WOW! THE END IS IN SIGHT.

It is not really the end, it will be the beginning. Book one is written. The cover is painted and designed and titled. Tomorrow I will do another step and that is to mark the chapter headings for Amazon's publishing.

Next Steps:
Get an ISBN and follow the "Writing and Marketing Author Plan by Pavartik Tyler.
I was totally at a loss on how to market the book but this 30 day plan sounds really easy and clear to do. It takes the terror out of following all these social medias.

I have my website started already and am doing the Visual Site Design by CoffeeCup rather than their new Responsive site that may take a Masters degree to follow.  I want the site up ASAP. I can go back later and figure out the Responsive site that enables everyone; with a phone, a pad, or a computer to see the site.

My blog is up already.  You're reading it right? And I still have my followers and with a more faithful schedule of blogging, hopefully more will begin to follow me.

OHHHH, that reminds me. I am putting together some freebies to give to some faithful readers who would like to critique my book. I will frame the original chapter drawings and give them away for a critique.

So, let me know if you are interested. I will need an email to send the book to and an address to send the drawing too.  I will order the frames in two weeks, so they will be a nice signed gift.

Talk to you soon.
Sheryl

How we judge, tells who we are.

Someone close to me judges the world by whether it is “pretty” or not; not just the people in the world, but the land, the highways, the buildings, the trees. Are they pretty? If not you sense, she feels they are not worthy.

I grew up in a time when I never felt that people were judged by their looks. Oh, sure, there was the occasional Marilyn Monroe or James Dean, who ‘wowed’ everyone. But the rest of us were just beings who did their best to feed their family, enjoy life, smile at you as you pass,or pick up something you dropped. 

You could see them on the street or in the parlor and notice that smile, hear that laugh, but your first thought was not whether they were “pretty” or not.

Now, we tend to judge other’s worth by whether they are pretty or not. It cannot seem to be “She has such a beautiful smile.,or Her laugh erases a dark day.

So, next time you look for the pretty, how about looking for the soul behind the smile?

I think I should just change the name of this blog to:

“I AM SO CONFUSED.”

Perhaps I am just working on too many things at once and I have not had a vacation forever, but let’s start here. As I go to post it, I pat myself on the back for getting it out here a bit more quickly, then I notice that I have written on the same issues I did last time..

Maybe I should rename it:

"GET A NEW LIFE."

I have good intentions and then it just pops in my head that I have not written in over a week, because:

I am trying to relearn Zazzle. I started with them in 2011 and have effortlessly sold, mainly otters on t-shirts, over the three years. It is definitely not a living wage but then again, I am exerting next to no effort on it. I decided it was time to get serious.

So, I spent one full day this week learning how to maximize my store in Zazzle. I had directions. I outlined my plan. I went to sleep, confident in my step 1-2-3 plan.

Only thing is; the plan was old and those steps were no longer in the same place, on the website. All the plans were old. I am convinced that everything written on the internet is outdated by the time I read it.

My next ‘because’ is creating my website for my soon-to-be Kindle book.

I have created my own web pages with Coffee Cup Web designer, since I first learned html in 2004. It was so nice to move up to their Visual Site Designer. Coffee Cup was still basically, at least I thought it was, a site for non professionals to create their own website.

Now they have a Responsive Web designer. It sounds great, your website will be able to be seen on an iphone or a laptop. I must have missed the asterick that said, “for professionals only.” Either that or my mind is just going. I think my household is voting for the loss of my mind, but, I notice they are not volunteering to design my website for me.

I am very slowly learning it, or I am convincing myself of that. Now, I discover that it is only part 1 of a two part program. They haven’t told me how much part two will cost yet, either.

Anyway, I vote that everything written on the internet has to have a date with it. Then, you will not spend a day with outdated directions, And, while I am at it, I suggest that all commercials have to pass a test for irritation. If they put a song on an automobile commercial, you should be able to understand the words, at the very least. I would name the obnoxious commercial but, after several times of writing down the name, I lost the paper and still do not remember. So, your irritating people does not translate well.

I really cannot believe how long it has been, but everything is coming to a head now.  The first book in my series is done and the coding is done for Kindle, except for the Chapter head picures, I am workig on. That should not take too long.

My side business is creating more drawings for Zazzle (www.zazzle.com/VanVleckStudio).  My best seller is  an otter drawing so I am working on several more of them. I really favor the elephant and baby and the giraffe and baby but each to their own taste.  No wonder I cannot seem to get one thing done.  I tend to work on my webpage, then work on the drawing, then read what I have to do next for Kindle.  It's one of those Master of none issues. I have a hard time figuring out what is the most important thing to do.  It is not proof-reading this blog. I know that for a fact.

And I wish to thank the four of you who have held in there with me.  All, as I care for a 92 year old mother with dementia and a bad heart and a house full of men, meaning dirt abounds, as well as dirty socks under the table.  REALLY??? You can't take them downstairs with you???  We will not even bother to talk about the three cars that were driven to the junk yard this past week.  We now have one working car and another should be working car with a weird computer starting problem.

I have also been sidetracked by another book I am anxious to work on, as well as the Second book in the Moon Tree Series, which has a character who insists she is not Dawn French, but I know better.

I seem to have developed ADD as an adult though and just realized that I purchased some miniature polymer supplies to create fairies again with.  Sure, I have time for that.

I am off to work on my zazzle drawings, I also want to do an alligator or two.  Just love Alligator Boys. I never realized that an Alligator had a personality.

Or should I work on my website???

Try to write every week.  It should be easy this week as daughter and her friend are coming to visit for the weekend and that is always a lot of laughs and some Bailey's.

Rewriting, Editing, Leaving it new and fresh???

I am still in the first rewrite after independent editor review and corrections/suggestions. It is actually umpteen rewrites, truth be told.

I have read sites that suggest sending your manuscript out after the first write. I know I would scare agents off with my comma fest. It seemed like a dumb idea at the time, but the more I rewrite, the more I feel I should go back to the first draft.

The first draft was full of life and exciting. I have to wonder if I am losing my voice in all these rewrites, or is it just that I am losing my excitement?

Anyone experience anything similar? What are your thoughts on this?

How do you react to Critiques? Do you cringe a little inside your gut? Are you relieved to have someone agree with you?

It has been just south of forever since I have posted here. I won't list my excuses but I now have some thing really exciting going on.

My question for you: (before I tell you my story) is how do you react to critiques? Even if you know it is for the best, is there some little part inside of you that twists and groans as you use that delete key? Before you make a change do you kind of resent it? Is it all okay the next day when you read it back?

Sometime ago, a young editor offered me some advice on MOON TREE BROTHERS. Recently, she contacted me and said she is opening her own Editorial service and would like to offer me a deal. She would do a major edit, then edit after I rewrite and then a final spelling/grammar/correction edit before I begin sending it out again. And, this is all for the price of "FREE." I am so excited. Not unlike half the world, we are very low income and it is wonderful of her to offer to do this. Hopefully, she will not shoot me for telling you that she is editing as

The Blue Pencil Parlor - www.BluePencilParlor.com - Mary@BluePencilParlor.com 

I do not know what her fee schedule is, but I am very impressed with the thoroughness of her critique.

I have received her first edit and am excited about the rewrite. There were things I just knew needed changing. I was not really sure about others, and a few have twisted my gut, even though I think she is right. She has really clarified it for me and I am happily doing a major rewrite.

The second exciting thing is that Manju Howard, in the Indiana Chapter of SCBWI organized a get together of six MG/YA authors. Originally, there were double that number, but the city of Columbus, IN shut down on the day we were to meet, for a run. No cars were allowed to enter or park in the city, so the date of our meet was pushed back. They had a very safe run and the next weekend six of us did get together for a fantastic critiquing session.  I was very proud to be a part of such a wonderful group.

I am working furiously now to 1. stay awake and 2. eat properly and 3. rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
Medicine I am on, is making me sleepy. I have literally woke up with my head on the keyboard and a series of gggggg's running on my manuscript. I am also learning to eat well on a Vegetarian diet and am very happy with all the hints people are giving me. I also need to thank my husband, who listens every day to the rewrite and gives me his ideas.

And, I want to thank my followers for sticking by my during my long silence. I am back.

I am finally nearing the end of the writing part of my website. What I am dealing with now is social media.

I want to add links to all the standards: Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook,Youtube, and Blogger.

Twitter went off without a hitch, but it is becoming more apparent that I have to have the website up and running to add the rest. Just doesn't seem right to me.