Writer Versus Blogger

I can't believe it's been more than a month since my last post.  When I started this blog, I vowed to myself that I'd keep regular postings.  However, life doesn't always go as we plan.  This past month has really taken me by surprise and not in a good way.

As a writer, I have to write down everything going on in my life.  If I'm upset or stressed, writing helps me to relax.  I've come to more than one resolution by getting it all down in black and white.  And it lets me forever immortalize a memory I never want to forget.  This habit developed in my early teens.

Dozens of legal pads and composition books are filled with random thoughts and blurbs.  You never know when some real life event may become fictionalized into something I'm working on, hence the origin of my short story, Grandmother's Tree.

I've said all that to say this.  Writing a blog is totally different from writing a novel or journaling your thoughts.  A blog is made public for everyone to critique, take to heart, completely ignore or forward to others.  Fiction can also be viewed in the same respect but the reader doesn't know what views and feelings are that of the author or those of the characters.  And a journal is completely veiled in privacy.

I thought long and hard about sharing my personal crisis with all of you, but I'm not that brave yet.  Instead I've put all of my energy into my second novel for the last five weeks.  So far, I've got eleven chapters done, and even I can't wait to see what happens next!

I know I still have to get busy on finding a publisher for the first one, but with the second one burning a hole inside me, I've got to get it written down.  If you don't hear from me again, it's because the writing has taken over.  However, I'm going to try and find a balance and keep posting.

Thank you for your support and encouragement.

-Heather

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History on Grandmother's Tree, A Short Story by Heather Thorpe

I want to start out by thanking all of my Facebook friends and beyond for their kind words and encouragement with this weekend's posting of my short story, Grandmother's Tree. Click here to read.  When the weekend started out, I had every intention of working on some thoughts swimming around in my head for my sequel, but sitting down with pen to paper, Grandmother's Tree poured out instead. 

I was a little leary about posting my first short story on such a public forum, but the response has been so positive, it encourages me to post more in the future.  If you've never had the experience, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to publish one of your own works.  To leave yourself open to possible criticism is not for the weak spirited.  Thankfully, I've never been one of those individuals.  Backing down from what I believe in has never really been an option for me. 

Still, writing had always been very personal and not something I wanted openly critiqued by strangers, but I'm letting go of that notion.  Writing has been second nature since I was a teenager.  It's almost like therapy.  Unless you were within my trusted circle, this fact was a closely guarded secret of mine until now.  I cannot fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a published author, without opening up myself and my writing.

I plan to talk more in the future about my writing journey towards publication.  The next time my pen has a mind of it's own, I'll be sure to post the outcome.  For now I'd just like to find the time to write my original thoughts for the sequel.  So many words swirling round.  So little time to jot them down.

- Heather Tweet

Traditional or Nontraditional? That is the question.

I have loved and hated the power words can hold since I was a little girl. As a teenager, I was never separated from my pen. As a mom, my girls are always asking me, "Mom, will you tell me one of your stories?"

I've finally put one of those stories to paper.  The words flowed like a river, and there's at least two more novels to follow.  I can't wait to start on the second book, which is where my dilema sets in.  Being a published writer has always been my ultimate dream. Now as I sit at a crossroads, I contemplate whether or not to continue with the frustration of finding an agent in the hopes of publication or taking matters into my own hands and self publishing.  A possible dream still years from fruition or instant digital publication.

There has been a lot of talk lately on the pros and cons of traditional publication versus self publication. I never thought I'd want to go the way of self publication, but I must admit it's looking more and more appealing.  With Amazon Kindle offering a 70% royalty, and my book being at the reader's disposal by the mere click of a button, I'm not seeing much of a down side.

I realize I'd have to market the hell out of yourself, but having owned my own business for most of my life, I'm not totally turned off by this.  Where my weakness lies is being new to this industry, and the contacts of my old life won't help me in this new one.

Crossroads - a crucial point where a decision must be made.  To continue querying agents or self publish, advice from fellow writers would be most helpful. Tweet