Fun First.

 

 I'm in the middle of scheduling my fun for the year. Not just big fun like trips, but little fun, like visiting the library, having high tea with my friends, and at-home spa days. I am going to attempt to give myself something wonderful every month, if not every week.

What fun are you planning?

 

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Blast from the Past: 2013 Resolutions

Back in 2013, some of my fellow writers and I did a series of blog tours. We talked about our goals for the new year on each other's blogs. Here is my post on the topic of Creating a Literary Life.

My favorite book on writing, bar none, is Making a Literary Life, by Elizabeth See. The section she wrote on rejection is life changing. I wanted to discuss it today, but I’d have to quote the whole damn thing, and that was way too much copyright infringement, even for me.

Instead, I’m going to discuss her chapter on making the magic, going beyond the words on the page, and into creating the life that makes you shine.

I can’t say it better than she does, so here it is.

Any philanthropist knows that the more money she gives, the more she’ll get back; any volunteer knows that hour spent in a good cause give us golden time. We all know, at some level, that stinginess doesn’t work.

If you start giving away what you want, you give the universe a nudge – you get the cosmic Jell-O trembling.

If you feel you don’t have enough love in your life (no writer, art6ist, human being can exist without love), don’t go around trying to steal it at low bars from impressionable young men and women: Try giving it away, in a blaze of affection, compliments and hugs. Start with your musty old grandma, your lumpy wife, your doltish dad: hugs and compliments- because you have so much love in your bank that you can afford to give it away, lavishly and recklessly.

So what are you waiting for? The best part of the literary and creative life is giving away what you most want. 

Women in the Arts: Maggie Jaimeson

I have known Maggie Jaimeson for many years before our New Year's Resolution blog tour at the beginning of the year, but I really enjoyed getting to know her better. So you bet I was excited when she said she would answer my interview questions!


What do you tell people you do?
I tell them I’m a novelist.  This is something new for me. Though I’ve been writing novels for publication for almost 10 years now, until recently I referred to myself as an Academic (professor, instructional designer, or administrator depending on the time in my career). In October 2012, I decided it was time to “retire” and do what I’ve wanted to do for 30 years—write full time.  I do occasionally take on an educational consulting gig when the write opportunity comes up. But now I consider myself a full time writer.
 

When did you know it was time to stop treating your art as a hobby and start it as a career?

  Prior to that I had written and sold short stories, the occasional poem or essay, off and on since the late 1970’s.  I did write two novels during that time, but never submitted them or felt they were good enough to submit.  But when I turned 50 I realized that if I was going to become a full-time writer I better get cracking, because who knows how much time I would have left in my life. Seven years later, with six novels completed, I sold my first novel to a small press. 

What are some of the aspects of your job that people don’t see? For example, most people don’t understand how much marketing is done by the authors themselves instead of a publisher, and most audience members don’t see how costumes and props are designed/chosen.

 

The thing I believe most people don’t see is the amount of editing, re-writing, re-thinking, re-editing that authors do.  Most people seem to think that an author writes a story from beginning to end then goes back over it once or twice and sends it out for publication.  I wish it were that easy.   

Once the first draft of a novel is completed, the writer usually goes through an editing process which may have her editing the entire book five, six, or even fifteen more times before it is published. I wrote a guest post on this titled How Deep Editing Changes Everything.

Name a few of your current projects. For example, conferences, publicity, design process, what you have for sale.

On the writing side, I am branching out to Young Adult fantasy. I have completed 1-1/2 books in a seven book series that I’ll start shopping when the second book is done. I’ll still be continuing my romance series with Sweetwater Canyon book 3, Heartstrings, and book 4, Two Voices, scheduled to publish this year. I’m also considering how to continue my two suspense books. I wrote them with series potential and I’m evaluating when and how I want to pursue that.

This question is a chance to meander or talk in greater depth if you’d like. Here you can talk about what hobbies you pursue, how you refresh your well of ideas, what you would recommend to other women interested in a career in the arts.

I do have three recommendations for women, and men, who are interested in a career in the arts. The first is, only pursue a career in the arts if you can’t do anything else. If you can find another career and still be happy, then don’t choose the arts as a career.  Keep it as a hobby. To pursue a career in the arts requires full commitment. This means it is something you HAVE to do, not just something you want to do. It means that doing anything else would be useless because you would always be thinking of your art and how to get back to it.

The second recommendation relates to the first. It is okay to choose a career other than the arts and then change your mind.  The type of commitment the arts require may be a commitment that you are unable to make when you are young. That was the case for me. Don’t worry, if it calls to you enough, you can still have that career later in life.  Choose art only when you can truly commit.

The final and most important recommendation is:  Believe in Yourself!  It is the hardest thing to do, but the most important. Whether it’s writing, painting, sculpture, dance, or theater, you are judged on the product you produce. For most people that critical judgment is the most difficult part of art because art, in my opinion, requires you to share something of yourself in a most intimate way. When we are judged on our art, we can’t help but take it personally.

To survive a career in the arts you must believe that what you are producing is the best it can possibly be at that moment when it’s released to the world.  This is not to say that what you produce is perfect.  It is also not to suggest that you should never listen to feedback.  But it is belief in yourself and your work—belief that your point-of-view is important—that allows you to accurately filter feedback and reject that which doesn’t fit with your direction. If you don’t believe in yourself and your point-of-view, you will fall into the quagmire of competing views that can only end in defeat.

A career in the arts is not easy. Most often it is not very financially rewarding. However, the intrinsic rewards are limitless. What you learn about yourself, and your relationship to the world beyond yourself, is never-ending. For me, that is the reason to pursue a career in the arts.  I will always be learning, and therefore I am living life to its fullest.


Find  Maggie on the web: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Women in the arts: Paty Jager

I met Paty Jager during our recent New Year's resolutions blog tour. I was immediately intrigued by Paty's courage and insistence that you eliminate nay-sayers and surround yourself with people who hold you accountable for your best self.

So I asked her to be one of my Women in the Arts interviewees. I was delighted when she said yes!

1. What do you tell other people you do? (such as author, teacher, designer)

I tell other people that I am an author. With fifteen published books I don’t have any qualms telling people what I do if they ask. But I don’t walk up to people and say, I’m an author, here are my bookmarks. It has to come out in conversation. Before I was published I told people I wrote. Which I did write novels and worked as a freelance reporter for local newspapers.  I also let people know that I ranch—cattle and hay are what my husband and I raise and sell.

2.     When did you know it was time to stop treating your art as a hobby and start it as a career?

When my kids were in high school and no longer required as much of my time I began thinking of writing as a career. Granted, it took me nearly ten years to finally have a book in my hand to show it wasn’t a hobby, and then six more years before I was making more than I was spending on ink, paper, computers, conferences, and books. 

3.     What are some of the aspects of your job that people don’t see? For example, most people don’t understand how much marketing is done by the authors themselves instead of a publisher, and most audience members don’t see how costumes and props are designed/chosen.

There are many aspects they don’t see that go into the book. One is the planning. Bringing the character to fruition in my head and then on paper. Sometimes this may require some research for a time period or profession. Using a trivial and sometimes not so trivial thing that sparks a premise and then researching and digging up the info to make the tidbit work for a believable premise. And once the story is written then, in the case that I self publish, there is surrounding myself with people who help me perfect the story and then the hours of formatting (I don’t always pay to have the books formatted) and promotion. Also coming up with the right cover that catches the eye and shows a bit of the story. And after all the writing, editing, formatting, and cover; I spend two thirds of my computer time doing online promotions. Blogs, like this. Forums with other authors to learn industry news and promote. Leaving comments on other blogs, tweeting, and using Facebook to give people a glimpse of the person behind the books. I also love to speak and give presentations at conferences. 

4.     Who inspired/inspires you on those inevitable rough days?

My inspiration for writing came from my love of reading as a child. Books took me to places I could never travel, taught me about people and places I may never see, and showed me there was more out there than a rural life. I began writing as a challenge to myself to see if I could write a story as good as the ones I read. And I found by writing my overactive imagination had a place to vent. When I have a rough day of writing, I think of all the books over the years that made me laugh, cry, and took me to another place and realize what I am doing can do the same for others. Then I shake off whatever is making it a rough day, be it, a bad review, an unkind remark, or just words not flowing and read one of those books that inspired me to read and write.

  

5.     Name a few of your current projects. For example, conferences, publicity, design process, what you have for sale.

Are you sure you really want to know? LOL I have a blog tour coming up for my latest release, Secrets of an Aztec Temple. The tour is an excerpt only tour and will be from March 4^th – 15^th. I’m giving a presentation on writing fiction at a high school career day. April, I’m teaching a workshop on Promotion for an editing business and a critique workshop for my local writing group.   

In June I’ll be at the RomCon in Colorado Springs, CO.  I’m putting together presentations for the talks and making swag to give away at the conference. The swag will be small tins filled with survival items like my heroine in the Isabella Mumphrey books.  I have fifteen books for sale, some strictly ebooks some both print and ebook. The books that I’m most excited about are my Spirit trilogy [ Spirit of the Mountain, Spirit of the Lake, Spirit of the Sky] that is set among the Nez Perce tribe of NE Oregon in the late 1700’s to the late 1800’s. The books have sibling Nez Perce spirits who find love among the mortals and work to keep the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) alive and free. 

 My latest books, Secrets of a Mayan Moon and Secrets of an Aztec Temple, are about Isabella Mumphrey, a brilliant anthropologist who specializes in Native American cultures. She has a “survival” vest she goes nowhere without. It has items in it that will get her out of nearly any situation. The hero is Augustino Constantine a Venezuelan who fled his homeland as a child with his family because of their opposition to the government. After Tino’s family died when their plane was shot down by a drug lord, he became a DEA agent and made it his mission to take out the drug lord. Their attraction is as hot as the steamy Guatemalan jungle where the meet.  I also have eight historical western romance books. The five book Halsey series is my favorite of the historical books. And I have two contemporary westerns, Perfectly Good Nanny and Bridled Heart, that were fun to write.

6.     This question is a chance to meander or talk in greater depth if you’d like. Here you can talk about what hobbies you pursue, how you refresh your well of ideas, what you would recommend to other women interested in a career in the arts.

I like to ride my horse and be outdoors as much as possible. I grew up on 200 acres at the base of the Wallowa Mountains. I spent nearly every summer day exploring the mountain side on my horse, Junebug. So replenishing my well comes from being outside and doing tasks that require little brain activity. 

My husband has learned to not worry when the tractor stops in the middle of the field. I’m not broke down. An idea or scene came to me and I’m writing it down. I always carry a pad and pen with me when I’m harrowing, raking, baling, or swathing. The monotonous back and forth lets my mind wander and I come up with some of the best scenes and ideas that way. I’ve also been known to get a good idea while painting. Not artistic painting, painting the outside of the house or rooms. I’ve always been a cup half full person and one who never backs down from a challenge so I say to anyone who has a penchant for any kind of art; painting, pottery, writing, drama, jewelry, whatever, start out learning the craft of the medium, gather supportive people who make you work to be your best not pat you on the back all the time and tell you you’re great, and then reach for the stars! You can’t succeed if you don’t try.

Places you can connect with Paty:

Website               Blog        Goodreads         Facebook        Twitter         Pinterest   

Thank you so much Paty!

2013 Resolutions: The literary life and me

My favorite book on writing, bar none, is Making a Literary Life, by Elizabeth See. The section she wrote on rejection is life changing. I wanted to discuss it today, but I’d have to quote the whole damn thing, and that was way too much copyright infringement, even for me.

Instead, I’m going to discuss her chapter on making the magic, going beyond the words on the page, and into creating the life that makes you shine.

I can’t say it better than she does, so here it is.

Any philanthropist knows that the more money she gives, the more she’ll get back; any volunteer knows that hour spent in a good cause give us golden time. We all know, at some level, that stinginess doesn’t work.

If you start giving away what you want, you give the universe a nudge – you get the cosmic Jell-O trembling.

If you feel you don’t have enough love in your life (no writer, art6ist, human being can exist without love), don’t go around trying to steal it at low bars from impressionable young men and women: Try giving it away, in a blaze of affection, compliments and hugs. Start with your musty old grandma, your lumpy wife, your doltish dad: hugs and compliments- because you have so much love in your bank that you can afford to give it away, lavishly and recklessly.

So what are you waiting for? The best part of the literary and creative life is giving away what you most want. 

My books:

Dracula’s Secret

Dracula’s Desires

Dracula Unleashed

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