Testing

Perceptions

It’s a matter of perception or opinion when it comes to reviews. Yet authors read them as if they were the gospel of all their readers. A review is written by one person. It is that one person’s opinion or perception of the book.

For Misty Dreams ( www.thewildrosepress.com ) my reviews have run the gambit.

Merrylee at Two Lip Reviews said: ”Misty Dreams is one of the top ten best novels I’ve ever read.” Merrylee gave it 5 out of 5 kisses and awarded it a Reviewer’s Pick Award.

Theresa B. at The Romance Studio gave Misty Dreams four hearts. She didn’t mention why she deducted one heart, so I have no idea what she didn’t like about it. Or maybe, that is just her high for a time-travel romance or…

See the point I’m making?

I remember something a childhood friend told me back when we were too young to be so smart. I’d been moping because I wanted to win a writing contest my school had entered me into. I told Linda (my friend) that I wanted to be the best at something, anything. She glanced up from the book she was reading, smiled and shook her head. “Oh, C. J., there will always be someone better. You just have to be the best you can be and you’ll be a winner.” At the time I thought that was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard. (BTW, I won the contest.)

Elizabeth Lowell, author of Death Echo (releasing in June) said in June’s issue of RT magazine: “If you are lucky enough to get published, some people will love your book, some will hate it and most won’t even read it. Get your pleasure from the writing, not from how each and every person feels about the finished book.”

If we follow Ms. Lowell’s advice, we’ll all be winners. 

And, Linda, wherever you are, you were right. 

Charlotte “CJ” Parker

www.cjparker.net

Charlotte Parker

Misty Dreams, a time-travel romance spanning modern day to 1876 Deadwood. Blurb available on my Web site. http://www.cjparker.net/

Book available at: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

C. J. Parker

Fugue Macabre: Ghost Dance a paranormal suspense set in New Orleans.

Trailer and blurb available on my Web site, http://www.cjparker.net/


Fugue Macabre: Bone Dance the second book of the Fugue Macabre trilogy set in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana.

Blurb available on my Web site. http://www.cjparker.net/

Books available at: http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com/

Down and Out

I've got to get tough with myself. I have three books (yup, 3) to write this year and it's close to the end of April.




Why am I behind?



Well, I'll tell ya.



Stupid file sharing sites. The jerks are giving away my books. I'm not making any money. I truly do love ebooks, but this pirate thing has brought me down into the pits. I work hard to write my books. I never expected to get rich writing. I didn't even expect to be able to pay all my bills from my royalties. But I'd like to make what I've earned.



It's got to the point that my muse is asking "Why bother?"



And, please, don't ask what sites I'm talking about. I'm not going to give them the free publicity, or the link so it becomes more popular with those who couldn't care less that I'm not getting paid for my work.



Okay. Finished feeling sorry for mysef. Back to work.

Growing Up

Have you ever seen that commercial where older people say things like "when I grow up I want to build homes." or "when I grow up I want to write a novel."? 

At first I just laughed.  "Hey, you old farts, you are grown up," I say.  But wait.  Are they?  Really?  How many of us are "grown up?" 

What is grown up? 

I used to think growing up meant leaving Saturday cartoons behind, or no more sneeking the last of the ice cream out of the freezer before someone else beat you to it.  When I was a kid, I thought grown up meant staying home and crocheting in front of the TV (my mom), sitting in front of the heater with an old afgan thrown over your legs, while everyone else in the house was burning up (my grandmother), but most of all, and the most feared part of growing up was laughter seemed to vanish out of old people's lives (my dad).

I left home very early; the age of sixteen.  I had big dreams of a big world, and I knew if I stayed where I was, I'd never see any of it.  I'd never live my dreams.  And I told my mom on the day I left, I'd never grow up. 

Have I?

Well, if grown up is those things listed above, no.  I still love cartoons.  I still sneak the last of the ice cream out of the freezer before my hubby can.  I like to crochet, but only because it frees my mind and lets it wander over story ideas, plots, and characters.  But unlike my grandmother I hate the heat.  HATE it.  Rarely turn on the heat.  And I laugh.  I mean I don't run around laughing like a brainless idiot, but I'm a pretty happy soul.  I've even noticed since my hubby retired he laughs a lot more, too. 

What's the meaning of this post? 

Think about it.  When we're kids we have imaginary friends.  As writers we've just taken that a step further.  We still have imaginary friends, but we create their worlds, their problems, kill some off, kiss off others, and love them all.  We play make-believe on a daily basis. 

I think I was right when I told my mom I'd never grow up.  My body may be grown, but in my mind I'm still that little girl who loved to make up stories to entertain my friends.  I still love to take down the huge dictionary from its pedestal and find words I've never heard of then try to figure out a way to use it.  In place of the paper dolls I played with as a kid, I now have a character board with photos of famous and some not so famous people to serve as the face and body of the people wandering around in my head and on the computer screen.  

And  I'm happy with me.   

Time to poop or get off the pot

I guess I've spent enough time in that comfortable corner I've placed myself in.  One of my publishers has decided not to place their books into Ingrams and Baker and Taylor, so brick and mortar book stores can order them.   I understand their reasoning, but I want to be able to walk into my local B&N or Books A Million or... and find my books on the shelf.  I'll still write for the publishers I'm working with now, but I want more.  I guess it's time to place butt in chair and try to write a book good enough for the likes of Deidre Knight (my dream agent).  It's time to grow.

As much as I love my ebooks and trade paper books, I'd like to walk into my local RWA chapter meeting and be able to show them my latest and have it be a mass market paperback.  I've noticed the different reactions between trade and Mass.  People seem to be more excited for those authors who have "made it" with the mass paperback.  While trade seems to be more of, "You're getting there."

I want to "Make It." 

The Shape of the World

Sounds like a huge topic, huh? Only for some. I'd like someone to explain to me why some people deem it okay to steal money from me and other authors. They think nothing of downloading my books off of filesharing sites for free. The publisher receives no payment, so I, the author, do not get paid for my work.

I've been asked/told:
1. "How hard can it be to toss some words on a screen and send it on to a publisher?"
2. "It only takes you a few weeks to write these things."
3. "You make plenty off of readers. It's no big deal if a few people get a free copy here and there."

1. You think it so easy, you do it. If it were easy a lot more people would be published.
2. A good book can take anywhere from four months to a year to write. And many authors work more than 40 hours a week and stay up late into the night getting a chapter right. Then get up at dawn the next day to get some words written before they go off to the day job.
3. The only writers who get rich are the big name authors. Those of us who are just starting out, or are what is known as mid-listers, have to keep the day job just to pay the bills. And it is a big deal. How would you feel if you worked for four to twelve months and someone took your paychecks? Hmm?

Whew!!

Yes. I'm tried. But oh what fun I had getting there. EPICon went well. I met a lot of great people and made a few new friends. I lost a few pounds from running from one spot to another. Woohoo!!

As soon as I can I'll post photos from the conference. Sad to admit, I didn't get one photograph taken, so any shots I post will be from others who did.

Now I'm going to play the name dropper game. ;)

Holly Jacobs is everything you've heard and more. She's so much fun to be around. The trick is to find space to be around her. She'd come to a public place and find a nice quiet place to relax, and moments later she'd be surrounded by her fans. I snuck her away for a dinner at a local out of the way restaurant where they had a zydeco band. Hey, she said she wanted a taste of Louisiana. LOL I wish you could have seen her face when the music started. It made my night. Oh, yeah, and the food was good, too.

I managed to sit and talk with Debra Dixon of Goal, Motivation & Conflict fame for an hour or so. No, I didn't pitch to her. (She's with Belle Books) I've been too tied up with EPICon plans to really get anything written this last year. I did talk to her about an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while. But mostly it was just two girls enjoying a chat. If you get a chance to meet Debra, do. She's a sweetie. I'm still trying to figure out how I got lucky enough to get that time with her.

Deidre Knight was there to give us all a workshop on promotion. I'm still heartbroken over the fact that I was running from one thing to another and missed the workshop. But at least I did get to meet Deidre and have a few words with her. If you're ever in the same room with her, leave your nerves at the door, and go talk with her. Turns out she's fairly human and quite easy to talk to.

Louisiana's own Deborah Leblanc gave us two workshops. Marketing and Promotion & When Everyone Says You Can't. Who says you can't be entertained and taught at the same time? Wrong! This self-professed Cajun Woman kept us laughing while making us think on our own. What could we accomplish if we just stop listening to others tell us we CAN'T?

C. T. Adams had to cancel. She came down with the nasties and didn't want to give it to those of us at the conference. We were disappointed, but understood. Maybe next year in Va, C.T.?

Now, I'm going to sleep for a day or two and then try to get caught up. I have a few books waiting to escape. But, I promise, I'll be here more often with words of no wisdom.

I've missed you, my friends. I really have.