Great new writers using the web:

http://jimbreslin.com/
http://ericrickstad.com/,
http://www.michaelcordellauthor.com/ 

Final pass pages are back......next step is the book. OMFG.

 JrzyTmata wrote: 
No problem, Welly. It gave me a good laugh.

Thanks for the link, Jrzy.

 Welly wrote: 
it's ok. do you have a link? I'd really like to read it.

edit: I found one!
Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully - In Ten Minutes, by Stephen King

Sorry!

 JrzyTmata wrote: 
Good grief! It's even too long to view on my 23 inch monitor.

it's gonna take me longer than 10 minutes just to scroll around the page to read that crappily formatted article. Could you provide a link instead?

 Alexandra wrote: 
Congrats!

 

 Painted_Turtle wrote: 

I honestly don't mean to be hogging this thread....  It's just, none of the other writers are networking! I really wish they would.

 Alexandra wrote: 
Congrats...soon we'll be able to order your book!    Its' great to hear that things are moving along with your book!

I'm doing some catching up reading since I've been gone for a few weeks.  Just back scrolled regarding your "sisters" reading....

I have an ISBN number!!!!


The initial proof was approved for font/style........the whole-book proof is coming in 9 days, and it won't be too expensive to make the 5 minor changes I need to make!

 Alexandra wrote: 
 

 JustJanis wrote: 
i agree.  Gosh, it must be so hard to hear others criticism and continue on.  Alexandra, you are amazing    

 Alexandra wrote: 
I can't even FINISH a book and here you've gone and written a book.  I admire your determination.  Everyone has different tastes and that's why there are so many books in Barnes and Noble. .  And as you said, YOU like it and that's whats important.   

 Alexandra wrote: 
Like anything, someone will give it a Godlike-10; someone else, a SuckoBarfo-1. I think a thick skin is de rigeur for any creative.

 Alexandra wrote: 
Alexandra, my dear, I don't know if you have any idea how very and awfully true that is.

Take it from me.

Oprah, here you come!—but if not, well, see your comments above.

Merry Christmas, Lexie!

I'm not sure who all will see this over Christmas...maybe I'll make a journal about it, maybe not.
I will preface it by saying that I am GLAD I have a sister who is not afraid to be brutally honest with me. It's okay. It was helpful and it's good to have at least one harsh critic.

But she didn't like my book as much as the one I wrote just before it (that I will STILL publish). She listed all her reasons why—the tagline being the most important one—she felt it was misleading, and was expecting a murder mystery, or at the very least....a main character in peril. (Then again, she is a huge Dean Koonz fan) So I might take the word "death" out of the tagline, and that'll help.

Anyway....I just have to say that I've never deluded myself into thinking that everyone will like this book. Many may not. But that comes with the territory of being a writer. Criticism and feedback only help to make the next one even better. We all have to start somewhere, and keep evolving.

The main thing is, I like it, and if I didn't believe in it so much...I wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to self publish it.
And if the general public shares my sister's views...oh well. Better to have tried and believed in my dream than NOT tried.

 Alexandra wrote: 
Well, alrighty then! I'm glad that you have a plan!

My favourite bit (you can't bash Dan Brown enough...

Look at this hilarious clunker from The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown: "Almost inconceivably, the gun into which she was now staring was clutched in the pale hand of an enormous albino."

Ack, "almost inconceivably" - that's like being a little bit infertile! Hopefully, that "enormous albino" will ironically go back to actually flogging himself while incredibly saying his prayers continually.

And this bit:

In Julia Glass's Three Junes, a character named Stavros is a forthright and matter-of-fact guy who talks to his lover without pretense or affectation. But when he mentions an offbeat tourist souvenir, he says, "It's absolutely wild. I love it." Now he sounds fey, spoiled, superficial.. (Granted, "wild" nearly does him in; but "absolutely" is the killer.)

 AliGator wrote: 
Judging from Dog Ear's calculations, my first proof should arrive sometime this month. Then I look it over (again, maybe another pair of eyes would help) and make sure they did everything correctly and there are no typeset errors.....then finalize!

If all goes according to their timelines, it should be ready to sell by January.

In the meantime, I've planned a great literary event called "Social 'Net Workers, Unite!" and am diligently going through my checklist of promotional plans. Oy and vey...this will be a challenge and a half.......but since it's what I've wanted all my life, I don't think it'll be a problem! I'm ready to work my ass off, meet all kinds of interesting people, travel, and PROMOTE!