Friday, September 4, 2009

It's Friday; It's a Good Thing plus writing stuff

Thursday morning I received an email from my editor saying this: expect notes on the first three chapters in a day or two. I didn't totally freak, but I mentally began writing a blog post in which I balanced the extreme excitement I felt for finally getting this baby off the ground and the extreme fear of what those notes might contain.

Turns out, before I could even write the post, she sends me the notes, so complimentary and full of glowiness that I couldn't put up even the least fight over comma changes (which, if you ask my husband - and please don't! - I have a problem with commas, and with thinking I am right and he is wrong about commas, which has led to the unsavory yet somewhat funny nickname "The Comma Nazi". And there will now be no living down the fact that the major changes I must make involve adding commas).

So I breathe a huge sigh of relief and think: I can do this.

In other writery news, I took my kids to the library today to return a book that was overdue by 12 hours, and casually leaned against the information booth and asked the librarian (after several false starts, heavy breathing, elevated blood pressure and undue anxiety over looking too self-absorbed): "Do you do book signings or readings, or events with authors? Because, um, you know, um, I wrote a book that's going to be published this winter. You know, not by me. By a publisher."

Could I be any lamer?

And I realized if I'm going to make it as a writer, I'm going to have to get a whole lot more impressive in my ability to sell myself than that. And for the briefest of seconds, I considered becoming a lunch lady at the kids' school.

But hey - today is Friday and Friday is not the day to stew about what a self-promoter I am not, so here we go. It's Friday, and these are the things I'm thankful for this week:

1. My husband traveled to Dallas this week and went to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Texas. He called me while he was eating my favorite dinner, which I haven't tasted in eleven years, and I literally drooled on the phone. He packaged up the chips and salsa and brought it home on the plane for me. He managed to get it through security (even though it was far more than 3 ounces), balance the take-out container so that none of the salsa spilled, and call from the airport to make sure I'd be up to eat it when he got home at midnight. Can I say how amazing he is?

2. The salsa ended up not being nearly as good as I remembered it. Why is this a good thing? Because I may not eat it again for another 11 years. And now I'm okay with that! :)

3. The weather is cooling off just the time the kids are due to go back to school. Last week I was almost in tears that the summer was nearly over. I wanted sand. I wanted sun. I wanted palm trees and pools and cook-outs and iced-teas. Today I want a long-sleeved shirt. And I'm almost ready for the trees to change and the air to smell of burning leaves and pumpkins to grace the porch. I'm in love with seasons, when everything is new again, every four months.

There are so many more things this week, but this is already long, and it's a holiday weekend for us here, and the husband is home and editor letter waiting, and no doubt YOU have things to do as well.

So happy Friday, happy weekend, happy beginning of fall.

I'll see you back here next week!

10 comments:

  1. This is so funny! The little hyperventilating with the librarian is hilarious, especially the part about not wanting to seem "self-published"—the kiss of death! Don't let anyone know it's IUniverse, or, even worse yet, AuthorHouse.

    Woman! Get ye to a marketing class, seminar, or similar event— learn to get over the promotion fear. Even in traditional publishing, you’re going to be doing a lot of your own marketing, and it starts YESTERDAY.

    If you’ve already authored something that’s listed on Amazon, get an Amazon Author’s page. You can post the RSS feed from this great blog on it.

    And why do you need your editor’s permission to post you bio? Your personal history and writing expertise don’t belong to your publisher—they belong to you. Buyers follow authors, not publishers. Promote, Promote, Promote!

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  2. I second Christy!

    And have a wonderful weekend!

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  3. Great about the notes and he he he about the librarian. What has her/his response?

    Your hubby sounds like a really nice guy for going to all that trouble for you.

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  4. So there is this great Mexican restauraunt in San Antonio and Dallas called Papacitos. Does that happen to be the place? I think it is amazing your husband brought you home salsa. AMAZING.

    Good luck marketing. Maybe you could get cards printed with your book on it to hand out at libraries and bookstores. You know, pretty cards that you probably have to pay money to print. Maybe lots of money.

    I love fall, too! Yea for living in places with changing seasons.

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  5. Congratulations on the great letter.

    Sometimes I find things are never as good as you remember them.

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  6. Paul - she wasn't oohing and ahing over me, the way she should have been! :) She just gave me a card for the person who organizes that stuff.

    Jessie - that's it! We used to go all the time when we lived in San Antonio. Incredible enchiladas. :)

    And yes - my husband keeps saying, it costs money to make money. I just have to figure out the smartest places to spend it.

    Patti - so true! I did ask her if she saw any major revisions in the coming chapters and she said no... I'm sure as I go through it, though, I'll find things I think stink!

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  7. what did the librarian say? good for you for asking. it'll get easier

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  8. Good luck!

    I love the story with the librarian. And I want to know what she said.

    Your hubby is awesome! So cool to being chips and salsa back for you.

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  9. At first I thought you had a little crush on the librarian and that you were going to try to sweet talk him into waiving the fine.

    And then.

    Not.

    But I agree with everyone else, it's hard to self-promote with confidence but the worst anyone can say is no.

    Easier said than done, however.

    p.s. Congratulations on publishing a book! Can't wait to read it!

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