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   After finishing a project to the point of publishing a new book, I find myself sitting at the keys of my computer staring at a blank screen.  My adrenalin in high and I have a hard time sitting still.  It is my time to write and write I will even if it kills me.

   Story after story pushes to the fore front of my thoughts and begs for release. There are so many words that want out of my head it is hard to choose which ones to type.  Some times I think it would be easier if I had writers block.

   To calm my self, I pull up the published manuscript and find the minor mistakes that slipped through the editing cracks.  "OMG," I think, "how can I let anyone see this."  I want to hide in a closet with embarassment.

   Then I push myself up to the computer and let the emotional turmoil roll out of my fingures.  Somehow it turns into words.  Sometimes it is good and sometimes not, but I have taken my turn at the keys and met my goal of typing for the day.

   Day after day I will do this until one day I find the story to focus on.  Soon the production begins and I find myself anticipating the publication of another book.

   I promise myself, "soon I will find that groove." Until then, "It’s just another day at the keys."

Sondi

If you read Corey Dietz‘ piece, Podcasting For DumbDumbs, but felt you might like a little more control over the process of creating your podcasts than that provided by the services in the article, yet don’t have the resources to pour into a state-of-the-art home recording studio, take a look at Audacity. 

From the Audacity site:  

Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:

• Record live audio.
• Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
• Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
• Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
• Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
• And more! See the complete list of features.

The software is entirely free and very well-documented, with an FAQ, Users Manual (also available as a PDF or HTML download) and Tutorials.  

So if you’ve been thinking about dipping your toe into the podcasting pool to create audiobooks, audio blog entries or the like, you might want to give Audacity a try.  And if you do, be sure to report back in the Digital Publishing User Reviews forum, to share your experience with your fellow Publetarians.   

There’s been a somewhat heated discussion going on at Romance Writers of America (aka RWA) over the last few months—which is nothing new and not all that surprising. After all, if you’re going to involve yourself with a large group of mostly female, inordinately verbal, excessively imaginative, and expressly passionate people, you ought to expect debate. And lots of it. 

This particular discussion revolves around the question of what makes someone a career writer as opposed to a hobbyist, and some of what’s been said by various members of the BoD has a lot of people feeling angry and trivialized.

At first glance, it might seem to be a fairly easy question to answer, but since RWA policy has always been weighted heavily in favor of large, traditional print publishers, nothing is as easy or simple as it seems.

To read more of my opinion on the subject follow this link: http://rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.com/2009/02/tale-of-three-little-authors.html

I’m Ashleen O’Gaea (say that oh-gee-uh, as in "Oh, gee, uh … I don’t know how to say that!") and I’ve joined Publetariat because I’m on the verge of self-publishing, sort of.

I’ve published a few non-fiction books about Wicca, through traditional houses, but breaking into fiction is hard, and I’m impatient.  I’ve got a few novels I’d like to see out there, and the one I’m experimenting with first is called The Green Boy.  It’s about a Wiccan priestess who "chances" to meet a young man who’s grown up believing that her mother killed his mother by hexcraft.

Besides being a writer, I volunteer as a (writing) prison minister; I’m a dog-and-cat mommy, a camper, an amateur photographer … and I wish I could draw.

Merry hi!  My name’s Ashleen O’Gaea, and I’m new here!  And I’m on the verge of self-publishing a novel.

Before I go any farther: my first name’s easy to pronounce.  I’ll answer to Ashleen or Ashleen.  My last name is pronounce oh-gee-uh — as in oh, gee, uh … I don’t know how to pronounce that.

My about-to-be novel is called The Green Boy, and it’s the first in a series of novels about a Wiccan priestess, her family, and her coven.  I have published a few books traditionally, non-fiction books about the religion of Wicca.  You can check them out — and I hope you will — through my website, www.AshleenOGaea.com, or my other website, www.AdventureWicca.com

I also write a family column and various reviews for the Pagan ‘zine PanGaia.  And I am a dog-mommy and a cat-mommy, and a camper, and an amateur photographer . . . and I wish I could draw.

This article, by Christopher R. Edgar, originally appeared on his Purpose Power Coaching site on 2/11/09.

One of the most liberating realizations I’ve had in my life is that I’m not responsible for my ideas.  In other words, I can do very little to make myself become creative, except for keeping my mind open to receiving insights, and writing them down as they come up.  In this post, I’ll talk about how I came to this perspective, and how it can give us more peace and productivity in our work.

This perspective dawned on me when I noticed my best ideas came to me while I was meditating.  After each meditation session—even short, ten-minute ones—I’d find myself frantically scurrying to the keyboard to type up the inspiration that struck.  This became so effective for me that I started a practice I call “staccato meditation,” where I meditate for five minutes for each half-hour of work.  Writing proceeds so fluidly, I’ve found, when I work that way.

When this became clear, I noticed my experience was at odds with the conventional wisdom on creativity.  Inspiration will arise, the common belief goes, if you keep your nose to the grindstone—the more time you spend in front of the computer, or wherever you do your work, the more likely you are to have a breakthrough idea.  But that wasn’t how it seemed to work for me—instead, my imagination operated best when I stopped writing, sat quietly and just breathed.

Another thing I started to notice was that creativity arises suddenly and without warning.  It’s not as if inspiration strikes at predictable times of day, or your left eyelid starts twitching madly to signal incoming ideas—you can never quite tell when they’re going to pop up.  In short, creativity didn’t seem like something I could predict or control—at most, it was something I could stay open to through meditation, as if I were planting a lightning rod and waiting for a bolt to strike it.

The Surprising Implications

When I had these realizations, I got to thinking.  If what I experienced is true for everyone—if we aren’t actually responsible for our ideas—why do we have a habit in our culture of putting famous creative people on a pedestal?

If I’m right about how creativity works, that means the well-known artists, writers, musicians and so on in our society didn’t really come up with the ideas that brought them fame—at best, they were just really good at transcribing and organizing the inspiration that struck them.  Some artists recognize this themselves—look, for example, at J.K. Rowling’s statement that Harry Potter “just strolled into my head fully formed.”  Our habit of treating these people like gods seems a bit silly from this perspective.

I also thought of how invested my ego can get in my creative projects.  For example, when I’m working on a book or article, I sometimes find myself imagining that I’m telling others “yes, that’s right, that’s my work,” and feeling special.  The downside is that, when my ego gets wrapped up in a project, I waste time obsessing over whether my ideas will look clever enough to my audience.  I’ll bet that, if you’re a writer, you can relate.

If it’s true that I’m not responsible for my ideas, I recognized, I don’t have to endure the suffering that comes with seeking ego gratification through my work.  It makes no sense for me to invest my ego in my projects, because the ideas at the core of my writing aren’t even “mine.”  In other words, if I’m not responsible for the ideas I put on the page, it’s misguided for me to take credit for them, or beat myself up if they don’t seem good enough.

A “Productivity Anti-Hack” If I Ever Saw One

The greatest gift that came with this realization was a new sense of freedom in my work.  When my ego became invested in a project, my work proceeded slowly and painfully.  After all, in that frame of mind, my self-worth was, in a sense, riding on how my work would be received—of course I second-guessed myself and suffered from “analysis paralysis.”

But when I acknowledged I wasn’t responsible for the ideas in my writing—all I was really doing was transcribing them and showing them to the world—I understood that my value as a human being had no relationship to what I wrote.  How could it, if the ideas weren’t even mine?  As it no longer seemed like my writing could “make or break me” as a person, there was no need to endlessly second-guess my work.  Words flowed most easily and naturally when I recognized my lack of responsibility for my creativity.

Read the rest of the article on Chris’s site.

See the new "Shop" link in the left-hand navigation bar?  That’s a link to the new Publetariat Cafepress shop, where your purchases accomplish two things: first, they enable you to be "out and proud" of your indie status, and second, they help us to cover the costs of hosting and running Publetariat.

In the shop you’ll find Flip Mino camcorders (both standard and HD models, perfect for shooting and uploading those book trailers!), a wide variety of t-shirts and sweatshirts (womens’ plus sizes, too!) , t-shirts for your dog, mugs, bags and stickers. 

You may have noticed our minimalist approach to advertising here on Publetariat; the ads you see are only provided as compensation to site content contributors – the site doesn’t earn any kind of commission or royalty on those click-throughs.  Cross-promotional link exchanges with sites like LibraryThing are in the works, but again, they will not provide any revenue to the site. 

All site management, administration and content contribution is being done on a strictly volunteer basis, and we try to use open-source software wherever possible.  Still, there are costs for hosting and domain registration and renewal, as well as for the offline software and computer equipment used to maintain and enhance the site.  Even so, since we know frugality is a key component of the indie artist’s way of life, our mark-up on every piece of merchandise in the shop is only 10%.  Proceeds from your purchases are much appreciated. 

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This post, by Jim Cox, Editor In Chief of the Midwest Book Review, originally appeared on that site. Note that these tips are also applicable to individual authors. What follows are a wealth of specific hands-on suggestions from a host of small press publishers on promoting and marketing small press titles which I gleaned from the now defunct PMA e-mail list when it served as a premier source of "how to" information for its members. — Jim Cox

1. When arranging book signings, ask store for a list of media contacts, and when talking to media, ask for names of their favorite book stores! — Kathy Guttman

2. Include a separate "review form" with every book you ship. This way your customers are encouraged to send in reviews, which are GREAT for your ad copy. — Scott Bilker

3. Consider setting up a book signing in a local grocery store! To be sure, grocery stores get more foot traffic than book stores. (this may work best for regional or local books. It can depend on the book and the market. ) I once signed 300 copies of a book in 4 hours in a small town local grocery. Not all chain grocery stores will let you do this… depends on the town, the store, etc. But… I’ve seen it work well! — Rod Colvin

4. Don’t be afraid to contact radio stations that have already interviewed you to see if they’d be interested in doing another interview. I have been coming up with interview ideas that go along with the season; for example, my "Top 10 Funny Kid Christmas stories." I have contacted stations that had me on last spring and summer, and most have wanted me to be on again. The interviews are short; only 5-10 minutes. In February I will call back with my "Top 10 List of Funny Kid Stories Involving Love." Then it will be Easter stories, Mother’s Day stories, etc. Many self-publishers can invent some kind of seasonal twist for their books. — Grace Housholder

5. When you have a radio or TV gig organized — call the bookstores in that area tell them when they order 20 copies, you will plug them on the air. — Alvin G. Donovan

6. Offer a free information sheet for anyone that calls your 800# and requests it. I have a new two-sided piece. One side has "Ten Tips for a Better Adoption Trip" and the other "Preparing Siblings that Stay at Home." The tips were culled from my very successful international adoption travel planning workshops. Of course, those that call in for the tip sheets can (hopefully) be converted into sales. — Mary Petertyl

7. Mary, I tried offering a free tip sheet to a TV show audience in hopes that requests would turn into book sales. (Subject was romance.) I got 125 requests and spent $60 just in postage ($.48 Canadian.), after spending 4 straight hours answering and returning phone calls, and writing down addresses. Only two people bought books ($40 total); the rest were just after a freebie. A second mailing brought zero orders.

Now I SELL tip sheets (I have 20+) at $2 each which also covers postage. My most successful is my Writer’s Fortune Cookie Predictions: 42 separately folded messages from a bossy oracle to overcome Writer’s Block. My brochure/order info rides for free. Most are multiple orders which often result in follow-up orders for published articles ($4-$6), special reports ($6-$8), and manuals ($8-$20). I’ve learned that unless I attach a dollar value to my creativity/knowledge it doesn’t seem to be appreciated. It might be better to offer a free tip sheet as a prize only to those who call in with a question or story and talk to you on air. The rest of the listeners can order theirs by mailing you $2. If they’re really keen on the topic they’ll send $2. Just my experience; hope yours is better. — Andrea Reynolds

8. Talk to a new publisher — one-on-one/person-to-person every month, you’ll become invigorated and marketing will begin to take place through some sort of contagious osmosis type process, or if you don’t like that one write an article for a local paper about local small presses (including yours) in your region, state, city. — Steve Semken

9. When you call a bookstore to ask questions or arrange signings they may want to transfer your call. Before they do, find out where you are being transferred. Ask nicely, "To whom will I be speaking?" That way if they screw up and send you to the wrong extension, you’ll know the name of the person you were supposed to speak to and can get back on track again without too much fuss. — Tara Calishain

10. For those of you who have never found out who is linking to your site. This is an easy way to find out the good and the bad. Here’s how: Go to the Alta Vista search engine (Publetariat Editor note: Google works too). Input your URL (Web site address). Alta Vista will then search and report back all the sites it is linked from. For those of you who have embarked on link campaigns, you may be fairly astounded. I was. — Paul J. Krupin

11. Don’t take out display ads in major newspapers. A few weeks ago, my friend took out an ad in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune Book Review section (to the tune of $2142). Six books sold. And his name is recognizable around Chicago. He’s the founder of Oil Express Lube shops, Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, multimillionaire, you name it. These ads don’t cover their costs. — Raimonda Mikatavage

12. I have an author getting 20 to 30 hits a week on her information Web page. I had her add some e-mail hot buttons to the page where a person could ask the author questions about the subject, they don’t have to order. We get early reader feedback, and gather e-mail addresses to approach when her book is ready. I do this on the Web page for my book. — Welmon "Rusty" Walker, Jr.

13. Make yourself newsworthy and seek out media attention as often as appropriate (GuestFinder is a big help with this, by the way). Do a lot of speaking, live and on radio — and promote your appearances. Help others and they will help you. And finally, remember to have fun! — Shel Horowitz

14. When you are doing a book talk or signing leave postcards of your book announcing the date and time you will talk at the bookstore cashier a week or two before the event so they can be put in all bookstore transactions or just picked up for anyone interested. — Pam Terry

15. When you send books to a bookstore send a press release to the newspaper in their town with a short cover letter mentioning that the book(s) are available at (bookstore). — Sue Robishaw

These are just the first 15 in a list of 42 tips…read the rest of the article at Midwest Book Review.

how does a self publishing company
do the marketing for a book? especially to an audience in several foreign countries?

Editor’s note: when writing historical fiction, research is crucial. In this essay, author Heidi M. Thomas shares just some of the research she did to bring her novel, Cowgirl Dreams, to life.

Cowgirls: Empowered Women

The first cowgirls, like my grandmother in Montana, helped on their family ranches out of necessity. At an early age they learned to ride horses, rope cattle, and stay in the saddle atop an untamed bucking bronco. They competed with the men in those early ranch gatherings and continued to do so at the organized roundup events.

In 1885, Annie Oakley, a diminutive sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, paved the way for other women to be recognized in the rodeo arena. Two years later, Bertha Kaepernick was allowed to enter a horse race in Cheyenne’s Frontier Days only because the arena was so muddy the cowboys refused to participate. To entertain the crowd, she was coerced into riding a bucking horse. Despite the terrible conditions, she managed to stay in the saddle, and put the men to shame. She continued to compete and often beat such legendary cowboys as Ben Corbett and Hoot Gibson.

Following in Bertha’s footsteps years later, Prairie Rose Henderson of Wyoming forced the Cheyenne organizers to allow her to ride. She went on to become one of the most flamboyant cowgirls of the era, dressing in bright colors, sequins and ostrich plumes over bloomers.

Lucille Mulhall, whose father, Colonel Zack Mulhall, ran a Wild West Show, was described in a 1900 New York World article as “only ninety pounds, can break a bronc, lasso and brand a steer, and shoot a coyote at 500 yards. She can also play Chopin, quote Browning, and make mayonnaise.” Both Teddy Roosevelt and Will Rogers have been credited with giving Lucille the title “cowgirl”. She also went on to appear in silent films.

Between 1885 and 1935, many women proudly wore that title and competed with men, riding thesame broncs, steers and bulls. They also roped and bull-dogged alongside their male counterparts. The list includes Marie Gibson, Alice and Margie Greenough, Fox Hastings (one of the few women bulldoggers), Tad Lucas, Vera McGinnis (who shocked the public by wearing pants), Bonnie McCarrol, Florence Randolph, Ruth Roach, Fanny Sperry Steele, Mabel Strickland, Lorena Trickey (infamous for stabbing her lover to death with a pocket knife), Margie Wright, and many others.

Rodeo, today a competitive sport with college scholarships, developed from the everyday world of cattle ranching. Its roots and many terms stem from the Spanish conquistadors of the 1700s. The first rodeos began in the mid-1800s with informal contests held among working cowboys to see who could ride the meanest bronc or rope a steer the fastest.

A hundred years ago bronc busting didn’t have the life-saving luxury of a buzzer going off after eight seconds. Cowboys rode until they were bucked off or the horse gave up, whichever came first. Some of those rides lasted up to twenty minutes. Events later became more organized when cowboys drove thousands of cattle and horses to town in the yearly round-up, usually around July 4th. By 1920, rodeos regularly featured three cowgirl events-ladies’ bronc riding, trick riding, and at rodeos with a race track, cowgirls’ relay racing. To score in the saddle bronc event, women had to stay on board eight seconds (the men rode ten) and they were allowed to ride with two reins, although they could opt to use one as the men did.

The time limit changed to eight seconds for men and six seconds for women during the 1950s. This is the kind of life Nettie, the heroine of my book, Cowgirl Dreams, lived and aspired to.

Heidi M. Thomas is a creative writing instructor, freelance editor and manuscript consultant. Learn more about Heidi, her books and services on her site.