I'm more of a short stretch reader myself...

Michael Hyatt is the President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. He writes a blog called From Where I Sit. Back in June he wrote a post called What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. In it he disects an article in Atlantic Monthly where writer Nicholas Carr asks, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”

There's one quote in particular that Hyatt pulls from the article:

Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.

I read this and thought... whiskey tango foxtrot ... are you kidding me? That's what reading is like for most mothers. (she said, noting that the writer and the blogger are both male)

I think he lost me where he said he'd "spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose". I have not had long stretches of anything remotely close to reading since early 2001.

Someone pat me on the back... please?

I came across a blog today written by a very rich mommy and detailing her trials and tribulations of motherhood. Like, flying first class without a change table in the first class bathroom.

And I came THIS CLOSE to leaving a troll-ish comment. THIS CLOSE people. I was so very irritated.

But I backed away slowly, reminded myself that it would be WRONG to do that and now I'm going to put my head down and work while the baby FINALLY naps.

I just had to confess it out here so that I can feel a bit more accountable.

Schooools Out For the... oh nevermind...

In honour of The Last Day of School for Army Boy, I bring you:

Emily Dickinson's Kids Are Home For The Summer by Wendi Aarons.

And as a bonus, Wendi pointed us in the direction from some other verra, verra funny ladeeees:

Christy the Writer
BernThis

Something to distract you from something else.

I'm at critical mass at the moment. Even my boss is telling me "you need to slow down" when he's usually saying "Pile on more! You can do it!" And his way of telling me this is to tell me a big story about a woman who had kids and worked really hard and then had some kind of breakdown and now she looks old and really skinny.

Wait, skinny would be cool...

Anyways. Here are some nifty sites to peruse:

To freelance for trade magazines, be a team player over at Word Count by Michelle Vranizan Rafter.

How to get your clients to pay invoices promptly by WikiHow... which is really a weird web site because clicking the "Random Article" link in the right hand corner can take you in directions you don't want to go... I got "how to form the word blood with your fingers" and then "how to panhandle online" and now I'm feeling so icky that I almost don't want to link to them... except the paying invoices article is actually pretty good.

Harness the writing process to become more effective (and efficient) writer by Paul Lima who gives verra verra good advice.

Don’t quote the AP… or else? by Carolyn Erickson... who really does hit the flat bit with the hard thingy.

Back shortly after these messages.

Too True

Chicken Soup sold, new project on the go...

According to the recent Publishing Syndicates newsletter, the Chicken Soup anthologies have been sold to an East Coast publisher. Publishing Syndicate has always had a great reputation, they pay on time, they are good to their writers, they have been writers themselves.

Now they are getting set to announce a new anthology:

Publishing Syndicate is proud to announce a new anthology series. At this time, we
are discussing this series with several publishers and for this reason cannot release the name of the project just yet.

This book series is the brainchild of friend Kathleen Partak. With the changes in
Publishing Syndicate’s direction, Kathy’s idea for a book series is now becoming a
reality. Of course, Kathy will have top billing, followed by the two of us, and Publishing Syndicate will act as the managing entity.

Even though we can’t share the name of the series with you at this time, we can
give you a sneak peek at the structure: It will be an anthology series (with stories from you!) combined with interviews from experts, inspiration on par with that found in books such as The Secret, and how-to tips and advice, similar to the Dummies series. These books will allow our readers to “read, identify, and do” and become an active participant.

So make sure you have their web site bookmarked and stay tuned!

What The Heck Do You Want From Me???

I spoke with a few writers this past weekend about how to get into magazines. I spoke with one friend who has a great start on a writing career and just needs to up her game a bit, and another younger writer who is certain that This Is Her Career but needs to know how to get started.

I tried to give the best advice I could and thought I'd share some of it here, maybe a bit better written (I hope) than spoken.

You are a writer, but you are also a salesperson. You are selling a product that is part YOU and part WORDS. About 3/4 of your pitch is about the product. 1/4 is why you are the writer for the job. If you are less experienced, you may need a little less space for YOU, but don't discredit what you have to offer: personal experience, schooling, work history, awards, accreditation, letters behind your name...

When you pitch a query, think of it as, well, a pitch. You are getting ready to throw a ball to a batter and that batter can hit it or not. You want the batter to hit it, so get ready. Perfect it, make it a nice round package, then lob it carefully. It may fall flat, it may get knocked out of the park.

You cannot control what the editor accepts, you can only control what you put out into the world. So work hard on developing your queries first in your niche area (whatever you decide that is) and then broadening out.

What the editor wants, is a great writer who pitches a great story with a unique angle and written in a compelling voice (one that compels the reader to continue reading), even if the topic is somewhat dry.

Here's a great post (hat/tip WordCount/by Michelle Vranizan Rafter) on the topic of what editors want from freelancers. One of my favourite bits:

What’s The Value? Unfortunately, the law of supply and demand dictates the market for freelancers. There are tons of freelancers out there. (I didn’t say they were good, just that they’re out there.) Everyone wants to write and thinks they can write. So, how valuable are freelancers? Valuable if they deliver. That means they meet deadlines, the copy is tight and bright, they follow the assignment sheet, they keep you abreast of developments, especially problems, and they contact you early – not the day before – when a sticky point develops.

One of my freelancers should probably get more money from me. I don’t want to lose him, but there’s something called a budget. So I pay him within one week (or less) when he turns in the assignment. And I have only sent one assignment back for a minor touch-up in about five years. Any follow-up, I do. What I’m doing is keeping his workload to a minimum and paying faster than anyone in the freelance universe. He loves working with me, and I enjoy working with him. I’m also appalled that the freelance market doesn’t pay any better today (per word) than it did 25 years ago. Supply and demand. There will always be more supply than demand – and the wages reflect that reality.

Go and check it out and start pitching those editors!

Spark your creativity

I don't know about you, but sometimes my creative juices have done dried up. (No, I'm not Southern, I'm channelling... ) But between the early mornings and late evenings, it can be hard to get anything written. Even blog posts. (Um, did you notice?)

But here's a cool little site to get you writing:

One Word

You have 60 seconds to write about one word.

Here's a great talk from Jodi Picoult on how she did research for her latest book. Honestly I have always been a bit pro-capital punishment.... but I waffle. It's not really a subject that the affected can waffle about, is it? Jodi's experience is quite dramatic, and she's a good storyteller:

Strangely enough, I'd probably NOT take the cash and run.

BOSTON - If a stay-at-home mom could be compensated in dollars rather than personal satisfaction and unconditional love, she'd rake in a nifty sum of nearly US$117,000 a year.

Read more...

Somedays it's intimidating out there...

I find it staggering ... simply staggering... the number of wonderful women writers on the web. (I was going to say 'female' but my favourite feminist on the planet says that We Are Women! not 'females')

The writing is there to be discovered on the web. So many wonderful writers that I might never have heard of if it weren't for the interwebs.

First, there's Dooce. Heather Armstrong. First woman blogger I know whose blog became a verb. If you got fired for blogging about work... you were dooced. She does this thing where she blogs each month of her daughter's life. She's up to 51 months and this last month was one of the best posts ever because it wasn't just to her daughter today... it was to her daughter in 12 years or so when she's on the internet, reading what her mom wrote about her.

Then there's Kira at Kiwords. I can honestly tell you that Kira has made me a better mom. I've never read anyone who could write so beautifully about the simplist things... soon I was looking at things differently. Small things became magnified. Raising my kids because more of an adventure than a task. Sometimes she comes up with lines like "Raphael is completely enthralled with his cup, and wore it most of the day on Saturday. It protected his young squishy boyness during a particularly brutal game of Wii baseball, and also kept him safe during multiple thunks with his own delighted knuckles." That made me smile so hard my son saw me and said "mommy, what is that face you are making!?" I do smile, really, just not normally that crazily.

And Mir, who is, like, the bloggy queen in my books. So many times I've laughed out loud at something she's said, even when it's as short as "I. Lost. My. Shit." which caused me to make another laughy face ... except I was at work and someone passed by and said "UH, what are you laughing at?" and I couldn't really tell them because, um, hello web surfer at work....

No list would be complete without Joshilyn who - I think - invented The Mental Illness Number along with the term Best Beloveds (which is how I sometimes want to address my team at work, 'cept it's not really appropriate for the work setting!) But I love how she makes me feel ... the same, and yet, sane.

And there are new ones that I'm finding all the time. Motherhood Uncensored, Edgy Mama, Mommy Needs Coffee and Attack of the Redneck Mommy. And so many more ... I mean, just look at my links over there on the right ------------>

So who is your favourite female woman blogger and why?

Reconsidering Facebook?

... this might push you over the fence...

When you see a copyright violation....

So you're on a group, a Yahoo group or some kind of listserv. Consistently you see articles being posted - full text, copy and pasted. What do you do?

First, there's the chance that the offender has actually asked permission to post those articles. So you can't go in guns a blazin' and yelling fire. But you can ask if permission has been granted.

I belong to a Yahoo group used for Crockpot recipes... and I've been turning a blind eye to the posting of entire articles to the list. But a few weeks ago the list mom posted something about how she knows all about copyright and nothing she's been doing has been violating copyright because of the rules of copyright regarding recipes. (Ingredients can't be copyrighted, some descriptions can, but with crockpot recipes the descriptions are very often "put it all in, turn it on")

I emailed her off list and politely informed her that while the recipes might be ok, the posting of the full text of articles was actually not. She seemed irritated. An excert from her missive:

"But as I know that Wednesday's food section becomes Friday's fish wrap...I don't see any harm in posting articles from newspapers. In case you don't get the metaphor...newspaper articles are ephemeral...they exist for a day and are gone. I just don't believe anyone is harmed with me or anyone else sharing them. If you disagree with my policy, you are welcome to leave the list. Just because you are a writer, doesn't mean you should *get your undies in a bunch* over copyright. Some people take themselves WAAAY too seriously."

I tried not to get offended. I was really only trying to mention that she might be better served posting links rather than full text, since technically posting the full article was a copyright violation.

She followed it up with "Cooking is NOT an artform that is protected under copyright. Recipes and cooking information are shared quite freely on the Internet. You may not agree...and again, you are welcome to NOT be a part of the list. I'm a writer myself, and believe that bigger works (magazines, books, etc.) deserve full protection. But a couple of articles from newspapers....really, you find this bothersome? Seriously, Heather, get a life!"

Oops, there I go again, me and my no life and taking things too seriously, almost like it were my job! Oh, wait, it is.

It can be really easy to respond in a snappy manner when someone is so ignorant of the laws and how they apply. It's very black and white. If it's yours, do what you want with it. If it's not yours, you have to get permission. We don't get to choose where copyright should be enforced and where it shouldn't - it's a simple matter of ownership. I responded in a polite manner, I didn't tell her she's an idiot (because she's not, she's just ignorant of the rules).

"I apologize for offending you. I simply wanted to ensure that you were aware of the copyright violations. As a writer, I do make my money from selling the "right to copy" my articles. My "undies" were not in a bunch, I was simply engaging in a little exercise of education in case it was required. Writing is writing and copyright is in place as soon as words are in a fixed format. I'm sincerely sorry that you do not understand that and I hope that as a writer you do not ever have your work used without permission. I am a professional and do tend to take writing seriously as it's how I feed my children. I'm sorry that offends you."

I guess I just struggle with what to do as a writer when you see something "wrong". I'm going with "point it out politely, let go, move on". Or as my husband says "Acknowledge and move on". I actually would feel very bad if this individual had her work used without permission, but I think that would probably be the only way she'd learn that her writing is hers and hers alone. and she deserves to be paid for it.

And I believe she's a writer, whether she's published or not. But I want to tell her, "how do you think your future publisher will view your lack of respect for copyright?" I know that my publishers would drop me quicker than I could say 'intellectual property rights'.

The correct way to point someone to an article is:

Copyright on the Web seems to be a difficult concept for people to understand. If you did not write or create the article, graphic, or data that you found, then you need permission from the owner before you can copy it. Remember, when you use someone's graphic, HTML, or text without permission, you are stealing, and they can take action against you.
Read more ...

Market For Ya: Traveling Mamas

Traveling Mamas Anthology

TravelingMamas.com is in search of true uplifting, funny, inspirational, and touching stories with a travel theme for an upcoming anthology series. Possible themes may include family travel, romantic escapes, girlfriend getaways, and solo trips.

We’re looking for stories that inspire us, force us to laugh out loud or make us reach for the tissue box. Bring us into your story by using the five senses. Every story must have a beginning, middle, and end.

Now this is the type of anthology that I need to contribute to! Or, wait, what's the proper grammar... this is the type of anthology in which I should contribute... no, wait, that's passive... I should contribute to this anthology. Perfect!

My daughter, the little traveler, was on 20 different flights before she was 14 months old. She was a dream, quiet, mellow...

But what happened to my quiet little one? She is not so quiet any more... she's in that 'almost 2' stage where it all must be picked up, thrown, tasted, yelled at, bitten, chewed, spit out and sung at.

I think my favourite thing right now is how she calls stars "uppas". You know, like "uppa bove the world so high...." She can see an uppa from a mile away too... we'll be calmly walking along and she'll scream "UPPA!!!" like All Must Stop Now and Behold The Uppa!

M used to say "slookit"... "Slookit that mama!"

I need to keep writing these things down before I forget them.

Video Tuesday?

I've been surfing around today (because I'm at home, being puked upon and wiping snot and babies are entertained by videos) and I've found several videos I must share.

First one is from Joshilyn and it's pure heartwarming lovey for the human raceness really made my day. I dare you to watch it without being heartwarmed.



FYI, Joshilyn's new book is getting awesome reviews.

The second one made me giggle. It's from Dooce (Heather Armstrong) and seriously, if you can maintain a straight face all the way through (especially at 24 seconds in) then you must be dead inside:




So, does anyone have any videos to share?

Lookie!

Hey, I'm profiled (in a good way!) over at Maternal Spark. Check it out!

Lonely Planet writer "supplements" income

Well, guess I won't be buying any Lonely Planet titles anytime soon!

The gist of the story is this: the guy said they didn't pay him enough so he didn't actually visit the countries he wrote the travel guides about and he supplemented his income by dealing drugs.

Nice.

But it gets better. Then he has the absolute gall to pitch his book:

Kohnstamm's book, "Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics and Professional Hedonism," is set for release next week.

Uh, so if you have questionable ethics... why am I going to pay you more money? Because this time you're telling the truth. Thanks. I'll pass.

Bears!

If this doesn't make you smile... you are dead inside.

News from the crazies...

Ok Demi Moore.

I don't care how nice you look or how healthy you are.

NO LEECHES ARE GOING NEAR MY BELLY BUTTON.

Suicide of Reason in Canada

Another column is up at Pajamas Media. I am quite happy that it's gotten 37 comments so far... and has been quoted on several other blogs!