Among the Ranks of the Rejected

In putting together my talk on self-publishing, I came across some interesting material. I started out looking for the names of famous self-published authors. There are a lot of them. However, I found the list of now famous authors who were rejected over and over again to be more intriguing. It takes courage to persist in sending out a manuscript repeatedly, despite blistering rejections. It is comforting to know that Gone With the Wind was rejected 38 times before a publisher recognized its worth. Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, was turned down 29 times. Louis L’Amour was rejected over 200 times.

It seems there are many short-sighted publishers in this world.

I have been to innumerable writers' conferences and listened to panels of editors describe what they want. I have heard many of them say, "I'll know it when I see it."

Really?

To be fair, I realize that editors are swamped with manuscripts. They have to get rid of some of them.

Over the years, my manuscripts have been turned down plenty of times. Irons in the Fire had 25 rejections from both agents and editors, but it was published eventually and was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award.

It is wonderful to find an editor who appreciates your writing, but it isn't an easy task and frequently those editors move on. Then the author has to start the process all over again.

I am still collecting rejections from publishers. In the last letter I received, the editor wrote about my use of formal language. It wasn't right for her.

Daughter #1 got a laugh out of that. She figured I probably wrote out the word your instead of using ur.

Prince of the Mist is currently my only self-published book. However, it was previously published. Putting it up for sale again was a no-brainer.

Self-publishing is not a difficult process, but it is extra work. I have considered putting up my books on my own, but it is wonderful to have someone else edit, format, make a cover, and upload the book for me.

All I really want to do is write.

Filler Words

I am giving a talk at the library next week. (Middletown Township Public Library, May 2nd.) I am going to tell people how to e-publish their own books. I wrote out the talk and have been practicing my speech.

Daughter #1 belongs to Toastmasters, an international organization dedicated to public speaking and leadership. She was rather shy in grade school, but she's definitely improved. She pointed out some of the filler words I used on a regular basis when I was practicing.

Toastmasters has a specific list of filler words. Anyone giving a speech should never use the following words:

ah
um
like
you know
so (an unofficial filler word, but it can be distracting)

I speak on a regular basis. I am not afraid of public speaking. In fact, I love to talk about books! Once I get started, it's difficult to stop--but short of electric shock therapy, I doubt that I will ever be able to get rid of all my um's and you know's.

How about you?

A Wounded Protagonist

Saturday, I spent hours at a special New Jersey Romance Writers workshop listening to Michael Hauge's talk on story structure. It was a fantastic lecture interspersed with film clips. I took plenty of notes, and it is taking me a while to absorb all of the presentation. However, one of Michael Hauge's points has really stuck with me. He discussed giving the hero (or heroine) a wound--something from the distant past that has affected the protagonist deeply. As an example, Mr. Hauge showed a clip from the movie L.A. Confidential in which Russell Crowe's character talks about a horrible incident in his childhood. That scene defines the character, lending him empathy, but also adding an emotional punch which would not be there if the viewer did not know what makes the character tick.

I've always found it difficult to wound my heroines. I don't like to hurt people, but--as Michael Hauge pointed out--all of us are wounded in some way. Everyone has defense mechanisms in place by the time they are adults. All of us hide some of our true selves.

Mr. Hauge's left us with a statement to fill in for our protagonist, "I'll do whatever it takes to achieve my goal, just don't ask me to ________, because that's just not me."

If our characters are to succeed, they must go beyond their fears. That is courage. They must reveal their true selves because that is where their strength lies.

Then Mr. Hauge asked all of us not only to use his statement for our character, but to question ourselves.

A Sense of Direction

If you hide an accordion deep in the heart of New Jersey, hubby will find it. He does have good map skills, but while he has lived in New Jersey for more than forty years, he cannot find his way around without a map or me. I am hubby's GPS. He knows his way around Brooklyn, where he grew up, but he doesn't know north from south, east from west in New Jersey. He has no sense of direction.

He fears getting lost, which is incomprehensible to me. How can anyone get lost in New Jersey? There are Parkway signs and Turnpike signs all over the state. With all the jughandles, everyone makes a wrong turn now and then, but there will be another jughandle down the road where you can swing around and correct your course.

Besides, sometimes getting a little lost is fun. I call it exploring. New Jersey has some lovely scenery and unless you take a detour now and then, you will miss it.

When I write a book, it's like taking a long detour and doing some serious exploring. My outline is my map, but sometimes I loop around an unfamiliar jughandle and discover a scene of great beauty. If I was afraid of getting lost, I would never find that scene.

I know how to get home. I know how to find that happy ever after ending, but much of the fun in writing for me is in exploring. I travel deep into my characters' hearts, discover their motivations and learn what they really want. It's an incredible journey, but very entertaining.

My advice to all my writing friends is to write fearlessly. Do not be afraid of getting lost. Develop a sense of direction by studying the landmarks in your story. Tour new vistas and analyze the details.

And have fun. That's what writing is all about.

My Imaginary Friends

Yesterday, I spent some time making up a chart with the main characters in my new work-in-progress. The chart looks like this:

This is the bare bones stuff, but I find it handy. I don't want anyone's eye color to change mysteriously during the story.

I spent a considerable amount of time naming my imaginary friends. (That's what Daughter #1 calls them.) I had borrowed a book from the library which contained the names of many of the original families who settled in this county, which is the setting of this novel. I did not want to use any of those names in the book because my people are fictional.

Still, they had to have fairly common names for the time period, 1778. Of course, everything is subject to change. If a better name floats into my head for a character, I will use it. The heroine in my last book had another name at first, but when I realized I had too many names starting with the letter m, I changed her name. It isn't difficult with a computer. :^)

I set up this chart in Word. I can add lots more people simply by adding more rows to my table. I do much of my writing by the seat of my pants, but even I need some organization.

Peach Memories

The peach trees in the orchard have bloomed. They are beautiful, but every time I think of peaches, I think of my mother-in-law bringing me a ton of ripe peaches and telling me to do something with them before they all rot.

It was ninety-nine degrees and we had no air-conditioning.

I made peach jam. My daughters and my mother-in-law helped. They peeled and cut up the peaches. I hovered over the boiling jam until I thought I was going to melt.

I canned the jam and it was the very best peach jam ever, but every time I think of peaches, I think of being forced to make peach jam on a brutally hot day.

I used a lot of my peach experience in The Company You Keep. For a writer, even a negative experience can be useful. That's one of the big perks of being a writer. All kinds of situations can be channeled into a story.

My family can recognize the truth in my fiction. None of the plots I've devised resemble reality. None of my books are anything but fiction. However, some of the details are taken from actual incidents--like the peach business.

I still eat peaches, I like the scent of peaches, and I buy peach jam, but I never made another batch of peach jam. If anyone handed me a ton of ripe peaches now I would eat a few and hand out the rest to anyone who would take them.

I would rather be writing than making peach jam.

Plotting

I have been dividing my time between the real world (dishes, laundry, cooking, Easter bunnies, etc.) and June 29, 1778, which is the day my new heroine finds a wounded Redcoat in her barn. I am reading history books for research and working out a plot.

Plotting is a lot like walking through a maze. Other writers have made this comparison and there is a very nice blog post about it here. Like Cheryl Reif, I have run into a few dead ends in my plot.

Since I am writing a book about a certain time period, I have to factor in the cultural restrictions of the era. However, many women during the Revolutionary War displayed a great deal of courage. They were not shrinking violets. :^) Reading about the heroines of the Revolution is fun!

I do much of my plotting in my head. I'll fold laundry and think ...if this happens ... then that must happen ... no ... that won't work ... it has to be this way ...

So if you see me walking around in a fog, now you know why.

We're All In This Together

Yesterday, hubby and I went to a party. Some longtime friends were celebrating two events--the successful recover of our host from surgery and his brand new grandchild. One woman, an artist, was also at the party. She does not have a Facebook account or a blog. Our host's son tried to convince her to set up a website. She said she just always thought she could take her little red wagon into town with her work and sell it. She is a talented painter, but in today's world she needs an online presence.

There are many people who believe the internet is a fearsome beast. However, for writers, artists, and musicians it is a powerful advertising tool. Best of all, it's very inexpensive.

The writers I know are generous and entirely willing to help each other. I spent the weekend hitting the LIKE button on several writers' Facebook fan pages. In turn, they liked my fan page. The authors at Crescent Moon Press started a tribe at triberr.com so we can now share blog posts easily on Twitter.

Selling books (or any art) is all about networking and reach. A potential customer needs to know you have something they might like to buy and your product should be easy to find in a search engine. It's simple.

But it helps to have good friends to give you a boost--not only those who will like your fan page and invite you to join their tribe, but those who will give you a good review on Amazon or Goodreads.

We are all in this together and I am very grateful to those who have helped me.

I hope my artist friend puts away her little red wagon, gets a blog, a website, and a Facebook page. I'll be the first one to "like" her. :^)

A Look Back at Easter 1963

Forty-nine years ago, this was Easter. There's me with my mouth open and those crazy eyeglasses, which were very stylish at the time. Notice the gloves on my hands and the pillbox hat, also the very height of fashion. Mom is next to me, my brother is on the right (with a very skinny tie). My little sisters have bonnets and handbags. I know they must be wearing shiny patent leather shoes. Dad must have taken the snapshot, but I am sure he wore a suit.

Every Easter, we always wore new, special clothes. Our Easter outfits were a very important part of the celebration. We went to Mass every Sunday. However, on Easter we went in high style. But what was chic in 1963 is not chic anymore. I am especially glad I don't have to wear eyeglasses like that anymore!

A Fresh Coat of Ideas

Last weekend, I pitched The Pirate's Wraith to four different editors at the Liberty States Fiction Writers conference. Each of them asked for either a partial or the full manuscript. By Monday, one of the editors sent a rejection. However, it didn't sting too much for two reasons. First of all, she warned me that she did not know if there was a place for a time travel in her company. Secondly, we were going to have the living room and dining room painted.

Distraction is a great way to deal with rejection.

Monday was a busy day at our house. We had to eliminate all the clutter in the two rooms that were going to be painted. We have a surprising amount of clutter after living in this house for 33 years.

The painter arrived on Tuesday. He worked non-stop and finished the job. The rooms look so much better. I love my clean walls. However, I could not bear to put all the clutter back.

Wednesday, we brought a whole bunch of clutter to Goodwill. I tossed out the old curtains in the dining room. I simply could not hang them up again. Daughter #1 went online and ordered a new pair.

Thursday, hubby and I took a break and went to the Columbus Flea Market. The weather was glorious. We drove along Route 537, past farms with green grass and flowering trees. Hubby found another musical instrument at the flea market that he could not pass up. (More clutter--I can't win.) I got dried pineapple slices and sesame sticks.

Once we were home, I decided to start another book. There's no point in waiting for an editor to make a decision on my manuscript. I'm still waiting for a decision on Daddy Wanted, which I handed in last year to an editor. So I pulled out my idea file.

My idea file is messy. There are sticky notes, little scraps of memo paper, and newspaper articles. Some of the ideas are no more than a title. Some are character sketches. Some are whole outlines. It's wonderful.

And I found something I meant to expand and finish a long time ago. :^) I opened up a new file in the computer. It's like an empty wall waiting for a fresh coat of ideas. This is going to be fun!

My Pirate Reading List

Before attempting to write a book about a pirate in 1711, I immersed myself in books about pirates and sailing ships. While most of the books were non-fiction, I read some fiction as well, such as James Fenimore Cooper's, The Red Rover and The Pilot. I read Jack London's The Sea Wolf. My favorite was Rafael Sabatini's Captain Blood, but I also read his Sea-Hawk. (Hint: Most of these books are FREE or close to it.) I learned about buggery from a rather gritty book, The Eye of the Fleet.

Then I read a bunch of non-fiction books: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pirates, Pirates and Privateers, The Pirate Prince, The Mammoth Book of Pirates, and Two Years Before the Mast. I cannot say I became an expert, but I do feel I gained a better understanding of the era and I am very glad that I live in modern times. :^)

I did not use everything I read in my own pirate story. In fact, I used only touches here and there. After all, my pirate story is mainly a romance--it is concerned with a relationship. Yes, there is quite an adventure, but the focus is on the couple.

I love delving into history. All the little details are what make it interesting. Unfortunately, most of those details are not in standard history books, which usually offer a brief overview and dates.

What history books have you read that you found fascinating?

Am I Famous Yet?

Prince of the Mist is a hit this week. I hope all the readers who downloaded it for FREE enjoyed it and will give it a favorable online review. I also hope this sample of my writing will convince readers to try some of my other books. Some writers have used this marketing strategy and it has worked. Some claim it did not make a difference. Some refuse to try it.

I have downloaded free books. Since I have a Nook, I always check the Free Friday offering. I love to read classics and since the copyrights expired a long time ago, those are free. I buy plenty of used books, too. I have discovered many terrific authors this way and I have subsequently purchased their other books.

It took time for me to write the book and it would be nice to be compensated for that time, but I do have other books. I finished Daddy Wanted last year and I'm still trying to find a publisher for it. The Pirate's Wraith is completed and now I have to shop it around and find someone willing to take a chance on it. In a few weeks, I intend to start another book.

A writer must keep writing AND finishing books. Of course, it isn't hard if you have a lot of stories to tell. And I do. Please visit my Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/penelopemarzecbooks) and like it just in case I become uber famous someday.:^)

FREE for One Week Only

For one week only, you can download Prince of the Mist for FREE! (Just in time for St. Patrick's Day!) You must download the book from Smashwords and use the coupon code. You can find the book here. Smashwords offers books in all sorts of formats--so there's one for your ebook reader.

Smashwords is offering all sorts of books at discounted prices because it is officially Read an EBook week. Now is the time to load up your ebook reader. Don't miss out!

Finished!

I finished The Pirate's Wraith, my time travel/pirate romance! This week I've been tightening, editing, and checking for continuity. I love the book. :^) Whether or not an editor will enjoy it is debatable. It all depends on the editor.

Writing is a really crazy occupation. I've spent a great deal of time on this book and finding the time has not always been easy. Writing a book is a gamble, but I do it because I have fun with it.

If the book were ever made into a movie, Josh Holloway should play the part of my pirate captain and Marie Avgeropoulos should play the heroine. At least, in my opinion. :^)

Of course, since the book is a romance it will probably never be made into a movie--though you never know. This one does have quite a bit of action.

At any rate, wish me luck. I'm going to the Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference and I have an appointment with an editor. So if my nerves don't get the best of me and I am able to put together a few coherent sentences in explaining the plot, maybe I'll get a contract.

For Those Who Still Don't Understand Twitter

Twitter is useful. It can be a very powerful tool, but it can also be fun.

We do not have cable television in our house. It is pointless since we only watch the news. When television went digital, we simply got a better antenna. (You can read about that story here.) So for the Republican debate last night, I simply went to Twitter, clicked on the trending topic and watched the tweets roll by. It was exactly like being right there in the audience--or like passing notes in the back of the classroom. I think it was better than watching the debate.

Whenever there is a breaking news story, I have seen it on Twitter first. When hubby and I experienced the earthquake while on vacation in Virginia last summer, I checked Twitter. Then I emailed everyone back home to let them know we were fine. When Whitney Houston died, I saw the news on Twitter.

As a writer, I signed up with Twitter to promote my books, but posting nothing but my own book information can get tedious and boring for both me and my followers. I have discovered it is better to post a on variety of topics. With Twitter, that's easy because most of the time, I simply have to retweet another writer's post. In that way, I am supporting my writing friends and making new writing friends. (Everyone loves retweets.)

Passing on information about writing and the publishing business is welcomed by those in the writing community. If I see a great news article on the NY Times, I pass it along. If I see a great video, I pass it along.

Twitter is great for chatting, too. I have had conversations with writers far more famous than I.

Witty people post amusing tidbits on Twitter all the time. It's great for laughs.

Yes, I still post reviews about my books and quotes from my books. I let the world know I am holding a contest and I let them know where I will be autographing my books. Everyone who has a book to promote should be on Twitter.

But Twitter is so much more. Join in on the fun.

Dead Pictures

This is a photo of Babci and Dziadzi taken last July. Dziadzi looks good for a 94 year old. At Dziadzi's wake, Babci wanted photos taken of her husband in the coffin. I handed my camera to hubby and he took the pictures his mother wanted.

Evidently, taking post mortem photos is an old tradition in hubby's family. The photos are always sent to the remaining relatives in Poland. Personally, I like to remember the way people look when they are alive. However, taking photos of the dead was quite popular during the Victorian Era. Check out this link on Wikipedia.

We have plenty of photos of Dziadzi when he was hale and hearty, as a handsome young man, as a playful grandfather, and in a thoughtful mood. He was a good man.

Dziadzi's Passing

Death comes to us all. To some it comes sooner and to some, later. Dziadzi, hubby's father, was lucky enough to live a long, long time. He died four days short of his 95th birthday. He did not "go gentle into that good night." He suffered for the last few years. Though his death was expected, it was still sad, especially for Babci, his wife of 71 years--hubby's mom.

Dziadzi means grandfather in Polish. Dziadzi came to this country when he was twenty. Three years later, he met his true love at a small party and married her four months later. They had two children. One of them being my hubby. Hubby's brother passed away several years ago so his parents have relied solely on hubby's help in their difficulties.

Since Babci and Dziadzi lived in Florida and everyone else in the family lives up north, Dziadzi's passing created a logistical nightmare. As soon as we received the news, hubby booked a flight, a hotel, and a rental car. He sent all the information to the rest of the family via email and called as many as he could.

We headed to Florida the next day, arriving late in the evening. The following day was spent scrambling around to make funeral arrangements. The rest of the family arrived in time for the wake. In addition to the family, many of the friends hubby's parents made while living in Florida came to talk about the good times. It's rather sad that it takes a death in the family for us to hold a reunion, but it was nice to see everyone nevertheless. We were so glad that everyone was able to be there for Babci. It truly lightened the sadness in her heart.

Babci held up well during the whole ordeal, probably because she had seen Dziadzi suffer so much for the past few years that his passing was a relief. She is smaller though, a shrunken version of the energetic woman who could dance every Polka at the Polish club where nobody could keep up with her.

The funeral was lovely, dignified, and comforting. The priest's homily was truly inspired. The hymns were old favorites and included a Polish Christmas carol.

The repast may have been a little crazy--we settled for the Golden Corral--but everyone had their choice of food. It just so happens that the Golden Corral was one of Dziadzi's favorite places as well as Babci's favorite, too. I can remember Dziadzi's joy at having the wide variety of desserts. He did not eat much of the meat and vegetables but he satisfied his sweet tooth.

Of course, Dziadzi with his heavy accent never called it the Golden Corral--he called it the Golden Coral. :^)

Most of the grandchildren left the day after the funeral, although Daughter #3 and her hunny spent an extra day during which we occupied Babci by taking her on a cruise on the Miss Daisy to check out the stilt houses in the Gulf and watch the dolphins cavort around the boat. The weather was glorious and the dolphins' antics brought Babci a smile.

Monday came and the real work began. Hubby and I took Babci to the Social Security office and the bank. We wrote out thank you cards. By Tuesday, we waded in papers searching for insurance policies and bank statements. While Babci never throws anything out, it wasn't in any discernible order.

We aren't finished with the paper tasks. It will take some time to settle everything properly. In the meantime, we will be searching for an assisted living facility close to our home. We intend to move Babci up north with the rest of the family. Florida is a great place to be if you hate winter, but it is too far when you are old and feeble.

Hubby and I left sunny Florida and flew home to snowy New Jersey, but the snow was light and fluffy, covering the branches and lending the landscape the look of an enchanting winter wonderland.

I'm glad to be home.

Toys from the Past

This is a very ancient photograph. It is actually a black and white image that my mother colored with special, transparent oil paints.

Yes, there was a time when there was less color in the world. No color television and no color photographs, but we did without.

That's me on the right. I don't look very happy, but I do remember loving that toy. I remember the name of it--Golden Arrow. I do not remember my brother's little firetruck--probably because he never allowed me to sit in it. :^)

Toys were a lot simpler back in those days. I had dolls, a doll house, and a tea set. My brother had trains and guns, but I played with those, too. He was a cowboy, I was a cowgirl. I made boiled potatoes on my little play stove. He was Davy Crockett with his coonskin cap. He was Superman and broke his arm when he jumped off the porch. I was not as daring.

Do you remember what your favorite toys were when you were young?

For What It's Worth

I became serious about publishing over twenty-five years ago. I started writing at the age of nine, but it took a long time before I really got the itch to get my books published. First, I had to get an education, then I had to get a job, then I married the love of my life and popped out three daughters. Then the publishing bug hit me--and it hit full-force.

After my first rejection, I joined a professional writers' organization where I was inundated by tons of advice. I now belong to three professional writers' organizations. I've read innumerable books about writing and publishing and I have no doubt I could write my own non-fiction book about publishing--but I won't.

Writing is a solitary act. A fiction writer makes up stories and then commits her waking dream to paper. There is no right way to do it. Every writer has a different method. Some are very organized and plot everything in advance of the actual writing. Some are very unorganized--being quite free and loose about the process. There are many writers who use some of each system. It doesn't matter how the writer gets the job done, but she must have a good story and there should be no grammatical errors.

However, while a writer may believe she has written a good story, a publisher--or agent--will not necessarily agree with her. I could wallpaper a room with my rejections and so could most published writers. It can be very discouraging to get rejection after rejection. I have seen plenty of writers give up.

I did not give up. On the other hand, I did not wait to be published by one of the big publishers. I took what I could get. When e-publishing came into being, I jumped on the bandwagon. It made sense to me even if it didn't make sense to most people at the time.

So I was published, though in the opinion of those who were published by the big publishers, I was not published. I didn't care. Nevertheless, I continued to go to writing workshops and conferences. I took notes and carefully decided what was good and useful advice for me. My family and my real job came first. Of necessity, writing had to take a back seat. Nobody can do it all at the same time. There should be balance in one's life. It should not be a juggling act. I had my priorities and I stuck with them. I still do. I do not regret it at all.

Naturally, I did not make much money, but I had fun writing stories when I could squeeze in the time. Writing is a blast.

Despite the fact that smaller publishers thought my books worthy of publication, I still could not get a big publisher to give me a contract. Yes, I continued to get rejected. But I won two EPPIE Awards and was nominated for a Reviewers Choice Award.

Then e-publishing exploded. Now anyone can be published. I republished Prince of the Mist on my own. It had been originally published by New Concepts Publishing. I gave it a new cover and uploaded it. I am not getting rich, but the book is selling.

I may publish another book on my own if I believe in it and several publishers do not. Publishers have proven to be rather shortsighted when it comes to choosing books. Still, there are many advantages to having a publisher. Publishers edit books and give them covers. Of course, sometimes publishers give books really horrible, rotten covers. :^(

For what it's worth, my advice to new writers is to join a professional organization. Attend workshops and conferences. Shift through all the information and decide what is right for you. Do not abandon your husband, children, or your regular job to become famous. The odds are against you. However, if you don't give up, if you write well, and you keep your ear to the ground for breaking news in the publishing world--you can be like me.

Satisfied.

Superstitions

Since it's Friday the Thirteenth, I thought this video would be appropriate. :^)