Karen GoatKeeper's Blog, page 35
October 8, 2014
Climbing Out of the Swamp
For the last few weeks I've felt mired into a swamp of frustration as the list of things to accomplish grew into a mountain toppling over onto me.
It's so easy to end up overwhelmed, maybe give up when this happens. Giving up is so tempting. Find a warm, dark corner, pull the covers over the head and hide.
Sooner or later I would have to come out again. Everything would still be there waiting with the deadlines even closer. Giving up may be tempting but is not a good option.
The other option is to keep slogging through the swamp digging my way out of the toppling mountain. Each step seems to go no where yet in aggregate the edge of the swamp nears.
My two recipe sections are done. My final print formatting is almost done. Two line drawings are done and inserted. Two more are sketched needing only to be inked. A local artist will do the cover for Dora's Story.
The main part of the swamp is behind me. I'm climbing out of the mire one step at a time. Now I need some time off for a bath.
It's so easy to end up overwhelmed, maybe give up when this happens. Giving up is so tempting. Find a warm, dark corner, pull the covers over the head and hide.
Sooner or later I would have to come out again. Everything would still be there waiting with the deadlines even closer. Giving up may be tempting but is not a good option.
The other option is to keep slogging through the swamp digging my way out of the toppling mountain. Each step seems to go no where yet in aggregate the edge of the swamp nears.
My two recipe sections are done. My final print formatting is almost done. Two line drawings are done and inserted. Two more are sketched needing only to be inked. A local artist will do the cover for Dora's Story.
The main part of the swamp is behind me. I'm climbing out of the mire one step at a time. Now I need some time off for a bath.
October 1, 2014
Recipe Fun
Dora's Story is late but on track. I think I have a real artist to do the cover now. I'm still working on the line drawings.
When I published the first two Hazel Whitmore books, I made some simple formatting mistakes that many new authors make. I would like to fix them. I was also asked about recipes for some of the things Hazel cooks.
So I am trying to write out the recipes.
This is a new challenge. I raise dairy goats and make my own cheese. I grow a garden and put up my own tomato sauce filled with garlic, colored bell peppers and onions. I neither own nor use regular pepper. I cut sugar in a recipe at least in half.
Simply put: I am not the usual cook.
The challenge is to recreate Hazel's recipes in a format the majority of people would find acceptable.
The solution might be to find the original recipes. Easier said than done. I am searching.
But then again, perhaps the new cooks would enjoy a bit of a challenge.
Peanut butter, grape jelly and salami sandwiches anyone?
When I published the first two Hazel Whitmore books, I made some simple formatting mistakes that many new authors make. I would like to fix them. I was also asked about recipes for some of the things Hazel cooks.
So I am trying to write out the recipes.
This is a new challenge. I raise dairy goats and make my own cheese. I grow a garden and put up my own tomato sauce filled with garlic, colored bell peppers and onions. I neither own nor use regular pepper. I cut sugar in a recipe at least in half.
Simply put: I am not the usual cook.
The challenge is to recreate Hazel's recipes in a format the majority of people would find acceptable.
The solution might be to find the original recipes. Easier said than done. I am searching.
But then again, perhaps the new cooks would enjoy a bit of a challenge.
Peanut butter, grape jelly and salami sandwiches anyone?
September 24, 2014
Advertising a New Release
Ignorance is bliss is a saying I've heard and know to be bunk in the case of advertising a new release. Ignorance means the book will sink into the abyss with hundreds of others, unread and unremarked on.
I've worked far too hard to wish such a fate on Dora's Story.
That means I need to do some advertising. But what kind?
Word of mouth is easy. The problem is that I live in a small town so few people would hear about the book. Even with the big book signing coming up in November, the reach will be limited.
Since Dora's Story has a goat as a main character, the goat community is an obvious audience. I am on a couple of Internet goat groups so I guess I will start posting about the book. And there are a couple of goat magazines.
That leaves me trying to figure out how to describe Dora's Story as it isn't a straight novel. It's a series of six vignettes, all connected through Dora, all disconnected through different places and characters.
Some of those characters are young, starting at 9 and aging into teenagers. Others are old and facing death.
What about Goodreads? Again I need to figure out how to describe the book to know how to tell others here about it.
What genre is it? It's an animal story but not a children's story. It isn't a YA entirely. I suppose it's general fiction.
All I know for sure is: I have a new novel being released in November and I want to tell people about it.
I've worked far too hard to wish such a fate on Dora's Story.
That means I need to do some advertising. But what kind?
Word of mouth is easy. The problem is that I live in a small town so few people would hear about the book. Even with the big book signing coming up in November, the reach will be limited.
Since Dora's Story has a goat as a main character, the goat community is an obvious audience. I am on a couple of Internet goat groups so I guess I will start posting about the book. And there are a couple of goat magazines.
That leaves me trying to figure out how to describe Dora's Story as it isn't a straight novel. It's a series of six vignettes, all connected through Dora, all disconnected through different places and characters.
Some of those characters are young, starting at 9 and aging into teenagers. Others are old and facing death.
What about Goodreads? Again I need to figure out how to describe the book to know how to tell others here about it.
What genre is it? It's an animal story but not a children's story. It isn't a YA entirely. I suppose it's general fiction.
All I know for sure is: I have a new novel being released in November and I want to tell people about it.
September 17, 2014
Writing is Easy
So people tell me. Sometimes it even is easy.
It is easier than trying to keep up with all the minutia for getting a book ready for release. I'm still working on the line drawings. I do think I know what the cover for Dora's Story will be if I can draw it.
Next is all the formatting for release as an ebook, for Kindle and for print. There has to be time to go over the proofs.
Then there is the big book signing in town when I plan to release Dora's Story. There must be time to order and receive copies before that. It would be nice to have stands to put book copies or info pages about them on and a tablecloth and business cards and bookmarks and info about my website and...
Scream. Take deep breath. One step at a time. There's enough time. I hope.
It is easier than trying to keep up with all the minutia for getting a book ready for release. I'm still working on the line drawings. I do think I know what the cover for Dora's Story will be if I can draw it.
Next is all the formatting for release as an ebook, for Kindle and for print. There has to be time to go over the proofs.
Then there is the big book signing in town when I plan to release Dora's Story. There must be time to order and receive copies before that. It would be nice to have stands to put book copies or info pages about them on and a tablecloth and business cards and bookmarks and info about my website and...
Scream. Take deep breath. One step at a time. There's enough time. I hope.
September 10, 2014
Success At Last
Dora's Story is now written. Part 6 went to my editor Sharon Smith today.
Now I get to do all the extra things. The line drawings for the Parts. The cover. Assembling the novel for publication. So many details.
But the writing is finally done. I am so looking forward to publishing the novel. The target date is November 8 as part of a big book signing for local authors here in Salem, MO.
It is such a special feeling to hold that new novel in my hands, the fruit of so much work and creativity.
Now I get to do all the extra things. The line drawings for the Parts. The cover. Assembling the novel for publication. So many details.
But the writing is finally done. I am so looking forward to publishing the novel. The target date is November 8 as part of a big book signing for local authors here in Salem, MO.
It is such a special feeling to hold that new novel in my hands, the fruit of so much work and creativity.
September 2, 2014
Impatience
Anyone who reads mysteries or thrillers knows how I feel today. Such books can go along a chapter or two at a time until the end comes near, the action escalates, the heart races and attention is riveted.
I've been working on Dora's Story for a couple of years or more. The first rough draft got done. It sat for a time. The rewrite got done. It sat for a time.
Then I started the final draft. Parts 1 to 5 finally took shape. I began Part 6.
This is the last part. This is where all the plot lines are resolved.
Changes begun in Part 5 have continued cascading into Part 6. What I thought was written, wasn't.
Now I'm at the beginning of the final three days of the book. Everything is set up. And I'm sitting here writing a blog entry. My website updates aren't done [they're written but the pictures aren't done yet].
All I can think about is what I would be writing, if only I were home and at my computer. Impatience.
I've been working on Dora's Story for a couple of years or more. The first rough draft got done. It sat for a time. The rewrite got done. It sat for a time.
Then I started the final draft. Parts 1 to 5 finally took shape. I began Part 6.
This is the last part. This is where all the plot lines are resolved.
Changes begun in Part 5 have continued cascading into Part 6. What I thought was written, wasn't.
Now I'm at the beginning of the final three days of the book. Everything is set up. And I'm sitting here writing a blog entry. My website updates aren't done [they're written but the pictures aren't done yet].
All I can think about is what I would be writing, if only I were home and at my computer. Impatience.
August 27, 2014
Cascading Changes
The cascade started so casually. I had to solve a difficulty in Dora's Story. There had to be enough elapsed time for the ending to be plausible. I wanted to add another year.
A good place to add this year was in Part 5. So I blithely dreamed up happenings to account for this year. And the cascade began.
The changes from the added year influenced Part 4 a little. I had already written Part 5 filled with happenings and dialogue. This was now inappropriate. Every bit of the draft had to be scrutinized and adjusted.
My editor was a big help as she spotted some places I had missed. Then there was the case of Melinda, or was it Melanie, maybe it was Melissa? Her name is Melanie throughout now.
Now I'm working on Part 6. The entire novel is drawing to a close. All the plot lines are being resolved. Maybe the cascade of changes is finally joining the flow of the story.
No, wait. A character just did something unexpected. The cascade continues.
A good place to add this year was in Part 5. So I blithely dreamed up happenings to account for this year. And the cascade began.
The changes from the added year influenced Part 4 a little. I had already written Part 5 filled with happenings and dialogue. This was now inappropriate. Every bit of the draft had to be scrutinized and adjusted.
My editor was a big help as she spotted some places I had missed. Then there was the case of Melinda, or was it Melanie, maybe it was Melissa? Her name is Melanie throughout now.
Now I'm working on Part 6. The entire novel is drawing to a close. All the plot lines are being resolved. Maybe the cascade of changes is finally joining the flow of the story.
No, wait. A character just did something unexpected. The cascade continues.
August 13, 2014
Comfort Zones
Everyone has them. For writers these are the types of writing you like to do, feel comfortable doing.
Growth as a person and as a writer comes with challenging those comfort zones.
I have joined a local writers' group called Missouri Writers, Ink. We plan to put out an anthology in November. The format was a letter. The topic was a life lesson.
Although I do write letters, I rarely write on life lessons. I especially don't often write publicly on painful personal life lessons.
This time I did, going back thirty years. Yet suicide is timeless. I was lucky. I had friends and family to help me reclaim my life. Maybe my letter will help someone else.
Did writing this letter challenge my comfort zones? Definitely. Did it make me grow as a person or a writer? I'm not sure. At least, not yet.
Growth as a person and as a writer comes with challenging those comfort zones.
I have joined a local writers' group called Missouri Writers, Ink. We plan to put out an anthology in November. The format was a letter. The topic was a life lesson.
Although I do write letters, I rarely write on life lessons. I especially don't often write publicly on painful personal life lessons.
This time I did, going back thirty years. Yet suicide is timeless. I was lucky. I had friends and family to help me reclaim my life. Maybe my letter will help someone else.
Did writing this letter challenge my comfort zones? Definitely. Did it make me grow as a person or a writer? I'm not sure. At least, not yet.
July 31, 2014
Changes in Plans
My Hazel 3 project is at a stand still. I think I now know who the culprits are and why. The original culprit now patsy is referred to, inferred to, thought about in the draft. The real culprits are barely mentioned.
This is not good. Readers don't like culprits who appear out of nowhere. Neither do I as the writer.
And I'm dreaming about Dora's Story. Part 5 draft is almost done. I will finish it.
Then Hazel will have my attention. Maybe by then I will know how to integrate the true culprits into the draft.
I seem to have read recently a writer should work on one project at a time. Now I understand why.
So much for multitasking.
This is not good. Readers don't like culprits who appear out of nowhere. Neither do I as the writer.
And I'm dreaming about Dora's Story. Part 5 draft is almost done. I will finish it.
Then Hazel will have my attention. Maybe by then I will know how to integrate the true culprits into the draft.
I seem to have read recently a writer should work on one project at a time. Now I understand why.
So much for multitasking.
July 23, 2014
Who do You Write For?
I was asked this the other day. It stopped me. I didn't know.
Yet this is a very important question for a writer. It determines how you write your book or article or poem or essay. It affects the point of view and vocabulary.
Who do I write for? How do you know?
I thought about where some of my book ideas come from, the subjects I like writing about, and what I consider when I write.
It turns out I write primarily for me. My ideas are things that interest me. My subjects are things that pique my interest. My considerations are what I want to know about.
Is this a bad thing?
It does limit my audience to people curious about and interested in the things I am interested in. That could be bad.
Being interested and excited by the subjects I am writing about can add spice to my writing. This is a good thing.
Perhaps I should write for me and edit for an intended audience. Is this possible? I don't know. I think I'll try.
Yet this is a very important question for a writer. It determines how you write your book or article or poem or essay. It affects the point of view and vocabulary.
Who do I write for? How do you know?
I thought about where some of my book ideas come from, the subjects I like writing about, and what I consider when I write.
It turns out I write primarily for me. My ideas are things that interest me. My subjects are things that pique my interest. My considerations are what I want to know about.
Is this a bad thing?
It does limit my audience to people curious about and interested in the things I am interested in. That could be bad.
Being interested and excited by the subjects I am writing about can add spice to my writing. This is a good thing.
Perhaps I should write for me and edit for an intended audience. Is this possible? I don't know. I think I'll try.
