Dr Seuss I am I am not

You likely read Dr. Seuss as a kid. I know Green Eggs and Ham was one of the first books I ever read. You don't really think about how difficult it is to write something so simple to read, yet for me it was difficult to try and replicate him.

I am a few chapters into writing the sequel to Presidential Shadows. For readers of the first book, you know that Alex is the main character and is now a high school freshman. Wendy is his girlfriend, only he doesn't know it. You will have to read the book for it to make sense.

Anyway, it is now Christmas time and Alex has been left to wander the mall with Wendy. This is a small passage where I tried to write like Dr. Seuss. I am not sure if I succeeded or not, but it took far longer than I ever thought it would to write a short passage. Yes, Dr. Seuss seems so simple for kids, however try writing it. I always had a healthy respect for the good Doctor, it has grown ten fold over the past few days.

Isn’t this what the holidays are all about, Alex? Searching for that magical gift with the most special person in your life holding your hand.”

“You do know I was five minutes from going home before you showed up?”

Wendy tightened her grip on my hand, “Oh stop being the Grinch and help me find a gift for my daddy.”

Away flew my hand. A Grinch I was not. Wendy was no Cindy Lou Who and I was now hot. We wandered around as the merchandise flew. Wendy let loose with another boo-hoo.  I reached deep to my pocket, a Grinch I was not. A purple shirt that hung in the store window she had now got. A smile appeared. A hug I did get. I looked to my wallet. No more money I met. My heart grew and grew yet I was in debt. Deficit spending was now all I would get.

 “Thank you, Alex.” Wendy said. “I knew you would find me the perfect gift if you tried hard enough.”

Despite the above paragraph similar to Dr. Seuss been changed twenty times, it might still be changed again before it goes to print in summer of 2015. But I wanted to share my thoughts.

My latest book, Presidential Shadows is now available. Please check it out. I am beginning to write the sequel. There are times you write things to make yourself laugh and hope others can find the humor in it. I don't expect kids to understand this next passage but I was surprised when not one of the adults in my writing group caught the humor. I guess this really will be one of those times I write something that only I can chuckle at.

Larry and I had a brief staring contest before Erin, Michele, her brother Patrick along with Janet came walking up to the front of the theatre. “Where’s the kid you were dancing with, Erin? What’s his name? Dylan something? Wasn’t he supposed to come too?” I asked.

“Oh, you mean Billy Dylan. He can’t come now,” Erin said. “His mom dragged him up to his Aunt Maggie’s farm up along Highway 61. When I told him I was upset he couldn’t come, he told me I sounded just like a woman.”

A few times in the past, I have mentioned that I work with some local retired people with their writing. One was my one hundred year old friend Selma. Her goal was to be published and worked on her projects daily. Selma passed away recently. I was given the last thing she wrote. Selma you are now published. I'm gonna miss ya.

FOR THOSE I LOVE             

When I am gone, release me, let me go,

I have so many things to see and do.

You mustn’t tie yourself to me with tears,

Please be thankful for our beautiful years.

I gave to you my love.

You can only guess

How much you gave me in happiness

I thank you for the love you each have shown.

But now it’s time I traveled on alone.

So grieve awhile for me, if grieve you must,

Then let your grief be comforted by trust.

It’s only for a time that we must part,

So bless the memories within your heart.

I won’t be far away, for life goes on,

So if you need me, call and I will come.

Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near

And if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear,

All my love around you soft and clear.

And then, someday, when you must come this way alone,

I’ll greet you with a smile and say…”Welcome Home”

Signed, Selma Forman

free webinar

Link to register for free webinar about creating book covers in September.

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/61294835262629121

Author movie

For any of my writer friends, or anyone who wonders what it's like to part of a writer's group, this is a funny movie. Yes, it's over the top characters and humor, but there is also so much truth in the movie as well. I have not laughed at a movie that hard in many years.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2114461/

Interview

A friend of mine and I did an interview for a literary magazine that printed one of her poems. Here is the link.
http://rkvryquarterly.com/mickey-j-corrigan-and-michael-cantwell-discuss-the-new-face-of-publishing/

Thanks for looking.

Guest host

I have asked one of the people in my writers group and friend to be a guest host on my blog. I hope you enjoy her remarks. She is a wonderful writer.

Taking the Long Road with Book Publishing

 

I've been writing and publishing books for a long time now. I hate to say how many years, so I won't. But I will say that even though I've seen some aspects of publishing change dramatically, other things have remained the same.

For example, it is still a massive bummer to get a rejection from a publisher. Readers assume once you have a publisher, they'll accept everything you send their way. This isn't true, and having a long list of books in print is no guarantee that anyone else will take your newest creation. Some books nobody wants to publish. No matter what your publishing history looks like.

Unless you are J.K. Rowling. Which, or course, most of us are not.

Another aspect of publishing that has yet to change is the pace. It's always taken a long time to hear back on submissions, and now, in the digital age, it still takes weeks or month for a publisher to decide on your work. The bigger the house, the longer the wait. This encourages new writers to self-publish. After all, your book could be in print and selling before you even get a rejection slip in your inbox.

But what if you receive an acceptance letter?

Then…the wait continues. Because even when a publisher does contract you, it still seems to take forever before your book is released. This holds true for most digital publishers as well as the print presses. This is because your manuscript has to go to the bottom of the pile and edge its way slowly upward until it sits on top of your editor's desk. You have to wait your turn. And the bigger the press, the longer that takes.

Finally, you receive manuscript edits from your editor. Hooray! But this is only round one. Depending on what needs to be done to polish your manuscript, there might be one, two, or more rounds of edits before the manuscript moves on to the next stage of editing. And still, your job is not done. You will be looking over the line edits. Then you will look at the galleys.

Do I have to say here that the editing process is a long one? Being able to email your manuscript back and forth with your editor does speed up the process. We used to have to trade editing rounds through the U.S. mail.

After you and your editor have selected the cover design and agreed on the back copy, your book will be assigned a release date. Sometime in the future. Possibly way in the future.

The publishing process used to frustrate me. I spent a lot of stressful hours, days, weeks and months worrying about my books in press. What a waste of energy! If I knew then what I know now, I would have used the time to prepare promotional campaigns and conduct research for the next book. Because there is serious lag time between the completion of a manuscript and holding the book in your hands—or seeing it on your screen.

But this is the way publishing works. Just like honing your craft to improve your writing, the publishing process is an art. And it takes time.

Being a saint helps when you are waiting for a book to be released. I am not a saint. But I do think the process is worthwhile. With the help of a publisher, the errors in my manuscript are corrected. Rough edges are smoothed. The cover is artfully designed. Skilled professionals have given me feedback and shared their expertise. So when my book is finally released, I can feel confident it is the very best I could do.

As for what has changed in publishing during my years as an author, that's a topic for another blog post. But as every writer knows, now you have the option to do it all yourself. It's fast, cheap and easy. So, if you just can't wait any longer, you can always choose to be your own publisher. I'm always thinking about doing that myself.

* * * *

Mickey J. Corrigan writes pulpy fiction. Recent books include Whiskey Sour Noir and Vodka Warrior, two novellas in a series about hard-drinking women and the men they love (The Wild Rose Press, 2014); and Sugar Babies, a thriller about soft prostitution (Champagne Books, 2013). Visit at www.mickeyjcorrigan.com. To read the original post, visit: http://roomwithbooks.com/corrigan-sugar-babies/