BACK AMONG THE LIVING

Several months have passed since my last post.  I have spent every spare moment working on the edits for A New Season . It is a difficult thing to have your work gone over, line by line, and have someone question what you have written, how you have written it, and even question your use of punctuation marks. You suck it up because that is what the craft is all about. You know that you and the editor are working for the same purpose, creating the best manuscript possible.

This was a grueling activity. I worked during the day, came home to schedule a new job for the next day, and then worked on my edits. Not much time for a social life.

I learned a lot and my editor was patient with me. What I have learned will help me as I work on my second novel for the Friends of Scrapbook Etc. series.

I might take a weekend to just relax first.

A NEW SEASON--UPDATES

I know it has been a long time since I have posted here.  Sorry, again.  I am listed to work at 13 different school and the holidays kept me busy, but that is not what kept me from posting here.  It was all about the edits for A New Season.  Desert Breeze assigned me a very careful editor. 

The process of editing is painful.  It shakes the writer to the core.  The writer has created a world and the editor says, "Here is how we can make it more real."

Honestly, I didn't want to change a thing.  It was my baby.  Honestly, the process of editing the book makes it much better.

A New Season should be available in February.  I will give you more details very soon.

EDITS

Editing.  It is an emotional word for a writer.  A writer picks and chooses his/her words carefully. He tells the story that is in his heart, the story that plays over and over in his brain until it is put on paper.

Then the editor returns the copy.  There is so much red on the copy and notations on the margin that it looks like that paper that you threw together in JR High school. 

You thought you had a good story.  You have all ready written and rewritten the story multiple times.  Now, you aren't so sure.  With each correction you make, you feel your ego shrinking.  You swallow your pride and work on.

When it is over, you lick your wounds.  Then you read your manuscript and realize the story is more clear, more focused than it was before.

People think writing is easy.

PROMOTION/COMPUTER/SOCIAL MEDIA

The days of writers staying in anonymity are long gone.  These days, a writer is required to promote his or her work.  Quite often, the promotion is done at the writer's expense.  Fortunately, the computer and the Internet helps in this respect.  Traveling across the country is expensive, but with some work, an author can visit book clubs, schools, and public assemblies of all kinds via webcams or Skype.

A lot has changed since my first book came out in 2002.  Now we have Facebook, blogs, and so many other methods to make the public aware of our book.  In 2002, my sister, Denise, worked hard to make and maintain my first web site.  Last night and this morning it took me (a novice) about an hour and a half to build a nice web page.  As I get more information about the books--and book covers--I will continue to update the site.

I also put together a Facebook author page.  This will allow me to inform "fans" about important events involving the books; release dates, promotional sales, events I will attend, and so on.

Many things have changed in the publishing industry since 2002.  I am beginning to get excited!

My new web site:
http://chanceencounterstlm.wix.com/toni-lamparter-mabry
My author's page:
http://www.facebook.com/ToniLamparterMabry

READING EVERYTHING

People frequently tell me that they have always wanted to be published.  They have a story to tell, but just haven't had the time to get around to writing it.

At one time, being a published writer was a very difficult task.  A person had to research a magazine and know how to slant the story for a specific publication.  To have a book published was even closer to impossible.  Many publishing companies had their stable of writers.  Others had formulas or specific kinds of books that they wished to risk their funds to publish.  A new guy--especially one without an agent--didn't have a chance.

Now things are changing.  POD companies, ebooks, and Amazon have drastically changed the market.  More independent companies and self-publishing companies have emerged.  More people are getting a chance to become a published author.  That can be both good and bad.

A writer should always strive to improve his craft.  Part of improving your skill as a writer is reading the works of others.  At one time I was an English major.  I read and studied the works of the great writers.  What I didn't realize was that I could also learn from those whose writing leave something to be desired.

You see, I have developed the hobby of downloading ebooks.  Some are very entertaining.  Others aren't so great.  Before deleting a book I really dislike, I try to analyze why the book doesn't work for me.  Then I ask myself if I tend to make the same mistake.  For example, last week I read a book where an important character was killed in chapter two.  The murder left me emotionless.  The author had not made me like--or dislike her.  She was not real to me.  Her death was no great loss.  Neither was the book when I deleted it.  I realized I must make my characters real, or my books will be deleted also.

Who knew I could learn from reading bad books.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

What is the difference between:
1) a story that is filled with action, adventure, and well written
2) a story that catches your attention, draws you in, and tugs at your emotions 
Both stories show talent and creativity.  The second story is one in which you and the author have made a connection. 

As a school teacher I was trained to help children to make connections with stories so that they would learn to enjoy literature.  We were to ask the students questions like, "Do you remember a time when you got lost, like Curious George?  Were you afraid?"

Most adult readers do this on their own.  We connect with a character in the story.  We say the book interests us but we really have made a connection that keeps us reading.  It explains why some readers love nostalgic pieces while others enjoy sci-fi.  There is something in that genre or with that author that connects with the reader.

This truth about making a connection with an audience was really brought to my mind a few years ago when I watched the movie The Passion of the Christ.  I tend to disconnect when viewing emotional works, so I found myself analyzing the theater audience.  How were they responding to the movie?

There was a scene where Mary is watching her brutalized son marched to the crucifixion.  The audience cannot connect with that.  Very few women can empathize with a son who was treated like Jesus.  Instead, the writers give viewers a flashback.  We see the very young Mary rush toward her child as he is falling on the gravel road.  Every mother remembers trying to help her child with a skinned knee.  Every mother knows that pain!  In an instant I heard a wave of sobbing in the movie theater.  "Cinema genius," I thought.  I, too, remembered holding my crying child.  I, too, was weeping.

What did I learn about writing from that moment in the movie theater?  If you want to make a connection, try hitting a universal experience.  In A Changing Season, my main character is dealing with some post traumatic stress, in the form of a dream.  I considered having her dream about physical abuse, but thought that most people could not connect with such behavior from a parent.  Instead, she dreams about a sharp, cold man who cannot communicate.  I felt that people might connect with this sort of relationship.  Any other abuse is merely hinted at.

Did I wimp out or did I find a way of connecting with an audience?  You tell me.

   

THE NEXT STEP

So, I just got the message from my editor that I have turned in all the components for my my first ebook.  I have sent my bio., the questionnaire for the cover art, the manuscript edited, and formatted.  Whew!

I never feel confident about my titles, whether it is a magazine article or a book title.  I must be pretty good at it though.  I am seldom ever asked to change my title.  This time, however, I was told that my title, Second Chances, is very similar to the title of another book that will be released at the same time as mine.  Truth be told, I was getting second thoughts about the title, Second Chances, but I was afraid to say anything.  When my editor contacted me and asked me if I would consider changing the title, I agreed. 

Since themes from Ecclesiastes run through all the books in the trilogy, I decided to go with  the title, A New Season.  It will be available on Amazon as a Kindle release in January.  If you do not own a Kindle, you can get a free Kindle for PC download on your laptop or notebook. 

I can't wait to find out what the next step to this adventure will be!