Setting Short Term Goals

It's pretty easy to come up with long term goals. It's simple really. I want to be a published author. If I let myself dream, I want an agent who can't wait to see what I'm working on. I want a deadline to work towards. I want to write like crazy until my most recent WIP (work in progress) is off to the publisher for the last time and then take a month to relax on the beach. In short, I want a writer's life, and all that it entails; even the hard work.

But what are the short term goals that will get me there? On writers forums, you hear about people setting a goal of a certain number of words to write each day, or a number of writing hours a day. You hear them talk about making writing a priority and fitting it inbetween chauffering the kids to Little League and making dinner. But what if you've tried those. What if you need something more, something to really light a fire under you?

Here's what I came up with;

*Get 100 rejections (or a contract) by my birthday, September 20, 2010.
*Read 25 books before my birthday and write a few sentences about what I learned about writing from each.
*Take the writing course, The Two Year Novel (2YN) from Lazette Gifford at Forward Motion http://www.fmwriters.com.

My most recent very short term goal lasts only one week, possibly two. It is designed to just get me writing and submitting, and living the writer's life. Here is what it looks like;

Day One- Write for three hours
Day Two - Write for four hours
Day Three - Write for five hours
Day Four - Write for six hours
Day Five - Write for seven hours
Day Six - Write for eight hours
Day Seven - Write for nine hours

As you can see, I am increasing by one hour each day. Adding this all up, I end up with a 42 hour writing week. I am on day three right now. And I'm sure day seven will be grueling. But I'm writing and that's the point. And I can do anything for just seven days, right? I told my daughter my plan and she encouraged me to do a second week where the hours of writing decend. Right now, I am concentrating on this current week. I'll decide on a second week when I get there, but it sounds like a great idea.

So what are your short term goals? How did you come up with them?

Write Now - Because it's later than you think. ~Karen

Wednesdays with Murray - Sending for Military Records

photo: military records form

I just love filling out forms, don't you? Yeah. I'd rather have a tooth pulled. OK, well maybe it's not quite that bad, but you know what I mean. A few years ago, at the prodding of my sisters and I, my dad finally sent for his military records. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Almost a year later, the envelope arrived. I was hoping for some confirmation for my dad. He was beginning to feel like he hadn't experienced what he had. He was starting to feel like perhaps he was crazy. Unless you are a veteran, particularly of a war that was so long ago, I think it's really hard to understand. My dad was now suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He was plagued with nightmares and flashbacks. Still, he was feeling like maybe he hadn't experienced what he had during the war.

My solution was to send for his military records. When he saw it in writing, it would confirm that he was indeed in the war and was not imagining it. It would validate his feelings and his experience...something we all need. However, when he opened that envelope, that is not what happened.

His records showed that he was in the military, but that's about it. Many important details were left out. There were no medical records, no naval intelligence records, and no mention of the important battles he was a part of. I was disappointed for myself. I really wanted that information to use in my book. But mostly I felt bad for Dad. For him, it validated all the wrong feelings. But we'd done what they said. We'd filled out the forms as asked. I'd printed carefully and made sure every question had an answer. Still, when we received the records, it was as if they barely acknowledged my father was in the war.

A few years passed and recently I learned something helpful. I was on a website called Access Geneology. They have a page on obtaining military records. As I read, I had "lightbulb moment." I read that you must send enough information to help them identify your military records from among the 70 million contained there. 70 million? I don't know what I was thinking, but I definitely wasn't thinking 70 million. Many sites dedicated to help veterans obtain records, recommend the same thing. Be specific.

So this time, we are sending the same form, but with one significant change. On line two there is a space that says, "Other information and/or documents requested." Instead of trying to fit in everything on those two and a half lines, I will be attaching a type-written letter, which will include specifics about where my father was and when. Names, dates, and anything else that makes your record stand out from among 70 million is what's important. It's important to remember that the person opening your records request, knows nothing about you unless you tell them. If you are requesting medical records, include anything and everything you remember about your health care while in the military. Don't forget to request optical, dental, psychiatric, and any others you want copies of.

I am hoping that this time around, we will get a more accurate and more comprehensive look at my father's time in the service. But most of all, I hope that it will give my dad some peace of mind. The hardest part is the waiting. But time passes no matter what you do or don't do. ~Karen

Reference: http://www.accessmilitary.com/military/nprc.htm.

Critiques-Live and Learn

As you may remember, I entered a literary contest several months ago. Well the bad news is I didn't win. The badder news (no wonder I didn't win-with grammar like that!) is that I didn't even place. OK, I get that there were more than 1,000 entries from all over the world. Stiff competition, and all that.

I am an optimist. I expect good things to happen or in this case...to win. Good or bad, that's just the way I think. I know that some people (in my family even) do the exact opposite. They always expect the worst and when something great happens they are surprised. I just can't think that way-I just can't. I think it's genetic or something. Anyway-so I was disappointed that I didn't even place in the category of memoir.

Then a few days ago I received the critiques. For this particular contest, there was an entry fee. And regardless of whether you win or not, you get two written critiques of your work. Each critique consisted of seven questions and the judges answers.

Here is a sampling of the comments;

"Beautiful! What a gift to your family and most importantly, to your Dad. The hook at the beginning of Chapter 1 is very compelling. This is an unbelievable treasure. You have taken a fantastic piece of history and made it come alive for one veteran who was like thousands of veterans."

"Excellent choice of words paints your background and setting...Your curiosity is powerful suspense."

"This untold story has its own mirror with those returning from war today. The lessons of your father's generation need to be taught."

Dang. Those are some darned good critiques. Those judges are very smart and full of wisdom (haha). But here's a question for you (my blog readers); if it was so great, why am I sitting here with two nice critiques and no "congratulations, you are a finalist" letter?

I'm not saying that there wasn't any constructive criticism within the critiques-there was. But it was about 90% positive to 10% critical. I am letting the critiques merinade at this point. As with almost everything for me, it needs time to sit. Then I'll make decisions. Maybe I'll change things. Maybe I won't. But for now, I am encouraged...I think. ~Karen

Request and Rejection

How can I have such extremes in the span of just four days? I'm tellin' you, this business is both brutal and exhilerating!

My book query blitz resulted in success...already. I don't want to go into a lot of detail yet. Just know that when a writer sends a query letter, the point is to get an agent or publisher to ask to see more. That has happened. I am beyond excited about getting "Huey and the Summer Snowball" into the hands of those who can help me get it on the publishing road. While still basking in the joy of this new road, I stumbled across quite disappointing news.

I was on the website for the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association looking for something else, when a bar to the side caught my eye. It said, "2008 Literary Contest Finalists Announced." I had expected an email or letter in the mail early next week, but it seems they'd already made an announcement. I clicked on the link and scanned down. I didn't place. Of six places in my category, I didn't place. My entry was for my memoir and I really thought I'd be a finalist. Disappointing? Definitely.

I haven't really had a chance to process it yet. Admittedly, I am a thinker, an over-thinker actually. So right now, I'm not letting myself go there. All I can say is that finalist or not, each participant receives a critique from two people in the industry. My hope is that this will give me a good idea of what direction to take with this book. The book is complicated for many reasons. And as a writer friend reminded me over at Absolute Write, "Everything happens for a reason." Right now, that reason is a mystery.

Just for fun, and to help me focus on the positive, I think I'll post a paragraph or two from each of my books sometime in the next week or so. Until then, Write Now-because it's later than you think. ~Karen

New Element

Oh whoops. When I added my biography (right), I thought one would have to click on it. But that was too much work to delete it all, so I guess I'll see if I can live with it or not. It makes me feel rather naked with it just sitting there for the world to see.

I was perusing a few websites and found that I really like to go to the person's biography to learn about them before doing anything else, so why not make my site look like that? That's where I got the idea. I wouldn't want you to think I came up with it all by myself.

Anyway- whatdaya think? ~Karen

Rejection Letter Wallpaper

A month ago, I had the privilege of sitting down to a meal with author, Robert Dugoni. It was during my time on Bainbridge Island and I was invited by a writer friend. He said something that I keep thinking about. He said that he wrote a book and sent it out to agents. He got rejection after rejection. He put all of the rejection letters up on the wall, and then sent the query or manuscript out again. Well, one day he was looking at the rejections on the wall and noticed something. Many of the rejections had hand-written notes on them and many of them said the same thing. I don't know exactly what it said, perhaps something about the plot or characters. Finally, with that information, he went back and revised his manuscript. And it sold!

That story made me think. Do you think putting up all your rejections would work for you? Do you think it's negative? Do you think it would spur you on to that final celebratory acceptance? ~Karen

May Goals - Time to find a balance

Hi Friends- Wow. Has it been that long since I've been here? Yep, guess it has. Well here's what's on my mind; Every month for the past 12 months, I've made monthly goals. Most of them have to do with freelancing. And I've had some success with it too, which is fun. But what I miss is writing books.

So this month, my goal is to dedicate the majority of my time to editing/rewriting and marketing my books. I have several that are finished. One in particular, a children's book called, The Summer Snowball, has been on my mind lately. I know there's a place for it somewhere and I intend to find it.

I want to continue freelancing, especially since I'm finally making some money at it...Ah success! But I want to find a balance. I don't want to give up on my books just because the publishing industry is so huge. I don't want to give up just because I don't get the (near) instant gratification of publication, as I do with magazines. And I especially don't want to give up just because it's hard and seems impossible, that my little manuscript would happen to land on the right desk at the perfect moment in an agent or publisher's day.

I'll post more specific goals after giving this some more thought. Do you make monthly goals? What are they? ~Karen

"My" Book

This was fun. My sister and I looked in Barnes and Noble for the book, "Chicken Soup for the Nurses Soul-Second Shift." My story, "A Dose of Compassion" is in the book and although I already had a copy of the book, I wanted to see it in an actual book store. So my sister found a sales clerk to help her find it, and of course, bragged me up on the way. Then when the clerk left, she took a photo of me. That's the book in the background too. We had to be very sneaky about taking a photo-we didn't want to get arrested.

You see, about a year ago I thought it'd be fun to take a photo of each of the bookstores I visited on vacation. It would make a fun scrapbook page. I had taken about five shots of the length of the shelves (very cool look) when a sales clerk ran down the escalator and scolded me, very loudly for "copyright infringement." It was a tad embarassing. I tried to explain but she would have none of it. In fact, I'm lucky I left with my life. I'm lucky she didn't rip the camera from me, arms and all. Sheesh! So what can I do with this information? Well, my plan is to tell this story over and over when I'm on my book tour...someday. Until then, I'll tell it here. ~Karen

HI DAD!

If you're reading this, you made it to the first page of my blog! Woohoo for you! Now save it to your favorites and you're all set.

For everyone else, my dad is a master of all things electronic. He was way ahead of his time using a teletype before computers were a household object. He was one of the first to have internet in our town. So now he's determined to learn something new...how to navigate a blog. Actually, he ought to have a blog of his own as he has tons of interesting stories to share. But for now, I guess he'll have to settle for my sometimes funny, sometimes crazy and every now and then interesting...posts.

WELCOME DAD!

...and now back to our regularly scheduled programing...

Karen

Published!

I sent my manuscript one day and was published the next. It's true. They were just different books. I mailed my manuscript yesterday and today got a surprise in the mail. Remember that Chicken Soup for the Nurses' Soul anthology I've talked about? Well, today I got my copy in the mail. My name is in the table of contents. My story is on page 92 and my bio is in the back of the book...very cool!

This is the first time I've seen my name in a book! It will be in bookstores on December 7th, so I did not expect to see it this early. I actually thought it was junk mail since the return address said something about "health." It sat in my living room all day. I was saving it for my husband to open even though my name was on it. Afterall, I do the bills, he does the junkmail. But he insisted I open it and I did reluctantly. Sheesh!

What a surprise! So warn the neighbors, alert the media, tonight I'm doin' the happy dance!

photo: post office where I left my baby (not literal baby, of course)

Karen

Mail Manuscript - Done!

I did it! Well, actually--we did it! I printed off the first 50 pages of our book, enclosed a SASE, printed the address on the larger envelope, placed the pages inside, along with a cover letter and mock book cover (something I learned at a writers' conference) and sealed the envelope tightly.

But instead of going to the post office myself (how boring), I picked up my dad and we went together. When I mailed it, the lady at the post office, seeing the address, asked me if it was a book. I told her about it briefly and she asked me to tell her when it is published so that she can buy it. Remarkable! What a beautiful moment.

I know that this particular agent may not be the one for me, but somehow that's OK. The day was as it should be...perfect!

~Karen

Sharing My Story

An agent has requested the first 50 pages of my book, Breaking the Code-A Daughter's Journey. You know, writing is a funny thing. You pour your blood, sweat (ok...yuck, not sweat) and tears (definitely tears for this project), into writing with hopes of publication. But then when it comes to letting someone else hold your baby, you get scared, or at least I did. My first order of business was to let my dad read it. You'd think that would be the easy part, I mean, I interviewed my dad for the book; he is at least 50% of it. But somehow this part was super difficult.

I went over to his house with the first 50 pages, handed them to him and ran. Well, not exactly but that is definitely how I felt. What was so difficult about it? I'm not sure I can put it into words, but I'll try because I think I must.

When my father gave me the letters he'd written during WWII more than five years ago, I began transcribing them. The transcription lead to questions so we met every Wednesday so that I could get my questions answered. And as he answered the questions, I began writing the answers and the process into a book. My book is about that journey we took together. Here is a short exerpt from Chapter One;

"I found myself on the other side of the line he'd drawn in the sand. I stepped over cautiously, then looking into his eyes; I backed up in silence, deafening silence. My questions unanswered, I wanted to scream, "What is this? All these years you've had these [letters] and you didn't tell me? Why? Tell me now. Tell me everything." But instead I stood on the other side of that line. He bowed his head and walked away, into a dense ocean fog."

You see, this book is not just me telling a story about my father. It is very personal. It is my story too. And the story I tell is emotional. It's personal. My father and I don't talk that way. I don't share my feelings and he doesn't share his. We talk about "things." We talk about "stuff" but never feelings. It's like after 40+ years, I am opening up my heart and letting him see what's there. We went through this journey together and we are closer for it. But until now, he didn't know how the experience affected me.

So there you have it. You, my blog-readers, forced me to put into words what I barely understood in my head. And I think it helped. Thanks! ~Karen


nanowrimo word count: 5,366

Grief and Starting Anew

So here's the thing- I don't share my own personal journey online. There are lots of reasons for that. But today, I just feel I should. I don't know why; perhaps it's because someone needs to hear it. Perhaps it's just because I need to put written words to it. I don't know, but here goes.

After leaving my beloved teaching job a few years ago, I floundered for about a year. I didn't know where I fit in the world without teaching. I grieved for the job that was never just a job to me. It was the love of my life. I worked with children with special needs. Some in wheelchairs, some unable to speak and all with learning difficulties...I loved, taught, cared for and nurtured them. They always gave me more than I could ever give them. But two back surgeries ended my career with one slam of the gavel. And I was left with a hole in my life, a hole in my heart.

As if predicted by fate, my father had given me letters he'd written to his folks during the war- before my first surgery, while I was still teaching. Little did I know that those letters would save me. I had begun transcribing them and now, while recovering from surgery, I continued. Then I began meeting my father for breakfast once a week; I asked questions about the war. I went home and wrote what I learned. Slowly, as a story emerged- my grief began to fade.

I completed the book at the end of 2006. Then I began sporatically sending articles and stories about anything I could think of to various publications, both online and print. I truly began freelancing in April 2007. My first freelance success was an online newsletter called "In the Margin" which is published by Kristen King. It may have only been $10 but to me it was much more. It meant that perhaps there was a place for me in the world afterall. Perhaps I did have something to share that was worthwhile. And maybe, just maybe...I would be able to once again contribute financially to the care of my family.

Looking back over the last few years, I can see that I've come such a very long way. I've received words of encouragement which propelled me forward. So to those of you who may think that your small token of praise is just a cluster of words, I say to you, Those are words of life to a dry spirit. Never hold them back-you don't know what beauty, what hope can come from them. And if you are a person who has blossomed under sprinkles of praise, pass it on. You may never know the results of your words, but the world will.

Thanks to all my encouragers,

Karen

photo: I came across this flower a few days ago. It was blooming from a crack in the cement wall of an old building - against all odds.

Book Proposal- The Overview

• Title page
• Overview
• The Market
• The Competition
• About the Author
• Publicity
• Annotated Table of Contents
• Sample Material

So now that the title page is complete, it's time to think about the body of the proposal. In 2-5 pages, you now get to summarize the book that took you 50,000+ words to write. Oh my! What is important about this is it's the first glimpse at your actual writing ability. So, don't even think about starting with, "My book is about..." Start with a bang. Start with something that says to an editor, "Oh my gosh, I've got to read on." Use the same style you used in writing the book.

For my particular book, this was a difficult part to write. I thought it'd be easy. But I'm in love with my book. I know it inside and out. I know all the great turns and twists. So why was it so hard? Well, because I know it inside and out...I know all the great turns and twists. I wanted to add every part that was interesting and compelling. So here's what I did; I gathered a pile of books from my bookshelf. I stacked them up and then read the inside and back cover of each. Since I had read them all, I knew what the stories inside entailed. And yet, reading the back cover was a great education.

Those short paragraphs, made me want to read the book all over again. It's the blurb you read in the bookstore. It's the words that make you want to buy the book, not because you already know all of the details, but because you don't. And you want to now. After my self-induced research, I was able to write the overview quite easily.

-Karen

No Parachute Desired

Have you seen this new show on the Discovery channel? It's called Survivorman. I love reading memoirs, and I love documentaries. Yes, it's true. I love documentaries! And I am woman enough to admit it. I like reality T.V. Well, let me clarify- I like reality television that truly is reality television. I don't like the MTV version, where each person has a hidden agenda, usually they aspire to be an actor or actress.

The reality I like is more like this show Survivorman. The premise of the show is that this man is dropped in a variety of situations that will require him to use his survival skills to...well...uh...survive! He is dropped off in the middle of a remote area with no food, no water and no shelter. In the episode I watched, he was dropped in the Canadian Rockies. Why do you care? You probably don't. But keep reading.

It was something that this Survivorman said. A bush plane pilot agreed to drop him off at his destination. And when he did, Survivorman made an interesting comment. He said, 'Because of the frigid temperatures, these pilots don't carry a parachute onboard. If their plane goes down, there is no way they would survive." So this bush plane pilot takes off knowing that if he doesn't do it just right, he'll die. He knows that even if he were to survive the plane crash, he'd be a gonner in a matter of seconds. And yet he keeps doing it, again and again.

Have you ever been in a situation like that? Yeah, me either. Then why are we so stinkin' afraid to do something as simple as write a book, or write 27 articles in a week and send them off to our dream publications? It's not like if we fail, we die. If we fail, we just eat a bowl of ice cream, a bag of cheese Doritos, and a box of Hot Tamales (oh wait-that's me), and hit the power button again and have another go of it. I think that sometimes a little information is useful, but too much can be fatal to a writing career.

Surround yourself with people who think you are fantastic. Surround yourself with people who think you are a freakin' genious! Write the best you can write, and then send it off and write some more. Write like there is no possiblity of failing. And if you do fail; if some editor sends you a rejection letter; if someone has a severe lapse in judgement and doesn't see what a genious you truly are-give them a break-everyone makes mistakes. Send your piece, your article or your book, to someone else. Afterall- if you fail-you won't die!

Write Now!

-Karen

Book Proposal - The Cover

I am not a graphic artist. In fact I don't even know what is correct, "Graphics Artist" or "Graphic Artist." Never-the-less, I learned a way to make my manuscript stand out. And all it takes is a little cut (Fiskars required) and paste (minty-fresh past required). Several hours, OK days, of trial and error and I came up with a cover page idea I like. So here are my tips along with how I did it;

• The Background Tells the Overall Theme- What is the theme that runs throughout your book? What is something found in every chapter, even if it's just a nuance? What is the feel of your book? What sort of feel do you want the potential reader to have when they first see and touch your book, while standing in a bookstore filled with thousands of books? For my book, that theme relates to the ocean, the sea, sand. So for my background, I scrounged up a piece of scrapbook paper from my ill-fated, "I'm going to scrapbook all of the photos from the last 24 years-stage." I found one that has a photo of an ocean scene, waves crashing on the shore, a stretch of sky above and sand below. Bingo-a ready-made book cover.
• Tell What the Words Don't - You obviously can't include 47 words in your title, so use the picture, or graphic to tell the rest of the story. My book uses the word "code." As someone recently noted, code could refer to lots of things; code of conduct; code of ethics; little orphan Annie de-coder ring (Can you name the Christmas movie I got that from?). The possibilities are endless. The code I am talking about is a secret code that my father broke during the war. It began with a version of our Morse Code. So I got an idea. I went to my good friend, Google and asked the question. I found a site where all I had to do was put in english, and it would translate it to Morse. Cool! Next, I had to make a decision. What words to use?
• Meaning Your Reader Will Only Realize by Reading Your Book - Have you ever been reading a book and you get half-way through and think, "Hey wait a minute. I've seen this before." Then you close the book and look at the cover and go, "Ah, that's what that photo/graphic/picture means." What is the turning point in your book? What is the overall theme that is not obvious from the title? Sneak it in! For me- that meant putting the code subtly in the background. My choice of words? A passage from the book that talks about my father drawing a line in the sand. Tricky huh? Yeah. But there's more- if there is a military person out there who still knows his Morse Code, and he wants to stand there in the bookstore deciphering it, he'll get a preview of my book. *
• Merging - I warned you. I'm not a graphics person so I don't know the technical term. So for me, it's "merging." You know, you are from a small northwest town. You go to Seattle for a writer's conference following your trusted Mapquest (that's a whole other story) directions. "Merge onto 405 North" it says. So you pretend you know what the heck you're doing, and merge. So now I had several elements to merge. I used my trusty Microsoft Word to copy and paste the Morse Code onto a page. Then in the middle of it, I added the book title and author names.
• Let the Craziness Begin - Wait a minute. Do you know how hard it is to center a title and author name in the midst of Morse Code? I didn't want to break up a sentence, but since I don't know Morse, I didnt' know where that would be. So I messed with it until I made myself and my family scream. The first printing revealed that my title was in che sky, literally, a dark blue sky with dark black writing...not good! Then I decided that the "photo" needed a little girl and her dad walking away from the camera holding hands, on the beach. So I looked online for photos to use. I won't go into all the trial and error, but there was a lot!
• To Staples and Back - I stood at Staples cutting the tiny image of the father and daughter and pasting it to the "sand." It didn't really look that bad. But I was beginning to question. The leader of that session at the conference had said it really didn't matter that it wasn't professional looking. Hmmm...could that be true? Because even if it doesn't bother a potential agent/publisher...it bother's me. But alas, I must remember the original premise. Agents/publishers receive thousands of manuscripts. I'm not trying to be cute or to truly create the real-final copy of the cover of my book. My point is to put time into thinking about it; my point is to create a cover that the agent/publisher sees and thinks, "I could see this on a shelf...hmmm...I think I'll take a better look at this one. Mission Accomplished!

-Karen

Book Proposal- The Title Page

Seems easy, right. I mean- write a title on a page and you're done. Well, not so fast there buckeroo (or buckeroo-ette). There are several things you need to consider for this, the shortest page of your book. If you've been reading my blog, you know that when I am making myself crazy over making important decisions, I ask my Peeps (that's "people" to you not-as-cool-as-I-am folks). That way, I can spread the craziness around. And you're welcome, by the way. So here's what you need to think about;

The Title - You only have a few words to convey what your book will be about. What do you want the reader to know before even opening the book? What will they find in your book? What can they expect from your book? And now, how do you say that in a word or three? For my book, Breaking the Code, made the final cut. After polling family and friends, The Codebreaker's Daughter, did not.

To Subtitle or Not to Subtitle - Does your title say it all? Does it say enough? Can it stand alone or does it need a little something more? Does it speak to your intended audience? Your subtitle is like the filling inside a lemon jelly donut. You look on the outside and see that plump, sugar-covered donut and think, "Yeah, that looks pretty good." But then you bite into it and say, "Ah, so that's what this donut is all about. I want more...gimmee more!" For my book-Breaking the Code, just didn't say it all. Code could refer to lots of things. People could pick it up in a bookstore thinking they were getting a book on code-breaking. And that is not what the book is about. So I added a subtitle, A Daughter's Journey.

What's in a Name? A book could be written on deciding upon a name. If you're like most people, you have a first, middle and last name. If you're female, you likely have a maiden name. And there are cultures in which you may use a part of your mother's maiden name. Add those together and you have a miriad of choices. My case is a bit different as the book I wrote contains letters my father wrote during the war- so, much of it is technically written by him. So I will have him on the title page as one of the authors. Because of that I decided to use my hyphenated maiden-married name. Fisher-Alaniz is not easy to remember but the Fisher links me to my father's name, giving the potential book buyer, yet another clue from the cover of my book.

I should have starred (*) and double (**), triple (***) starred everything everything I wrote here because it will likely all change. The agent or publisher may think my ideas and decisions are crap and change them all. But that's the name of the game. All you can do at this point is to make decisions that make sense and will get their attention. And if they decide to change everything, just nod and blame all previous decisions on your Peeps.

Next Time: Goin' Against the Flow to Create an Eye-Catching Cover

Thinking, a Thick Book, and a Stranger

At the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association conference, I was priviledged to sit in on a session by an agent and one of his authors. The agent, Ken Atchity, has more than 40 years of experience in publishing and more than 15 years in the entertainment industry. The author, Royce Buckingham has one year of experience with Mr. Atchity. So I sat in on the session that they led together. The title of the session was, "New York to Hollywood and Back."

It was interesting to hear about the process of a writer and his agent/manager. I especially liked hearing it from the writer's point of view. But just like in church, the real lesson wasn't in the the sermon but in a few sentences that got me thinking. Mr. Buckingham talked about his journey. And there was one thing that really made me think. He said that when he is traveling, he is working. If he is driving for hours, he is thinking up a new novel. And after hours of doing this, he sometimes turns on the radio to take a break from it.

I just spent a week camping on the Oregon Coast. We stayed at a state park, so we had access to showers. We have a relic of a motorhome so we had running water and electricity. What we didn't have is internet, television, computer games or the like. And that's the way I like a vacation to be.

I went for a few walks alone. As I slipped on my somewhat soggy tennis shoes one morning, and pulled a sweatshirt over my head, I felt like I was missing something. I looked around. I had a good book. I'd brought along my computer on this vacation (battery included) and my notebook and journal. But I thought about Royces words. I went alone to the beach with nothing at all to do. How often do we do that? Do we need to be reminded to do so?

"I'll just think." I told myself. "I'll have no plan at all."

So I walked down to the beach. It was a little chilly and fog still lingered. I found a boulder to sit on and looked out past the sand to the ocean. I sat and sat. And then I sat some more. As the sun came over the hills behind me, I decided to head back to see if my family was awake yet. They weren't. So I sat beside the motorhome on a rickety lawn chair, with my computer propped on my lap. And I began to write another book. Yes. Another book!

I'd just spent an hour or more thinking. And during that time I put lines, sentences and paragraphs together. I'd written a book in my head. I'd titled chapters and designed the cover of it. I'd imagined speaking to groups about it. I'd imagined which photos I'd use in it. And now I began to use my hands to create what my mind had already completed.

After breakfast and a shower, I headed down to the beach again...this time with my family. A man came up beside me as I walked.

"I just have to know." He said. "What is that book you're reading?"

My kids walked on, avoiding this interaction with a stranger. Anything involving their mother and a book could take a while. I showed the man the title, "1,001 Ways to Market Your Book." It's a thick volume by John Kremer. Of course he next asked about the book I've written. I gave a short synopsis of my book, Breaking the Code- A Daughter's Journey. As he passed me, he said, "Good luck on your next book. I know it'll be good."

I was puzzled and he must have seen that I was. Did he misunderstand and think this was my second book?

"You will write another book." He said as if he knew. "I don't know what it will be about but I know it will be good."

I barely believed I'd just heard him say what he'd said. Crazy. Simply crazy. Or maybe crazy and miracle aren't so far apart. He walked quickly away down the sandy path and I couldn't even speak. I should have said something...anything. But I didn't. I should have told him I'd just started a new book that very morning. But I stood there with my proverbial mouth hanging open.

And it all started with time taken to think. Thinking is under-rated. When was the last time someone asked about what you'd been thinking about? I mean people say things like, "What are you doing?" Or "What time is it?" But when was the last time someone asked, "What have you been thinking about today?" And it's such a great question. I'm going to start asking it more. And I'm going to practice the fine art of thinking more too. Want to join me? -Karen Fisher-Alaniz

Help me Name Myself

I just set this up as a poll-see right. If for some reason, you can't access the poll, please leave your response as a comment to my blog. First a little background. My first and middle names are; Karen Lavinia. My maiden name is Fisher. My married name is Alaniz. I am a freelance writer and also have written a book. I want to be consistent with my name and I really need to make a decision soon.

Some things to consider;

• My book is co-written with my father (Fisher)
• My book is about our relationship.
• Will Alaniz or Fisher be of benefit one way or the other? Fisher is easier to spell and remember. Alaniz is at the beginning of the alphabetized shelves at Barnes and Noble (hey- I can dream).
• Will the hyphenated name be difficult to find?

OK. So here are the choices;

• Karen Fisher-Alaniz
• K.L. Alaniz
• K.L. Fisher
• Karen L. Alaniz
• Karen L. Fisher
• Bob

Please let me know which you like and if you have time, tell me why. A big THANK YOU to my writerly friends!

-Karen...uh I mean Bob...I mean K.L. Fisher...I mean...