writers

Self-Publishing Update

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Working through CreateSpace (Amazon’s answer to self-publishing) includes the following phases:

  1. Create
  2. Setup
  3. Review
  4. Distribution
  5. Sales & Marketing

Esther, Mia and The Stars is now in the Distribution phase. This is my first book, so I’m very excited! I’m enjoying the process immensely, even when things go wrong.

I’ve been meditating an extra minute every morning. This morning, I meditated for 11 minutes and tomorrow, I will meditate for 12. What I mean by meditating is concentrating on my breath and not thinking. Why is this important? Because the mind can work in overdrive and  interfere with inner peace. Meditation has (already) helped me keep calm during challenging moments. My sixth graders were very loud and obnoxious today, but I was fine. My illustrations scanned at a dpi that was too low and I had to re-scan and crop them all over again, but I just did it and didn’t feel anxious or upset at all.

I’ve written my book description:

Esther and Mia are best friends. Esther must come up with a creative solution when she discovers that Mia is being bullied. Together, they overcome this painful event and tell their story in English and Spanish.

My “About the Author” blurb:

Caroline Chung-Wipff delights in working with children who are often much wiser than adults. She lives in the desert with the love-of-her-life (Willey), her two amazing daughters and Opal the Dog Wonder.

Amazon tells me:

Your book files are still being reviewed. A final print ready cover file is needed to continue to KDP. You will be e-mailed when the review is complete.

So I wait.

Please ping me if you have any questions about the process thus far. It’s so fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coyote

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It’s 6:44am, pitch-dark outside and the door is open (I live in the desert and winter is prime time for open windows and doors). A group of coyotes are howling in the distance and they sound like a bunch of frat boys at a football game.
The blank page looks at me, unblinking.
I remember – when I was a kid –  my  little mutt terrier, Leon, howling, his mouth forming a perfect “O,” as my sister played her violin. Something primal was happening.

The page waits.

The coyotes get much louder and yip-yip-yip over each other. They’ve made a kill, probably a rabbit.

 

 

 

 

 

Writing Update

I’m going to share my update with you in the hopes that you feel camaraderie. Writing can be a lonely experience (albeit a very rewarding one!). I like the solitude and the quiet. It’s actually what I crave right now, after the tornado of politics, media and my husband’s 50th birthday celebrations.

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Word Count on my novella:14,176

Goal (approximate): 25,020

Children’s Book: Esther, Mia and the Stars – Spanish translation is done! Scanning of images –   80% complete!

I am strongly considering using Fiverr.com for the Mandarin, Cantonese and French translations.

My mother (I believe) will be very happy to do the Korean translation.

 

 

 

Nanowrimo

 

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Green Chameleon

Whose idea was it to have Nanowrimo in November?

My husband’s birthday is in November – his 50th birthday, so we partied for TWO weekends. And then there’s Thanksgiving. To say it’s been challenging to write is an understatement, what with work, family, and parties…but it’s SUPER FUN!

I’ve set a goal for myself to write a “novella,” (7,500 to 40,000 words)  instead of a novel (60,000 to 100,000 words). I wanted to set myself up for success, afterall!  So I targeted 25,000 words and averaged it the number of days in November. Here is my excel sheet to monitor daily progress:

Nov goal actual  balance
1 834 300 534
2 1668 368 1300
3 2502 2218 284
4 3336 3327 9
5 4170 3870 300
6 5004 3870 1134
7 5838 4401 1437
8 6672 6014 658
9 7506 6440 1066
10 8340 7603 737
11 9174 on the road, wrote in word
12 10008 9122 886
13 10842 10682 160
14 11676 11201 475
15 12510
16 13344

As you can see, I have to write at least 475  more words tonight. So here I go! I hope you are enjoying the process and making progress. Once in awhile, I have to remind myself to HAVE FUN and not stress about the word count or listen to Monkey Mind! 

 

Just keep writing!

Wayfaring Writer

I’m still writing, just haven’t blogged about it. Thought I’d share the progress (and I want to hear from you, too!)

I am an entire day behind on Nanowrimo. As I wrote last night, I have been busy planning and executing my husband’s 50th birthday and it was WELL WORTH IT! 

My children’s book is also progressing nicely, my teacher/friend is halfway through the Spanish translation. Yippeee! Somehow, it looks more real when I see progress that someone else has added to it.

When I realized I am not on pace with my Nanowrimo schedule (approximately 900 words/day), I started to feel a bit bad/sad/panicky. And then I was reading The Book of Joy and Desmond Tutu said something that gave me pause: sometimes, our ambition wrecks our happiness.

All the spiritual leaders I know have spoken about this. It’s FINE and GREAT to have ambition, as long as it doesn’t stress you out and cause you negative feelings. I don’t want to give up my goals, but I also don’t want to feel bad when I don’t reach my goals. I’ve always used stress to motivate myself (so my husband tells me).  What to do? 

Work towards them and remain flexible for a bend in the road. Continue working happily. Continue working through obstacles happily. Work around them and just remain equanimous.

journey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Na-No-Wri-Mo Time!

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by Florian Klauer

National Novel Writing Month

I’m not quite finished with my children’s book, Esther, Mia and the Stars, but I’m close. I am short just a few illustrations and I have someone translating it into Spanish. I’m going to have my mother translate it into Korean over Thanksgiving. I will ship it! It WILL happen!

I thought I should finish that before I started another  project, but… it’s Na-No-Wri-Mo right now. I’ve been doing research in October in anticipation of this. Tomorrow, I commit to the writing. I’ve written several fiction stories, but I’m especially excited about this one.

A fellow teacher/writer asked me three weeks ago, “Why don’t you do Na-no-wri-mo?” My first thought, Yeah, right. A novel in one month. I’m working full-time, I have kids and a husband. There is no time.

And then another voice:

“You MAKE time.”

Yes, you make time. Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Marie Curie…all had the same 24 hours we have.

So, what’s it about? I can’t say.

Advice I’ve always remembered: Do not share or reveal too soon. It invites naysayers and judges at the most critical time. Focus on the content. Focus on the work. Reveal it later.

So, what do you say? Want to join me? I’d love to share our ups and downs!

Click on this link to get started now!

 

A Letter to the Anxious

Dear Fellow Fretter,

I’ve always been a bit high-strung. I’ve always been a worrier.

worrier

I used to spend more time worrying than taking action to stop the worry.

As I begin the last half of my life, I want to be a warrior.

warrior

I’m reading Tolle, Singer, the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.

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Bday gift from sis…

I’ve read all kinds of books and learned a lot. But I heard Elizabeth Gilbert the other day on  a podcast and she said something that clicked (!)

She was talking about her writing process and she said she writes in seasons….you know, as in nature.  She said something like this (totally paraphrasing): There’s the quiet (winter) phase, where’s she’s in between projects and thinking, getting inspired. Then she begins research (spring), and she writes (summer) and then does the whole marketing tour bit (fall). And the cycle begins again.

The part that struck me as shockingly KIND to herself was that she gave herself time to just think, rejuvenate, get inspired. She sees it all as an integral part of her creative process.

Wow.

You mean, you don’t have to keep working and sweating?

It made sense to me. Of COURSE, even nature takes breaks. Parts of it die in order to enable other things to grow. This applies to every career, every job, every role in life.

So yes, make your To Do lists and set goals. That is important. But be sure to take the time to relax, re-energize, and follow the cycle. Calmly get each step done. No need for stress.

 

 

 

 

 

Make Your Own Motivational Poster: Tip #9

 

The final tip Daniel Pink offers in his book Drive is to Create Your Own Motivational Poster. I know, it sounds lame, but I played around with it and it’s incredibly fun.

Try these sites:

http://diy.despair.com/

http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php

wigflip.com/automotivator/

I made my Kismet poster using bighugelabs.com. It was very easy.

Try it!