Why do we write?

A little BSP (blatant self promotion)--I got two nice reviews today. One, for Murder at the Blue Plate Café, called it fast-paced and said it makes you think about your view of life and what is truly important. The other, for the older Skeleton in A Dead Space, called it very engrossing and fast moving with characters you can identify with and advised adding it to your must-read list.  Needless to say, both reviews have me floating on a cloud of happiness. Heady stuff, since I still consider myself a fledgling at mysteries. But the reviews got me to thinking about something that's been niggling around in the back of my mind.
The other day I saw on a post that an author wrote that any one who thinks writing is not a business is fooling themselves. While I fully recognize that it is a business, I'm not sure money is why I write. I'm not good at following sales number on Amazon or Smashwords, so checks from those sources always come as pleasant surprises. Checks from my publisher are often a bit of a letdown because I hope for my sales of my current and brand-new works though she assures me I'm doing really well. I don't check reviews on Amazon or Goodreads often (never have figured Goodreads out completely). I'm no good at worrying about Amazon's algorithms or whether or not it's worthwhile to post for Nook or which is better--traditional bookmarks or business cards. Marketing just isn't my thing. I do blog, post on Facebook and Twitters, try to do lots of guest blogs, order bookmarks, hold a launch when I have print books, and that's all fun for me. If any of it were a chore, I wouldn't do it.
But I'm fortunate that I don't have to write for sustenance. I'm retired, have a retirement income and have other assets. My earnings from writing allow me life's luxuries, like my recent trip to Hawaii and the deck I'm thinking of putting on the back of my house. Once, at a gathering of five women, one of them said to me, "Pretty soon you'll be so successful you can retire a second time." I told them that I'd recently gotten a royalty check and if they weren't too fussy about where they went, I might be able to take them to lunch. No wine with lunch, though.
I write because I cannot imagine not writing. I write because telling stories gives me great pleasure, even when I have to struggle to figure out what's next and where the story is going. I'm a longtime believer in listening to your characters and they'll tell you where your story is going. I write because working things out in words gives me as much pleasure as a mathematician gets from working out a complicated formula. My life would be empty without writing.
When I retired, I joined Sisters in Crime and the sub-group, Guppies (Going to Be Published or Great Unpublished, whichever way you want to think about it). Those groups have opened a whole new world for me and kept me busy daily. I've always believed in getting involved in groups you join, so I monitor the listserv one day a week for SinC and I'm on the Guppies Steering Committee. Nothing to do with mysteries, but I also edit the monthly neighborhood newsletter and weekly welcome first-time visitors to our church.
Plus I have family and friends to keep up with, go out to lunch and dinner, and a household to run, a dog to care for. Life keeps me busy, but writing gives it a center and a focus. If I weren't writing, I'd be cooking but that's not a full-time occupation for several reasons--who would eat all that food, since I sort of live alone, sort of don't (one of my part-time residents is a picky six-year-old). And my back is getting too old to spend hours on that lovely stone kitchen floor. No, I write...and cook occasionally.
Writing gives meaning to my life and brings me pleasure--especially when I have a new book come out or, like today, I get a good review. Do I want the income to stop? No way, but it's not my primary reason for writing.

Are short story collections dead?

During the last ten years or so that I was director of TCU Press, we routinely rejected short story collections, usually without reading them. The policy was based on bitter experience--we had published collections by well-known Texas authors, stories that I really thought were high quality. And we inevitably lost money on them. In this day of POD and  e-books, they may be more profitable, but I came away with the impression that readers don't want short stories. They want to immerse themselves in the world of a novel. Short stories were saved for literary journals and the occasional commercial magazine that publishes them. Remember when POST published all those stories by authors either already famous or soon to be? Those days too seem gone (oops, just dated myself--I mean I've read about the history of that magazine).
In the past I was asked to contribute to several themed anthologies of stories, the most difficult among them the time I had to write about some sort of firearm--I required a tutorial from my longtime friend and mentor, Fred, and if I remember correctly I wrote about a derringer--and a young girl out for revenge. "Pegeen's Revenge" was one of my favorite stories.
Today my publisher, Turquoise Morning Press, publishes themed anthologies of romance short stories. Recent titles inlude Men in Uniform, Foreign Affairs, and Be Mine, Valentine. They must be successful or TMP wouldn't continue to publish them.
I have one collection of fourteen stories in print. Sue Ellen Learns to Dance is filled with stories about what was once my focus--the lives and loves of women of the American West, both historical and contemporary. Originally published by Panther Creek Press (thank you, Guida Jackson), it got some nice blurbs and reviews but it never sold much. When I asked for permission to post it as an e-book, Guida gave me her blessing, and up it went on Kindle and Smashwords. Recently, a couple of fellow members of Sisters in Crime/Guppies have discovered the title and said some quite nice things about it but mostly it languishes.
I have two books posted myself on those platforms. One, Mattie, sells quite well. The short story collection simply doesn't sell. I know a redesigned cover would help--the current one has too academic a look, so a friend who owns a gift shop tells me. It didn't sell for her. You can comment on the cover as seen above. The photograph, which is eloquently poignant and sad, is by Dorothea Lange and was my personal pick. But at this point, I'm reluctant to put more money into redesigning the cover. Then again, maybe I didn't market it enough, put enough oomph into it (yes, this blog post is an effort to remedy that).
I don't know the answer to Sue Ellen's status, but I'm curious: do you read short stories? Collections of them? Don't get me started on poetry collections...but then, I've never written a single poem.

Navigating the internet--with difficulty

People who talk glibly of various online programs that I don't understand frustrate me--now I can't even think of the names of those programs, but they are myriad. I have trouble mastering simple things, though I do okay on Facebook and Twitter (the latter is to me a bit boring). But tonight I semi-conquered two problems.
The first was my web page--well, I haven't conquered it but I made one small step. Some time ago, I submitted it to a blog that periodically evaluates web pages and came back with not a good score. The critic pointed out that it's an old picture--and it is, probably twenty-five years old. Then there was the complaint that no links make it easy for readers to click and order my books--most of my books are out of print and can only be ordered from individual sellers, but I guess I could put Amazon links. I hadn't gotten to putting old titles on Amazon and Kindle yet. And,  hey, I thought I was doing well to have a web page, let alone all that fancy stuff.
A colleague at TCU designed the page for me and did what I thought was a great job, though the critic called it simplistic. Well, I'd rather have simplistic than some of those web pages that are so fancy and intricate you don't know what you're looking at. I don't need bells and whistles--but I do need to update the page from time to time and my colleague, now an independent designer, charged every time as well she should. It's just that I need a page that is not in html and that I can upgrade--change a recipe, add a new event, etc. Besides, I have a new book coming out--have I mentioned that? oh, yes, I'm sure I have--and I need a whole new web page featuring that book, the new picture of me, etc. Not being smart about this, I assumed that the host I had required html and so I cancelled the account. Fortunately, there was a grace period, because someone from Wordpress.com pointed out to me that I still needed a host, even if I posted my page through Wordpress. So tonight I renewed the domain, just to be sure, even though it didn't expire until July 2012. Money wasted, but I was told if I let it cancel, I couldn't renew the name for 90 days, according to FCC regulations. So now that's done, and I assume all is well.
Then there's the food blog. For some reason, last night I couldn't figure out how to create a second blog on Blogger.com. Tonight, I breezed through it. And there's now a page called Potluck with Judy (notice I changed the title from Judy's Potluck, figuring that could too easily get mixed up with Judy's Stew). I think it can be found at http://potluckwithjudy.blogspot.com/ but one can never be sure. And I pretty much got it set up--a picture of me that's way too big, and I wrote an "about me" that didn't show up on the page. Figured I'd done enough for one night. I'll quit.
Occasionally--only occasionally--I'm ahead of my kids. When we went to Scotland, Colin said his brother wanted him to put pictures in Dropbox and he had no idea what that is. I do! I have Dropbox, but I mostly forget to use it. There was an exchange on one of the listservs tonight about whether or not you should revise in Dropbox or revise in Word and drag each new version to Dropbox. Please! When do these people write?
Some authors check their sales at Amazon and Smashwords three or four times a day--I would find that so discouraging I'd probably never write another word. I check, oh, maybe every two weeks. In recent months, I've gotten two checks from Amazon and they came as delightful surprises.
I want writing to be fun. I don't want to feel about it as I did whenever I faced the spreadsheets of monthly reports at the press. So I'll keep reading with awe and envy about the people who sell hundreds of copies online daily . . . and I'll just toddle along with my few copies. Ten? Hey, that's a big day.

Scotland the Brave

Today I got two small booklets in the mail from James McBain, the chief of the clan and the McBain of MacBean. In case anyone missed it, my maiden name is MacBain, and I'm going to Scotland this spring. I had written the clan headquarters for directions to the MacBain memorial park outside Inverness, and they referred me to the chief. He sent cordial emails and said he would send me a booklet he'd written on the story of the clan from prehistory until the present. I can't wait to dig into it. He also sent me a booklet by his father, titled An American Scottish Chief. His father, Hughston (being a Texan I misspelled it as Houston) was Chief of the Clan when I was growing up in Chicago, and he used to talk on the phone to my dad about how they were related. I have a file of correspondence between the two after Dad retired to North Carolina. From a brief glimpse at that booklet, I see that the clan was without a chief and without land for about 200 years, not recognized among the clans of the Highlands. I gather Hughston brought it back to life, so I'm most excited to read these two books.
Spent some of the afternoon hyperlinking the short stories in Sue Ellen Learns to Dance back to the Contents page for the Smashwords edition--something they require for their "premium" catalog. It took me a bit to go back and figure out how to do that, although I'd already mastered linking the chapters to the content page. But it makes me proud when I can do it, so I'm gloating a bit tonight. We'll see if they accept it. I spend a lot of time revising my electronic books.  But in some ways Smashwords offers a much better product than Kindle. Just now I got word from Smashwords that the short story I've posted, free, The Art of Candle Dipping, has too many consecutive paragraph returns. Scarlet-like, I'm going to worry about that another day.
Tonight Betty and I had tapas at Sapristi, one of our favorite restaurants, and then I blew it--ordered chocolate mousse which I can rarely resist. Betty just watched me eat it, the wretch. Tapas were good--smoked salmon on toast, a skewer of chicken and mushrooms, Spanish torta (an egg and potato baked thing), dates baked in bacon, and endive filled with blue cheese, diced apple, and walnuts. A really good and healthy dinner if I hadn't had the mousse. But everyone's entitled to a splurge.

Day Three of the Ice Siege

Day three--and it seems to get worse. I definitely have cabin fever, and I notice some anxiety, that old friend of mine. I'm working hard on it, trying to remain positive, but I really want to get in my car and go to the grocery store. The general consensus among those who care about me is that I should not do that even tomorrow, so Christian is going to get what I need to cook for company on Saturday night (the company includes him). They don't seem to realize that I grew up in Chicago and lived in northeast Missouri, the "icebox" corner of the state, for several years. I can drive on ice, even if I'm leery of walking on it. And I'm sure the handicapped spots at the grocery are ice-free. But no one else believes that, and I am left to savor the feeling that they care about me. It's not worth a battle.
My neighbor, Meredith, came over for an hour this morning, with her three-year-old daughter, Abby. She too is feeling housebound. Abby likes to play with the toys at my house because they're different from her own, but her attention span is short and she tires of them quickly, so she went through all I had to offer in a half hour. Another neighbor, Linda, was going to go to the new Sprouts grocery this afternoon and asked if I'd like to go, which I jumped at. But she went out on another errand and lost her nerve. Then Meredith, who is very pregnant, was going to Target when Abby woke from her nap. But by then it was almost 5 and I declined, much as I want those blasted groceries.
For one thing I wanted to watch the national news at 5:30 to see what's going on in Egypt. I'm  devotee of Channel 5, so I feel like Brian Williams and Lester Holt and others are friends, and when I heard they were beating and/or detaining foreign journalists I was concerned. I can't understand why we don't just pull our journalists out of there--and the story of the 76-year-old woman who is stranded in an apartment in central Cairo is horrifying. We're watching significant history, as uprisings spring up all across that region, like a contagion. Meanwhile, if you watch the local news you'd think nothing is going on in the world except the SuperBowl.
To make the day longer, I had no email. A pipe burst in the basement of the building where tech services is housed, and the server was down all day. When I finally got into it about 8:30 tonight, I had 105 emails. Fortunately, it didn't take me long to go through them--most needed no attention or response. But I have a stack of papers to take care of by email--tomorrow.
My big accomplishment today: I followed Smashwords directions carefully and created a Table of Contents with links to the short stories in my collection, Sue Ellen Learns to Dance. Tedious work, but the instructions are clear and I am really proud that I got it done. I'll post it on Smashwords in place of the version that's now up.
Ho hum. Another day at home tomorrow. I don't know that Scooby and I can either one stand being inside that long. He loves being out but I'm afraid to leave him for very long. I've noticed that he doesn't go in his house these days as he does in the rain--he lies in the snow and looks around alertly. He seems to really enjoy it. Wish I did.

Writerly woes

What's a writer to do in this fast-changing world of e-publishing? I read a lot of listservs and blogs and the like. Yes, they take time but I'm afraid I'll miss some valuable piece of information. Trouble is, I get so much information I can't process and sort it all.
Take blogs: surveys have found that blogs do not sell books. But, hey, is that why I blog? I blog because I likie to and because I like to keep in touch. Individual writers protest that blogs get your name known and indirectly sell books. The thing you must avoid is BSP (blatant self-promotion).  Best suggestions I've heard are that hosting other writers on your blog is a good idea, as is being a guest blogger on other sites. Sort of crossing audiences or whatever. Let me ask you, dear reader, would you like to hear from other authors on this site?
Then there's the question of who's reading blogs? Are we blogging for other writers? If so, that's preaching to the choir. Are we blogging for the general reader (which I hope I am)? Then I have to move beyond marketing and such subjects and back to grandmothering and cooking--two topics where I'm comfortable.
And then there are all the lists and groups you can join: Linked In, BacklisteBestsellers, Good Reads, Kindle Nation, KindleBoards, and a host of others. To do all that would take every minute of every day--when would a person write, let alone have a life? I've deided you have to focus on one or two that seem most valuable to what you want and disregard the others.
And of course there's Facebook and Twitter. I do pretty well with Facebook, not that I'm among the most active--but I do respond to other posts, occasionally post something new, and always put this blog up. But Twitter in my mind is a whole different critter. I'm not sure what to post, and I never think I have anything significant unless it's BSP like "Why haven't you bought my book?" Not appropriate at all. I try occasionally. I read once if you post on Twitter once a day you're doing better than 90% of people. Well, probably 70% are doing better than I am! Sometimes I sit and think, "Hmmm. What can I post on Twitter?"
Then there's the matter of publicizing your e-books. If you don't plunge in and take a proactive approach, no one will ever find your books. All of this is a constant learning process, but I've just learned today how to offer free review copies to e-book bloggers. I have a long list of online bloggers but I'll have to research each one to see if they do backlist e-books. A part of me is waiting to make a big push when I have a brand new title--if ever. But I'll get to work on that. I read postings from people who are making a thousand dollars a month from their backlist, and I know I'm doing something wrong--or not doing something right. I might have a credit account with Amazon and Smashwords, combined, of $10-$12
Okay, BSP: My 1988 Spur Award winning novel Mattie and my short story collection are up on Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Judy+alter) and on Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Judy+Alter).
And this is retirement? I tell myself it's keeping my brain young and active.
Meantime, back to cooking and grandmothering. Christian, Jacob and I went to church this morning. Jacob was fine in nursery school--after he pitched a wall-eyed fit when I tried to take him last summer. Maybe he's just that much older or maybe his daddy being there made him more comfortable. We both enjoyed the service immensely--the sermon was outstanding. Houston Bowers said when he hears someone say, "I gave my heart to Jesus," or "I gave my life to Jesus," he wants to shout: "That's not the way it works. Jesus takes it!" But best of all for me was that the anthem was "How Great Thou Art," my all time favorite. I told Christian he was to be sure it's played at my memorial service, but he just laughed. I liked being back in church. I just don't like going alone, but now maybe I've broken the ice and also maybe the Burtons will go with me more.
Another dull, chilly day in North Texas--not cold, but it felt that way. The birds swarm to the feeder outside my kitchen window, and I love watching them, though they can be a feisty bunch. I have a pair of cardinals that frequently come. Did you know they mate for life? Then I have pesky squirrels--I bang on the grate of my greenhouse window, and that usually scares them away. I have been known to run outside yelling like a banshee for Scooby to chase them off.

E-books--oh, my!

I've been working hard for two days to post Mattie on Kindle and Smashwords. Finally got it up on both, though don't go rushing there. I have to proof and okay. But today comes a letter from the reprint publisher of Mattie discussing reversion of rights, which I'd asked for, and saying they're considering making some backlist available as e-books and pod. Am I interested? Of course, it's easier for them to do it than me, but I've already done it. I replied to that effect, only to find out that I shouldn't have posted it without checking with them first. I thought, since I had rights from Doubleday, the original publisher, it was all ok. Not so. But the representative of Leisure Books was nice, said they wouldn't want to rob me of revenue (as if I'll make a fortune) and we'd cross the bridge of their rights if they decide to e-publish. Fine with me. They'd probaby format their version better than mine, but tonight I must begin to proofread all over again. I may put that off until tomorrow. This bright new technology isn't all that bright sometimes--formatting is hard.
And then once you get the digital books up, there's the problem of marketing. Watch for a link here to free samples soon (I hope) on my web page. Is all this hard work to build a career worth it at my age? Yeah, I think so.
Dishwasher is repaired, toilet fixed, and my back bettter--things are looking up. However, tonight I think I smell sewer gas in the house--not sure how to tell if it's a gas leak, but since I smell it mostly in the bathrooms, I suspect it has to do with the plumbing. Or my imagination. I'll ask my neighbor to give it a sniff test tomorrow.
Went to a Christmas Open House today with spectacular food--a whole salmon with andalouse sauce (mayonnaise with pimiento and maybe tomato puree--I didn't know either until I looked it up), wonderful cheddar and Maytag blue cheese with figs, dates, and dried apricots, green beans and asparagus with good sauces--I didn't even try the desserts. Oh, and a flaky phyllo thing that had sort of lemon-flavored goat cheese baked in it--tiny pastries. Sooo good. I think I was the only person there who was not a docent at the Amon Carter Museum but they were all so friendly (I guess docent training makes you outgoing). I especially enjoyed a visit with the Carter's librarian where we discussed everything from research and publishing to Kindle and e-books. A pleasant late afternoon event and nice to get home before dark.

A good day--and a salmon croquette recipe

Do you ever have a day that just feels good? I had one today and decided it was about  time. I've had a bad week--a sore back that really really hurt, a commode that had to be rebuilt, a dishwasher that needs a new part (very expensive, as in very very!). But today was good, and I'm not sure I can explain why. Monday when I looked at my calendar I realized I had nothing on it for today, and since I like to get out once a day, I called a friend and we decided on lunch. The only flaw in my day was that my friend had some not-good news from the doctor and cancelled lunch. But other than real concern for her, even the cancelled lunch didn't mar my day. I was deep into getting my novel Mattie ready to post on Kindle and now I've got it done, although it will be several days before it's up--don't worry, I'll trumpet! And I did some cooking planning and made a grocery list, the most immediate things being a batch of oatmeal/cranberry/white chocolate cookies and a black bean soup with feta and cilantro. If that doesn't tempt you, nothing will. I also corresponded with the editor about my Texas food book, and I think we've settled on separate books about three food groups--chili, Tex-Mex, and chicken-fried steak. I'm not sure there's a whole book, even small, to be written about the latter but I'll give it a shot. And the editor agreed that we have to include side dishes, so that gives me room to discuss some of the other companies I found, like O. B. Macaroni. I'm looking forward to starting this, after I finish a couple of things on my desk. But it was a good, productive day at my computer, and I didn't get cabin fever at all. Oh, and lunch? I made a sandwich of a leftover salmon croquette, one of my favorite sandwiches of all time. I had made the croquettes last night with that good salmon from Oregon.
Tonight Betty and I went to dinner. She wanted to try the Cowtown Diner. I was reluctant, thinking it was all steak, but not so. We split the meatloaf plate, with mashed potatoes and peas and carrots. Meatloaf came with nice gravy, and it was pretty good.
So now I'm back at my desk, going to figure out how to post Mattie to Smashwords. If I remember correctly, it's not as complicated as Kindle, so I think I'm doing well.
Want to make my salmon croquettes? Take a 7.5 oz. can salmon, drain and flake. Add one egg, a double pinch of instant tapioca (if you have it--it binds the ingredients), some Worcestershire and dry mustard, salt and pepper, diced onion, and enough ground saltines to hold it together. (My mom always said you can't use anything but saltines; I used some other crackers in my cupboard, but crackers are important--don't use mashed potatoes.) Shape into croquettes (or patties if you wish) and roll in more ground crackers. Saute at low heat--these burn quickly. Serve with lemon. The next day, make sandwiches with mayonnaise on the bread and extra lemon on the croquettes. One 7.5 oz. can makes four croquettes.

One of those days

Since retiring I've fallen into the habit of sleeping until abut eight o'clock--I wake about seven and doze as long as the dog, cat, and my bladder will let me. It's a delicious time, and my thoughts wander all over the good things in my life and what plans I have for the day. But this morning, at 7:45, I was blasted out of bed--literally--by the boom of marching drums. They were coming from the schoolyard across the street, and I finally got myself together enough to go out, get the paper, and see what was going on. Crowds of people were gathering on the lawn, then a sheriff's car pulled up with lights flashing, and pretty soon an inflatable arch went up over the side street. I finally figured out it was a walkathon, fund-raiser for the school (probably when first awakened I'd have donated money to get them to stop the drums but once I was up and about, I sort of liked them). Of course, the dog and cat went crazy--the dog demanding to go out, the cat demanding to be fed, and me deciding going to the bathroom was my first priority. I finally got everyone settled down, fed, and where they belonged. When I left for the grocery store, there was a police car almost but not quite blocking my driveway. The woman driving it moved it a bit, but it was still tricky getting out of the driveway without scraping a police car--now that would have been a nightmare.
The day went that way--I got tangled in a bunch of e-mails, a long conversation with Jordan about Kindle--she was relaying everything I said to a colleague until I finally said I felt like I was talking to a parrot. Had a delightful lunch at Nonna Tata (country Italian) with Susan and Melinda, then back to the computer. I spent a lot of time creating an author page on Kindle, and it was three o'clock in the afternoon before I read the morning paper, usually the first thing I do in the morning.
The rest of the day went okay--a nap, a bike ride, feeding animals (again! with the cat it's a constant process!), dinner making salad out of leftover salmon from last night with an added bit of gravlax I had on hand (made an interesting salad). Tonight I posted my short story collection on Smashwords which puts things on all kinds of e-platforms. I know I did both that and Kindle without following format instructions, so they are in less than ideal shape, but they're up and running--my usual impatience with tech instructions.
Tonight I've had it. I'm doing something I never do--watching TV: Dateline, to be followed by a Food Network show featuring a local restaurant. Sometimes it's good to chill.