WYMJ Weekender, May 23-24, 2009

By -- B J Keltz | May 24, 2009

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The reader is full of good stuff. For the next month, we’re going to ignore the brackets of a week so I can get this good stuff out.

Industry:

The resistance to the new paradigms continues, as noted by Brad and and Eat, Sleep, Publish. I’ve felt as Brad does…the business model was there for the movie industry and available from the music industry. The “problem” of electronic publication is not going away and the consumer will find a way around business models that don’t work in the current market. I remain concerned that authors are not stepping up to be more vocal. All I can do is watch and encourage you to watch as well, weigh in where you can with your own beliefs and opinions, and remain aware. EPublisher’s Weekly also added 10 Reasons Why EBooks Should Be Priced Lower Than Paper Books.

I have often wondered what an author might feel if they reached a publishing success. Aprilynne Pike is so refreshing and honest. First here and then here, Aprilynne shares her emotions and thoughts as her debut novel hit #1 on the NYT Children’s Chapter Book Best Seller List. Thanks for sharing your feelings, Aprilynne, and a wonderful congrats on the success of Wings! (I’ve already mentioned it to several middle school teachers here and made sure I saw it at all the book stores).

I don’t know if this belongs under Industry or another designation, but the article is thought-provoking and interesting. As a member of Anthony Pacheco’s blog harem, I admit what draws me is this man’s intelligence, not to mention his talent. Read his piece on Meta-Writing.

The Writing Life:

Sean shared 6 Secrets Every Writer Shares at Collective Inkwell. I think most of them ring true for all of us and I’d like to add one. At the end of a novel or piece we have labored over, there is a feeling of let down, of being unsettled, sometimes cranky or disconcerted, that I think is nearly universal. Please tell me I’m not the only one.

Broadcasting Brain uncovered in great prose the reason I strictly limit my time on Twitter. The blogs, Twitter, all of it is so enticing and can be so gratifying, but my job is to write fiction. He has written enough Twitter posts to fill an epic book.

This lady and I share one of the same writing neuroses…pens. All I can say is I feel ya, Kay.

Tips, Techniques, & Methods:

The CLAW principle of editing…When Are You Done?

Is altering your level of consciousness a way to enhance your creativity?

Tidbits:

Lateral Action’s Hard Work + Mentoring = Success explores the benefits of an age old practice. Most of us, at one point or another, end up being either mentor or mentee.

Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk on creativity and education is marvelous! Thanks, Lateral Action, for the link.

I shall leave you this week with a quote from an interview with Carol Lynch Williams:

My best advice is to write. Don’t wait for long periods of free time, because, mostly they don’t happen. We make time for what we love to do. So give yourself the time to write—even if you are slow. My good friend Laura Torres (she’s sold millions of copies of her how-to books) taught herself to write in ten-minute free periods when her children were little. It can be done.