The Hardest Book is Your Second

Huh? Really? I was reading about this and then of course, I wanted to prove it wrong so I looked it up on the internet. Oh my! It looks like the concensus is that the hardest book to write is your second book - the one after your first published book. How is that possible?

Well, here's what "they" say - your second book is the most difficult because;
1. While you could have taken 20-years to write your first book, you're under contract now and have a deadline.
2. The one-hit-wonder is always hanging over you like a fog of pea soup (pretty messy).
3. You now know how much work is ahead of you.
4. You don't have time to simply not write on the days you aren't inspired.
5. And the list goes on...

Obviously, I am the exception...aren't I always? (Ha!)

So, what do you think? Does it make sense to you that the second book would be the hardest? Do tell!

Book Advance Boohoo (or not)

Did you know that most authors don't make back their advances? According this article, ">href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/books/review/Meyer-t.html"> in the New York Times, 7 out of ten of us never make a cent. Maybe I'm an optimist...OK, I admit it, I am...but that means 3 out of ten do make money, right? That's 3 of every ten people. I had 15 people over for Thanksgiving dinner. If they were all authors, 4 1/2 of them would be making money on their newly released book. (I get to choose which one only counts as half a person) Not bad stats, I'd say.

And by the way, if you want to see a rundown of what an author really makes, read the article referenced above. But beware - if you aren't an optimist, it could be a bit of a downer. Just remember you ARE the exception! ~Karen


photo: ice surrounds a branch on my Rose of Sharon tree

PS Sorry I couldn't get the link to appear. I fiddled with it for way too long and couldn't get it to post right. Ah, technology! You'll have to do it the hard way; copy and paste. ~K

Where are you going?

I had the mundane task of having to wait yesterday...I hate that! What's worse is I expected it to take maybe a half-hour, so I didn't bring anything along with me to busy my mind. I was sitting in the lobby of an office building. I'd parked quickly and rushed in for my 9:30 appointment. But here's the thing, it seems I was the only one who was on schedule. Two hours later, the appointment complete; I finally left...frustrated, mad and...enlightened. What? How could that be?

The space I was trapped in had windows on two sides and was near our downtown area. I found myself people-watching. I started to play a game with myself. I'd watch as a business person in a suit or a kid on a skateboard went by and guess where they were going and then watch to see if I was right. There are many destinations nearby and though a few just went by the window, for most, I could watch as they went through the door of their destination. So I watched their body language to see if I could figure out where they were going. Sometimes they glanced periodically at the destination. Sometimes there was a purpose in their step, in the way they walked. And my guesses were almost always right.

Here's what I learned;

We focus on where we are going, no matter how far away it may be. We may focus with our eyes, with our hearts, with our minds, or even with out physical bodies. When we have a destination in mind, we can't help but take steps toward it. It would be impossible not to do so. Where are you going with your writing?

Sometimes we encounter obstacles. A businessman approached a crosswalk, but there was a utility truck parked across it. He looked across the street to his destination and walked around the obstacle. He didn't say, "Oh gosh. I guess I just can't get there. I'd better go back to where I started." No, he figured out a way to get around it and persevered. What are the obstacles to your writing?

Sometimes we must change directions. Occasionally someone would seem to be going one place but then go to another. At times we get on a path that leads nowhere. And when we finally figure it out, we have a choice; we can either make the best of our path, or we can purpose ourselves to turn another direction. Have you ever taken a wrong turn?

Who knew that two-hours of watching people go about their lives could teach me so much? The next time you have unexpected downtime, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?" It's really quite amazing. ~Karen

photo: My recent trip to Bainbridge Island, Washington. Three generations are represented on the path.

The Rejection Dog

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -Thomas Edison

Wow! If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is. Writing can be so difficult, especially on the emotions. If you're writing for publication, you know what I mean. There is something about rejection that makes you want to quit. Go figure! But as writers we must go against logic and continue to go back again and again to that dog that bit us. We'll learn new approaches along the way and eventually, it just may lick our hand and send us a check. Until then, we must persist, because success is just around the corner. ~Karen

Crown of Disappointment

I got a check in the mail the other day. It was for an article I wrote and that check alone was enough to meet my modest financial goal for January. My 2008 financial goals for my freelance writing business are cumulative. In other words, I set a specific amount for January and after that, my goal is to make a bit more each month. So I'm off to a great start.

My mind wandered to what I should buy with my little chunk of change;

• a bouquet of flowers?
• take my family out to dinner?
• order pizza?
• treat my husband to a movie?
• put the money in savings?
• travel to...OK it wouldn't get me very far
• a new pair of shoes?
• books/magazines?
• a crown?

Huh? A crown? Well yeah, and it's not the kind that will sit atop my royal head. I went to the dentist yesterday and it seems the decision on how to spend my money wasn't so difficult after all. My broken tooth needs a crown. So it looks like my hard earned money will be gobbled up by...my tooth. Boo! It just feels so...wrong! Why is it that when I got a regular paycheck as a teacher, I didn't think this way, but now I feel that any money I make writing should be spent on something...beautiful, something celebratory, something romantic?

Maybe it's that now there's such a one-to-one correspondence with the money I make. I know exactly what I did to earn that money. I know how many hours I spent writing the article. I know the struggles with finding markets, and working with editors. Oh, I don't know. What I do know is that my little chunk of change just shrunk. It'll only pay for 1/4 of my crown. The good news is that at least I won't have to waste time dreaming of what I'll spend my next chunk on...it's already been decided for me. ~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

Team Work - It's for the...Squirrels?

As I said above, I have been trying to get birds to visit my house for a long time. I've hung the feeders, cleaned the feeders, switched the seed in them and to no avail. They still insisted on going to the neighbor's house for their fix. My very sweet neighbors don't know the pain they've caused me. Their birds awaken me in the morning with their chirping. They fly by my house on their way to the neighbors' and when they leave. They're mocking me...I'm tellin' ya...they're mocking me! All the while, my feeders remain untouched.

It had been over a year since I started this quest and I'd virtually given up. I grabbed the feeder that a friend gave me for Christmas last year, from the place where it hung prominently on my front porch and headed for the big black garbage can. I squeezed it and was amazed that not one seed fell off. It seems the manufacturers must have used Super-Glue to hold it together. But on the way, I thought, "Why not give it one more chance. So I hung the bell-shaped feeder in the tree as I passed.
It hung there all summer. Not one bird was interested. As the weather got colder, I was contemplating trashing it afterall. But then something remarkable happened. I watched as a squirrel climbed the tree. He went straight to the feeder, and held it with his teeth, while he shook it violently with his paws. I don't know what those seeds are stuck together with, but it didn't hold up to the squirrel's abuse. Now it was a shapeless blob, still hanging in it's plastic mesh cover. The squirrel hurried down the tree and gathered up all the seeds he had shaken loose.A few minutes later, the birds began to come. They enjoyed the fruits (I mean seeds) of the squirrels labor. And I got the pictures to prove it. Who knew that birds and squirrels were such good friends? I certainly didn't. After all my worry and sleepless nights, it turns out all I needed was to befriend a squirrel. Sheesh...who woulda thunk it?

Karen

For the Birds

I've been trying to get birds to come to my feeder for a long time and they aren't cooperating. But then all the leaves dropped from my Dogwood tree, leaving only those delicious (apparently) berries.

Suddenly I am the most popular house in town. And word seems to be getting around, and not just with the birds-but that's for another post. ~Karen

photos: a few recent visitors

Another quote

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John F. Kennedy

photo: pioneer park

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

Treasured Words

I went thrift-store shopping with my daughter today. I don't ever give her real name here to protect her privacy. But every time I talk about her and use a fictional name, she complains that the name just isn't right; it's too weird, too old fashioned, too dorky, too...whatever. So I'll just call her X. Well, X and I made the rounds to our local thrift stores. She had a very specific list of things she was looking for but I did not, so I just looked around, finding a few usable items. Then as I looked through the books lining one long shelf near the checkout, I saw it.

I am somehow attracted to old books; not old as in from the 70's, but old as in canvas covers with simple embossed letters. The began reading a random paragraph of the book and found it quite engaging, and motivating and positive. I looked at the copyright, which was in an unusual place (common among old books). It had it's first printing in 1944 and this particular issue was from 1948...Cool! I love books like that. Then I looked for the title, which was hidden. Instead of being on the front of the book, it was on the edge. "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" it said, "By Dale Carnegie." I hadn't heard of Dale Carnegie but I soon read that he'd written the famous, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Cooler! Then I found a sticker with the price...75 cents! Even cooler yet! I don't really consider myself a worrier so it's a good thing I read the book before seeing the title. For the next few posts I'll share what I've learned from this new, and yet old...treasure.

"Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He, who can call to-day his own;
He who, secure within, can say:
'to-morrow, do thy worst, for I have lived to-day.'"

~Horace

Am I the only one who loves this? This is just so cool!

~Karen

Coming Out of Your Shell

While walking at the park one day, I looked down to see a chestnut still inside it's green pokey shell. I picked it up carefully and brought it home. Setting it on the table reminded me of when my kids were little. We'd go for walks and look for "signs of fall" to decorate with. But this day it was just my dog and I.

I set the chestnut next to a cinnamon candle on the dining table. I contemplated whether I should break it open or not. That nice smooth brown chestnut was inside afterall, and much more festive than it's prickly covering. But I left it.

I didn't really even think about it until about a week later when I happened to glance at it. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that this was the same one I'd left there. At first I thought that perhaps my son had brought me a "real" chestnut, one of the brown smooth ones. But then I looked closer. That brown chestnut had busted out of the shell, or else the outer shell had dried up and pushed it out; I'm not sure which.

I touched the shell and then the chestnut. And when I did, the chestnut disconnected from it's shell. And that made me think; that beautiful (yes chestnuts can be beautiful) chestnut was just waiting for the perfect time to emerge. It no longer needed the protective layer. If it had stayed in that protective layer, no one and no thing could have gotten close enough to propel it toward what it was meant to be, where it was meant to be. It's growth would have been stunted. It would have been impossible to move forward. It would have been condemned to simply dream of a better future instead of actually living it. I love that.

Karen
nanowrimo word count- 6,665

Getting Dis'd

It's easy to get down in this writing business. In the last week I've had a few acceptances and a few rejections. I went from elated to bummed and back up and down again. I suppose that perhaps when you are a seasoned freelancer, you take the rejections in stride. But right now, I just think, "That was a waste of precious time writing that piece. I could have been writing something that would sell." But then I catch myself and think, "But if you don't take a chance, how will you ever climb to higher heights?

I don't have any solutions. I just have to not let myself get so discouraged that I give up. Did you ever consider the word "discouraged"? We use it so easily and we think we know what it means. But if you take it apart, "dis" means "without" and of course you know what courage is. So discouraged = without courage. Somehow being without courage sounds more defeated than "discouraged." When I hear "without courage", I want to stand up, brush myself off and leap out of my discouraging hole. I want to prove "them" wrong. I want to write my head off (well not completely off...that would be gross). I want to do it all. And I think I can!

Karen

Adventures in Salmon

So if you read my last post, you know that I'm trying to, um...try new things. I'm attempting to expand my world that has become way too predictable. So for my birthday I was invited out to lunch...to a place of my choosing. I was very excited about the restaurant I chose. It has good food, good atmosphere and a wonderful patio. Well, that's what I thought anyway. It was, shall we say, not what I thought. I was sadly disappointed.



Then I was invited to a salmon feed. I am not a fish person. Seafood just isn't my thing. Fish and chips is the closest I get to a meal from the sea. Still, I'd promised myself that I would take new opportunities, so I said "yes." The salmon feed is in a town of about 1,000 people, and is a 20-minute drive from my hometown. Being the aspiring photographer that I am, I brought my camera along. We'd heard about the long lines so we arrived a half-hour early.



My father and I walked across the sawdust floor of the barn to see just how this salmon is cooked. A team of about twenty men took turns at the barbecue. The mood was jovial as we waited. This was the best that country life has to offer. The salmon was brought in fresh that day and cooked over a long hand-made barbeque. The fish was pressed between chicken wire on a square frame of wood. Two men and one turn of the special contraptions ensured that the salmon was cooked "just so."



We made our way back to get in line and luckily my husband and mother saved us a spot. The line already stretched from one end of the barn to the other and far beyond. Our plates filled, we found a seat at a long table. One bite and I knew-this was the best seafood I'd ever had. It was tender and had that smoked flavor.



And the experience...it was fabulous. Stepping beyond my normal everyday routine is definitely worth it. But be warned: Sometimes your experience is a dud. But perhaps the bigger warning should be this: Be careful, you just might discover that jumping out of your nicely wrapped box, leads to something more. It's addictive. Do it once and you'll find yourself looking for new adventures in everything around you. And that was the point, now wasn't it!



Find something new to do, then come back here and tell us all about it! Make life happen!



Karen

Three People Away

I recently learned that we are truly creatures of habit. One stat given was that the average person wears 20% of their clothes 80% of the time. Crap! I hate to admit it, but this is very true of me. I have my favorite jeans, my favorite shirts and I wear them to death. In fact this summer, while vacationing, the tiny hole that had worn on both back pockets, um...well...turned into a gaping hole. I had worn them almost everyday at the beach. I took them off one night and was horrified to see the long rips along my rear end. I asked my daughter about it and she informed me that it had been that way the whole vacation. She thought I was just being cool. Luckily, each undergarment displayed that week was a cute striped or floral version. Oh my!

Here's another one. No matter how many great resteraunts there are in your fair town, statistically speaking, you only frequent three to five of them. OK...so that one fits me too. And the worst part is just which resteraunts they are. I am highly influenced by my children, so McDonalds, Taco Bell and Dominos are on our list. Sad, I know.

I've also heard it said that you are only three people away from the person who has the ability to change your life. That could be three people away from an agent or an editor. So with my newfound knowledge, I decided to do something about it. My daughter wanted to take me out for my birthday, but instead of going to an old standby, I insisted on going to a resteraunt I'd never been to. I also accepted an invitation to a salmon feed, which I went to tonight.

Since I just celebrated a birthday (pretty slick how I just snuck that in AGAIN huh?), and I often pick a theme for the new birthday year, I've decided on one that will easily take all year. I'm going to purpose myself to create new experiences. I'm going to spend the year looking for opportunities to bust out of my comfortable little box. How about you? Is there something you could do to increase your chances of meeting those three people who will change your life? There are no guarantees of course, well except for this one; if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten.

Write Now,
Karen

And another one...

How about this for a writers' retreat? I'll be the first to sign up. Who's with me? Wouldn't that be just incredible? I'm having fun with these photos. More to come. -Karen

If Only

I wanna live there. Or at least visit. Doesn't it seem like you'd get so much writing done, "if only"? If only my home were more peaceful. If only I didn't have kids. If only I didn't have to be the family chauffer. If only I could take a vacation. If only I didn't have interuptions. If only didn't have any responsibilities (ha!). If only there weren't cell phones, televisions and Tivo. If only the world weren't so scary. If only everyone would just leave me alone...hence the photo. See that little cable? That's the only thing keeping the outside world out. And if it were me, I'd let only those who I like come to my house-on-a-rock, like my loyal blog-readers...oh and I might miss my kids too. But one little slip, and you're outta there. One negative word and back to the cable-car you to. I think I'd rig it with some kind of an auto-programmed ejection seat. I could program all the words that discourage me, like "can't" and "realistic." If someone said the word, out they go, flyin' through the air. Talk about immediate consequences.

Well, since I don't know where that house-on-a-rock is, I'll just have to figure out my own way to cope. And that's what I'm tryin' to do. I can't get rid of all the distractions of life, and truth-be-told, they are what makes my writing interesting and real. But I can learn to balance it all. At least I think I can. In the meantime, I know one thing I can do; I can keep writing. No matter what comes along, I can keep writing and keep sending things out.

That's all I know for now.

-Karen

My Issues

Hi Friends-

Kind of a strange couple of days for me. I am struggling to bring balance to my writing life. While freelancing (magazines) is beginning to offer more immediate rewards, I find myself procrastinating on the book. I'm not sure how to rectify the situation, but I'm trying. If anyone has advice, I'd love it.

Another issue...sheesh...now I'm one of THEM....I have ISSUES. Anyway- another issue is that my writing and family life isn't well balanced either. I guess I sort of figure that freelancing/book writing-is like owning a new business. A new business owner will tell you that for the first three years, the business IS their life. But I still need balance. No answers here today, just comtemplations.

-Karen

Time to get a Bigger Blanket

Do you ever hear an expression so much that you want to scream? "Just want to be sure we're all on the same page." is my personal favorite. When I was teaching, a know-it-all teacher or administrator used that phrase all the time. Are we so lacking in creativity that we must repeat it a zillion times? And what does it mean anyway? Well...as I studied the particular people who used this phrase (sneaky huh?), I came to a conclusion. They used it to manipulate those of us who were not on "their page." In other words, does anyone ever challenge a statement like that?



"I just want to be sure we're all on the same page." Says person #1



"Why?" Says person #2. "What makes you think I want to be on your page." Says person #2 "Maybe your page stinks. Maybe your page should be ripped from the book and burned. Maybe you need to open to a new page in my book.



No. I've never heard anyone say that. So needless to say, I hate that expression. Here's another one. "We need to think outside the box." Yeah right. Whose box are we talking about? Who decides what is ok to suggest outside said box? I wanna know.



And my dog agrees with me.



Every morning I make my bed and then spread out her special blanket on one corner. She's always just stayed on her little corner of the bed. I mean it's not so small-it's a good 1/4 of the bed. She should be happy with that, right. Well, recently she's been testing her limits. At first it was just a paw over on my cream-colored quilt. Then two paws. When she leaned way off her blanket, I scolded her and told her to go back to her blanket. She obliged...until I left the room. Then she stretched out again. No matter how many times I made her move, she only ended up back on my quilt. What to do...what to do?



This morning, after once again making her move back to her blanket, I stood there to watch. She eyed me. I eyed her. She curled up into a neat ball on the blanket. I watched some more. She still eye-balled me. When she fell (apparently) asleep, I tiptoed out of the room. I watched from the other room, where I could see her paws but she couldn't see me. Sure enough, in one swoop, she stretched out nearly all the way across the bed. And then it came to me.



She was thinking "outside the blanket." And she'd discovered that she quite liked it. She was comfortable on the blanket before. But now that she'd experienced something more, she didn't want to go back.



Is it time to expand your blanket?



Photo: Togo livin' life beyond the blanket.



Write Now,



Karen

Risky Business

After hearing Jack Canfield for an hour and a half and being totally pumped up (wait- did Arnold say that first?), he talked about a really awesome book that he had to give away. He asked, "Who wants this book?" Of course everyone raised their hand. But one young man jumped up and ran to the podium and Jack handed it to him.

Lesson learned. Next time I will jump the seven or so rows, elbow and knee young children and the frail in the head. Dang! I should have acted faster. Actually, it seemed a bit staged to me, as in perhaps my friend Jack talked to the young man before the talk. (not as in, he brought his own people to give books away)

So, at the end of the magical evening, Jack said that he would sign books people had brought, have his photo taken or just shake your hand. He said he had all evening and didn't have anything to do until his 6am flight the next morning. Pretty cool!

Afterward, as he made his way to the book-signing table, he saw me. He kept following me around. I ducked into the bathroom and behind corners, but he was still there. My fans tend to be like that. Loyal to a fault. So finally I agreed to sign something for him (see photo), and then he was very happy.

OK...now the real story: I stood in line for a bit. When it was my turn I went forward with heart pounding. I told him that I would be published in one of his books in December. He asked me which one. Then I got super-duper brave, having just learned that very valuable lesson from his talk. I handed him one of my cards. On one side is my personal information and on the back I wrote the title of my book. I told him briefly about it and then he insisted we get our photo taken together so he could frame it and put it on his desk. OK...That's not true. Sheesh, I'm doin' a lot of lying lately. It was I who asked him for the photo and my 86-year-old father took the picture (see photo)...see, not quite so exciting to read, huh? Oh well.

So this is my last post about my new friend Jack and the real question is, will he remember me? Will anything come of my figurative jump over those seats? I don't know, but if it does-you'll be the first to know.

Karen