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Every once in a while, I have to write a post for us writers who have non-writers in our lives that say things that drive us insane and that make us feel like being a writer is a no-good job (and when are we going to actually use our degrees?). This is on my mind because I recently had this conversation with a friend I hadn't seen in a few years.
"So," she said. "Are you still writing books?""Yes." I smiled."That's good."Feeling smug, I said: "I'm actually getting one published.""Really?"
"Yep, at the end of August." "So, anyway, do you miss teaching?" (I used to teach elementary school full time.)
Excuse me, did you hear me--I said: I AM GETTING A BOOK PUBLISHED IN AUGUST? Do you realize what an accomplishment this is? AND not to mention you asked me if I am still writing books? Do I ask the mailman if he is still delivering mail? Do I ask a veterinarian if she is still taking care of dogs? I mean, seriously??
And then there's the subject of blogs. I just think as writers we all need to realize that our non-writer friends and family members are not very good at going to blogs and leaving a comment. Some of my friends will say: "I read your blog. I use the ideas for my classroom." I would NEVER know this from my blog. They NEVER leave a comment. And I am SO happy that my blog is useful for a teacher--that's the point of it. But because this is a non-writing friend who doesn't have a blog of her own, she doesn't realize how important comments are to authors and bloggers. Seriously, they are like gold. (BTW, if you are a blogger and you want comments, GO TO OTHER BLOGS AND LEAVE COMMENTS. You know--it's kind of like The Golden Rule. (smiles) )
Finally, and this is actually just a pet peeve of mine--writers or not--but I want to share it here with you because I know many of you will be nodding your head. How about when someone, possibly someone retired, is talking with her friends at a coffee shop in the morning and will say something like: "Well, it was posted on
The Facebook." THE Facebook? After breakfast, they are going to go shopping at The Walmart.(smiles, again)
So, what are we to do? I'm open for suggestions. . .
Post by Margo L. DillJoin Margo in one of her online classes this fall. She's teaching writing a middle-grade novel (beg. and adv.), social networking (beg. and adv.), blogging, and writing for children (creating a career!). For dates, syllabus, and fees, please see the WOW! classroom page.
Authors need to change their mindset.
Whether you are traditionally pubbed or indie pubbed. Marketing is a huge component of getting your books out there. Some of us are lucky to get tons of marketing from publishers. Most of us aren't. Most of you will do it alone with very littel support. So you might as well except it and do it.
It's a matter of changing your mindset.
Here are some of the DONTs of Marketing - in my opinion. These are mindsets that I still see and they make me smack my forehead.
1) My web site is longer than Santa's naughty list - Don't make us page down through pages of text. The standard web rule is the user should not have to page down on a web site more than 2 times. (this is more lenient on blog posts) Your web site is an executive summary and TOC of you - not a book. You only need something short and sweet that grabs people. Web sites reflect your writing. If you drone on for pages - I might not want to read your book. Keep it simple, professional, and short.
2) I like marketing from The Land of Cheapo. Come on! Don't put out crap. Nowadays you can get inexpensive, solid quality marketing swag from various web sites. You really don't want a plain white business card with your face on it. You really don't need a bookmark that is so flimsy it can be used as origami. Do yourself and your image a favor, invest in high quality pieces or don't do them at all. I don't want to see one more perforated business card that is black and white. Your card is your mark on someone. They might not remember you but if they see the card - it should interest them. It is better to invest in a few key pieces than to do a bunch of bad pieces. Take pride in your materials as you would take pride in your writing or work. It is a reflection of you.
17 Comments on Marketing Pet Peeves - Change your mindset!, last added: 3/9/2012
And in Part III of my Misused Words and Phrases series, I have a few words that when misused make you sound ignorant or stupid (not the same thing, btw). These words are at the top of my pet-peeve list. How about you? What misused words make you cringe?
Here are some words that you’ll see or hear used incorrectly on a daily basis. Check newspapers, especially. Continue reading →
Okay, I know what you're thinking:
No way, Shannon. You are far too sweet to be a dream crusher. Also, have I mentioned how fabulous you look today? Not a lot of people can pull off the giant t-shirt + stretchpants look, but YOU my dear ...
(Um, okay, you're probably REALLY thinking: why did I click on this blog link?)
(BUT THIS IS MY BLOG SO I AM GOING TO PRETEND THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE THINKING AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME!)
(ahem)
(Can you tell I'm writing this a wee bit late at night?)
Uh... what was I saying?
Right! The dream crushing thing.
See, I have this pet peeve... (and this is not going to be one of those author-ranting posts, I swear!) (well... maybe a little) (just go with me here)
You know how sometimes you tell someone you're a writer and--after you go through the whole awkward part where they look at you like they're expecting you to say, "Sike!" and then tell them about your "real job" (if, yanno, it were the early 90s when people said things like "Sike!" and didn't immediately get made fun of for being lame)--they get a kind of dopey grin and say something along the lines of, "I've always thought about doing that, I should write a book too!" And then proceed to ask a ton of questions about how to get published.
Yeah ... that's the part where I become a big dream crusher.
But before you judge me--let me clarify.
I do not (repeat: DO NOT) mind when people genuinely, GENUINELY want to be writers, and ask me questions about the publishing process either in person, or via email, Twitter, FB, blog comments, whatever. Shoot--why do you think I help plan WriteOnCon? I love love LOVE helping other writers figure out the mysterious and frustrating publishing world. And I gladly answer any and all questions they may have.
But that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about the people who seem to think I woke up one day and thought: I think I'll write a book today!!!!!!! And then they act like they can do exactly the same thing.
Those people I can't help but give a brutally realistic picture of the time, effort, and sacrifice that 99.9% of all writers have to make in order to get published. Shoot--we endure all of that just to finish a book, regardless of whether it's published or not. And for anyone to assume otherwise is just ... frustrating. So I can't help making it painfully clear that it's not a dream for the feint of heart and they need to be 100% committed if they're going to give it a try.
Hence, dream crusher.
But before you race to unfollow me (or grab the briny pickled things to fling at me *ducks*) for being such a big mean meanie and crushing people's publishing dreams, I'd like to add one thing in my defense.
I truly, TRULY believe that if being published is REALLY your dream, then nothing--NOTHING can crush it. Not revision. Not rejection. And certainly not curmudgeon-y blonde writers who launch into tirades about the publishing industry because you hit on their pet peeve.
So I guess I'm not really a dream crusher, so much as a fleeting-whim crusher. And THAT, I'm okay with.
Plus, I find it hard to believe I'm the only one with this particular pet peeve. Anyone else out there find this annoying?
Anyone?
*crickets*
Uh oh...
By:
Claudette Young,
on 5/17/2011
Blog:
Claudsy's Blog
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I just have to get something off my mind this morning. Call if a pet peeve. Call it bitching. Either way, it could qualify.
I was watching Good Morning America this morning when they had a segment that just proved to me how nuts we’ve become in the past twenty years. The segment had to do with decorating a child’s room and having the cost run from $50,000 upward to give the little darling a wish come true. And that little darling could be an infant at the time.
You could call my reaction one of disgust, disbelief, etc. You’d be right, but you’d also miss my secondary response. That one would cover words like disappointment, outrage, and defeat.
Why would I have such a strong reaction to someone spending that kind of money on something as transient as a child’s room’s décor? I think it has something to do with the fact that it exemplifies the chasm between those with and those without. Recent news reports have discussed the reality of more millionaires being created every year than ever before while the ranks of the poor increase exponentially during the same timeframe. The middle class is separating into upper and lower classes.
We are truly becoming a class system in this country. It’s been coming for a long time, but the blatant signs of the division have finally come out to blind us with their neon lights.
Some watchers of this trend speculate about creating a generation of children who believe they’re entitled to all the perks in life without having earned anything. My question is this. Why haven’t these people already seen that trend?
Bigger and better houses, a new bigger and better phone every time one comes onto the market, expectations of a new car on that 16th birthday—all of these imply a need for status symbols. Stand in any electronics department of any store, including discount stores, and listen to kids with their parents. Do this for an hour and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
Any time a child throws a temper tantrum because they’re going to have to wait for a new phone, or that a 60” HDTV for the child’s room is not possible simply because they’ve asked for it are only two examples of a normal day in that electronics department. I have to ask, though, if all of the kids’ influences come from advertising or peers.
There are plenty of adults out there who live the same way, and I’m not talking about those in their 20s and 30s. There are plenty of those in their 40s who seem to have the same problem as the kids. Instant gratification runs rampant.
What about those who will buy the newest, brightest, flashiest phones with apps out the whazoo and they’re worrying about making the mortgage at that moment? Or, how about the fifty some-year- old that just has to have a new paint job on his car instead of paying down the credit card?
It seems as if our culture has bred a few generations of citizens who’re more concerned with living the good life rather than having a good life. I’ve come to disbelieve people who look as if they have everything. I guess I’ve watched too many shows educating people about dealing with debt and witnessing those that are trying to climb out of a hole so deep it will take years of careful planning to prevent them from losing everything.
Until the mindset changes within our country, I doubt that much can be
Part 2 of my pet peeves about literary agents takes us into the pit of vagueness.
THE SECRETS THEY KEEP: Okay, this particular aspect of agency websites is something that has plagued many authors, including myself. Those agencies that, on their sections about the agents themselves, is so vague sometimes. Be specific, please. Rare is it when an author comes upon an agency website or page about an agent and finds detailed information about what exactly said agents are actually looking to represent (and fine, we can assume that if genre is not mentioned, they don't want it, but would a little clarity do us all some good from time to time?). For instance, they may claim to be seeking, say, YA or middle-grade fiction, but not whether that includes genre fiction. And you can't even always go by what they currently represent because I've often read (from agents themselves), that they're open to anything, or that sometimes they receive a submission in a genre that, although they don't normally rep the likes of said submission, one happens to draw them in just the same. So how are we to decipher the mystery behind what agents want when, at best, what they leave is a microscopic trail of information?
How often have you come to an agent's bio and found that you learn all about their education (which is definitely important, don't get me wrong), and where they live and sometimes, what they do in their spare time? Now I ask you, isn't just as important to know what they're looking for? I mean, seriously, all the Do's and Don't's about agents tells us that we much do our homework, but it seems, agents expect us to read every book they represent in order to weed out the ones that the agent we're interested in represents in order to see if they're a good fit for our projects. We're also told to go to the bookstore, find all the books from that agency, and read through the acknowledgments to see which agent is mentioned; as I've recently discovered, however, some authors don't mention their agents; sometimes they only go as far as mentioning the agency itself; sometimes neither.
Clearly we need to do our part, but it just seems that some agents see this as a one-way street for those not on their client list. How hard is it to specify what they want and don't want? There's a particular agency, The McVeigh Agency(which, from what I understand, is fantastic), and they have detailed info about their wants with regards to submissions. Obviously, I queried them, and am now waiting for a reply. I've read up on Mark McVeigh, I've read some interviews with him, and I saw him in a vid on YOU-TUBE. I really like this agent, and I'm hoping he responds soon.
So why is it that so many agencies refuse us much-needed and always appreciated information that can ensure we don't submit to the wrong agent, wasting their time and ours?
Any thoughts?
Okay so, this is going to be a short blog series on literary agents.
Agents. You gotta love em'. They work hard for their clients, they're dedicated, and if you're lucky enough to find the right one, the relationship can be life-long and prosperous. Hopefully not in the Vulcan sense, but more in the cuddly and oh-so-friendly, "I love my agent, and my agent loves me," sense.
That said, this author has a few pet peeves regarding agents, which I have little doubt most authors seeking an agent share to the core. So, let's get started, shall we?
THOSE AGENTS WHO DON'T REPLY: I understand why agents can't respond to all queries. I truly get it. They're busy with their own clients as it is; and what self-respecting author would want their agent more vested in acquiring new clients, than working with the ones they already have. What I don't get is why so many don't take a moment of their time to add a tiny bit of much-needed information to their websites about how long we should wait before realizing agents we've queried (who fall into this no-reply pit) are not interested. I mean, come on. Really? If I were an agent, I would return the respect I ask for. The easiest way to do this is to simply add the following bit of disclosure to the submission guidelines: Unfortunately, do to the volume of submissions we receive, it is not possible to reply to all queries. Therefore, if you have not heard back from us within (so and so) weeks, please assume we are passing on the project.
Now how hard was that? I'm not an agent, and I did it in, what...five seconds?
Ah, but you see, this only works if agents actually take it one teensy step further, by setting up an automated response to acknowledge that queries have been received on their end. Truly, one is useless without the other. If the website claims no response after a certain period of time, then what good does it do us if we don't even know for sure that our emailed submission was ever received? You know, there is this occurrence called "LOST IN TRANSIT". You see, with all the spam filters we're forced to activate to keep out those unscrupulous spiders who prey on our inboxes like savage soul-sucking vampires, when dealing with email, things sometimes get tossed around like unwitting passengers on a chicken-bus riding along on a dirt path-like road in some third-world country that has yet to discover the benefits of gravel.
So, for any agents who might come upon this blog, please, consider the amount of time and hope that goes into researching you and your fellow agents in order to weed out the one that will hopefully find our novels good and loving homes. Consider it from this side of the fence, where we, authors with aspirations of seeing our work out there, stand with our faces pressed to the proverbial glass, desperate to get our foot in the door of a world in which our dreams are rooted. All we ask is that you pass along a little more information.....
I feel compelled to bring up the subject of pet peeves today. I believe if two or more people live or work in the same space pet peeves are inevitable. After you read this I hope you will tell me about your pet peeves, it might make me feel better.Most of us have a preferred way to hang up the toilet paper roll. I guess some pretty nifty household battles have occurred when an "over" is forced to live with an "under". They even made a television commercial about the differing views. I personally am an "over" person and thought the reasoning should be obvious to everyone. Then we adopted a stray cat and quickly learned that "over" definitely is easier to unroll and that is "not always" a good thing. After removing a pile of toilet tissue (the whole roll) from the floor twice I decided "under" was the best way.How come we never hear about my real pet peeve? Pencil cups! I like nice sharp pencil points. I am a point up kind of person. After all the time spent sharpening pencils to a fine point why would I stick the point down in a cup? Life being what it is....I live with a point down person. Imagine my frustration when I'm on the phone and must take down a message. I reach for a pencil and find it is upside down in the cup and the point is broken. This is not the most opportune time to look for a sharpener, so I grab another pencil from the cup...same result. Now steam is beginning to come out of my ears and I begin grinding my teeth as the person on the other end of the phone loses patience with me for wasting their time. I remove pencil after pencil, and then pen after pen, from the cup until I find something to write with. What I end up with is a ball point pen that writes intermittently.Pet peeve #3 - why are we keeping pens that are out of ink? I scratch the telephone message across the notepad. Now I know why they call them "scratch pads". This was the last straw! I must make my feelings known to one and all. This is a serious matter.
Make way for a rant.
What makes me peeved, is when I'm reading a YA novel, and the emotions of the main character - their reactions to a certain happening, or just the way they act in general - feel like an adult remembering what it was like to be a teenager. These are the sorts of things that I read and think, This is how I will remember being a teenager. Oh yeah, that incident. Or that emotion.
But!
Memories are very different from the real thing. It is one thing to have a photograph or video or even journal of when you were a teenager. It is QUITE ANOTHER THING altogether to actually be one. I don't want to read about the Way it Feels To Be a Teenager, or, What Being a Teenager is Like. I want to read a story where the protagonist just is a teenager.
There really are quite a few wonderful teen novels out there that get it right, that have believable teen characters. But when it's a little off . . . then it's almost always way off.
Also. In the last couple of middle grade books I read (Skulduggery #2 and Sisters of the Sword), I noticed an extraordinary amount of graphic violence. I'm talking brutal, bloody descriptions that make me gasp and shudder. On the backs of these books it says "ages 10 and up". The stories themselves are definitely geared for that age (well, I'd actually hand them to kids a couple of years older than 10) but the explicit gore and violence? It seems a bit much.
I didn't know how to go about illustrating my list of pet peeves, so I decided to come up with a cartoon idea for one of them that the local newspaper is running a contest for and kill two birds with one stone.
My husband has become completely addicted to the TIVO like capabilities of our new TV. He records everything just so he can fast forward through all of the commercials. If there's a particular moment he likes, he'll rewind it and replay it a hundred times. If the remote control seemed glued to his hand in the past, the newer version has officially been grafted to his right palm. It would take a skilled surgeon and the threat of divorce to separate the two.
I actually have several pet peeves. Here are just a few more not represented in pictures.
I can't stand it when people don't use their turn signals. My crystal ball is dirty, so I have no clue where you're going when you stop in the middle of the road. Also, if you see me waiting on the corner to see what you're going to do, please let me know instead of making me linger there another half hour.
Gum snapping! Please stop it right now. Nobody wants to hear you chew gum like a cow. Do it in the privacy of your own trailer. (My apologies to trailer dwellers with manners.)
People who carry their pets and never let their feet touch the ground. Where's the logic in that? Oh, I think I'll carry Foo-Foo everywhere so she won't have to use her legs and then her muscles can atrophy and her bones can weaken and she can get early arthritis. Yay!
And a few more without going on and on...snobs, people who judge, people who care about your "pedigree', pah-leeeze! People who don't let their pets in the house, and people who won't let you off the phone until you snap at them after politely telling them 10 times you have to get going.
Other than those few things, I just let stuff roll right off my back!
(For Illustration Friday's prompt : Pet Peeves)
Most of my pet peeves center on nature vs. development. I don't go along with the idea that every piece of land needs to be owned and developed. I love buildings and homes but the idea of ownership gets blurred. We are custodians of land that we should nurture and love. The animals are getting pushed out, the bees are having problems and yet we continue to develop. I know the animals adapt somewhat (Hawks living in Cental Park) but as I hear them each day calling out to each other I am grateful they have a place to fly, swoop, mate and teach their young. Topanga State Park and Will Rogers State Park are threatened with closures for lack of funds. This is a small dimensional painting I made quite a long time ago "Night Hawk 2" and it is my submission for Illustration Friday's "pet peeves".
New Orleans Public Library is offering audiobooks for their patrons via Overdrive which I read on Shannon’s blog and also on the NOLA blog. New Hampshire public libraries also offer downloadable audiobooks via Overdrive. Well, they’re downloadable to anything but an iPod, the most popular make and model of MP3 player. This is because, generally speaking, iPods don’t play DRM-ed Windows Media files which are the types of files Overdrive makes available. Overdrive makes audiobooks available in this file format because you can program things like “expiration date” into the digital rights management of the file. This allows Overdrive to sell “checkoutable” books to libraries. Some libraries in Vermont are considering going with Overdrive also. I personally think that this is great. However, I also think that it’s just part of what we should be doing to bring digital content and digital content awareness to patrons.
Every time a patron checks out a book via Overdrive, you as the library have an educational opportunity. You can say “Here is this service we are providing you. Yes it won’t work on an/your iPod. Yes there are other ways to get audiobooks for your iPod and some of them are even free. We have provided links to other ways to get audiobooks on our website right next to the Overdrive link.” What do we usually say? Well if my anecdotal experience is any indication — take with a grain of salt of course — we say “Yes you can check out an audiobook via Overdrive. No it won’t work on your iPod. This is the fault of [insert suspected faultmaker — whether it’s Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or Overdrive].” and then the story ends there. We can do better.
If you’re using Overdrive — and good on them for getting to the market first with digital content that provides library patrons with the Real Library Experience — why don’t you also consider encouraging and assisting patrons with finding free audiobooks as well? It’s sort of a weird thing to do since both types of books are “free” as far as the patrons are concerned, but one type is free for everyone and one type is paid for, actually subscribed to, by the library. There’s another whole post sometime down the road about whether it’s our business as libraries to help the patrons save us money, but for now, please enjoy these providers of quality FREE audiobook content. Librivox for public domain books, the classic poetry podcast , podiobooks for serialized scifi, and many more listed on this page at Openculture.
audiobooksm openculturem freeculture,
ipods,
mp3,
shannonhubbell,
wmv
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Mine is when someone asks what you do, you tell them, then they reply, "Oh, I always wanted to write a book." Really? Do you tell surgeons, "Oh, I always wanted to perform open-heart surgery?" :)
Margo,
As for dealing with non-writers, my best advice is to just take a deep breath and count to ten. That said, my husband is of the opinion that it is not filtering when you count to ten out loud. Seriously? Cause it really seems to be a lot more effective when they know I'm doing it.
--SueBE
Good call about the "golden rule" of leaving comments! I'm a web designer right now, preparing to get my novel published, and I'm often amazed at how little people know of the social media world, throwing buzzwords around they often don't understand ;)
This article made me smile :)
Hah! That conversation with your friend is SO funny, and typical! I get the same thing all the time.
My neighbor--who thinks I'm a hermit and does nothing all day--always says, "So what are you up to?" And I tell her I'm working on a publishing deadline, and she says, "Still? So what else is new?" She has no idea how much work and effort goes into the process, and there's really no explaining it.
I don't think non-writer friends will ever understand. Maybe we should write a tongue and cheek manual for non-writers? Ooh! We should make a infographic and post it on The Facebook. ;)
Very funny post, Margo! :)
Deadlines... what is the big mystery? Most working people have certain tasks they need to complete by the end of the day or the week--sometimes they work overtime and if they want to take time off they need to request it so why do people think we are any different?
Last week my eldest sister came out to visit, she never sets an itinerary... One day they rest of the family decided to drive six hours to tour a ship and then stay the night. I couldn't go due to several deadlines--their response was, "who cares, you need some fun." In other words, drop your reponsibilities? Play hookey?
Today I get a message on my cell phone from the same sister. It begins with a big sigh and she says, "I know you're really busy but I'm just sitting here going through pictures..." Okay--so now I get the guilt trip!
But, the night we actually scheduled dinner she decided to go do something else!! Why is it that as writers we are expected to always be the flexible ones?
Thanks for the opportunity to vent :)
My favorite (or non-favorite) was my Mother. When I told her I was taking time off from my job to write a novel, she said, "Oh, that's nice. Everyone should do that once in a while." I'm assuming she meant taking time off, not writing a novel, but who knows?
What I usually get is what Karen posted: "Oh, I've always wanted to do that. I've got this great story in my head." Really? Then why aren't you writing it?
I may put Angela's remark up on my wall: "I don't think non-writer friends will ever understand." Mark and re-read regularly.
Honestly, Robyn, I think you hit the nail on the head. People think that just because we work at home we're not doing anything. Do people understand how HARD it is to work at home?? You have to be so incredibly disciplined because everyone around you comes home to relax and have fun, and we're working right next to them. Just because we're physically at home doesn't mean we can take time off whenever we want!
You're right, Angela, people who do not work at home really don't understand what it is like to try to write while the family is enjoying a movie and popcorn in the next room. I think this is one big reason why it is so important to interact with a group like WOW or some other writer's group--we need to surround ourselves with others who do understand.
(I like Eugenia's idea of putting your remark up on the wall!)
Margo,we get on "The Facebook" and chat with our WRITER friends (probably NOT publicly)and rant and rave (using some very "creative" language).
Or we call our mother, because a mother will give us the boost we need, because she's our mother and come on, we need some love. Except then MOM admits she hasn't read the last five stories/books/articles we sent her.
Sigh. I feel your pain, sister. (And I'm on Facebook if you need a chat-;-)
Thanks for the writer love, ladies, I knew I could count on you. @Cathy, when you chat with me on THE Facebook, I promise not to ask you if you're still writing books. @Robyn and @Angela: Totally agree--sometimes those closest to us are the worst offenders of the fact that we have a flexible schedule.
Too true on the comments! They are golden! <3 I asked my husband to put a hit counter on my blog because I wanted to know how many people had clicked and read. Other than comments or a counter, there's really no way to tell! And comments are infinitely more love. <3
I guess I probably should have named this a writer's pet peeves (plural) since I seem to have more than one I feel strongly about. . . hopefully you only have one or even none in your life.
Oh boy! I loved this post! Made me laugh! Personally, I'm jealous of those who can write as a career and want to hear more about how they accomplish this! Awesome job, Margo!!
My career is not writing however I do participate in National Novel writing month and the only year I did not hit the 50k mark was the year I had a miscarriage. ( I lack the discipline of professional writers to sit down and rewrite my nano's)However my pet peeve is the non-writers who tell me yeah so anyone can do that. Really anyone have you? A full and complete story of at least 50,000 in 30 days. I may not have the discipline of a professional but that doesn't make me less of a writer. These are the same people who complain about having to write an e-mail. I get the same attitude with Art too.
Oh, so many.... the people who assume that once you write a book and are instantly rich and famous...let's try broke and obscure. My mother-in-law who can't write to save her life (oh, her writing is SO, SO bad), but she decided to write a book and kept asking me "how many words are in a book?" And then she refuses to read some of what I write, refuses to discuss it, so I keep this bit of my life hidden away (I write a lot about stillbirth & grief--I had a stillborn full-term son 8 years ago, but my in-laws prefer to pretend it never happened. So there goes my life's mission into the deep dark hole of things that must never be talked about.)
I won't go on...
So I'm leaving a comment, a little nugget of gold for you. Because I could relate. I am always blown away when people from real life say they read my blogs. Huh? Why no comments? I think it's because they believe bloggers are strange and commenting on blogs is strange.
I can't even get them to subscribe to my newsletter and be entered for a change to win a kindle fire or a Google Nexus. They seem to think putting their email addresses anywhere will cause their in-boxes to be filled with spam and/or emails from sexual predators. :) The big bad internet is a scary place. heh heh
I proudly informed my husband that I had received my first offer of publication for a story. He said, "Go ahead. Let 'em publicize it."
First of all, he acted like I needed his permission. Secondly, the man does not know the difference between "publish" and "publicize." He's just not that into my writing.
My mom was nervous about picking up a prescription for my niece. She had to show her ID to the pharmacist. "I was afraid they thought I was making THE METH." No, Mom. I doubt it.
I always encounter the "I have book in my head. One of these days I should write it down." I think they really think all they have to do is take a little time, a few sheets of paper, and a pen, and they'd be done, and don't understand themselves why they "haven't bothered". They don't realize they've only envisioned the story like a detailed video and that the reason they haven't and maybe can't write it down is that they have yet to consider one actual word.
I have this book in my head, but when I try to get it out all I get is mental stuttering. I do just enough writing for my job - fact sheets, technical comments on agricultural policy, economic briefs, that I just haven't been able to motivate myself enough to write the stories in my head. But, I do appreciate those of you who do. It is an exception skill and talent that I envy.
@Anonymous: One of these days that story in your head will be ready to be written down. I think that happens to a lot of us. And then when the words are ready, they pour out. I hope that happens for you.
@Val The story about your mom and THE METH is fantastic. However, and don't tell your mom this, I had a friend who did TSA work in Regan International Airport for a while and drug runners actually choose retired couples to run drugs for them because they seem the least likely to do this. . .:)
@Sally However those same people will forward you every joke they get in their inbox and every YOU ARE WORTHY I LOVE YOU MESSAGE YOU ARE A STRONG WOMAN SEND THIS TO 20 PEOPLE YOU KNOW OR YOU WILL HAVE BAD LUCK message they ever receive.
@Virginia So sorry for what you have been through, but I'm so glad you have the power of words to work through it and possibly help others going through it to. Maybe one of these days, your in-laws will read something that helps them too.
@To all of you--thank you for your comments. You are all making me smile!
I so so so love this. My two pet peeves -- whenever I tell someone I'm a writer they always say, "I"ve always wanted to write," and then proceed to ask for writing advice and my non-writing family doesn't understand that I have a job and I am not always available because I have deadlines to meet. They think because I sit at home all day that I'm not really working and can re-arrange my schedule at their convenience. My mom is the worst. She keeps hoping I'm going to give up my little hobby and get a real job.