Not usually a fan of poetry, but this one really intrigued me. Check it out 🙂
Here’s a short poem I wrote in participation of WeWriWa:
There is a book
An old Arab trader warned me of
that takes your whole life to read.
Whole worlds are contained within.
And when you finish
you have just one day
to think it over and decide
if it was worth it after all.
Hey guys — just checking in this morning before I head off to set up my festival tent at “The Gathering on the Green” (local arts festival), where I will be attempting to sell my book, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It.
Goodreads Giveaway Open!
As I mentioned yesterday, my giveaway for Imminent Danger is now open and waiting for all you lovely folks in Canada, the USA, the UK, and Australia to enter. Here’s the link
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17246542-imminent-danger
Go forth, enter, and enjoy!
Unrelated media of the day:
Happy Friday, everyone! May your day be filled with lots of sunny goodness, preferably the non-sunburn-inducing sort.
Moving right along to my first topic: Goodreads Giveaways. There are mixed feelings about Goodreads Giveaways amongst the self-publishing community, because apparently a lot of authors who send out free copies of their books via the giveaway never hear from the winners again, or get the reviews they’re hoping for.
That wasn’t my experience at all, I’m pleased to say. I held the giveaway back in April, and the two ladies who won the contest were very sweet. They responded promptly to my messages querying them about their addresses, and how they wanted the books signed to them, and they’ve both now posted reviews up on Goodreads and Amazon. Maybe I just hit the jackpot with these winners, but I’d definitely say it was a good experience overall.
The giveaway also resulted in approximately 463 people adding Imminent Danger to their to-read list. Now, this might not translate into sales (I still haven’t received my first sales report from iUniverse, lol), but it at least puts my book on the radar, which is pretty decent. I can only hope that one day, in the distant fog of the future, someone will look at the their to-read list, see Imminent Danger, think “Heck with it”, and download that puppy so fast it grows up into an adult dog and starts barking at everyone with wild abandon.
Oh yes, and I’m going to be holding another Goodreads Giveaway starting tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that! Only one book up for grabs this time, but I did open up the competition to include Australia, so … yeah. Woo!
Once more unto the vlog …
One of the aforementioned ladies who won the Goodreads Giveaway mentioned that I should post some sort of pronunciation guide on my website for my book. The problem, of course, is that Imminent Danger is sci-fi, so there are assorted silly-named aliens and planets and technology and whatnot parading around. I’ve decided to one-up her request and create a vlog about pronunciation, partially because it’s a lot easier to figure out pronunciation if you hear it, rather than trying to sound it out phonetically, and partially because it was recently brought to my attention that I haven’t done a vlog in ages.
On with the show! (Note: If the lighting fluctuates wildly, blame Youtube — they decided to “fix” my video.)
Unrelated image of the day:
Source: http://i.imgur.com/uyfMvxD.jpg
I stopped by The Self Publisher to give my thoughts on book promotion at summer festivals. And yes, I did write it because I’m signed up to have a table at two festivals this summer, possibly more. Head over to The Self Publisher and check it out — and if you have valuable self-publishing knowledge to share, consider contacting King Midget and joining our information-sharing adventure!
Whenever a new self-published author asks where they should be promoting their work, the immediate responses are fairly standard:
I submit to you a new avenue for book sales — summer festivals! Rent a vendor space, buy a folding table, print a few dozen copies of your book, and go wild!
In my home town — London, Ontario — we have a handful of festivals that take place all over the city every summer. There are big festivals, like the Home County Music and Art festival, and little festivals, like the For the Love of Arts festival. The big festivals are more expensive — $400 per vendor space seems to be the standard — while the smaller festivals can be anywhere from $50 per vendor space to totally free.
Now, festival vendors are usually…
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I am happy to announce that not only did I survive my first book signing, it in fact went fairly well — huzzah! Pictures/video will come sometime in the next week as my photographer/videographer/hair stylist Rhiannon assembles the footage, so we’ll have to stick to text for this post. I now present …
A basic run down of what happened yesterday (aka My First Book Signing!):
8:00 AM — Woke up. Ate Cheerios. Surfed the internet.
10:00 AM — Took a shower. Got dressed. Remembered to put on deodorant.
10:30 AM — Rhiannon arrived. Sat in uncomfortable wicker chair whilst she styled my hair. Shouted at brother to hurry up in shower so I could retrieve my make-up.
11:30 AM — Applied make-up. Asked mother what time it was. Heard “11:45 AM”. Had minor panic attack.
11:32 AM — Discovered it was only 11:32 AM. Calmed down.
11:40 AM — Got in car. Drove to Chapters.
11:45 AM — Met Chapters store manager and assorted friendly employees. Was directed to wooden table where they set up approx 30 copies of my book, along with sign proclaiming “Meet Michelle Proulx!” Family brought water to prevent dehydration.
12:00 PM — Stood beside table, attempting to look non-threatening and inviting. Rhiannon set up tripod and video camera to film footage.
12:05 PM — Realized tripod and video camera were scaring people off. Rhiannon took down tripod and video camera and joined mother/brother in attached Starbucks.
12:oo-1:00 PM — Stood a bit more, having little success with attracting customers. Sat down behind table. Was rewarded by a stream of interested parties (some of whom I didn’t actually know!). Several books sold.
1:05 PM — Lull in customers. Noticed my hands were shaking and it was hard to breathe. Realized I was having a mild panic attack. Realized I was nervous about my book signing (better late than never, I guess). Realized it was stupid to have a mild panic attack, as I’d already been sitting at the table for an hour and had done just fine. Stopped having a mild panic attack.
1:30 PM — Met random woman who claimed to have read my book and loved it. Was confused, as did not recognize her. Discovered she was a Chapters employee, who had decided to read my book when she heard about the upcoming book signing. Was no longer confused. Chatted happily for several minutes.
2:00 PM — Friends arrived (several from out of town) to purchase books for themselves/friends/relatives. Sales boom. Was very excited. Handed stacks of bookmarks to friends and instructed them to wander around the store giving them out.
3:00 PM — Sales slow but steady(ish). Gave sales spiel to a woman who listened for about 10 seconds, then asked, “Wait. Is this fiction? I don’t like fairy tales”. Felt it was best not to point out the difference between fairy tales and other types of fiction.
3:15 PM — Gave sales spiel to father of two boys. Father was interested. Boys were not. When spiel concluded, younger son (5 years old) stared me direct in the eye and said “Yeah, whatever” and walked off. Father amused but embarrassed.
3:30 PM — Foot traffic and interest waned. Valiantly gave out more bookmarks. Bottom began to hurt from sitting on wooden chair for so long. Water supply dangerously low.
4:00 PM — Tentative end time of book signing. Was not told to leave, so stayed.
4:15 PM — Friends began to congregate around table, waiting for me to finish so we could leave. Sent friend to look for manager.
4:30 PM — Manager on phone, so spoke with different manager. Thanked them for their hospitality, packed up things, left some bookmarks, and exited Chapters.
Total books sold = 17
Mission = Great Success!
7 lessons learned from my first book signing:
Unrelated media of the day:
This image needs no explanation. It simply is.
Source: http://i.imgur.com/aa1tDz3.jpg
With our three-week guest post experiment now over (I think it went pretty well, don’t you?), it’s time to get back on topic — namely, ME!
Ha! Kidding. Except not actually. I think I vaguely mentioned this a month or so ago, but I have in fact scored a book signing at my local Chapters (big Canadian bookstore). In case you’re wondering how such a thing is possible, I shall give you a brief history of how it happened:
A brief history of how it happened …
So the iUniverse package I bought puts 8 copies of my book in a local Chapters store for 8 weeks (I think the 8 weeks will be ending at the start of June). I went into the store on April 1st (first day the books were supposed to be on the shelves), only to discover they weren’t on the shelves. After a half-hour-long search involving several wonderful Chapters employees, we located my book on the shelving manager’s desk — apparently she didn’t know what genre to file the book under, as the back of the book says Young Adult (as it’s supposed to), but it’s listed in their system as Children’s Lit (thank you, iUniverse!). Anyway, it all got figured out, and the book was placed in the teen section. But during this search, I came into contact with one of the floor managers, who was just amazing — when he found out I’d written the book, he asked, without even being prompted, “Well, have you set up a book signing here yet?” And of course I was like, “… um, no. Is that even possible?” And he was all, “Sure! Let me give you the store manager’s email!”
And the rest is history.
So the moral of the story, I guess is either:
Anyway …
So the book signing is happening tomorrow, from 12-4 in the afternoon. My best friend and accomplished photographer Rhiannon Barlow will be on-site to manhandle people over to my table, and also to take pictures and video record the event so that all you lovely people can experience the (hopefully) joys of my book signing. Here’s a picture of the aforementioned BFF/photographer:
So sassy! That’s my new favourite word. I apply it to many things — awesome people, tangy foods, snazzy convertibles, etc. Anyway, she’ll be prepping all sorts of excellent media for me to conglomerate together and share with you next week. Woo!
Back to the signing …
Chapters ordered in an extra 30 copies for the signing, so fingers crossed I manage to convince people to buy at least half of those. One of the big problems is that iUniverse fails at pricing books cheaply, so the book retails in Chapters at $24. For a softcover. Stupid, right? I asked them to lower their prices to a level that actual humans might pay, but no dice. I’m hoping people will be able to overlook that price in favour of supporting a local author, but … only time will tell, I guess.
I expected to be really nervous about the signing, but for some reason I’m cool as a cucumber. Could be because it hasn’t sunk in yet. Perhaps tomorrow morning I will have a mental breakdown. I should schedule that in, just in case. Does 10:13 AM work for everyone?
Anyway, you’ll be hearing all about how the signing went next week, so there’s no point in me blathering on about it now. Have a fantabulous weekend, stay cool, and wish me luck!
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Unrelated media of the day:
Today’s unrelated media features a blast from the past.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of our epic guest post marathon! To wrap up this insightful month, we have Bridget Whelan discussing creative writing, and why taking a class on the subject isn’t the end of the world.
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Can Creative Writing Be Taught?
Musicians take lessons and artists go to art school, but people frown if you mention casually that you’ve enrolled in a creative writing course. It’s almost as if writing is like charisma – you either have it or you don’t.
The great writers of the past didn’t go back into the classroom before they penned their masterpiece, non-writing friends mutter darkly, but it seems to me that courses are another way of doing something writers have always done: learn their craft, experiment while they learn, and share the results with others who understand the challenge, before sending it out to the wider world.
Yeats set up The Rhymers’ Club in the last decade of the 19th century, long before he became a celebrated playwright and poet. He and his friends met at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese just off Fleet Street in central London and, like writing groups today, they (self) published two anthologies.
While art comes from within, you can learn literary techniques that will help you to be the writer you want to be. Against-the-clock writing exercises might seem very contrived, but the poet Ted Hughes believed that they help writers to overcome their inhibitions:
“The compulsion towards haste overthrows the ordinary precautions … Barriers break down, prisoners come out of their cells.”
But I have to admit not always. Ten minutes can seem like an awfully long time when it’s the wrong exercise, you’re in the wrong mood, or you’re saddled with the wrong tutor (It happens). Mind you, even that experience is an important lesson for writers. We are too ready to beat ourselves up if a passage of writing refuses to sing. What we need to do is accept and move on. Work through it. Write.
And that is exactly what you have to do in class.
There is another benefit to attending a course. Until a publishing house is breaking down the door, desperate for a completed manuscript, we have to make our own goals and deadlines, and classroom assignments are one way of doing that.
I teach in Brighton and London, and believe passionately that creative writing is the most vocational subject on the timetable. It always helps to be able to use words effectively – especially when faced with the most intimidating blank page you are ever likely to see: Why do you want this job?
This autumn, creative writing is being offered as an A Level class for the first time. I’m delighted that being creative is officially recognised as a good thing in schools. However, I know that one size does not fit all, and taught courses are not right for everyone.
There is only one certain way to learn the craft of creative writing, and it applies to 16 year olds, post grad students, and retired factory workers with a story to tell and no desire to go back into the classroom:
Write as much you can and read as much as you can.
And keep on keeping on.
Bridget Whelan’s first novel, A GOOD CONFESSION—about a love affair between a priest and a young widow in 1960s London—was called “unputdownable” by Miriam Stoppard.
Bridget has run workshops in art galleries and museums, at community centres, and in adult education institutes. Three years after graduating from Goldsmiths College MA programme in Creative and Life Writing, she returned as a lecturer in non fiction writing. Bridget has also been writer in residence at a centre for the unemployed and low waged.
You can find her blog at http://bridgetwhelan.com/. She publishes a writing exercise every Monday, and on Safari Friday she highlights websites that are useful to writers and readers.
You can follow her on twitter at @agoodconfession, and she would love you to come over and be friends on facebook.
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Unrelated media of the day:
I recently discovered this song whilst wandering the interwebs. It’s Japanese, and very odd — full of vampires and very intense guys rocking out on guitars and whatnot. After watching this with my brother, we had to go look up the lyrics, because we wanted to figure out what the connection between the video and the actual song were — turns out, the video is an extremely accurate representation of the lyrics (as in, the song really is about vampires and epic battles and whatnot). Who knew? Anyway, listen and enjoy, and I’ve included the translated lyrics below for your entertainment.
暗い闇の中で
In the gloomy darkness,
吹き荒れる黒き嵐よ
The black storm roars.
一つだけの願い
My only wish
宿命の戦いの果てに
After the battle of destiny
キミに会いたくて
Is to see you.
なぜキミに捧げた
Why are you devoted
忌まわしき
To my loathsome blood,
この想いは罪になるの？
Is this thought a sin?
錆付いた二人の日々が
Now I will fight
もう一度輝くために
So that the days when we rusted
ただ今を闘う
Can shine again.
この牙で
With these fangs.
人は誰もが皆
Each one of us
消えない過去を背負いながら
Is burdened with the permanent past.
懺悔を繰り返す
As we repeatedly seek repentance.
癒えぬ傷の痛みに耐えて
Enduring the unhealable scars.
それでも迷わず
But still, without hesitating,
運命は変えられる
We can change our fate.
答えてよ
Tell me, my girl
涙の数希望はあるの？
Is there any hope in tears?
奪われた
Let me revive
愛しの日々を
The stole days of love
この手で蘇らせる
With my hands.
それだけを夢見て
Dream of that much.
それぞれの想いを胸に
We will keep walking,
僕らは歩き続ける
Towards the thoughts of our hearts.
絶望に潜む
I lie in despair.
盾を切り裂いて
Tear the shield apart,
光よ届け
And send the light forth!
目を覚ませ
Open your eyes, rusty hearts
キミだけは居てくれた
Only you were there.
初めて愛を教えてくれた
You taught me about the love that was beginning.
この命を捧げても
If I devote my life to it,
キミを救って見せるから
I will be the one to save you.
錆付いた二人の日々が
Now I will fight
もう一度輝くために
So that the days when we rusted
ただ今を闘う
Can shine again.
あの頃のキミじゃなくても
Even if I don’t have the you of those days,
永遠に愛し続ける
I can still love forever.
いつかその笑顔を
If someday you decide to
取り戻せるなら
Take back that smile,
罪を犯して
It would be a sin.
この身穢れても
If this body is corrupted,
愛を信じて
Believe in love.
叫んでる
Shouting, rusty hearts.
Onwards with the guest posts! Today we have Maria Diaz with us from The Owl, Book & Candle, chatting with us about the difference between an author, and an author-entrepreneur.
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The Point of No Return
As writers, many times we think of ourselves as authors when we become published, whether self-published or via traditional publishing. I have read of indie authors expressing the desire of being recognized by traditional publishers by obtaining a contract. Traditional publishing is still a goal or dream for some indie authors. I guess it is a personal issue, and how an author feels “fulfilled in the craft.” To each their own – everyone must follow their own journey. However, there is another area that seems to be of less concern to some writers/authors, and this is what I want to write about in this post: At what point does an author/writer cross the point of no return to become an entrepreneur/business owner?
I thought about it many times (as I am in the journey), and I think that the answer is different for everyone. It is more of a process, one that requires growth, acceptance (from yourself), and a mind shift. It takes the writer from a position of “I write because I love to write” or “I want to be published”, to a mind frame that sounds more like this – “I am in the business of writing; it is what I love to do, and how I make a living (or plan to)” or “I am an author; I write stories and this is my business …”
We all start as writers. Many cross to become authors (defined traditionally), but many of us neglect or do not cross into the entrepreneurial/business side of the deal. We do not see ourselves as business owners, and we prefer to stick to “the writing side,” forgetting to nourish the other side of our craft. I have heard many times that no matter if you self-publish or publish traditionally, you are still responsible for promoting and marketing your novels/books. No matter how you enter the publishing world, it stops where you are – the responsibility is ultimately yours. Granted, you have tons of help via the traditional way; however, you are the “entity” behind and in front of your work, and it is up to you to take it to the next level.
How do you know when, or if, you have crossed the point of no return? It is a matter of how you see yourself and your craft. For the purpose of this post, let’s call the writer who has not crossed to the entrepreneurial side Author, and the other, Author Entrepreneur (Author-E). Both, Author and Author-E have passion, purpose, and love what they do. Both love to write and they have fun doing it. They love to socialize and interact with readers, whether in person or via social media. Both may have built a platform, and may have published one or more novels/books. The number of books is not important here. You can have an Author with many novels published and an Author-E with one or two novels published so far; however, Author-E probably has more books in the making, as Author-E sees and focuses on the business part.
For Author-E, consistency is important. Author might not have developed that part yet. Author-E tries to achieve consistency by building a brand (across the websites/blogs/book covers …). Author might be struggling with building a platform or blog, and does not quite have figured out the branding part yet, or is just in the process of doing it. Author-E has created a persona and transferred it into a business structure by taking the steps of legalizing this brand, and growing/developing a physical image of it (logos, business cards, business ID registration, business entity …). For Author-E, mostly every step he/she takes is oriented to business growth, promotion, and marketing. For Author, this area is still new, in the development stage, or simply not one of his/her goals. Author-E continues to work on it every single day knowing that this will take time and tons of effort, and recognizes it as a lifestyle, since the business persona that he/she has created is real. Steady growth is more important to Author-E than quantity or buzz, since success is tied to not only profits, but also lifestyle. Author may want to see profits fast and becomes discouraged if the sales don’t happen, while Author-E knows that many times it will take working “for free” before he/she sees any profits, and is less likely to become discouraged because he/she is aware of the journey. Author may want to achieve the same balance, but he/she still needs to find a balance between these components, as well as decide how to put the pieces together, implement, and even consider if he/she wants to step up to the process.
Author and Author-E may start the same in the writing/publishing journey, but eventually the road will split and each must decide on following their own path (what is right for you). This is why it is so important to gauge your own process, and discover “the persona” throughout the journey, because at one point, you may reach the point of no return.
Maria Antonia Diaz is the author of Moonlit Valley and The Dinorah Chronicles – Ramblings of the Spirit, Book 1 in the trilogy. She is a freelance writer, blogger, and artist. She is the founder of The Owl, Book & Candle. She resides in New Jersey with her husband, Eddie, and six felines. She describes herself as a student of this Universe, and a Master of none.
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Unrelated media of the day:
The following delightful examples of Engrish came from here: http://imgur.com/a/CuH8k
The Story Reading Ape does a short piece about me on his blog … and if that’s not enough to hook you in, may I also add that also in the post is a teaser for Chasing Nonconformity, the sequel to Imminent Danger!!! (OMG, right?)
I love sappy romances and space operas, so I wrote a book about them.
It’s unabashedly ridiculous, and involves alien abduction, a heart-throb mercenary prince, laser guns, six-armed lizard men with a curious predilection for the colour blue, and an out-of-her-depth high school girl trying to find her way back home.
Imminent Danger: And How to Fly Straight Into It
by Michelle Proulx
High school junior Eris Miller thinks she’s having a bad day when her roommate’s boyfriend catches her stepping out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel.
Then she gets abducted by scaly six-armed aliens with a strange fondness for the color blue, and her day suddenly gets a whole lot worse.
Trapped on a spaceship bound for the slave markets of Sirius B, Eris fears she’ll never see her home again.
But then fate whisks her away from her reptilian captors and into the arms of…
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Michelle Proulx - Author 
