I am not a superstitious person. I don't believe in bad luck or good luck. But, I am firmly convinced that if I talk about a story too much without writing it, it will never get written. It's almost like talking about it, jinxes it or something. If I reveal my secrets too soon, I never finish the book.
Here lately, it seems I can't finish any story, talked about or not. Maybe, depression has had some part in this, but I think it's more of a lack of direction on my part. When I published "Wild Heart", there for a while I was on cloud nine. I was ready to get the word out about my book. I wrote the sequel within eighteen months and published it through CreateSpace. I have sold less than fifty copies of that book, I would guess. Publish America says I haven't sold a book in over a year and want to know if I want to pay $149 to have my contract back. Those idiots need a wake up call, if you ask me. I didn't pay to have it published, they have made more money off me already. No way am I paying them for my contract, when I can have it back for free in a couple of years. CreateSpace, on the other hand isn't asking for any money, but my book isn't selling, either. I don't like how it came out, actually. So, what to do?
My friend, Peggy Hoy has her own Christian publishing company and has agreed to publish the second edition of "To Tame A Heart". I would like to do this for a couple of reasons, not the least of which, I could bring the price of the book down, and she can make it look better. But, what keeps running through my mind, is why pay all that money to have it printed? Will I sell enough copies to make it worth while? If I held on to the manuscript, could I submit it to Harlequin or pitch it to a literary agent?
Here are some hard truths I am coming to understand:
1. While "Wild Heart" and "To Tame A Heart" are my babies, they are not my best. I can do better.
2. People, no matter what these vanity presses are saying, do not want to buy books, and if they do, they don't want to pay more than $7.99 for it.
3. Even if I manage to wow an agent or an editor with my log line, signing a contract with a mainstream publisher means a full-time job, which means I will need babysitters in order to meet deadlines. Working full-time doesn't leave a lot of room for homeschooling. I'm not sure that is the route I want to take.
4. I just don't have hundreds of dollars lying around to spend whenever I finish a book.
So, do I sound depressed to you? Or, are these things to consider, things that make sense?
I believe I am called to sing. I believe I am called to play the piano. I believe I am called to be a stay-at-home wife and mom. I believe I am called to homeschool my kids. I believe I am called to write. All I need now, is for the Lord to reveal unto me, just what He wants me to do with it all. :)
Just so you won't think I'm totally negative, I am writing. I had a manuscript lying around here with 6k words. Monday, four days ago, I started working on it in earnest. It's up to 12,393 words, now. It's not a Western, it's not a historical at all, unless you consider the 1980's to be a long time ago. lol I don't have any plans for it, just to finish it and do my best. Maybe, that's all I need to worry about. Maybe, the problem is I wrote "To Tame A Heart" for a few someones. Maybe, this WIP is working because it is for me. But, then again, maybe not. I don't know. I do know, however, I keep praying, and God keeps the ideas coming. I need y'all's prayers that I finished this one. Maybe, when it's done, the third book in the "Wild Heart" series will happen, or the mail-order-bride story will happen, or...well, I could name a number of stories I've started, but I won't. :)
Just for your amusement, here's a story Kierstin, my 4-year-old told me this morning. I transcribed it, just as she told it to me.
"Devils and Pigs" by Kierstin Wells Transcribed by Shannon Wells
the big man that's named Deck. he was so crazy like the crazy man from the Bible. He hurt hisself with rocks like the crazy man did. people tried to chain him up with ropes and chains but he broke them with his teeth, not like the crazy man. The demons got out of him and he broke the chains for kids. The kids had loose pants so they had chains for belts. and then, the demons got in the pigs, then they were crazy like the crazy man. After the demons got in the pigs, they got bad and shouted out like evil crazy pigs. then they hurt thereselfs with chains. they were crazy awful. The pigs were crazy and that's all.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to join the conversation with your two cents worth. Until next time, keep on keeping on. :)
Showing posts with label To Tame A Heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label To Tame A Heart. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wednesday's Writings
Inside my head is a lot of useless knowledge. Maybe, a tenth of it comes in handy when writing my books, but probably not. The main character in my current work in progress is a farmer in 1866. I'm wondering if it would have been possible that his neighbors and he got together and put money in to a reaper or threshing machine. He and his neighbors could have shared it, especially if there was a lot of grain. So, because I had a few minutes while eating my breakfast of buttered toast and coffee, I went a-googling.
There were articles on eHow with directions on how to thresh and winnow some home grown wheat, which I thought was interesting. Maybe, someday that can be a science project? Hmm. Anyway, I happened upon a blog that I thought I'd share, in case your mind is strange and works like mine. Here's the link
http://doyle-scienceteach.blogspot.com/2009/03/separating-wheat-from-chaff.html
It's interesting from both the literal definition of separating wheat from chaff and from the biblical point of view. I guess that since my family doesn't usually plant and harvest wheat, I just didn't know how hard it was, or what it meant. Now I do. :)
I know that in my writing I don't need to know all about a threshing machine, but I wanted to know what my character's new wife might think of it. What might she see if she paused at the kitchen window to wipe the sweat from her brow? What might she hear? What particular job might her husband have in the whole process? Neither Google, eHow nor YouTube gave me those answers, of course. lol Guess I'll have to fake it until I find the answers.
Coming up with conversation the women in the kitchen might have, now that's easy. They will talk about their husbands. :D It will be hot in the kitchen, and it will smell heavenly. I'd like to be there, in fact. Let's step in for a minute, and see what's going on.
Ok, we're flies on the wall, and we hope those ladies don't see us, because this could get interesting. There are two ladies standing over there by the cookstove, and man is it hopping with heat and boiling pots. Smells like coffee, potatoes, gravy, and are those green beans from this summer's garden? MMM! Oh, my, what is that white-haired lady rolling out on the table over there? Looks like pie crust to me. Oh! Oh, and are those apple slices in that bowl? Apple pie, yes that's it! And, there are two other women cutting corn from the cob. Will they can it today, do you think? All around us is conversation and laughter. Every now and then, a mother scolds a child for putting his or her fingers in a forbidden bowl, and there's one of the mother's from over at the stove, comforting a tot with a burned finger. Wait! Someone is opening the oven. They are pulling out a pan with...fresh bread! Oh, see how golden brown and yummy it looks? Ah, I hope we get to eat some of that. Yeah, I know we're flies, but we can sample it so fast, those women won't have time to swat us away.
On the other side of this big room is the living space with a couple of rocking chairs, a cot, a fireplace, a sewing basket filled to the brim, and an old, rag rug on the floor. There are a couple of girls who look as if they are about fifteen. They are minding the babies, each holding one. One baby is fussy, and nothing seems to be able to calm him, while the other sleeps, blissfully unaware of the bustle around her.
Oops! Buzzy, I think we've been spotted. FLY! No, no, not that way! That's not a door! yes, this way, the mosquito netting is broken around this door frame. Watch out! Fshew! That was a close call! Let's go back down to the barn, where it's quieter.
Hahaha! Can't y'all tell I've had some caffeine today?
Since it's the last day of November, the last day for National Novel Writing Month, I just want to say, that the WIP I was working on, the one that has 21k words and holding, is sitting there, waiting for inspiration. In the last two days, I have written 3k words on another WIP. Won't tell you anymore than i already have, but it's one I can't seem to get out of my head. I'm glad I didn't sign up for NaNoWriMo, but I do wish I could have written more on the sequel to "To Tame A Heart". The ideas just aren't there, though. So, I'm writing on the one that wakes me up in the middle of the night, the one that makes me think of my mamaw who past away back in February. She would have loved this type of story, a Prairie Romance complete with a mail order bride and all. :)
Well, time to get off here and print some stuff out for school. Happy Wednesday to everybody and thanks for stopping by. I'll be blogging again on Friday if not before, so y'all come back, now, ye hear? lol
There were articles on eHow with directions on how to thresh and winnow some home grown wheat, which I thought was interesting. Maybe, someday that can be a science project? Hmm. Anyway, I happened upon a blog that I thought I'd share, in case your mind is strange and works like mine. Here's the link
http://doyle-scienceteach.blogspot.com/2009/03/separating-wheat-from-chaff.html
It's interesting from both the literal definition of separating wheat from chaff and from the biblical point of view. I guess that since my family doesn't usually plant and harvest wheat, I just didn't know how hard it was, or what it meant. Now I do. :)
I know that in my writing I don't need to know all about a threshing machine, but I wanted to know what my character's new wife might think of it. What might she see if she paused at the kitchen window to wipe the sweat from her brow? What might she hear? What particular job might her husband have in the whole process? Neither Google, eHow nor YouTube gave me those answers, of course. lol Guess I'll have to fake it until I find the answers.
Coming up with conversation the women in the kitchen might have, now that's easy. They will talk about their husbands. :D It will be hot in the kitchen, and it will smell heavenly. I'd like to be there, in fact. Let's step in for a minute, and see what's going on.
Ok, we're flies on the wall, and we hope those ladies don't see us, because this could get interesting. There are two ladies standing over there by the cookstove, and man is it hopping with heat and boiling pots. Smells like coffee, potatoes, gravy, and are those green beans from this summer's garden? MMM! Oh, my, what is that white-haired lady rolling out on the table over there? Looks like pie crust to me. Oh! Oh, and are those apple slices in that bowl? Apple pie, yes that's it! And, there are two other women cutting corn from the cob. Will they can it today, do you think? All around us is conversation and laughter. Every now and then, a mother scolds a child for putting his or her fingers in a forbidden bowl, and there's one of the mother's from over at the stove, comforting a tot with a burned finger. Wait! Someone is opening the oven. They are pulling out a pan with...fresh bread! Oh, see how golden brown and yummy it looks? Ah, I hope we get to eat some of that. Yeah, I know we're flies, but we can sample it so fast, those women won't have time to swat us away.
On the other side of this big room is the living space with a couple of rocking chairs, a cot, a fireplace, a sewing basket filled to the brim, and an old, rag rug on the floor. There are a couple of girls who look as if they are about fifteen. They are minding the babies, each holding one. One baby is fussy, and nothing seems to be able to calm him, while the other sleeps, blissfully unaware of the bustle around her.
Oops! Buzzy, I think we've been spotted. FLY! No, no, not that way! That's not a door! yes, this way, the mosquito netting is broken around this door frame. Watch out! Fshew! That was a close call! Let's go back down to the barn, where it's quieter.
Hahaha! Can't y'all tell I've had some caffeine today?
Since it's the last day of November, the last day for National Novel Writing Month, I just want to say, that the WIP I was working on, the one that has 21k words and holding, is sitting there, waiting for inspiration. In the last two days, I have written 3k words on another WIP. Won't tell you anymore than i already have, but it's one I can't seem to get out of my head. I'm glad I didn't sign up for NaNoWriMo, but I do wish I could have written more on the sequel to "To Tame A Heart". The ideas just aren't there, though. So, I'm writing on the one that wakes me up in the middle of the night, the one that makes me think of my mamaw who past away back in February. She would have loved this type of story, a Prairie Romance complete with a mail order bride and all. :)
Well, time to get off here and print some stuff out for school. Happy Wednesday to everybody and thanks for stopping by. I'll be blogging again on Friday if not before, so y'all come back, now, ye hear? lol
Friday, October 28, 2011
Writing, Parties and FaceBook
Since my blog post about writer's block,
http://oldtimechristian.blogspot.com/2011/10/and-diagnosis-is-writers-block.html
I've actually started writing on that story. I still do not have a clear picture of what it will be, but that's all right. In fact, writing in bits and pieces was how "Wild Heart" and it's sequel "To Tame A Heart" came in to being. i like to describe it as a puzzle. Scenes, or rather parts of scenes come to me. I write them down, then over time I fill in the connecting paragraphs until…voila! A book! Ok, so I shouldn't say it's a book at that point; it's actually a first draft. lol But, you get what I'ms saying. Right? :)
A friend told me once that when she wrote her first book, she would sometimes write 60 pages at a time. Ok, y'all, I'd love to say that, but it's just not so. I did write around 2000 words last night, though. One night, while writing "To Tame A Heart", I stayed up until 5 in the morning, just writing, so maybe I got 60 pages out of that, but I don't think so. When I say I'm writing, that doesn't always mean I'm sitting still, typing away on the Mac Book. Sometimes, it means I'm editing something I wrote at an earlier date. Sometimes, it means I am reading what I wrote and trying to figure out where it came from. lol
Ok, I've talked enough about writing. On to another subject.
Took my girls to a Halloween/costume/fall party the other night. They had a blast. There were games, a contest, treat bags and pizza. Ahem, I'm still trying to figure out which was their favorite, the treat bags or the games. lol When asked if I had a good time at the party, i hesitated before saying, "My girls had fun, and that's all that matters."
Parties like that one have not been "fun" for me in a long time, I hate to admit. I feel rather awkward, if you want the truth. I don't know anyone well enough to have a conversation, and if i did, I wouldn't be able to hear them over the noise of the kids. And, lemme tell y'all, that place was noisy. :) In fact, lots of noise like that, added to the fact I can't see, makes me, for all intents and purposes, blind and deaf. Sometimes, I wish I could clone myself. Except, my other self would be able to see; that way, the sighted Shannon could go to parties and the blind one could find something else to do. But, back to the girls, they had fun, and honestly, I'll do it again just to make them happy.
My church is having a Gospel sing tomorrow night. If you live close enough…and if you live far away…you are welcome. :) I wanted to create an event on FaceBook yesterday, so folks would know about it and so everyone would know they were invited. Well, lemme tell ya, it took me over an hour to create that event. I'm not sure I even did it right, but a couple of folks have already RSVPed, so I guess I didn't do so bad. :) I tried to not invite certain of my friends, mostly so I wouldn't hurt any feelings, but I couldn't find a button for that. I tried to invite everyone on my friend list, but then the page reloaded on me, and every box I checked became unchecked again. Deed, FaceBook can be annoying. Anyway, I think that from now on, I'm going to just post an announcement for an event in my status. It would be much simpler and might keep me from sighing so much. :)
So, what nuggets of wisdom have I gleaned from writing, costume parties and FaceBook? Life's too short to get hung up on the little things. If I trust in the Lord, the book will happen. If I'm there for my girls, they will remember it when they are grown. And, the fad of FB will fade one day. Ha!
Y'all enjoy your weekend, and be sure to come back and visit me on Monday. I'm considering a few giveaways, now that the holidays are fast approaching. If you are interested in winning a free copy of one of my books, comment on this post. If I get at least 10 comments, I'll do the giveaways. If not, I won't.
Items available for the giveaway, are as follows:
Wild Heart in paperback autographed by moi
To Tame A Heart in paperback autographed by moi
Wild Heart in audio
and
To Tame A Heart in audio
The audio books are read by W. B. Ward, and you can find him on the web at
www.wbward.com
To read more about my books, go to
www.wildheartbook.com
To learn more about the group singing at my church tomorrow night, go to
www.hoyfamily.net
Happy Friday!
http://oldtimechristian.blogspot.com/2011/10/and-diagnosis-is-writers-block.html
I've actually started writing on that story. I still do not have a clear picture of what it will be, but that's all right. In fact, writing in bits and pieces was how "Wild Heart" and it's sequel "To Tame A Heart" came in to being. i like to describe it as a puzzle. Scenes, or rather parts of scenes come to me. I write them down, then over time I fill in the connecting paragraphs until…voila! A book! Ok, so I shouldn't say it's a book at that point; it's actually a first draft. lol But, you get what I'ms saying. Right? :)
A friend told me once that when she wrote her first book, she would sometimes write 60 pages at a time. Ok, y'all, I'd love to say that, but it's just not so. I did write around 2000 words last night, though. One night, while writing "To Tame A Heart", I stayed up until 5 in the morning, just writing, so maybe I got 60 pages out of that, but I don't think so. When I say I'm writing, that doesn't always mean I'm sitting still, typing away on the Mac Book. Sometimes, it means I'm editing something I wrote at an earlier date. Sometimes, it means I am reading what I wrote and trying to figure out where it came from. lol
Ok, I've talked enough about writing. On to another subject.
Took my girls to a Halloween/costume/fall party the other night. They had a blast. There were games, a contest, treat bags and pizza. Ahem, I'm still trying to figure out which was their favorite, the treat bags or the games. lol When asked if I had a good time at the party, i hesitated before saying, "My girls had fun, and that's all that matters."
Parties like that one have not been "fun" for me in a long time, I hate to admit. I feel rather awkward, if you want the truth. I don't know anyone well enough to have a conversation, and if i did, I wouldn't be able to hear them over the noise of the kids. And, lemme tell y'all, that place was noisy. :) In fact, lots of noise like that, added to the fact I can't see, makes me, for all intents and purposes, blind and deaf. Sometimes, I wish I could clone myself. Except, my other self would be able to see; that way, the sighted Shannon could go to parties and the blind one could find something else to do. But, back to the girls, they had fun, and honestly, I'll do it again just to make them happy.
My church is having a Gospel sing tomorrow night. If you live close enough…and if you live far away…you are welcome. :) I wanted to create an event on FaceBook yesterday, so folks would know about it and so everyone would know they were invited. Well, lemme tell ya, it took me over an hour to create that event. I'm not sure I even did it right, but a couple of folks have already RSVPed, so I guess I didn't do so bad. :) I tried to not invite certain of my friends, mostly so I wouldn't hurt any feelings, but I couldn't find a button for that. I tried to invite everyone on my friend list, but then the page reloaded on me, and every box I checked became unchecked again. Deed, FaceBook can be annoying. Anyway, I think that from now on, I'm going to just post an announcement for an event in my status. It would be much simpler and might keep me from sighing so much. :)
So, what nuggets of wisdom have I gleaned from writing, costume parties and FaceBook? Life's too short to get hung up on the little things. If I trust in the Lord, the book will happen. If I'm there for my girls, they will remember it when they are grown. And, the fad of FB will fade one day. Ha!
Y'all enjoy your weekend, and be sure to come back and visit me on Monday. I'm considering a few giveaways, now that the holidays are fast approaching. If you are interested in winning a free copy of one of my books, comment on this post. If I get at least 10 comments, I'll do the giveaways. If not, I won't.
Items available for the giveaway, are as follows:
Wild Heart in paperback autographed by moi
To Tame A Heart in paperback autographed by moi
Wild Heart in audio
and
To Tame A Heart in audio
The audio books are read by W. B. Ward, and you can find him on the web at
www.wbward.com
To read more about my books, go to
www.wildheartbook.com
To learn more about the group singing at my church tomorrow night, go to
www.hoyfamily.net
Happy Friday!
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