LAND OF THE FREE PRE-PUBLISHED

Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management recently blogged on being pre-published. This, by the way, is a term that raises hackles in some people. But it just means a person who is seriously writing and trying for publication and who hasn't achieved it yet. Since the average time for getting published after that person starts seriously seeking it is ten years, there are a lot of people in that category! No matter what they want to call it.

At any rate, the point of Michael was making, as a result of an encounter at a conference, was that being pre-published is a time too many writers don't stop to enjoy. A time without deadlines, when no editors are breathing down your neck. A time when you're free to write whatever you want and your own pace.

The comments, as you can imagine, if you're a pre-published author, were lively. Check them out.

I can't go along with the agent, or the writer, here. I'm sure he's never been in this position and, in fact he states that he's quoting an author who is now published. I'll bet he caught her at a bad time--maybe a deadline coming up? Maybe her sales figures are down? She seems almost to wish she'd never been published.

Sure, we're free to write whatever we want. But if we knew what we could sell, we'd drop our creative vision and write THAT in a heartbeat. And Michael and his un-named writer don't know how I work if they think I have no deadlines. Of course I have deadlines. I set them up myself and I knock myself out to meet them. Without deadlines, I'd probably spend three years writing each book.

But when the book I really wanted to write, that I was so free to write, hasn't attracted an agent or a publisher after a year of querying, it's time to write another book that I think someone might want to read. After another year, it's time to write another one.

I really think a lot of us ARE writing books that other people want to read. In fact, people who have read mine usually want to read more. Now, how do I convince an agent that I have a market?

Long live the free, and may we soon be fettered.

[[Flag image from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_American_flag.png per GNU Lesser Public License]]

FLAT TIRES, GOOD OR BAD?

After about half a block I realized my front bike tire held about half the air it should. When I dismounted at my halfway point, I could see the back one was no better. This was at the halfway point for a pretty short ride. I figured I was getting at least twice the exercise pushing my gearless bike across asphalt with such a handicap.

I don't know if I burned twice the calories for having half the air or not. I am pump challenged, and my husband seems to be too (at least with the cheap pump I bought), so I'll have to wait for my son to come over and get me back on the road.

But I AM trying to exercise more. Body equals temple and all that, but even more, it's the only body I have and I use it for a lot of things. I love to write more than most anything (okay, there are a few things that are better), and I need my body for that. I know, it's a sedentary endeavor, but I still need my eyes and my fingers, and they tend to quit working well if I don't get them out and about once in a while. It makes sense to keep myself in as good a shape as I can, especially if I can do it and still eat good stuff occasionally. If I exercise (more regularly than I have been doing), that will happen. I hope!




Sitting at the computer and losing focus because my eyes have stared at blinking pixels too long, my fingers aching because I've written too many pages and forgotten to set my timer again, seems like pedaling through hot asphalt with flat tires. Bad idea.

A DETOUR ON MY TRIP

My journey is supposed to end in publication of at least one mystery novel. To that end, I've sought publication for my mystery stories. A few have popped up in my head that are not mysteries, however. One was SHIPWRECK. It's been accepted by an epub called Dark Valentine Magazine, a place, they say, where dark fiction rules. http://darkvalentine.net/

The first issue is out today! Several of my friends have stories in this issue, but mine will be in issue #2 in September. This volume is 121 pages packed with 19 dark stories. Try it out! Click on the ISSUES tab (the cover will not get you there) and enter a nightmare realm.

Hey, have fun!

Guppies I met last month

It's about time I reported on the rest of my May travels. In addition to all the Gups that attending Malice (33 I think), I got to lunch with a couple others. I was able to meet Elaine Douts for lunch in the DC area. My daughter Jessica came, too. She's an avid reader and a sometime writer (although she doesn't want to publish--can you imagine that?)


Elaine and I chatted about our WIPs and this and that and probably bored poor Jessica, but we had fun! Pictured are Elaine, me, and Jessica.

I was home for two whole days, then I jetted off to Tucson to see our son's family. And to keep the one-and-a-half-year-old Jack and the three-and-a-half-year-old Lily, hubby and me, all by ourselves, for four whole days! Jack and Lily are our adorable, intelligent, but energetic, non-napping grandchildren. Did I mention that they do not nap? The best we could manage were drowsing in the car and quiet moments in front of the television. But mostly, we went. It was great fun.

During the Tucson stay, I met up with another Guppy, Elise Stone, and we lunched at the Tohono Chul tearoom, in the garden. It's as elegant as it sounds, but slightly hotter. We also talked about our writing. Imagine that!


I borrowed this photo of "Dining al fresco in the Hummingbird Garden at the Tea Room" (photo by Evan Davis) from the website

I forgot to bring my camera to lunch that day, so no picture of me and Elise.

The park incorporates the name of a local native tribe, Tohono O'odham Nation. They extend, today, from Arizona into Mexico. I was unable to find out what Chul means. I assume it means "park" but can't find a reference to that anywhere.

My journeys for June will take me back into my head to work on my projects, and out into cyberspace with my queries in my quest for an agent and/or publisher. I hope I have some news of progress to report one of these days!

'Bout Traveled Out!

Most of the folks who attended Malice Domestic had the luxury of coming home and loading their pictures onto their computers. I had the luxury of doing laundry and repacking for two days, then setting off for Tucson. Just got home Tuesday, the 18th, and I'm still catching up and still not writing anything yet! Dang!

Malice was the MOST fun. Congrats to Hank Phillippi Ryan, who won the Agatha teapot for Best Short Story! I was happy to let her give the speech. I would've been tongue-tied.











Thursday night, Krista Davis invited me to dine with some Berkeley authors, so the conference started off right!









My panel, the one with the short story nominees was Friday morning and I was glad to get that out of the way to enjoy the rest of the conference.


You can barely see Harriet Sackler, who stepped in to moderate at the last minute when Ruth McCarty was ill. Sitting are Barb Goffman, me with the silly grin (couldn't seem to get rid of it all weekend), and Hank. Standing are Dana Cameron and Elizabeth Zelvin.

I had 5 or 6 people ask me to sign things at my signing afterward! Kate Collins was at my table. I "helped" her unwrap those chocolates and sent them all over the floor. Good thing they were wrapped.

The annual Guppy lunch was a rousing success. I think there were about 32 or 33 Guppies attending this year.
Here are two more pix, rubbing shoulders with some great writers:

Above are Carolyn Hart (!!!), Liz, Hank, and me, just before the banquet.





Friday night I dined with Teresa, her friend Maria, me, Marcia Talley (!!!), Shelley, Marilyn (my roomie) and Lisa. All Guppies but Maria and Marcia.



Here's a last picture of a group of us before the banquet: Teresa, Grace, me, Marilyn, Shelley, and Lisa.

I got pictures from so many people, I've lost track of who took them all. But I think Sandy Parshall took the one of Hank and I know Heather Webber took the Thursday night dinner. Teresa Inge is responsible for at least some, I know.

Packing for a Fun Trip!

I have an exciting trip coming up! Day after tomorrow! I've been to the Malice Domestic conference in the DC area several times, but this will be the most fun one yet. Every year I know more attendees, which makes it more fun. I have a roommate this year, Marilyn Levinson, a blog partner on Dialog For Murder, which makes it more fun. And I'm nominated for an Agatha, which makes it the most fun.

My daughter lives in the area, just a short walk from the hotel, so I'll get to see her, too. I'm flying a couple days early and staying on the next week so we can shop and do lunch and stuff. I just hope the flights go smoothly!







I wish everyone could have this experience. If it's like it's been in the past, I'll have a special ribbon on my name tag saying I'm a nominee. This one is for a short story. I live for the day I'm a nominee for a novel. But I'll enjoy this moment, this trip, to the utmost anyway.

Not the journey to the center of the earth...

...but the center of the earth journeying into our space.




That's how I think of Eyjafjallajökull, that disrupter of airflight and disregarder of modern civilization. I couldn't possibly say anything about it more eloquently than Yrsa Sigurdardottir, on her blog Murder is Everywhere, so I'll refer you there, telling you to be sure and watch the video at the bottom of her post.

We must remember not to make the mistake of thinking we have everything under control.

I hope everyone who is stranded gets home soon!

(Although I have wondered about the earth being round, and why some of them can't go 'round the other way. Too expensive, I imagine. But if you really really wanted to....)