Hill Kemp on Creativity after 60

I have been intrigued by how different my years as an older person are from what I expected. I think of Prill Boyle's blog "Defying Gravity" as I say that. When Hill Kemp, a former politician and fellow contributor to the anthology Secrets II sent me an e-mail on his experiences as a writer and other creative pursuits, I felt compelled to share it with you.

CREATIVITY AND A 60-YEAR PUZZLE

By Hill Kemp

I have been exploring the subject of creativity lately. That’s a topic dear to authors. Creativity and perseverance are two keys to successful novel writing.

It seems now that I’m in my 60's, I am compulsive about creativity and I’m wondering why. I'm working on three book projects, written verses to the Bach melody to which Sir Walter Scott penned "Ave Maria," and obtained patent on a process addressing a dilemma with which Aristotle struggled. I have developed method to increase the fleet gas mileage of the entire country 10 - 15%. I’ve even conceived a new bullet.

So, why, I ask, is this all coming up now? To that end, I began to muse over the lyrics to “Puff the Magic Dragon”. Odd, I know. Peter, Paul and Mary have never assigned a meaning of the song. They say it’s just a “children’s story”.

When I revisited those words, I came up with a meaning of my own. Perhaps that’s what the lyricists wanted by not being specific. That playful, creative, frolicking and mischievous aspect seen in so many 3-year-olds seemed important to me in terms of my new-found approach to joy.

Our system of socialization affects a huge percent of the population by killing that "Puff" quality that occurs naturally in children. Parents, teachers--our culture in general--do it with a death of a thousand tiny cuts. They say,


"Don't act like a baby."

"When are you going to grow up?"

"That's not the way a young lady/gentleman acts."

“Behave yourself!”

The death of a thousand cuts tends to be permanent, closing Puff into the cave brick by brick (to mix the metaphor).

My metaphorical Puff was flung violently into his cave at age 4 by a father who was “Don’t spare the rod.” on steroids. My amateur theory is that while my Puff/playful nature was violently tossed into its cave, it went in there WHOLE. Now that my life has freed me sufficiently, my Puff is available to me closer to how it was in the full, powerful state I was born with. After all “a dragon lives forever.” I can’t seem to turn it off.

So instead of Puff having something to do with marijuana, it may point to a societal tragedy. Note Puff and Jackie are the same age or nearly so. Puff is very powerful but is completely vulnerable to abandonment from Jackie. The fun and fantasy of childhood “make way for other toys.” etc.


This point of view has been extremely helpful to me. I hope you gain from it too. It’s a message for authors, but maybe more importantly for parents and grandparents. I would love to include the lyrics for you here but more of culture’s rules won’t allow that, even attributed. But you may review the famous words (and story) at http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/PUFF-THE-MAGIC-DRAGON-lyrics-Peter-Paul-Mary/0269E9BB59A971FB48256A220025645C.
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Hill Kemp is an author and inventor. He wrote:

A Lone Star Special, UPC 9781935137450

Capitol Offense, ISBN 1-878096-70-2

Lucky Penny, UPC 9781933090870

He contributed to:

Secrets, Fact or Fiction?, UPC 9780973728255

Secrets, Fact or Fiction?, II, UPC 9781595940629


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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Carolyn Rants on Review Copies And Plain Old Manners

I am cranky this morning. That’s not the best way to start a blog post or a Sunday morning but it comes with a very important tip so you or your publisher or your press won’t rile up the editors/reviewers/authors/ you send your books to.

I am reprinting the note I just fired off to a press. You’ll see what I mean:

Dear Publisher:

I received a copy of XX yesterday. Lovely book but no note, no review copy label, nothing. What to do with it? Endorsement? Review? A mention in my newsletter (is the author a subscriber?) Is it for me to decide? There wasn’t even an e-mail or site for the author. That means I have to research my mail before I even begin to schedule my week’s work.

Sorry to be grumpy, but this is one of the reasons that reviewers get a bad name and why authors get called “snooty” because we don’t answer our mail. We (authors, editors, freelance writers) often wear many hats--and we also have very short memories!

I'm only mentioning this so that you might fix your system. Perhaps you could include a little postcard in your mailings? It could include author contact information and/or mentions the purpose for which it is being sent.


I realize that, as authors, we often don’t have control over what our publisher or the press that may send out our copies, so that leads me to another tip:

I remember agent Michael Larsen mentioning this at one of the first writer’s conferences I attended. He said, "Follow up!" If I receive an e-mail in couple days asking if I received the review copy (or whatever it was!), that would be a help, not a hindrance. We authors are in business, after all. And good business communication is essential for good business!

By the way, I didn't mention plain old manners in my letter. (I guess I wasn't in such a bad mood after all!) I mean, what would it have hurt to include a thank you? But you all know I am a mother who insisted my kids write their thank yous and, in The Frugal Book Promoter, nagged my readers to send their thank yous. So what can you do with a mother/editor/author/freelancer like that? Smile and take her advice?

AAhhhh! Glad I got that off my chest. I feel better already.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Get Exposure for Your Book at Book Fairs Without Being There!

Recessionary times are NOT the time to give up promoting, only to find more--ahem...FRUGAL ways to do it! I thought this opportunity a great way to market a book at two book fairs without traveling.


Let your book be seen in a catalog distributed to readers at the Clark County Fair & Rodeo, April 9-12, 2009. The opportunity includes display of your book for four days to an estimated 84,000 fair-goers. If you have more than 1 book, that’s OK! The cost of advertising is one, low, flat fee!


What you get:~Your book(s) on display for 4 days at the Clark County Fair & Rodeo, April 9-12, 2009

~A full-page advertisement in the 1000 give-away, interactive digital catalogs

~A full-page advertisement for one-full year on the Association of Local Authors Website

~ADDED BONUS! Digital catalogs will also be distributed at the LA Times Festival of Books. (Estimated 140 visitors.)

Cost: $100 (That’s only 10 cents per catalog. It’s cheaper than giving a bookmark!)
Online Registration

Deadline: February 28, 2009
http://www.mcssl.com/SecureCart/ViewCart.aspx?sctoken=8c80a4ee149044ac87ce5939171e0770&mid=67FE6E6B-55E5-4491-9FA7-50B05B858341&bhcp=1

Or send payment and order form (http://www.associationoflocalauthors.com/index_files/2009ALARegistration.pdf ) to: Fabulist Flash Publishing, PO Box 570368, Las Vegas, NV 89157

Additional instructions will be given once you’re registered.
To take advantage of this exhibition opportunity visit www.associationoflocalauthors.com

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Recession Be Damned! Keep Your Mojo By Networking!

Author and blogger Mayra Calvani recently interviewed me for her Book Talk Corner and it reminded me of how important networking is.

That interview is the result of several serendipitous encounters with Mayra that grew into a relationship in which we network regularly. That Mayra lives in Belgium made me even more appreciative of Internet networking in particular. Here are is a quiz that I hope will get you to thinking about your own networking.


~Do you answer your e-mail? Consider answering about everything that comes to you. Even some things that at first smack of SPAM? As an example, I once received an e-zine I hadn't subscribed to. Instead of unsubscribing (or worse complaining to the editor or reporting them to the SPAM cops), I wrote them a letter. I told them it had come as a pleasant surprise, that I loved it and that I had an idea for an article for them. Voila! An article sold and a new resource and friend.

~Do you offer to get others’ names out there: on your blog, on you Web site, in your handouts, etc? Networking doesn’t flow in only one direction. Further, it isn’t always tit for tat.

~Do you hesitate to ask for what you want? That’s what a query letter is. You let your contact know what you need, nicely. Without that question or statement, it isn’t a query letter. It’s a cover letter. Your contact may not have any idea what do with your letter! Same goes for networking. You occasionally need to let your contact know what you've done to help her out and, at other times, what your own needs are.

~When you read my newsletters and blogs, do you use the links? Go contribute a comment and leave a little tidbit about your own title, as well as your URL?

~Do you congratulate people on their successes and then follow up with notes on other topics now and then.

~Are you working at least one social network? I was surprised to find a follow message from my daughter on Twitter last night. No, she isn’t an author but the girl’s got networking in her genes. (BTW, you can find me at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo. And, yes, I’m giving out good information there, too. Like a list--one teet at a time--of agents, reviewers, and publishers.

~Do you belong to a couple of good listservs? Go to Googlegroups.com or yahoogroups.com and find a group that specializes in wirting and promotion topics.

~Are you writing your thank you notes? Use Google Alerts to learn who is talking about you or your books and then, for heaven’s sake, send a thank you. Your mommy wants you to! (You'll find the Alerts link on your Accounts page at Google.com.)

So. What do you do to network? Send it along to me using the comments below. I’ll include it as a tip in my newsletter along with your book title and your Web address. Now that’s networking!

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Scams Prey Primarily on Newbies--But Also Desperate--Authors

I am tired.

I am tired of people trying to take money from authors--particularly new, unsuspecting authors--for services that they can get for themselves or do for themselves. That's bad enough. But the ones that take money from authors for services that also enlists them in something deceitful--well, that's even worse.

There's a whole list of such services. Paid reviews. Let's face it, an author can write her own review and that review is may be just as credible as one she's paid for.

The games authors play getting to be a "bestseller" on Amazon is another. They may pay hundreds of dollars to teleseminar leaders to show them how to do it. And don't think that those seminar leaders don't realize that booksellers, editors, publishers and all the other knowledgeable people in the publishing industry are onto the game. So they're selling a technique designed to make us look like dolts at the least and like scam artists at our worst.

Then there are authors who figure if they buy up enough books from a bookstore, they'll hit the LA Times bestseller list. One author was caught red handed and his story (not his novel!) hit front pages and the six o'clock news.

And now the New York Times reports on a new "service" that will let authors buy blurbs or endorsements. Apparently they sell 10 of them for $19.95, with no guarantee that the endorsement has any credibility or for that matter that the endorser even read the book.

Many current endorsement practices are considered acceptable because they have been around so long they're part of the tradition, but most of us have a sense that even these smack of institutionalized rubbing of backs. We tend to go along with the practice because it's almost essential to getting your book read. But to pay someone who pretends to read a book and give an honest opinion adds a dimension that is just plain unacceptable. That these reviewers lead readers to think their opinions are freely given is perverse.

Furthermore, it's a scam. For a little more than half of that fee, that same author could get The Frugal book Promoter or most any other book on promotion. For less than their $19.95 they'll get a whole lot of information and also learn them how to get blurbs from fellow authors and celebrities ethically and frugally.

Of course, the endorsers they get may not have well-known names. But then the ones one gets for $19.95 won't be either.

The endorsers an author gets on her own will probably give her the most positive blurb possible or at least level with her and say that her book isn't ready for that yet or that endorser and author aren't a match. The beauty of this sort of input is that it's honest and the author didn't have to pay anything to get it.

Not only that but an author can promote without ever getting a blurb. Again, he or she can learn to do that by buying one of those books.

But mostly, authors need to do their homework. They can subscribe to newsletters like mine (see the subscription form in the left column of this blog), read blogs (see the list of writing/oriented blogs in one of the segments of this blog), and do Google searches for articles.

If an author doesn't do those things, they're more likely to get roped into scams of all kinds. Geez.

So, this comes with a plea to pass information you've learned about the dangers out there. You're writers. You speak to groups. You blog. You talk on listserves and forums. Let's try to protect one another. It isn't really the $19.95. It's the principle of the thing.

Even if we we are newbies, we don't need to be desperate. All we need to be is well informed.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Q&A a la Ann Landers: Deconstructing Rejections

In most issues of my Sharing with Writers newsletter I run a question (and answer it) from subscribers or from those who have purchased The Frugal Book Promoter or The Frugal Editor. This one is from a writer with lots of writing experience but not much publishing experience--yet! She will soon have clips all over the place, though, because she is doing her homework.)


Question:

I wrote a small story about a girl who wants to help her mom in the kitchen but the mother is an extra careful lady and doesn't trust her daughter. Finally she finds an opportunity to help her mom and wins her mother's trust. I have included a fun recipe.

I submitted the story and the cover letter to my crit groups several times and got a nod from them. But the story was rejected by various magazines. I can take rejections very well because it's a part of our profession. But what I don't understand is why the story is being rejected? If I know the reasons I'll have an opportunity to learn from my mistake. It's a very small story. It would be a great learning for me if you have some time to just glance at my story and tell me where am I going wrong? Please do not think I'm taking an advantage of your kindness and helpfulness. It's just a request. Opinions from experienced writers like you make a lot of difference and that means a lot to me.

Thanks for your time.
Regards, Priya Iyengar, freelancer and writer of fiction for children and adults

Answer:

Dear Priya:

I am flattered that you thought of me at a time of obvious frustration.

As to your request. I would be happy to peek at your story at no charge, or edit it and give complete input at my regular editing fee. Having said that, here is my guess and I'm almost certain that I'm right because you have been through critique with it, etc. And here it is. There is nothing wrong with your story. Here is what may be wrong that you can help:

1. You may not have read the magazine or media you are submitting to--at least not with a critical eye. Your story may not fit well with their style or goal and those rejections have nothing to do with the quality of your story. Just that it's not right for that magazine or that editor.

2. Your story may be similar to one that has been published in the last few weeks, months, or even years. That's another good reason to try to keep up with the magazines you submit to.

Here is what may be wrong that you can't help:

1. There are just so many writers and the places available for them to publish are dwindling.

2. Publishers are having trouble making ends meet in this economy (and actually long before). Thus they are buying less and producing more of their copy/material in-house.

I have one last idea and that is the critique group you may be using may not be strong enough. I talk about how to put together a critique group suitable for your writing level and your genre in my book the Frugal Book Promoter. But here is what may be wrong with yours.

1. None of your fellow critiquers have any expertise in children's literature.

2. Perhaps none of them has experience in the publishing world.

3. Your group may be doing little more for one another than typo hunting or grammar checks.

So, you may need a facilitator. Or it may be time for you to take a class from an accredited university writing program and try to put a critique group together from those who take the class. Fellow students will have already had some guidance from a professional.

If you would like to see regular Q&A features like this, you may subscribe to my Sharing with Writers newsletter with the sign-up box in the left column of this blog or send an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject box to me at HoJoNews@aol.com.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Jo Linsdell Presents FREE PromoDay for Authors

PROMO DAY, founded and organized by Jo Linsdell is an all day international online event for people in the writing industry to promote, learn and network.

It's FREE to attend and is full of opportunities for writers and other members of the writing industry to promote themselves and their work/services.

I'll present on how editing is one of the most important parts of your book promotion with "Query Letters as Promotion: Let's Make Them Picture Perfect!" on Saturday, May 9. at 9 am Pacific Time. The conference is on Rome, Italy, time so check your time conversion tables carefully to be sure you join the seminars at the right time.

PROMO DAY! is an all day international online event for people in the writing industry. There are lots of new features for the 2009 event including a workshop chatroom.

The website is http://jolinsdell.tripod.com/promoday

Mark your calendars! Saturday 9th May 2009

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Dessa Reed Tells of Her Personal Journey to Inauguration, Throws in Benefits of PEN

When I saw this essay, I though how important a description of a writer's life and how associations with other writers nurture our careers and personal lives. I debated whether to post this on my www.WarPeaceTolerance.blogspot.com or this one, decided on this one because so much of my writing is informed by the subject of acceptance. Thank you to Palm Springs poet Dessa Reed for being willing to share her story--we are storytellers, right?--with my Sharing with Writers readers.


By Dessa ReedBarack Obama's "Journey to the White House," as the press liked to call it, was also my journey.

Being on the poetic trip of a lifetime, I had to see the Inauguration Day’s last stanza for myself. As an author / poet, I am a member of the National League of American Pen Women, who happens to have their national headquarters in Washington, DC just blocks from the White House. It is a historic 1886 mansion with rooms available for visiting branch members. The day after Obama was nominated in July, I reserved a room for the week of January 20, 2009. When he won the election, I made my plane reservations the next day and the woman I talked to at American Airlines said she and her family were driving to DC from Texas "so my children can experience history." What a beginning!

Having the affliction of talking to anyone within two feet of where ever I happen to be, I talked non-stop from Palm Springs to Dallas with a grandmother and her granddaughter ~ the only two African Americans on the plane going to the inauguration.

Changing planes at the Dallas airport, I chatted with another woman from the desert with the same destination who was as excited as I was about Inauguration Day. Through a series of amazing flukes, she and I were bumped up to first class sitting next to each other where we continued to talk about the “poetry” of politics.

Entering the historic house known as Pen Arts is like going back over a century in time. Much the same as when it was built, the charm and elegance remain ~ from its carved wood stairs to its claw-footed bathtubs ~ delightful old world digs! There were twelve talented people in residence so at times I had flashbacks of my college dorm.

Although it was 79 degrees when I left Palm Springs and 30 degrees in Washington on Inauguration Day, I barely noticed. Bundled like a child in its snowsuit, I was able to stay warm and still walk ~ and walk and walk. Having made no attempt to get special tickets I followed the masses ~ one million eight hundred thousand of us snuggled together toasting each other. I ended up behind the Washington Monument watching the events on an enormous TV screen, yet feeling totally part of the vast scene. Everyone around me was laughing, crying, singing, and clapping. What an American moment!

In the midst of this important Happening, a little lost boy of 8 or 9 stepped beside me and tearfully said he was looking for his mother. As soon as those around me knew the situation, at least a dozen people stopped watching the swearing-in to help. We finally found a cell phone that was able to get a signal to text message his mother's phone. She gave her location (near the latrines) and a woman who knew the area walked him through the crowds to her. A grateful mother immediately text messaged her thanks for his safe return. We cheered! This experience was a perfect metaphor for what President Obama’s election exemplified ~ race was a non-issue. The little boy was black. All the people helping were white.

The whole trip was one big Love Fest. There was an upbeat energy encompassing the city that was almost tangible. I talked to dozens of strangers from all over the country and because they had come with the same enthusiasm I had, we seemed like family. Each had a story to tell and I was there to listen and record.


Dessa Reed © 2009
(Dessa Reed is an inspirational speaker and author of two books, "The Butterfly Touch / Recovery Through Poetry" and "Seven Bridges / Turning Adversity into Victory." For five years Dessa was a columnist and Poetry Editor for The Desert Woman magazine published monthly in Palm Spring, CA. She can be contacted on her website: www.dessareed.net)



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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Still Offering Marketing Opportunities!

Christine Alexaninans and I still have a few places available in our authors' coop booth. We reserved it at LA Times Festival of Books (on the UCLA Campus) in the same location as in previous years. If you're interested contact Christine: chalexwrite@yahoo.com. And learn more about book fair booths in general and thisone in particular at www.sizzlingbookfairbooths.blogspot.com

Support Like Updike Enjoyed for a LIfetime of Art Disappearing

Time magazine's (Feb 9, 2009) Lev Grossman reports on John Updike's death and celebrates his career. He notes that Updike wrote almost a book a year for his life, "not just novels but short stories, memoirs, poetry, critical musings on art, architecture and literature."

I can't help but think that Updike might not have been able to be so prolific (and perhaps so accomplished) if he had not has time to develop his art, if his publisher hadn't given him the kind of marketing budget he deserved. I also wonder how many more Updikes there might be out there--now and during Updike's lifetime--if they, too, had publishers who really--I mean REALLY--supported them.

It's true that many literary stars are well supported today. But in Updike's time, midlist and emerging authors enjoyed the same support. Scroll down in this blog a bit to see what publishers have been spending their money on instead.

I couldn't find the direct link to "Updike at Rest" but another one by Grossman is online at http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1874276,00.html.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.