The Good:
I have officially written and self-published my very first book ever. EVER! I wrote a book! A BOOK! Can you believe it? I can’t sometimes.
Who would have thought that a girl from a poe-dunk little town in Tennessee would write a book, much less three of them with two more started. I only know one other person, personally, that has ever written and published a book and his was a trivia book. How many people do you know that have written a book. How many have you written?
I wrote a book. An actual book. B-O-O-K.
Up until this point I haven’t sat down and been proud of myself. I have been too worried about what people will think, what they have thought, the process (which is confusing as all get out and if it wouldn’t have been for my sister and my new friend, Tirzah I would have lit a match and said to heck with the whole process a long time ago).
I haven’t actually stopped and taken a moment to say, “Wow! M. you typed a book. You dreamed, created and typed a book. Several actually.”
I was blessed by God with some pretty cool talents. I can, if forced, play the piano (although it would be super slow now since I haven’t in over 15 years and although I still remember F-A-C-E and E-G-B-D-F, I would have to say the rhyme each time I went to stroke a key). I can draw and paint (although I am no Salvador Dali – whose paintings rock). I can remember stupid trivia, like bats, when exiting a cave, almost always turn left. I can cross all four of my fingers on both hands, and do the Vulcan sign for “Live long and prosper.” I have the bladder of steel which comes in handy for long road trips (it’s mainly out of necessity though, as I will NOT go outside, nor do I prefer public bathrooms, but will use one in a crisis.) And now I can add dream, create and write books to my list of awesome talents.
That’s pretty freakin’ cool.
The Bad:
So…I have gotten two “not so great” reviews on the book Moments.
There is that.
Of course, I have only gotten three reviews total, at least on Amazon.
My friends and loved ones who have read it all have made glowing remarks. Of course, I know to take that with a grain of salt, as they are my friends and loved ones. I know they read it through “love glasses”. But, I am of the school that if you don’t have something nice to say, you don’t say anything at all. So, I would say that since I have not asked anyone what they thought of it, and they just offered up their comments freely, I would like to believe that they actually liked it. That is what I would like to believe. I know that isn’t always the case though.
I also am not naïve enough to believe that Moments is perfect. (no pun intended to those who know me and what I am referring to.) I know that it has typos, although for the life of me I cannot find them, because I typed it in Word and it has spell and grammar check. Other than several sentence fragments, I couldn’t find anything else. So perhaps there are different rules to writing for books then there is in the actual English language. *shrugs* And I believe that there may be tense issues (I was informed of this in one of the “not so great” reviews). When I started Moments I wrote the entire thing in present tense, only to be told that it should be in past tense, so I redid the entire thing in past tense. I am certain I missed some.
Three sets of eyes proof read Moments. None of them editors, none of them actual professional proof readers, but all three of them is learned, educated people. One having already proof read a couple of books for another author. How in the world could three different people miss the tremendous amount typos that two of my totally disappointed (albeit much appreciated) readers found?
(Case in point…the third sentence above about the proof readers being learned and educated, I typed “...all three of them ARE learned, educated people.” Word informed me that it is supposed to be IS and that, honestly, sounds stupid to me, but I changed it because I am not a machine programmed to know perfect grammar, so I have to trust it, as well as my precious proof readers.)
When I type here, on this blog, I am just typing what comes in my head. I barely even proof read this because this is just a stream of consciousness that I tweak so that I don’t sound completely insane, and so that it has a funny twist on it. So please, do not pick apart my blog, like you do my books.
I have never written anything before other than essays for school. I am not a writer, well…I am, but not in the sense that I went to school and have a degree in something literary sounding and have a whole slew of letters after my name showing how important I am. Nor have I been published anywhere in a magazine or newspaper. I am just a paralegal. (Which on a side note, I use the same program to type pleadings that go before a Court of Law and Judges, and not one has ever come back with grammar issues. One might think that if it can stand up in Court, it should be good enough somewhere else. And I am typing in Latin sometimes! – this is all a tad bitter sounding, I know…I will get to the inspired part shortly, hang in there.)
I have also read books that are in a series, many of them. And most every single one, when the first book “ends” it isn’t an actual ending, it is a “Hey, you gotta get the next book to see what happens to so-in-so.” So I am left anxiously awaiting the release of the next book. And being named “A Moment in Time Series” shouldn’t that be enough of a heads up that there are other books to follow? When did books in a series that end in “cliff hangers” become against the rules?
I am also an avid reader. I know that a reader, a writer doth not make, but I have the general idea of how books are written, and frankly I see books written in so many different styles, tenses, with/without mistakes, etc. that I don’t think there are any rules. Example: Shortly after rewriting Moments in past tense my sister got me to read The Hunger Games, a book written totally in first person, present tense. *Gasp* THE HORROR! A book going against all the rules! And yet it is a top seller, already has a movie, and has sold in the boo-gillions.
If there are no rules, then how am I breaking so many of them?
The Inspired:
Am I going to stop writing? Well, no. But I may feel like giving up on a weekly basis sometimes.
Am I going to let people’s opinions hurt me? Well, probably, at least for a day or two.
Am I going to be thankful to each person who reads my book, even if they give me “not so great” reviews or even perhaps a horrible review? Definitely yes. I appreciate everything single person who reads my books, I truly do. I also appreciate their remarks (when they aren’t nasty) and I utterly respect their opinions. (I might not, though, for a day or two because I will be mumbling under my breath about, “They don’t know me! Why they gotta be so mean?” I might even shed a tear.)
Am I going to use their remarks to learn and grow in this experience? Certainly.
Am I going to be thankful for this gift and opportunity to share with people? Of course.
Am I going to listen to my sister’s encouragement? I will listen, but I don’t always hear her. I will work on that.
Thank you all, and to all of you who just stumbled across my blog, come on in, mill about and I hope you stay a while.
M.L.
P.S. If there are rules for writing that are different from the English language, someone, for the love of all that is Holy, please let me know! J
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