Pam Bonsper's Blog, page 5

Publishing 101 for Mummies and Grandmummies!

Publishing 101 for Mummies
and Grandmummies

In this blog, I will answer a few basic questions based on my own experience. I want to be as helpful and honest as possible. I will continue to address questions in future blogs, but I think the following three questions will get us going.  Feel free to ask questions or make comments about this blog and let me know if there are issues you would like to address in the future.

1. Should you write?

This is an easy question to answer. Of course, you should write! That is, if you feel like writing, if you think about writing, if you’re obsessed with writing, or if you can’t live without writing.  The reason the answer is “Of course!” is because you have absolutely nothing to lose. Writing doesn’t have to be a big deal, a big project, a time-consumer and it doesn’t cost money. Of course, you might argue that there is the opportunity cost and that is correct. However, if you take just a few minutes each day, perhaps when you’re waiting for your kids to get done with soccer practice or ballet or karate classes. Grandmummies might have a leg up here as we don’t have the kids 24/7.  But mummies, you CAN find the time to write. IF you make it a priority.   I remember when I was training for marathons in my (much) younger years. I had to prioritize and make “athlete” one of my highest priorities. I played a little game and numbered my priorities. Number one was wife and mom. Number two was no longer being the head of the class in my night classes. Number two priority turned into “athlete.”  I had to give up top grades so I could fit in time for my daily training runs. And guess what? When you get a job, no one cares what grades you had in college or post grad school. When you have kids, no one cares how clean your house is. When you’re enjoying life and doing what you love to do, no one can fault you. You could come up with a million excuses why not to write, but if you mentally make writing a high priority, you will do it. Practice saying, “I am a writer. I am a writer. I am a writer.” Believe it. Believing is seeing.

But there’s just one catch. To be a writer, you do have to write!

 

2.  Should you publish?

This is a question only you can answer. If you think about it all the time, if you dream of being published, if you want to leave something behind, build a legacy of words, if you want to see your name in print or make a difference in the world with something you know is important, then you should definitely pursue it. There are lots of reasons why you might want to publish or be published, and unfortunately, in years past, sometimes the decision depended on others and not you. But now, with self-publishing, anyone can publish. But like anything else, it takes hard work and diligence. The facts can be discouraging. There are thousands of books being published every day and, let’s be honest–yours and mine might not make the best seller list. That’s why for a part-time writer–someone who is driven to write the book and wants to publish it, but doesn’t write for a living–it can mean lots of work for little or no profit.

But I’m going to suggest that you write and publish anyway. Of course, it’s preferable to send your manuscript to a  large publisher who is going to pay you instead of you paying to get yourself in print. But…what a long shot. I was sending  manuscripts to publishers for quite some time and having to wait (most don’t want you to send simultaneous submissions, which means you can’t send your manuscript to anyone else while you’re waiting to hear back), and I finally just got tired of it. I’ve been published before by magazines, but I’d never had a book published. When I realized my odds for a children’s book, I decided to go the self-publishing route. I’m glad I did. I have my first book already on the market and my second will come out in about a month. If I had waited for some big publishing company, I’d still be waiting. For grandmummies, waiting is not a good thing!

 

3. Should you publish children’s picture books?

This is a question I want to spend more time on, so I will address it in a future blog. Stay tuned. And go get a pen or get on the computer and start writing. This is a good time to do it!

 

 

The Tarantulas Have Crossed The Road

       After months of hot days, perfect sun, bright blue skies and weather anyone else would die for, I long for the change of seasons. And the change of seasons to a central Californian is much different than to  a native Minnesotan. Our seasons here change, but oh so softly, so slightly.  But sometime in late September or early October, something extraordinarily, inexplicably predictable happens.

The tarantulas cross the roads!

We only see tarantulas at this special time of year. And I look for them. I told my granddaughter just a few days ago after a wondrously welcome, short-but-oh-so-sweet rain, “It’s time to look for tarantulas crossing the road.”

She asked, “How do you know, GaGa?”

I told her it was a feeling in the air, a smell on the breeze, the sound of leaves drying and falling. It was time for the boy tarantulas to cross the road and look for the girls.

So on the way to school we kept our eyes open, and sure enough… we saw not one, but two, tarantulas crossing the road. It was an exciting moment as I often see only five total each year.

I take these two tarantulas as a good omen. Life is good. No matter the drought, no matter the world events, no matter the global warming or earthquakes or volcanoes, something is still going just as it always has. Those big black spiders are still moving to an Autumn drum beat, and nothing will stop them.

And nothing will stop me either. I’m going to keep publishing as long as the tarantulas cross the road.

After all, if I don’t keep moving, I may never know what’s on the other side.

 

How wonderful to have invisible yet powerful supporters!

Another visitor to my site and six more reviews today. Plus, I have made contact with at least fifteen people whom I’ve never met and will probably never meet. They are the invisible people. They would not have been possible a decade ago. And yet today, due to the incredible technology of the internet, I was given support and words of encouragement as if I’ve known these invisible people all my life.

Perhaps this is the mystery of cyberspace. It’s like trying to understand the fidelity of a dog. A dog who has been left alone all day and is so glad to see you when you return. He is unable to hold a grudge (well, perhaps he did chew a shoe or two) but for the most part when you return, he is totally present and feels nothing but gratitude.

I have felt a similarly inexplicable relationship with my new internet “friends” or “contacts.” The relationship is devoid of past and seems to linger in the present tense. I have no reason to doubt their sincerity, and our relationships are not weighted down with heavy baggage.

Due to this internet support, I  realize that numbers of sales do not matter. What matters is the ability to, with just a few words in a couple of e-mail exchanges, give and receive what each of us needs: a boost in the pants, a shoulder to cry on, an encouraging hug, a pat on the back, a nod of the head, a thumbs up, a salute, a wave, an acknowledgement, a sincere concern.

Thanks to my invisible friends, I have received all of that today.

And although I’m entering, kicking and screaming, I’m grateful I live in the era of the internet.

Kramer the Parrot enjoying The Big Brass Band

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I feel like the turtle in the race!

Didn’t the turtle win the race? Didn’t he just keep going and going no matter how slowly? And didn’t he win in the end?

That’s what I feel like right now. I see the race to get published and sell lots of books not so much as a race, but more as an event. A long event with endurance and perseverance making the difference between failure and success. I had set goals for this month and it looks like I might not meet my goal for sales. However, I met my goal in figuring out how to get around my website (without crying my eyes out to my web designer and helper), and I met my goal to stretch my wings into marketing areas I had feared to enter up until now. I had my first NFF (non-family/friend) visitor to my site and she liked it! That was worth so much and I hope she continues to get as much out of my site as I got out of her visit and comments. I also got an NFF review on Goodreads and seven on Amazon. “What!” you say, “Is that all?”

Yes, that was all. I looked at the next book listed after mine, and it had 1,305 reviews. Did I cry?

No! I just raised my head up, put on my glasses, took my arthritis medicine and raced to the computer for the next day of the event.

And I know I will pass the finish line someday.

Back From Brazil

   It is so reassuring to know that kids are alike wherever you go! They want to laugh and have fun and understand the world around them. I took two of my books to Brazil with me and shared them with two of my Brazilian grandnephews. They were delighted with the story of the little boy and the parade and the big brass band.

And these kids didn’t speak English!

Tell me there isn’t  universal language when there are pictures and someone reading to you with enthusiasm and feeling. Speaking of pictures, the first comment my Brazilians had when they saw the book was, “I love the pictures!”

So I’ll put in a plug here for my talented illustrator, Jessica Ziegler. She took my words and made them come alive. She made the instruments play. She made the little boy scream. She made the mom cry.

I’ll be doing more books with Jessica and I hope you’ll stay tuned. Leave comments for me and I’ll get back to you.

Até logo!

My book writing journey after the first week…

I’ve joined several social media sites this past week, as I’ve wanted to try them all as part of my marketing plan. Everyone said I should do this, and I have been doing my best to learn how to maneuver around them all. I’ve decided some are more useful than others. I’ve  had a great time sharing my book on Facebook and have sold several copies to friends. I’ve pinned on Pinterest but don’t really know how to get my book visible. I’ve tried  Twitter, but don’t seem to get it yet. I think I have learned more from Linkedin than any other. There are so many people that I’ve connected with that have similar stories and questions. Today, an author was wondering if it would be worth while to publish his book as an ebook. I had also looked into doing this and spent hours on Createspace and finally gave up. A comment from a member of a group of children’s authors that I was linked to had great words of advice. He said picture books are very hard to do as ebooks. He’d had extensive experience with all kinds of ebooks and had tried to work with pictures and more or less said to forget about it.

So I have!

For now!

 

 

Another spotting of The Big Brass Band

Not Just For Kids

The Big Brass Band is popping up all over. And not all fans are two-legged. Read it to your pet and send a photo. I’ll post it.

I should write it down!

Have you ever said that? Have you heard your child say something and you’ve thought to yourself…I should write that down!  Have you listened to kids as they talk to one another and thought…That would make great dialogue.

It’s not too late. A a small spiral notebook or simply a piece of paper will be enough to capture the moment. Or use your electronic devises, your notepad, your phone. Someday the things you hear or the things you observe could become parts of stories, books, or simply shared with your kids when they get older.

Here are some things I heard my granddaughter say just within the last few days. I know I would have forgotten them if I hadn’t written them down.

 

8/26/2014

My granddaughter came home from school and was telling me about her day. PopPop had taken to her school and picked her up. I asked if he gave her a snack. She explained that he gave her some cheddar bunnies but they fell out of the bag unto the floor, so he took his hand and pushed them back in. She showed me how he did it-she used one hand to sweep the imaginary crackers into her other hand. “He thought his hand was a sweep!” she laughed.

 

8/27/2014

This morning on the way to preschool, my granddaughter said she was a pink baby pony with blue hearts all over and a mane and tail that were the colors of the rainbow. She asked me if I wanted to be pony and fly with her to school. Then she said, “And I can sprinkle us with water and we can grow unicorn horns.”

 

8/28/2014

After her afternoon nap, I was lying in bed with my granddaughter and she said, “Gaga, can you do me a flavor? Can you move your legs?”

 

9/2/2014

While my grandson was at his speech class, I took my granddaughter for a walk. She found a stick which became a magic wand which she used to turn plain leaves into fairies and acorns into crowns. I told her she was so cute. She said, “Are you going to write this down, GaGa?”