WRITING WITHOUT A NET

This is what I love about my new Kindle e-reader: 1)The coverage map was wrong! I am in a Whispernet coverage area after all, it seems, which means I can have any book or periodical I order delivered to my Kindle within a minute. I know! I couldn't believe it, either! So I kept ordering, and ordering... 2)The price . Much has been said, of course, about the 9.99 best seller, but I am only moderately impressed by this. After all, Amazon.com has been selling 27.95 hardcover bestsellers for $13-$15 for years. What I love are the $2.00-$3.00 mysteries and suspense/thrillers, the $1.49 per month magazine subscriptions, the 75-cent Sunday New York Times. Moreover, many authors are giving away their back list titles for $00.00, presumably to generate interest in their new releases- a terrific promotional idea that I just might try myself! 3)Portability. The Kindle slips into my purse as easily as a day planner and takes up a lot less room, so if I have a few minutes to spare...

pages written since last post : 2 Over the last few days before Christmas, the debate changed from whether or not I would get an e-reader to a much simpler choice: which one. Yes, the nook is too cool for words (it has color! At least of the book covers) , and Barnes and Noble has posted a terrific comparison chart between the nook and the Kindle . The nook claims to have over one million titles (although a cursory search revealed several titles that were available on Kindle were not available on nook), and the pricing between nook and Kindle is pretty much the same for the device and books to read on it. The size, weight and features of both devices are virtually the same (but the nook has color!). My choice: The Amazon Kindle. Here is why, in order of importance: 1)Speedy delivery. I wanted it over the holidays, while I had a little bit of time to play with it. Amazon.com promised 2-day delivery, and by George, I got it. The nook, on the other hand, would be delivered o...

Pages written since last post : 7 I'm still struggling with Kindle lust, but as promised, I am examining both sides of the electronic books issue (from a purely self-centered point of view, of course). Having searched high and low, here are the downsides to e-readers that I've come up with: For authors and publishers : 1)For most titles, you can download the first chapter free. Here are the books that I purchased in hardcover that I would not have not have bought at all if I could have read the first chapter before purchasing: South of Broad by Pat Conroy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson How I Became A Famous Novelist by Greg Hely That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo This is not to say that these might not turn out to be wonderful books, but so far I have not been able to get past the first chapter in any of them. And with ten or more absolutely delicious titles waiting on my nightstand at any given time (think how many more titles I would be tempted by if I...

Pages written since last post : 145 If you’re not in The Industry, you may not be aware of the firestorm of controversy regarding the evil e-reader which is destined to destroy publishing as we know it forever (speaking strictly from the point of view of a writer, this may not be a bad thing). It has taken me a really long time to comprehend the significance of this, because I am pretty much at the bottom of the technological curve. I’ve never sent a text message in my life. Totally don‘t get Twitter. My big-city friends are shocked and appalled when they dial my cell phone and, like, no one answers (don’t they know the only use for cell phones is when your car breaks down on the side of the highway at midnight in an ice storm?) I don’t know anyone– yes, this is God’s honest truth– who owns a Kindle. I live in one of the 3% or so of America that is not covered by Whispernet. Yet.... Every time I open up the Amazon.com page that $259 Kindle flashes in my face like some kind of su...

pages written since last post: oops! Been a little busy, here. Today the second book in the Ladybug Farm series, At Home on Ladybug Farm, hits book store shelves everywhere. Yay! If you haven't yet purchased yours, run, don't walk, to the nearest bookstore, or simply click the link above. And that concludes this brief commercial announcement. Since this is the second book in a series, today seems as good a time as any to address a question that comes up over and over again: Why does a series get canceled? Or, "What ever happened to... ( insert the name of your favorite author or series here )?" There are lots of reasons, of course, but the most common reason a series disappears is really quite simple: the first books in the series did not sell enough copies to justify the publisher's continuing it. An unfortunate corollary is that most series--especially mystery series-- are canceled before they have a chance to gain a following. The reason? Because t...

Pages written since last post: 25 Every year I am given the weighty responsibility of choosing the last book of the year-- the Christmas book--for our reading group. The reason this is such a difficult choice is because, traditionally, all the good books are released in the fall/winter. Just look at what we have to choose from this year: John Krakauer: Where Men Win Glory Krakauer, author of the unforgettable Into the Wild and Into Thin Air takes on the tale of NFL hero Pat Tillman, who abandoned a promising career to die a hero in the war against the Taliban. Whenever Krakauer undertakes to tell a story, it promises to be rivetting. For this and no other reason, this book makes my list for consideration. Audrey Niffenegger: Her Fearful Symmetry . Did we love The TimeTraveler's Wife ? Well, yes, actually-- it was my book cluib selection two (or three) Christmases ago! We're all wondering whether she can possibly follow it up with something as tame as a story o...

Today we come to the last, and most powerful, of the seven deadly sins for writers: Fear Fear is the most dangerous vice of all. Fear stops nine of ten writers dead in their tracks before the first word is written. Fear will cause a writer to put away her manuscript the first time she runs into a plot problem she can’t solve or a character who seems wooden. Fear will rob a writer of her dream the first time someone confirms– or appears to confirm– what she has always secretly believed to be true: that her book is no good. The problem is that you can’t be a writer without fear. Writers live in a constant state of fear. Those who make friends with fear will win the race. Those who do not will never even leave the start line. Fear of failure keeps you going back to that manuscript until you get it right; fear of rejection keeps you sending it to agent after agent, publisher after publisher in the desperate hope that someone, somewhere will give you a chance; fear of losing– your time, ...