout. Young adults will enjoy Two Moon Princess, written by Ferreiro Esteban, which tells the fantastical story of a discontented medieval princess, eager to live life on her own terms, who lands in modern day California.

In Everyday Adventures, Or, As My Husband Says, “Lies, Lies and More Lies”, I laugh my way through the trials and tribulations of modern day womanhood, taking the reader along for the ride. Sandy Cody authors the Jennie Connors mystery series, Put Out the Light, Consider the Lilly and By Whose Hand, which explore the challenges facing a single mother as she learns to balance independence with family and career responsibilities. And Suzanne Zoglio will help both women and men Recharge in Minutes as she describes 101 ways to refuel any time/any place and how to Create A Life That Tickles Your Soul .

This year more than ever, we’re all in need of some good cheer. So get a jump on holiday shopping, find the perfect gift and do join us at the Doylestown Bookshop to say “Hello.” We’d love to meet you and start your holiday season off right. See you there!

Mary Fran Bontempo

Let’s start with the obvious: Editors and agents are people. They come in all shapes and sizes and have different tastes. Their likes and dislikes are their own. Their rejection of your manuscript does not reflect on your writing, but in their inability to fall in love with it.

Agents and editors are flooded with submissions. They have the prerogative of being selective. They will only represent the stories they love.  

And that is their right.

Yours is to keep looking for the agent/editor that will fall in love with yours.

So keep that rejection letter in perspective. Don’t throw the manuscript away, but send it again. Because what one editor/agent hates, another will love. You just have to find the right one.

You don’t believe me?

Let’s do an exercise.

Here are two versions of a description of a lake up in the mountains of Spain, a setting in a young adult novel I’m working on.

One of the versions is mine (not necessarily number one). The other is a rewrite from a person in my critique group.

Once you have read them, please, leave a comment saying which one you like best.

There is not right or wrong answer. If you choose the one I wrote, I’ll be pleased. If you choose the other, you’ll prove my point: not everyone has the same taste. And its corollary: not everyone will love your writing.

And that is okay. Who would want to go to a party where every one is wearing the same dress?

Version #1

The water was black like the boy had said. Black and still, like a piece of night fallen to earth. A perfect circle from where I stood at the edge of the ridge: a full black moon trapped in the mountains.

Version #2

Black and still, like a piece of night fallen to earth, the lake formed a perfect circle from where I stood at the edge of the ridge: a full black moon trapped in the mountains.

Carmen Ferreiro Esteban

I met Chrysa Smith at a book signing. We shared space and a blanket as the event was outside and the Pennsylvania weather unseasonably cold. In between talking with readers, we exchanged tips about writing and marketing and also our cards.

Mary Fran Bontempo I met later, a hot summer day at a Craft Fair. Together with Chrysa, we shared a tent and a good laugh or two, and by the end of the day, we were friends.

What we three had in common was a love of writing, and the determination to have our books known.

We had come to have our books in print by three different venues. I published my young adult novel Two Moon Princess through a traditional publisher. Chrysa self published hers, The Adventures of the Poodle Posse, for early readers. And Mary Fran used print on demand for Everyday Adventures a recompilation of her newspapers columns where she humorously ruminates about life.

As we talked with people that stopped by our tent, we came to realize that many would like to know of our experiences in the publishing world and thus the idea for our seminar was born.

Three Women. Three Authors. Three Different Approaches to Publishing is for all of you that have a manuscript finished but don’t know what to do next. It is a step by step guide to get your story into print by whichever venue you choose.

So if you are ready to start on the publishing trail but need a little push, this seminar is for you. Just check our sidebar to find out the one that better fits your schedule.

Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

A friend once told me that he never got disappointed because he had no expectations. That’s an interesting theory and one I’ve come to adopt myself in light of certain unpredictable situations like cocktail parties and book festivals.  So, I wasn’t completely disappointed that sales were lower than low at the Collingswood event this month. And although I had gone there with some desire to sell books,  I came home with  empty pockets and a blessing—a bit of grace and wisdom which tends to show up in my life (and maybe yours) at the most unexpected of times, in the most unlikely places. This day, it showed up in the person of Thomas E. Pierce.

Pierce is the author of The Last Rose—A True Celebration of Eternal Life.  I was captured by the kindness of Thomas and his wife Lillian, as they offered to share their tent with me if the skies opened. But I was truly captivated as the author explained his book to me. Five years ago, you may remember the news story about the Baltimore Water Taxi that was struck with an unexpected gust of wind that flipped the boat over in Baltimore Harbor.  That day, Pierce lost his wife of 37 years and his 35 year old daughter.  As he so bluntly put it, “What’s an overweight, bald man in his 60’s supposed to do now?”

One of the many things he did was to write and write and write. He wrote about the events, his feelings and finally, what led to the publication of his book, his faith trail, which led him through the darkest of times, the unknown and the unexpected, as his life began to take on a whole new direction. He met with priests, old friends and with a ‘medium’ who brought Pierce visions of the past, the future and an uncanny  foreshadowing of names, numbers, coincidences and connections which seems to invisibly guide us to the place where we need to go.

So Tom, who brought his wife one yellow rose each month on the date of their anniversary, for 37 years lost her unexpectedly, in a most tragic way—and his daughter too. Yet today, he is happily remarried, to the first girl  who caught his eye as a school boy in Philadelphia—-the girl the ‘medium’ brought to his attention during their session. Lillian, who had moved west many years earlier, was newly widowed herself. She lost her husband after many years of marriage, and returned to New Jersey. The two reconnected, and Lillian actually had to leave early that day, for a school reunion with ladies she’s known for decades. Tom’s other daughter  Kathy, is married with two young girls—-seemingly, the lights of Tom’s life which keep him going and laughing.

So, Tom gave me a copy of his book and a reality check that day—something we all need when we tend to get caught up in the minutia of our lives. And I gave Emily and Kayla—his young grandaughters,  copies of my children’s books. Tom’s message is summed up in the line “All the kindness a person puts out into the world works on the hearts and thoughts of mankind.” He’s right. It worked on me that day, and reminded me to pass it on.

Chrysa Smith

So here it is September again.

I find myself in an interesting place this year. For the first time since my children began their educations, I have only one child attending school this year. Unlike in the past, however, this time it’s not because two of them are too young to attend, it’s because they’re too old.

Actually, that’s not really true. The fact is that two of my children have graduated from college and my youngest is a sophomore at a local university. The two who’ve graduated haven’t yet found their niches, however, and going back to school is still an option for them.

Sometimes I wish it were an option for me. As I’ve watched my kids go off to college, I’ll admit I’ve been envious. Oh, to have nothing more to think about than reading, studying and what I’m going to eat for dinner–a dinner that, for better or worse (institutional meals aside), someone else made for me.

But for now, at least, going off to college and living in a dorm isn’t in my immediate future. (I really think someone could make a mint off of a university for adults; we would actually appreciate it.) So I’ll have to settle for pretending and once again tapping into the feeling that I get every September–that is, the feeling that a fresh start awaits.

When my children were young, we marked it by purchasing new school supplies and uniforms. They may not have enjoyed the process, but I did. Even as a kid I loved the smell of new copybooks and pencils. (I was weird, I know.) As a writer, the feeling has only intensified.

But it was always more than that. It was the sense of expectation, the knowledge that new and exciting possibilities were in store. And new challenges as well. I was always the type of kid who looked forward to learning new things. I still do.

This point in my life is fraught with different challenges–many which I never dreamed I’d have to tackle. But there is still a sense of possibility. Possibility that things will get better and that exciting, interesting challenges lie ahead. Once again, I find myself eagerly anticipating a “new” year.

Now, I’m off. I think I’ll go out and buy a new notebook and some number two pencils. A little inspiration couldn’t hurt.

Mary Fran Bontempo

A friend invited me to see JULIE & JULIA.

Great, I thought, the perfect afternoon diversion from teaching a summer camp, talking about writing and working on my own new release. So, we went.  Little did I know that this decision would turn into several weeks of Julia talk, Julia cooking and an effervescent evening of celebration, that Julia herself (I’m sure) would have glowingly endorsed, with a nod, a wink and her signature signoff, Bon Appetit!

But before all the glitz and glamour, I didn’t get a break from writing. After all, Julia’s cookbooks are infamous. However, it was sure nice to know that the mother of television cooking shows and French-American cooking herself, was a many-times-over, shunned author. Her work was too complex, too large, too consuming—maybe too advanced or prolific for the dull mind of the average American homemaker. Little did they (the experts) know, as often happens, that she was actually a Renaissance woman—-a woman with vision, beyond the confines of what present day society and cultural norms dictated to her. She was, quite frankly, today’s woman—a woman with a broader mind, sense of adventure and as it turned out, visionary of what was to come, decades down the line: American homemakers cooking more complex dishes, using good, fresh ingredients.

I loved the struggle. I loved the message and I loved the relationship between the modern day Julie and the Donna Reed era Julia—the woman who would don pearls while serving, yet be so bold and brash as to question norms, stretch limits and tell others, only when absolutely necessary, where and when to get off.  I absolutely loved her. And to this day, she continues to roll around in my head as a new role model— to those of us who go for the gusto, stretch the limits, color outside the lines and refuse to be defined by others.

So, being utterly shameless, I borrowed the idea of hostessing a Julie & Julia dinner party for a group of friends—-friends who recently share something in common (besides liking to eat)—-friends who are all relatively recent empty-nesters. What better comfort to give than sharing and serving good food, good wine and good conversation?

And so it was. Seven of the twelve invited women enjoyed appetizers on the deck, then sat in my breakfast room last weekend, dining on Beef Bourguignon, bottles of French and American wine and fresh French bread. A realtor, accountant, teacher, postmaster, nurse, and two authors were united for a few hours, by a sense of loss, a sense of hope and companionship brought to them by the breaking of bread, the sharing from a bottle, the telling of stories. In fact, I believe it might have also inspired a few future dinner parties to come, because in the end, as purveyors of fine food understand, there is little that a good meal and friendship cannot heal.

Ah, la bonne vie!

 When I write a book, the characters and the setting of the story become very much alive and real in my mind.

For instance, when I was writing Two Moon Princess I knew Andrea had hazel eyes and brown hair and didn’t care much about clothes. I also knew how the arch she crosses in the forbidden beach to enter our world looked like. Exactly like the arch I had seen in the Cathedral Beach in northern Spain while growing up. 

When Two Moon Princess was bought for publication I imagined a cover that would include these two images: A brown haired girl by the arch. 

But the decision was not mine to make. And when my editor sent me a copy of the cover of Two Moon Princess, I realized the artist’s vision and mine were different. The cover was beautiful but totally wrong for my book. I had written Two Moon Princess for a young adult audience. The cover was definitely Middle Grade.

So imagine my excitement at the new cover I just received for the paperback edition of Two Moon Princess. In this version, Andrea stands on the beach with the two moons of her world in the background. The arch is still missing, but I think I can live with that.

What do you think?

Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

I love stories. That is why I’m a writer. And the story behind Kings, an NBC show that just ended its first season, is one of the best I have seen on TV in a long time.

            It’s the story of David, the shepherd boy who defeated the giant Goliath with a sling. A story most of us know from reading it in the Bible when we were children, but retold in a modern setting.

            Kings takes place in a country called Gilboa (Israel comes to mind) caught in an unending war with its northern neighbor Gath.

            The giant Goliah is a tank. And David is the young farmer turned soldier that blows the tank in the pilot episode. He also rescues the king’s son and by doing so, is thrown into the web of intrigues of palace life, as he blindly at first, cautiously later, follows the orders of the king he worships. A king blessed by God to Whom he talks through rain and thunder. Until the day David comes. King Silas knows his time is over, but won’t step aside and will eventually defy God Itself to stay in power.

            Not only I find the story brilliant, the dialogue is smart and haunting.

            “We give up what we want when we want power,” King Silas tells his son, chewing the words and then spitting them in a pitch perfect delivery.        

            “The mother of the hero,” he tells David’s Mother.

            “The hero of my son,” David’s mother answers, returning her king’s stare unperturbed,

            “You can have whatever you want,” the king offers David, “even the proverbial half of my kingdom.” Then as the boy’s eyes fall on his daughter, “Half my kingdom it is.”

            There is not a simplistic distinction between good and evil in Kings. All the characters are written as complex human beings, from the wide eyed innocent Shepherd (David’s last name) to the queen’s nephew (a perfectly disturbing Culkin Macaulay of Home Alone fame).

            King is a fascinating story of greed and love, and trust and betrayal. It is storytelling at its best.

            If you write, if you want to write, or if you simply love a good story, watch Kings. It is available on line at NBC.com until September 20.

            And if you learn whether Kings has been renewed, please let me know.

Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

Aah, the joys of self-publishing.

I sit at the computer, nails tapping on the desk, thinking about book #2 in my series. It’s now at the printer, and pretty soon, at the point of no return.

Two minutes later, I sit at the computer, nails tapping on the keyboard. Book #1 has finally made its way onto Amazon.com—a year and a half after it was introduced. What took so long? Happily, school visits, book signings and fairs. But now, I wait the 10 day grace period, waiting for an email telling me how many thousands of books Amazon would like to order.

A minute later, my mind wanders back to book #2.  Am I printing the right quantity? Will history repeat itself? Will it be grander? Will the economy take history off course? My nails raised to my mouth, I try not to bite them, as I ponder the decision not to put a spine on a paperback once again. Actually, not really a voluntary decision. I fully expected to give the book a little backbone, so it could sit upon more bookstore and library shelves with ease. But after a commitment to myself and my ISBN number, to keep the second book priced as the first, I had no choice. Giving the book a spine doubled the production costs.  So, I now see why hardbacks and picture books are priced as they are. I now understand why authors charge what they do for school visits. Keeping the profits up is hard when keeping the prices down and the quality up.

So, three minutes later, I sit at the computer, nails in my mouth, hoping there are no production snags; hoping the books come off the press, into their shrink-wrapped blankets and into my warehouse, all in time for September school visits. Then my mind wanders off to the recent commitment I made for the next school year—free school visits within the region; nominal costs outside the region. Was that a smart commitment? With book #2 being almost double the page count, printing costs are up—even if the book does not have a spine. Profit margins are less, but there will now be two books, more familiarity and some repeat visits.

Two minutes later, I sit at the computer, thinking about the Doris Day song that comes to me whenever my mind spins endlessly around Monday-morning quarterbacking issues—Que sera, sera. At each point along the way, you are faced with decisions. You look at the facts–look at the options—weigh the info and make, what is hopefully an intelligent decision. Then, you sit back and let the cards fall where they may. Que sera, sera—what will be will be. 

A minute later, I sit at the computer, look at my nails and make an executive decision— what needs to be at this very moment is probably a manicure.  Aah, the joys of self-publishing.

Chrysa Smith

Dear Publisher to Be,

Zamparo, this guy I met last night over at the Emporium, asked me to contact you if something bad happened to him. He’s dead now, back at the hotel, so I guess that qualifies as bad, and that’s why I’m sending this e-mail to you.

He said you might remember him as you two met last month at the Writers Workshop in Philadelphia and, I quote, “you were impressed with the first chapter of his manuscript, Publish or Perish.”

I’m attaching the complete manuscript to you now as he instructed me to do. Afterwards I will send a press release stating that you have it.

From then on, its fate and yours will be in your hands. Meaning that once they—the men that killed Zamparo—know, they will try their best to stop you from reading the story that would uncover them was it ever to become public. So, it seems, your best protection would be to publish it as soon as possible.

I would if I were you.

You see, Zamparo’s death will give the book free publicity. And with him being dead and all, you will be making all the profit.  What is there to lose except your life? As it will be at risk if you don’t publish his manuscript.

Besides, Zamparo deserves to be heard. He was a nice guy, and he really wanted his book published even if he had to perish to make that happen.

As for me, don’t worry, I’m nobody, just a messenger that never existed but in your mind, and soon will be

Gone forever,

TM

For those of you who wouldn’t want to go that far to get your book published (dying is after all kind of irreversible), here is a link to the Preditors and Editors’ website where you will find expert advice on what an editor is looking for in a query: http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubquery.htm.

From my own experience:

The perfect query is the one that sells your book, whether it’s perfect or not is a matter of opinion.

Make your query professional, but not boring. 

Make it engaging, original, AND specific to your story. To do this, you may try to:

            Write the query in the voice of your character,

            Start with your first paragraph,

            Or ask the question(s) your book answers (this works best for non fiction).

And when you are absolutely, positively sure that your query is ready, send it to Query Shark (http://queryshark.blogspot.com/) for a critique.

Good luck and Good Writing

Carmen Ferreiro Esteban