Five down and counting...

It's getting to the wire, five days left and my world becomes a little crazier for the next month!

Fiftythousand words, thirty days. Look out NaNo, here I come!

I have a new blogsite called Writer Potpourri. It is strickly about writing and the craft, books I read, my opinion of them will also be posted there. I plan to have other writers come and talk about their projects, and I will post comments about websites I find. This is exciting for me, because as I get deeper into writing, the better my chances are of getting my material published. It also helps me to hone my writing skills, and keep intuned to the writing world.

However, I am seriously considering self publishing my novel "Savant", in the hopes it will catch a publisher's (or agent) eye. These days it gets harder to become published and noticed. There are many writers who want the brass ring, and competition is tough. Publlishing houses don't take risks on new writers, and I could spend years looking for someone to have enough faith in me, and my material. With our nation's economy on the downslide, it's understandable they (the publidhing houses) would do a little eggshell walking. More and more writers are turning to self-publication for the same reason I do. That doesn't mean I quit sending queries, that's part of the process. I would probably spend nearly every waking hour writing if I could, but the butt would get really numb, the house would get dirtier than it already is, and the animals would starve, so it's just as well I don't.

The Muse Online Writer's Conference

First and foremost, I want to thank Lea Schizas, for this years writer's conference. Last year. I barely came in under the wire to register. That was my mistake on the email address. I gained a lot if information about websites and met some really cool folks. It ended up propelling me into writer's cyberspace! This is my second conference to attend and it was the most intense week of learning I've ever been a part of.

Because of Lea's selfless acts, many aspiring writers, (and established/published authors) gain thousands of dollars of valuable information from the week long conference. All of this great stuff for free. There is a place for donations, it cost quite a bit for maintenance and the web master fees, etc. So, as of November 1, 2008 you can register for next year's conference by clicking on to this link http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/ and sign up! Believe me, it's worth it. You do get to meet publishers and published authors. As a matter of fact, I'm talking to a nice lady about a coffee table book. It was totally unexpected and could be what I need to get credits for publication. I am into photography and I'm thinking about submitting some photos and accompanying them with short poems. From the conference, I have the makings of a "cozy" mystery, a step below mystery which is a bit darker than the cozy. I didn't know that, but now I do. I think it will be a lot of fun and giving serious thought to making it my NaNo project. I also came away with a series of short stories gathered into a collection called a series novel. I took two short stories that were laying around in their files and wove them together for a novel.

Last night, was the end of the conference, and the after party! That was the funniest thing! Someone mentioned that it was a crash course in speed reading. That was no joke. Words flew by (those of you who go to chat rooms may have an idea of how that works) so quick that if a comment was made you better have fast fingers and a quick pinkie for hitting the return key because your comment may not mean anything within two minutes. The chat rooms also come with a variety of sounds and smiley icons, there were plenty of those flying around too. I am not a chat room sort of person and last year's conference was my first experience in "chatting".

To attend a conference in person cost hundreds of dollars. The registration fees. Booking a flight, hotel room cost, food and transportation. The upside of this, is meeting authors and guest speakers in person, maybe an agent or publisher. Going to a different place and seeing a city you have never visited, meeting people you may have been talking to on the Internet in one of your groups are some of the other perks. The downside is, of course the cost. Many of us simply do not have that kind of cash sitting around the house to spend. There are several of my new friends who are disabled and the online conference lets them mix and mingle with everyone too.

We writers tend to think we know it all. We think our work is beautiful, everyone will love it. There will be hundreds of publishers and agents knocking down the door just to have you on board. The reality of it is, (unless you are extremely gifted or a famous author in a former life and kept all you knew,) getting published is hard. I think possibly harder now than in the good ol' days, simply because of the competition. Publishing houses anymore do not hand out huge advances unless you have a big name. You have to be careful too. Unfortunately as with any good thing there has to be a bad side. If you are looking for an agent or a critique group go to http://www.predatorsandeditors.com/ and check them out. This is a valuable resource for every writer. They go through the markets and do a thorough check to find out who's legit. They post their findings and pass them on to you. The Internet has become a valuable tool for authors. (I wish my dad could of seen all of the resources available for today's writer.)

On that thought, it is very easy to get caught up in all of those wonderful websites, blogs, social networking, and newsletters. I suggest going through and picking out which ones will help you out. Ask some of your writing friends if they know about such and such site or google it. There again, check out predators and editors. Throughout the next couple of weeks, I'll be adding links to various websites and giving you my impression of them. I hope you check them out.

If you haven't read any of my past postings, I would like to introduce you to Roger, my writing totem. Roger was my dad's name and I know he's hanging out so I put him in the moose. They are my muses.