Honesty Makes My Head Hurt

Wow. I am not a newbie, but this article kind of makes my head hurt. JA, its author, is not wrong. There are series I have stuck with because they started well or I was told just get through the first one or two and then it picks up. Of course, I pick up so many books secondhand because I contribute to the creation of so many books - my own and my authors'.

The thing is, a person still has to be discovered, talked about, and passed around the first time. The first book in the series. The first series in the repertoire. If you don't support your local author, they'll think they need to try something else to get your support, and won't write the next book in the series (they always have a sequel in their heads. They know what their characters are doing after THE END. Trust me.) because they think you're not interested. They want to please you. But when you give your support to authors who literally admit that they could turn out shit and outsell the great American novel these days, you're not helping. When you support your friend because they're your friend but you don't read what they write and you have NO IDEA how bad it is, you aren't helping. If you want better, then you need to help be part of that. It's possible, but it's hard work.




Phyl Campbell is Author, Mother, Dreamer, and Dr. Pepper Addict. And you can bet she's procrastinating on writing what she's actually supposed to be writing -- RIGHT NOW.

Dates and a Guest Blog Post Link

OK. Here are some dates:
Saturday, July 23 -- 11AM West Broad Farmer's Market
 I'll be doing storytime, handing out blank books for people to stop and make a book with, and all that jazz. Athens, GA!!

Tuesday, July 26 -- 1-4PM Ann Peden - Jewelry and Artist Marketplace
I'll be holding the PENULTIMATE Make A Book Summer Workshop for 2016.
Watkinsville, GA!!

And the AWA allowed me to guest post on their blog again. I really appreciate being part of this fantastic group. This is a guide to formatting in MSWord for CreateSpace.

https://athenswritersassociation.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/formatting-a-book-manuscript-with-ms-word/

(Kudos and thanks to Katherine for the beach scenes!!)

I am getting better about formatting and teaching myself better practices for formatting books for Kindle as well as POD. I'd love to help you see yourself in print -- contact me!!

Comments are always welcome, whether here or on my FB page. Same goes for LIKES, SHARES, and offers of canned Dr. Pepper (though we may have to do that in person).

Even Nigerian Princes Need Grammar...

Help Wanted!

... and I am just the grammarian to help out.

I'm sending out applications to online education services --- trying to become an editor or at least get a few editing gigs under my belt to help me fill out weak areas in my resume. And it wouldn't hurt to make money, either. I have edited friend's papers -- and you know I'm secretly correcting the grammar on all Facebook memes, posts, and comments -- but I don't get paid enough* to declare myself a company and I didn't do the work for a specific company. I need to change one of those.



So here is the cover letter I sent to XXXXXXXX with my resume. I hope you find the humor in it.

Phyl Campbell
email
address
address

Editor
XXXXXXXX
address
address

Dear Beloved Friend,

I know this message will come to you as a surprise, but permit me to tell you of my desire to enter into a business relationship with you.

I am Mrs. Phyl Campbell, a daughter of a very poor but hardworking farmer and nurse. Unlike the parents of Nigerian princes, my parents have not been murdered, but in fact are very much alive and have no money with which to entice you into a poor business agreement. However, if I met a Nigerian prince, I would help him with his grammar. The emails I receive from these princes are quite painful to read.

I am here seeking an avenue to transfer my knowledge of grammar and editing into the accounts of your program. I wish to know that you are a reliable and trustworthy person with whom to entrust the richness of my knowledge.

Please, I will offer you one hundred percent of my diligence and commitment to grammar. I wish to urgently transfer my skills without delay and also wish to not relocate, but to work remotely as life in my city is peaceful and I know you have these opportunities available.

Working for XXXXXXXX would allow me to continue my education in the giant lesson of life. Your immediate canned response of application receipt would be appreciated, followed by contact in a week or two because I really want us to have a business relationship, working together toward XXXXXXXX’s commitment to benign world domination.

Cordially yours,

Phyl Campbell

Phone
email
address
address

What's the oddest cover letter you've ever sent?

I'm also looking to teach more publishing classes in town and online. If you want to join in, be sure to connect with me!

* I have been paid in tamales once, and food often. Though I am the LAST person to make critique about food, others in my house drooled over my payment plan. Mmm! Tamales!

How to Monday: Quick and Dirty Book Publishing Guide

My way is not the only way to publish an Indie book. These steps are my best advice for creating a print book (paperback) that can be made available on Amazon or purchased wholesale by the author for resale at book buying events.

1. Create a manuscript using a word processor.

• Use sections (Page Break, Section Break) for each chapter or section
• Use Headers and Footers to create page numbers and to write your book title and author name on each page (I keep another published book in front of me as a guide)
• Create the front matter (title, copyright page, dedication). Again, use a previously published book to see the industry standard.
• Create the back matter (acknowledgments, author note, about the author, preview of next book)
• Front matter and back matter should not have page numbers, headers, or footers. I use section breaks to do this, but my brother recommends applying white text boxes where text should be hidden.
• Use Styles to establish one font and font size for chapter headers and a different font and font size for basic text. You can also use it to select indents, spacing between lines and other text features. It’s tricky to learn, but will save any many steps.
• In my word processing tool bar, there is a paragraph mark symbol. Select it to see all hidden formatting symbols like spaces and hard/soft returns.
• Learn how to use Find and Replace. Especially MORE/FORMAT
• Save document (OFTEN!)

2. Create an account for or log into CreateSpace (www.CreateSpace.com)

• Under the My Account tab, select Add New Title
• Follow the instructions to select book size, paper, and other attributes
• Skip the step of adding an interior file
• Create a Cover (Create and upload the PDF, or use their template and images – I do a combination)

3. Go back to your word processor document.

• Adjust paper size or margins to fit the selected book size.
• Add the CreateSpace assigned ISBNs to the copyright page
• Export to PDF (sometimes this is “print to PDF” or “save to PDF”)
• Open the PDF file to check for correct placement of headers, footers, and page numbers. Select “view two page” with “separate title page” (2 boxes to check)
• Without a PDF editor, make changes to the PDF by making the changes in Word and repeating the Export to PDF/Print to PDF/Save as PDF option.

4. Go back to CreateSpace

• Go to the Title created in Step 2.
• Go to the step of uploading an Interior File.
• It is possible to upload files from a word processor without the PDF step. I don’t think the files come across as cleanly --- some formatting is lost (fonts, margins, page breaks). This has been my experience.
• Choose sales channels and set book price(s)
• Submit files for review

5. The file review check takes 24-48 hours. It will determine whether all the content from the submitted file fits within the margins of the selected layout.

• Make changes to the review file until CreateSpace (and you) are satisfied, either by making changes to the CreateSpace review file (when applicable), changing book attributes in CreateSpace, or making changes to the PDF/ word document.
• Repeat the file review steps each time changes are made.
• When the review comes back without errors, and the book is acceptable to you, select Publish.

Published titles are available immediately on CreateSpace, and within 1-5 days on Amazon (if Amazon was selected) or other channels.

6. My way is not the only way to publish an Indie book. Some people buy their own ISBNs (See LightningSource instead of CreateSpace), hire out cover artists and layout designers, formatters, editors, etc.  Some people only publish to Kindle. These steps are my best advice for creating a print book that can be made available on Amazon or purchased wholesale by the author for resale at book buying events.

7. Timeline. On average, creating the manuscript takes me a year. Preparing a cover takes me two weeks (over a month with reader input). Formatting the interior (for me) is a two-week job minimum. I try to format as I go, but best laid plans sometimes go awry, and I have to undo formatting to add pages, delete pages, or fiddle with margins. Can someone else do it faster and better? Undoubtedly. I encourage people with tips or tricks to share their knowledge.

Mother Confessor Book One

Mother Confessor Book Two

Mother Confessor 2 in 1 Edition

The Carley Patrol

Martha's Chickens & the Pirates

Confessions of a Grammar Enthusiast

Coming Soon: #25 Reasons Why Charlie Should Never Read Jane's Books to Jane


Also Coming Soon: A Muse Meant

Women Wednesday: Amazing Women

Today's post is going to be short because I'm in over my head with my grammar book edits and I REALLY need to finish them. But March is Women's History Month, and so it's a bad time to skip Wednesday posts or Women Wednesdays.

First, I'm grateful for Geena Davis and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Since I joined the Facebook page, I've seen so many affirming things about being a woman in this day and age. We still have a lot of work to do, but in working together, we can get it done.

Next, I'm grateful to literary agent Kristin Nelson (not my agent -- as an indie I've not queried her, but I'm happy to follow her posts on FB) for sharing this information about women in indie publishing. I'll sum up the article by saying that self-publishing women are breaking through all kinds of gender barriers in their success. I hope as I continue to put my work in the hands of readers, I can join that group of successful indie authors. I am a work in progress.

Speaking of works in progress, thanks to a great book by Jennifer Weiner (Good in Bed), I am making some changes to the Jane's character in #25 Reasons. I had already made her a character whose body changed after becoming a mother, but I'd pulled back from making her a larger woman, in part because I did not need more "evidence" I was writing a memoir. While the experiences in #25 Reasons are things I can relate to as one half of a married couple, I have worked diligently to write something MOST women could relate to. Jane's story is Jane's, not mine. But after a breakfast date with a friend and a couple of nights with Weiner's book, I realized just how rare it is for plus-sized women to BE protagonists -- even in chic-lit. If I want to see changes there, I have to be part of those changes. 

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to a local lady named Dawn DeShazo. Dawn went further than I did in finding research about the PARCC standardized test third graders and up are supposed to take this year, and helped a group of parents (including me) REFUSE to test our kids via PARCC and REFUSE to open all our children's school information to a third party's market research whims. Parents did not think we could refuse the test for our children. Many school admins across the country have used scare tactics and misleading information to make parents would back down from protecting our kids' well-being and privacy. Dawn didn't back down. She did the research to show parents COULD, especially in light of our legislature working to end the contract with the third party company, and SHOULD refuse PARCC testing. There's still a bunch of shady stuff going on in our legislature that negatively impacts our kids. As long as parents work together, we can support our teachers (largely a female group) and help our kids be more student and less guinea pig for FOR PROFIT corporations.

Finally, I am great friends with MANY wonderful unsung women heroes. A mom took time out of her busy day last week to help me pull articles from my blogs and organize them for my grammar book. (That link will take you to some of those articles and blog posts.) Several moms have been sounding boards for me these past few weeks. Others are just there when I need them -- we don't talk as often as we'd like, but we can pick up three months of happenings in two hour phone conversations and if one needed something urgently, the other would drop and run to save the day. Having people like that in my life is just good.

So much for keeping this short!! There is so much going on by women and for women that I think needs to be shared.





Phyl Campbell is Author, Mother, Dreamer. Right now, she's in over her head with two book projects whose (author-self-imposed) deadlines passed by. She waved, and only cried a little. But sometimes the Mother and Dreamer get in the way of the Author, and the Author has to catch up. Check out her author page on Amazon.

Commas Are Hard, Right? Another "Grammar Tuesday" Lesson from the Grammar Enthusiast

My son thinks commas are tough. And there are times when a writer wonders whether or not to include commas in sentences. One example of a comma argument is whether or not to place the Oxford Comma (the last comma in a list of things). Some insist on it, some say never use it, and most are somewhere in the middle. I am not concerned about discretionary commas. I am, however, concerned about the use of obvious commas.

Here are three of those obvious comma placements.

Dependent Clause Commas

Dependent clause commas set off extra information that is not vital to the grammar or meaning of a sentence. Once Upon A Time, On a Dark and Stormy Night, and For What it’s Worth are three phrases that should all be followed by a comma in the sentences they modify. The sentences in which they are found make complete sense and are grammatically correct without these modifiers, but we like them.

Conjunction Commas

The most common conjunctions are AND, BUT, and OR. These conjunctions attach two (or more) subjects, predicates, or complete sentences. Just like the way I listed them, BUT needs a conjunction comma almost always.

I like ice cream, but I really like ice cream sundaes.

I like watching hockey, but I don’t skate.

A vacation is awesome, but a resort vacation is more awesome.

AND and OR can often get away without commas, though commas are still used in lists.

I like apples and bananas. I like cake, cookies, and donuts. (The comma after cookies is the Oxford Comma.)

I’ll have apples or bananas with lunch today. I’ll usually eat apples, bananas, or grapes.

Appositive Commas

These clauses restate other information in the sentence, and are generally set apart from commas. The rule around appositive names has changed over time to drop the commas surrounding a name, but generally commas are used with appositives.

My brother, the older one, has a girlfriend now. (Unless people know some of the speaker’s siblings, knowing which one the speaker is referring to will be unimportant to them.) (The explanation statement used a dependent clause comma.)

My neighbor Daphne rides a scooter to school. (People used to set off Daphne with commas, but now it is not considered necessary.) (The explanation statement used a conjunction comma.)

My new house, the yellow one, will have wall-to-wall carpet. (Adding the information that the new house is also the yellow one adds information, but the likelihood is that the added information is not necessary.)

So there you have it! The three most common types of commas have been identified for your continued knowledge and enthusiasm. In fact, I would bet that the majority of other comma uses are actually comma splices or other incorrectly used commas.  However, that is a lesson for another Tuesday.

But* you don't have to take my word for it! Here are two additional resources to consult about comma usage:

Purdue OWL: Online Writing Lab

Grammar Girl

Do you have a comma question, preference, comment, or pet peeve? Be sure to let me know!

*Most people were taught not to start a sentence with BUT. I think in informal writing, such as a blog post, starting a sentence with BUT is fine. However, it might appease others more if I'd written:
That's my lesson on commas, but you don't have to take my word for it!

-or-

However, you don't have to take my word for it!

Here are a few more of my grammar articles, in case you were wanting more!

"Choked Up" Vs "Chalked Up"

To and Too

I

Lose the O or Set it Loose