HAPPY TURKEY DAY

I spent today getting LifeWay ready for Black Friday and Black Saturday.  It, of course, took way longer than we expected.  After work -- even though it was late -- I went over to my son's home and we sampled the smoked ham and fried turkey that we're having for tomorrow.  It was awesome!!!

This year we decided to have both ham and turkey.  My son had voted on the smoked ham, and it definitely is incredible.  But, I just couldn't stand the thought of not having turkey.  My whole family loves turkey and everything about Thanksgiving dinner.  So we decided on having both.  Did I mention that we also love Thanksgiving dinner leftovers?  They're even better the next day.

I can't wait to have the official Thanksgiving dinner!

What are you having for Thanksgiving?

Writing Patterns

When I look back on my writing career, I noticed a pattern.  I don't know if this pattern is true with others, but it made me smile how my writing follows my life.

Before I had children, I wrote mainly nonfiction for newspapers and magazines.  I enjoyed interviewing people and doing research.  I had a Canon camera and turned my nose up at automatic settings.  Even though I was also working full-time as a technical editor for Boeing, I still found time to write.

Then I tried my hand at romance when my children were very young.  Perhaps I wanted more romance in my life because I was a stay-at-home mom with two toddlers.  It seemed to me that there was an awful lot of messes to clean up...from poop to vomit, from blood to shampoo poured out onto the carpet, from spilled milk to toys everywhere.  My husband and I were worn out from hard work and little sleep.  Romance?  Ha!  I tried writing, but I have to admit that it was very frustrating.  I'd been used to having lots of time to write, but now I wrote as soon as my two boys fell asleep for their naps.  I'd have about an hour or two at my typewriter.  I'd given up on trying to write nonfiction, because I didn't have a way to go out and interview people or spend much time at the library.  Remember, now, this was in the early 80s and before computers and internet.

As my boys got a little older, I started really looking at the books I was reading to them.  Picture books?  Yeah, those seemed pretty easy to write.  So I tried my hand at them.  By this time (late 80s), I had a computer and more time.  The internet was just starting and I joined some writing groups online.  I wrote a lot of "picture books" that didn't sell.  Then I got a wild idea and submitted some of my "picture books" to kids magazines.  And, wow!  They sold!  It turned out that my picture books were really short stories.  I sold so many that I got a nickname:  the magazine queen.

Then an editor told me that I had a good middle-grade voice and I should try writing a novel.  So I did.  My boys were in upper elementary and middle-school when I wrote my first one...which didn't sell.  Change that.  It hasn't sold yet.  So I wrote short stories and nonficiton articles for kids magazines during most of the 90s.  I sold my first middle-grade novel when my boys were in high school.  I've sold 40 children's books since then, some fiction, some nonfiction, some picture books, some middle-grade novels, and one nonficiton YA biography.

My boys grew up, went to college, and got married.  I continued writing kids stories, but a couple of years ago, I decided to try my hand at writing for adults again.  I wrote a devotion for Gary Chapman's Love is a Verb collection and a true story for James Stewart Bell's collection.  After 30 years of marriage, I'm now divorced and maybe looking for romance again, because that's what I'm reading again, and I'm trying my hand at writing it.  My queries have led to editors asking for proposals. Oh happy day!

My boys have given me grandchildren:  3 girls.  One is 3 1/2, one is almost 6 months, and one will be born in February.  I'm reading picture books again.  I've got ideas for stories.

Hmmm.  Anyone else see a pattern here?

Kelly Bennett's Newest Picture Book: One Day I Went Rambling

Kelly is a good friend of mine and I want y'all to know more about her.

Kelly Bennett writes books for children--both fiction and non-fiction. Her work also has appeared in national magazines and newspapers.

"I write what I know about--friendship, pets, family life," says Kelly, "But I also write about things I want to know about. While I'm writing, every story is a mystery--a mystery waiting to be solved. And who doesn't love a good mystery?"

Sometimes, the real mystery is what name will Kelly use on this book? Some of the names Kelly has written under are Kelly Goldman, Kelly Goldman Bennett, Patty McAndrews, Kate Donelly, and Jill Max, the pseudonym used for work co-written with Ronnie Davidson. (For more about "Jill Max" go to www.jillmax.com)

A native of California, Kelly graduated from Huntington Beach High School in 1976. Upon receiving an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts from Fullerton College, she continued her education at the University of California at Fullerton and California State University at San Jose. Kelly is a graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adult Program.

As a child, Kelly wrote her feelings rather than speak them aloud--a practice which led to the writing life she enjoys today. Her greatest inspiration springs from adventures with her children, Max and Alexis, and her husband, Curtis. Kelly divides her time between her home in Jakarta, Indonesia and Houston, Texas.

You can get Kelly's latest book here:  http://www.amazon.com/One-Day-I-Went-Rambling/dp/1936474069/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339645916&sr=8-1

Where to Find Research Material for Your Manuscript

Your article or book should contain information that a child or adult cannot find for himself by casually consulting an encyclopedia or surfing the net or going to the library.

1)      Encyclopedia, almanac, or dictionary – Use as a starting point in your research of a topic.

2)      Internet – Be careful of your sources here.  Incorrect information is often repeated word-for-word on many websites.  Generally speaking, the information found on a college/university website (.edu) or those sponsored by a museum or historical/professional society (.org) or the government (.gov) are usually reliable.

3)      Children’s books – Use these first to better understand your subject; however, don’t use these exclusively.  Children’s books give clear, concise information about a subject, but you will need to know more detailed, complex information before you can write your article or book.

4)      Newspapers and magazines – These may give you more up-to-date information on your subject that hasn’t been published in books yet.  They will also show you different slants and approaches to your subject that you might not have thought of before.

5)      Government documents, public records, reports from organizations or companies – These may have statistics you can use.  They may also help you spot trends or attitudes of the public and private sectors.

6)      Classical books – These are books that have been used as references because of their accuracy and/or subject matter.

7)      Current books on the topic – Use the most up-to-date adult books you can find on your subject.

8)      Your local librarian – He or she can be a wealth of information.

9)      Interviews – Talk to people who work in the field of your topic.  Be sure to use interesting quotes and anecdotes from them.  These people have an in-depth knowledge about your subject.

10)  Expert reviews – The expert may be one of the people you’ve already interviewed, or else it’s someone from a college or university, from a museum, or perhaps from a professional or historical organization.  Ask this person to read your article for accuracy.  You can also ask this person for quotes and/or anecdotes to include in your article.  (Try www.profnet.com for experts who don’t charge.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

All my bunny punchers can take today off and be thankful that they are writers.  Now, if you think of a plot twist while munching on a turkey leg and feel the urge to write it down, please try to restrain yourself until after dessert.  If you just can't, then discretely jot the idea on a napkin...but only if it's paper.  And if it's Great Aunt Margaret's fine lace napkins only used once a year at Thanksgiving, then write your idea on your hand.  Be sure to transfer that idea as soon as possible to a notebook for safe keeping.  Otherwise the idea will be lost as soon as you wash your hands.  And all that turkey and dressing and pie will make you sleepy and you'll have forgotten the idea by tomorrow in your rush to beat everyone for the Black Friday sales.

Just What Do Those Stars on Amazon Really Mean?

This morning I was checking out the free (and almost free) Kindle books suggested by ireader review (booksummit@ymail.com) and I stumbled across these comments:


"Next, some kindle book deals.
BrainRush, a Thriller by Richard Bard. Price: $1. Genre: Thriller, Action & Adventure. Rated 5 stars on 85 reviews. The author has a contest or something where you can email him the receipt of this book to get his next book for free. 584 kb in size.
It’s interesting, isn’t it – an author who is selling his 5-star rated book for $1 also has to run a contest and give away his next book for free. You’re probably tired of me writing this – Soon we will have authors paying readers to read their books (except for the top 2% of authors). Authors’ desire to be read (for 98% of authors) is far greater than readers’ desire to read their books."

Someone left a comment in response to this:

“'Soon we will have authors paying readers to read their books'
Actually, they’re already doing that…  Some authors will pay you $5 (!) for reading their book and leaving a 5-star review on Amazon. That system has been around for about a year now…"


I'm surprised (and I guess, a little naive) that some people pay readers to post positive comments on Amazon.  I've asked my family and friends to add their positive comments, but all they've ever gotten from me is my undying love.  (By the way, I'm NOT suggesting that Richard Bard pays for 5 star comments.  I am impressed, though, that he got 85 positive comments!)


I've wondered before about books that will have several 5 star ratings and about as many 1 star ratings, with nothing much in between.  In the past I'd figured that the book must be controversial in some way, that it was one of those books you either love or hate.  Maybe that's still true, but after discovering that people pay for readers, it will just make me doubt those 5 star ratings in the future.


So, if I'm now doubting the 5 star ratings, does that mean that the ratings mean anything any more?  If the system has been compromised, is it of any value any more?  What do you think?  Do you trust the 5 start ratings on Amazon?  How do you choose a book?

Interview with Edie Melson, speaker at AnAuthor World's Writing Conference

Edie Melson will be a speaker at AnAuthor World's 3rd annual writing conference, The Story Continues. She's a freelance writer and editor with over 16 years experience in the publishing industry. Edie’s a prolific writer, publishing over 700 articles in 2010. She also has a popular writing blog (www.thewriteconversation.blogspot.com) and is a frequent contributor to many others. In keeping up with the leading edge of all things digital Edie has become known as one of the go-to experts on Twitter, Facebook, and social media for writers wanting to learn how to plug in. Her bestselling eBook on this subject, Social Media Marketing for Writers, is available on Kindle and Nook.

AnAuthor World: Why did you decide to be a writer?

Edie: I’ve always told stories and I actually wrote my first book—long-hand—in 8th grade. It’s funny, I was looking back through some of my old year books and several kids commented about me becoming a bestselling writer.

AAW: How did you learn to write?

Edie: I’ve learned through taking classes, reading books and ACTUALLY WRITING. So many wanna-be writers avoid the last one. Also, I’m still learning, I always have at least one book on writing that I’m studying and I try to read at least one blog post about writing every day.

AAW: How did you first get published?

Edie: I guess officially my first published writing was with my technical writing. But my first freelance article was one I sold through a contact at a writers conference. I sold a short article to Focus on the Family at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference (www.my-cwc.com)

AAW: How many published books do you have?

Edie: I have one bestselling eBook, Social Media Marketing for Writers and another book due out by the end of the year, Fighting Fear, Winning the War at Home when Your Soldier Leaves for War. (www.christiandevotionsbooks.com)

AAW: What else have you written?

Edie: In 2010 I published over 700 articles. In truth, if it’s not illegal or immoral, I’ll write about it. I have a life-long love affair with words.

AAW: What are you working on now?

Edie: I manage and/or write for over 27 blogs and websites. I’m also working on a Science Fiction Novel.

AAW: Do you teach writing? If so, where do you teach and what subjects?

Edie: I do teach writing. I teach freelancing, blogging, writing for the Internet, and writing devotions. I’m a frequent teacher with AnAuthor World and I teach at writing conferences around the country. I’m also the Co-Director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference (www.my-cwc.com) and Southwest Christian Writers Studio (www.my-cwc.com).

AAW: Have you been rejected? If so, how do you handle rejections?

Edie: Absolutely I’ve been rejected! But I learned getting published on a regular basis is a numbers game. Starting out, the ratio tends to be about 10 queries to every 2 acceptances. The numbers do improve with experience. I actually set a goal of how many rejections I want to get within a month. That insures I’ll get the acceptances as well and makes the rejections a little less painful. But trust me, they always hurt.

AAW: Who are your favorite authors?

Edie: I have so many. Alton Gansky, Ted Dekker, Susan May Warren, Lynette Eason, Pam Zollman, Carolyn G. Hart, Anne McCaffrey, Jody Lynn Nye . . . I could go on and on and on!

AAW: What advice do you have for new writers?

Edie: Write every day. Concentrate on learning your craft and publication will come.

The Story Continues Writing Conference

Date: October 15, 2011

Place: Furman University, 3300 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville, SC

Time: 8:00-8:30 a.m. -- Walk-in Registration; pick up folders

8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. -- Conference

4:30-5:30 p.m. -- Autographing

Price: $100 general; $90 AAW Community Members; $65 students

Early Bird Special (until August 15): $85 general; $75 AAWC members; $50 students

Manuscript critiques available: deadline for manuscripts is September 1, 2011

Speakers: Ann Ross, Lynette Eason, Ellis Vidler, Patricia Thomas, Edie Melson, Pam Zollman, two editors from Peachtree Books

Teen Track: Carol Baldwin, instructor

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Teachers: You will receive in-service hours for attending.

Register on-line at www.anauthorworld.com and click on the "Events" button.