Writers in the Storm

by Denise Domning

Following is the second in a series of Denise Domning's journey in self-publishing (here's Part 1.) Read on - not only is the journey facinating and educational, this is entertaining stuff. How many writers do you know trying to get on The Howard Stern Show? 

Take it away, Denise:

Well, the snail marches on.  That’s publishing, even when you’re doing it on your own.   Everything just seems to take too lo-o-o-o-ng.

First, we had a talk with our agent Katie Kotchman of the Denise Marcil and Don Congdon Literary Agencies.  Katie’s been our book’s biggest supporter from the the first nineteen pages I sent her by email; she’s very much looking forward to seeing the book(s) in print.

She laughed when we told her we’d renamed the first book, which is a little more than half the book she was originally pitching, to “Men-ipulation”.  She laughed harder when we told her the name of the second book, which is the last third plus more of the original book: “Men-sturbation”.  It fits.  While the first book is Monica’s recovery from drug addiction, the second is the chronicle of Monica skirting sex addiction.  I’m thanking Katie here again for all her time and effort on our behalf.

We have a cover that’s as edgy, sexy and provocative as we wanted.  Monica is now the only bona fide troop in The Men Wars.

What we need now is someone to do our PR.  Last week we spoke with Annie Jennings of Annie Jennings PR and Book Promotion. Her firm was the one we included in our original book proposal, but in this second conversation with her she warned us that PR doesn’t guarantee book sales.  That’s not news to me.  But PR does bring attention and we need attention. 

I also sensed that Annie was having a little trouble with the tenor of this version of the book, so I sent her the working manuscript and asked her to read it before sending us the contract.  If she doesn’t love what we’re doing, she won’t be worth hiring. 

My idea to put out a teaser book was nixed by Amazon.  Apparently only the biggest publishers are allowed to put out free books on Kindle.  Hmm.  No problem.  I’ll just make those chapters available on our new TheMenWars.com website (not viable yet but coming soon). 

I have now conquered both Nook and LuLu/iBook formatting.  It was too easy.

• For Nook I downloaded Google’s free epub program, Sigil. 
• I converted my original Kindle html files to xhtml (that’s a “save as” in Dreamweaver or you can copy and paste the right formatting information into the header of your web page. )
• The hardest part was breaking my single large book file into individual chapters and making sure they stayed in order when I inputted them into Sigil. 
• Nook appears to require the ncx file that Kindle makes optional, but I’d already written one for the Kindle so all I needed to do was move it into the right directory. 
• As for using Lulu.com (I gave my old MAC to my niece and you can’t make your own iBook on a PC), it simply uploaded my Nook epub file and said “Thank you very much”.
• Then it asked me to make a cover.  It took longer to figure out that page than it did to upload the book. 

Back to The Men Wars and getting this book into the hands of readers.  We now have our social media contest gifts: an iPad, a Kindle and a Nook.  What else?  We want people to read the book.  That’s why I’m making our website and any promotional sites prominently display the PC apps for Kindle, Nook and iBooks.  

Note: You knew you could download a free app and read on your computer, right?

Now it was time to find reviewers.  Sometimes I hate the Web.  No, I do not want to buy your eBook to learn how to reach reviewers.  Not that your book wouldn’t be incredibly informative.  No, I do not want to join your newsletter list so I can get your amazing words of wisdom about publishing, which I’m sure will be most illuminating.  It's just that you’ll send me your words on a daily basis and my inbox is already overflowing with other people’s words of wisdom (most of which I don’t read anyway).

I miss my local library and the reference librarian.  That’s how I’m used to doing my research.  The Web is crowded with repetitive information, which means I spend way too much time sifting through the dross trying to find that one gold nugget I need.  However, I did finally find list of reviewers, including what they want to review…and, miracle of miracles, someone has already said yes! 

The copyright is almost filed—it’s just waiting for the finished manuscript to be uploaded. Although the system is definitely not user-friendly, it only costs me $35 to file.  I’ve also bought us the ISBN number, including a widget for “See Inside”, which I have yet to figure out.    I’m wondering if I even need it.  I got Amazon’s information on “See Inside” and my eyes crossed while I was reading it.  I figured this had to be easier.

There’s still the interior artwork to be designed, but the edits are done, up to the final chapter which I’m writing right now, or would be if I weren’t typing this.  Only another sixteen to twenty pages and this project will be officially written. 

Ack!  I know I’m forgetting something. 

We still haven’t heard back from Annie Jennings.  I’m afraid this will be a no-go with her.  But without her, how in the world are we going to get Monica onto Howard Stern?

How is your self-publishing journey progressing? Post questions for Monica, and she'll do her best to check back (in all her spare time!) and answer them.

REMINDER: On Friday, Writers In The Storm will be hosting the quick-change artist, Sue Grimshaw - who went into a phone booth a buyer from Borders, and emerged as an acquiring editor for Random House's new Loveswept line!

Before Lyn gets started, I just wanted to let you know. We've had requests to repost the finalist's entries of the Going to the Chapel Conest. We were happy to comply! Just go to the Contest page to view. Here's Lyn:

By Lyn Horner

Modern Druidism, or Druidry, sprouted in 17th century Britain. This period is known as the Druid Revival.

Studying scraps of historical records equaling only ten pages of translated text, scholars of that time began to formulate a new spiritual philosophy. Rooted in nature and the living earth, it attracted interest all over Britain, and a number of people embraced this new path. It offered an alternative to the rigidity of organized religion and the materialistic views of philosophers like René Descartes.

English Druids claim the first modern Druid order was formed in 1717, during a meeting
at the Apple Tree Tavern in Covent Garden, London. There is no proof of this legendary meeting but, whether it occurred or not, the revival was well advanced by that date.

Some of its followers hoped to modify Christianity into a more nature-based religion. They supported the Latitudinarian movement in the Church of England. Latitudinarians urged tolerance toward religious dissenters and favored meditation and individual study as a spiritual path.

Other members of the Druid Revival sought to create a totally separate faith. Many believed in pantheism, which asserts that the universe is a living, divine being. The term pantheism was created by John Toland, an Irish writer whose views greatly influenced the Druid Revival. Pantheist Druids believe everything in nature is divine. Polytheistic Druids believe in many gods of nature. Such beliefs were crimes in 18th century Britain, subject to severe punishment.

Eager to learn from their ancient predecessors, Druid Revivalists latched on to any bit of information they could find. In his writings, Julius Caesar said the original Druids taught their students about the planets. This caused Revivalists to tramp across the Salisbury Plain, examining megalithic sites in search of clues to the Celtic Druids’ knowledge of astronomy. References to the ancient ones worshipping in forest groves had an even greater impact, leaving a vision of white-robed figures communing among the trees imprinted on our imaginations even now.

In the 19th century Welsh Druidry came to prominence. It’s founder was Edward Williams, who took the name Iolo Morganwg (Iolo of Glamorgan.) A gifted poet and scholar, he sometimes added his own poetry to authentic medieval texts, inventing lore that influences modern Druid rituals. He and his Welsh Druid compatriots were often at odds with the Druids of Britain and France.

The same holds true for Irish Druids of that era. Throughout the 19th century, Irish
Celtic nationalists bitterly opposed their British overlords. Most were conservative
Christians. Those few who were attracted by Druid lore turned their backs on Druid groups outside traditional Celtic nations. These regional and political rifts within the Druid movement lasted for decades.

Despite such setbacks, Druidry has evolved and spread to many corners of the world over the past three centuries. The first American Druid societies came into being during the Revolutionary War. By the early part of the 20th century Druid orders included large branches in the U.S. and Canada, and reached as far away as Australia and New Zealand. France also developed a strong Druid presence with its own special traditions.

Archeological finds during the past century forced modern Druids to reassess some of their beliefs and traditions. For one thing, some Druid orders had claimed a continuous, unbroken link reaching back to the ancient Druids. Archeologists and historians have proven this false. Some modern Druids found it difficult to dispense with their misleading claims, but nowadays most realize they do not need that fictitious link to the dim past. They have established modern Druidry with a unique three-hundred-year-long tradition of its own.

Cairistiona Worthington, in The Beginner’s Guide to Druidry, states, “A Spiritual Path, a way of life, a philosophy, Druidry is all of these . . . Druidry today is alive and well,
and has migrated around the world forming a wonderful web of people who honour
and respect the Earth and the sacred right to life of all that is part of the Earth. Like a great tree drawing nourishment through its roots, Druidry draws wisdom from its ancestral heritage. There is a saying in Druidry that ‘The great tree thrives on the leaves that it casts to the ground’. Druidry today does not pretend to present a replica of the past, rather it is producing a new season’s growth.”

This concludes my brief review of the history, culture and religious beliefs of Celtic and modern day Druids. I have only skimmed the surface of a subject that has been written about at length by scholars far more knowledgeable than I. If you would like to learn more about the Druids, please refer to the resources listed after each of my posts.

Books:
The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer
The Beginners Guide to Druidry by Cairistiona Worthington

Websites:
What is Druidry from The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids
The Druid Network – a directory of Druid groups in theUSA
South  Central Druid Coalition – Networking opportunities for Druids in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Louisiana

Has this series been helpful to you? Do you write about other periods, cultures or religions in your books? Do you enjoy doing research? How many of you find that, until you do the research, you cannot proceed with your story?

Lyn is hosting a new collaborative series -- “Western Romance, The Story of Us” –on her home page. Several talented authors and readers are contributing. She hopes you will stop by http://texasdruids.com/posts/ and give her guest bloggers some comment love!

Don't forget to check back - our guest blogger this Friday will be the amazing Sue Grimshaw, former romance buyer for Borders, now acquiring editor for the new Loveswept line for Random House!

We love hearing from you! Not only do we hope that you enjoy the blogs here at WITS (and comment on them!) we also hope you'll visit our Writers In The Storm Page on Facebook.

As you know, we're hosting some amazing guest bloggers on Fridays lately, and today we're fortunate to have Kitty Bucholtz, the founder of the sucessful blog, Routines for Writers. Kitty's blog forte is inspiration, as you'll see from the following. We know Kitty from our local RWA group, OCCRWA, but she left us a year or so ago to follow her husband to a job in Australia! We miss her sunny personality and her encouragement, but you can get a shot of it anytime on her blog!

I’m so happy to be a guest here at Writers in the Storm. Not only are these some of my favorite people <waving madly>, but they’re serious about their writing and it shows on this blog.

I’ve been getting more and more serious about my writing as time goes by. It’s been a slow road with a few wonderful moments that I thought might be THE MOMENT. But then The Moment would turn into “We almost bought it,” and I had to trudge on. There were a few times when I gave up for a while, too discouraged to think of a way to keep going.

But a couple years ago I had lunch with my friend Dwight who said he wanted to run a marathon just to say he did it. I’d been trying to think of something I could do before I turned 40 that I’d never done before, something I’d never have believed I could do. A half marathon sounded like a brilliant idea. Especially because I was a dedicated couch potato. Running 13.1 miles without stopping was definitely on my list of things I couldn’t do.

We talked my husband John into joining us and the three of us began to train. From the beginning. Meaning we downloaded the “Couch to 5k” podcast from iTunes which starts with you running for 60 seconds, then walking for 90 seconds. I thought running meant running so I ran. Before the second minute of running was announced on my iPod, I was exhausted and ready to quit. But I couldn’t because now I’d convinced John to run, too, and he wasn’t quitting after 60 seconds. Crap! What had I gotten myself into?

Over the next 9 weeks, we slowly worked our way up to 5km (3.1 miles) and the three of us entered our first 5k race. Turns out John is a natural athlete and he did well in that first race (and has done well ever since). Dwight is about 6’4” and I figured his long legs would do all the work, but he struggled more than John. I struggled, too. I made it, but I was near the end of the finishers.

We kept training. We entered another 5k race and we did better. We drove to another city and ran a 10k race. I was excited about that one because we would be running through the wetlands next to a beach and there would be ice cream at the end. I was so slow that the photographer didn’t bother taking my picture (they take everyone’s picture) and they had already put the finisher’s medals away when I crossed the finish line.

I had half a bowl of melted ice cream and thought about what an idiot I was to be doing this. At the outset, running seemed like the perfect form of exercise for the budget-impaired. After all, we had two legs and a pair of sneakers when we started. But every race has an entry fee (money). We didn’t realize that you needed proper running shoes in order to not hurt your feet (more money). We were buying running gels (money), and driving all over the state (gas money).

To do what? To have John and Dwight always wait for me because I was always at the end of the pack. It was embarrassing.

One day, because I tend to be a techno-geek, I created an Excel spreadsheet with all of our race information. All the races we’d run so far, our times, what place we came in, and a list of the races we were planning on entering before the big prize – the Huntington Beach Marathon and Half Marathon. Typing the details into that spreadsheet, I noticed something for the first time.

I’d gotten a little faster with each race.

Shocking! Because I’d always been near the end, finisher number 752 out of 827, or finisher number 1721 out of 2165, and because I’d been passed by old men and a woman with one leg, I’d assumed I sucked big time. Maybe I did in comparison to the winners. But I was beating out my best time with each new race!

I’ve now run two half marathons and several shorter races. I’ve got some great stories about how running has taught me how to be a writer who goes the distance. I came in third to last in one half marathon because I’d hurt my foot a few weeks before and basically limped for 13.1 miles. My goal was only to go as far as I could without hurting myself. I never dreamed I’d even finish that race.

But the people waiting at the finish line cheered for me! I couldn’t believe it. I asked a stranger why they were cheering when I was nearly dead last. She said, “Because you finished! We’re all standing here because none of us could do what you just did!”

It shouldn’t take much imagination to think back through my story on running and change it to a story on writing. Paul, one of the writers in the Bible, gives some great encouragement to people on a journey. He says we can take pride in ourselves without comparing ourselves to others. He encourages us not to get weary of trying. And he reminds us that when we forget the past and press on toward the goal, we will win a prize.

Next month John and I will run the City2Surf race in Sydney for the second time. It’s the largest race in the world with 80,000+ runners. Last year, I finished behind about 49,000 people. But I beat 16,000 other people! And 15,000 people never crossed the finish line.

What about you? Have you done anything in your outside life that inspired your writing? This is not an easy journey, and we all benefit from your inspiration - please share it with us!

I’ll never win first place in a footrace. And I don’t dream of making more money than Jane or selling more books than Sally. But I have career goals and benchmarks, and I’m beginning to see that when I compete with myself and don’t give up, I win a little bit every day. I hope you see that about yourself, too.

Kitty Bucholtz has been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies, and writes light-hearted urban fantasy. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing from University of Technology, Sydney, and is a member of Romance Writers of America and Romance Writers of Australia. She loves to help and encourage other writers and is one of the co-founders of Routines for Writers. Follow her on Twitter at @KittyBucholtz.