It's getting there

Hello my loyal readers (you're still out there, right?). How's all your writing coming along? It's been a slow painful process here, but I finally see the light at the end of the rewriting tunnel and it is bright! (Okay that was a terrible cliche, please forgive me.)

Anyway, I'm eager to hear how you're all doing. Hope the publishing business is being good to you and you're all still plugging away. I'll try and stop by your blogs when I get a minute and catch up.

Until then, happy writing.

Happy Holidays & All That Jazz

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to send warm holiday wishes your way. Hope you're all enjoying this festive time of year. I'm proud to say that I have been BUSY working on rewriting Beauty Secrets and it's so much better it's embarrassing really. I'm so proud of myself for finding time to get it done what with working full-time and a 9 (almost 10-month old) at home. It hasn't been easy, but if this is what I want to do, I have to find time to do it, right? So I'm going to get back to writing now, but I wanted to say Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and may all your writing dreams come true.

Social Media! Tips Please!

Hi guys,

Just wondering how many social media sites you actively participate in. Besides blogging here, I'm also on Twitter (@stephdamore), LinkedIn (Stephanie (Taylor) Damore), Google+ (Stephanie Damore) and of course Facebook, but I use the last one for personal connections, not business. Do I have time to manage all these sites? No. Not if I want to be a productive employee and writer, but I try (although admittedly I let Google+ fall by the wayside).

Anywhooo, any of you have any social media management tips or tricks to share? I figure I better get a handle on this before I'm a uber-busy published writer :)

Oh, and feel free to share your handles in the comments, I'd love to add you to my network(s)!

I have nothing to say :)

But I wanted to blog anyway. I was just surfing my fellow writers' blogs and thought, gosh, I miss these guys. I *wish* I had time to spend reading all your fabulous blogs everyday, but sadly I don't (and seriously, who really does?). Lately whenever I get the urge to blog, I redirect that energy into my revision, which by the way I rewrote 3500 words yesterday! Feeling good. Anyway, while I might not be blogging regularly, I'm still here, still reading and of course, still writing.

Love ya!

Hi There

Hi writer buddies,

Just wanted to say hi! I'm still working on this rewrite, which of course means I haven't had time to blog (because if I have time to blog, then I have time to write, right? Right.). I'm still shooting to finish the first draft (or would that be the 100th draft? Or can I start over at 1 because it's a rewrite?) by the end of September. Can I do it? Of course I can. Write Stephanie, write!

Digital? Print? Does it Matter?

As part of my day job I get market reports that cover all aspects of publishing. One recent report was talking about the growth of digital vs. print books and how digital is expected to account for 16% of the market by 2013. While I find this interesting in terms of what it means to the publishing industry and how the face of the bookstore is changing, I'm left wondering how does this impact me as a writer, and does it really matter?

Now, I'm no mathematician or business analysis, but I have read articles about what this means for royalties and advances, how the writer seems to get shortchanged, but once again I ask you, does this really matter?

So this post doesn't become too philosophical, let me acknowledge that I want to make money and support writers' rights, and I don't think it's right that it seems like it's always the artists that gets screwed over.

But that's not my point.

What I'm getting at is that to me I don't care if my cozies are available in e-format or paperback; I just care that they're available. And I'm not thinking I'm going to make my livelihood being a writer, but maybe put some money aside for my daughter's college account, or take a nice vacation, buy a boat, something like that.

So I ask you, does the digital revolution really matter to you? If so, why or why not? And if you totally disagree with me, even better :)

Culture of Cool

There's something fundamentally cool about being a writer. The simple imaginary force required to craft a story is enough to say, "Hey look, aren't I brilliant? Check out what I've written. Love it. Share it."

Not to mention the culture of cool that is the writing community. Talk about support! If you ever doubt your talent, motivation, sanity, just jump on Twitter (no, not off a bridge) and you'll know within two seconds that you're not alone. The fact that writers embrace technology is the icing. Oh Blogger, Twitter, and now Google+, whatever shall I do without you? (Probably write more.)

I'm not sure what I love more about being a writer--the stories I create or the friends I make. What about you? Is it your love of cats that keeps you scribbling away? Or the coffee? What other cliches do us writers adhere to?

And speaking of cool, like the new blog design? It's a work in progress...