I really love the fact that I now have deadlines and yes I love to see my byline in print. However, I find that while my freelancing is motoring along, I have less and less time to spend on my fiction.
Since, I thoroughly enjoy writing, I don't mind the topic. Right now, I am writing primarily hockey articles which works since I have two sons and a husband who play. It really wasn't a stretch to find ideas since it seems like our house is hockey twenty-four/seven. Even the little one runs around with a stick in her hand.
I'm also pleased to be able to put my education experience to good use by writing blog posts for a new site devoted to helping teachers and parents navigate a sometimes difficult path.
Of course, in between are the job applications for other freelance jobs. Unfortunately, this is leaving me very little time to devote to my fiction. Yes, I have been neglecting my characters and I miss them especially since the school year started with my plan to finally finish my Cape May mystery!
A couple of freelance jobs came my way and my plan got placed on the back burner.
Recently, I read an article about one of my favorite Irish authors Maeve Binchy where she said that your goal should be to write five pages a day. Before you know it, she reasoned, you will have your finished manuscript.
I love this idea and I really want to put her advice into practice, but the only problem is where is the time?
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
She Liked It!
Now if you are a writer, you are used to those form rejection letters because you receive them a lot. Yes, the form ones even come in the age of e-mail submissions as well. So when you get one that actually has the human touch, it can be cause for a little celebration if you will.
Secrets, Lies, and Trash has been searching for a home for a while. Last week, I submitted it to a publisher who was interested in cozies. Surprisingly, I received a prompt response from the editor. Usually, it takes months and then you still sometimes do not get an answer.
The response was not what I was hoping for. Apparently, my mystery wasn't cozy enough. My protagonist gets himself into too many perilous situations. Who knew?
However, the editor remarked about how much she had enjoyed the manuscript and my garbage guy hero, Russell Waverly. Unfortunately, it just didn't fit into the category of books they publish.
It was without a doubt the nicest and most hopeful rejection that I have received in my somewhat lengthy journey to mainstream publication. Her parting words were that if I had another softer mystery featuring Russell that she would love to read it.
While it was a no, it was a no with hope for the future. Perhaps there is a home out there somewhere for Secrets after all. An actual book publisher read it, enjoyed it and told me I shouldn't have any trouble finding a place for it. Okay, so that hasn't happened yet, but I appreciated her pep talk.
It also gives me some incentive to get to work on the sequel. I am about half way through Russell's Cape May adventure and this one just may be the cozy she was looking for!
A rejection is a rejection, but this one came with a much needed silver lining.
Secrets, Lies, and Trash has been searching for a home for a while. Last week, I submitted it to a publisher who was interested in cozies. Surprisingly, I received a prompt response from the editor. Usually, it takes months and then you still sometimes do not get an answer.
The response was not what I was hoping for. Apparently, my mystery wasn't cozy enough. My protagonist gets himself into too many perilous situations. Who knew?
However, the editor remarked about how much she had enjoyed the manuscript and my garbage guy hero, Russell Waverly. Unfortunately, it just didn't fit into the category of books they publish.
It was without a doubt the nicest and most hopeful rejection that I have received in my somewhat lengthy journey to mainstream publication. Her parting words were that if I had another softer mystery featuring Russell that she would love to read it.
While it was a no, it was a no with hope for the future. Perhaps there is a home out there somewhere for Secrets after all. An actual book publisher read it, enjoyed it and told me I shouldn't have any trouble finding a place for it. Okay, so that hasn't happened yet, but I appreciated her pep talk.
It also gives me some incentive to get to work on the sequel. I am about half way through Russell's Cape May adventure and this one just may be the cozy she was looking for!
A rejection is a rejection, but this one came with a much needed silver lining.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
It Was Fun While It Lasted
Now you think as a writer, I would be used to rejection. Why with my novels and short stories alone I could probably wallpaper my house and part of my neighborhood. However, when one rolls your way it still bums you out no matter how many you have gotten in the past.
In September, I got my first opportunity to write as a freelancer, putting together news and opinion pieces for RantPolitical.com. While I am not the most political person on the block, I really appreciated the chance to dive into the field of journalism. It certainly renewed my vigor as a writer and I was thrilled. I got to do some interviews and even wrote a couple of sports features. Way cool!
Before I sat down today to write a piece on the downsizing of newspapers due to economics, I decided to check my e-mail. How ironic was it to discover my new position was about to become a similar victim at the end of the month.
Thus is the life of a writer. A job is here one day and gone the next. It is why writers never truly hang up the typewriter and retire. They can't afford to.
Now I am not anywhere near the age of retirement just trying to find my way as a writer. I have put my fiction writing on hold for the past few months because I was loving the opportunity to actually be paid for my words.
My characters have been patiently waiting for new mysteries to solve and hopefully they will one day find an audience a little broader than my first two novels.
Tomorrow is another day and there are more stories to write, more chapters to create, and more jobs to apply for.
However, it was fun while it lasted.
In September, I got my first opportunity to write as a freelancer, putting together news and opinion pieces for RantPolitical.com. While I am not the most political person on the block, I really appreciated the chance to dive into the field of journalism. It certainly renewed my vigor as a writer and I was thrilled. I got to do some interviews and even wrote a couple of sports features. Way cool!
Before I sat down today to write a piece on the downsizing of newspapers due to economics, I decided to check my e-mail. How ironic was it to discover my new position was about to become a similar victim at the end of the month.
Thus is the life of a writer. A job is here one day and gone the next. It is why writers never truly hang up the typewriter and retire. They can't afford to.
Now I am not anywhere near the age of retirement just trying to find my way as a writer. I have put my fiction writing on hold for the past few months because I was loving the opportunity to actually be paid for my words.
My characters have been patiently waiting for new mysteries to solve and hopefully they will one day find an audience a little broader than my first two novels.
Tomorrow is another day and there are more stories to write, more chapters to create, and more jobs to apply for.
However, it was fun while it lasted.
Friday, December 7, 2012
I'm With The Press
When I was an eager journalism student, I clearly remember a day in News, Reporting, and Editing, when the professor came in and told us we had an hour and twenty minutes to hand in a story. We could work alone or partner up. Then, he pointed to the door.
The shy, quiet girl in me froze. What was I going to do? The thought of going out onto the street and finding a story to write about scared me to death. Yet, isn't that what a reporter does?
My how the times have changed. If I could, I would go back and stick it out along the writing route. Unfortunately, we can't turn back the clock. All we can do is go forward which is why I am loving writing news and op ed pieces for http://rantpolitical.com.
The shy girl in me is gone, thanks to teaching for a few years in a tough district. I needed to develop a backbone quickly or I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did. Now, everything is a potential story and I love it! There isn't any harm in asking. What is the worst someone is going to say? No? Okay, there is always another story, another angle or another person to talk to.
Yesterday, I was told that I could apply for a press pass. How cool it that? The possibilities are endless and I can't wait to get it and use it.
If you're wondering how that assignment panned out, well I got an 'A'. The over-achiever in me wouldn't accept anything less. I partnered up with the chatty girl next to me who is probably an overseas correspondent somewhere now. She did the talking and I did the writing, perfect match.
The difference now is that I'm doing the asking and the writing and I am actually looking forward to it. With age comes experience, wisdom, and the understanding that you should never give up on a dream. They find you in the most unlikely places and times.
The shy, quiet girl in me froze. What was I going to do? The thought of going out onto the street and finding a story to write about scared me to death. Yet, isn't that what a reporter does?
My how the times have changed. If I could, I would go back and stick it out along the writing route. Unfortunately, we can't turn back the clock. All we can do is go forward which is why I am loving writing news and op ed pieces for http://rantpolitical.com.
The shy girl in me is gone, thanks to teaching for a few years in a tough district. I needed to develop a backbone quickly or I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did. Now, everything is a potential story and I love it! There isn't any harm in asking. What is the worst someone is going to say? No? Okay, there is always another story, another angle or another person to talk to.
Yesterday, I was told that I could apply for a press pass. How cool it that? The possibilities are endless and I can't wait to get it and use it.
If you're wondering how that assignment panned out, well I got an 'A'. The over-achiever in me wouldn't accept anything less. I partnered up with the chatty girl next to me who is probably an overseas correspondent somewhere now. She did the talking and I did the writing, perfect match.
The difference now is that I'm doing the asking and the writing and I am actually looking forward to it. With age comes experience, wisdom, and the understanding that you should never give up on a dream. They find you in the most unlikely places and times.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
THE JERSEY SHORE
As a beach baby from way back, the Jersey Shore has been a favorite setting of mine whether it is the lovely landscape of Spring Lake or the historic Victorian Cape May, so it has been really heartbreaking to see the damage Hurricane Sandy inflicted on New Jersey's treasure shoreline.
The entire hurricane experience has been surreal. While writing news post for http://www.rantpolitical.com, fear started to set in. Adding more fuel to the anxiety was the police cars driving around town alerting residents to the possibility of an evacuation due to the approaching storm surge.
In the end, my town would be spared the devastation incurred from the storms waves unlike last year's Hurricane Irene which caused a lot of damage from flooding waters. We, like most of the Garden State, would be thrust into darkness. Gas and milk suddenly became luxuries that were difficult to obtain. Routes which once were common place were now impassable.
It would be days in a cold house minus electricity and hot water, but we were the lucky ones. Just two towns over people were homeless. Their houses rendered uninhabitable by the waters which rushed through taking everything they owned with them.
Keansburg, a Bayshore town where I taught for years, would be brought to its knees along with many of its neighbors. All towns that hold memories. People left with nothing but the clothing on their backs. Many of whom had little to begin with.
When the first copy of a newspaper finally made its way to our doorstep three days after the infamous storm passed, I was shocked. Shocked to see the photographs of a once beautiful landscape looking like a bomb had been detonated on its shores.
The ocean's power had left its mark. A painful reminder that the ocean with all of its beauty will never be tamed.
Yet, we will rebuild. We are New Jersey. We are strong. The shore will be back. Perhaps not in its previous form, but it will be back and the memories of what it once was will always remain in my heart and in the pages of my stories.
The entire hurricane experience has been surreal. While writing news post for http://www.rantpolitical.com, fear started to set in. Adding more fuel to the anxiety was the police cars driving around town alerting residents to the possibility of an evacuation due to the approaching storm surge.
In the end, my town would be spared the devastation incurred from the storms waves unlike last year's Hurricane Irene which caused a lot of damage from flooding waters. We, like most of the Garden State, would be thrust into darkness. Gas and milk suddenly became luxuries that were difficult to obtain. Routes which once were common place were now impassable.
It would be days in a cold house minus electricity and hot water, but we were the lucky ones. Just two towns over people were homeless. Their houses rendered uninhabitable by the waters which rushed through taking everything they owned with them.
Keansburg, a Bayshore town where I taught for years, would be brought to its knees along with many of its neighbors. All towns that hold memories. People left with nothing but the clothing on their backs. Many of whom had little to begin with.
When the first copy of a newspaper finally made its way to our doorstep three days after the infamous storm passed, I was shocked. Shocked to see the photographs of a once beautiful landscape looking like a bomb had been detonated on its shores.
The ocean's power had left its mark. A painful reminder that the ocean with all of its beauty will never be tamed.
Yet, we will rebuild. We are New Jersey. We are strong. The shore will be back. Perhaps not in its previous form, but it will be back and the memories of what it once was will always remain in my heart and in the pages of my stories.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
EIGHT DAYS A WEEK
Unlike a nine to five job, writing is a twenty-four/seven gig and it doesn't matter if it is your profession or your dream job. A writer is always writing and never really takes a vacation which is why writers seldom retire. They can't afford to.
Unless your surname is Grisham or Higgins-Clark, you simply do not have the luxury to sit back and wait for your royalty checks to roll in. You write and you keep writing, no matter how big or small the job is. There may not be the stability or the financial reward of a conventional job, but that's okay. Thankfully, I have an understanding and supportive spouse.
I used to have a nine to five, well an eight to three really. I was an elementary school teacher. While I enjoyed my time in the classroom, I didn't love it. I love to write which is the difference. A teacher's school year was 185 days where I live and it's not good when you start the countdown in September.
Even though I do not take off for holidays or weekends, I thoroughly enjoy my time at the typewriter and it doesn't matter what I'm working on. I love it whether it is putting together news posts for my first free-lance job or penning the latest chapter in my Cape May mystery. The wonderful thing about writing is that even when you are not actually writing, you are thinking of ideas.
Recently, I saw an interview with the late Maeve Bincy, one of my favorite authors. She was talking about how a writer's goal should be to write five pages a day and to stick to that goal everyday. Her point was that if you follow through before you know it, you will have a book and she's right.
I also remember a piece of advice my father gave me way back when. It was simple. He said make sure you pick a job you enjoy because you will be doing it everyday. Then he added that not many people get that opportunity and he's correct. Many people toil at jobs or careers they hate because they have to.
Now that I decided to work where my heart is I intend to stick with it, eight days a week. Publishing is like the lottery, "you have to be in it to win it."
Unless your surname is Grisham or Higgins-Clark, you simply do not have the luxury to sit back and wait for your royalty checks to roll in. You write and you keep writing, no matter how big or small the job is. There may not be the stability or the financial reward of a conventional job, but that's okay. Thankfully, I have an understanding and supportive spouse.
I used to have a nine to five, well an eight to three really. I was an elementary school teacher. While I enjoyed my time in the classroom, I didn't love it. I love to write which is the difference. A teacher's school year was 185 days where I live and it's not good when you start the countdown in September.
Even though I do not take off for holidays or weekends, I thoroughly enjoy my time at the typewriter and it doesn't matter what I'm working on. I love it whether it is putting together news posts for my first free-lance job or penning the latest chapter in my Cape May mystery. The wonderful thing about writing is that even when you are not actually writing, you are thinking of ideas.
Recently, I saw an interview with the late Maeve Bincy, one of my favorite authors. She was talking about how a writer's goal should be to write five pages a day and to stick to that goal everyday. Her point was that if you follow through before you know it, you will have a book and she's right.
I also remember a piece of advice my father gave me way back when. It was simple. He said make sure you pick a job you enjoy because you will be doing it everyday. Then he added that not many people get that opportunity and he's correct. Many people toil at jobs or careers they hate because they have to.
Now that I decided to work where my heart is I intend to stick with it, eight days a week. Publishing is like the lottery, "you have to be in it to win it."
Friday, October 5, 2012
JUST THE FACTS
I must say I am enjoying my new free-lance writing job. However, the change in style has been a bit of an adjustment. Writing a news post is certainly not like creating a mystery. Thankfully, I started out as a journalism major in college and was a type 'A' student. So I was happy to see that I hadn't forgotten what I learned.
Putting together a news story is remembering the four "w's" just like I was taught in my first News Reporting and Editing class back in the day. Readers want to know the who, the what, the where, and the when. Yes, I know there are five. The why is important as well. You just don't always get the why. Take this story that I followed this week for example.
A New Jersey teen tweets on her Twitter account that there is an intruder in her house and asks her followers to call 911. Why she tweets it, but doesn't do it herself remains a mystery. However, her one simple post set off a fire storm of activity on the popular social media site and at her hometown's police department as well.
To make a long story short, tweet is a hoax and the young girl ran away. Two days later she actually does call 911 and is now at home, but this story doesn't have a why. We will probably never know why the teen sent the tweet, why she ran away or where she was during the time she was unaccounted for. Her family slammed the lid shut on the news media by not issuing a comment as well they should.
The other major component of news writing which has been a change for me is the opinion part. Unless I am contributing an op-ed piece, I need to leave mine out of the article. Believe me, that can be difficult sometimes, especially with this tweet story.
Once the world found out the girl orchestrated her disappearance, the online chatter turned downright nasty with people losing sight of the bottom line. The girl may not have been abducted, but she was still missing. I didn't think the false tweet made a difference.
The life of a runaway is not a pretty one. It's a scary one and as much as I wanted to put that feeling into my article, I couldn't. I was writing a news piece and when you are writing the news, it is helpful to remember the words of a famous television character. I can't remember his name or the movie, but the catch phrase applies. "Just the facts, Ma'am."
Putting together a news story is remembering the four "w's" just like I was taught in my first News Reporting and Editing class back in the day. Readers want to know the who, the what, the where, and the when. Yes, I know there are five. The why is important as well. You just don't always get the why. Take this story that I followed this week for example.
A New Jersey teen tweets on her Twitter account that there is an intruder in her house and asks her followers to call 911. Why she tweets it, but doesn't do it herself remains a mystery. However, her one simple post set off a fire storm of activity on the popular social media site and at her hometown's police department as well.
To make a long story short, tweet is a hoax and the young girl ran away. Two days later she actually does call 911 and is now at home, but this story doesn't have a why. We will probably never know why the teen sent the tweet, why she ran away or where she was during the time she was unaccounted for. Her family slammed the lid shut on the news media by not issuing a comment as well they should.
The other major component of news writing which has been a change for me is the opinion part. Unless I am contributing an op-ed piece, I need to leave mine out of the article. Believe me, that can be difficult sometimes, especially with this tweet story.
Once the world found out the girl orchestrated her disappearance, the online chatter turned downright nasty with people losing sight of the bottom line. The girl may not have been abducted, but she was still missing. I didn't think the false tweet made a difference.
The life of a runaway is not a pretty one. It's a scary one and as much as I wanted to put that feeling into my article, I couldn't. I was writing a news piece and when you are writing the news, it is helpful to remember the words of a famous television character. I can't remember his name or the movie, but the catch phrase applies. "Just the facts, Ma'am."
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