The Wrangling with Writing Conference

Just spent the past weekend at the Wrangling with Writing Conference here in Tucson, and what an adventure it was.   I've been writing books since 2005, and it was my first time going to a writer's conference.  Oh what I've missed, but I'll be making up for it.

Up to this point I've been working with a small, local publisher, and it's been a wonderful experience.  She really has a way of working with first-time, budding authors and helping them become successful.  However, it has been pointed out to me that the time has come for me to seek out a more traditional publishing company.  Yikes!   Talk about going out of your comfort zone.  But it one expects to grow and gain anything in life one has to take a risk.

I wrote my first book back in 2005.  Anna's Kitchen: a Compilation of Historic WWII Ration Recipes That You Can Create in Your Kitchen Today.  And I mean I did it all--the writing, the editing, the typesetting, design, and cover art.  And I didn't do bad.  For a newbie.  But as I grew and progressed as a writer Anna's Kitchen soon became my redheaded step-child, yet despite my best efforts to ignore the book as best I could it still managed to gain a following.   So I updated the manuscript, retitled it Rosie's Riveting Recipes: Cooking on the Home Front Line, and then I let it rest for awhile.   That is, until this weekend.  I wrote the synopsis and spent the weekend pitching it.  I now have no less than 3 literary agents who've expressed an interest.  Encouraging, but for now it doesn't mean a darn thing as most authors will have to approach many agents before they find the right match.  But hey, it's a start.  And life's all about taking that next step.

My thought for the day.

GM

The WWII Housewife is Alive and Well

The other night I had the pleasure of driving up to Chandler, (a suburb of Phoenix) to perform my living history presentation, "Anna Ferguson, WWII Housewife & Defense Worker."  This was for a quilting group studying WWII history.  Performing "Anna" again was like reconnecting with an old, long lost friend.

I originally developed her for The Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe.  She even got her name from two of the people I knew at the museum.  One of the museum's galleries, Views From the Home Front, chronicles Arizona's contribution to the WWII home front, and the contributions of those who stayed behind and fought "The War Back Home."  This composite character was created to augment that gallery.  She represents the typical wife and mother of that time.  "Anna" also incorporates some of my personal family history with her anecdotal stories.   She was inspired in a lot of ways by mother, and the stories she used to tell around the family dinner table while I was growing up.  "Anna" was also the inspiration for my first book, Anna's Kitchen, a WWII ration cookbook.  She was a special friend indeed.

The WWII Housewife & Defense worker was officially launched in January, 2001, and for a number of years "Anna" visited schools, seniors, and other groups.  Then the reality of current economic times caught up with her, and she became a casualty of years of school budget cuts.  Sadly, I rarely get the opportunity to perform her anymore.  


Anna still has a story to tell -- that of patriotism, sacrifice, and the ability of a generation of Americans to unite and do the job that had to be done to lead our nation to victory during a dark and uncertain time in our not-too-distant past.  Hopefully I'll get to tell her story again--someday.

GM

What is it That Makes a Woman a Lady?

Last night I watched the DVD of Julie and Julia, which is based on the true story of Julie Powell, a struggling New York writer, (I can relate), who decides to post a blog chronicling her culinary journey to create all 524 recipes in the 1961 edition of Julia Child's book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in 365 days.

The film depicts Mrs. Powell as a young, all-American wife with a fresh-faced girl-next-door quality about her.  How can we not like her as we watch her struggle to balance her day job and marriage while trying to complete the monumental task she has laid out for herself?  Throughout the film the audience goes back and forth between the lives of Julie Powell and Julia Child, and while they are indeed two very different individuals they do share some similar life experiences.  We also see Julie develop a close, personal kinship with Julia as her project continues, but her bubble is burst near the end of the film when someone close to Julia Child informs her that Mrs. Child didn't like Julie's blog.  We're told that she in fact, hated it.  Julie is crushed, but goes on to complete the project.  Assuming this actually happened, (and remember, movies "based on a true story" contain a lot of fiction), I couldn't help but wonder why. 

After I put the DVD in the return envelope I went on-line and looked up Julie Powell.  Was I ever surprised.  While a very brief mention of her using the "f-word" in her blog is noted in the film, her current blog is a real eye-opener.  The subtitle says it all, and it's hardly what one would have expected from the sweet girl-next-door that we saw in the movie.  Now I'm not going to knock Mrs. Powell or call her a bad person.  She and I probably have a lot in common since we're both writers and authors, but upon reading some of her writing I think I can make an educated guess as to why Julia Child wouldn't have liked her blog, assuming that she had read it.

Julia Child was a lady.  Her husband was a diplomat, and she associated herself with people in high places.  Now in order to do successfully that one must have a certain special quality that is sadly missing in our culture today -- class.  And class is what makes a woman a lady.

A lady doesn't use any of George Carlin's seven words that you can't say on television or radio.  At least not in any kind of a public setting, or in print, be it a printed page or cyberspace, nor would she ever use that kind of language in mixed company.  A lady is gracious.  She says, "please" and "thank you," and she doesn't swear at a man if he opens a door for her.  A lady also dresses appropriately for the occasion.  Now I'm not against casual wear, if it's worn in the proper setting, however a lady doesn't wear bare-midriffs and flip-flops in a business office, nor would she ever be seen anywhere in public dressed like a whore.  A lady also follows other social protocol, such as not chewing or cracking gum in public or sitting in a chair in a spread-eagle position.  You get my drift.  It's not about having a lot of money or lavish clothes or jewelery.  It's all about having dignity and a little bit of pride in oneself.  That is what makes a lady a lady.

I'm not saying that it's easy being a lady, especially in a society that wants to rob women of their femininity and turn them into second-class men.  I sometimes struggle with it myself, but when you're a children's book author acting like a lady comes with the job.  Julia Child was most certainly a lady, and she was a good, positive role model.  The world needs more like her.

My thought for the day,

GM

Ebooks and Printed Books

Not too long ago someone in my Toastmasters club bought a Kindle reader.  She even did a speech on how much she liked it.  Yes, it has some advantages.  For instance, she told us she can use it while she's driving her car because it has a feature that will read the book out loud.  She also likes it because ebooks are cheaper than printed books, and she can download a book in seconds on Amazon.

Well, being an author, I had plenty to say after her speech, such as how does an author sign an ebook?

For some applications I'm sure an ebook is just fine.  For instance, once I'm sold out of my self-published cookbook, Anna's Kitchen, I'll probably put up a Kindle version on Amazon.  Kindle makes a lot of sense for a cookbook.  After all, if I'm up to my elbows kneading bread dough the last thing I want to do is stop and clean up so I can turn to the next page of the cookbook.  And that read out loud thingy would be handy in that scenario.

An e-book, however, just isn't the same as holding a printed book in your hand and feeling the touch of the page, or the texture of a hard cover book.  There's a certain joy in handling an old book, particularly a book that's been handed down the family, or one that has an inscription written long, long ago, perhaps by a family member long gone.  That's just a quality and experience you'll never get from an e-book.  And then there's that author's signature.  That can make a book collectible.

Yes, I think there's a place for an e-book.  I even have a Kindle version of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral available on Amazon now.  But as for me personally, I think I'll pass on the Kindle.  I prefer having a real book in my hands.

My thought for the day.

GM

Just Add Two Tablespoons of Fate

I had my new editor over yesterday to start working on the updated version of Anna's Kitchen.

Anna's Kitchen was my very first book, and I completely self-published it. I think there should be a requirement somewhere that every author must do this at least once in their lifetime. It is an incredible learning experience and it makes authors extremely aware of just how much hard work goes into publishing a book.

Since I had no one to edit or proof read my book I did it all myself. This meant I used my spell checker for a proof reader. Big mistake, I know, but that is one of the many reasons why I learned that every author, no matter how rich and famous, simply must have an editor.

My editor found all kinds of errors going back to the original manuscript. One of them he found particularly funny. It was a gravy recipe, and it said, "add two tablespoons of fate." He laughed and laughed. He asked me if that meant we were supposed to pray over the gravy as it was being prepared. Now mind you, that is actually not a bad idea. I pray over the little everyday things in life much more than the big things, but in this case it was actually a typo that the spell checker missed. "Fate" was spelled correctly. What it should have read was, "add two tablespoons of fat."

Yes, that would be a good recipe for gravy. But for everyday life yes, you should add two tablespoons of fate everyday. What will be will be.

My thought for the day.

GMl

Anna's Kitchen WWII Cookbook on Amazon

It truly is a laugh or cry moment...

I still have a couple of boxes of my first book, Anna's Kitchen, left to sell. For those of you who don't know, Anna's Kitchen was my first book. I self-published it back in 2005 and there were only 500 copies printed.

As mentioned in some of my other blog posts, self-publishing has it pitfalls, one being that it is very, very difficult to get a self-published book distributed by the two major book distributors; Ingram and Baker&Taylor. Therefore Anna's Kitchen never has been and never will be distributed by anyone but me. I've been offering Anna's Kitchen on Amazon for sometime now, and the book is starting to get a following.

I went on Amazon today to fulfill an order and to replenish my inventory. That is when I discovered someone else is selling my book. I have no control over people selling their personal copies, but this joker claimed to have new copies. (Really? And where precisely did you get them?) He was also selling them for, get this, $66.95. He is also listing two used copies for $65.61. Like I said, I don't know whether I should laugh or cry.

Yes, Anna's Kitchen may be a rare book, but don't let anyone rip you off! I list Anna's Kitchen, on Amazon (under the seller name ida_clair) for $16.95. And if you want a signed copy you can get one from my website at gaylemartinbooks.com for $19.95.

GM

Wish I Could Take Credit for This One

Having a table at the Tucson Old West Round Up was a great learning experience. Sharing my table with my publisher and selling some of their other titles was like having my own miniature brick and mortar bookstore for a few days, and a great opportunity to observe buyers.

All the books at my table were top notch. Five Star Publications is very selective about the authors they accept, so every book on my table was high quality. That said, there were titles that stood out and got buyers attention, while others went virtually ignored. Part of it was the venue. This particular trade show was for Old West/western collectibles, so the books related to the theme got the most attention, while those unrelated to the theme went virtually unnoticed. With one exception.

There was one non-western themed book that got plenty of attention. It was a cookbook titled Potluck Survival Guide. But what really hooked potential buyers was the subtitle, The Care and Feeding of the Athletic Supporter. Great play on words, and several of the people who stopped by commented about it. This cookbook is aimed at people who get together at potluck events, including school and athletic events. It has a wonderful variety of recipes from entrees to appetizers and desserts, and you wouldn't have to go to a potluck to enjoy them. But it was about as removed from a western theme as you can get.

What made this book stand out was its title. While a well designed book cover is a must, a unique, descriptive book title is equally important.

GM