Today, I was thinking in the shower. I seem to do my very best thinking in the shower. I’m not sure why that is. Someone sent me some information about a study done on water and how it feeds creativity, so people who are creative often live near or by water. I live in a desert. Go figure. Maybe that’s why I usually take 2-3 showers per day. I’d live in the shower if they could find a way to waterproof my laptop.

Anyway, not the point. Ryan has a tagline he uses: Reluctantly Human. I’m planning on making that a title for a book I’m working on (no stealing it now!) Anyway, today, I am reluctantly human, and I’m experiencing all the emotion that goes along with being human, reluctantly so. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 16%

I have a unique perspective as a writer and an editor – I get to see what it’s like on both sides of the submission desk.

In particular, today, I’m talking about Unsent Letters. As many of you know, this project is my baby. I currently do the acquisitions, but I’m working on setting it up so someone else can at least wade through the slush pile for me so that only the very best of submissions are getting to me.

I am AMAZED (read: appalled) at how many submissions don’t adhere to the submission guidelines. When I’m in a good mood, I might point that out, and make a slightly lower offer. When I’m in a bad mood, that person might just get a rejection for it.

Okay, so the submission guidelines are somewhat confusing, and unlike some projects, Unsent Letters is just for writers, so it’s tough to get laypeople to understand the way submissions work and I get all that, I do.

But I’ve received submissions where there is no punctuation at all, lower case letters on names and proper nouns, horrible spelling that obviously wasn’t spell checked.

And you know what makes it worse? When I try to email the person and explain why they were rejected, and they want to argue with me about it!

The one good thing about this is that having been on this side of the submission desk, when I’m sending in my work, I make extra special sure to follow the guidelines as best I can to make the editor’s (or agent’s) job as easy as possible. Yes, a lot of acquisitions is subjective, but a lot of it falls back on the head of the writer who doesn’t take the time to make my job easy(er).

If there is one thing I can impress upon you, it’s read the submission guidelines and follow them!

More on this was written here:

Submission Guideline Etiquette: Pros Vs. Players

Submission Guidelines – or – “Can’t You Read?”

If you haven’t sent in your Unsent Letter, why not? Read the blog here and comment on others letters, and read the submission guidelines here and send yours in!

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 36%

REJECTED AGAIN!

So I received a second rejection yesterday from an agent who has a blog I frequent. I mentioned this in the query I wrote and was very pleased to see that instead of a stock form letter rejection, this agent actually took the time to respond using my first name, thanking me for reading the blog, and instead of saying my work sucked or it wasn’t right for him, he said he didn’t think he was the most appropriate agent to represent my work.

I’LL TAKE IT!

Okay, maybe he says that to a lot of writers. Hell, maybe he says that to everyone. I, however, am going to look at this as a sign that he didn’t say, “Your work sucks,” and be proud that I got a personal reply from him, personalized to me, that happens to agree with my assessment: I didn’t think he was the most appropriate agent to represent my work, but I liked him and figured he was worth the shot. I trusted he could do a good job with any manuscript if he chose, but this particular manuscript wasn’t in line with the types of work he most commonly seems to be representing. I probably shouldn’t have queried him – and in a way, I feel bad for wasting his valuable time, because time is so precious for an agent, but I would have always wondered ‘what if’ if I hadn’t queried him. Don’t regret doing so, and a more personal rejection this time really makes me feel as though it was one step better than the obviously pre-formed ‘dear author’ letter I got form the first agent.

THERE’S HOPE!

The one agent I’d truly love to represent me hasn’t responded yet, so there’s hope there!

I’M A BIG FISH!

I’m learning new things here. It’s been an interesting process. In the online content world, I was a gigantic fish in a bay where only a few decent fish swam, surrounded by an ocean of chum fish writing their little hearts out. It was easy to rise to the top positions on the internet. In print, I became a big fish in an equally large pond of other big fish, less chum, more swimming. Rejection wasn’t a big issue for me. I’ve never received a summary rejection from any content site I’ve written for. I’ve never received a rejection from a print publisher for an article I’ve actually written. I’ve had queries rejected, because they didn’t want the idea or concept or whatever, but whenever I’ve taken the time to write a print article, it’s always been accepted.

I’M CHUM!

This isn’t necessarily because I’m that ‘good’, but more because I make a point of being that good. I edit, perfect, proof, agonize, tweak, and gear my writing to the publication that I have researched well before I ever submit anything to them. I don’t send them an article I hope is right for them. I know when send the article that it is perfectly suited for them, because I make a point of making sure that’s the case.

Now, with this writing novels thing, I realize the ocean here is even bigger, with more people thinking they can write fiction than people who try to freelance to magazines, and therefore, I’m swimming around in unknown waters for me. I’m not longer a big fish in a small pond; I’m chum!

REVELATION!

My revelation this morning was this: when I freelance for magazines or websites, I make sure my query and writing to them is perfectly targeted to their publication. When I am querying agents, though, I’m querying blind. I don’t know what is perfectly targeted to them.

I can do my research and get a handle on what they usually represent, what they’ve sold, and I can tell what types of books they are able to sell and seem interested in trying to sell. Looking at the two agents who have rejected me, I can only say the manuscript I was trying to sell to them was NOT in line with what they’ve represented before. That’s my bad.

This made me realize there’s something I don’t know. Does an agent represent you or your book?

See, I think the agent represents the person, the writer, but tries to sell the book. Unfortunately, the only thing the agent has to see about me is my manuscript. But what if this manuscript really isn’t indicative of the overall body of work I will later produce?

The manuscript I’m trying to sell right now is not indicative of the ideas and concepts I have for the other works I’m writing. It’s not my usual style, so to speak. It’s not the style of writing I think will make a name for me.

In fact, I wanted to wait until I finished the Covington series before I started to query.

The thing is, this book I’m trying to sell now IS a good book.

What to do, what to do?

If I were doing a magazine query, for freelancing, I wouldn’t be marketing this book right now. I would be waiting until I had an ‘in’ with an editor who really liked some of my other work, and then I’d say, “Hey, I know this isn’t my usual style, but I think you might be interested in this.”

MY DECISION

The problem with doing it this way is that unlike a magazine article, it takes time to write a book, a lot of time when compared to a magazine article or web content. Unfortunately, that means *I* have to wait. Patience, patience, patience.

My decision about this manuscript is this: if no one in the list of the top agents I wanted to work with responds favorably to this manuscript, I’m shelving it until I finish Covington Confessions, and I will then sell Covington. Then, once an agent I work with who represents me knows my work is good, THEN I will say, “I know it’s not my usual style, but this is a good book. Will you look at it?”

So… that’s my decision. It feels right to me now. I can say that even better because I’m proud of myself for querying. Who knows, one of these agents might still like it and pick it up! That would be awesome. But if that doesn’t happen, I have a game plan now I feel really good about.

Thanks for letting me babble! Now, it’s off to write some more in Accepting Aimee. Aimee has been waiting patiently for me (not so much.)

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 15%

Ouch!

I spent the weekend perfecting and working on my queries to a list of select agents that I hand picked to send my query and samples (if they accepted samples) to, via email for the agents that are ‘green’ or e-friendly. I took the time to research each agent’s profile and the agency profile. I took the time to personalize every query, proofread each one about a jillion times, and then sent off about eight of them this weekend and then promised myself I wasn’t going to hold my breath or frantically refresh the inbox.

I wasn’t expecting to hear from anyone this morning.

I did.

Now I wish I hadn’t.

I got my first agent rejection.

Did I mention, ouch?

Ouch!

It was a form letter, but a polite one, from an agent with an agency that wasn’t on the top of my list, but was a decent agency. It was honestly a bit of a stretch that this particular agent would want my manuscript, but I have a manuscript in the works he would really like, I think, so I took a shot with this one to feel him out.

I really was prepared for the rejection.

Still, it hurts.

What do you mean, they don’t want ME? How could they possibly not want me? whhhaaaaaa!

One day, when I’m a rich and famous multiple best selling author, I will remember this man fondly as the first agent to reject me. I mean that, seriously, not sarcastically.

So, time to find my gratitude.

• I am grateful he responded at all; some agents don’t.
• I am grateful that he rejected me so quickly, so I did not have to agonize over his decision.
• I am grateful he sent a form letter so I wouldn’t pick apart every little word he said wondering what it meant.
• I am grateful this wasn’t a rejection from the agency I was most interested in representing me.
• I am grateful to get this first rejection under my belt, so I can honestly say I’m querying agents, and feel all official and stuff.
• I’m grateful I didn’t cry when I read the email, though I did pout for a short time.
• I am grateful this agent only rejected my query, and was not one of the agents I sent a partial manuscript to, so I know he only didn’t want the concept and not the writing itself.
• I’m grateful he rejected me early enough I was able to blog about it and share it with you guys.

I’m sure as the day wears on, I’ll find additional things to be grateful for.

For now, I’ll keep searching for the perfect fit for my book and me, and hopefully I’ll be a good fit for them too. I have 7 more agents/agencies on the list, and I’ll add more as I research and learn about them.

I’ll keep you guys updated on my progress.

Now, if I can submit a query and get rejected and not cry and then turn around and make a blog post out of it, then you guys can at least finish writing your novels or get your queries written, and start making your list.

In fact, when you find yourself stalling on your novel writing, why not go agent searching? It’s sorta like dream building, or a dream board, only it’s an dream agent board. Read about the agents, check out the websites of different agencies, get a feel for the folks who are behind the scenes that make all the dreams you have happen.

You’ll get all excited and start writing again!

For now, that’s where I have to go. Lots to do today, and only so many people can fit inside my head at one time before I explode.

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 26%

I’m working on yet another a novel right now. The working title is: Accepting Aimee. I might change that later, but it’s the one that’s stuck for now. This novel is written in first person, narrative POV (point of view) and it’s written as though Aimee, the main character, is having a chat with the reader. It’s not quite the same as a narrative, but actually like Aimee is talking to the reader.

Now, there are also first person narratives, where the first person is telling the story, but doesn’t ‘break the fourth wall’ and speak directly to the reader.

In either of these instances, you’re going to get away with a lot of grammar faux pas than you would writing in first person limited, third person, or just about any other POV or person there is. Why? Because in this type of POV, the character is ‘talking’ in the text block and therefore, you can use colloquialisms, conversational style writing, etc.

I didn’t used to like writing in first person. I always felt it limited me in being able to tell a believable story where I could show the reader things the characters couldn’t see.

In Accepting Aimee, though, I have a unique way of doing this. The character is essentially sitting on her bed telling us, the reader, about something in her past. Therefore, she already knows what’s happened, even though we don’t yet, so when she retells the story to us, she can give us those little clues and hints (foreshadowing) that we won’t normally get with first person limited narrative POV.

I’m enjoying the writing… this is a good book, and I’m very excited about it. Though I have another manuscript finished, I’m debating waiting on shopping it around because I believe so strongly in this book being my breakout novel that I’m almost afraid to submit anything before, lest the universe say, “Nope, I said Accepting Aimee!”

The Universe can be quite demanding sometimes.

Anyway, the whole point of this is to make sure you guys understand when writing a novel, the descriptive part of the text and the dialogue are two different things. The descriptive text, the text block of the writing, should be more formal, adhere to grammar and style guidelines, and shouldn’t use colloquialisms, cliches and the like.

In the dialogue, however, anything goes, as long as it’s to make the character seem real, believable and whole to the reader. Slang and other colorful language might be essential to one character while proper and prim English is essential to another. None of us talk the same, and different regions and dialects speak differently too. If you’re from the South and haven’t traveled much, you might want to make sure your Southerness isn’t showing through in a character who is supposed to be from New York.

Of course, you should make sure your Southerness isn’t showing through in the text block of the descriptive text either! Ya’ll has its place, and a New Yorker probably won’t say it quite like a Texan would!

Be true to your characters, but be careful once you’ve selected your POV – stick with it, watch POV shifts that shouldn’t happen, and keep your descriptive text proper while your dialgoue is casual.

If you’ll excuse me, it’s time for a bathroom break, take my meds, and then git to writin’

Love and stuff,
Michy

PS: You can subscribe to my blog now, if you’ll look at the right-hand side so WP will send you one email every time I post a new blog. Feel free to sign up!

Popularity: 32%

Awhile back, I wrote an article about the basics of copyright and copyright registration. I refer you to that article here, so you can read about the difference between a natural copyright and a registered copyright. To learn a bit more about copyright, and some frequently asked questions, you can also read this article I wrote about it.

Now, read those first, and then we’ll talk about copyright.

done? good….

Writing & Copyright Basics

All right, the basics. The copyright office changed things sometime in the ’80s so that now, when you write something, the minute it’s put in tangible form, you own a copyright on it. As I tap out this blog post, as each letter, each word is added to it, that word as part of the whole is immediately copyrighted to me under a natural copyright. I don’t have to click publish. I don’t have to DO anything. The copyright is mine by just simply putting the words down. I can delete them, I can publish them, I can promote them, I can sell them for value (make money from them), I can promote and distribute them, and I can even give someone else permission to use them, and if I really wanted to, I could sell my copyright to someone else, and then they would own my writing.

Do I Have to Put the Copyright Symbol on My Writing to Have a Copyright?

At one point in the distant past, having the copyright notification was required in order to take advantage of copyright protection. The copyright office states that the copyright notification is no longer required in order to enforce copyright protection. Writing is given an automatic natural copyright to the creator the minute it is created, and the copyright symb0l, while a good idea for additional professionalism, is not required to enforce a copyright.

What if Someone Uses My Writing Without Permission?

If someone uses my writing without my permission, I have a right to demand they take it down, destroy it, cease and desist using it. If someone else distributes or disseminates my information without my express permission, I have a right to ask them to stop, get a court order to force them to stop and even sue them for ACTUAL tangible physical damages for having done so.

When Should I Copyright My Writing?

Because a natural copyright is granted to your work the minute you pull it out of your mind and to your fingertips to make it tangible, you own a copyright on that work. There is no need to register that copyright in order to enforce it. If you want to register a copyright to provide additional protection, it’s important to note a few things. If you sell the writing to a publication, you will be granting rights to them, and one of those rights ‘might’ be copyright, and if it’s registered, transferring copyright can complicate a registered copyright issue, and you will have essentially wasted the money.

People who write web content, such as blogs and for article content sites will find that registering a copyright on their articles is simply absurd, since they will very rarely make enough money on their content to warrant registering a copyright.

People who intend to self publish should register a copyright at the time the book they are self publishing is being printed, and copies of the completed work should be on file with the copyright office. If you do not intend to self publish, you should not register your book for copyright protection prior to submitting to publishers.

Should I Register a Book-Length Manuscript Before Submitting?

No. As stated above, you should not register a copyright on a novel prior to submission to publishers. You already own the copyright once you wrote each page of the novel, but there’s another reason not to register the copyright. The publisher will, as part of the publishing process, copyright the book to you, and if you use a pen name once published, or if your manuscript is rewritten or edited before being published (and trust me, it will be) then your copyright of the book and the publisher copyrighting it for you, will conflict with one another. A real, reputable trade publisher will register your copyright.

If I Don’t Register Copyright Before Submitting, Can’t a Publisher or Agent STEAL My Work?

They could, but why would they? It is highly, highly unlikely a reputable agent or publisher would steal your manuscript and use it. Ideas can’t be copyrighted, so even if you had copyright protection, they could write a ’similar’ story based on the concept and you couldn’t do a thing about it, but it likely wouldn’t turn out anything like your story anyway. There truly aren’t any completely original ‘new’ stories in the world; all are variations of themes anyway, and you’d be hard pressed to say the ‘concept’ was yours and yours alone, but the writing won’t be yours.

There are a lot of people who worry about copyright when they are writing stories, particularly novel-length works, and are sharing that with editors or submitting to publishing houses. While I understand your fear and concern, truly I do, if you are doing your research and submitting only to reputable and and long-standing publishers or agents, you’re not going to run into this problem. No agent or publisher is going to steal your work and risk their entire reputation and career on it.

If you’re submitting to small, untried, unreported publishers…. why? Stop that!

CAN you register a copyright on your manuscript before submitting it?

Yes, absolutely. You shouldn’t, but you can. It costs you to do so, and the publisher will have to re-register the edited final copy of the manuscript when it’s made into a book and they will do that at their cost, but if the 35-45 bucks and the wait time to register the copyright before you start submitting is fine with you, and you don’t mind having to deal with potential legal issues when it’s time for a big publisher to register your copyright when you sell your manuscript, then by all means, register it. (This is sarcasm, for those who don’t recognize it.)

However, since the courts do allow for ACTUAL damages, you can argue in court if you can prove your copyright, that any monies the infringing party earned from the sale of your work are actual damages. Statutory damages cannot be awarded without registration.

My point here is, an unsold manuscript doesn’t require copyright protection and it’s best not to register your copyright before submitting.

What About Critiques and Editing?

When dealing with editors who are not a part of a publishing house, such as pre-submission editors you might hire to make your manuscript perfect prior to submission to a reputable publishing house, it can’t hurt to ask for an NDA (Non-disclosure Agreement), just in case. I am a pre-submission editor, and I always offer a non-disclosure agreement to any author who wants one, and any work I do is under an NDA even if I don’t actually send one to the author.

Be sure to check the background, references, and published credits of an editor you hire to prepare your manuscript for submission to a publisher. Most freelance editors will begin working with small publishers first before going out on their own, or else they’ll get assignments through freelance bidding agencies, so there should be a track record for the editor you can ask about. Do NOT insult the editor by asking, “How do I know you won’t steal my work?” Not only is this insinuation and insulting, but it shows you’re a novice and aren’t aware that you have a copyright on your story already, even if it’s not registered!

However, asking for a non-disclosure agreement to protect both you and the editor should not insult the editor, so don’t be afraid to ask for one.

It’s highly unlikely someone will steal your work, but it’s better safe than sorry, right?

Copyright Questions?

I’m not an expert, per se, but I do know a lot about copyright and I have an attorney on retainer for all my business needs. If you have a question about copyright, ask it in the comments, and I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction of an answer or answer it if I know it.

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 28%

The Accentuate Writers Short Story Contest was hard to judge for the science fiction theme. It seems obvious to me that science fiction is likely one of the most difficult genres for writers to get into the flow writing. I know this from my own experiences writing science fiction story lines, because it takes a lot of plotting and designing to make it accurate, believable.

We had some good stories this time that seemed to have trouble really working the science fiction aspect into it. In fact, I’d say that we had more science fiction type entries in the ‘Future’ theme than we did on this one. That said, we did have some good entries. One entry we received had a great story for a pre-teen/children’s story, but unfortunately, our anthologies are for an adult audience, even if our writing is not necessarily of an ‘adult’ nature.

I want to make it very clear to everyone that some of the things *I* look for in selecting the final winners after the judges have scored the entries is the adherence to things I’ve discussed in my editing blogs. These things in particular include using the word ‘got’ frequently outside of dialogue, saying things like “graduated high school” (click here to find out why), many extraneous ‘thats’ (I let a few of them slide), or other things I specifically have taken the time to write. Be sure to scan the blogs now and again and make sure you’re not letting those things pop into your writing when entering the AWF contests.

Now, without any further pattering, I give you the winners of the Accentuate Writers Short Story Science Fiction Contest:

Third place: David and the Outside, by Robert Arend

Second place: The Chosen, by Angel Sharum

And our first place winner:

Brain Restoration, by Daniel Thrasher!

This time, we also decided on an Editor’s Pick to include in the anthology. The only reason this story wasn’t picked as a winner is because we and the judges felt that while it was somewhat supernatural in nature, it did not fit the definition of science fiction, being defined as a literary work that shows how science or technology affects, shapes or society or an individual pertinent to the story.

However, we do feel the story will make a great addition to the anthology that includes fantasy, science fiction and reality, and so we are offering an Editor’s Pick inclusion for the story: Dead Brother, by TexasRed (we don’t have permission yet to post her full name, but we’re working on it for the book!)

So congratulation to you four winners who will be the final story inclusions for this anthology, wrapping up another quarter of Accentuate Writers Short Story Contests.

For now, we have the Birth Theme that closed this week and we still have Life and Death themes pending for the next anthology to bring together the anthology: Elements of Life – Birth, Life, Death. The next set of themes will be Elements of Love – First Love, The Engagement, The Wedding. This will round out 2009 in style. To check out our themes, click here.

On Monday, we will be announcing the poetry winners that will be included in the current anthology, which includes Fantasy, Reality, Science Fiction and is entitled Elements of Dimension. And of course, we have Elements of the Soul pending, which is due out any day now and has already been set up on Amazon (should have a link very soon) and Elements of Time

If you are interested in entering the Accentuate Writers Short Story Contest, have a chance at winning a cash prize and a publishing contact, free books, free merchandise, and a shot of getting your name on the cover of a gorgeous book, all you have to do is click here and read the submission guidelines and enter!

If you’d like to see what some folks are saying about the Accentuate Writers Short Story Contests and the Accentuate Writers Forum, check out this page.

As always, don’t forget about our Erotic Anthology and Unsent Letters, and we have a great Halloween Anthology that is coming up soon too. Lots of great things happening at Accentuate. Won’t you come join us today? It’s free, even!

To all the winners and everyone who entered the contest this time, thank you for making the contests so much fun, giving me and the judges great stories to read, and having the confidence to submit your writing for judging. It’s never easy to do, and you are all winners just for taking that step!

I look forward to reading what you have to write!

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 91%

If you’re a writer, I’m here to tell you that you should blog. There are so many reasons why you should blog when you are a writer, and it doesn’t matter what type of writing you do. However, nonfiction writing does seem to benefit slightly more from blogging than fiction writing does, but both types of writers and writing will benefit from you having a blog if you’re a writer.

Why? I’m so glad you asked!

Why a Writer Should Have a Blog: Warm Up

Every morning, I used to get up and go write in my Myspace blog, something humorous, poignant, dull, boring… whatever it was, depending on my mood. It was a way to get my brain into mode, get my fingers warmed up, get settled into my day of writing ahead of me. Mostly, it got me brain in the mode I needed to start writing.

Why a Writer Should Have a Blog: Connections and Networking

If you are a fiction writer, you want to sell stories and book and if you’re a nonfiction writer, you want people to read you. If you write web content, you want people to view your work and comment on it so you get maximum exposure and revenue. So, blogging is a good way for people to connect with you in a social setting, network with them in a social way, making them more likely to stumble across you online and more likely to pick up your writing, in whatever form, and read it. You network with them in a way that doesn’t even feel like networking–through your blog–and get other benefits from writing the blog as well.

Why a Writer Should Have a Blog: Less Structure

When we write for everyone else, whether fiction or nonfiction, we have to write with our audience in mind, or we have to write to the style guide of the publication, publisher or website for which we write. On a blog, though we should use good grammar and writing style as much as possible, we’re allowed to be more casual, more colloquial, and more personal. Our blogs are all about us and our thoughts and ideas on things, so we can go first person when many print pubs don’t allow it. We can laugh and tell little jokes in between imparting information. People are more likely to overlook a misspelling or a typo on a blog too.

Now, that doesn’t mean to type in text or IM speak or to throw grammar out the window. Keep in mind that as a writer, everything we write, whether blog or otherwise, that is read by the public will help determine the type of writer we are in our reader’s eyes. If you type very lazy and poorly on your blog, it’s not going to entice people to come read your real writing work.

Still, blogs are a great way to write without as much structure, more for sheer pleasure or stream of thought writing, without having to adhere to hard and fast rules that someone else dictates.

Why Writers Should Have a Blog: Ideas

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written a blog and someone has come into the comments and asked me to blog about something else or to write about it, because they were interested. Or, perhaps someone said something in the comments that made me think of a new idea for an article or even another blog. Ideas are everywhere, and blogging can help spark those ideas.

Why Writers Should Have a Blog: Help Break Writer’s Block

I don’t believe in writer’s block, not truly. Perhaps we don’t feel like writing, don’t have any ideas about what to write, or don’t want to work on the things we have to work on for work/income, etc., but we can always write. I did write this blog post (it’ll open in a new window for you so you can keep reading here), about how to overcome writer’s block. Keep in mind, though, that I don’t give a lot of energy to writer’s block, because I don’t truly believe it exists. A blog is one good way to prove to yourself that writer’s block isn’t ‘real’. If you can write a blog post about any old boring mundane thing, including writing a blog post about having writer’s block, you can prove to yourself that you can write – you just might not want to write. We are not always in the mood to write, no matter how much writing is a part of us.

Sometimes, an alcoholic doesn’t want a beer. Sometimes, men don’t want sex. Sometimes, women don’t want chocolate. And sometimes, a writer doesn’t feel like writing. There’s nothing wrong with us when that happens; it’s natural and normal, and we just push through it. Writing a blog when we feel stuck, especially writing a blog about being stuck, can help unstick us.

Why Writers Should Have a Blog: Breaks Monotony

Bored writing keyword articles for the money? Tired of writing an article you thought was good but the editor has sent back twice now for revisions and just told you to go a whole new direction? Write about it! A blog breaks the monotony of the writing-for-pay routine, lets you break out a little creatively and gives your mind a rest from the other type of writing. When you go back to your for-pay writing after having a little fun and blow-off on your blog, you might find you finish up quicker than when you were just trying to push through the mundane.

Why Writers Should Have a Blog: Release Frustration

Frustrated and on the verge of pulling your fingernails out one at a time? Having trouble getting into the flow? Kids driving you crazy and your husband just asked, “Are you on the computer… again?” Blog about it! If you’re blowing off steam in your blog, be sure to be careful not to blow off too much steam at an identifiable editor though – that might come back to bite you later – but blow off your frustration. I think you’ll feel better for it, can get back to your writing faster and more energized, and you can share the feelings with those who understand you and have been there too — other writers!

Blog venting is a great way to publicly journal and blow off steam in a safe, healthy way, get your fingers burning up the keyboard and get you ready to tackle the writing tasks in front of you.

GO BLOG!

See, I love blogging. I love to blog about whatever is on my mind, whatever I’m thinking, whatever pops into my head to share with you guys, sharing ideas, educating others, helping others, or just sharing my life with people who might or might not care, but hopefully in an entertaining sort of a way.

When I become a best selling author and people are buying my books by the truckload, I hope to continue to maintain a blog that is active and open for all to come to and post and ask questions and give me that interaction with people who love to read what I have to write.

Anyway, blogging is not only fun and easy to do, but it’s healthy, helpful and liberating to a writer. It doesn’t even matter if anyone reads it really, because sometimes, just getting the emotion tapped out is enough. Of course, getting comments and reader and reader questions is always nice too!

If you’re a writer and you have a blog, have you visited it lately? If not, why not? If you’re a writer and you don’t have a blog, why not get one? You can get one on Blogger or WordPress for free, or for a small fee, you can get your own domain and get free blog templates and such to help get you started. You can even monetize your blogs and make a little bit of extra cash on the side too. If you make at least enough to cover your blog hosting costs, you can have a nice self-hosted blog on your own domain and it won’t cost you a penny!

If you’re a regular blogger, blog to your readership about why they should have a blog, link back to me here, and let’s challenge all our readers to blog today and tomorrow! If you haven’t blogged in awhile, dust off the blog, remove the cobwebs, tune it up and then blog about whatever is on your mind. Then come back here and drop off a link for me to read and I’ll come comment on your blog. I’d love a link back on your blog saying I challenged you to write a blog post so it sends other writers this way so they can write a blog post too! I’ll comment on every blog that leaves me a link below!

Get to bloggin’!

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 84%

Okay, some of you already read parts of this and others haven’t, and I forgot who I updated and who I haven’t, so I’m just putting it all here on my blog so everyone can see it!

First, I want to thank you all for your support during this waiting game we just played. It helped make the wait easier knowing everyone was praying and thinking of me. Thank you to you all for that.

The good news is: it is apparently NOT breast cancer.

The first place that we went to could no accommodate the exam the doctor requested, and I’m currently really pissed at them and might actually be filing a complaint with the ADA group about them (American’s with Disabilities). I haven’t decided yet, but they embarrassed me and made me feel bad during what was already a difficult time. In case I pursue legal issues with them, I can’t really explain how or why they did this, but just know, I am not pleased at all with how they handled things.

My friend, Lynn, then took me to the place where she’d had her mammogram earlier that year. They were able to see me the same day, mostly due to Lynn’s insistence, but they did require I have a mammogram done as well as the ultrasonography. The good news was the mammogram came back completely normal and clear. Yay!

Still, I was there for Inflammatory Breast Cancer screening, and most women with IBC do have normal mammograms. So the sonogram was then performed. According to the sonogram, there is no thickening of the skin or any obstructions they can find. They did, however, find very large lymph nodes, and although she said they appeared quite large, she said they otherwise looked normal. Still, there has to be a reason for the enlarged lymph nodes, and while she said the Lupus could definitely be a cause for that, I do need to follow up with my doc to have her look at the films and such and see why the lymph nodes were enlarged so much. They were painful also, and let me tell you, after her pushing around on them with the wand and after the other lady smashing my boobies trying to get clear pics of my large breasts, I was rather sore afterward!

So…again, it doesn’t appear to be IBC either, although they too didn’t seem to know a whole lot about Inflammatory Breast Cancer, so in a way, I’m really glad I’m writing this up and hope it will lead other women to really pay attention to this disease, since so many in the medical field still don’t really look for it. They did say, however, that they know the pain is real, and that it shouldn’t be ignored, and if the symptoms get worse, it should be monitored and I may need to be retested again sooner than a year.

Lynn has been a blessing to me…. it’s good to have a Buffy! I think everyone should go out and get themselves a Buffy! No, you cannot have mine! I plan to keep her! (Buffy – BFF+)

It’s funny, because everywhere we went, they keep asking if we are mother and daughter or sisters. Lynn is a little bit older than me, but not enough she could even remotely come close to being my mother. Still, I spent all day yesterday calling her, “Mom” just for kicks.

I love you, mom!

We finally gave up and just started introducing her as my sister.

I suppose if it comes down to it, and all they can tell me is that all of this is JUST the Lupus, I’ll take it, but then start properly treating the damned lupus, with the steroids and the other stuff that we KNOW helps. I don’t care if I balloon up to 5000 pounds from the steroids if they take the pain away! I don’t even mind being bitchy (like anyone would notice) if the steroids take the pain away!

The running theme here is: take the pain away!

I do need to find out why the pain is there and why the lymph nodes are enlarged. We have another doc appointment scheduled, and it’s back to waiting again. My hope is, now that this scare is out of the way, they will once again consider steroids. The steroids have been the only thing that’s helped relieve the pain while still letting me function.

I’m so very, very tired of hurting.

The good news is, the vicoprofen DOES help some with pain. The bad news is, it knocks me out so I’m spending more time sleeping than awake, and I just have too much to do than to sleep my life away. The Ami works well for some of the pain I’m feeling, but at doses high enough to kill the pain, it also knocks me out.

So… either I sleep or I hurt. It’s like I have to choose. Seems to me there has to be a better option.

I also need to find out what the rash on my breast is and why some of the other symptoms were there. I also need to find out what the enlarged lymph nodes mean. Awhile back, they tested me for lymphoma because of the large lymph nodes and the presence of large amounts of lymph fluid in my body. The test was inconclusive, and they wanted to do a lymph biopsy. I’m guessing the lymph biopsy is probably one of the next steps. So while breast cancer is ruled out, lymphoma, a type of cancer, is still on the table.

In the meantime, I’m hoping they’ll listen to me at this new doctor’s here in this area, and maybe, just maybe, I can get back on some steroids and have some relief from the pain while they figure out the rest of the problems.

Thank you to everyone who has been supportive, praying, and caring. Your well wishes and energy and kind words sustain me when I get frustrated, when the pain gets bad, when I’m waiting… I love and appreciate you all.

For now, I send up lots and lots of gratitude that it wasn’t breast cancer, and lots of positive energy that the symptoms will all have a definable and treatable cause.

In the meantime, eat lots of Klondike bars for me. I think Klondike should compensate me for the recent surge in sales my blog posts have likely caused.

thank you to every one of you who sent messages, left comments, sent emails, prayed, sent energy, made me smile, distracted me, or otherwise made the wait for results easier to deal with than it would have been without you. YOU are the reason I got through the wait. And just think how many articles all of this has inspired in me, articles I hope will help other women in similar situations.

Thank you to everyone! (HUGS TO ALL)

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 21%

I wrote this researched article awhile back about who owns blog comments.

The answer is: the commenter does. Read the article for more information.

But I want to talk about something that upset me awhile back and I thought I’d let it go, but it’s still bugging me. I’ve been a long-time reader and subscriber to Randy Cassingham’s This is True, and I like to read the Jumbo Jokes and Weird News and such. Mr. Cassingham (and I call him this for a reason) always provided interesting reads and good commentary. I particularly enjoyed reading his stance on Zero Tolerance, a subject very near and dear to my (and my son’s) heart.

For all the years I’ve read and was a (paid) subscriber to Mr. Cassingham’s newsletters and such, I had never commented on a blog post of his. One blog really struck a chord with me and I wanted to say so, so I penned a comment to him. In that comment, I started it like this:

“You know, Randy, [blah blah blah praise and comments I'd been a long-time reader]”

I then clicked the button to submit and it said my comment was pending moderation, and I signed up to receive notification of new comments on the blog, because I was interested in the subject and what others had to say.

When my comment came out of moderation and was posted on the blog, the part that you see quoted above: “You know, Randy…” was removed.

Yes. Mr. Cassingham delete my familiar use of his first name from the comment I had made. I guess I’m not allowed to call him by his first name? I get called by my first name a lot, by people I’ve never talked to before. I’ve never once been offended or upset by it, neither have I ever edited a commenter’s comment. In fact, unless there is profanity, vulgarity or hatred in the comment, I don’t even moderate comments to remove them unless they are blatantly spam. I believe people have the right to their opinions, however misinformed or wrong they might be, even when or if they disagree with mine.

But this wasn’t a cause of Mr. Cassignham editing my comment or the opinion or my stance and it wasn’t a case of me disagreeing with him (since I was actually agreeing with him in the comment). He simply edited out my familiar use of his first name and the phrase, “You know…”

I don’t know why. I didn’t ask why either.

Quite frankly, I don’t care why. I do know, I’ll never comment on Mr. Cassingham’s blog again.

What I do care about is the fact that I penned that comment and he altered it before publication without my permission, and because blog comments are owned by the writer, not the blogger, he had no right to do that without my permission. If he could edit that comment, what’s to stop him or someone from editing to make it appear I said something I did not say? I’m not saying Mr. Cassignham would do this, but he or someone else with the same software (and WordPress allows this too) could do this.

How do you prove what you originally wrote?

So my question to you guys is two-fold: 1) have you ever edited a comment someone else left on your blog? 2) how do you feel about someone else being able to or actually editing a comment you made on their blog?

And one last thing: If you know someone edits blog comments, will you ever post on their blog?

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 22%