Love Affair with Paper

Yes, so I'm a compulsive journal writer. I used to buy the nice, bound journals but economically they weren't feasible since I would go through one in less than three months. Then I came up with this idea to use the piles of scratch paper my husband collected through his business. He knows about my love affair with paper, so he has always been very good about saving it for me.

As you can see, all that's needed is a hole punch, the paper blank on one side and a massive 3- ring binder. And of course a free hour to punch holes in all that delicious paper.

Voila-- my new journal!

This one should last me about a year. I can't wait until tomorrow morning when I start writing in it!

Getting Out

This writing business is solitary. So is editing. Working alone, me and my laptop, day after day. Not that I'm complaining, I love the work but sometimes you just have to get out! Near our home is the Kennecott Copper Mine, the largest man- made excavation in the world, large enough to be seen from outer space. This photo gives just a small sense of how massive it is. Sorry I wasn't able to turn it around for you.

 

 Last week they had free tours, so a few of our family went up to take a look. Here we are riding the bus up the mountainside, on the way to the visitor's center at the top, where we can look into the excavation. The two shots below were taken on the ride up, showing the work that is happening all along the mountainside.

(The problem with being the photographer is that you're not in the picture. Bwa ha ha.)

Here they are standing in front of a twelve -foot tall tire that goes on a 250 ton capacity truck used to haul ore and rock out of the excavation to the crushing mill. (Note: The two men are 6 ' tall) One of these tires costs $21,000 and lasts one year. There are six tires per truck. See those little specks in the top photos? Those are the loading trucks, seen from a distance.

A few interesting facts about the copper mine:

It is so large that it has its own weather patterns.

It's been in operation over 100 years, produces 425,000 ounces of gold per year as a by-product in the copper smelting process. Gold currently sells for over $1500 an ounce.

The mine provides 40% of all copper used in the U.S. The copper is 99.9% pure after it is refined.

The mine and all its connected services provide 25,000 jobs in the Salt Lake Valley.

If you ever visit the Salt Lake area, I hope you will get a chance to go see the Kennecott Open Pit Copper Mine.

From my friend Karen

Today I have guest posting the fabulous Karen Walker, who blogs at Following the Whispers. She has recently released her memoir of the same name as an ebook. It's a wonderful book, and well worth the read. I read it awhile back. My review is here. 

Following the Whispers by Karen Walker can be found online at Amazon and Smashwords.

Welcome, Karen! Love your name, btw.

Making Good Choices - A Writer’s Journey

Life is all about choices, so why should writing be any different? We choose our mates, what clothing to put on, whether to eat that chocolate cake or not. We choose in every moment.

As writers, we face so many choices. What adjective to use, how to describe that tree, should I change the dialogue (unless you’re writing memoir, of course, in which case, you don’t make things up).

Choices get harder as we move along the writer’s journey. Once our story is down on paper and it’s been revised to our satisfaction (and hopefully our editor’s satisfaction), we face some challenges where choices need to be made.

•  Am I going for traditional publication?

•  If so, I must first find an agent or small press - who will I query?

•  What do I include in my query letter?

•  Should I ask folks to look at it first?

•  Do I listen to what anyone suggests?

•  How long do I wait to hear back from an agent?

•  How long do I give the query process before choosing to self-publish?

•  If I choose to self-publish, how will I do it?

•  How do I pick which company to use?

I faced all these choices. It took me 2 1/2 years to pour through journals, deciding what to include. I ended up with a 700-page self--help tome. An editor told me to “tell my story,” which I didn’t know how to do. After a four-year stint to complete a college degree, I re-wrote the book, crafting a memoir. I tried to find an agent for almost two years, at which point I chose to self-publish.

There are so many options out there, it can be overwhelming. It takes patience, perseverance, and tenacity to bring a book into the world. We can all simply do the best we can in every given moment, making choices based on intuition and information gleaned from a variety of sources.

My best advice - stay tuned into your gut. It will help you more than anything else. Because ultimately, your journey is yours alone. Here’s to making good choices along the way.

Karen, thanks so much for letting me write here today. You are such a strong support for writers. Thanks for all you do.

Blessings,

Karen

Finding Stories

So you all know that I make these cookies to sell, right? And there's a certain kind of flour (among other things) that goes into them that makes them look like this.

Although the flour is available at Costco, the past two weeks it has been unavailable. Apparently, some "company" has been coming in and buying  pallets of it as soon as it's delivered and leaving the shelves bare until the next shipment arrives. And not just one Costco, but every single one in the Salt Lake Area--about 8 or 9 stores. That is a whole lot of flour!

So I went to the mill that supplies the flour and asked them if I could buy the 25 lb. bags there. "No, we are all sold out," the clerk said. I told her about my Costco experience. I said, "I'd like to know who is doing this and what they are doing with all that flour."

She said, "Well, I'd like to know what the man's doing with all the flour he bought the other day. This guy comes in and buys an entire pallet of whole wheat flour. That's a lot. It's like 90 bags. And whole wheat flour doesn't keep that well, so why does he want so much?"

When I told my husband about all this, he said, "Maybe someone  is stockpiling it. Wonder what the winter wheat crop has been?" He researches it on the internet and learns that the winter wheat crop was bountiful. He also learns that Russia had a plentiful wheat crop as well and is trying to import it to the United States.

"Aha!!"  I exclaim. "That's it! It's the Russian Mafia, trying to create a demand by purchasing massive amounts of flour throughout the U.S. and creating a false shortage."

Well, anyway, there's the story.  Stories are everywhere, if you pay attention and connect the dots. Whether they intrigue you enough to write about them is another matter. Although it's fun to imagine the scenario about the Russian Mafia, I don't want to write about it. It's not really my genre. But if anyone else does, feel free!

The Answers You're All Waiting for about Kindle Sales

Sorry to make you wait til the end of the week for the results of my last post. But it was a tough week, bla bla bla. Nevertheless, here is the answer, which most of you already guessed in your comments. What really surprised me, however, is how your response to the GHOST WAVES cover wasn't that positive. Because I have always loved it, guess that's me showing my age and oh-so-out-of-it status.

So yes, the newly priced .99 ebook that is selling much better between the two titles, is ta-da! UNCUT DIAMONDS.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not like Uncut Diamonds is burning up the charts and headed for bestseller status. No way. It just isn't that kind of book. People seem to either love it or hate it, with very little in between responses. Regardless, my lovely bloggie friends, if you loved it or hated it, I am grateful for all the reviews and to-read statuses that you have posted on Goodreads and on Amazon. Reviews always help a book's sales, even if they are less than stellar.

So considering reviews, online presence where I have made many friends willing to give this novel a try, even if isn't really their usual genre, and (apparently) cover-- that puts Uncut Diamonds ahead of Ghost Waves in Kindle sales.

Now here is the other little secret I didn't tell you before: That when they were released in print, Ghost Waves outsold Uncut Diamonds by about the same percentage as UCD is now outselling GW on the Kindle. Bookstores just did not want to stock my novel, while they were willing to take a chance on GW. But now that everything has changed in the bookselling industry, it is what's happening with ebooks that matters more than what's happening with bookstores.

So How to get Kindle Sales?

Have an online presence and keep at it. But make friends online, don't spam people, constantly talking about "my book, my book, my book" Ugh. What a bore.

Make sure your cover is eye-catching, professional and up-to-date. A little mystery about what the book is about doesn't hurt either.

Encourage readers to post reviews about your book. The more the better, and don't get upset if you have a few stinkers in there. It helps make you look legitimate, like they aren't all from your friends and relatives.

And thanks for playing my game!

At last, progress on the writing front

After a very long nonproductive writing lull, I am back in business, baby! I never really worried. (Too much.) After all, when your mom dies and you have a major move to a new home shortly after, really it isn't the time to stress over word count and delayed projects.

But I am now happy to report that I am very close to having my BuNoWriMo draft complete by June 30!

And something else-- House of Diamonds is heading to the typesetter this week! A cover concept is being finalized, and the release date has been set for fall. I'll be organizing a blog tour to promote it, something I never did for my previous books so I'm excited about that too.

What it is about:

Two sisters, one approaching opportunity, the other tragedy. Marcie McGill moves towards realizing her dreams, while her sister Cindy faces heartache.  Can their bond endure? 

House of Diamonds give voice to a beloved baby who had none. And shows the incredible power that comes to families when they pull together to overcome challenges. At these times, a house of pain can become a house of diamonds.  

It will be the last novel about Marcie and Shawn McGill, and Marcie's sister, Cindy. (My next one is completely different, although also women's fiction.) But I still had some things to say using these particular characters. House of Diamonds is as much Cindy's story as it is Marcie's

I have some last-minute editing to do. This is why I love having an editor. When I think it is done, she finds some issues that, once resolved, will make it so much better. 

Also, Uncut Diamonds has been dropped to .99 on the Kindle, to prepare for the launch of the (sort of but not really) sequel. You can get it here here here!!

Riding that Train to Publication

Why a train? Not a plane, that's too fast. Not a car, that's too comfortable. Not a bus, that's just gross. A nice Amtrak train, that's how I see it. If you've never ridden Amtrak, you should try it at least once for the experience.

Now that we are settled into the train to publication let's play that traveling game, "I'm going on a journey and this is what I'm taking." It's supposed to be alphabetical, where everyone goes round in a circle taking something on the journey with the next letter of the alphabet, but I'm changing the rules because I'm one person playing alone hoping you will join me if you can. And the word alphabet stresses me out ever since April.

So here goes!  I am going on a journey to publication, and this is what I am taking---

imagination           persistence         time       dedication           procrastination             frustration           hard work       

my laptop!   

   pens and paper         books!     

quick and easy meals         long walks        naps

 commitment        determination            the internet   a positive attitude           

writing friends

and don't forget those unwelcome passengers on my journey-- 

depression          disappointment         discouragement             despair           doubt   disillusion

Who are these people, and why do all their names begin with D? They must all be from the same family. They should be banned from the train. They make the journey so unpleasant, driving others away with their misery. Go away D- people!

Let's play! What will you bring along on your publication journey?

Good day, Bad day

I must have celebrated too much on my birthday, because I seem to have the flu or something coming on. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can feel well enough to get some serious word count underway on my new WIP.

Have you ever noticed how days go in cycles like this? Good day, bad day, etc etc. One of my sons, when he was little,  would start out smiling. Then when something went wrong he would howl, "And I thought this was going to be such a good day!"

Yep, this is him, all grown up, having his head licked by a baby giraffe in South Africa.

Okay, I'm going to bed. Catch you all later.

Checking the Stats

It's fun to see what kinds of phrases bring the random visitor to my blog. Here were some samples of search keyword's this week:

fantasy pen name

I self-published my kids book and now I would like to submit it to a publishing company

It's not that our aim is too high and we miss but thats

karen gowen blog

karen jones

list of million dollar uncut diamonds

movie involving reclusive behaviour

print vs. ebook

query competition

symbolism clear in misery stephen king

The only one of these that actually wanted my blog is probably "karen gowen blog"

How often do you check your stats?  One thing they do is show that people are viewing my blog even if not always commenting. I find that encouraging. How does viewing your stats help you?

It's not about print vs. ebook or bookstore vs. online sales or small press vs. large

I came across this statistic the other day that shows where the real competition is in the publishing industry--

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [English Language Edition], the seventh and mostly widely read book in the series, sold 44 million copies over three years.

- The video game Bad Company 2 sold over than 5 million units in one month, while Modern Warfare 2 sold an estimated 10 million in four months.

- With a US audience of 116 million, the average time spent on Facebook is over 7 hours each month and growing.

- And, of course, while watching videos (on the internet and TV) accounted for 9 hours per month, it was more than made up for by Americans watching TV 84 hours monthly.

These kinds of numbers tell why books keep shrinking in value (and sales). Because the reading public is shrinking. Especially kids, with all the other entertainment options out there, too many are no longer picking up books when they have free time.

Yet more books are being published than ever before. Books are everywhere, in every format. Is it any wonder that free and .99 has become standard for self-published ebooks?  Look for publishers, especially the smaller ones with lower overheads, to start following suit on that trend.

It is sad when books become devalued in a society.