Archive for Writers

Is It Foolish To Write?

April 1, 2013 Educators, Writers No comments

On this day, surrounded by foolishness, it is appropriate to ask an important question: Is it foolish to write? The answer is simple. No! Absolutely not!!

Writing is an essential means of communication. It’s a way to share thoughts, interests, knowledge, and ideas with others. It’s a way of arguing persuading, and getting what you want. Best of all, it’s a way of learning about yourself.

Not sure what you think or feel about something? Start writing. As your words are committed to screen or paper, your truths will emerge. It won’t always be a straightforward process (write and learn); often times it will be a circuitous adventure (write, write, write, learn).

Self-discovery through writing

A related question bears considering: Is writing for publication foolish? This one is harder to answer. I think it depends on your purpose. If your purpose if fame and fortune, I think the answer is yes. After all, the chance of you achieving either is very remote. Sure, you see the successful writers all around you, the ones with six-figure deals and best-selling books. What you don’t see are the others, the millions who labor at their projects, hoping one day to be recognized and published.

If your purpose is to share a story or some knowledge you have, my answer would be different. In that case I’d say no, it’s not foolish to write. But the odds, aren’t they still against you? Isn’t it still a long-shot that you will be published? Well, yes and no. Yes, the odds of being published by a traditional publisher are still a long-shot. Today, however, there are other options. These include small, independent publishers, and they also include print-on-demand services, where you become the publisher.

In the past, becoming your own publisher meant big upfront costs to have your book printed. With on-demand publishing (e.g. CreateSpace, Virturalbookworm, Smashwords, Lulu, etc.) the costs are very reasonable.

Despite the ease of having your work published these days, the most important question is this: Do you enjoy the process of writing? This should be the question that guides you. Writing is too hard and life is too short to spend your energies at something that does not bring you joy.

Good luck in whatever path you choose!

Going With The Flow

March 26, 2013 Educators, Kids, Writers 2 comments

According to National Geographic, the equivalent of a raindrop falling on a mosquito would be a car falling on a human. A single drop of rain pushes the mosquito down at 100-200 times the force of gravity, enough to crush one of us. So, how do those pesky creatures survive a rainstorm? They don’t resist the raindrops, thus enabling them to easily slide free of the them.

Can mosquitoes teach us something?

Only if we’re willing to learn…

CreateSpace, One More Time +

February 28, 2013 Writers One comment

So, I had the book right where I wanted it: text balanced, pages looking good, no widows or other weird-named things. Then, I looked at the author page at the end of the book. It’s a brief paragraph about the about the author, what I do, where I live, what I like. All good there, but at the bottom of the page was a page number. DOH!

There shouldn’t be a page number there. I don’t want one there. I just don’t know how to get rid of it. Page numbering in Word takes a graduate degree to navigate. Still, I try, supported by the handy little Help menu. I try what it tells me, only to erase all the pages. Nope, don’t want that. Maybe I can just live with the author page being numbered. No one will notice, right?

But I’ll know. So, I keep at it and end up finding out about page breaks and section breaks. Ah ha! Section breaks, that’s it. Create a new section about the main text, which then starts the page numbering form 1. Delete that, which does not delete the rest of the text, only that section. Done. No mess, no blood.
Just time.

Coming soon…Moving Targets.

CreateSpace, One More Time

February 19, 2013 Writers No comments

Okay, so I got the hard copy version of my novel proof and my suspicions were well-founded. The gutters are too big, making the text on the page look unbalanced. When you look at pages in the middle of the book, it’s not too noticeable; when you look at either the front or back sections, Whoa! Makes me nearly fall off my chair it’s so lopsided.

After a call to CreateSpace, I learned that they could/would fix it for me, for a fee, or I could readjust the margins. Given my mission to avoid fees in this process, I decided to try it myself. So I did, with the assistance of a kind young gent from CS. Thank you! The margins seem better now, the gutter doesn’t look so wide, the text looks better centered.

That assessment is made by looking at the online proof, but I’m going to order another hard copy proof. Just to make sure. What’s great about this process is that if you find errors or things you don’t like in your book, you can make changes and print more. The key is to not order a truckload until you are completely satisfied. Which, for some of us, may be never. I’m working on that, though…

Happy Birthday, A.C. Gilbert!

February 15, 2013 Educators, Kids, Writers 2 comments

Educational toys – toys that encourage play and learning – are a mainstay in our stores today, but it wasn’t always that way. In the early 1900s, most children’s toys were mere playthings and were either homemade or imported from Europe. And then along came Alfred Carlton (A.C.) Gilbert.

Born in Salem on this day (February 15) in 1884, Gilbert grew to become an Olympic champion, professional magician, and a Yale-trained physician. But toys, especially toys that taught and engaged kids, were his true love. I learned of this firsthand in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It began with a microscope, a telescope, and an Erector Set all manufactured and sold by The A.C. Gilbert Company and given to me as gifts.

I spent countless hours with these toys that withstood the rough handling of an energetic boy. Using the microscope and telescope, I explored worlds typically hidden from my sight. Constructing models with the Erector Set provided practice building things, completing projects, and patience. All the toys encouraged curiosity, imagination, and problem-solving.

In my zeal to play, I paid little attention to the written materials that come with them (including the directions!). As a result, I missed the personal messages that came from Mr. Gilbert as well as the stories behind the toys.

I had no idea Gilbert got his start in toys during his college years at Yale, where he traded a career in medicine for selling magic kits. When it became clear after graduation magic kits would not support his small but growing family, Gilbert came up with a new idea. Inspired by watching construction crews erecting towers while riding the train from New York City to Connecticut, he decided to make and sell construction kits. Gilbert named them Erector Sets.

Gilbert introduced his kits to the world one hundred years ago at the Toy Fair in New York City. The world loved them, and the A.C. Gilbert Company was well on its way to transforming the toy industry: American-made toys, advertising directly at children, and playthings that encouraged thinking and doing.

When I played with the Gilbert toys, I didn’t know how I lucky I was that the company that made them was still in business. During World War I, the government threatened to divert all manufacturing (even toys) to the war effort. This would have crippled the toy industry, and some toy companies permanently. But A.C. Gilbert didn’t allow that to happen. He traveled to Washington DC, persuaded The National Council of Defense to allow toymakers to continue manufacturing toys, and was heralded as “The Man Who Saved Christmas.”

As a kid, I didn’t know any of this. It would take me forty years to find out. In the meantime, I grew up, became a teacher, began writing for children, and moved to Oregon from my home on the east coat. The Gilbert toys came with me.

I finally discovered A.C. Gilbert in 1995 when I took my classroom of fourth graders to the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village in Salem. There, tucked away in a small area separated from rooms of interactive displays, was a modest exhibit that told about A.C. Gilbert and his life. I was instantly intrigued, my curiosity piqued. Research followed, and then a children’s book about the most famous American toymaker.

So, why don’t we hear of A.C. Gilbert and his company today? The answer is simple. By the 1950s, America’s children were more interested in hula hoops and Silly Putty than construction sets and science kits. Gilbert retired in 1954, and turned the company over to his son. In 1961, Gilbert died. Three years later, his son died unexpectedly. By 1967, the A.C. Gilbert Company was bankrupt. The Erector name was eventually sold to the Meccano Company, a longtime competitor, and they continue to produce Erector construction kits of their own design today.

Toys made by The A.C. Gilbert Company remain today, a testament to their quality and to the childhood memories they invoke. I still have mine. So do many others. Collectors organized the A.C. Gilbert Heritage Society, with chapters throughout the country. Gilbert toys can be found at antique stores, auctions, and on e-Bay, some selling for as much as $8,000.

The true legacy of Alfred Carlton Gilbert goes beyond the toys he created and to the reason for those toys: to inspire, engage, and challenge children. This legacy will continue for all as long as there are manufacturers producing playthings that encourage children to think and learn.

The Truth

February 12, 2013 Writers No comments

Truth happens. I have always wondered why the folks at the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village children’s museum in Salem, OR have been…well, lukewarm at best about my A.C. Gilbert book. After all, the museum is named for the famous toymaker and it’s housed partially in A.C.’s uncle’s elegant Victorian home. The outdoors play structure is fashioned after an Erector Set, and there’s even an exhibit – albeit small and tucked away – about A.C. Gilbert’s life. My book, The Magic of A.C. Gilbert chronicles the man’s fascinating life as a world-class athlete, professional magician, inventor, toymaker, and “The Man Who Saved Christmas.” What a perfect match: a children’s museum and a children’s book about the museum’s namesake.

Yet from the onset of my book project – developing the concept and conducting the research – the staff at the museum was neither enthusiastic nor encouraging. Were they not proud of their namesake? Were they envious that I was writing the book and not them? Did they just not want to be bothered? I did get some help from some of the staff members, though, and was very appreciative. But overall, I felt a sense of cool when I approached them with the questions I had. So, when the book was finally published, I was not surprised at the reception. After sending copies to staff members, I had to contact them several times for a response. And the response? I’m sure you can imagine. Same when I offered them books to sell in their gift shop.

They did order some books, and even reordered despite the “books not selling as well as we’d like.” When I offered suggestions on marketing the books and how to tie it in with visits from classes of schoolkids, they politely declined. When I pressed for an explanation (“Why would you not want to include the museum’s namesake into the experience of visiting?”), I finally – after five years – got it from one of the staff members. It seems that the mission of the place is to be an interactive children’s museum, not promote the legacy of its namesake. Sweet and simple. I get it. While I think they are missing a great opportunity to provide a richer experience by better connecting the man with the museum, I understand. Really, I do.

There is a lesson in every experience, including this one. For me, it’s about marketing, which is what every author has to do, whether the book is put out by a mega-publisher or self-published. The lesson is to find friendly markets, and to not try to push/force books into reluctant markets. Even if think your book is a perfect match for a particular market, if they don’t think so, it’s not. Period.

Truth happens. It just may take awhile.

Do You Really Want To Be An Author?

February 5, 2013 Writers No comments

Here’s an interesting NPR interview with Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, one of the largest self-publishing companies.

CreateSpace Continued

February 5, 2013 Writers 2 comments

Okay, maybe the worst part is over. In a previous post I spoke about getting the text right-on as far as formatting goes. It took me 10+ times to to upload text that fit the format. Finally it did, and I’m confident that the next book I do will go more smoothly. I certainly know a lot more now than I did then.

The next item was the cover – the wonderful cover – that Kurt Cyrus rendered. Kurt used the specs and formula provided by CreateSpace to get the spacing right and to make sure the lettering on the spine fit well. After a few tweeks here and there (toning down the color of the hawk’s tail, changing the font size on the back cover), it was ready to go. Kurt saved it as a pdf and sent it along to me.

Then came the moment of truth. Would the cover upload to the CreateSpace file? Would it take fourteen attempts and revisions in between each?
Nope, just one. A charm. So then, the whole file (interior and cover) had to undergo a review process to make sure the book fit the acceptable spec range.

Within twenty-four hours I had the results: Yes! Everything was a go. I proofed an online version of the book and all looked great. To be extra sure, I ordered a print copy because the gutters (the spacing on the inside of the pages) looked unbalanced to me. The only way I’d know for certain is to hold the book in my own hands. So that’s what I’m going to do before making it available to the reading public. So now, I wait. Patiently.

CreateSpace Journey

January 23, 2013 Writers 2 comments

The journey on CreateSpace continues. As I previously mentioned, I worked diligently to get the manuscript print-ready, and was able to do this after reading, rereading, and rereading some more, along with some outstanding outside help (Cameron on the tech details, Ava on the text details). When I was finally satisfied (is one ever finally satisfied?), I started the upload. All went well, at least for awhile.

When my book file got uploaded, I received a message that there were “issues” with it. The main issue was that the margins I had selected were not acceptable. Some words were too close to the edges of the page. Okay, easy fix, right? No. Because, when you change the margins, that alters the number of words on the page and that affects where those words appear on the pages. So, you may get a page (an end of a chapter) where there is one line or even one word on it. Not good.

That means you have to go back over the entire document and check each page. While doing that, I noticed that a few pages had some extra lines spaces. They’d show up randomly, like right in the middle of pages. That required me to go back to my original document, where I found that I had made extra returns as I typed. Then the original had to be uploaded again.

To make a long story short, I uploaded the original many times (more than 10) before I got all the issues resolved. All except for one, which I’m not going to share since you will probably not even notice it in the printed (or electronic) copy.

All in all, this has been a learning experience and a lesson in extreme patience. The folks at CreateSpace, who I call often, have been supportive and pleasant. The next step will be uploading the cover, which is being completed as I type.

Author’s Alternative

January 14, 2013 Writers No comments

Just as there are many reasons to have a book published, there are lots of ways to make that happen. I have recently undertaken a journey with CreateSpace to publish my middle grade novel, Moving Targets. This is a story about bullying that I have been working on for quite some time. For awhile, I thought the topic would be exhausted, but it seems to holding its own and even gaining importance over time.

So, why CreateSpace? Well, I’ve seen books done by the company and the quality looks good. You have many choices of trim size and page count.
Best of all, it’s print-on-demand so you can order as many, or as few, copies that you want. And then there’s the bonus: the per-copy cost is consistent. In other words, you don’t have to order a skillion copies to get them at a reasonable (and salable) cost.

There’s a step-by-step process by which you create your book. I have yet to upload the text because I keep going over and over and over it. The folks at CreateSpace have informed me that the text need to be print-ready when I upload it, so I become an obsessed copy-editor. This after I have already edited the book for content. That’s been a bit easier for me. The copy-edit part challenges my attention to details. What’s really helped, though, is developing a style sheet for the book that includes punctuation instances as well as other quirky thinks I’m doing.

For example, during I use the word gonna when the kids are talking. It’s a style choice I consciously made to help make the dialogue sound more realistic. But I stopped there, choosing not to include things like wanna, coulda, shoulda, etc. Too much of that, I believe, would bog down the reader. So, it’s a matter of balance and degree.

The biggest challenge for me has been the actual formatting of margins, gutters, font type and size, and spacing. What really helped me was looking at other books – sort of mentor texts – and seeing what others have done. None of that helped, however, when I go to the very end of the text and the last line of the 150 or so pages got split, with a few words on one side of the page, and a few on the other. Hour after maddening hour I worked on that, playing with the settings, looking at online forums, using bad language, none of which helped. Finally, I called a tech genius friend, Cameron Yee, who figured it out in less than three minutes. I am continuously amazed at the knowledge and skills of people on this planet. Oh, the problem was with the justification setting.

So, that’s the extent of the project thus far. Next week I’ll be uploading the text and hopefully the cover, done by one Kurt Cyrus, another cohort brimming with talent. Until then, I will keep searching for rivers and widows and look forward to the time I push the Enter key, which will finalize the upload. If you have any interest in publishing something, check out CreateSpace. As far as I’m concerned, so far, so good. Will let you know how the process proceeds.

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