Well, I didn't expect to get a 10-day vacation from writing, but that's what happened! After three days of an increasingly sore shoulder, I woke up one morning unable to use my right arm. A trip to the doctor brought a diagnosis of an over-stressed AC joint. (Acromioclavicular joint if you want the medical term.) Basically, it's where the collar bone, the shoulder bone, the neck muscles, the arm muscles, the tendons and ligaments, and the rest of the connective tissue all come together. So when that got inflamed, it complained.
I was told that typing and crocheting were now forbidden. I was given exercises to keep the joint moving and increase my extemely limited range-of-motion, and had a schedule of exercise, ice application, and rest. In addition, I was supposed to go to a banquet that evening with my husband, but my arm had hurt so much I hadn't washed my hair in nearly a week . . .
Just as an experiment, try telling your 18-year-old son that he's got to wash his mom's hair and see the reaction you get! It's quite entertaining!
I managed to exist without either writing or crocheting for 10 days, but only because I could read a lot! So today is the first day back at editing. I'm in the process of tearing apart chapters 1-9 of Dahveed 4. One of my advanced readers, who specifically edits for plotting, told me that the last half of the book was very good, the second quarter was good, but the first 9 chapters were your basic trash. Sigh. She was right, of course. She normally is!
So, back to the drawing board today after the unexpected break.
Have you considered self-publishing your books in paperback? Believe it or not, some people still don't use computers but would still appreciate reading your book. Sometimes it is nice for we Luddites (of the non-violent pacifist variety) to just hold a processed dead tree...
ReplyDeleteIt is quite easy and practically free. No censorship or politics...
Hi Frank,
ReplyDeleteYes, I've looked into self-publishing. Still haven't found a good way to go about it for hardcopy. I have a lot of people asking for printed books, so I'm still looking!
Terri L Fivash
I am surprised. I have used both lulu.com and createspace.com with excellent results. In less than an hour I can publish a book for free and order a proof hardcopy for less than 5$. Need any pointers?
ReplyDeleteI hope I didn't/don't sound too pushy. I assume you knew the hour to publish was after the many days/weeks/months of writing... :-) The real beauty is the ability to publish an update, a rewrite, or a new cover in less time than it took for the initial publishing. They handle all sales and distribution to the world. It is very similar to e-book publishing but in my opinion and experience even simpler.
ReplyDelete