Excuses? I've Got a Few...

Recently I signed up for another email list. Most of the time, I'm trying to exit them, but this was an additional list from Stage 32. It's a list that provides updates on the opportunities for writers at the site, including script coverage, consulting, pitch sessions and more. Even though there are a lot of emails coming at me from this list, it made me realize that my favorite excuse for feeling guilty when working on scripts (and then not finishing them) has been proven false--there is a way for me to break into scriptwriting.

While these opportunities are great, they do also come with costs. The costs seem reasonable, so I wouldn't mind indulging with one of my scripts--if I could get one finished to the point that I'm ready to share. That, and the fee would come out of a tiny portion of my budget that currently serves to pay for fiction and poetry contest entries. So I would have to give up contest entries for other projects for a couple of months, but really, who's winning contests around here anyway?  (not me, I assure you...)

That leads me to Camp NaNoWriMo. I'm going to do it, and I'm going to measure April's session in minutes. I will be dedicating 1800 minutes of the month to writing a pilot I haven't started, but have plenty of notes for. It's a strong female-driven comedy. I hope I can pull it off. Then I can start thinking about where I'm going to take it next.

This week's post wouldn't be complete without a plug for my latest project, now would it? Remember that my latest collection of poetry, If It Was New York, Summer 2009, is coming out on MARCH 26. You can PREORDER it now from Amazon and other retailers worldwide. Paperback will be available for purchase on March 26, as will copies through subscription services such as Playster and Scribd.

The Productivity of the Writer

Because I spend most of my writing day working in a capacity that's geared towards marketing, productivity has become nothing more than a buzz word when it comes to my own writing life. It's a concept that is hard to grasp as a person who isn't a writer, because productivity is usually proven with tangible results: you have a story published, your book is coming out, you managed to successfully dress yourself when you finally emerged from your home office--things like that.

Productivity for my professional life has a much wider scope that includes finishing drafts of stories no one else may ever have the pleasure of reading, getting up the nerve to submit to a publication (then actually pressing the button to submit it), begging fifty book bloggers for reviews and getting one back. These are the things no one ever sees. What do people see? They see me staring at the wall, probably moving my lips silently as I figure out the word order and phrasing I want to use in a story I haven't begun to put down on paper--and this is totally a productive activity too, as weird as it may look.

My point to all this rambling talk about productivity (which in itself may be debatable that it was a productive use of my time)? The beginning of 2018 has been a super-productive time for me already. I managed to get my chapbook contest submission in on time and have convinced myself that the entry fee was, in fact, worth it. I just finished editing a short story that I'm ready to send out, although I'm still a little timid about where I want to send it to. I wrote the story months ago and knew once I saw the completed first draft exactly where I wanted to send it. Over the editing process I was constantly battling with my own ego, telling myself, "You must be joking. You can't send it there." And the next day I would tell myself that I was just being my usual anxiety-ridden self. I finally convinced myself that I should just go for it--it won't do me any harm to try. And then Cat Person happened.

For those who haven't heard about this, Cat Person is a short story in The New Yorker that created huge waves all over the internet a few weeks ago. Serious waves. Like the author already has a lucrative book deal kind of waves. I read it and thought what everyone else did--it was so simple, but such a genius piece of work that captures everything about the topic it discusses (I'm being vague because I think you should read it rather than suffer through my synopsis of it). That made me once again reconsider sending out my story because that's exactly where I wanted to send it. But in the name of writerly productivity, I'm sending it there anyway. I don't care if I'm ninety-nine percent sure it's not getting in. This isn't the year to be afraid anymore.

...with my writing. I'm still totally afraid of spiders and small talk.

Countdown to Release Day

Next week will be the official release for The Callaways: Haunting Melody. Who is excited?!

As usual, I'll be giving away a Kindle copy of the novella through good ol' Rafflecopter (contest starts 9/29, 12am). If you are interested in winning this copy, please feel free to complete one or all of the tasks to gain entries. And if you don't prefer receiving a copy directly through Amazon, a PDF copy can be made available for the winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Oh, and if you haven't read the first installment The Callaways: Melody of Love yet, you still have plenty of time to pick up your copy--just $1.99 and its yours. 

I've also found my new project for October--more about that one next week. Happy writing!

Busy Month for Big Rewards

If only I was paid overtime. I have been taking on nearly double the amount of work lately not only put a bigger cushion on the bottom line, but to also fund some of the marketing expenses I will be seeing in the coming months. While I have found a lot of free advertising and marketing avenues to look into, there are still some really great opps that only money can buy: like well-placed ads, contest prizes, etc.

Although it seems daunting, I'm still excited about it. I'm finally seeing a project through to the end and I'm grateful that I finally found an idea that has kept me interested at every turn. Hopefully, I'll sell enough copies to fund my next project -- or at least enough to let me take a full weekend off one of these days. Although, when you love what you do, it's very hard to walk away. Even for a weekend.

The Manuscript is Back

My Personas poetry collection/chapbook is now back in my hands. It got booted out of the contest I submitted it to in the first quarterfinal round. I kind of had a feeling it wouldn't make it since the publisher running the contest decided it would be a good idea to tweet the decision process over the last couple of weeks. Any time they made a comment about something being wrong with one of the submissions, I just assumed it was mine. Narcissistic? Yes. Helpful? Maybe. I did like this turn of events because I think it let me down gently, but in a more general sense it probably wasn't a good move. Even if the comments in no way pertained to my entry, it did pertain to someone's entry. It felt a little voyeuristic to be able to know that an entry was dismissed before the actual author found out, unless they were stalking around like me.

Now I'm not sure what I want to do with the manuscript. I had previously decided if this contest didn't pan out, I would self publish. I think I may hold that idea off for a little longer and try to submit more of the poems individually to publications. Tuesday Morning Hangover was part of the original longer draft of Personas, and someone decided they liked it, so maybe it's the bundling that is the issue. I think I'll send them out for a another round and see what happens.

Ups and Downs and Ups Again

It's been a rollercoaster weekend, that's for sure -- crashed the computer (again!) yesterday. But this time I didn't have to bring in any of my tech savvy family members. I managed to resolve the issue myself. I guess I had better learn how to do this stuff anyway, since I tend to get those nasty data recovery/fake antivirus things nearly every other month. Which means I am 100% finished with traffic exchanges. If I want more hits on my blog, I guess I'm going to have to do it the old fashioned way with excellent content.

It's also a little hectic in the home, getting things ready for a realtor to do their work. I thought living out of a few boxes was a slight strain on my life... now I know that living out of even fewer boxes to hide some of my clutter will be a triumph if I can get through it without a mini breakdown.

Now we are finally ready for the good news! I'm participating in a blog tour this week over at Book Review Bin. I'm reviewing and getting the word out about Zombie Candy (Annie Ogden Mystery 2) by Frederick Lee Brooke. I would love it if you stopped by and checked out my review and the Rafflecopter giveaway (find it in the sidebar). And don't forget to Google+, Like on Facebook and retweet if you can!

Sense of Accomplishment

Well, after participating for a few years, I finally did it--I won Script Frenzy! Makes me feel accomplished, although I know that the script is merely half the work. There's much more to do, and I'll be sure to worry about that tomorrow, but today I enjoy the feeling.

Since it's the last day of April, here is the last Poem of the Day: Rain

I hope that everyone enjoyed the poetry celebration as much as I did! Of course, poetry is not escaping from my daily work. I am still preparing my poetry manuscript. I'm also putting together two different submissions for chapbook contests. Those deadlines are approaching fast, so I've been sorting through all the poems I've written, looking for hidden gems tucked in the back of old notebooks and written on the back of receipts. Found a few rough ones, but nothing a little poetic polishing can't clear up.

I'm Really Not Surprised...

Well, it's May 10th, so it's time to announce the winner of the Freschetta Giveaway. Can you guess who it is? Can you? No one. That's right. Nobody entered the contest, so there's no winner to announce. Surprised? I'm not. I can't seem to do anything right--even running a contest giving away free stuff.

Let Your Taste Guide You

I don't know about you, but when I cook food taste is extremely important to me. Some people can get away with eating plain salads everyday for lunch, but when I want to eat healthy, I still want to enjoy taste. Now with the launch of 4 new varieties of Stouffers-panini, you can also win one of a number of fantastic prizes from Stouffers (if you live in Canada). The 4 new varieties include Bistro Meatballs & Peppers, Bistro Chicken Souvlaki,Grilled Vegetables & Goat Cheese, and Mango Chicken Tikka. They all sound like healthy and tasty options for me.

Some of the prizes for the contest include 3 grand prizes of India, Greece, Italy, or France destinations (worth $10,000), Sony digital camcorders, and daily instant prizes of free Stouffer's product coupons. So even if you don't win the grand prize, you can still come away a winner! You can register to win with one entry per day, but the offer is available to Canadian residents only.
If you want to win one of these amazing prizes (and are eligible), register here. Who knows? Eating good may put you on a plane to one of four foreign destinations. Good luck!

Contest for Writer/Readers

If you're a writer, then I think it's safe to assume that you're a reader too. I know I love to read sometimes more than I love to write! But for those that are strapped for cash or just looking to get some new books for free, there is a contest going on at Writer... Interrupted. This contest is book giveaway and all you have to do is sign up for the Writer... Interrupted newsletter. This will automatically give you 5 entries into the contest. Easy as pie. There are also a number of other ways to earn additional entries, which you can check out at the Contest Page. Good luck!!

Cable at its best

I think by this point, anyone who still watches television through a cable company is probably unhappy. I know that I’m not too happy. And my parents are really not happy since their cable company decides that their current service just doesn’t work for the price. Every month, one or two channels get taken off of their service. But to combat these unhappy customers, companies such as Charter Communications are doing something different. They are trying to put the fun back into watching TV.

Not only has Charter joined Twitter (@chartercom), but the company also wants to show their appreciation for their customers by hosting online contests. Last year, Charter gave away a variety of prizes including a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid and Xbox 360 systems. And current or new customers can get into the action as well. Right now Charter is offering a chance to enter their April sweepstakes to win a 22” flat screen HDTV. One is given away every day through April. And there’s even a grand prize: a 52” LCD flast screen HDTV with home theater system and one year of free Charter cable with HD.



Honestly, this contest is so amazing. If you are not a Charter cable subscriber, you really should be.