Januray 9th, 2011 First installment:
On Januray 3rd at 10:25pm I became a published writer!
Let me explain how this came to be. Back in 1997, I wrote a book, and I could not get it published - numerous reasons, and some of which I will explain at a later date. So, like many inspiring writers, I gave up, put my novel in a box, taped it closed, and put it in a closet in my new house.
This past November, we rescued an Alpine Masiff, which is a smooth coated, dry mouthed St. Bernard. I credit her for getting me started on my novel that I did get published. If we didn't rescue Gracie, I would not have gotten hurt trying to put a diaper on a St Bernard that went into heat, and hurt my hip. So I wouldn't have been sitting on a couch, and browsing the web, taking my vicodin like a good patient.
I wanted to do something constructive as I had ice on my hip, and had a vicodin buzz going So, having the book written by Mark Coker - "No Plot, No Problem" and devouring it so that I could write the next best novel the world has ever known - I decided to enter the http://www.nanowrimo.com's/ contest - to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. I, of course, didn't start until the 22nd, so I was a bit behind. But, I was undeterred and basically, had nothing else to do but watch the dogs as I sat on my, umm couch.
I wrote "Bryn's Family Plan" in those long 8 days - and won! having written not just 50,000 words, but over 62,000 words. I credit being an insomniac as well as the affore mentioned dog.
So, I wanted to get this new book published. Again, the site http://www.nanowrimo.com/ helped me there as well as a posting told me about the http://www.smashwords.com/ site and I officially became a PUBLISHED author on Smashwords as of January 3rd, 2011. I was and still am: amazed, excited, and enthusiastic. I have told perfect strangers at the grocery store that I am published - seriously I did that.
At 10:25pm that night, when I found out it was accepted - I promptly went on Facebook and announced it, as well as emailing every single person I knew. To say the least I was excited.
The next morning, I got up and went back on the site to make sure I was not dreaming, and 6 people had looked at my book, not bought the thing, but looked at it. That was half the battle, I thought.
Then, one of my sisters told me that morning, that she 'googled' my pen name - I am on GOOGLE as an author. ME! So, then I told everyone on Facebook and emailed everyone I know (get the excitement?) that I was on Google. I actually showed a person at Michaels (a craft store) - I couldn't help myself.
My Aunt Kay is the first one to actually purchase the book, but hey - I sold a book and my Aunt Ruthelma is the first one to read the first three chapters that you can sample. The only problem I have with publishing on-line, is my mother. She is the only one left in the world (well, that I know) that isn't on-line, doesn't own a computer (can you believe it!) and still doesn't own a cell phone (seriously - she has that 'thing in the car' in case of emergency, and just recently had to have her phone changed from a rotary dial, to a push button one - yeah, a bit behind in the times.
Any way I degress, my mother would like to have a 'copy' of my book and I can't get her to understand that it is in cyberspace, as she doesn't get that concept either. So, I will have to go to Kinko's and print one off for her...and then, of course, autograph it!
So, this blog is set up to show the progress of my attempt to publish the SECOND book which I started writing just after I finished the first. I figured I was on a roll, why not? It is now done, and is in the 'edit' part of the world of publishing. It should be published within the next few weeks, so what to do now? Well...
I searched my closet and found the first actual novel I wrote - back in 1997. But, alas, there are so many things that need to be changed in the book, that I am re-writing it. Serious errors like Princess Diana is no longer alive - so that has to be changed. There are cell phones EVERY WHERE and EVERY ONE except for my mom - owns one, and that will be written into the story. And I have to retype the entire thing, as it is on a floppy disc (for you of those who do not know what that is, its the computer equivalent to rotary dial phones...) so that explains the retyping. Thank God, I can type 60+ words a minute, and am still insomnic.
So, readers, potential writers and future published authors - I will tell of my exploits daily, to tell of my trials and tribulations, and fun facts on my progress. Along the way, I'll tell the story of the hip injury due to Gracie and her very untimely going into heat, that made me the published author I am today.
D M Wiseman - the recent Published Author !
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