Blog Archives

Throwing Out the Shovel

6/26/2013

And here is one of those things on the "what good is THIS doing" list.

Some of you that follow me online know that for the past 3 years, I've had a recurring nightmare about walking through a graveyard that had no names on the tombstones. I hate that dream. You'd think it was the creepy factor that got me, but the truth is that it just pisses me off. I had it again night before last, and I finally get it.

My life has been nothing but change for the past 3 years. I feel like I've either been planting new things that I hope will grow, or burying the past. Good grief, so many bodies have hit the floor. For all the "remaking" in my life, a lot of the old has passed away, and I feel like I've spent way too much time either burying it or mourning it. And added to that is the fact that there's been a lot of quit in my life too - as in, people passing right on outta here. I've gained more than I can fathom, but I've lost a lot too. Balance means that when something comes, something goes. I bury the past and plant the present, hoping the future will lead to something fruitful.

Well, I'm done. I've planted plenty and I'm done mourning the past. It's over. It's time to get out of the dirt and live the sun. There will be no more mourning. There will be no more digging. As Jesus said, let the dead bury themselves. I'm alive and it's high time to stop struggling and start living.

I don't know why all of this change has come. I have no doubt that it serves a greater purpose and is laying a foundation for a bigger life, but it has been somewhat excessive. But I'm done thinking. I'm done planning. I'm done trying to figure it all out.

This annoying nightmare is over. It's on, folks. It's time to stop planting and burying and to start growing and living. And
that's what I'm going to do. Am I scared? Yes, absolutely. And I'm going to do it anyway. The dragon of fear has tried to beat me for three years and I haven't come this far to fail. I will become the dragon. I will become bigger than the fear trying to keep me in the dirt. Because being consumed by it just isn't an option.

That's why that nightmare pisses me off. It's because I've had enough. It's time to slay this beast and live in the sun.

And that's it.

Bye!

False Security

6/25/2013

I'm glad there are some people out there that have never been bullied, challenged, or have been forced to suffer at the hands of people with ill intentions. I'm glad you've never had to go "head to head" with people that believe you need to be "fixed" because they believe you're too idealistic or that your morals are silly or stupid. I'm glad there are people that never have to stand up to anything because they're never challenged and the world just falls at their feet. I'm glad they can confidently say "I don't get what your problem is" because they don't have any.

But you know what else? For all the security you project, I also pity you. I pity you because it's a false security. You never have to stand because you don't stand for anything. I pity you because you're blind to the realities that the world is bigger than you can possibly know, and that there are forces at work in this world and in the universe that you ignore because you can't put your hands on them. Because you don't see it with your eyes, you criticize. And you're on perilous ground.

Criticize my faith all you want. You will never turn me away. I believe in Christ and I believe in The Bible. I also believe in the one thing that makes most of you squirm and start screaming at me about why my faith can't be right: accountability. That's the one area where I'm called on the most. "If God is love, then He won't hurt us," people say to me boldly.

No, He won't. But others will. And if you do wrong, He won't save you from the consequences. He does love, He wants what's best. The Bible even says He wants no man to be lost. But we also have a choice, and it also says that believing in forgiveness isn't permission to sin. We know better and we're expected to act like it. If we don't, we will suffer at our own hand.

God won't hurt us, but we can hurt ourselves. And we do it plenty. All the time. Every day. Every book I've written is about people who refused to be obedient to what they should do, and they suffered until they woke up, realized what was right, and did it. I'm not a religious writer, but I won't allow a character to win by doing wrong. That's a personal conviction. Any victory from doing wrong is temporary, and I want to show readers the path to lasting victory.

For all that smirk and say "Oh, then you say God delights in revenge but He's also love?" remember this: King David was a man after God's own heart, but he still paid for the sin of adultery. The son he fathered through that sin with Bathsheba died. God was grieved by this sin and forgave David, but He didn't erase the consequences of doing wrong. And it's why David didn't make that mistake again. He feels the same way when we go on with our bad selves and set ourselves up in similar ways. He's not a "smitey God" (as someone on Facebook proposed), but He won't absolve accountability. He will correct us in love and hope we will learn and not cling to stubbornness and continuing to make the same old mistakes, over and over. If there are no consequences, we never learn. If we never learn, we never grow, improve, or get better. We have no compassion for others because we are isolated in ourselves. Lack of accountability is a cycle of self destruction, which is why God won't allow that to happen. And so squirm all you want but we are accountable. You might think you are beholden to no-one, and you're wrong. You're dangerously wrong.

No, life isn't easy. It's hard and it hurts and it downright sucks sometimes. I'm not sure why some things are allowed to happen and I'll be honest enough to say that I have a "what good did THAT do?" list of my own. Sometimes I actually blog about things on this list. But I've learned this much in my 37 years on this planet:

1. I don't have all the answers; and

2. It's okay that I don't have all the answers. In fact, over the past couple of years, I've come to feel that I don't WANT all of the answers. That's more responsibility than I care for, and to me, faith is better than trying to process all of that.

Believe or don't believe - it's your choice, and I'm not going to beat you over the head with a Bible or argue theology. In fact, I see the fact that you argue as a good thing. Because if you argue, then you're thinking about God and faith. And if you didn't care at all, then you wouldn't go to all of that trouble , because nobody's got time for that.

Gotcha!

That's all today.

Bye!

Days Like This

6/20/2013

I have to say, it's been one hell of a week. I can't seem to win! I mean:

Monday - I got a sinus infection. It took 2 hours of phone tag and another 2 hours in the doctor's office to get this taken care of.

Tuesday - We came home from work to find the AC was out AND we had an ant infestation in our kitchen.

Wednesday - My email got hacked. And since I usually don't send out junk messages, a good number of people clicked on the link before I was able to change the password and send out a message telling them not to open the link. Bu tat least the AC got fixed. Lightening ran in on a coil. They replaced it quickly. Which was good, because I had a fever with this infection Monday night (while the AC was out - I don't recommend having a fever in June without AC!) and into Tuesday afternoon. The AC was fixed by 9 a.m. My internal thermostat didn't catch up until around 4 p.m.

Today - Side effects from the antibiotics! Fortunately, I had medicine for that from my last infection, so no need for the doctor or pharmacy again.

So you tell me; do I dare get out of bed tomorrow?

The truth is, we all have days like that. I know I'm not alone and everybody puts up with frustrations and setbacks from time to time. It just seems that I have days like that by the week. It's not just one bad for me. If things are screwed up on Monday, I get nervous - and for good reason. But the opposite is also true. The good all happens in clusters too. Remember the 2 book contracts in the spring of 2011 and how drastically my writing picked up in a relatively short time after a 3 year dry spell?

The name of the game is certainly troubleshooting and resolution this week. It happens. A lot of people cry the "why me/what have I done to deserve this?" song, but that's useless. The crap tank explodes every now and then. That's just how life goes for every one of us. If you think about it, you can find ways it could have been worse, so mop up the mess and move on. In fact, that seems to be the secret to getting things back in balance, at least for me: Do what you can to fix it, find things to be thankful for, thank those who help you, and trade the passive griping for active resolution.

Things seem to be coming back together. Who knows? Maybe the bad luck has run out and tomorrow will be about putting it all back together and making progress. Let's pray it continues and hopefully brings about better days - and better luck!

That's all today. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a good weekend. And enjoy this musical treat that I have deemed my "song of the week."

Bye!

The Shapeshifter Amongst Us

6/15/2013

In my last entry, I made the comment that it's impossible to know what the modern workplace is like because of the tremendous power of change. I'd like to expand on this comment in this entry, and muse over how this trend has the potential to leak out of the workplace and into other areas of life now.

It started with technology. Computers revolutionized the workplace, and there's no denying that it made drastic improvements. Frankly, I can't imagine how people of previous generations ran an effective office with things as archaic as file cabinets and typewriters. They managed, but now we're moving at the speed of light, at least in offices. I remember a colleague once saying "remember when we sent out notification letters? It would take a week or more for people to reply to them now. Now it's notification emails and thanks to smartphones, our own phones blow up within seconds of hitting "send." It's true. Things move faster now, and they have more ways in than ever. Is it a good thing? All in all, probably so. Things get done faster and have the potential to get done more efficiently. But notice the adjective that's more active than the actual verb in that sentence: potential. Because efficiency depends largely on effective and (most importantly) wise implementation. And this requires having people that make sound decisions and are willing to learn and grow with the changes this improvement brings.

Yes, technology is ever changing, and it requires people in the workforce to keep changing with it. Nothing stays the same, and now we're morphing with the speed of development. You always have to be willing to grow and learn, to embrace new things and let go of old things that might be comforting, but are no longer effective. The good new is that this change, when done with pure motives and right intentions, is the path to progress. You learn, you grow, and hopefully you take those lessons into your personal life and see what you gained continue to bless your life.

Ah, but there's another side to this, and here's the catch. This is where the shapeshifter comes into play, because the constant change in the workplace started with technology, but it oozed it's hand into other aspects of the workplace as well. Changes in how things are done require changes in management, changes in staff, changes in operations. It doesn't stop with the machines. Integrating the machines changes the people, and the way people operate. It means that we must not only adapt to how the machines help us to do our work better, but we also must embrace how the machines change the human element of the workplace. And this, folks, is where we run into issues, because machines don't have a mind and will of their own, but people do, and they aren't afraid to use it. For better or for worse, and sadly, the tendency to react rather than reflect and act in faith means that this element is subject to lots of rash decisions and acts that aren't always conductive to progress.

I've come to realize that there are two kinds of change. The first kind is the progressive kind that I discussed above. An opportunity opens and it's given thoughtful deliberation and consideration. People take advantage of that opportunity and more opportunities arise from it. Yes, it's hard and it requires change, learning new things, and forging into new areas, but the hard work is worth it and beyond the growning pains come progress that lead to a "golden age" of productivity and success. This is the kind of change we should always embrace, and that we shouldn't fear. Yes, it takes hard work to do new things, but the work of laying that solid foundation pays off when you build something that's stronger and better for a new day. Often, the things you learn from these "hard seasons of growth" can be implemented into other areas of life which spurs more growth and more blessing. It can have a chain reaction. One example of this: My office move 3 years ago gave me the courage and strength to start the process of becoming an independent author. The trials I went through getting those programs moved opened my eyes to every area of life, and I realized that I had spent a lot of years submitting my writing to traditional publishers in a sinking economy that had bolted their doors closed to new authors and weren't listening. "If they stop listening, stop talking," someone advised me around that time (of a different situation, but ...) and one day I stumbled upon a CNN article about how ebooks were outselling hardbacks and the light went off. I dug in to edit and revamp my approach, submitted to epublishers and mixed in some self publishing, and now 3 years and 7 books later, I finally have the foundation laid that I was waiting for someone else to do for far too long. I lost my fear of taking chances, I found the courage to make bold moves of faith on my own, and I finally got the ball rolling on the progress I had prayed for. That success gave me the courage to stand firm, to learn what I needed to learn, and to work with others to make the move successful, and it was. Progressive change at work had a 2 for 1 special in my life: the work move was successful despite setbacks and challenges along the way, and I got established as an independent author.

Ah, but there's another kind of change, and sadly I see it in my life now. It's change born of fear, and this is almost always detrimental. Sadly, progressive change usually gives way to this. Things move along well and people are happy with how it's going, but then something happens that changes some element that everybody was comfortable with. Usually, it has to do with setbacks, challenges, changes in leadership, or an unexpected loss of some sort. People get scared and react. Instead of asking "okay, what can we do to stabilize the situation and are there any opportunities from this, no matter how small, that we can seize and use to rebuild?" they ask "how do we protect ourselves." The motives shift from purity (doing better) to selfish (save me!), and that's the road to destruction. Change is not about progress, but about re-establishing control, protecting the "status quo," and preventing more damage. This is where you run into trouble, because damage control is never productive and that's looking at the situation from the wrong end. I think we all remember Yoda's logic in Star Wars Episode 1 - "fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side." That's not fiction; it's face. People get scared and they react. Then they get mad because things aren't working out. Then the anger replaces all semblance of reason, and it becomes a battle. As Loki so eloquently put it in The Avengers, freedom leads to a mad scramble of power. Yep, he had a grain of truth there too. It's scary.

Take it from one that's seeing it unfold. There are changes afoot in an area of my life now, and I find myself surrounded by a lot of fear. It's disturbing. I find myself pondering a lot of things, but foremost amongst them is protecting the progress I've worked so hard to achieve over the past few years. An emerging culture of fear could well do that, at least in this one area, and that means that a fight is on. It might already be on, because these spiritual things are a whole different battlefield. That's one song I do not want to sing another verse of in my life. I pray over it a lot, because I don't want to become another soldier of fear. I'm determined to stand firm and to protect the progress I've made. Fear is the devil's best tool, and by the power of Christ I will stand. I pray such courage will spread to others as well. That's a good infection that we desperately need.

Change will happen, and it can be tough to discern whether you're seeing the progressive or the destructive kind. All change is scary because it usually means challenges, hard work, sacrifice, and learning. Growth is hard because it stretches us to new places, but in the end it's good. And destruction also hurts because, well, it's supposed to hurt. There's nothing good about it and being torn down is a catalyst to find some courage and fight against whatever is trying to undo the progress you've done. In the end, you have to keep your head about you and discern the motives for the change. Pray, meditate, dig deep, ask questions, ponder the situation, and find out if the motive is pure. If it is, then you're being called upon to grow and it's a challenge and an opportunity to accept. If it's born of fear, sharpen your sword and get ready to fight because it's on like Donkey Kong, and you better be ready to stand firm or you'll get smashed by barrels of defeat.

And with that dated and somewhat lame analogy, I will call the point made and the entry done. I hope you have a great weekend and that all of you dad's out there have a Happy Father's Day tomorrow.

Bye!

Working Women Versus Stay At Homes - The Great Divide

6/13/2013

I stopped by the Target near my dentist office yesterday, which is on the side of town near the lake where the "haves" live - you know, the upper class echelon of society. I was the only working woman in the store at the time. Every other woman there was an upper class, stay-at-home mom with at least one child in tow. It was an interesting 10 minutes: the employees nearly pestered me to death with "how are you, ma'am - can I help you - are you finding everything alright - come to my line!," and the other customers shuffled away like my job was a nasty disease they were afraid of catching.

I've experienced this at that Target before and honestly, I just shook it off. I wasn't going to inconvenience myself by driving to someplace out of my way, and I figured the upper echelon could put up with my presence for a small slice of my income. What was interesting was what happened later. I went to lunch at a place closer to my job, and there was an even mix of working women and stay-at-homes there. The reaction? Nothing. The employees treated everybody the same, served everybody the same, and we all coexisted in the restaurant, enjoying burgers and fries and shaking our heads at CNN on the televisions, in harmony. One of the customers even asked for a manager to tell her good job on her staff handing all of us so well.

I think the disparity in reaction based on just going a few miles away shows that there's still a divide between working women and stay at home women, but it's not the same as it once was. The question is no longer "is it appropriate for women to work." It's now "under what conditions is it socially acceptable and even expected for women to work." It seems to me that educated, middle class women are expected to work, while there's still a question of whether it's appropriate for upper class women to be in the workforce. Certainly, I know upper class women that work, but they're usually in high power careers like law, medicine, or another field where they hold a post graduate or even a doctoral degree. The bottom line: when a great deal has been invested in getting an education, it's somewhat expected that one got it to pursue a career. I've read many articles on whether a women that got a degree is wasting her education if she chooses to be a stay-at-home, and I've been approached by many people that have outright said "well, at least you're USING your degree. So-and-so quit to raise the kids and look at all of that time and money they invested in what's now nothing more than an expensive piece of paper." While it's true that I heard a fair share of wisecracks while in college about people saying that some women were in college more for their Mrs. than their B.S., I've found this reaction somewhat more common since the economy took a nosedive. It's surprising and shocking. Even now, having heard it a few times, I'm not 100% sure how to react to it.

On the other side are people that say it's not healthy for children to be raised in day cares or even by extended family or friends while mom's work. They feel that being a mother is a primary career and if you can't dedicate yourself to it 100%, then why do it? I think this mindset is waning, but I will agree that there's a great deal of conflict in the mothers I know that work. Many of them would love to stay at home, but they simply can't afford it. That's a situation for most people. Let's face it - the cost of living has skyrocketed, and it's virtually impossible for a middle class family to have a decent standard of living off one income. Sometimes the mother HAS to work to contribute to the household income. The expectations on women have only increased. We're still expected to tend to home and hearth, but the rising cost of living also adds the expectation that we also contribute to the household income. I recently read that people have to pay a lot for services now that used to be free, with television and telephone service being the primary examples (of course, we've gone from 3 channels to how many hundreds and party lines to smart phones too). The world has certainly created the perfect no-win situation for mothers. Kids need their parents and it's not healthy for them to have both parents working outside the home full-time, but affording the perks of a decent lifestyle requires two incomes. Part time jobs used to be the answer, but those have drastically shrunk since the economy tanked. And a woman dropping out of the workforce for 5-6 years and going back to work when the kids start school is also becoming less of an option, as the high unemployment rate usually means that there aren't as many jobs to go back to, and the ones that are open will have more issues with "outdated skills."

Personally, I think the answer lies with the individual. I don't think that an education is ever wasted, and if a woman has the means to be a stay at home and that's what they want, then they certainly should take advantage of having that time with their children. But I don't think that women that want to work or have to work to provide for their children should be made to feel bad, either, because their work is to provide the best lifestyle they can for their kids. Certainly it's a juggling act, and it forces women in a situation of being dependent on others for child-care when their kids aren't in school, but I believe that in and of itself requires excellent scheduling, time management, and people skills. And they probably have a great support network to help them along, which is always a good thing. It's good to have people in your life that you can trust and that can help you along the way. Every choice we make has costs and benefits, and we have to decide what we can live with and what we can manage on a day to day basis.

As for me, I don't believe that the women in Target were looking down on me. Rather, I think it was discomfort because they didn't know how to relate to me. I'm going to be bluntly honest in my takeaway for this entry here: I think the bottom line is that each is privy to a world that the other doesn't understand. As a working woman, I don't know what they could possibly do all day at home. I'd go batty because there's only so much cooking, cleaning, housework, chores, errands, and shopping you can do before it's done, and eventually I'd have to get out and participate in the wide world or I'd go crazy. But that's just me. And frankly, people that don't work don't understand the limitations that having the responsibility of job puts on your life. A change in your job literally changes your whole life - it's that major. And people aren't away from the workforce long before they completely forget what it's like. Sorry, retirees and work force drop outs, but it's true, and it's not just "selective memory" either. Thanks to technology, the 21st century workforce is a shapeshifter. Things are always changing and are constantly in motion, and the workforce is a shapeshifter you don't really "get" unless you're in the middle of morphing with it. But that may be evolving in itself, as this "culture of change" is starting to seep out of work life and into other facets of living in the coming years. It's a large part of the reason why people job hop so much these days. But that's a topic for my next entry - so before you blow that steam and say I'm not being fair on this one, there's more to come on the topic of change next time. Stay tuned.

That's all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a great weekend.

Bye!

The Many Facets of Discernment

6/11/2013

I recently accepted that I don't have to know everything that's going on - and that's fine. In fact, that's preferable. Frankly, I wish I had come to this realization a decade ago, but I guess the multiple responsibilities of approaching mid-life finally opened my eyes to the fact that I can't handle it all, and the truth is that I don't want to.

That might not seem like much of a revelation. In fact, you might be saying it's the better part of maturity to come to this realization. I agree, but I also say it's another facet of appreciating the lost virtue of discernment in life. Sure, we know that it's vital to reign in our tongues in work situation, but usually that's where the fine line of discretion ends. We seem to live in a society that believes that if it flies through our brains, it needs to fly out of our mouths, and those closest to us should toughen up to handle "the real us." Frankly, I don't know how that filthy lie survived into the twenty-first century. It was extolled in a very small portion of the mental health sector for a very short while, but most mental health professionals agreed that this was crap even when I was in college in the early to mid 90's. I think social media has a lot to do with it. When anger fueled blogs get thousands of hits and ignite online debates and tirade posts get hundreds of "likes," it gives an impression that anger and frustration is popular, when in fact those very same things can cost you down the line if it falls in the wrong hands - which is easy, considering that the World Wide Web is, well, worldwide.

Discernment isn't popular, but it's a vital virtue if you want a peaceful life. I know that it's a given that we all have an "inner circle" of family and friends that we share most of ourselves with and our lives with, and that's completely right and natural. We all need that inner circle, but it's also natural that this circle will be small. Rick and I were watching the finale of Star Trek - Enterprise the other night, and something that Tripp said really struck me. He said "I can count on one hand the number of people that I trust. Not just trust as in 'I know you, and believe you,' but trust as in 'I know for certain they would never do anything to hurt me.'" It was a powerful statement, but really not much of a revelation unless you take the time to think about it. Folks, one thing that people don't seem to understand is that trust isn't a right; it's a privilege that's earned. You simply don't have the time or energy to invest the kind of work that building an "inner circle" relationship requires with everybody in your life. That's okay, because everybody you know doesn't need to know everything about your life. And frankly, they don't need to.

I'd say that most of the people we know can be trusted only to a certain extent, but a line needs to be drawn and we need to know when to talk and when to shut up. A good litmus test of this: when they stop listening, stop talking. You've hit the limit and there's no need to say more. Now you know how much they're willing to handle. Give them no more. To do so might actually be dangerous. Because there are people out there that will use what they know about you to stab you in the back. Take it from one who knows. I have a lovely knife collection that I've pulled out of my back over the years. I've never been hurt by holding back or, as the saying goes, what I didn't say. You learn to gauge people and situations and when to keep it shut. And knowing when to shut up - and even when to not talk at all - can be tremendously beneficial.

How, you might ask? Well, there are benefits to discernment. The first and most obvious is that you learn more from watching and listening than from talking. It's amazing what you stumble across when you quietly tune in to what's going on around you. People have a tendency to forget that sound carries and you can learn a lot, even from a one sided conversation (just look at what happened to Jana Lanning in Anywhere But Here - half a phone conversation broke things wide open!). But there's another benefit, too. Think about this: how many people trust a gossip? I mean, really trust them? Sure, they talk to a lot of people and seem popular, but activate those listening skills and you'll notice that people are very selective about what they share with these "friends." It's truly a situation of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer," because they see the knife collection hiding behind the smile and know they're one slip-up from adding to their own knife collection. But how much more willing are they to talk to somebody that rarely converses with too many people? A lot more. It's simple human nature. People tend to fill silences with words.

If you keep to yourself and your business, you'll be amazed at what people will tell you if you simply ask. And why shouldn't they? You aren't a threat to them. and the information, they assume, probably isn't any good and you're merely curious and trying to "fit in" or "stay in the know." Let them think it. It's a great benefit, but one word of caution - use it sparingly. Asking too many questions will mark you as "odd" or "nosy" and people will shut you down. They'll figure you're up to something and will shut you out. So keep it simple, keep quiet, listen, watch, and only ask in the most vital or important of situations. Or if it would be natural for you to ask, because it obviously affects you personally.

And then there's my realization that I don't need to know everything that's going on. People aren't going to tell you everything, and that's okay. It isn't always nefarious motives or a blatant effort to "leave you out." Sometimes they forget, or they don't want to worry you. Trust their good intentions and let it go. And for those instances when people do like having their secrets and hanging it over you, just let it go. You aren't responsible for what you don't know and frankly, who needs more responsibilities in life? My life is full. I don't need any more. Heck, somedays I'm so busy that my "give a crap" capacity is gone by noon. It's just crank it out and keep it going. So yes, please, keep some things to yourself and let me take care of my own madness over here. Letting go of having to know what's going on with everybody all the time took a tremendous burden off my shoulders. And who doesn't need that?

Yes, it was a wonderful realization, and I truly don't know why more people don't extoll the virtue of discernment. Discretion is tough, of course, especially when you're angry, frustrated or upset, but it's well worth it to hold back and ponder your responses and reactions. A minute of thought can prevent years of regret from lack of sel

Why The World Needs Self-Publishing

6/8/2013

People often ask me why I decided to publish my writing through ebooks rather than in the more traditional format of paperback. The reason I give is that there’s no demand for my books in paperback, but the true reason is that a little thing called the printing press helped along The Protestant Revolution, and I believe the Internet is bringing about a similar revolution in our society. No, I don’t think you’ll see new religious practices rise out of the rise of the Internet, but it’s certainly impacting our entertainment options. More books are bought online than in bookstores and ebook sales are steadily rising. Frankly, I believe a new day is coming not only to the world of reading, but to the entire entertainment world, and I want to be on the front end of it.

It’s an undeniable truth that the traditional publishing industry is floundering, even if they don’t realize it, and the reason is the power of e-publishing and self-publishing. Agents and traditional publishers have long been plagued by the problem of trying to guess what people want to read, and making their selection on what to accept based on that. They rely on their “tried and true” authors to keep cranking out work that will appeal to audiences and almost never take a chance on a new author, even if their work is interesting. It’s just too risky to take a chance on making an investment that might not pay off, even though they do it with their regular list all the time and still lose. At least epublishing and self publishing allow new authors a chance to get their work in front of a niche audience and gauge their interest in the work so they can adapt, adjust, and improve their skills. You can’t do that if you’re being rejected by big or mid-list publishers every day. It leaves you in the same situation they’re in – guessing what a moving target wants. And yes, it’s a moving target because trends change all the time, and what’s popular today might be the thing they’re spoofing and making fun of tomorrow while they embrace “the next new thing” which, unfortunately, we only see in retrospect.

I read a blog article Thursday named 5 Reasons to Admire Self-Publishing, by Alison Baverstock, and it turns out that most of those things are what all authors should be doing anyway. The only difference is that self-published authors direct all of their hard work and effort into a productive effort of putting their work out there instead of constantly knocking on doors that may never open for them. They take a chance and put it in front of the readers instead of begging “the experts” for a chance. Because whether you’re self published or traditionally published, the burden of producing work, capturing the interest of readers, and promoting your published work falls on you, the author. Even big publishers will only do a limited amount of publicity around your release date. Keeping interest up in the responsibility of the author.

I often hear people say that we still need the traditional publishing industry because self publishing allows anybody and everybody to publish a book, and there’s a lot of crap out there because there’s no quality control. I can’t deny that yes, you see a wide gamut of talent through self publishing, but I don’t think there’s a complete lack of quality control. The quality control is where it’s supposed to be – between the readers and the writers. Writers are tasked with putting their best work out there for the public to enjoy, and readers can help improve the quality by rating and reviewing the work they read. Believe it or not, writers rely heavily on good, constructive reviews so they know what the reader wants and how to adjust to deliver it, either through edits to their current work or to developing new work. Even if you don’t like it, you can help the author by articulating exactly what it was that kept you from entering the “suspension of belief” phase with their work so they know how to fix it. “I hated it” isn’t helpful, but a “the characters were good but I didn’t believe they would react to such and such situation the way they did given their personality quirks” is constructive advice that the writer can use to improve. And if the reader likes it, then such reviews are also helpful. We all like “I loved it!” but what’s helpful is “I liked it because I could relate to how the character reacted to such and such situation and appreciated how it affected his/her perspective on their life situation.” Reviews help tremendously, and if readers will engage more by posting them, then I believe the quality of self-published work that you see on the market will improve drastically over time.

That’s not to say that the traditional publishing industry is broken, or that it’s demise is imminent. Certainly it isn’t, and I don’t forsee a day when it won’t exist, but a new day is upon us. I believe that the Internet has opened up the world to allow people to enjoy entertainment by independent artists that would otherwise be denied by the traditional industry. Traditional publishers and institutions would be wise to keep an eye on trends in the indie world to see what people really want, and to adjust accordingly. After all, the niche markets shouldn’t be underestimated. That’s where the trends are born, and that’s where the “next big thing” is taking shape, perhaps this very minute.

That’s all today. I hope you have a great weekend.

Bye!

In A Parallel Universe ...

6/1/2013

As I prepare to do rewrites/revisions on Incursion, I find myself pondering the choices we make and how they change our life. One element in this novella harkens to a concept I started in Splinter (coming out in November) that every choice we make creates a parallel universe where we made the other decision. It's deep stuff, and theories abound on this. I don't know if parallel universes exist, but if they do then I can't help but think that, instead of being a program assistant and independent author, I'm probably:

1. An electrical engineer. It's hard to believe it's a coicidence that I work in professional licensing for design professionals when my father is an electrical designer and he wanted me to be an engineer. I was good enough at the math and blew trigonometry out of the water, but I didn't go that route because my spatial skills suck and I knew I'd fail at drafting and design. The technical skills were there but alas, the necessary artistic element bent more toward writing than designing and so, I gave up on that path. And believe me, Dad finds it hilarious that I decided to forsake a career in engineering to have a career in licensing them. Irony? Definitely. Coiencidence? I'm not so sure, but I'm pretty sure it means that I'm an electrical engineer in a parallel universe somewhere out there where the technical and artistic elements did merge to make me into a person like the ones I license every day.

2. A therapist or psychologist. This was my original life plan, before an independent study my senior year in college revealed a talent for administrative work and marriage closely followed. I did lose interest in this when I realized that my degree in psychology was helping me in every area of my life, and that helping people didn't necessairly mean that I had to get them on a couch complaining about problems they might or might not really want to solve every week. Plus, I did see a therapist for a while during my major life transition a few years back, and it made me realize that I probably took the wiser choice by going administrative instead of taking her place in the chair, because every person you deal with is angry and bitter over something and they resent having to be there to fix it. At least in administrative work the "dodge the red tape" types are more rare and most of the people you deal with are on the straight and narrow path and WANT to do the right thing the first time. In fact, I quit going to the therapist because I felt we were beating a dead horse, it was time to move on, and I wasn't doing it from that darn couch. But I'm sure there's a universe out there where I stayed the course and made mental health my career. I just wonder if I really like it, or if I'm pondering if there's a universe where I went administrative and wonder if I'm happy here. Hmm. Now that IS an interesting paradox to ponder!

3. A geologist. This would probably surprise a lot of people, but I love geology. I only took one course in it in college, but I wish I took more beause the study of the earth fascinates me. Somewhere, out there in a parallel universe, I'm boring holes and digging through the dirt, fascinated by what it's revealing to me about the planet. Yes, a whacky scientist does somewhat fit me, even if it's not in this world.

There are a lot of people that think I should have been a bird breeder, and in fact would be one if I hit the jackpot someday, but actually I wouldn't consider it. I love birds and Zack, Chloe and Ollie are great, but having them as pets is where my skill ends. I have no medical talent or expertises AT ALL, and the concept of breeding and raising young birds is too much and frankly, not something I'd be cut out for. I love them, but I have enough sense to know what I'm not good at - which, in fact, might be a good topic for another blog entry on another day.

So, what are you in a parallel universe? Is it very different from what you are now, or somewhat the same? Did you stay the planned path or not - or did you even have one? This, my friends, is the stuff that great fiction is created from.

That's all today. Enjoy your weekend.

Bye!