The Normal

Our local chapter had an interesting meeting this past Saturday. As I mentioned before, my group, CPRW, won an award for being the top small chapter of RWA for 2017. After the business portion of the meeting, the handful of members who attended RWA's yearly conference gave a recap of the insights into the industry they gathered at the massive gathering of writers, editors, and agents. One of the interesting thing they shared was how smoothly our chapter runs compared to so many others. Each of our members had tales from other groups of how their chapters suffered from infighting and drama. Some groups are considering disbanding because of the dysfunction of their chapter. There is not one hint of that in our group. We won the 'less than 50 members' group award. And we all support and cheer for each other. There's no jealousy or ego-driven rifts in our little family. I would never have imagined other groups weren't like ours.

Tomorrow I'm taking my granddaughter to library for the first time. We're getting her library card and in three weeks we can sign her up for her first reading group. She'll be six months old so it's time. Not that we haven't already bought her dozens of books. Mostly, she wants to eat them at this time, but I'm sure she'd get over that.

"To me there is no picture so beautiful as smiling, bright-eyed, happy children; no music so sweet as their clear and ringing laughter."  P.T. Barnum

My publisher put together a Best of  Susan Kelley album for me. I mean an anthology of three of the first books in my space opera romance series. I'm excited to see how this does as it's something new for both of us. I'm really excited that I have enough series to make an anthology with only my work in. Though since this contains 3 full length novels, it's more like an omnibus.

Went with my daughter yesterday to use a great coupon we had for The Gap. Way too many people. Have I mentioned how glad I am that I don't have to do back-to-school shopping. I do miss searching for some cool office supplies. But I really don't need them. I buy a planner once per year and occasionally need more pens or pencils.

I've heard about Game of Thrones being the most pirated show in history but how about the leaks and hacking they have to battle all the time? I watched Les Miserables so I understand stealing because you're starving, but what is with the thieves in this world. I don't understand the mindset that it's okay to take something that belongs to someone else.

I'm looking for a new home for my other fantasy series that I received my rights back for after the small press closed. They had published the first book out of three but only for a few months. So I've narrowed down a few publishers who will look at a book that's been published before. There aren't many of them. Suggestions are appreciated if you know of any.

Are you doing any back-to-school shopping or only bemoaning the crowds like I am? Are you a fan of anthologies? Have you ever been part of a writing group that didn't get along? How old were you the first time you visited a library?

Kudos, Newsletters and Grandchildren

You want to know what I'm doing right now if you're reading this on Monday. MOWING the grass. Already. The warm winter and all the recent rain have turned my lawn into a tropical forest. Taxes were as terrible an experience as we expected, financially. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

I read a lot of blogs and attend writers' meeting and conferences. I'm always looking for ways to promote and market. I haven't found the one I'm looking for. The one where I don't have to do anything. Readers just magically find my books and love them. One thing I hear over and over again, is that I should have an author's newsletter. I subscribe to some newsletters that are about writing and not promoting one author's books. Like the IWSG newsletter which is always informative. Anne R. Allen write a blog post comparing the pros and cons of newsletters versus blogging. She read my mind.

A big kudos to CPRW, the local chapter of RWA. I've been a long time member of this dynamic group and am currently serving as secretary. CPRW recently won RWA's Award of Excellence for a chapter of less than 50 members. It's pretty amazing to all of us, but when we list all the things we do, it's not so surprising. Like the current 50/50 that started a week ago. With the encouragement of group cheerleading and no excuses, I wrote over 14,000 words on my new WIP in only seven days.

I had my first chance to babysit the new granddaughter this past weekend. Those Mom muscles are a bit atrophied. My biceps were actually sore from all the use of carrying around a month-old eight pound baby. Next time you see a mother carrying a child in one arm and a few packages in her other, appreciate her strength a little bit.

Don't forget to stop by the IWSG today for another great post to kick off your week.

Who helps motivate you to write even when you'd rather be out mowing the grass? Do you receive a lot of newsletters in your inbox. Have you ever wondered how mothers manage to lug around those fragile but heavy offspring hour after hour?

Wall-Banger

Years ago my local branch of CPRW had a president who would spend five minutes at each meaning introducing what he would call a wall-banger book. Karl would hold the book up and explain why it fit the derogatory description. What he meant by wall-banger was that he'd purchased the book but it was bad, he would quit reading and throw it off the wall. He always ended his spiel by doing just that.

My husband is a painter and he can tell you what kind of damage throwing something at the wall can do. He has to fix little dents and dings in walls all the time. But the idea behind Karl's demonstration is legit without the tossing, of course.

What kind of things make a reader set aside a book without finishing? A slow plot. Nothing happens for pages and pages. Maybe it's backstory or world building filling those pages that turn a reader away. Or perhaps one of the characters is lost in introspection. That's okay for a little bit, but if it goes on and on .... I'll probably toss it aside especially if it get the feeling that nothing is ever going to happen.

Perhaps the writing is too simple, reading like a fifth grade storybook. Yes, I'm usually smarter than a fifth grader. If I'm reading a YA or MG book, then I expect appropriate prose but I don't want it in an adult novel. Or just as bad, writing that is too flowery as if the writer wants to impress me with their vocabulary or ornate turn of phrase.

Then there is a premise that is too bland to care about. The problems facing the protagonists just aren't compelling enough for the reader to care. The obstacles are big enough, the antagonists aren't threatening enough or are ill-defined.

Sometimes the plot is too confusing. Perhaps too many threads are tangled together. Or too many characters are involved with too many POVs. Maybe the created world is confusing or perhaps the names of places or characters are too similar and difficult to pronounce. Things within the plot such as the magic, science, technology or invented laws are poorly explained and it leaves the reader confused. All these things result in a book toss.

Perhaps the biggest reason for me to put a book down are issues with the characters. Perhaps they're dull and boring. I know people like that in real life, I don't want to read about them. Or they're unlikable. Is there anything worse than a whiny protagonist? As a reader, you just want them to grow up. Occasionally a characters comes across as unbelievable as in no one could be that naive or no one could be that forgiving and kind. Even the antagonist can be too unbelievable.

I recently read a book by a fantasy author whose previous series I had really enjoyed. I stayed with it for more than half the book but then decided I didn't have time to waste on a book I really didn't like at all. Bland characters, slow plot and vague, boring threats. But I didn't damage any walls with it. It will find it's way to a used book store.

It also reminded me that just because a book is published by a big fantasy publisher like Tor, it doesn't mean it's a good book. On the flip side, just because a book is indie-published or published by a small press, doesn't mean it's not better than many of those books filling the shelves in B&N.

Hope you got to see the Lunar Eclipse last night. It was cloudy here. My current favorite show, Once Upon a Time, turned last night and later this week, Sleepy Hollow will return. Good times.

Don't forget to get that short story finished and sent for the IWSG anthology. It's going to be great!

Have you started and not finished a book lately? Did you see the Super Moon get eclipsed? What favorite show returned this past week or so? Please don't say Monday Night Football.

Final Freezing Friday

Last day of bitter, freezing cold. I hope. If my knee isn't too sore from shoveling snow yesterday, I'm going to exercise outside anyway. Unless the roads are still icy. Our neighborhood wasn't plowed until around four in the afternoon so there was no chance for the roads to clear before it froze. And did you know that chucking snow involves a lot of twisting at the knees if you're saving your back? My orthopedic surgeon explained that to me last winter as he injected it with cortisone. Took a record five cups of coffee, two large mugs of tea and glasses and glasses of water to get me through moving this last snow.

Onto brighter things for the weekend. Tomorrow morning is my local writers meeting. I love the members. They're so upbeat and supportive. There's none of that clique stuff and not getting along going on with our group. Our president is speaking about goal setting and since my plans for the year have recently been shaken about, I need to hear some of that.

On to other good news, I'm getting pretty excited about my A to Z theme as I work on posts. I hope I can tell you in next Friday's wrap-up brag a little about all my posts being done. And I'm well over half way into my first draft of my current WIP and that makes me happy. I'm almost to the part, the last quarter, where I always write fastest.

On the home front, my daughter will be home on Saturday night for spring break. We already made plans for almost every day. And then I'm going to drive her back the following weekend and spend the night. We made plans for that night too. Sunday is my youngest son's birthday so we'll probably have a house full of family all day. It will be cards games all day long and lots of teasing and picking on one another. That's how we do it.

Don't forget about the start of daylight saving time this weekend. I do love it when it stays light later in the day.

"Self-praise smells bad." Swedish proverb

Are you getting your posts ready for A to Z? Ever had a cortisone shot? Knees are as bad as in the ankle. Had to reevaluate your goals lately? Did you remember it was daylight savings time? Met anyone lately that stank of self-praise?

Things Change

This past Saturday we had a fun and informative meeting of my local writers' group, CPRW. A few of our members had attended the national convention of RWA and shared the news they'd gathered during their time among the professionals of the romance writing industry.

Some of the big news centered, or course, around the sale of Harlequin to HarperCollins and what that means to writers. My fellow writers shared the amusing words repeated over and over again by the Harlequin representatives during all their presentations. "Nothing will change when the sale to HC is completed." Or course things will change. Positions and offices will slowly or perhaps quickly be combined. They'll tighten their corporate belts and make cuts. They're a business and it's about making promise. Did anyone believe them when they said nothing would change?

Another observation from my friends involved all the traditional publishers. In a direct twist on what we've come to expect, the publishers actively recruited writers. Many of the publishers' presentations were more like sales pitches as they described the things they do for their authors along the lines of promotion, editing, cover design and career goals. Apparently as more writers go the self-publishing route the traditional publishers are looking for ways to compete. At least looking for ways that don't involve paying the authors more money.

This led to a great discussion in our group about what the advantage of a contract with a traditional publisher might be. With some very candid examples, some of our group shared how they're make much more money from the books they have with small publishers compared to their books with Harlequin. But another author shared how little money she'd made so far on her self-published book. An agreed upon sentiment is that publishers give an author a better chance of discoverability. The big publishers will get your book in physical stores or even if they don't, they often have a built in audience of loyal buyers. Small publishers don't put many books in physical stores but they have repeat customers just like the big guys.

None of the news was earth-shattering but lots of it was interesting. Don't forget this Wednesday is the August version of IWSG. And visit the IWSG blog to signup and read an interesting post today. I'll be sharing what my comrades learned about possible trends in the romance and YA fields at RWA National.

Any of the news from National surprise you? Are you published in more than one venue? Do you think the big traditional publishers will ever change their payment percentages to authors to try and keep them?

ReDo!

One of my fellow CPRW writers wrote a great article for our monthly newsletter. It has been almost two months since most people set their 2014 goals or maybe you dared to call yours resolutions. We know what happens to most of those.

Elizabeth Delafield suggests you don't through that list away. Redo it. Rework some dates. Revise your goals. The start of March, one sixth of the way through the year, maybe you have a better idea of how reachable those goals are.

Maybe your goal is no longer as important. Maybe you've already achieved it. Perhaps due to circumstances beyond your control, you can't meet your original time frame. Sometimes a third party interferes with your ability to meet your goal.

So take the time this weekend to adjust and reload. You can redo or rewrite those goals. They belong to you so take charge of them.

On another note, last week for the Ubuntu blogfest I wrote about Penn State's Thon that raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund that battles childhood cancers. They trended on Twitter all weekend so I hope you noticed that. Check out the pictures. One of their total raised for this year and the other one my son sent me at 2:00am Saturday from the floor. As you can see, they raised over 13.3 million this year alone.

So how are your goals going for this year? Need to reset a few? Didn't bother to set any?

Back in the Swing

For those of you with college age children or those who aren't so far beyond the college years, you know those winter breaks fly by. As of today, both my college children are back at their respective schools, Penn State and Boston University, and getting back in the swing of learning. I don't even have to add I hope to that because I know they'll both work hard. Their absence also means my house has settled back into calm and quiet, with a thin coating of empty.

My son is starting his last semester at PSU and has two required courses he put off until this late date. One of them he is taking as an online course. Sign of the times that a student attending such a huge university would seek out such a course with no face to face meetings. It led me to think about all the online education available out there for free.

RWA, of which I'm a member, offers a plethora of offerings having to do with anything you need to learn about this business. My own local chapter, CPRW, offers inexpensive classes for our members. The other writer's group I belong too, offers online courses at very inexpensive rates. It's amazing what is out there. The website, IWSG, has links to so many places where a writer, new or experienced, can find help and encouragement. It's very different from when I started.

The very first conference I went to was at Penn State University and run by one of their departments. I think it was the first time I considered myself a professional writer. Since them I've been to numerous conferences and also attended a few one day workshops. One day workshops are a little more difficult to come by these days. Now such courses are offered online. It saves everyone gas money but also the expense of renting a meeting area to hold the class. And they don't have to be held on a Saturday. It's smart and efficient to use modern technology, but I miss those face to face gatherings.

There is something very inspiring I get from those real people gatherings that I don't quite get from taking a class online. But the old days have to make room for the here and now, and I'm not one of those who think the old days are better than now. The holidays are over and I'm back in the swing of being a full time writer.

Speaking of online learning opportunities, next Monday is the What Works Symposium, a chance for a bunch of bloggers to share what online marketing works and what doesn't. You can sign up on the list over at Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog where he introduced this great idea along with the co-hosts, Arlee Bird, Yolanda Renee, and Jeremy Hawkins. We can all learn something and help others also.

So have you taken an online workshop? Have you led one? Are you back in the swing of things after the holidays? Are you joining What Works next Monday?

Writing Groups

The past Saturday was a special day for me. I mentioned in September that I rejoined RWA, mainly so I could rejoin the local chapter, CPRW. I finally attended a meeting with those wonderful people.

Not only did I see many familiar faces, I met many new additions to the group I'd been away from for a while. I'd kept in touch with a few people from the group and only realized just how much I missed them when I saw them again. But much had changed.

My wonderful friend, Ava Quinn, sat in the President's seat. She rules with a velvet covered glove. It's not easy to gather all those personalities onto the same track and keep the train moving forward. Lots of ideas for future events came up and discussion flew about the room. Ava gathered the threads together and gave them some direction so the actual exciting programs could happen. And reminded us why some couldn't. I seriously don't know how Ava finds the time to do everything she does, not just for CPRW but in her real life too. She's amazing.

To my extreme delight, I found a seat beside the past president, Misty Simon. If you have never read something by Misty and you like to grin and laugh when you write, check out her books. And she's as funny in person and so energetic there's nothing she won't take on.

Between the new members and the veterans, the mix of the group is quite diverse. Diversity means each person comes to the group with different needs and expectations. Companionship is nice, but there has to be more. On Saturday the talented Natalie Damschroder gave a mini workshop on how to use Track Changes. I really could have used that when I first had to work with an editor. As it was, I really only had one questions about Track Changes. And Natalie answered it!

If felt so wonderful to write down my goals again and know they'll be published in the newsletter so more than thirty other writers will know my plans for the month. I savored the segment of the meeting when people were honored for their recent successes and consoled for their rejections. I signed up for an online workshop the group is providing.

I could say more, but I feel like I'm gushing. Oh, and nothing to do with nothing, but look what interrupted me while I was writing this blog. This huge turtle was crossing my front yard. He paused for pictures but moved along pretty good when he thought we weren't looking.

Do you help turtles off the road? Have you taken any online workshops lately? Have your worked with Track Changes?

And don't forget to check out the new post at Insecure Writer's Support Group blog from none other than the Captain himself.

Why Join?

Recently I renewed and reactivated my memberships in the two writers' groups I've belonged to nearly since the start of my writing career.

Pennwriters is a state-wide organization of writers. Poets, journalists, nonfiction and fiction writers of all genres belong to this wonderful group of supportive and knowledgeable people. They run an affordable and educational conference every year, bringing in editors, agents and successful writers to lead workshops and answer any question a writer could have. I love the way they cater to writers at every point in their careers from beginners to multi-published.

RWA is the national organization for writers of romance. Unlike some other national organizations for select genres, RWA welcomes unpublished writers as well as the published. They also support local chapters of their organization, in my neck of the woods, CPRW. My local chapter is a wonderful, friendly group that meets once a month in a local library.

Drinking my wine from a Christmas goblet

Why spend the money to join writers' groups? I've found in my first few months as a full time writer that I'm quite happy to sit in my office for hours everyday and work. Alone with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Sure I share with other people online but I don't speak to anyone else about my writing. I need those writing groups for some personal contact with other writers. It's so refreshing to sit in a room with them, exchange ideas, ask questions, answer questions, share in successes and failure. I'm always inspired after a writer's meeting.

A large amount of networking goes on at meetings and conferences. We make plans to promote each other, do book signings together, and some writers find their critique partners there. Being a writer doesn't mean you have to lonely.

Do you belong to any writing groups? Are they worth the money to belong? What do you get out of the group?

Don't forget to visit Alex J. Cavanaugh this week to celebrate the release of CassaStorm.

HELLO and Good Bye

Happy New Year! Hopefully you all have some wonderful events to look forward to in 2011.  The first day of the new year brings my first highly anticipated event.  Today is the official release date for Beyond the Gate!


Ebook Cover



Book #2 in The Futhark Chronicles picks up the story only moments after the end of book #1, The Keepers of Sulbreth.  It has two terrific covers, one for the ebook and one for the print.  You can purchase the ebook here and probably other places also.  It's not up on Amazon yet and my publisher is blaming them for being behind. 

You can buy the print book here if you'd rather have that.  Being my book, I prefer to have it both ways.  LOL.



Print Cover



I have other good news I'll share later this week but I do want to take this chance to say good bye to some dear friends.  My local chapter or RWA, called Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers, are a talented, supportive and friendly bunch.   Our monthly meetings are filled with laughter and generosity as members share knowledge and support.  I've learned so much from then and am certain I would never have been published without them.  But the economy (well, two kids in college) forced me to some tough choices this past year and one of those was to end the high yearly dues I must pay the national organization, RWA, to belong to my local group.  Their rules disallow membership in a local group if one doesn't pay the hostage fee, I mean dues, to the national organization.  So I say farewell to those lovely people and wish them the best.  Perhaps I'll rejoin later but in the meantime I'll keep in touch with many of them through my blog, their blogs, facebook and a few are fellow members of Pennwriters, a statewide and much less expensive group to belong to. 

 I'm thrilled about some of the things going on over the next few weeks, most of them related to the release of Beyond the Gate.  I have a blog tour later this month, ankle surgery later this week (ouch) and another book being released later this winter.  Busy and busier and wonderful.  So hello to 2011.

Breaking My Heart

Today I say good bye to RWA. I’m not leaving the organization because I think they’re not doing a great service for writers. I’m not leaving because I get nothing from them. I’m making a purely financial decision. Like so many of you, my family has been tightening our belts. With two children in college and another due to start before the others finish, we’re doing all we can to budget every dollar. So as of today, RWA is not in the family budget.

I don’t recall exactly how much I paid for my first year’s membership but I’m rather sure it cost about thirty dollars more per year to belong now than it did at first. Those early years provided me with invaluable insight into the industry but at this point in my career I don’t need so many of the things I see in RWR, the publication for members. I don’t intend to ever attend the national conference so the many pages of the publication dedicated to that every year are lost on me. The only thing I’ll miss about belonging to RWA is my local branch of the organization.

Leaving CPRW is breaking my heart. I love those ladies and one gentleman. They’ve supported me and cheered my success. They’ve lifted my hopes as they share their victories and accomplishments. They’ve given me inspiration and provided laughter. Over the years they’ve answered my questions from the silliest little thing to the big ones. They never give up and their boundless determination to succeed is contagious. I miss them already.

I’ll still keep in touch with many of them through their blogs and on facebook. A few of them are members of Pennwriters so I’ll see them at that conference in May but it won’t be the same as meeting with them on the first Saturday of the month or reading about their accomplishments on the Yahoo loop. So I want to thank them, send them my best and perhaps one day I’ll be back.