Archive for March 2009

You’ve arrived at stop #19 of the The Writer Mama Two-Year Anniversary Blog Tour Giveaway! I’m honored to be a train stop on this virtual tour. A little background, Christina Katz — aka The Writer Mama — decided to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the book by eTraveling to a different blog every single day of March. So this spot here is part 19 (Darn! I missed my favorite number by one). To read the other parts of the blog tour, find the shortcuts at The Writer Mama Riffs blog.

And there’s more! You have a chance to win a copy of Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids! Remember to check at the end of this post for the 411 on how to win a signed copy of Writer Mama! I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.

I never wanted to own my business. I never considered becoming a writer until it happened. After all, you hear so many folks saying they want to write. I never thought I had any talent or anything special. My writer mama story started with the arrival of my second child. I enrolled in New York University’s online program in Internet Technologies with plans to go for a career in web design.

Got the certificate, did a few web design projects and hated it. No eye for design. No patience for fixing complicated bugs that worked right in one browser and not the next. No enjoyment.

Before all this, I had subscribed to email newsletters on web design. After discovering my dislike of doing the design work, I continued to stay on top of web design. The field of making web sites still fascinated me. One of the newsletters would give away a full-blown copy of Photoshop (!!!) if it published your article. That sparked my writing career. I wrote a few more articles for the same publication, which led to my first paid gig.

Babies. Talent. Segue to Christina’s entry. Thank you for stopping by. Come again, y’all!

Post #19: Writing is Rewriting

There is no such thing as talent. I’ve learned this from observing my own successes as well as my peers and my students. When Anne Lamott wrote the popular writing book, Bird by Bird, I bet writers around the globe breathed a collective sigh of relief. Surely if Anne Lamott writes “shitty first drafts” then there is hope for all of us, right?

And that is why you might nail a chapter in your book on the first try… or the tenth. Or you might be on the verge of wanting to pull your tongue out before the darn introduction comes together. You might simply be unhappy with the guts of a chapter or two because they don’t quite accomplish what you are trying to say. Or maybe you feel that your book draft is somehow incomplete but you’re not quite sure how.

When a piece of writing works, I always think back to something one of my students said once: it’s like a song. Every single word is just right. There’s a harmony in the words that just works. And that’s a great feeling, generally brought about by many rewrites rather than talent.

In book writing, we are striving for that same feeling of completion, of wholeness, of near perfection that is like a song. But saying this and getting there are two different things entirely. And each of us has to decide to get there and then do it however we can. Let’s take a look at the three rewriting phases that typically follow the book drafting process:

Rewrite your brains out: Until you turn in that first full draft, you can rewrite your book as much as you want, whenever and wherever you want. If the book hasn’t been approved as an entirety, by all means, keep rewriting to make it as good as it can get. But be careful not to become so obsessed with rewriting that you don’t make it through your full first draft. Remember Anne Lamott and just bang that “shitty first draft” out.

Approved with suggested rewrites, additions or cuts: Once your editor has gone over the full draft of your book, she will likely request changes ranging anywhere from simple to major. Suffice it to say that most editors would rather make small changes at this stage rather than major changes, but it’s not unusual for an editor to ask for an additional chapter or two, the restructuring of a certain section, or even a cutting of a chapter or two. Trust your editor. She very likely knows what she’s talking about and has the reader in mind.

The copyediting stage: Perhaps the most loathed and appreciated person you will ever encounter is your copy editor. You may initially dislike her with some gusto in the short run and then appreciate her a lot more in retrospect. Luckily for writers, a thoughtful copy editor knows that a little bit of appreciation for all of your hard work can go a long way even as she nitpicks your grammar to death. And even an ungenerous soul with an eye for excellent usage can bump your book to publication-quality from wherever it was. I say, go ahead and let a copyeditor feel superior (if that’s how you think she feels—she might, then again, she might not). And, since you will likely never have to encounter your copy editor face-to-face, since they are typically hired out as freelancers, you don’t ever have to worry that you will have the opportunity to tell them what you really think of them after you’ve just reviewed an especially “bloody” red-line of your hard-wrought efforts.

The galley stage: You’d think after all of these editorial reviews your book would be on the brink of divinity, right? Sadly, no. The layout folks likely accidentally deleted a few sentences here or there. And if there are tables or graphs, you’d better finger-read every word and make sure all your logic is parallel or whatever it’s supposed to be. There are plenty of typos in your book and this is your last chance, before publication, to find them. Sticky notes come in handy at this stage. You may as well purchase them in bulk, just in case.

Today’s Book Drawing: To enter to win a signed, numbered copy of Writer Mama, answer the following question in this blog’s comments:

Describe your typical rewriting process. Do you usually nail it on the first try or do you have to progress through multiple rewrites?

Thanks for participating! Only US residents, or folks with a US mailing address can participate in the drawing. Please only enter once per day.

Where will the drawing be tomorrow? Visit http://thewritermama.wordpress.com/ to continue reading the rest of the Writer Mama story throughout March 2009!

The casual games industry is giving The Serpent of Isis high accolades. I haven’t checked it myself as I’m swamped with client projects. Here are the details:

Someone stole the legendary artwork, The Serpent of Isis, from the grand opening of the Egypt Museum in Cairo. Your character’s grandfather originally discovered the artifact that has been missing for years. An anonymous letter arrives saying that the person who has the artwork is on board the Mont Palu Express. Catch the train to find the artwork and solve the ancient mystery.

Although the artifact comes the very popular hidden object game setting of Egypt, the action doesn’t all take place in Cairo. In fact, it ends in London — one of the first places I want to visit outside of North America.

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Mon. March 16th: 50% off on Red Cross ERU

Tue. March 17th: 50% off on Baby Blimp

Wed. March 18th: 50% off on Youda Camper

Thu. March 19th: 50% off on Kindergarten

Fri. March 20th: 50% off on Skies of War

Sat. March 21st: 50% off on World Domination 2

Sun. March 22nd: 50% off on Rail of War

• Surviving Spring Break Week with Kids: My debut on WebWorkerDaily. Excited to officially join the community. Or would you rather read about dealing with taxes?
• 15 Photoshop Tutorials for Creating Product Advertisements: Designers amaze me.
• Tweetoclock: Find out the best time to communicate with a twitterer — when s/he is most likely to respond. Personally, I check my replies through search.twitter.com and try to catch them all, so tweet me at your convenience. Of course, some tweets may be general and not to anyone specific — Tweetoclock can help you make sure you reach certain folks at the right time in hopes they’ll notice you.
• Save the Words: Dictionaries drop hundreds of words every year. I adopted logarithmotechny: the art of calculating logarithms [Link: Beth Kanter].
• Free E-Books for Read an E-Book Week: Lists sites that have free e-books all the time. Still prefer my books printed not on a reader.
• Keep Your Salad Fresh: I love the advice to avoid cliches. I’m editing a book telling a guy’s fascinating life story, which contains many cliches. Trying to cut down.
• 25 Tax Resources for Freelance Writers: Ugh, don’t want to think about taxes… but think we must [Link: Anne Wayman].

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Torah in Haiku: Now that’s something I can read! [Link: Rebecca's Pocket]
• Down for Everyone or Just Me? Sometimes cached pages trick us or a slow internet.
• Dallas Diamonds football team in the Independent Women’s Football League: Great folks!
• Three Cups of Tea: Amazing story about a man who helps build secular schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Tuned in” explains the difference between Apple Newton’s failure and iPod’s success. Apple wasn’t tuned in when it created Newton, but when it promoted “1000 songs in your pocket,” Apple solved several problems: giving people a way to carry their songs in something small, making it easy to get songs from computer to iPod and creating a product that is easy to use.

Not all stories in Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs come from big and innovative companies like Apple. In fact, we learn about a tuned in magician (one-person business), niche camera (not a well-known brand), StubHub and a company’s newsletter.

Many companies fail to ask prospects what problems they need solving. Instead, they create a problem and a solution that they think people need. An excellent example comes from Magnavox. Did the company think people needed more features on their TV sets?

No. Instead, Magnavox interviewed customers to find out what problems they had with their TVs. Sometimes customers don’t know that answer and it’s up to the tuned in company to help them figure it out. Through this process, Magnavox stumbled on a problem we all have (including my own household) — we lose our remotes on a regular basis (as hard as I try to teach my kids to put things back, they conveniently forget to do it).

So what does the company do? Added a button on its TV sets to locate the remote. Now I wish I knew about this before I bought my last TV. And this feature should become a standard for ALL TV-related products that come with a remote.

Some employees think talking to friends and family helps them tune in. But really, it doesn’t. They can’t always be the dream customer for a company’s products and services. Here’s where knowing customers enters the picture. When a company knows its customers well enough, it knows where to find them and interview them to tune in.

The book could use more examples especially of one-person or very small business stories like the magician who found his niche. The start of the book captivates, but then it drags by the middle as it falls in the trap of what some business books tend to do and starts spending too much time on its framework. The examples draws the reader in more than anything else.

For the most part, the Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs is a fast and breezy read offering valuable insight into the six-step process for tuning in by using real-life examples.

• Title: Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business Breakthroughs
• Authors: Craig Stull, Phil Myers, David Meerman Scott
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISBN: 047026036X / 13: 978-0470260364
• Date: 2008
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 224
• Cover Price: USD: $27.95 / Amazon Price: $16.77

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Mon. March 9th: 60% off on Jets ‘n ‘Guns Gold

Tue. March 10th: 60% off on Archibald’s Adventures

Wed. March 11th: 50% off on Larva Mortus

Thu. March 12th: 50% off on Wendy’s Wellness

Fri. March 13th: 50% off on Jet Ducks

Sat. March 14th: 50% off on Chinese Chess Soul

Sun. March 15th: 45% off on Family Restaurant

• Getting Things Done with Twitter: Don’t like the idea of paying through Twitter.
• Twitterfall: A New Twitter Tool for Journalists: I get nervous about new twitter tools because they can boost your addiction and time spent on twitter [Link: Esther]. And a link to Twitterfall.
• Becoming a Great Programmer: Use Your Trash Can by Esther Schindler.
• What the Hashtag? Can’t figure out what the # means in twitter? Wonder no more.
• Word Count Plus FireFox Plugin: Counts number words in selected text and total.
• How to Be Likeable: 10 Things You Can Do Today [Link: GL Hoffman]
• SPOGG: Society for the Promotional of Good Grammar
• Poll: What is the first media outlet you look/listen in order to get your news on a daily/consistent basis? Saddened (but not surprised) to see print low on the list. Created with twtpoll (multiple choice only).

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 12 Awesome Foosball Tables: WOW. Hubby would love one of these, but they’ll remain admired from afar just like his favorite Corvette ’61.
• The Great Pyramid PC Mod: Cool.
• 10 tips to give up Facebook during Lent
• Evaluate tech purchases: Retrevo and Wize [Link: Web Worker Daily]

Just the other day while walking the dog, I noticed a clay-colored workman’s boot print on the sidewalk in front of my house. Now, I knew it wasn’t there before. I set foot in this house when it was built in 1996.

The first time the footprint caught my eye, I thought it was recent and someone got his shoe wet leaving a wet print. The temperature was in the 50s, so things didn’t dry quickly.

Since I had a small dog, she and I rarely took many routes because she tired easily especially in the Texas summer. These walks told me stories about our neighborhood’s grass. I discovered and envied one beautiful and pricey golf course-like lawn. Besides, it made picking up after her easy.

Over the past couple of years including last week, I noted several homes changing the grass from Bermuda to St. Augustine especially those with shady trees hovering over their lawns. Bermuda needed sun and the shade killed its blades. So neighbors switched to St. Augustine so they could enjoy feeling green grass on their bare feet instead of colorless sharp grass.

We didn’t plant a tree in our front lawn for many reasons. Despite that, a neighbor’s tree blocked the sun to torture our grass. The grass held up. Thank goodness. I preferred Bermuda’s soft even blades to St. Augustine’s unwieldy blades.

Back to that print. The next day, I walked the dog (my job five days a week — forces me away from the computer) and that irksome boot print stayed put.

Did it annoy me because it marred my little sidewalk space in front of my home? Because I liked a blemish free sidewalk considering the flower bed sucked? Because it didn’t come from someone in my family?

While growing up in Fort Worth, I moseyed along on the streets and rode my bike around the neighborhood memorizing many of its little quirks and signatures where people wrote their name and the year. People left their signatures behind in my current neighborhood. Yet, my family’s signature didn’t appear in either neighborhood. Was that unfair?

But then if I had encountered wet cement, would I make my mark? Or would the fear of violating city property scare me away? The healthy crack-free sidewalk won’t need replacing for years, so that question will linger.

I asked my husband if he noticed the boot print. He didn’t. It didn’t surprise me. I conducted a test early on in our marriage. I found tissue on the bathroom floor. Curious if hubby would notice, I left it there.

Day one. No.

Day two. Nope.

Finally, on day three I had had it and threw it away.

Am I too observant? Too obsessed with neatness and organization? On the other hand, was it a good thing I take the time to notice my surroundings? Showing an appreciation for life and the little things.

Sometimes, I wished I didn’t notice things so they wouldn’t bother me (with three kids, it was impossible to have an impeccable place).

Oh, the house’s floors put up with junk on them more often than not and I accepted that. It bugged me, nonetheless. I reminded myself that I rather spend time with my family than constantly keeping after them to straighten up.

Besides, bedtime outranked cleaning time. A grumpy kid who stayed up later to clean up made for a miserable family as the grumpiness spread.

So this sidewalk scene went from making your mark to noticing things to obsession with organization. These yielded a single theme: valuing life experiences.

You don’t need to make your mark on a sidewalk to be remembered. I think about my dad often without an object inducing the memory.

Noticing the little things shows you have the ability to take in many of life’s moments. Watching my kids play without their knowing lets me experience them enjoying themselves doing little things such as pushing cars and talking to themselves.

Letting go of disarray rewards you with more time to enjoy those you love. Instead of asking my kindergartner to clean up his papers and markers, I toss in another book at reading time so I can revel in his new reading skill.

Parents might say that I’m not doing my kids favors by letting them skip clean up every single day. But to them I say that I will remember the extra time spent reading or playing.

So what “bad behavior” do you indulge in for the greater good? What Have You Learned from Scenes of a Sidewalk? This is a contribution inspired by Middle Zone Musing‘s latest writing project.

Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

Inspired by the short books that helped me get my reading groove back, I asked others what are their favorite books with no more than 200 pages. If you need a jump start to get back into reading or need a short read, here’s your list of books to check out.

I looked up those new to me and already have them on my “rent from the library” list. Since these are short, I plan to get them soon after I catch up on a couple of longer books I need to review. I’d let them cut in line, but I’ve already let too many books skip ahead in line.

Yes, a couple go a little beyond 200, but not much and they’re superb suggestions. Apologies for all the links — need to credit others and make it easy for you to look up the books.

jmcnally: Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke.

mikeandthemoms: I’m going to go with two – The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (I think it’s under 200) and The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway.

GeekMommy: under 200 pages? either Anthem by Ayn Rand or Mimi the Merry Go Round Cat by Dorothy Haas. Both have shaped my mind.

yarnmaven: The Weblog Handbook by Rebecca Blood. Everything else I read is much longer or a knitting magazine.

bradshorr: Hard to pick one … this hits me at the moment Eugenics and Other Evils. On a totally different tack – Woody Allen Getting Even. Also C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. World Wide Rave: Creating Triggers that Get Millions of People to Spread Your Ideas and Share Your Stories.

CathLawson: The Richest Man In Babylon

guykawasaki: If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland.

Alison Law: I really loved Shopgirl by Steve Martin (144 pgs. according to Amazon.com). Looking forward to your list!

Ben Henick: The Little Prince

Sara: Chronicles of Narnia

Gloria Chen: Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up by Patricia Ryan Madson.

Linda Kamin: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Marsha: Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life by Zoe Weil

Charles Bohannan: The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

Jamie Grove’s List

In the Land of Pain, Alphonse Daudet

The Last Opium Den, Nick Tosches

Embers, Sandor Marai

Literature and the Gods, Roberto Calasso

The Devil’s Larder: A Feast, Jim Crace

The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, Thad Carhart

From Michael Michalowicz, the Toilet Paper Enterpreneur: Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength, The Richest Man in Babylon, and Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!

Stephen Elliott’s List

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Ray by Barry Hannah

Salvador by Joan Didion

The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm

Desperate Characters: A Novel by Paula Fox

And probably my favorite book, Jesus’ Son: Stories by Denis Johnson

Mark Macias suggests Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing Media (Excerpts available).

Gisela suggests:

From Bauhaus to Our House by Tom Wolfe

Guide for the Perplexed by E.F. Schumacher

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

Meryl’s List

One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way: I started applying these ideas right away — before I finished the book. The author explains the science behind this in an interesting way.

Associated Press Guide to News Writing: The Resource for Professional Journalists: All you need to know to become a better journalist.

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life: Rather than doing what comes naturally for many of us and becoming defensive and pointing fingers, the book changes your mode of thinking from “It’s his fault” to “How can I fix this?”

The Holy Man: Each chapter tells a tale and teaches a lesson. However, in the big scheme of things, there’s progression from start to finish as a couple of characters appear throughout.

Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results: Four simple things to make work and home a great place to be.

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: Become an entrepreneur with what you have and without the B.S. so many other books have.

My updated list of books read along[pdf] with their notes.

What other great books can you add to the list? What makes them special to you?

Updated: 22 April 2009

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Mon. March 2nd: 50% off on Squaricon

Tue. March 3rd: 40% off on Galactic Teddy

Wed. March 4th: 50% off on Master of the Board

Thu. March 5th: 55% off on Dreamsdwell Stories

Fri. March 6th: 50% off on BlackJack Dash!

Sat. March 7th: 40% off on Arcade Race

Sun. March 8th: 40% off on Galactic Teddy 2: Back to Home