Yesterday morning, I met a book coaching client at the Pantera’s, and for the next hour +, we analyzed and restructured the outline for Section II of her book. After she left, I stuck around for awhile working up material for the “Green Journaling” chapter of MFJ2. As happened at Kaldi’s, I accomplished a great deal of writing (pen and legal pad) in just two, tightly focused hours. There were even a few quick hits of inspiration!
At the moment and for whatever reasons, my mind seems to rise far better to the writing occasion away from my office. Sure, that’s happened with other books. But not to this extent. When I’m seated at a booth or table, comforted by a bottomless mug of fresh Columbian Dark, amidst a small but pleasant chunk of humanity, different brain cells join the effort, and I’m off and writing. It’s from that kind of mental immersion that my favorite analogies and plays-on-words emerge, and both of those techniques add such richness to writing!
Today I’ll type up all these hand-written café notes and see what I’ve got so far. (And hope most ernestly that they still sound interesting back here in my office.)
As I’ve taught, the first step in writing a book (or chapter) is scribbling down unstructured ideas, and that’s where I am right now. I really love this part!
Linda
* Next: Chores of the Publisher-Author
Friday, November 16, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Book Chapter Outlines
The working outlines for the 2 new MFJ2 (Many Faces of Journaling 2nd Edition) chapters are shaping up well. The "Green Journaling" chapter will include sections on journaling your personal green progress, environmentally healthy journaling, chronicling the forward (and backwards) steps in our communities (nations/world), and observations and commentaries on community and world progress in both large and small ways, including reflections on various news stories.
Fortunately, I’ve been saving such articles from the Post-Dispatch and from MSNBC.com and have both encouraging and depressing news bits, including the unexpected speed at which the effects of global warming are coming at us right now—far ahead of predictions!
I also outlined the "Scrapbook Journaling" chapter. That will have subsections on what kinds of information to include, tight writing for maximum effect, and the art of including such written pieces in the scrapbook.
Having these outlines – primitive though they are – makes me feel more in control of the whole 2nd edition process. They are the framework upon which I shall think and build.
As I’ve taught many times, the book business is all about planning!
Linda
* Next: Cafe Writing
Fortunately, I’ve been saving such articles from the Post-Dispatch and from MSNBC.com and have both encouraging and depressing news bits, including the unexpected speed at which the effects of global warming are coming at us right now—far ahead of predictions!
I also outlined the "Scrapbook Journaling" chapter. That will have subsections on what kinds of information to include, tight writing for maximum effect, and the art of including such written pieces in the scrapbook.
Having these outlines – primitive though they are – makes me feel more in control of the whole 2nd edition process. They are the framework upon which I shall think and build.
As I’ve taught many times, the book business is all about planning!
Linda
* Next: Cafe Writing
Monday, November 12, 2007
New Chapter Topics
First of all, in my files, I refer to The Many Faces of Journaling 2nd Edition as MFJ2. And will use that in the blog for quick reference. (Likewise, Your Pocket Divorce Guide is PDG2.)
My original plan was to add a chapter on "journaling for scrapbookers" to MFJ2. That’s a hot topic—there are several books out that cover that specifically. And my daughter-in-law Cathy is literally a professional scrapbook artist (see her blog http://www.thecropcircle.blogspot.com/), as well as being an elementary school teacher. Cathy is my main woman on this.
Then last week, the NBC affiliates began their Green Week broadcasts, which lapped up like they were chocolate-coated, and that determined a second new chapter – "Green Journaling." Since the whole, earth-caregiver scenario is dear to my heart, it’ll be a treat to write. And, thank you NBC, I’m not only totally jazzed, but more up-to-date about current global conditions.
Once again, it occurs to me that, when the project and timing are right, I seem to get nudged in just the right directions. The nudger can show up in many different forms – friend, customer, media, or some silly add in a toy catalog. It never ceases to amaze me!
Interruptions ~ Not only do these continue to sabotage my 2nd Edition writing, but as we enter the holiday season, it's going to get worse. Therefore, I'm going to follow the advice I give all my book coaching clients: make writing appointments with yourself and take them seriously! Write them in and on all of your calendars. That's my plan. I'll get back to you on how well I follow my own advice.
Linda
*Next: Basic Chapter Outlines
My original plan was to add a chapter on "journaling for scrapbookers" to MFJ2. That’s a hot topic—there are several books out that cover that specifically. And my daughter-in-law Cathy is literally a professional scrapbook artist (see her blog http://www.thecropcircle.blogspot.com/), as well as being an elementary school teacher. Cathy is my main woman on this.
Then last week, the NBC affiliates began their Green Week broadcasts, which lapped up like they were chocolate-coated, and that determined a second new chapter – "Green Journaling." Since the whole, earth-caregiver scenario is dear to my heart, it’ll be a treat to write. And, thank you NBC, I’m not only totally jazzed, but more up-to-date about current global conditions.
Once again, it occurs to me that, when the project and timing are right, I seem to get nudged in just the right directions. The nudger can show up in many different forms – friend, customer, media, or some silly add in a toy catalog. It never ceases to amaze me!
Interruptions ~ Not only do these continue to sabotage my 2nd Edition writing, but as we enter the holiday season, it's going to get worse. Therefore, I'm going to follow the advice I give all my book coaching clients: make writing appointments with yourself and take them seriously! Write them in and on all of your calendars. That's my plan. I'll get back to you on how well I follow my own advice.
Here's hoping ...
Linda
*Next: Basic Chapter Outlines
Thursday, November 8, 2007
2nd Edition Interrupted
In this, only the second installment of my Saga of the Second Editions, I shall demonstrate the “life happens” principle. As the owner of the publishing company, I have a few ongoing tasks, one of which is filling book orders from my two web sites (see the upper right corner of this web page). Web orders must be filled ASAP. Normally this simply involves invoicing, packing and shipping, and after a quick trip to the Post Office, I can get back to whatever I was working on before the order came through.
No biggie, right? And 95% of the time, it isn’t. But I got an order Tuesday for a copy of my booklet 58 Dating Tips for the Newly Single. The three “Newly Single” booklets had been temporarily discontinued, because I haven’t had time to install the new software for setting up, paginating and printing the 5 ½ x 8 ½” booklets. Now I have a credit card order for one, which means it’s already been charged to the customer’s credit card. So one way or another, I’ve got to ship it.
I bought the updated software from Blue Squirrel over a year ago, so I had to either install and customize that or reformat the pages to 8 ½ x 11” size and produce it as a plastic comb-bound version of the booklet. (The profit margin is sweet when you print and bind the booklet yourself.) Since I’ve learned far more about layouts than software, it became a 24-page layout project.
Being more adept at layout revisions doesn’t mean I’m faster at it. It can be a slow process. I'll will be happy with the final product. However, that means no work gets done in the meantime on the 2nd editions.
(Although yesterday I snuck in a few hours to begin expanding the outline for one of the new chapters in dMany Faces of Journaling, and last night I did more copyediting of the original book. But the entire afternoon was spent on the booklet.)
That’s life for an author.
If you are one, you know the feeling, and the sooner we make friends with interruptions, the less frustrated we feel. And really, some non-writing times are important, like meeting an author friend with extraordinarily writing skills and an equally amazing mind. We are well nourished by such time-outs, and these rare friends help us grown.
Still, I’ll probably spend most of today, too, on the formatting project. All that work for a $3.95. Ah, but the next time an order comes in, it’ll be all ready to print and ship!
That is all to say, regardless of how exciting your current writing project, life still interrupts a lot.
Now back to playing with Word doc margins ~
Linda
*Next (really): Those New Chapter Topics
No biggie, right? And 95% of the time, it isn’t. But I got an order Tuesday for a copy of my booklet 58 Dating Tips for the Newly Single. The three “Newly Single” booklets had been temporarily discontinued, because I haven’t had time to install the new software for setting up, paginating and printing the 5 ½ x 8 ½” booklets. Now I have a credit card order for one, which means it’s already been charged to the customer’s credit card. So one way or another, I’ve got to ship it.
I bought the updated software from Blue Squirrel over a year ago, so I had to either install and customize that or reformat the pages to 8 ½ x 11” size and produce it as a plastic comb-bound version of the booklet. (The profit margin is sweet when you print and bind the booklet yourself.) Since I’ve learned far more about layouts than software, it became a 24-page layout project.
Being more adept at layout revisions doesn’t mean I’m faster at it. It can be a slow process. I'll will be happy with the final product. However, that means no work gets done in the meantime on the 2nd editions.
(Although yesterday I snuck in a few hours to begin expanding the outline for one of the new chapters in dMany Faces of Journaling, and last night I did more copyediting of the original book. But the entire afternoon was spent on the booklet.)
That’s life for an author.
If you are one, you know the feeling, and the sooner we make friends with interruptions, the less frustrated we feel. And really, some non-writing times are important, like meeting an author friend with extraordinarily writing skills and an equally amazing mind. We are well nourished by such time-outs, and these rare friends help us grown.
Still, I’ll probably spend most of today, too, on the formatting project. All that work for a $3.95. Ah, but the next time an order comes in, it’ll be all ready to print and ship!
That is all to say, regardless of how exciting your current writing project, life still interrupts a lot.
Now back to playing with Word doc margins ~
Linda
*Next (really): Those New Chapter Topics
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
2nd Edition Book Projects
So far this blog has been a mini-teaching site, through which I’ve shared my experiences about the art and business of writing. That’s now going to shift somewhat and become a journal of the creation of 2nd editions of two of my books. I hope you enjoy following my progress. It may be more uneven that you imagined, but life does happen even when the keyboard beckons. Here we go ~
After a couple of clues crossed my path, I realized the time had come to either reprint or update two of my books, Your Pocket Divorce Guide © 1999 and The Many Faces of Journaling (01).
The first clue was a note on a book order for the divorce book stating the ISBN number “or the newest edition.” There was no newer edition, sir. The second was my insightful friend Cheryl’s comment that it was time to update and revise the book. Gee, I wonder … Then I discovered that the warehouse inventory for that book was down to 373 copies! Nuff said.
A few hours later, I rechecked the full inventory report and saw that Many Faces of Journaling, my best seller so far, was down to 420 copies. With so few copies of each in stock, it was a toss up as to which needed my attention first. But based on monthly sales, the journaling book won out.
The book industry states that there must be a minimum of 10% new material for a book to qualify as a 2nd edition. That won’t be a problem for either book.
Since I own the publishing company, Pen Central Press (www.PenCentralOnline.com), there were two to-do lists: one for revising and writing; the other for getting the new editions edited, printed, bound, and marketed. The first steps for the latter were to request printing and binding costs from Shelly at BookMasters. The other was to begin contacting cover artists to get ideas and quotes for 2 new book covers. [Yes, I could have simply plastered a “2nd Edition!” banner across the old cover art, but my marketing instincts tell me a new cover will be worth the cost.]
That done, I set up my project journal through which I will chart work done and yet to be done. Since these are my first experiences with 2nd editions, which by the way is incredibly exciting, I need to be able to review and evaluate the process later. After all, can the 3 editions be far away?
Stay tuned ~
Linda
*Next: New Chapter Topics
After a couple of clues crossed my path, I realized the time had come to either reprint or update two of my books, Your Pocket Divorce Guide © 1999 and The Many Faces of Journaling (01).
The first clue was a note on a book order for the divorce book stating the ISBN number “or the newest edition.” There was no newer edition, sir. The second was my insightful friend Cheryl’s comment that it was time to update and revise the book. Gee, I wonder … Then I discovered that the warehouse inventory for that book was down to 373 copies! Nuff said.
A few hours later, I rechecked the full inventory report and saw that Many Faces of Journaling, my best seller so far, was down to 420 copies. With so few copies of each in stock, it was a toss up as to which needed my attention first. But based on monthly sales, the journaling book won out.
The book industry states that there must be a minimum of 10% new material for a book to qualify as a 2nd edition. That won’t be a problem for either book.
Since I own the publishing company, Pen Central Press (www.PenCentralOnline.com), there were two to-do lists: one for revising and writing; the other for getting the new editions edited, printed, bound, and marketed. The first steps for the latter were to request printing and binding costs from Shelly at BookMasters. The other was to begin contacting cover artists to get ideas and quotes for 2 new book covers. [Yes, I could have simply plastered a “2nd Edition!” banner across the old cover art, but my marketing instincts tell me a new cover will be worth the cost.]
That done, I set up my project journal through which I will chart work done and yet to be done. Since these are my first experiences with 2nd editions, which by the way is incredibly exciting, I need to be able to review and evaluate the process later. After all, can the 3 editions be far away?
Stay tuned ~
Linda
*Next: New Chapter Topics
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