Pointed Squiggle

Check out the cover to Dreaming of Deliverance! I'm so pleased with how it turned out!

We still have a ways to go before the book is available at Amazon, but seeing the cover design is making it seem all the more real. It's going to be an actual book! Very exciting!

I tried, I swear! I brought my microphone up to the mountains last weekend and stole away from the family for an hour so I could record a new Unpublishednotdead.

But although Eric thinks my podcasts are fairly spontaneous, there was some planning involved for those other two--planning which I didn't have time to do for this one. And it showed. It stunk--and bad!

So the "Renée Way" was completely ineffective. Now I'm working more on my notes, and I'll record again in the next day or so.

It's got to turn out better than the incoherent babble I produced on Sunday. There's no way it could be worse!

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I saw the digital proof of Dreaming of Deliverance last week. So cool! I loved how they had the interior laid out and the cover was very close to what I had envisioned. I'll see the revised cover next week.

As for podcasting, I'm hoping to record a new Unpublishednotdead this weekend. With school out for the summer, my uninterrupted recording options are limited, but I'm hoping to carve out some kid-free microphone time in the next day or two.

I've got quite a bit to say.

As usual, Kael's latest podcast triggered many, many ideas. And wow, he was super complimentary. I guess I'll have to be nice to him next time. (Won't be difficult. As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan!)

And have you heard his Reno Show podcasts? Take a listen! If you've ever checked out my links list, you might recognize the "Lipstick Lady"; although her name is different, the clever, thoughtful commentary and humorous insights are very much the same! She's become a regular feature, and I love that!

Soon the kids will go to theatre day camp for a week and while they are out of the house I plan to go on a podcast novel recording spree! I'm still hopeful that the first several podcast episodes of Dreaming of Deliverance will be ready at the same time the print version becomes available at Amazon. But there's lots to do first! As is typical, it's a trick to work all of this out, but I'm determined, and have lots of experience squeezing writing-related activities in amongst everything else.

So with luck, by the end of the summer, my first novel will be released into the wild.

Yikes! (And yay!)

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I haven't freaked out on this blog in a long time, although that used to be the theme of most of my entries.

I still panic from time to time about the writing and wanting to be good enough, but I stopped posting about it because I just got tired of repeating myself. Plus I don't fall into writing-related shame-spirals quite as frequently as I did in the past.

But lately I've been bogged down by all of the decisions that need to be made throughout the process of getting Dreaming of Deliverance produced as a podcast novel and as a printed book. There are SO many things to think about. And I'm kind of a perfectionist, so I want to make the right decision and spend more time than I should analyzing all of the options related to each decision.

For the print version there's the cover, the interior design, the author photo, the acknowledgements. For the podcasted version there's bumper music, audio software, microphones, storage space. But what has me bogged down at the moment is marketing. How to get the word out about the book. There are lots of creative ways to go about it and I have some ideas for what to do, but ick. I don't like thinking that way. When I'm in a low-confidence phase I think why would anyone be interested? There are so many books out there. So many forms of entertainment.

But as I've said before, what's the most important for me, what got me started writing fiction in the first place, is story. Story trumps everything else. I adore burying myself in a good story. I adore burying myself in my story. So that's what I'm trying to focus on. The story. It will appeal to others. I get to share it soon, and that's really cool.

Next week I'll receive my digital proof of the print version, and with luck, will carve out some recording time. I'm also thinking about doing another Unpublishednotdead podcast.

I can't let myself forget about the story, though. In the end, the story is the reason for all of this.

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When you put yourself out there, whether it's by blogging or podcasting or publishing your words in some way, you open yourself up to feedback--especially, I think in today's technology-enhanced world. Thanks to the internet, people can voice their opinion on virtually anything, and often voice it anonymously. I think this makes many people bolder and blunter than they'd be if they were expressing themselves in person.

Like anything, there are positives and negatives to all of these blunt opinions flying around cyberspace. If you're trying to decide what kind of web hosting site to subscribe to (which is something I'm shopping around for right now) it's great to read other people's thoughts on the services they use. On the flip side, learning someone's negative opinion about something you've written or said, can be tough to take.

What's prompted this blog entry? Kael, who's asked for comments for awhile now on his Unpublishednotdead blog entries and podcasts, is now getting some and they aren't all filled with praise. I think it's awesome, personally. It shows people are reading and listening and are invested enough in what he's done to take the time to write a comment. But I also know from personal experience, that it can be hard to find out that not everyone thinks everything you do is fabulous.

But it's part of what happens when you share yourself with other people. You have to be willing to hear or read what they have to say about you. And then decide how much of what they have to say you are going to take to heart. Sometimes feedback, even really negative feedback, is exactly what you need to hear to make your work that much better. And sometimes, the person who's giving the feedback is clearly a big jerk who's opinion should be disregarded right into the trash. The tricky part is having the courage and self-confidence to not only let other people say what they'll say about you, but knowing how seriously to take their input.

I'm not worried about Kael. He is getting a following and I think that's so exciting and I know he'll be able to handle all that comes with it!

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Quick update, you invisible friends of questionable reality.

The print version of Dreaming of Deliverance is underway and should be available in 3 short months!

I recorded a test episode of the podcast version and it went well enough that I'm ready to start recording the book for real. The podcasts should start around the time the print version is available.

There is SO much to learn about all of this. I'm taking it one step at a time, but it gets overwhelming. Next step is to write the back cover copy. Then I take on the intimidating, but oh-so-important task of setting up an author web site, which needs to be up and running once the book and podcasts "go live" (that's podiobook lingo, I think).

Meanwhile, I'm trying to work on my kids' book, I'm subbing an average of a couple of times a week, and doing all the house/kid/wife stuff.

Tired?

Yes.

Stressed?

Yes.

Trying to squeeze too much in?

Probably.

Things should get both easier and harder soon. School is out in less than a month, so no more subbing for a while. But that also means the kids will be home all day every day.

But now at least I can scratch "Update Blog" off my list!

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Hey!

I came across this article this morning. It's more validation that going independent can be a viable option.

And both the podcast novel and the print version of Dreaming of Deliverance are getting closer to completion. I'll try to be better about keeping the blog updated on their progress.

Right now I'm working on the cover design and recording the first five episodes.

Exciting times!

More soon!