Snowy morning in Kentucky

The sky is falling - white on white on white.
The horses leave tracks in the fresh fallen sky,
The cats sit in the tack room window, distaining to hunt
The chickens peek out the door and elect to remain in.

But I am the one who slogs the snow -
checking water and feed.
But the fire awaits, with it's warm hearth.
The croft is peaceful
while the sky falls.

Milestone!

Yes! After months of editing and writing, and more of the same - "Swallow the Moon" broke 50,000 words! (Happy Dance!) I was starting to think that I'd never get to this point. Every time I got close I ended up cutting a different scene.

How I envy the writers who can churn out 120k words in a first draft! This is my third draft, and I'm still laboring to get to the next goal - 60k. If this book makes it to 80k I'll be surprised. "Lunch" hit 85k, or so, but each pass trimmed more until it sits at a mere 74k.

Back to work!

The Agent Debate - Revisited

Last year, in April, there was a series of rumblings on the interwebs concerning the relationship between writers, agents and publishers.

The first was a snark-fest called '#QueryFail' where the slush-pile bees sharpened their stingers to nail every hapless wannabe writer who sent in a query. The Swivet seems to be the source of the idea – and a quick check of the blog shows there are still posts up.

The actual twitter links are no longer active. Some intelligent soul has yanked them. (Bravo!) Google it however there are blog entries aplenty about it.

I'm going to quote this from Romancing the Blog:

"There were mixed feelings about the stream. While some people found a lot of value in Queryfail: "maley43055: @rebeccacoffey: People really say and write these things? I love this and it is helpful of what never to do!" and though it wasn't meant to mock anyone, it did. You can say you didn't mean to hurt someone, but that doesn't change the fact that if you hurt them, you hurt them. Mockery may not have been the intent, but mockery was the result. Many people felt that when you send a query that is declared bad, it opens you up for such criticism and you have no business trying to break into the publishing world."

From there it got more interesting. Mary W. Walters – a literary writer who I respect deeply – posted a blog challenging the agent's role as gatekeeper to the publishing house editors.

The result?

Her blog The Militant Writer was awash in flames. The post got thousands of hits and hundreds of comments ranging from supportive to blistering, mostly blistering. (There are currently 22k hits on her blog.) In an open letter to Editors, she has this to say:

"The substantial and nearly unassailable wall that separates you (Publishing house editors) from us (writers) has been under construction for decades. You can find the names of its architects and gatekeepers on your telephone-callers list, and in your email in-box. They are the literary agents—that league of intellectual-property purveyors who bring you every new manuscript you ever see. Those men and women who are so anxious to gain access to the caverns of treasure they believe you sit upon like some great golden goose that they would likely hack one another's heads off were they not united by one self-serving mission: to ensure that quality fiction never hits your desk."

Her efforts to be heard were in vain – one small press publisher replied to her, but to my knowledge, no other publishers did. There were a couple of agents who replied to her posts. Most of the replies came from other writers – a host of wannabe writers who appeared to be incensed that she challenged status quo.

There was so much snark and flaming that, at the time, I thought that the point was made – agents ruled. Writers are at the bottom of the food chain – they needed to suck it up. My interest in creating a self-publishing platform was born. I didn't want to give my money to "those trolls."

Then I found this little gem from Dean Wesley Smith – a writer with over 90 books to his credit. His essays on "Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing" and the long, interesting and instructive comments have shifted my personal paradigm once again.

"The myths that surround agents are killing a lot of writer's careers these days. There isn't a week that goes by that I don't hear stories from at least one writer about how an agent hurt them. Often more than one. The myth that you need an agent to sell a book is an ugly one, the myth that writers work for agents instead of the other way around is really causing problems among younger writers. I have not had a lunch or dinner or meeting with other professional writers in the last few years that hasn't included agent horror stories."

In addition, he is very, very clear that the AGENT works for the WRITER – not the other way around. He says the writer knows the markets much better than the agent. Sell the manuscript yourself – then contact an agent – they are supposed to negotiate the deal. Another frequent commenter doesn't use agents (too many bad experiences) she hires a lawyer, paid by the hour, and saves herself 15%.

Who is this guy? He's writer of popular fiction – one that writes under a myriad of names, in many different genre. The point is not what he writes – but how long he's been in the business, and the fact that he offers hope. Not the 'Santa Clause' type of hope – but the 'get out there and work your ass off' kind that I can relate to.

This is why I believe he's telling the truth:

1. Most agents want to know to whom your work can be compared.
   
2. Most agents want to know what your marketing plan for the book is – before they even look at it.
   
3. Most agents are interested in your qualifications to write the book.
   
4. There is no certification or qualification to be an agent. Buy some stationary and put your name on it, put up a webpage, and if you want to be a superstar – blog about yourself.
   
5. An agent is looking for reasons to reject the work – up front – because they have a huge slush pile. This leads to inexcusable behavior like #queryfail.
   

I'm going to stand in line to buy "Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing" when it comes out.

Now to delete that list of potential agents, I'm not going to waste my time.

Waiting for Snow

We had a taste of it earlier in the week - now I'm waiting for the real thing - there are snow warnings all over the news.

 Well, I'm ready for it. There is a new round bale in the pasture - plenty of hay in the loft - grain in the pails.

The cold is a bit scary. After so many years in the 'frozen north' snow, itself, holds no fear for me. However, aging joints don't care for the cold. My hands complain the most, and the stalls are waiting for me.

 The sparrows feast at the feeder - a small brown flock of twitters and tweets. There are no other birds this year. I think the cats ate my doves. If I didn't need the cats for rat control, I'd bell them.

The rooster Sony paces off the confines of his Kingdom guarding his hens from the Barred Rock boys. Chicken World remains closed in bad weather. No sense in advertizing my flock as a meal for passing raptors, coyotes or stray dogs.

The horses are thick-coated, frosted-breath dancers - zigzagging around the round-pen as they head for the hay.

 If I should get the young mare under saddle again - the round-pen will become my garden. Close to water - out of the way yet accessible. It will make a fine winter chicken pen as well. Chicken World Extension - a place for hens to raise their chicks, doublely protected from dogs. Then the back yard will remain clear of temporary pens. I'm sure the neighbors will appreciate it – if not then my husband will.


 My urge to purge has taken over a couple of days this week. There is a lot of junk that will need cleared from my 'office' if it is ever to lose the moniker of 'crap room.' Until then I have the Den with its fireplace, French doors and the double windows onto the kitchen as mine. I invested in some fiberboard cubes (assembly required) from Wal-mart that are very useful and nice looking. I think I'll buy three for hubby's office and give all the computer stuff a home
.
 My chores await – writing will have to wait as well. My writing has slowed to a crawl. The characters mill about in my mind – but Life has taken me in a couple other directions (barn-ward today). I'm happy to report I'm not the only writer with discarded characters at her feet. Jean of Discarded Darlings has the same problem.

Look - I have the Trailer for Vampire Kitty-cat

For all of us who are looking into Self-Publishing, I've been keeping an eye on Ray Rhamey's progress with 'The Vampire Kitty-cat Chronicles.'

Here is his delightful trailer - embedded on the blog and maybe even going out with the emails. 

A Plan for "Let's Do Lunch"

I've been thinking hard about how to proceed.

This is what I've come up with so far:

1. Take a shot at agents. Pick 10 and send out queries.
   
2. Keep building the platform.
   
3. Learn how to publish via Kindle and Create space – because in June royalties from Kindle go to 70%.
   
4. Try the Otherworld Publications.
   

I know more than I did two years ago. The manuscript is better than it was a year ago.

Amazon changes Kindle percentages in June of 2010.

We have a plan.

Authonomy - Flame Wars

"There is no such thing as bad publicity." Maybe, but the latest dust-up has really disgusted me. This may be enough to make me dump the site.

Some writer's are whining immature idiots very, very thin-skinned, others have a brick building chip on their shoulders. Put them together, and you get a disaster.

I'm well aquainted with alcohol, bars and bar fights. Otherwise perfectly nice, intelligent people get drunk as hell and go looking for trouble. I've never known a Limey or a Mick who would walk away from a bar fight. Being both - I never did either.

I don't know who threw the first punch, but like a fight in a crowded Harbor bar - there has been epithets epitaphs slander thrown at everyone, blood is flowing and some poor sot is going to have to clean up the mess.

This weekend on Authonomy is going to suck.

I think I shall ban myself from the site, go do something useful - like query agents or clean the barn. Maybe get a root canal - something more fun anyways.

Gag me.

Standing on the Edge

When I started writing 'Let's Do Lunch,' ten years ago, I had nice characters, pieces of plot and sub-plots that were very engaging – but after 50 pages the story went nowhere. I had a dutiful daughter, a shy gardener, a snarky sister, a sneaky waitress and a lecherous cook. Certain scenes hinted that the gardener had a crush on Lindsey. Others hinted that the cook was up to no good.

Then I had the 'outline' epiphany at our face-to-face writer's group Bard's Corner. I ran down some 'if/then' statements on the spot. What if the cook was the real villain? What if the waitress had two kids to raise. What if they were moving dope, not just stealing? What if the shy gardener was just back from Iraq – wounded and shell-shocked.

From there I created motives, conflicts and back-story for every character. I also made the commitment to one point of view character – this was Lindsey's story.

The next step was a timeline – I picked Derby Day as the start date – the story would end on July 4^th. Everything that was going to happen would take place in eight weeks. I figured my villains couldn't hold on much longer than that. Eight weeks on speed would burn anybody out.

After that, writing was easy.

As I got closer to the end of the first book – I started working on the second. I had a bunch of ideas from the Breakout Novel books and a book on character archetypes & the Three Act structure.

Since I was better educated, I outlined the plot, created the calendar, typed up a few sample scenes. I was ready for NaNoWritMo – though I didn't bother to sign up. I had 25k words by the end of the month because I knew where this story was going, and how to get it there.

The result is 'Swallow the Moon' a paranormal romance, now in its second draft. While the book is short – I think that it will be a publishable length at 55k words.

For the 3^rd book 'Tempest in a Teapot' I'm putting each plot-point on an index card. I have two parallel plot lines (his and hers) that need to mesh. There are two Point of View characters – Wendy and Leo – with all kinds of plots and counter plots swirling around them. This story will also get a calendar so I can keep the plot moving.

Why go to all this trouble?

All my research into publishing has shown me that selling one book, or even three, isn't going to cut it. I have to be able to market myself as an author. I have the base of a platform to grow over time. Each book will add to the base, as the structure of the outline builds the plot.

The question is do I want to jump into the cold pond of self-publishing or try the safer route one more time?

It really sucks to stand on the edge of the dock.

But, dude that water is cold!

Catching Up

I've been behind on things since the big freeze. The windows went in, but the day-to-day chores suffered.

Let's face it; I'm not up to cleaning stalls in a -5˚ f day, too many broken bones and arthritis makes for cold weather misery. That's why we live in Kentucky, not Northern Ohio, or god-forbid, upstate New York. Three days flat on my back with some disgusting virus put me even farther behind.

Today was in the high 40's, thanks to a good friend; we played catch up and won. There is a new round bale in the pasture. It wasn't easy moving a thousand odd pounds of hay for a couple of women, but we managed. Applied physics is kinda cool, when you have a tilting trailer. Shove here, push there, slide and pow! One hay bale unloaded. The stalls are clean. Four words do not do justice to the size of the task. The house is still neglected, but hey, nobody is perfect.

I've been researching self-publishing, not finding anything post-worthy. Most of it is the same information: self-published books sell less than 100 printed copies, unless a) they are a niche market, non-fiction book and b) the author markets the hell out of them. If the 'average' UK published book sells an average of 18 copies, then there isn't a hell of a lot of difference between publishing in the UK or self-publishing. (That sucks.)

I'm still looking for American numbers, but I doubt there will be much difference. Unless you are willing to sell via Kindle, and sell really, really, cheap – like $.99 or $1.99 – you are going to have to sell the books by hand, or out of the trunk of your car. Gathering new data is a slow process.

Tonight, around sunset, I went out for evening stables. Leo was waiting for me, scratching the old gelding's neck and leaning on a cane.

"Hey." His hair was still unruly, he was unshaven, out of uniform and he looked tired.

"What's up?"

"This is one ugly horse you got here."

The old gelding is gaunt, his legs are crooked, he's camel withered, swaybacked with a roman nose and a lump on his head. Most people never see passed the thick, shiny blue-black coat and the fact that he's 66 inches tall, or 16.2 hands. At 22 years old, the poor boy has seen better days.

"You know horses," I grinned at them.

"I rode horses on my uncle's farm, as a kid." No cut today, he wore jeans and denim jacket, both well-worn. The old gelding bumped him in the chest, demanding more attention. Leo flashed a smile as his fingers returned to the itchy spot.

"What brings you here?"

Leo didn't answer. Not that he needed to say it out loud. I had promised him November, but hadn't finished the second novel. I still haven't finished the second novel. It has yet make the novella stage of 55k, let alone the tipping point of 80k words.

Yet, Leo's story is barely a handful of index card with plot points, and one opening scene.

The term 'old war horse' came to mind as I studied him. The swaggering biker who appeared on my porch last summer was no-where in evidence. This was a man who had seen too much – a terrible cliché – yet he was more compelling for it.

I was reminded of the first draft of "Let's Do Lunch" – some 10 years ago – of a shy boy-next-door who would barely talk to his boss's daughter. That boy needed a serious back-story and a new name – but he became 'Tag' McTaggart.

Maybe it was time for me to get back to writing.

PA Ghost Town Revival

This is the story of a town that is actually worse off than Ashtabula.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33450516/ns/us_news-giving/ the link is to a story that I believe everyone should read.

Braddock Pennsylvania is one of the Rust Belt towns that was truly dead in the water.

I quote the article word for word off MSNBC here: "In the 1920s, the height of the Industrial Revolution, Braddock — about 10 miles from Pittsburgh — was a thriving suburban metropolis of 20,000 with a density similar to that of Brooklyn. Today, the population has hollowed out to under 3,000."

Here's another quote, one that should make you shake in your shoes: "Residents are preparing to welcome a film crew that will soon start shooting the movie version of writer Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel 'The Road,' using Braddock's forlorn streets as a backdrop.

"Even Hollywood knows where to find good post-apocalyptic America," says Fetterman.

Yet, even in this tangled horror story there is an interesting development. Even the tiny faltering population of 3,000 people needs to eat. Braddock Farms was founded in 2007, vacant lots turned into an urban farm. The plan for the 2009 growing season was 75 jobs. This would have been a mighty uptick in a population of 3,000 people.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find data on the project for this year.

As a writer, I'm interested in stories, all kinds of stories, the stories of cities and people – of growth and change – not just fiction, not just romance. This country is in transition, people like Fetterman are devoting their lives to renewing and restoring.

It's an uphill battle.

Construction and Installation

We are having every window in the house replaced, in the coldest week of the year. Five inches of snow fell yesterday and more is on the way.  Temps are in the teens. The water in the barn is frozen - it has never frozen before. I may need a heat tape for it.

The snow has complicated everything. The workmen spent yesterday's snowfall huddled on my porch  bending & cutting trim. Today they are doing the inside work, because it is so damn cold. Hopefully by afternoon it will be more bearable. They have been putting in 11 and 12 hour days, bless them.

I love my windows. They are the Alaska windows from USA Windows. The change these windows have made on my house is just amazing. The house is quieter, the annoying drafts by the windows are gone. My bathroom is warm. (We had to put an electric heater in there because nobody can handle a 50 degree bathroom in the morning.) The house feels warmer at 64 degrees than it usually does a 70 degrees.

Have I mentioned how pretty the windows look? What they've done inside is lovely.

We are looking forward to seeing the impact this has on our heating and cooling bills. The windows should pay for themselves. I'll post the results as a comment.

Marketing in the Digital Age

First and foremost – the economy sucks.

This fact is the one on which this series of blogs pivots. Traditional publishing (the Big Six) has fallen afoul of both the economy and changing times. The good news is that sales were steady this last year. The bad news is agents are saying things like this – "I'm passing on really good novels because currently I believe that really good might not be good enough in today's market."

There is a virtual sea of manuscripts, washing through the slush piles of editors and agents – a well-spring they won't risk tapping. They claim the Big Six only want blockbuster books, the next Dan Brown, J. K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyers.

Is DIY the answer to clogged marketing channels?

Technology has provided the writer with unprecedented access to markets – should they dare to take the plunge into self-publishing in these troubled times. Some publishing insiders compare them to lemmings – following the crowd, going to the sea. I'm not so sure – after all a faint heart never filled an inside straight.

Many writers take the self-publishing plunge; more are teetering on the edge, not ready to jump, yet. The bad news is most will sink, unable to gain enough attention to make significant sales. Quality issues will sink many more. Yet there are still more indie authors, who are having a blast, gaining notice, actually making a little money.

Do we need a benchmark to put this into perspective? How many books does the 'average' mainstream published author sell?

You are going to love this!

The Daily Mail website posted this little gem. "Nielsen Bookscan has found that of 86,000 new titles published in the UK in 2009, 59,000 sold an average of 18 copies."

Well, hell – if that's the new benchmark for a mainstream novel – looks like we have a level playing field. Anybody can outsell 18 copies!

I'm posting, word for word – what Ray Rhamey is going to do to promote his Vampire Kitty book. Note that this is not his first time at the rodeo – oh no! Check him out on Flogging the Quill. For now I will content myself on quoting his marketing plan.

Vampire Kitty-cat rules

Ray Rhamey of Flogging the Quill has my favorite vampire's website ready. Check it out: The Vampire Kitty-cat Chronicals Ray and Patch are gearing up for a big push. And Ray's not shy about sharing all the things he's ready to do to get noticed.

1. I'm going to launch with a POD trade paperback, a bunch of e-book formats, a free podcast and, if I can get it listed on Audible.com, the gatekeeper for the iTunes store, an audiobook.

2. I'm putting up a website at vampirekittycat.com (it's not live yet). It includes special promotional features such as:

• I donate a percentage of each sale to the ASPCA. The ASPCA is willing to consider the book for placement in their online store.
  
• There are two cat "social" features: a photo gallery to post a pic of a Cat You Love; and a "tell me a story about your cat" section.
  

3. I'm doing a video book trailer with the help of a designer friend, no charge.

4. I've hired a copyeditor to do his thing with the manuscript.

5. I've bought an ISBN number, and been assigned a Library of Congress control number.

6. For the POD book, I've

• Designed a cover and the interior
  
• Created an account with Lightning Source, the biggest print-on-demand printer around, I think, and a partner with Ingram, the biggest distributor around. I'm signed up for distribution, too. Lightning Source doesn't offer the kind of complete service that Lulu.com or Create Space does—you have to provide your own press-ready material.
  

7. I've written to 17 published authors to ask for a blurb—so far, 4 have said they'd take a look. I made sure to disclose that this is a self-published book. I also gave them the agent comments above and this little snippet from the first page:

Just after dark, death grabbed me by the tail. The moon was full, and cool September breezes were scented with earthy hints that fall was coming. I trotted over a mound of fresh dirt, not an uncommon thing in a graveyard, my mind on a svelte little Siamese who was coming into heat--and a hand shot up and grabbed my rear extremity.

I twisted and went for it with my claws, but another hand burst out and seized the scruff of my neck. I went limp, just like when I was a kitten and my mom picked me up. The hands snapped my body straight, and then a woman's face poked out of the ground. She sat up, holding me in front of her. I figured I was about to kiss my furry butt goodbye, and I was right.

Sort of.

8. I'm going to send an ARC (advance review copy) to

• Authors for blurbs
  
• About 20 vampire websites
  
• As many cat websites as I can find—surprisingly, there aren't many
  
• The makers of Vampire Wine (I have a bottle, to be opened on publication day)
  
• The makers of top cat food brands to try and sell advertising space and product placement in the book and on the website—hey, this is a business, right?
  

9. The e-books I can do for free on Smashwords, and earn a healthy percentage of the sales. They even do the Kindle format. I can also list it with Amazon for the Kindle—I need to see what the return is.

10. The free podcast, taking a page from fellow WU contributor J.C. Hutchins, will be performed by me. A nice plus—there's a song by the Grateful Dead, Dire Wolf, in which the chorus says "please don't murder me." It's my character's favorite song. I've secured permission, subject to seeing the book, to use an excerpt of that song for the intro and outro on the podcasts and the audiobook. I'm going to credit the song everywhere I can, and they're not charging anything for the right to use it.

11. Through Lightning Source, distribution will be open at Ingram, Amazon, Baker & Taylor, and other national distributors and book marketers.

12. Oh, and I'm going to send an ARC and my marketing plan to a couple of likely publishers on the extremely unlikely chance that they'll partner with me on the production of the paperback, which would give it the advantage of being available in bookstores. If they like the book, my design work, and the promotional plans, their production costs will be quite low.

13. I've designed graphics for t-shirts and coffee cups to sell on Printfection.

14. And I'll put ads on my Flogging the Quill blog.

Whew!

Now, that's a marketing plan!

I'm hoping he will keep in touch, and share some sales numbers. (I'm so geek when it comes to statistics!) The thing to keep in mind is that this is going to start slow. He may get a few hits here and there. But remember – he only has to sell 18 printed copies to equal the 'average' mainstream author.

I'll make a prediction – his e-book sales will be the first to take off. Once his pod cast of the book is finished and posted he will see the real increase in paper book sales. It will be steady from there but I do believe that the e-book sales will come first.

Stay tuned.

Has the Age of Dinosaurs Ended?

It seems that everywhere I look there are small businesses taking over niche markets. Electric cars, electric motorcycles, artisan cheese factories, independent music labels, bloggers taking on journalism, self-publishers and micro-publishers.

Back some 40 years ago, there were many regional companies, everything from milk to telephone service was local. Then in the 70's came the 'get big or get out' mentality - and the mega-conglomerate was born.

These huge corporations are now world wide - hulking dinosaurs who need to eat large to produce large. They don't do well when it comes to change. (See the automotive industry for details.)

We hear that record companies have imploded. We see newspapers closing, as the old steel factories of the Industrial Age have closed. Yet there are still steel factories - small ones - in the U.S.A. they were thriving until the banking industry giants imploded.

What will the second decade of the new century bring? It really depends on several factors.

If the government is able to leash the Health Care corporations, so the average Joe can have affordable health care - then the U.S. economy has a good chance of rebounding - not from manufacturing jobs, but from the small business sector.

The Dot Com boom - and bust - left a huge open market place behind it. The Internet - the gateway to all niche markets - has spawned thousands of tiny businesses. Some are hosted on Ebay, others have set up storefronts in other places.

But these virtual Mom & Pop shops are spreading to other venues: Independent films, record labels, clothing stores, and more are being born (and often dying) daily. Just as the main three television stations have been cut down to size by cable access - I foresee more industries shattering into fragments. This is not going to be an easy or fun process, for the dinosaurs.

But the wave of mini-industry is starting to carve out niches in many markets. Mostly because somebody has the wit and savvy to plug in to the "Interwebs" and open up a shop.

The baby-boomers many have invented all the technology, but few of them can master it.

The next generation owns Cyberspace.

A Wealth of Opinions - Where Are the Facts?

As I have broadened my research into Self-Publishing I find  more and more debate on the subject. But not enough cold, hard facts. As the saying goes we all have opinions. (G)

I found this the other day on Forward Motion: "Forward Motion's core purpose is to help writers become professionally published. We welcome serious writing hobbyists as well, but our purpose and goals are geared toward professional careers. We do not allow fanfiction posts and we don't promote self-publishing."

I have the greatest respect for Forward Motion ,what I learned there, in a scant year, was tremendously helpful. I'm glad to see that they have taken the effort to put their stand upfront.

What does this tell me? The Self-Publishing debate has gone deep into the writers communities. It is not a new issue. The majority of the bloggings I've seen are a year or more old. If the attitude towards self-publishing has changed in the past year, I can't yet tell. I do know that more people are taking this route all the time, and a few of them appear to be doing well with it.

Bottom line - it is much more work that most people realize.

A few links to give you an idea of what's out there:

Podio Books  you can give away free audio versions of your indie book. Each podcast is a chapter. Some are read by the author, others are dramatized. They had their one millionth download the first year. Think about that for a moment.

Self Publishing - 25 Things You Need to Know. This is where I started looking. I'm still following links off this one. There is some great stuff here.

April L Hamilton wrote a Guide for Independent Authors - I'm currently reading it. The edition I have is from 2008 - and a year is a long time when Technology and Creativity merge.  

In case you are wondering I've posted these links - without much in the way of commentary - because I think that each author has the right to make up their own mind about what's right for them. I'm not coping out, I'm still looking into this. But I know that I'm not the last word on the subject. Just another blogger taking up space.

Hopefully these links will prove as helpful to you as they have to me.

Merry Christmas from Jordan's Croft

The house is quiet, except for Christmas music. It is raining softly outside.

It was a beautiful day - got a lot of farm work done. Got hay for the horses, and cleaned up the barn, fertilized the pasture - spread the wood ashes. I found a cache of eggs in the barn today. The ducks are laying - two months early.

This afternoon the young mare came to the back of the barn while I was busy with the tractor. I yelled at her and she made a perfect rollback to leap out of the barn. About 10 minutes later she was back, peeking around the door. I went out to give her a face rub. She stayed a minute, then sauntered off.

Just as I finished my chores, the three of them came up. They grabbed a bail of hay off the trailer and were munching. I came up on the tractor, not wanting to scare them. I called for them to get into their stalls. They obeyed, the old gelding had to push his stall door open, it was funny. Anyways, the mares stayed in their stalls, but the old gelding came back out.

I pushed him back into his stall, went to give hay to the mares - when I turned around, he was out. He went back to the hay, calm as could be, started eating. I had to spread fresh shavings, so I put two flakes in his hay rack - put him back in his stall - turned my back and out he came.

He's 1200 lbs, and taller at the shoulder than I am. I told him to go back in the stall, he did, but when I turned my back to grab a rake, out he came. By this time, I knew he was just doing it to mess with me. But there isn't much room in the barn when the equipment is in the way. So I told him to get back in his stall - this time he sniffed my hair as if to say he was just having fun with me before he walked back in the stall.

I locked the door on him. Mind you, the mare's stalls weren't even closed. But they never give me a hard time like he does. I tell them to get in their stalls, they stay. He likes to mess with me. I think it's a guy thing.

Christmas Eve 2005, we had just finished the stalls that evening. The weather was damp - it was raining - it was a cold miserable night. I was so thrilled to be able to put my three horses in their stalls for the first time. They seemed happy too.

I'll need to get up in the morning and start cooking right off.

How fortunate I am to be home this year. Most of the time I have to work the Holidays. I didn't go out much this Christmas Season - I don't like crowds, and the main drag is nicknamed the 'Dixie Dieway' because the traffic is so bad.

Merry Christmas - Happy Hanukkah - Merry Yule - Peace on Earth

Researching Marketing Results

I am currently researching the marketing methods used by self-published Authors.

If you have information that you would like to share, please contact me at mcwidow@gmail.com

I don't mind plugging books or websites - but I would like to know the publication date and the number of copies you have sold - or given away - to date.

Thanks, and have a Happy Holiday - however you celebrate the season!

Is Fear of the E-book Killing Book Stores?

No, it's the economy, silly.

Evergreen Review posted what could have been a wonderful essay on the closing of San Francisco's beloved bookstores. Unfortunately, the author was bitten by the 'Nazi' bug along the way, leaving much of the essay incoherent and over-emotional.

I quote a passage discussing the $9.99 price tag for a digital novel: "One wonders why Nourrey cannot simply advise E- Book to go fuck itself and produce high-quality reasonably priced books, even if in smaller numbers. But the truth is, Nourrey, like Bertelsmann, like most American book publishers, are linked to twenty first century, late-stage hypercapitalist imperatives predicated entirely upon ceaseless expansion, the inherent belief in Darwinian obsolescence and succession as the lifeblood of successful economics and societal advance."

Ahh – there may be a pony in all that horseshit, but good luck finding it.

"Late-stage hyper-capitalist imperatives" I believe he's talking about the Big Six and their marketing paradigm. Since 'business as usual' was profitable in the middle of the last century it will be profitable in the digital age. (Ask the Auto Industry how mid-century business tactics worked for them. Not!)

Perhaps we can translate as follows: 'big print runs for big book stores' mentality meets Wal-Mart's volume discount book purchase policy. The result is lower profits for everyone.

As I wrote in a previous blog – my Theory of Publishing – the Big Six rely on print runs of thousands of books.
These printings are warehoused – then shipped to a 3^rd party distributor's warehouse. The bookstores buy from the distributors, not from the publishers. The fly in this quaint 19^th Century ointment is the 'return' policy. The physical books aren't returned, only the covers. Return credit for the wholesale price works back up the chain to the publisher. Alas, since the publisher doesn't get books back, they have to print more books. (Authors are charged for returns against their advance.) The reader goes to the bookstore, paying $28, plus tax, minus any discounts for book. (Author makes less than $2 per book.)

The printer and distributor win. Little old ladies buy coverless books from the flea-markets by the box, for pennies each. (Grandma bought coverless books at the Florida flea-markets by the bag full in the 1970's.)

Which is why all of the independent publishing companies rely on 'Print on Demand.'

This theory cuts out the distributor and maybe the bookshop: Reader hears about book on blog. Reader follows link to Book Site. Reader purchases book online. Book is printed and shipped by PoD company. Reader, author and printer all win. Bookstores can order too, they just need to have demand for the book.*

Now cue the theme from 'Jaws.'

This is the monster: Kindle, E-book, i-Phone, Blackberry or Nook owner hears about book on Twitter, Facebook, or My Space. E-reader goes to website, pays low, low price of $9.99 for the $28 book. E-reader curls up in corner, taking his/her library of 2 million books with them. Author and reader win. Publisher may or may not be involved in the process. Distributor closes. Bookstore closes. Author in San Francisco loses mind and rants about Nazis.

There is considerably less money exchanging hands in the E-book scenario. The author will get advances against the print books but no advances for the e-book. There is no distributor, or bookstore, just someone hosting a website and a bunch of files. (The Author makes about $2 per book.)

There – it's been spelled out without mentioning anyone from World War II.

Does it have to be this way?

As long as the Author -> Agent -> Publisher -> Distributor -> Bookstore -> Reader (Minus returns) model is in effect there will be less profit for everyone. E-readers, in that case, are the monsters cutting out the middle-men.

If print on demand publishing is going to be the answer, it is up to the publishers to change the game.

Innovation is not part of the Big Six publishing process.

Innovation belongs to the independent publisher.

Back to the Evergreen essay.

But where does the closing of the San Francisco bookstores fit into this?

Don't know – this was the author lost their facts and was bitten by the 'Nazi' bug. Here, too, I quote: "Such was the methodology of the SS who forced their prisoners to run naked races round and round the barracks yard in the Polish winter, a race that no one was meant to win."

WTF?

If everyone in San Francisco had an e-reader the Evergreen author would be right about e-readers killing his beloved bookstores. However, no one has sold enough e-readers to flood the markets of San Francisco (population 800k.)

The Kindle expected to sell 300k units this December, for a total of 3 million units world-wide. Sony isn't telling. They'd be crowing if they had sold more units than Amazon. We can assume they sold less than a million units.

*Marketing is the elephant in the room of e-book, self-publishing and independent publishing. Marketing is a science unto itself. Yet many agents expect the writer to present a marketing plan right along with their synopsis.

I feel a marketing blog coming on.

Later.

The Downside of Self-Publishing

Yes, there is one. To give you the short answer: Quality, and the lack of quality.

The person who appears to have the scoop on it is here: The Self Publishing Review

The first thing he comments on is Quality of grammar and punctuation.

The second is poor quality writing.

Here's a quote:

"This sort of overwriting is neither literary nor clever: it's just overdone (and bear in mind here that literary fiction is my genre-of-choice: I am not unaware of its conventions or standards). _____'s writing is far too complicated, and he often favours that complication over clarity and meaning. The text is thick with clever-sounding phrases, many of which make little sense; and I found a lot of clichés buried in his overdone language."

When I look at this very closely – I see the blogger is British – note the 'u' in favours. This would indicate that he is also reviewing British authors.

According to his bio he is more than qualified to judge – "I've worked in publishing for over twenty years, as a writer, a researcher and an editor." According to his rules, he stops reading at 15 errors. One book rated 55 pages. Six books bombed out at 3 pages. The majority bomb out by page 11. He appears to be fair, often he sounds wistful that a book didn't do better.

I believe he has a point – quality is everything – and anyone 'Going DYI' has to have a copy editor.

Max Dunbar over at 3 a.m. magazine thinks the whole song and dance about "Independent Publishing" is – well – sour grapes by folks who can't be published any other way. (Would anybody turn down a nice hefty advance and a 3-book contract?)

He does make a good point that the line between (hiss) 'vanity' publishing and (oh baby) 'self' publishing is blurred – with more companies opening up to blur the lines all the time. Even Harlequin Romance as a vanity-publishing arm – and a digital publishing arm – and an editing service – and…

People are making all kinds of money – though usually not the authors.

So muddy are the waters that he sites this example: "The best example of this scam is the YouWriteOn debacle of this year and last. YouWriteOn is a writers' message board, or 'community', whose admins announced in the autumn of 2008 that they would publish 5,000 books, for nothing, by Christmas." Eventually less than 300 novels were distributed – after the author paid a fee. (Fee = Free?)

Yet, there is Year Zero.

Dan has published his own statistics – er can't find the link – showing us his book sales as an Indie author. Yet, an argument could be made that Year Zero isn't self-publishing because there is more than one person doing the writing. To me that would fall into the co-op or micro-publisher category.

Ah! Here is Dan's link: The Man Who Painted Agnieszkas Shoes As you can see, there weren't that many books sold, but there were over 220 copies downloaded.

It appears that an author on the verge of Self-publishing should invest in a editor.

Progress Report

Writing romance is a bit of a double-edged sword.

People don't take it seriously - on Authonomy the tone of the comments gets a little arch - from both men and women. More than one person has commented using the phrase 'chic-lit' as in I have a good or classic chic-lit story.

Er - well - actually - no.

Chic-lit has a distinct voice, very breezy, self-centered, first person. The main character is a 20-something female with a shoe fetish - for example Jimmy Choos. The plot revolves around her shopping for either new shoes or better sex - and usually drinking a whole lot in the process.

The genre has been pronounced dead by the agent/gatekeepers. (All bow and say 'amen'.)

Chic-lit was hot while it lasted. Like last year's designer shoes - once it's out of style the comparison is an insult. Or would be if I were that sensitive. (I'm not.)

However, on a much better note, I'm getting compliments on humor, dialog and characterization.

But, yes there is one, I don't think anyone is reading past the first two chapters.

The worst side-effect of Authonomy is that the system discourages more than a quick skim of the first couple of chapters. After that, it's off to the next read - gotta read and back a bunch of books to be read and backed in return.

"Lunch" hit number 70 on the romance chart this week. "Moon" hit 90. These are the best numbers I've seen in a while. Currently both book are in the 150 to 200 range. I probably should take both books down now, before they slip any farther backward.

I've contacted two editors - I would like to get an evaluation of "Lunch" before I decide what to do with it. It appears that Black Lyon has passed on it - though I've not got a rejection slip from them. And there are rumors that Carina Press is going to be 'all rights' not just e-publishing rights. There is no reason to sell them a book that can't go to paperback.

That leaves me two options - ABNA or agents.

I did very well at ABNA last year. I have my 3 reviews (posted here - somewhere) and a year's worth of editing. My pitches are better, too.

Querying agents - well - I don't know. According to Litopia it has never been easier to get an agent. Many people who got fired from the Big Six put up an agent's shingle. But that doesn't mean they can sell a book to a publishing company. (I haven't forgotten #query fail - or the flame fest at Militant Writer.)

So I will continue to poke around, looking for an editor for "Lunch" in hope of selling a few hundred copies for a buck each. This may well get me 'discovered' in time to sell "Moon."

There is something else - a RWA conference in Nashville in July. It may be worth looking into.

Book Review: Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson

This man is my hero.

He has the simplest plan for world peace that I've ever encountered: "Educate a girl, change the world."

His Central Asia Institute builds schools for girls in two of the poorest countries in the world, Pakistan and Afghanistan. CAI buys the materials and pays the teachers, all for only a few hundred dollars per school, per year. That is a fraction of the cost of ONE missile, tank or airplane.

Think of the money we could save if we donated .001% the Pentagon budget for building schools in poor Muslim countries. The entire world would be a safer place to live if all Muslims could read the Koran for themselves. It would be the end of jihadist lies.

There is no other cause that touches my heart like this one – educate the children in these war-blasted nations to make the world safer for all of us.

Education makes everything possible.

I'm going to recommend this book, and the first book "Three Cups of Tea" to everyone. This one deserves a place on New York Times Bestseller list.

Tibits About Everything

There is a knife's edge of wind battering the farm today. I can smell snow in the air.

The chickens stayed in the barn. Sony, the rooster, brought the stragglers back in before I closed up the door. I spent last evening in front of the fireplace - with the fire going. I had no desire to leave the farm, but we were out of dog food. I bought a 40 lb. bag of Black Gold at Rineyville Feed. The dogs are very happy.

The neighbor is shooting - which drives the dogs nuts. He must be practicing for Deer Season - Kentucky's top sport behind basketball. Even women hunt here. I have a girlfriend who brought us enough elk meat to keep us for a year. Great stuff. I can't tell it from beef.

Christmas shopping? Sorry - I'm not braving the crowds. Our main drag is nicknamed the "Dixie Dieway" which is apt this time of year. I'm going to stay out of the stores a few more days.

The announcement has rippled through the Authonomy community: Amazon has just announced the Amazon Breakout Novel Award for 2010 (ABNA). I'm wondering if it would be worth the effort.

Recycling experiment - turning old drafts of my manuscript, and old newspapers, into chicken bedding. The chick brooder - an old water tub - currently houses 6 little chicks hatched here at the house. I was worried when I took them out to the tack room that they would get chilled and die. So I shredded an old manuscript and some newspapers into little diamonds.

So far it appears to be working very well. There is a two inch layer of material - mixed with spilled feed, hay scraps and some sawdust. When the bedding is nasty, it goes through the manure spreader and onto the pasture. Until then it needs stirred so it will compost. The chicks handle that task very well. 

The big plus is that I don't feel guilty about printing out a copy of the manuscript when it is going to become fertilizer.  This brings me back to the 'hammer*' theory of fertilizer. I'm hoping that one day, all my farm musings will become a non-fiction book.

Stay tuned.

* The hammer theory: If you give a child a hammer, the world becomes a nail. Once I bought a spreader, everything becomes fertilizer.

Ms Kitty's Theory of Publishing Industry Economics

An overview of the Publishing industry by a complete novice:

"The Big Six" publishing companies – like all large conglomerates – owe their existence to their very size. This size (big, bigger, biggest) requires large sales from "Best Sellers" in order to survive. Therefore the 'Traditional' publishing market has evolved in response to their size and requirements. This requires a certain type of author – a "Dan Brown," "J.K. Rowling" or "Stephanie Meyers" for example. The role of agents is to slog through the slush-pile to provide the authors of this caliber. This also laid the foundation for big bookstores – go big or get out being the mantra of the last century in all type of business.

The supply (of book and authors) has exceeded the demands of the Big Six, by multiple powers of 10.

The "Reasons" for this are many and varied, everything from word processors to too many schools offering degrees in Liberal Arts has be put up as a 'cause.' Blaming computers is like blaming typewriters for the novelists of the 1920's. Hemmingway never would have written "The Old Man and the Sea" if not for his trusty Royal Typewriter.

The good news is the internet is screaming for content, and more people are putting it out there. The output is probably the same; the media has changed. Fewer trees are dying to feed our reading requirements. But nobody is getting paid for posting musings like mine on a private blog.

The Mid-list Author is an Endangered Speices:

"There are more "mid-list" writers than there are slots in the 'Big Six' publishing agenda." So says nearly ever agent website on the internet. The Rock Star agents (you know who they are) to a wo/man lament that they can only take on books that will sell to the big publishing houses. Small Press, Independent Press, Literary Press and University Press markets don't pay enough to warrant an agent's cut.

Yet, here too, supply has out-stripped demand.

The Survival of the Fittest – or Lemmings off a Cliff?

What to call these people who are beating down the doors of the agents, trying to get a shot at the Big Six? Aspiring Authors, Poor Deluded Fools, the great Vampire conspiracy, the Zombie Hordes?

Some call them the Next Generation of Self-Publishing Pioneers – usually a (vanity) printing company that needs suckers to pay to have a bunch of book printed. How you label them doesn't make them any less real. There is a sea of manuscripts out there, looking for a publisher of some kind.

The Egg Theory

Let me digress a moment here – to the farming industry. Let's focus on a niche market that I'm most familiar with: Pasture produced eggs. Not that long ago, I would pay $.50 a dozen for eggs at the grocery store. I could get my choice of small, medium or large white eggs. The paradigm at the time was 'an egg is an egg.'

Then somebody said "Brown Eggs Taste Better."

Which was true, as far as brown eggs were 'farm' eggs; all factory-produced eggs were white. So the demand for brown eggs was born, from the collective memory of farm eggs. The proof that the chemical composition of an egg follows the GIGO* theory came much later. My point is that now there are small producers, like myself feeding the demand for farm fresh brown eggs – which do taste better than factory eggs of any color, because they are chemically different, therefore of higher quality. The 'egg factories' capitalized on this so the point where you can buy 'designer' eggs for $4 a dozen at any Kroger store. I, however, sell my eggs to friends for less than Kroger prices, yet a heck of a lot more than $ .50 a dozen. This is a win-win: for me, my chickens, my customers, and the folks from whom I purchase my scratch grain.

(*The GIGO theory = Garbage in, Garbage out.)

Yes, Kitty, cute analogy but WTF does this have to do with the Publishing Industry?

Authonomy.com is my window into the British publishing industry. What I see is the mushrooming of the publishing industry as little stables of three and four writers open up micro-publishing houses, and the media giant wannabes likes of Create Space and LuLu open the floodgates to those braving self-publishing on their own.

Like the production of farm eggs in our area, there are signs for 'fresh eggs' all over the place

You can call it fragmenting – or embracing the 'digital' age or the 'advent of Print on Demand' or a bunch of whiny losers who can't get a contract. (I don't recommend the last one, some of this writing rocks.) Anyway you look at it a surge in the small publishing industry has been spawned and the companies who print the books will profit as will the software companies that write the software for the websites. Everybody else (writers and publishers) is on their own. The little fish will feed the slightly hungrier fish that will grow into big fish. The big fish will snap up a few here and there. The readers will read what they can and pay for what they like the best.

The good thing about writers is that they are readers, for the most part they demand better quality.

Like brown eggs, there is a collective memory of something better, in every genre.


If you'll pardon the cliche – it's a 'chicken or egg' dilemma of which comes first, the supply or the demand? The demand for 'a tastier egg' is there, and the authors are determined to supply that demand. Writers are getting organized into little co-ops to get these 'eggs' to market.

Taking Another Crack at Authonomy

I may be the only one who gets the pun unless I explain it.

'Autho-crack' is my term for Authonomy and it's ratings/feedback system.

For the last couple of months, I've been seriously thinking of taking my books down and deleting my account because I don't get any work done while Autho-crack is in the back of my brain. I have to remind myself that the site is British and the majority of the books being picked up are by British writers.

Taking a 'run for the Desk' has already put me behind the eight ball once - and I was just trying to hit the top 100. (Which I did make.) I'm still not getting any work done - I just have a new excuse - "Going Kindle." 

This time it will be different? 

I brought "Let's Do Lunch" public and have uploaded five chapters of "Swallow the Moon" but not taken it public yet. I'm trying to be a good 'swapper' giving praise and backings freely.


Already I've read two manuscripts that had issues I could not articulate. Didn't know what to call the issue, or how to point it out. Decided to keep my opinions to myself - because they weren't my genre and I know each  genre has it's own rules.

"Moon" is at 47k - I don't want to get on another Autho-crack run - I want to finish my novel.

We'll see how long this lasts.

Brave British Authors Taking the Self-Publishing Plunge

America is supposed to be the home of the brave - but there are a lot of British writers taking the plunge into the cold pool of Self-Publishing.

Dragon International Independent Arts is another - hmmm what to call them? Cast of characters, or micro-publishers? I'm really not sure at this point.

Ray of Flogging The Quill is another writer who has a good book that he can't sell because no agent would risk marketing it. "The Vampire Kitty-Cat" is my favorite vampire story because it's funny.

Another co-op that's come from Authonomy.com is Year Zero Writers who seem to lean towards the razor's edge of contemporary literature.

What I find so interesting is they are all top quality writers who normally wouldn't need to resort to Self-Publishing. But the world economy sucks - publishers are huddling in their cubicals - terrified they may be the next to get a pink slip.

I shudder to think how many top-notch editors are tossing fresh new books in favor of finding the next Stephanie Meyers, or god-help-us Laurell K. Hamilton. Worse even than that are the hundreds of editors-turned-agents who are thrashing through their slush-piles also looking for the next SM or LKH to bring to the editors

Like we need more super-sluts or teenage-angst in the Vampire genre?

What readers need are fresh voices, fresh outlooks, fresh stories - but they won't be coming to a bookstore near you. My local bookstore has only the latest Vampire, Neo-Werewolf or some kind of Urban Fantasy.

Though I did find a nice 'fallen angel' book by J.R. Ward and the latest C.L. Wilson 'Tairen Soul' installment I couldn't find anything new by Nora Roberts. She's in the used books, along with Amanda Quick.

But I digress.

From where I sit - next to the fireplace on a chilly wet December day - the British publishing industry is exploding into fragments. Which they can afford to do, because they have national health care. (Oops did it again.) It seems their free market is taking off - because it can, mainly. Which is going to be good for the economy in the long run.

I'm not done poking around yet, so stay tuned. We'll see what develops 'over there' and if it can be transplanted 'over here.'

Poking Around the Self-Publishing World

While my manuscript is cooling in the slush pile of the latest e-publisher – I'm poking around the world of self-publishing, wondering if 'Going Kindle' would be a good idea.

(Sorry, Caribou Barbie's book came out and I can't help taking a poke at her. I haven't taken a poke at any of my favorite political figures lately – too busy with farm life, for one thing, and unable to say anything sufficiently scathing witty is another.)

Would Kindle-izing my novel be of any help to me at all? Or would it just become another time suck? Even at $1.99 a pop – it would be a paying time suck. I could go the Create Space – POD, I'd be hooked into Amazon and so forth.

There is the major disadvantage of the 'self-publishing stigma' even today it's a red flag against being picked up by a 'real' publishing company.

So I'm looking and wondering if I should take that plunge – or not.

Meanwhile – my WIP is 46k. I didn't not try NANOwrimo this year.

Thanksgiving Blog

Odd, how we have set aside one day to be Thankful in a country where most people have an over-active feeling of entitlement. Americans are nuts, aren't we?

Life has it's ups and downs, and it also tends to throw you some curves.This year has had a few - but only a few. I have a lot to be grateful for, as usual, people, places and things - stuff that I have no control over, but that works out in spite of me. 

I saw that, you flinched - getting ready for a sappy list eh? Relax, it's not that kind of post.

As someone who usually ends up working weekends and holidays - I'm actually home for a change. Losing my job has proved to be more of a blessing than a curse. So I'm here, getting ready for the big dinner, and taking a minute or two to blog.

Martha Stewart isn't coming to our house this year, so I'm not going to kill myself getting ready. There is such a thing as 'enough' which is a hell of a lot easier to achieve than 'perfection.' If I could find that Martha Stewart email, I would post it here. It always makes me laugh.

Because I have the opportunity, I'm going to truly ROAST the turkey - on the grill. That's my 'Experiment' in cooking for the year. Yeah, it will have a pan, with a lid and all that. But I'm going to need my counter space, so the oven is going to be used for other things.

This should be interesting.

Wish me luck. I may need it.

Happy Thanksgiving! From Jordan's Croft.

Hollowing out the Middle – a book review

The entire country is becoming more and more polarized to the seacoasts and the big cities. This is not the figment of our collective imagination. "Hollowing out the Middle" is a book that explores the plight of the small towns in America's Heartland.

Written by Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas, "Hollowing out the Middle" discusses a phenomenon called 'Rural Brain Drain' where the Achievers, the best and brightest of a given class, are groomed by their teachers to leave home, never to return. The others are Stayers and Seekers. Stayers are mostly ignored, though the future of the small town actually rests with them. The Seekers are self-motivated to flee the crushing grip of small town sameness, many of them join the Military. (There is a class of 'Returners', but most of them are Achievers who don't make it in the big world.)

What I liked about this book is their honest assessment that this sorting process plays out in high school. That validation should make many of us sigh with relief. We weren't hallucinating, high school WAS rigged! The whole community operates in the favor of the 'Achiever' class, grooming them to leave home. As these people do leave and never return, they take all those resources with them, weakening the community left behind.

For a town like Ashtabula the result is clear – the Achievers leave – the Stayers stay – completely unprepared to handle the problems of their home town. So things get worse because the people who stay behind are brainwashed into believing 'they will never amount to anything.' They are not educated to take on the roles most needed in their communities. There are no 'Stayer' doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers or politicians. The Stayer students are left to rot – the compost heap that provides the next generation of High School students.

I wish this book would be useful to solve the problems of Ashtabula. It may not be possible for that beleaguered city to turn around. Main Street is a ghost town, with weeds growing in the cracks of the road. Like the rest of the country – the Brain Drain coupled with the weak economy has put many a small town or city on death row.

It appears that Ashtabula did one thing right – they rebuilt the school system. It was an effort to attract a big manufacturing plant that would put the unskilled Stayers to work. Unfortunately 'elephant hunting' as the authors call it, is not the answer.

Most towns and small cities are content with trying to attract the 'Returners,' those who miss their small town safety net. The real solution is twofold. First to encourage immigration – which means a small town would have to open itself up to strangers. Not likely to happen without a fight. The second is to cultivate what is already there – the Stayers are the town's most precious resource.

Even if the sorting process stopped tomorrow (not very likely since this has been going on for 20 years) there is little left of the middle class anywhere in rural America, let alone in Ashtabula. The poor (for the most part single mothers and their children) are well and truly damned by the dysfunctional system that offers no hope from cradle to grave.

This means, EVERY town needs implement alternative education in order to survive and thrive. Get the people who missed out on education the first time an opportunity to upgrade their education to a skilled trade. That means GEDs for the dropouts and then true education can take place. Not a second sorting meant to send others off into the world, a chance for people to become who the town needs them to be – the parents of the next generation AND the leaders and developers of the local economy.

Education is the answer – though Schools are the source of the problem.

Ironic, isn't it?   

New Digital Publishing Company

I submitted my manuscript to a new digital publishing company: Carina Press. They are an imprint with Harlequin as the parent company. They are looking for Romances that don't fit into the standard categories.

This is the link: Carina Press

Since they are only a week or so old - I thought that this would be a good time to submit to them. Thanks to the folks at Forward Motion for the link.Carina is 100% digital, publishes no paper copies, pays no advances - the advantage of writing for them is that they are connected with Harlequin - who does pay very nice advances. It's the old 'foot in the door' idea. Once published, the second book is easier to sell.

I've worried since I haven't heard back from the other publishing company. I even sent them a follow up note. However, I can see from their facebook page that they are busy with other projects. We all know that 'no news' is a rejection. After 5 months - I figure I've been rejected.

I've also been listening to podcasts from Litopia.com, this website has it's base in England, though they make it sound like the business is so small that they are covering American Markets just as well. Maybe it is that small. I know that I find it both interesting and dismaying to listen to what they say.

I've got to go - phone is ringing.

Scary Things in the World

Am I the only person who finds certain uber conservatives terrifying? Like zombies, they are trying to eat everyone's brains and they just won't die.

'They' were in office for 8 years, made themselves exempt from all the 'rules' of a civilizied nation by torturing hundreds, if not thousands, of human beings. The worst of the bunch have not slunk off to hide. When I see the sneering face of that trigger happy nut case Chaney, I want to scream. He needs to go up on charges for war crimes. He belongs in some big nasty prison with Bubba, Jose and Big Daddy – if you know what I mean. He should find out what water-boarding really feels like.

Rush Limbaugh is the scariest of the bunch. I mean it, wasn't he arrested for buying drugs over the internet and doctor shopping? Then he's touted as the head of the Republican Party. (Wrong orifice if you ask me.) But real people in Congress and the Senate appear to be taking orders from this creep. Why is anybody listening to this idiot? He's just another drug addict. He should have gone to jail. At the very least he should drop into satellite radio obscurity like the greasy guy who did all the strippers in NYC, then dropped from the ceiling on an awards show as 'Fart Man.'

Fox News is another thing that scares me. They are the evil right-wing extremist propaganda machine. How do those talking heads sleep at night? We all know that it sucks to be a wage slave. Thank God I'm not one of them. I wouldn't be able to look in the mirror.

This is the big night, Halloween – when the dead are supposed to walk the earth. Maybe some restless spirits should visit Chaney and Limbaugh, a private 'Nightmare on Elm Street.' That would even up the scales a bit.

With that happy thought, I shall sign off.

Happy Halloween – or Samhain if you prefer.

It's a Guy Thing

This is the link to a weird little video of a guy 'running the Dragon' on a kid's HotWheel Tricycle. It's the kind of thing that makes a woman shake her head and hope the duffus's mother never sees the video.

I think it is a good illustration that men don't think like women do. And that young men - well - they just don't think. All that testosterone and nothing better to do on a Saturday night.

Another way to run the Dragon

Healthcare – Now We’re Getting Somewhere

I've been silent on the issue of healthcare, though I've been listening avidly for signs of progress. We are finally seeing some forward motion. Even though the 'Party of No' is dragging their butts like a spoiled puppy, leashed for the first time.

I have only written one letter to my Senator, back when he insulted Judge Sotomayor during the confirmation hearings; I went from TV to PC and expressed my outrage at his rudeness. I also told him that healthcare needed to include a public option – God knows Kentucky needs one.

Half the people I know are going to the free clinic because they can't afford to pay $150 up front to a doctor. I couldn't afford that back in 1994 when I was working and had insurance. I went without healthcare for several years until I got deathly sick, a savvy friend took me to the mini-ER here in town. They fixed me up with prescriptions and I was back on my feet in 3 days.

I'm looking forward to the day when 'Medicare part E' covers people in itty bitty businesses. I think our economy will explode with one and two person businesses. I can't tell you how often I've heard "I'd quit this rotten job if I didn't need the health insurance. I could ____ full time and make more money than this."

That's my point for the day. If so many people weren't chained to their desks by health insurance there would be more small businesses, hundreds of thousands of small businesses. Even in God-forsaken places like Ashtabula (one of the most depressed places in America) every Italian restaurant would be able to offer health insurance. (Of course there they would have to find a doctor who wasn't chemically impaired, or incompetent. Who knows, if there were enough people complaining maybe the quacks would get run out on a rail. Tar and feathering would be more effective than suing the idiots.)

This president is pretty darn smart – the poor man is going gray already – he's had so much crap dumped on his head. But maybe, just maybe, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not the train.

Set back for Smudge and Patty

Smudge and Peppermint Patty

Sometimes with farm animals, it's one darn thing after another.

I had Patty settled with Smudge. The two of them in the flock with the rest of the poultry, everything appeared okay. But two days ago Smudge was attacked by something, perhaps an over-amorous drake, that laid her back open.

We treated the wound. (Vet's don't see chickens under any circumstances. Which pisses me off.) Put her and poor bewildered Patty in a nice, safe, clean cage. They are doing very well on a diet of chick starter, scratch and kitchen scraps.

One of the things that frustrates me about farm life is that animals seem to get stressed, then something worse happens to them. Stays tuned on this one. I'm looking into options for keeping Smudge and Patty safe. These plans include taking the drake in question to the flea market.

Duck Hatched Chick - Update

While we were off playing on the motorcycle the duck and chicken stayed in a pen by themselves. Monday while I was catching up on my barn work, I let them out. I could tell right away that things weren’t going well. Panda the duck was off with the other ducks, not paying any attention to the chick.

Since the yard was full of poultry I didn’t get excited about it, the barn cats have learned to stay away from little babies, because moms are quick to attack. After a couple of hours I could hear the chick peeping outside while Panda was in the barn eating. I went out, chased the little black chick into the mint patch. She came out with a name – Peppermint Patty.

Then I put Patty in with Panda and the others. She milled around, still peeping loudly. I debated if I should let her be, or chase her down to put her in the brooder. While I was working on the chores she seemed fine. So I let her be, wondering if she would attach herself to another bird, or stay with Panda.

By the time I put the horses to bed, there was no sign of Patty, but Panda was strutting around with the drakes. I got out the flashlight, looked in the usual bedding places, but couldn’t find her, and couldn’t hear her. I was afraid she’d gotten eaten by something.

This afternoon, the weather is raw and wet. I’m out with the dogs when I heard Patty peeping her loud distressed call again. Sure enough, she was following a disconcerted duck. I chased her around the pens, not able to catch her until she darted under Cookie the barn cat. Cookie looked embarrassed, her feline dignity compromised by this little scampering fluffy ball she couldn’t swat. I scooped the struggling Patty up, she was cold and shivering. Not a good thing for a two week old chick.

So Patty went into the brooder, under the big warm light bulb, while I finished letting the horses out. When I returned to the tack room, there was silence. Patty was under the light, quiet for the first time since she’d left the nest.

I checked her an hour later; she was making happy chicken noises, pecking away at the food.

I’m not a poultry expert. Therefore I’m calling off the experiment. I don’t think that Patty was happy as a duckling. She was constantly making unhappy peeping while she was with Panda. Now she’s warm and making happy chirps. That’s good enough for me.

Patty will stay in the brooder until she’s big enough to survive in the big pen, or until Smudge hatches her brood. Panda is not a good enough mother for this little bird.

10/07/09
Odd things happen - like Smudge's entire nest of eggs has vanished. They were all marked with green food coloring, which has made the mystery even wierder. However, setting 'new' eggs would mean Smudge spending another month with little food.

So, I've taken the opportunity to give Patty to Smudge. Yep, took the old eggs and slipped Patty under the clucking hen. This should work out for both of them. I noticed that Patty wasn't happy at first. She kicked up a fuss. I finally turned off the lights and stuffed Patty back under Smudge's wing. That shut her up.

Poor little chick is confused already.

The Dragon of Deal III

Pinstripe Day

We had breakfast at "Our Daily Bread" again. The place was packed with bikers, and of course, Carl. Talking to him is half the fun of breakfast. He's been to California, freely admits that he got homesick and came back 'home' after nearly 40 years of kicking around.

Robinsville is very small. It's built in a valley, surrounded by mountains. I'd guess the year-round population is under 20k.

This is not a good day to go riding; it is cold and overcast with occasional showers. So today we are back at Deal's Gap with the PT Cruiser. Dennis is going to pinstripe it. I was able to get the cash to do 2 colors. He is going to use blue and red on my silver Cruiser.

He asked me if I was going to let him go crazy. I asked what he was going to do, and he walked around the car saying 'I'm going to put something here, here, here and here.' I could only nod my head because I couldn't speak. My car is never going to be the same. This is going to be FUN! I'm so excited!

We've got the video camera and the digital, as well as this laptop, so I'm going to document the process. I'm having a hard time behaving. I want to follow him around like an overexcited Pomeranian puppy – yap, yap, yap, yap. Instead I walked to the restaurant where I'm going to stay for a few more minutes.

This is the finished flourish for the back of the PT Cruiser. As you can see it turned out very nice. There are more pictures, but I'll have to do a complete workup later.

I love this. He must have put 14 separate flourishes on the car.

Bob left to run the Dragon again.

This was supposed to be my day to shop for goodies. However, it doesn't get any better than these beautiful flourishes. Every time I look at the car I will remember where I got these.

The Dragon of Deal’s Gap II

Hubby was up by 4 am – damn the military!

I got up around 8 am. He has been gathering ideas – mounting the movie camera on the bike – and generally behaving like a hyperactive child on chocolate. The mountains are misty and it's COLD! I've got long johns and other cold weather gear. I'm cozy for the moment, the room is warm. I hear voices, better get a move on.

We went into Robinsville for breakfast. There is a little house tucked off the main road called "Our Daily Bread". They have wonderful breakfasts, good coffee and occasionally serve Squirrel Gravy. (No, we didn't taste it, though it was highly recommended.) We got to chat with Carl about local life.

Then it was back to the motel to suit up. The mist has burned off to a light haze and the roads are dry. Hubby's chomping at the bit to get going.

Our first destination is Fountana Dam – the second largest dam in the USA at 500 feet tall. We climbed to the top, its amazing. The water off the other side is a deep dark blue. There is a line where the water line has fallen, that looks 10 feet high. This is a TVA dam, one in a string of lakes that follow the mountain curves like dark blue/green jewels.

In places the juxtaposition of road and water make it look like the water is running uphill. The trees have yet to turn, so we don't have the glorious autumn painting the mountains. But the sky is that autumn shade of blue that backgrounds the green trees and the dappling of sunlight on leaf, trunk and road.

The air is still chilly so the heavy leathers I wear over turtle-neck and sweater are welcome. So are the long johns that I'm hiding under my jeans. We meander beside the river or lake depending on which side of the many dams we're on at the moment. Soaring up and down the dips and switchbacks that lead us back to the Dragon we duck in and out of shadows. We stop again for lunch at the Restaurant – Gas Station. This time I've got sense enough to say no to the Onion Rings that kept me up half the night. The pulled pork is fabulous again.

Okay, I lied about the onion rings – I finished off Hubby's. (Which is why I'm still up writing.)

I bought a dragon patch for my jacket, a stuffed toy for my sister and two stickers for the car. When I get the patch sewed on I discover that Dennis does pin-striping. I watch him paint for a while. He's good, the designs are 'old school' he says. I admire and start asking prices. Hubby's not interested, but I want to make my PT Cruiser look just a bit prettier. He says he'd love to get his hands on a PT Cruiser. We talk about colors. When the patch is finished Hubby and I depart, with a 'hmmm' in the back of my mind.

We suite up, ass-up and take off up the mountain into the maw of the Dragon. The M109 has a deep-throated growl that is far different that the whine of the sportbikes or the patented blasting rhythms of the Harleys. This huge machine has more to give than we care to take on this swelling series of swoops and dives that is the Dragon. He's careful on this ride, I don't have to tell him to slow down, so I can kick back and enjoy myself.

We recorded the day on Video – but it's a format that needs to be translated and edited before I can upload it anywhere. I briefly miss the Def Leopard sound track that I was listening to yesterday. Only briefly, this kind of driving doesn't need a soundtrack. The wind makes it's own music through the trees, the muted echo of motorcycle engines and car engines, the static noise of streams. The experience is richer than the most decidant cheesecake!

The air smells of Fall – chilly, with undertones of river, occasional snorts of diesal or bike exhaust. There is no scent of old fish or molding anything today, the air is scrubbed clean and waiting for lungs to breathe it. The mountains are breathtaking, the dappled road snakes before us. Occasionally some young buck passes us on a curve or a big pickup crosses the yellow line. There a plenty of young bloods wanting to break the speed record of the Dragon. (Nine minutes to travel 11 miles and 319 curves.)

We take a break at the lake side gas station. Nice folks here, too. Then we suit up for the return over the Dragon then onward back to the motel. It's been a great day. We're looking forward to Saturday since tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy. I get my email and fuss around d/ling video before I settle in for the night. Hubby crashes out, while I start typing all this up. Since the car is likely to get a custom pin-striping the laptop got the stickers, it looks nice.

I'm yawning – tomorrow is another day.

We

The Dragon of Deal’s Gap

Bikers dream of twisty roads that go for miles up and down mountains, like Highway 129 in Tennessee. It is known as the Tail of the Dragon – 319 curves in 11 miles. That’s right, 11 miles of twists, turns and a few switchbacks. Fate throws in the occasional Semi-truck just to get the old ticker running real fast.

It’s a blast in my PT Cruiser – I can’t wait to see how it feels on Hubby’s Bike.

Let me tell you what we’re up to this time. It’s our anniversary – 8 years of marriage is a milestone for most couples. For us – well, it is a shock and a surprise that a horsewoman and a – arm – motorcycle enthusiast have made it this long.

We started with the M109 on the trailer, but as soon as we got into Dragon territory Hubby unloaded the M109. Temps were in the mid-60’s so he refused to wait to put on jeans and a leather – he grabbed gloves and helmet then assed-up (that’s biker talk for putting rump to saddle) to take the Dragon on – dressed in thin shorts and a t-shirt. I snickered then followed in the car.

We weren’t 20 minutes down the road when he pulled over. Guess why? It was too damn cold to ride without proper gear! Gotta love those ‘I told you so’ moments, they are better than cheap jewelry any day!

So we rode the dragon in separate vehicles. I was talking the curves at a good clip, until I was run off the road by a semi-truck. What a buzz kill. Luckily I’ve still got a full set of reflexes – not bad for darn-near 50. The semi missed both car and trailer, so I continued on.

Hubby was waiting at a nice stopping place. Don’t recall the name; the nerves were a bit stretched. We arrived at our base-camp after about 6 hours of travel.

We are spending this weekend literally in biker heaven. NO – not a strip joint! It’s an ingenious little place called “The Two Wheel Inn” where the average biker can have a cute little room AND a garage for that all-important motorcycle, at an affordable price. The same key opens the room and the tightly locked garage that keeps the bike safe from straying.

Bless her heart – the manager left us an anniversary card.