Category: A Writer’s Life (Page 8 of 15)

Don’t Drink the Koolade

September 6, 2017 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Some of you know the story of how I came to be an indie-published author (aka self-published). Probably more of you don’t.

The highlights are here:

Doctor said to put my affairs in order
Initial panic at thought of dying
I didn’t want my novel manuscripts thrown out by the kids
I sought out the best solution for me
I acted on it by publishing my first book
People liked the first, so I did the second one, too
I was Indie before it was cool
The doctor was wrong

That doctor actually did me a favor. I love what being in charge of my writing career does for me.

However, I see new and wanna-be authors making costly, unthinking mistakes in seeking traditional publishing for their book. I’ve done the careful cautions, but can’t save everyone from their dreams. They’ll sign the contracts, get badly burned, then ask around about how they can get out of those hideous contracts. Most times, they can’t. In a fraction of cases, they can, but only because the publisher already breached the contract.

I’m about to the point that I won’t open my mouth anymore. It’s sad.

Yesterday, one of my heroes among writers, Dean Wesley Smith, published a blog post that tells how he feels nowadays. Check it out here.

EDIT: I’ve fixed the link. I’m blaming the error on my fat fingers using the WordPress phone app.

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September Ebook Extravaganza

September 1, 2017 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

From now through September 20, this 50-ebook promotion offers you your choice of free ebooks in all genres and of all ratings. My novella, That Tender Light, is one of the free ebooks. Enter to win a $50 gift card. Click here for the link.

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Apple Time!

August 30, 2017 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

The pioneers who built their vacation cabins in this area were aware that fruit trees grew well. They planted numerous apple trees hereabouts. It looks like we’re in for another bumper crop of delicious fruit this year.

This apple fell from my neighbor’s tree and I rescued it. By the time I had eaten most of it and thought to take a picture, it had turned a little brown, but it was delicious, just the same.

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Let there be light!

August 29, 2017 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

A few days ago the incandescent bulb in the standing lamp that gives light to my computer work area burned out. Okay, I thought, here we go again.

It’s been increasingly more difficult than in days of yore to find bulbs for the lamp. It takes a three-way bulb, you know, three different levels of brightness. In truth, I only need the strongest setting, but I don’t dare insert a regular bulb for fear of a short or a fire.

On my next trip to the store, I wandered the lighting aisle, seeking in vain the incandescent bulb I needed.

Over the last year, most of the hideous mercury-tainted bulbs in the section have been replaced with LED bulbs, more expensive individually, but much better for our health. A few incandescent specialty bulbs remain, such as the ones in ovens, refrigerators, and microwave ovens. But there were no three-ways available.

Finally, I spotted a three-way bulb among the LED boxes. Instead of the common 50/100/150 watt using brightnesses, this one only uses 6/15/22 watts of electricity. I’m not used to rating my bulbs by the lumens, so I don’t know how this bulb compares to the incandescent ones, but it gives off 700/1600/2155 worth of brightness. Probably sufficient for my purposes.

I put it in my basket, cringing at the $18+ cost, but hope to get at least five years worth of light out of the bulb rated at ten years if I only use it for three hours a day.

What writer only uses their work space for three hours? Not me. However, I now have light, albeit blue-tinged instead of yellow. I hope I get used to that!