There have been a few big changes in my life this year:
1. my youngest child went off to college (a year early)
2. my professorial husband moved from the University of Chicago to Stanford University, which means...
3. I moved to northern California, after (literally) a lifetime in Chicago.
These events are disruptive to a nurturer and nester like me, so I knew my writing would suffer. I'm not worried: I have two of the best manuscripts I've ever conceived simmering slowly on my mental stove. But I knew I wouldn't be able to crank them out with my brain discombobulated, so whenever I've found myself unable to concentrate on prose or research I've busied my hands with administrative chores instead. It has proven to be a productive year, in a way I didn't expect:
1. I made this website, to have a cleaner presentation of myself and my work
2. I secured, with my agent's help, the audio rights to Plus One, and produced an audiobook version with the immensely talented Julia Whelan (soon to be available on Audible and Overdrive)
3. I made a CreateSpace paperback edition of Overboard, and a kindle version, to give my first book a new life.
I've learned a lot from these last two projects. Making design decisions about the cover, format, and font, proof-reading the book, proof-listening the audio, securing the rights and permissions to cover a song--these were sometimes tedious tasks, but I got the same satisfaction from them that I get from copyediting my finished prose. I like busy-work that comes in quantifiable units, and I enjoy the processes of "polishing" creative projects.
But now it's time to get back to the stove and cook up a couple of books.
1. my youngest child went off to college (a year early)
2. my professorial husband moved from the University of Chicago to Stanford University, which means...
3. I moved to northern California, after (literally) a lifetime in Chicago.
These events are disruptive to a nurturer and nester like me, so I knew my writing would suffer. I'm not worried: I have two of the best manuscripts I've ever conceived simmering slowly on my mental stove. But I knew I wouldn't be able to crank them out with my brain discombobulated, so whenever I've found myself unable to concentrate on prose or research I've busied my hands with administrative chores instead. It has proven to be a productive year, in a way I didn't expect:
1. I made this website, to have a cleaner presentation of myself and my work
2. I secured, with my agent's help, the audio rights to Plus One, and produced an audiobook version with the immensely talented Julia Whelan (soon to be available on Audible and Overdrive)
3. I made a CreateSpace paperback edition of Overboard, and a kindle version, to give my first book a new life.
I've learned a lot from these last two projects. Making design decisions about the cover, format, and font, proof-reading the book, proof-listening the audio, securing the rights and permissions to cover a song--these were sometimes tedious tasks, but I got the same satisfaction from them that I get from copyediting my finished prose. I like busy-work that comes in quantifiable units, and I enjoy the processes of "polishing" creative projects.
But now it's time to get back to the stove and cook up a couple of books.
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