How's the Book Coming?

Click on the cartoon to read it. Courtesy of "Will Write for Chocolate by Debbie Oh.


"So, how's the book coming?"

It's the question that is making me cringe. I am happy that my friends are aware of my dream and that they are supportive and interested. But, I'm at an uncomfortable stage in the writing process. Editing. And re-writing. And editing some more. How's it going? Have you ever tried to unravel a horribly tangled ball of yarn? You know if you keep picking at it that it will get done. But sometimes you wonder if it is worth it. Then you look at the photo on the front of the sweater pattern and you think, "Yes, it will be worth it."

Sometimes they ask, "Is your book done?"

Well, define "done." Yes, it's written. The story is complete from beginning to end and has been for quite awhile. But in writing terms, that doesn't mean much. I still have to get it to where the plot keeps a reader's interest through every single chapter, the characters sparkle with life and the ending pulls at your heartstrings. Then, every sentence has to be written correctly with no extra commas, dangling whatevers (participles?) or spelling errors. And, since it's historical fiction -- it must be historically accurate.

So, in other words... the story is done, but the book isn't.

But I'm never sure how to tell people this. When I say I'm in rewriting or editing, most people assume that I'm working with a publisher on minor changes. No, in reality that comes much later. I'm doing MY edits. If I get to the publication stage, then I will be working on THEIR edits.

So, if you consider writing a book to be a journey from the idea to the book arriving on the shelf... I've only taken a few steps. This is how I see the journey:

1. The idea
2. Research and brainstorming
3. Outlining
4. Writing
5. Rewriting (rinse and repeat several times)
6. Critiquing (friends, other writers, conferences, paid editors)
7. More rewriting (repeat as necessary)
8. Submitting to agents (repeat as necessary)
9. More rewriting to please the agents
10. Acceptance (hopefully) by agent
11. Agent shops book to publishers (repeat as necessary)
12. Publisher nibbles
13. More edits to please publisher
14. Contract (hopefully)
15. Marketing plans, cover art, etc.
16. Book hits store shelves
17. And from what I've heard... the real work begins. Marketing!
18. And assuming that you want a career: return to step #1 and do it all again.

Well, that's how I picture it, anyway. I'm on step #7 and I'm a little fuzzy on steps 8-18. I've listed them as other writers have patiently explained them to me.

So, excuse me if I get a glazed look in my eye if you ask me, "How's the book coming." I'm not trying to be rude. I'm trying to figure out how to answer the question. Usually I just say, "slowly."

The really hard question is, "Are you STILL working on that book?" Ask me that sometime if you want to see my head explode!

No, on the other hand, please don't. It might be a little messy. And I might need that head if I'm ever going to get to step 18.

Friday Book Pick -- Free Audio MP3 by Robin Jones Gunn

Happy Friday to you! Every Friday I like to use this space to suggest a good weekend read. This week I'm going to let you know about a special offer. One of my favorite Christian authors, Robin Jones Gunn, is offering a free download of an audio book, Summer Promise. This is the first novel in her popular Christy Miller series for young adults. I haven't read these, but I am very familiar with many of Robin's other books (see my recommendations, Sisterchicks and Waterfalls), so I feel I can recommend it with confidence. Plus, free is a very good price, right?

If I'm understanding the details correctly, the download will be available today (Friday, Aug. 14th) from 5-7 pm pacific time at her facebook fan site and all day tomorrow (Saturday, 8/15) at her web store site, Robin's Nest.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Reeling In the Big One

Every fisherman has the story of "the big one that got away." Right? I can hardly call myself a fisherman (fisherwoman?), but I do remember one summer that I tried it. My family was vacationing on the Puget Sound in Washington state and I was standing on a marina with my dad and brother. I remember being jealous of my big brother's real fishing pole. I can't remember what I had. Something that was rigged up special for my young hands, I'm sure. It worked fine. I pulled in several small unidentifiable fish that were admired and then set free. But after much begging and pleading, my brother let me try his fishing rod. We baited it and I let the line all the way out -- fascinated by the clicking sound of the reel.

After a few minutes, the tip of the rod bent over nearly in half. I shrieked and my dad and brother grabbed onto the rod.

"No! I want to reel in my fish!" I shouted.

"You gonna drop my rod!" my brother protested.

My dad spoke up. "It's going to break the rod, honey, we'd better cut the line. You're snagged on something. It's not a fish."

After much tears and pleading from me, my dad and brother began reeling in my prize. I watched in glorious anticipation. "This must be the biggest fish EVER!" The tip of the rod bowed down to the water in protest of the massive weight.

They reeled and reeled, lifting the heavy object up through the water. "It's not a fish," my dad warned. "It's some piece of garbage or something."

As it broke through the surface, I remember my delight turning to revulsion. It was a slimy mass of grayish suction cups wrapped around the line. "Ewwww! What IS that thing?" It looked like something from a horror movie.

My brother's tone had changed completely. "It's an octopus! You caught an octopus! How cool!"

They hoisted the squirming upside-down creature about a foot from the surface of the water. I wonder now what my dad thought at the time. "What are we going to do with this thing now?"

The next thing we knew -- SPLASH -- the octopus dropped from the line and descended back into the briny deep where it belonged. The hook and line were intact, the bait was gone. I was disappointed. I may have hooked an octopus, but I didn't get to take him home to live in the bathtub.

I almost wonder if God was having fun watching us that day. I can imagine Him smiling as I pestered my brother about his fishing rod. "You think that's special? I'll show you something really amazing. Have a look at one of my masterpieces." I think He's always waiting to surprise us. We think we know what to expect and it's something good. Then He shows up with something that blows our expectations out of the water. A tiny fish would have been good. A big fish would have been great. An octopus was spectacular and created a memory that I will NEVER forget.

Remember when you dream... God might just being waiting to surprise you with something you never even considered. Just reel it in.

Friday Book Pick -- Sisterchicks in Sombreros by Robin Jones Gunn

Every Friday on my blog, I offer a good choice for weekend reading material. This week I'm in a vacation mood, so I'm suggesting Sisterchicks in Sombreros by Robin Jones Gunn. My extended family has begun planning a Mexican cruise and invited us to come along. I'm knee-deep in the frustrating details of vacation planning -- those details that make you wonder if all the stress will be "worth it" -- so it was the perfect time for this book to plop into my lap.

In Sisterchicks in Sombreros, characters Joanne and Melanie begin an exciting adventure that takes them from a luxurious cruise ship to a humble home in the Baja desert and finally taking possession of their deceased uncle's vacation property in San Felipe. These sisters discover that God has covered them with a "sombrero of grace" and that letting go of their own expectations and desires will result in God leading them into the adventure of their lives.

In this era of "staycations," the Sisterchicks series is the perfect escape. There are eight fiction titles in the series and each one will carry you away to a fun exotic location where women discover the power of friendship and the joy of God's love. Robin Gunn is an expert at weaving laughter into her stories, placing her characters in those unbelievable situations where all you can do is choose to laugh or cry. Thankfully her characters usually learn to let go and laugh at life's little frustrations.

This is vacation reading at its best. I've laughed my way through a few other titles in the series, Sisterchicks on the Loose, Sisterchicks Down Under, and Sisterchicks say Ooh, La, La. I've also been enjoying the devotional book Taking Flight: A Sisterchicks Devotional, written by Robin Jones Gunn and Cindy Hannan. I'm looking forward to reading the newest Sisterchicks title, Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes, released earlier this year. Each book has new characters and situations, so there is no need to read the books in any specific order.

So, if your summer has been lacking in travel and adventure, check out the Sisterchicks series. Pull up a lounge chair in the back yard and treat yourself to a mini-vacation of your own.

Putting You On My List!

Yesterday afternoon, my kids and I watched one of our favorite movies: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything from Veggie Tales. Larry the cucumber (playing Elliot) cracks me up in this movie. He's always referring to his "list." It's the list of things he fears, including darkness, snakes, spiders, and wicker furniture, among other things. At one point he yells back at a fearsome character who is pursuing them, "I'm putting you on my list!!!"

I have my own list. Here's a sampling:

Spiders

Heights

Redecorating

Dark

Telephones

Asking people for help

As you can see, I will probably never be a telemarketer or a fundraiser!

My kids found a bonus feature on our DVD where Larry actually recites from his list. It's very funny. "Polka dots, tater tots, hypodermic needle shots. Flying squirrels, strings of pearls, polka dancing with a girl. Whiffle balls, Niagara falls, perfume kiosks in a mall. Banana crepes, seedless grapes, Tim Burton's version of the apes. Chop suey, milk that's chewy, and to tell the truth... Buzzsaw Louie (veggie tales character)."

Though I enjoyed laughing at Larry's ridiculous fears, fear itself is no laughing matter. Fear has kept me from enjoying many things in life. I am horribly shy and will often talk myself out of participating in social situations, even when I know that I would probably enjoy them. Other people become so crippled by fear that they cannot leave their own homes.

When I typed "fear" into my favorite bible search site, biblegateway.com, I found 326 entries. I found 206 for "afraid." Obviously fear is important to us humans. Here's one of my favorites: When I am afraid, I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3 [NIV]

Your assignment, should you choose to take it? Think a bit about your own fears. Make a list if it is helpful. Then go to your concordance (if you have one) or go to Bible Gateway and type in "afraid." Skim through the words of the verses that appear. How many times does God tell us not to be afraid? What is His answer to fear? See if you can answer this question: "Do not be afraid because..."

Come back and share your answers. I'm sure we would all benefit from reading them, myself included!

What Could You Do Without?

Last night I heard my son singing a song that was popular when I was in high-school in the 80s. It sounded pretty funny in the voice of a nine-year old boy.

"Shout, shout, let it all out. These are the things I can live without."

That's the only line he knew, so he just repeated it incessantly. I chuckled and then asked him. "So what are the things you can live without?"

He shrugged. "Probably lots of stuff."

I was surprised by that statement. Usually he thinks he needs more stuff, not less. "Like what?"

"I don't know. Can't think of anything at the moment."

That's what I get for trying to turn a song into a teachable moment, I guess. But it got me thinking a bit. What kinds of things can I do without? Well, after our week of 100+ weather and a broken A/C -- I'm glad that I don't have to do without A/C anymore.

A friend of mine mentioned on Facebook that she her dryer was broken. I'm glad I don't have to do without that. Yes, 100 degree temps would get the clothes dry quickly, but I can't even leave lawn chairs out for one day without having birds pooping on them. Ick.

Today I woke up to my husband shouting, "Oh, no! The toilet's flooding!" Ugh. Another sewer line backup. We had one a few years ago and it's pretty disgusting. I don't want to do without toilets.

So, what CAN I do without? Maybe I'm a bit like my son. I can do without lots of stuff, but it's hard to come up with specifics.

I suppose I could do without people being angry or disappointed with me. I could do without stress, sick kids or aphids in the rose garden. I could take a pass on scrubbing toilets and finding spiders in the bathtub. Camping in the rain, bathroom scales and finding unidentifiable fuzzy things in the back of the refrigerator. Oh, and sugar ants. I have a horrible aversion to ants in my house.

But, I know in the grand scheme of things, these are minor annoyances. Most people in the world would give their eyeteeth to switch places with me. They would love to have a refrigerator so full of food that items can get lost in the back of it for months. They can't imagine growing something as frivolous as roses rather than rice or coffee beans. I know there are parents out there who would gladly accept my kid's stomach bug over the terminal disease that is slowly stealing their own child away.

In reality, I could do without a lot of the "extras" that our American society provides. So, rather than dwelling on what I can do without, I think today I will try to focus on being thankful for what I have.

Like the plumber... He's on his way. Thank you, Lord, for Rooter King!