by Charlene Teglia | Dec 12, 2004 | Uncategorized
I’m revising Love and Rockets as I blog. I’m also listening to Social Distortion’s “Ring of Fire”. Since I am severely distracted lately, I find giving myself a lot of distractions at my desk helps me stay there longer. I go to my document, move to the next flagged edit, make the change, switch back to the blog. I learned the first time I was pregnant that my normal state of mind, which is a form of hyper-focus, just goes away and I become ADD Woman. This doesn’t mean I can’t work, it just means I have to alter my workstyle to fit.
Revising while I have a new release out lead me to think about the fact that many writers report that they are distracted by “will this be as good as the last book” syndrome. I’m as neurotic as any other writer, but oddly enough that isn’t a distraction to me because what happens to a book after I’ve done my part and turned it over to other hands is not up to me. The end result in terms of copies sold, good or bad reviews, good or bad reader feedback, etc., that all takes care of itself.
I have a job to do, which is making sure that I’ve done justice to my characters. Anna and her analytical approach to life, trying to understand the murky realm of emotions and not having any idea what she’s getting herself into. Jay with his manic spin-doctoring and his million ideas a minute, all of them revolving around persuading Anna to his point of view. They showed up in my head with their story and my responsibility is to them first. I got their story written, which is a huge thing. I got their story sold, which is just as huge. And now I’m carving away at the pieces that distract from the story, adding pieces that enhance, asking myself, “Does this do them justice?”
What happens after I’m done is the result of other people doing their work. Reviewers write reviews, readers read, I can enter it into various contests if I like and it may do badly or well. None of that has anything to do with me, grinning at Jay’s approach to courtship and hoping I can fully demonstrate why I find him so likeable and why he’s the only man who’s right for Anna.
I’m surprised and delighted to see how well Yule is doing. Naturally I hope Rockets does as well or even better. But all of that comes later, long after I’ve done all I can do and let it go. Being a writer is a lot like being a parent, actually. You do your best and then they grow up and go live their own life. You hope they do well, but it really isn’t up to you. And whether they succeed or don’t succeed, you love them. Whatever else happens when I finish and turn Rockets over to the publisher, I’ve had the joy of knowing these characters and they’ve enriched my life. I wouldn’t change that for anything. Just like I wouldn’t miss the sight of my 18-month old singing and dancing for the world.
by Charlene Teglia | Dec 11, 2004 | Uncategorized
I was in a tearing hurry when I posted yesterday’s EPPIE alert (because the house was being fumigated, see pet/vet saga below) so I didn’t mention that along with Scheherazade Tales’ EPPIE nomination, Ellora’s Cave features predominantly in the list with 12 separate nominations (unless I miscounted and there are more).
For those unfamiliar with ebooks and EPPIEs, the EPPIE awards recognize the very best in ebooks each year. There are categories for all genres, mainstream fiction, nonfiction, poetry, the whole shebang. An EPPIE means a quality book.
Which brings me to the topic of Scheherazade Tales and Ellora’s Cave. Why am I happy to have found homes for my books with both publishers? They’re quite different on the surface. Yet underneath, they are very much the same. Both have very high standards of quality. That commitment to publishing the very best books has won them devoted readers who know they are going to get their money’s worth every time they buy, along with rave reviews and awards for excellence.
Ellora’s Cave and Scheherazade Tales both feature outstanding talent and I still feel a little amazed that I get to be in such great company. Amazed, but very, very happy because I work hard to produce the very best writing and the very best story I can deliver every time and it means a great deal to me to have a publisher who places the same value on excellence.
by Charlene Teglia | Dec 10, 2004 | Uncategorized
Fellow Scheherazade Tales author Sally Sorenson has been nominated as an EPPIE finalist for All’s Faire. Way to go, Sally!
S.T. is small but mighty; all novels published by Scheherazade have been critically acclaimed. This is a fine bunch of writers and I’m delighted to be among them.
Following Yule’s progress on Fictionwise, it’s still #1 on romance best-sellers and has moved up to #4 in best-sellers and #3 in highest rated recent e-books. What a great week for S.T. books!
by Charlene Teglia | Dec 9, 2004 | Uncategorized
Yet another oddball thing about life in Port Townsend; come November with the dropping temperatures and rising winds coming in off the Straits, the surfers hit the beach. Clad in wetsuits from head to toe (don’t want the icy water followed by the icy wind hitting your bare head), they congregate on North Beach and paddle out to the waves. Very likely they imbibe a hefty dose of internal anti-freeze in addition to the external Neoprene before plunging into the water, because they really seem to enjoy it.
And a tip to follow up yesterday’s note about the vet crisis; if your pet, or the pet of someone you love, should be afflicted with fleas, don’t waste time and money buying collars and shampoo and powder over the counter at the grocery store. Just go straight to the vet. You’ll end up there anyway, might as well skip the middle steps and save yourself a lot of coins in the Swear Jar when said over the counter remedies prove about as useful as a bubble gum wrapper condom.
by Charlene Teglia | Dec 8, 2004 | Uncategorized
Made excellent progress revising today. I’m now well over half done (2/3rds done, actually) in less than 1/2 the time allowed in spite of all the distractions, and I’m pretty happy about that. What distractions, you ask? Morning sickness, the incessant need to lay down or nap, a teething toddler, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Life is so seldom ideal, which is why schedules should always take that into account. Ideally, I could do all the revisions in a week, two at most. I have a month and that’s a really good thing because the month fell directly between Thanksgiving and Christmas, in the last weeks of my first trimester, when Alex decided to get her final four teeth all at once and the cats all had a vet crisis.
That’s just life for you. Whenever possible, allow the maximum amount of time you’d need if everything went wrong because Murphy is everywhere.
Recent Comments