Saying Thank You

Have been notified that I have won an award from Romantic Times Magazine and they wonder if I will be at their get together in Chicago to accept it. I have never been to this convention even though every writer I know who has gone says it's well worth the trip. Unforgettable. Fun. Informative.

But it ain't FREE! The less I write the less I think in terms of tax write offs (at this stage paying for postage and paper pretty much puts me in the losing $ column) so I have to think in terms of budget. I would love to go but nowhere in that budget is a file for "EGO".  I learned a long time ago that EGO can be pretty costly so it went bye bye along with thing like cute shoes and  fancy coffee with weird names.  So what's a writer who really would love to have somebody in the wide world of writing say - hey, you did okay instead of "yeah, it's okay, I guess, if you'd just change everything about it" a writer who ADORES Chicago, btw, to do?

More thinking my way. Who knew the writer's life would have these kinds of decisions?

Thinking is Hard

Really. Have been taking time to think through the options for writing from this point forward. I find it much harder than actual writing.

Once upon a time it was much easier. The paths were pretty straight forward - the goal pretty much the same. Publish. Publish. Publish.  Now the paths range from footsteps in the snow... in a blizzard and major six lane highways and everyone who is whizzing by or trudging along is sharing the experience in blogs, tweets, FaceBook, Shelfari, GoodReads, Linkedin, websites, lists, .... the options never end.

Even the people I have turned to for years (author pals) are giving conflicting advice - "epub and don't look back, you'll be rich." "NYT publishers are the only way to have real success." "Write X" Write Y." "It doesn't matter what you write just get it epubbed NOW".  "This is a great time to be a new writer." "This is a great time to be an author with a name and backlist."

Excuse me while my head explodes!

And who is going to clean that mess up, young lady?

Frustrating mostly because I really do think everyone has a good point. I really do have a lot of faith in both epubbing and traditional publishing. I love them both. In my heart, I would LOVE to see Helen Hartman in print on a bookshelf from a major house. In my head, I would HATE to lose control over someone I have been building slowly and will continue to do so, a character that I could do SO much beyond a novel or series with (cookbooks, humorous advice books, columns, tacky stuff with quotes on it).

So I am giving myself the advice I have given so many authors lately - figure out what YOU want. Decide who you are as a writer. Decide what your work is.
I can't tell you how many time at a booksigning I'd have to explain what a book WAS, it was exhausting to me so I can imagine it was not easy to listen to! So what choice is there?  I gotta think this thing through!

How about you? Do you know who you are as a writer? Can you tell me what your work is in a few words that I can relate to easily? Love to hear it because this thinking is getting to me.