Tayari's Blog: Most Recent Entries
March 15, 2010
It's Colony Season Again
This summer, for the first time since 2002, I am not going to spend the summer at an artists colony. Why? Because I'm too tired. I know that sounds crazy, but that's where I am. A couple days ago, someone asked me if I where I was going for spring vacation. I said, "I'm too exhausted to take a vacation!" I am looking forward to spending this summer vegging out in my apartment and going to outdoor concerts. I want to be a little bit free of my work and the deadlines I impose upon myself. I need a little me time that doesn't involve a word count.
(Even as I type this, I am laughing at myself because I am teaching in three summer programs-- VONA, Provincetown, and Pima. But we workaholics have to taper off gradually.)
Anyway, eventhough I am not going to summer at a colony, this is the time of year that bloggers start talking about retreats. So, here is a really good entry from Nova who has gathered quotes from various writers (including me)about thier experiences. And Christine has done a nice overview.
Now, I am going to go back to my favorite leisure activity. Baking cakes while watching Law & Order.
Later, Gators.
Posted at 03:10 PM | ![[comments]](../images/comments.gif){kind=small}
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Category:
The Writing Life
March 14, 2010
Do The Hustle, Or Not.
Now that The Silver Girl is in the hands of my editor, I’ve been thinking a lot about publicity and how best to launch my new novel. My inner teen-ager wants a big party to which I will wear a silver dress, and silver shoes! My Play-Granddaddy says he is going wear silver suspenders! But a book party does not a publicity campaign make.
There is a lot of pressure on authors to take responsibility for publicizing your own book. But frankly, I am not sure if Do It Yourself is the best way to go about this. PR is a skill and if you are not properly trained, you may very well make a mess of things. It seems like it would be easy enough to get the word out about your book, especially in the age of internet. All you have to do is talk yourself up, facebook status your good news. Gather the emails of everyone you ever met and BLAST! Isn't that getting the word out? Kinda. Making a lot of noise about your book is not the same as a carefully plotted PR campaign.
DIY marketing is not the same as DIY dentistry. It’s more like selling your house without a real estate agent, or cutting your own hair. You probably won’t kill yourself, but things will likely turn out a lot better if you hire a professional.
I know that the economy is tight, and a lot of writers can't fork over major bucks to hire a publicity person. If you aren’t able to make the investment, I would suggest that you take some classes on the subject. Often writers’ conferences will have a lecture on how to promote your book. There are lots of books on the subject that you can score at the public library. And there’s always The Google. Or maybe even pay a PR person just to review your plan.
Personally, I think it’s sort of unfair burden that we are expected to write the book and market it, too. It seems like a really disparate skill set we are asked to employ. For several years you are chained to your desk channeling your deepest thoughts, as vulnerable as a newborn. Then, all of a sudden, you have to think of your book not as art, but as product, and grow this really thick skin and hit the pavement.
But I guess that’s just the way it is.
Posted at 09:32 AM | Comments (3)
Category:
The Writing Life
March 12, 2010
Run With It Links
Moleskine,Where Have You Been All My Life?
Spring Break is here, so I will be blogging more and I won't be blogging so much about ways to keep going when you think you're about to crash and burn. Since vacation is here, I will be blogging calmly in my robe and my reindeer slippers. (This robe is great. A shop lady in Martha's Vineyard bascially gave it to me so I could finish my novel. I wish I had her contact info to say thank you. The robe is not sexy, but it's snuggly, and it helped me make it over the finish line.)
Anyway, a few months ago I blogged about wanting to start keep ing a journal. So many people recomended their favorite notebooks and a few folks even sent me journals in the mail. (Y'all are the best best best.) Well, none of the notebooks went to waste. I pressed them into service for various purposes, but I hadn't yet found the journal for daily use.
Well, I have worked it out.
I have been using a thin moleskine notebook. It's about the size of a regular sheet of paper folded in half. I use the pink one, but they come in lots of pretty colors, and there is always the moody black one. Dainty without being precious or fragile, it can easily be thrown in my purse, or even hidden up my sleeve! The picture on the right shows a hardcover, but I use the inexpensive paperback. Since it has only 96 pages, it only takes me a month to fill it up. Then, I just get a new one. This works for me because I DO NOT like to flip back through and revisit my old thoughts. It's like listening to my own voice on a tape recording. Can't stand it.
I write in the journal while I have my coffee. I wake up with my mind brimming and sloshing. I feel like an over-full martini glass. When I spend just about twenty minutes with the journal, I feel much more stable. Even though those extra minutes mean I have to get up even earlier on a school day, it's worth it.
March 09, 2010
I Feel Good All Over!
Today was a good day. I seldom use this blog as a journal, but I felt like I really wanted to check in today.
This morning, I turned in my new novel, THE SILVER GIRL, to my editor at Algonquin. I don't know how she'll react to my revisions, but I can only tell you how I feel--- terrific. This book has probably been the most challenging project I have ever undertaken. I had so many upheavals in my life over the last four years and I was trying to keep writing all the way through. There were times when it looked like the story was going to die on the vine.
Friends, who mean well, would say "How's the writing going?" It wasn't going. It was like all my creative energy was going to just keeping my life together in a general way. There was nothing left for my characters.
But y'all, I did it.
I thought that maybe I should wait until the novel is at the final, final, final, stage to write this. But then, I decided that postponing giving thanks and putting off feeling accomplishment is just another way to sabotage myself. Undermining is not part of the agenda for 2010.
If you are working on something, I hope it's going well for you. If it's not going well, keep pushing. Your luck will change and when it does, celebrate it. I don't care how little the milestone is, mark it. Even if you just write a happy note in your journal. Do it.
Taking care of yourself is the first step to reaching any meaningful goal. You can't write if you're sick. You can't write if you aren't getting enough sleep. You can't write if you are in a bad relationship that damages your confidence. To write your best work, you have give yourself the care you deserve.
Posted at 07:38 PM | Comments (2)
Category:
The Writing Life