Blog Jog Day for Readers and Writers!

Welcome to Blog Jog Day! Please enjoy our site then click over to http://www.TheklaRichter.com to see what the next Blog has to offer! Lost in the links? You can always go back to the main Blog Jog Day Blog at http://BlogJogDay.blogspot.com and find a new link to jog from. Thank you for stopping by our site!

We're celebrating!

Chelle Cordero's Consistently Rated Top 100 Kindle Blog

Living, Breathing, Writing: A Lesson A Day

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Check out the Sampler and then buy a month's worth of fabulous writing tips and exercises, in-depth how-to's, lighthearted encouragement, and more...

All New Edition of Chelle Cordero's
Living, Breathing, Writing: A Lesson A Day!
Volume 1

“Having Chelle Cordero's blog on my Kindle is like having an author here
in residence with me. She gives inspiration, motivation, and best of
all, practical advice and solutions. I love the ‘writing exercises’ she
offers at the end of each blog, as well as the ‘writing prompts’.” ~J.B.
Naylor

And now, Kindle owner or not, writers are able to get in on the fun and
active lessons from the Kindle Blog—Living, Breathing, Writing, by
Chelle Cordero.

Welcome to a complete month of lessons about the craft of writing and
being a writer. In the BONUS Section of this book you’ll find more than
50 brain-starting exercises to help you get those words on paper.

These short lessons and activities have been previously published as
part of the acclaimed Amazon Kindle blog Living, Writing, Breathing
available by subscription for Kindle owners, and consistently in the Top
100, for just 99₵ a month.

Volume 1 in ebook formats and Coming in Print August 10!

Chelle Cordero Article (reprint)

The Problem with TODAY

Like many authors, I like to write the kind of stories I like to read and I like contemporary (like really present day) tales. Of course we live in a rapidly changing world and the time between writing and out-there for purchase can sometimes cause a few wrinkles.

When I wrote my most recent novel, Hyphema, I really decided to tackle a current subject. The (Matt Garratti) hero’s wife is a Pakistani born Muslim immigrant to this country. Sudah is working towards her citizenship and wants to be American, but the family’s move to North Carolina is met with some snide remarks and suspicion from their new neighbors about her background.

In one scene, Sudah is confronted by the wife of one of Matt’s co-workers; Donna grew up sheltered with limited contact to anyone “different”, all she knows about Muslims are the headlines and her family’s ire about an older cousin’s fiancé killed on 9-11. Donna shouts the statement, “And they say that Bin Laden lives like a hero in Pakistan.”

Hyphema was first made available for sale in e-book form on April 18 and scheduled for print in May. As we all know from the news, it was announced on Sunday evening May 1 that Osama Bin Laden was found and killed by American forces – in Pakistan. Although the actual news is much more monumental than the release of a novel, yikes! As an author my mind was spinning.

When I wrote my novel Hostage Heart I made a lot of references to the 2005 devastation in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In 2008 Louisiana was again bracing for another violent hurricane, Gustav. While the level of damage was far less, it still made a dent in my manuscript which I was already editing. I made mention of hurricanes “over the past few years” and alluded to the heroine graduating from a makeshift schoolhouse before the “last round of hurricanes hit”.

Writing stories that are “ripped from the headlines” can prove perplexing. All I can say though is, much like the action in my novels, life is fast paced and forever changing. They say that life imitates art and I am trying to keep up with it.

Multipublished Author Chelle Cordero

Download this Free Sampler of all Chelle's Novels!

About Chelle Cordero:

I was always a kid with a wild and vivid imagination and loved to spin a few yarns. Growing up in the city (NYC) and working my way through college, I had the opportunity of working some rather unusual and interesting jobs that only fed into the imaginary scenarios growing in my mind. By the time my husband and I settled in the burbs to have kids, I decided to write full-time and did so for a number of magazines and newspapers… but I still dreamt of growing up and becoming a novelist.

In 2008 my first novel Bartlett’s Rule was published by Vanilla Heart Publishing. My hubby says that when I received the acceptance note from Kimberlee Williams (managing editor), it was the first (and only) time he ever saw me speechless. I now have nine novels (7 romantic suspense and 2 mystery) and one writing instruction book. I also author an Amazon Kindle Blog called Living-Breathing-Writing and I am still writing for newspapers and magazines.

I think I like writing.

My website: http://ChelleCordero.com

My blog: http://ChelleCordero.blogspot.com

Be sure to visit our New VHP Author's Blog and Site where we'll be giving away prizes through the month of September for our Grand Opening. We'll have Author chats, a time to visit with a VHP Author and win giveaways, our title catalogs (Kindle, Print, AllRomance, and Smashwords Multiformat, Author Accolades, drawings for neat swag, and more...

http://VHPAuthors.wordpress.com



And over on our Vanilla Heart Books And Authors Website, you will find book videos, announcements, specials, more freebies, extensive author pages, and our FREE downloadable and printable Book Club Extras, with discussion starters, title information, and color bookmarks, plus catalogs with buy links, seasonal discounts and specials, and surprises...

http://www.VanillaHeartBooksAndAuthors.com

KISS - Keep it Simply Simple by Chelle Cordero

Good for you if you have a grasp of vocabulary that would put most SAT students to shame – but most of that isn’t needed when you are writing dialogue and action. If you rely on long, multi-syllabic words just to make your dialogue sound impressive, you are probably defeating yourself.

Unless you have a character who characteristically tries to sound like a dictionary when they speak, then don’t fill their speech with long and unnecessary words. Read the dialogue aloud, does it sound natural or does it sound false and stilted. Be honest with yourself, is that the way your character really speaks?

Would most AVERAGE high school students say "I need to eradicate my response on the examination" or would it be more believable for the student to say "I need to erase my answer on the test"? Think which statement sounds more realistic. Chances are your dialogue should sound just like people you talk with everyday.

You should concern yourself with a different pattern of speech only when you are placing your setting in a different time period, country, or if the speech pattern is specific to a unique character trait such as someone who doesn’t speak the language well, has a speech impediment or is trying to show off by using fancy words.

Keep your narrative simple as well. You shouldn’t have to rely on the narrative to describe a character’s emotions – their speech and actions should suffice. Be very stingy in using adjectives and adverbs – hurriedly, anxiously, nervously, angrily, happily – are all words that are better assumed by a character’s actions. Instead of: "More tea?" She poured the hot water nervously. Use: "More tea?" Her hand shook as she poured the hot water. If you say that a character is shouting, it is redundant to say ‘shouting loudly’; the same thing applies to whispering quietly, creeping slowly, and other such combinations. If you feel that using an adjective is absolutely necessary, be careful with your placement; use ‘she said nervously’ and not ‘Nervously she said’. Don’t duplicate words in the same sentence such as ‘Nervously she said nervously…’ Always read your words aloud if you are not sure and listen to what you’re saying – it should sound normal and flow smoothly.

Adding unnecessary words to your writing can also make your words seem less potent. Sentences like ‘She started to laugh’ have less impact than ‘She laughed’, likewise ‘He had come to the saloon’ versus ‘He came to the saloon’. Reduce repetitive words – you probably don’t have to keep repeating that your character is doing something like breathing (if it fits and sounds right, then use it) but there is no need to keep finding a different word to say the same thing such as inhaling, gasping, panting, etc.

Most people use contractions in their everyday speech. It is usually okay for your character to say "I don’t want" instead of "I do not want". At the same time be careful that you are using correct contractions and don’t rely just on the sound. A very common mistake is to say "could OF" instead of the correct "could’ve" (for could HAVE). Try not to use slang "contractions" unless that is characteristic of the way your character really talks (like ya know, gonna, gimme, ain’t). Using a thesaurus and dictionary while you are writing may be helpful, but the end result shouldn’t sound like it.


NOTE from the Editor:

Welcome to a complete month of lessons about the craft of writing and being a writer. In the BONUS Section of this book you’ll find more than 50 brain-starting exercises to help you get those words on paper. These short lessons and activities have been previously published as part of the acclaimed Amazon Kindle blog Living, Writing, Breathing available by subscription for Kindle owners, and now are available to every writer.

Just $5.99
Living, Breathing, Writing: A Lesson A Day
Chelle Cordero

Chelle Cordero is a multi-published author with Vanilla Heart Publishing and a full-time freelance writer with local and national newspapers and magazines. She resides in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, family and three spoiled pussycats. In addition to her books and articles, Chelle pens a weekly writing course available by subscription at Amazon Kindle Blogs http://bit.ly/Wmg8W and volunteers with her local ambulance corps as an EMT. Her website is http://chellecordero.com/

Acckk!! Where's That List? By Chelle Cordero

Organization, or rather the extreme lack of it, is the bane of my existence. As a self-employed – and too broke to hire assistants – writer, I have to keep track of my different projects, deadlines, invoices, bills and other “I gotta do it(s)”. Organization has NEVER been my forte. I am tempted to say I thrive on chaos, but that only seems to expand the piles of papers and JUNK. sigh…

Yet to survive as a writer, or at least manage to hang on to the dream, I have to keep track of what I am doing and when it needs to be done. Sometimes it seems a bit overwhelming, but I’ve learned a few tricks.

To-do lists – very important. Not only does the list serve as a reminder of those things to be done, it also helps keep you on track. I’m sure you’ve heard the joke of the person who started out looking to address a letter, but they needed their glasses – while looking for their glasses they came across something else they meant to do, and so on until the day was over and they sat down exhausted at the table to find they never addressed or mailed the letter. I hate to admit this, but that really should be my biography, truly, that’s me.

I keep getting distracted by things I come across during my pursuit to accomplish just one thing. My to-do list helps me snap back to what I am supposed to be doing and helps me keep my focus. Besides, I leave plenty of room on the bottom of the list to write in all the things I came across to distract me so I will eventually get those done as well. And I don’t try to finish the list every day although it is nice when I’ve accomplished the bulk of it; I just copy the balance to the next day’s list.

Calendars can help keep you afloat. I carry one in my pocketbook and keep a full size one on my desk – these are regular old fashioned write on it yourself calendars. I also maintain a webmail calendar that I can set up to send me periodic email or text-to-phone reminders. Occasionally I do have to sit and coordinate each calendar to make sure I have the same info (ie: deadline dates and appointments) on each. Having a calendar at hand is a great way to make sure I am not double-booking myself or missing important dates. I also include social obligations and religious holidays since those can affect my availability. Some of my friends use the electronic calendar feature of their phones, that can work, but I prefer something I can easily look at and scribble on at will.

I keep a “project book” next to my desk. There are various methods you can use here – keep your lists individually, by date, by client (for multiple assignments) or just assign a sheet or two for each month and list an upcoming deadline appropriately. If I scheduled a blog visit, have a deadline, am hosting a blog stop, have an appointment or anything that will alter my time commitments, I list it here. This is in addition to my little note on my calendar(s). I check things off and even make a few notations about the job and or results so I can refer to it the next time I have a similar task.

When you are feeling overwhelmed with too many things to do, the stress builds and causes distractions and headaches. I work at home so my distractions may include family or neighbors, social phone calls or housework you just know has to be done. Caller ID and answering machines should be used to the fullest extent when you don’t need to be interrupted – I’ve gone so far as to turn off the ringer when I am really feeling frazzled.

As for interruptions from family, close a door or even hang a sign if there is no door saying “I am at work” and demand compliance. Plan a timed schedule for any must-do’s that you simply fee you can’t ignore and don’t devote more time than allowed. Finally, if you are really overwhelmed and stressed and reacting badly (as in you can’t seem to accomplish anything), take a break – yep, walk away from your desk and work and relax for at least fifteen minutes.

I hope you’ll find some of these helpful tips useful. For me, I am getting back to work – WHAT WAS I DOING when I thought to write this little ditty?

Chelle Cordero is a multi-published author with Vanilla Heart Publishing and a full-time freelance writer with local and national newspapers and magazines. She resides in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, family and three spoiled pussycats. In addition to her books and articles, Chelle pens a weekly writing course available by subscription at Amazon Kindle Blogs http://bit.ly/Wmg8W and volunteers with her local ambulance corps as an EMT. Her website is http://chellecordero.com/

Solitude by Chelle Cordero

What exactly is a “writer’s retreat”? Does it have to be a remote cabin in the woods? Or is it simply unbroken privacy and relaxation?

Many writers tend to be hermits by nature, at least when we are pre-occupied with a project – just leave us be. In this case a writer’s retreat can be anywhere we can work without interruption or stress. Yes, this may sound very unfriendly to someone outside of the writing circle, but writers understand this (occasional to frequent) need for solitude.

The other members of my immediate household are involved in a sports activity and every so often they travel away for a weekend – some time back my son invited me to join them on their trip to make use of the mountain cabin they would be staying in along with another dozen people; “Bring a laptop mom and write all day while we are out…” It was tempting, but I declined.

I adore spending time with my family, however remaining in a cabin (not air conditioned by the way…) where I would feel obligated to help with the cooking and cleaning and seeing my family only in a crowd (geez, even sleeping would have been separate and dormitory style!) paled against the concept of undisturbed quiet amongst all the comforts of home. With only the cats to feed morning and night, I had no other schedules to concern myself with.

The phones were ignored (a special ring that only family cell phones made happen) – I slept when I wanted to, typed at my desk as I needed to, ate simple meals without a lot of preparation – and I took relaxing breaks to read, watch TV or take a local drive. It felt like I was on vacation! Best of all I got things done and felt so accomplished. And when they returned we were all rejuvenated by pursuing favorite activities. We had a wonderful reunion.

Albert Einstein said “I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”

There comes a time when a writer needs a brief respite from the day to day interruptions of everyday lives. Yes, we are stimulated by events around us, conversations, sights, sounds and even smells, but then we need time to just allow our minds to wander aimlessly, to ponder randomness. We do our best when we can retreat into our private little bubbles for a little while.

Are writers - am I - antisocial, eccentric, disturbed…? Or do we just crave a few moments in time to call our own?

Chelle Cordero is blessed to be a full-time writer and a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic. She has eight novels published with Vanilla Heart Publishing, short stories in three anthologies and numerous articles in various North American newspapers and magazines. Chelle also teaches an online writing course available through Kindle subscription.

Twitter Me by Chelle Cordero

“Twitter is a social networking and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.” (from Wikipedia) …or is it just another time consuming drain on my creative time?

I’ve heard a lot of folks stating they will never use Twitter, not just writers, but folks in other businesses as well. The biggest complaint seems to be “I don’t have the time to waste…”

While TV commercials have made fun of Twitter and like applications, such as the daughter complaining that dad doesn’t need to post every time he goes to the refrigerator, there are also commercials that take a humorous look at its widespread use. The truth is that many newspaper journalists are watching Twitter for late-breaking news; did you know that when Sully successfully
landed the airplane on the Hudson River, Twitter was there first? Twitter is an instant broadcast service for products and services – and it’s FREE.

It’s learning to use Twitter that frustrates most. It’s not that hard, so buckle your seat belts for a quick crash course:

Start out by going to Twitter.com and registering for a site – use your pen name (or close), business name, or some catchy service-identifiable name as your User Name. You have room for a very BRIEF bio; you can link your website to your profile so folks can find out more about you. There are several pleasant backgrounds to use for your Twitter page or you can upload one that is more personal. Okay, now you are on your way…

You have 140 characters to “tweet” messages – that includes spaces and punctuation. If you want to tweet about a blog or website, go to sites like http://bit.ly and shorten the URL (web address) and save your characters for a brief message. My URL for my VHP author’s page is approximately 65 characters; after using bit.ly http://bit.ly/aXYsPG is only 20 characters– saving 45 characters; that’s about eight words more to deliver my message. Make your message brief and direct, it’s almost like writing headlines.

Start building your community by following others – use the “Find people” function, use someone’s real name, an email address or a word that might be in their profile. Follow the ones who look interesting to you by clicking on the buttons to the right of their names (hold the cursor over the buttons to see which one says FOLLOW). You can also use the little box (right hand side) that says “search” by putting in keyword or trending phrase (current event or discussion) and follow those folks as well. Most people will follow you back within a day or so. Make sure that your privacy settings are set to accept for ease. You can always UNfollow if you see the person is sending something offensive.

Tweet regularly (once or twice a day is ideal) and mix up the topics. Yes, DO promote your books, products or services, but promo should really be no more than one-third of your total tweets. Re-tweet other tweeters’ worthy messages (hold the cursor over the lower right of the tweet box), reply to tweets (once again, hold the cursor over the lower right of the tweet box – click reply and you will see your message box with @UserName, just type your message), pass along occasional TASTEFUL humor, tweet interesting blogs (see above) and add to popular discussions (like “what did you think of the Yankees last night?”)

It won’t take long before you are tweeting comfortably and broadcasting your message to numerous people with just a few key strokes.

Still not convinced? Fellow VHP author Collin Kelley talks about Twitter and other social media in an interview here http://bit.ly/8X5qPw

Ready to tweet? Add me http://twitter.com/ChelleCordero and I’ll follow you back.

Chelle Cordero is blessed to be a full-time writer and a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic. She has eight novels published with Vanilla Heart Publishing, short stories in three anthologies and numerous articles in various North American newspapers and magazines. Chelle also teaches an online writing course available through Kindle subscription.

Opportunity Knocks by Malcolm Campbell

Thomas Alva Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

As writers we cannot afford to miss chances to promote our work. We diminish the value of every word we write when there is no effort made to put those words in front of someone else. So why should we ignore those opportunities because it looks like work when we’ve already done the hard work of putting words on paper?

Grab every chance you can to post a blog, guest blog on someone else’s blog, sign a comment, Tweet a new achievement and network both online and in the real world. If you are lucky enough to belong to a community of writers that constantly share information, then welcome their emails, tweets and spoken statements, they are saving you valuable hours of research. By all means reciprocate and share the things that you’ve come across as well.

Grabbing possibilities and opportunities can be both tiring and fulfilling. Recent opportunities that have come across the internet (often via writer’s groups) have included: Blog Jog Day where blogs link to one another and visitors get to travel from one to the next; gatherings where promotional items have been requested for gift bags; BookBuzzer widgets where folks get to sample your novels online before buying; and even game sites where book covers are used instead of game pieces and readers get to (pretend) “cast” well known actors as characters in your novels. All unique, all thinking out of the box, and all with far-reaching and lasting effects.

Some of the more common and yet still effective opportunities to promote your writing is through blogging and social networks. Don’t be a wall flower. If you have a blog, post regularly – and if you don’t have a blog, WHY NOT? Ask your online friends if they accept guest posts on their blogs – or if they would submit a guest post or interview for your blog. The main goal is to drive the traffic to your blog or web-site up because YOUR NAME and TITLES appear on your sites.

Social networking on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Friendster or other more specific forums may seem to be a waste of time to some – but think again. Used wisely, the interaction from posting comments and OCCASIONAL promos will, once again, increase the name recognition. Make sure that you don’t abuse the relationships you make on these networks, show just as much and even more interest in them than you expect for yourself.

Getting publicity through newspapers and other media, and using targeted marketing to increase exposure is a lot easier than most people realize. A fellow VHP Author, Malcolm Campbell, recently related his efforts to publicize his book, The SunSinger and support for a national park. He blogged about the history of the park, always making sure to use specific key words in the “tags”, sent press releases to the regional newspapers, and sent postcards to regional bookstores and interest groups. More importantly, Malcolm publicly linked his book’s story and the history of the park to generate even more interest. An excellent lesson is seizing every opportunity.

Sometimes it is very scary to tackle the opportunities that appear before us – and of course how do we know that the effort involved will have any real pay-off in the end? I wish I had a crystal ball to help me pick and choose where I should invest my energies. The truth is that I don’t think we can really tackle every opportunity that passes before us and certainly not everyone will bear the same fruits – but I will be damned if I’ll let them all get away. Imagine life as a crowded train station with several platforms and trains coming in all at once. It’s impossible to jump into every train car, but if you aren’t willing to try for at least one you are never going to get anywhere. (ok, maybe I am not so good with analogies…)

Carpe Diem!

*****

Chelle Cordero is blessed to be a full-time writer and a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic. She has eight novels published with Vanilla Heart Publishing, short stories in three anthologies and numerous articles in various North American newspapers and magazines. Chelle also teaches an online writing course available through Kindle subscription.

Thinking About a Blog? by Chelle Cordero

Blogging is a terrific way to mouth off about a variety of subjects and if you scour the internet you'll see plenty of examples of unchecked blogging. Unfortunately for some, the things that get posted on a blog will hang around forever.

Of course some of the words in a blog can also do a lot of good. Authors can use blogs to promote their books and even themselves as writers. Posting excerpts, back stories and commentary which relates to a book's subject will go a long way towards marketing. When the blogger regularly posts then his or her readers know to keep coming back. Allowing readers to post comments - and answering each comment - will help to maintain interest.

Some blog hosts will invite others to guest post. Guest posts may be part of a virtual blog tour (a series of online appearances often used for book launches) or random pop-ins. Particularly when a blog host welcomes someone to their site it's a good feeling when they feel the time and space was well spent.

If you are lucky to land a guest spot don't leave the burden of publicity on your host - it should be a shared venture. Invite traffic to the blog - use emails, post the guest spot on your blog, social network sites, Twitter and mail forums. Ask people to leave comments; lots of comments will help the blog pop up in search engines and will increase traffic. Friends can do a lot to help by stopping by blogs and leaving comments, Tweeting the blogs and telling your friends to stop by.

There's a definite advantage to visiting blogs as well, even if you aren't doing it as a favor for someone else. Use a search engine to find blogs that attract readers in the genre you write in and visit the blogs yourself. Take time to read the most recent posts and sign in to leave comments. Flattery is good if it's sincere, but nasti-isms are unnecessary; your comments should sound smart (as if you really read the post), open the door to constructive discussion and reflect well on you.

When you leave a comment also leave a signature; at the very least your signature should include your name and website address. Other blog visitors will see your comments and if they seem interesting may want to see what you are all about. Publicly following blogs may also bring you increased traffic to your own sites.

Be a social butterfly - blog and invite readers to visit, visit other blogs and introduce yourself and always spread the word.

Oh, one more thing - please leave a comment.

~Chelle Cordero
http://ChelleCordero.com

A Writer’s Life: Living Amongst “the Others” by Chelle Cordero

~~~Every now and then I feel like an alien living in my home. Often misunderstood, mostly tolerated and usually hidden away. When family members are asked what I do, their voices tend to lower, they avert their eyes and finally, after shuffling their feet, whisper in a clandestine tone – “She’s a writer”. Their words are spoken in the same clandestine tone you might whisper of the black sheep of the family who is currently serving time in prison.

~~~Non-writers just don’t understand that a writer must write in order to breathe. This is not something we simply choose to do, this is something we must do. I will sit for hours at my desk in front of my computer screen and pummel my keyboard. If the power goes out, I emit a terrifying yowl as if someone were cutting off my fingers. My characters become as real to me as the nephew I send a birthday card to.

~~~I will find myself immersed in emotion as I put tearful words into the dialogue, I will laugh uncontrollably as I type a conversation between humorous characters, I will ponder for hours as I help a heroine through her dramatic dilemma. The words on paper, or on my computer screen, are no longer mere letters – they are thoughts, actions, deeds, misfortunes, passion, pleas and life and death deciding moments.

~~~I become fully entrenched in the lives of my fictional characters and the line between my day to day existence becomes fuzzy. Just one more thought before I get up to tend to some droll household chore – just one more thought turns to pages. I dream for my characters, I try to think like they do, I worry about them and sometimes I even become them. Other writers understand this obsession – non writers do not.

~~~The excitement over a book signing, even when the sales are disappointing, the thrill of seeing your name emblazoned on a book cover jacket and the joy of reading words you once imagined now immortalized in black and white are all things a writer can appreciate. We are willing to put hours of our lives into sitting and typing while we are never sure that the finished product will actually pay off. Offers of publication, distribution and virtual tours may seduce us out of our savings.

~~~The employee who appreciates regular bi-weekly direct deposits into their bank account doesn’t understand how we can manage on infrequent royalties, long overdue invoice payments and, shudder, occasional kill fees. The “others” wonder how we can stand to just “give it away” when we submit to free-ezines and non-paying web-logs just to get our names out there. And of course no bank will understand that a contributor copy of a magazine is indeed payment.

~~~The public image of an eccentric writer with a feather boa around her neck investing her mammoth royalty checks and being ferried to television appearances to promote the latest novel between spa visits may very well be a splendid fantasy; it sure isn’t real. And writers understand that. We know that the work just begins after we have typed “the end”. We actively search for agents and publishers, we partner with our publishers to market and promote, we maintain web-sites and solicit interviews to keep “the buzz” going.

~~~Some of us may have to work at other jobs in order to support our writing habit – some may be fortunate enough to have forty or more hours a week to put into our writing. No matter what our circumstances may be, we need to be creative when we write and we need to be pragmatic in our business. Right brain thought comes to a screeching halt in order to allow for the left brain sensibility. We cringe when our writing is called our hobby, we feel like screaming when we are asked “are you ever going to get a real job?”

~~~So we will all just muddle along writing and pouring our hearts into every word. We will get our hopes up each time we submit a query and we will stop breathing for as long as it takes to open the returned SASE. Our spouses and kids will stand at our office doors and shake their heads as we tap-tap-tap obliviously. We’ll feel accomplished when we manage to string one-hundred words together in a project that will ultimately need seventy-five-thousand. It will be an honor beyond anything else we’ve done to sign a book or to receive a fan letter.

~~~…and a writer understands.

~~~~~~~~

Chelle Cordero is blessed to be a full-time writer and a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic. She has eight novels published with Vanilla Heart Publishing, short stories in three anthologies and numerous articles in various North American newspapers and magazines. Chelle also teaches an online writing course available through Kindle subscription.