The Business Of Writing

By Sarah Herlong

It dawned on me recently that I wasn’t doing enough with my writing. I was concentrating on upping my writing hours and completing stories. But what about all the other aspects of writing I need to do?

For instance I need to spend time educating myself about writing as a craft. I get called out sometimes about my problematic point of view. After doing some research, I bought some good books. Now my goal is to spend a certain amount of time per day studying.

Because I write children’s literature, this is another area I need to research. I need to learn all about the different genres for the various age groups. I also need to read inside my genre to learn more about my audience.

But as a writer I shouldn’t just read within my genre. I should read anything and everything I can get my hands on, newspapers and magazines as well as books. I never know where my inspiration will come from. It could be that magazine I just picked up at the doctor’s office, or a column in the newspaper about an upcoming poultry festival. By the way the poultry festival did inspire me, and will eventually be showing up at a critique group near you.

Then there is the aspect of getting your work ready for submission, working on query letters, and synopses. If I don’t put in time for this, I need to question my reasons for writing. I have a format query letter I can personalize for the person and story I’m trying to sell. I’m also working on doing my synopses ahead of time to prevent that rush to complete one at the last minute for an agent.

Next in the business of writing that I need to work on is finding literary agents to submit my writing to. Those don’t usually fall into your lap. You have to search for them. And this for me is the area where I drag my feet. Hopefully you don’t have this problem. Not only are there agents to submit to, but magazines, contests and publishers. All of which are just waiting to be found.

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There is one other area that is an important part of being a writer and that is the need for a platform. My only foray into that realm is being on this blog and on twitter. Being a recluse, I plan to use my expert skill of procrastination to avoid working on this one for a while.

My Fictional Past

By Sarah Herlong

When I was young and sensitive about critiques, I asked my mother to read my story. I wanted to know if the actions of my characters were realistic. She pointed out to me that putting gas cans full of gasoline in the trunk of a car was not a safe thing to do. I was crushed. The gas in the trunk was very important to my story…it was crucial!

I wanted to write stories that didn’t sound like a kid wrote them. Unfortunately I was maybe 10 years old. I decided to stop writing. I wanted to wait until I was older and knew more about the world.

I then turned my attention to art deciding to merely illustrate my friend’s book instead. We were 13. I pursued art through college. I wanted to take a creative writing course, but bottom line I was too chicken to take it. I wondered if I had anything to say that wouldn’t scream that I was only 20 years old. 

It was only after college that I started to write. A lot of writing was skewed and imprinted with depression. It wasn’t completely worthless, but was damn near close. I still have those writings to remind me of a place I don’t want to go back to.

Finally in my thirties I took a writing class. It was a fiction class and it was all about getting words on the page through prompts. We wrote during the class and at home. It blew my mind. I was in the midst of a mania induced creative period. I dreamed what every writer dreams, to quit my job in order to write. But that job inspired my writing.

Then I got laid off from that tyrannical job, worked for a funeral home and started writing again. This was the ultimate job to inspire writing. I did a comedy routine about it. Wrote stories about it. And put together and delivered a career-day presentation on the funeral business—for middle schoolers.

Then the depression returned and the writing stopped. It wasn’t until I met a little cat named Sparky that my inspiration returned. Three Sparky stories in and I think I’m safely entrenched in writing for the long haul. The irony is now I want to write children’s stories that have a realistic kid’s voice, instead of writing for my age.

SCBWI Conference

By Sarah Herlong

Recently I went to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference.

Fortunately room service was great! The hotel was very nice too. I found their preparations beforehand very organized and helpful. Online they had 3 publications. One was a Conference Brochure. It contained a conference overview, hotel information, conference schedule, workshop descriptions and faculty bios. All handy anytime I needed to access it.

Then there was the downloadable Conference Information brochure. This contained all the guidelines and deadlines for manuscript critiques, portfolio reviews, first pages/ first impressions, red eye critiques and portfolio displays. This was very helpful to have all in one place. There was also a copy of the critique form used by the entire faculty. This form for manuscript critiques was very thorough. It was covered front and back with boxes for the editor/agent to fill. They had to list the positive aspects of the work and elements that needed improvements. They had to provide notes on character development, plot and structure, language diction, voice, and marketability. There was even a section for next steps and extra comments. I found this produced the best critiques I’ve ever gotten for my work, especially the editor’s comments. Their perspective is so different than an agent’s. Having this form in advance also helped me tailor my questions around what they would have already covered in their critique. It made me more professional as well as their critique more informative.

Then most interestingly was the Newcomer’s Guide. It contained helpful tips for those attending their first conference as well as anyone who wanted to make the most of their conference experience. It included all sorts of tips to make the most of my 15 minute critique and even icebreaker questions to help you make connections with other conference goers. Frankly I got more questions about my work from the room service personnel than from the conference goers, but I’m antisocial.

 One of the things that were very helpful was a little map of the lobby with the conference rooms all labeled. This meant there was no confusion as to where my critiques and workshops were being held. I was never late for anything.

Being neurotic I came up with three questions for the conference coordinator, and she responded within a few hours with answers to all my questions. This I found impressive.

Another great thing was that afterwards there was a computerized critique of the conference itself that included boxes to expand on answers for each question. They asked specifically about each workshop, if it was as good as expected. I took that opportunity to squeal on the agent who talked about music instead of middle grade fiction. Yes, that really happened.

All in all it was a great conference that expanded not only my knowledge of the children’s market, but music as well, unfortunately.

The Joys of Writing Instructions

By Sarah Herlong

For this latest trip to a writer’s conference, I wrote instructions for the sitters, two pages for the cats, and one page for mother. I put a lot of work into writing instructions and enjoy it as much as writing a story. Here I share my truncated page of cat instructions.

Ours is a merged feline household. A Brady Bunch of cats. That’s right we have 5 cats, but that’s still 20 less than an animal hoarder.

The Original Gangster
Mother’s cat showed up at a family reunion as a kitten, and got brought home as part of the family. That’s what happens when you crash someone else’s family reunion.Spooky: Cream-colored seal point with stunning blue eyes. He’s the only male. And this means my cats relentlessly chase him when they’re outside. Inside they’re civil.

The Kittens

Found under the compactor of our local dump. They are actually 2 years old now.

Isis: She’s the fat tabby cat. Her good quality is that she loves Grammy with all her heart. Her bad quality is she shreds important papers. She also likes to jump out and scare the other cats. As you can imagine this isn’t appreciated. Keep her out of my room.

Josephine: She is a fluffy black cat. Her eyes resemble an owl and she is a gentle soul. In a show of solidarity she hangs out with the other black cats in my room.

My Old Cats

Rescued shelter cat and failed foster kitten. They stay in my room.

Hortense: She’s a black and white tuxedo. She has no faults except pooping and peeing on my bedclothes when trapped in the room with no access to the bathroom. Learned that one the hard way with an inattentive pet sitter.

Zoe: She’s another fluffy black cat. She’s got a smoker’s meow and the temperament of a smoker kicking the habit. She looks like she’s missing hair around her neck and on her tail…and she is. To tell them apart, Josephine has an upbeat attitude and never meows. Zoe is sarcastic and only looks at you with the stink eye. She meows her smoker’s meow often. Whereas the other cats will move out of your way, she gets in your way and you have to step over her, even in the dark. She has not figured out that we humans can’t see in the dark or maybe she just doesn’t care. Zoe will cut you if you try to pick her up.

The three black cats segregate themselves into my set of rooms separated from the rest of the world by the kitchen pullout door. If this door is not treated correctly it is the portal to anarchy. Creepily Josephine and Isis can open the partition door so it is important to keep my bedroom door closed too.

My old cats exclusively come in and out of the house through the left window over the orange table in my room. This is where they eat. Being black you won’t see them in the window at night and will have to open it just to see if they’re there. They grew up free feeding, so they like little amounts of food throughout the day if they stay inside. The other cats get fed in the morning and then again around 4:00 pm which they interpret as between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Basically the feeding chair is magic to them. They sit in it, and food appears. I never said they were geniuses.

Where I Write

By Sarah Herlong

I’m lucky to have an entire room devoted to writing. In the Spring, I have a great view of the blooming dog wood tree, as well as the occasional bird that alights on the windowsill. This drives my cats crazy. Even the whip snake that coiled itself in the vines growing up the window caused quite a stir, amongst us all.

I sit in a somewhat raggedy yet comfortable oversized chair and roll my computer to me via a nifty little computer desk on wheels. When I’m finished writing for the day or night, I simply roll it away from me. Likewise I have a rolling table that holds stacks of important papers.  Everything at my finger tips just a roll away. I have a variety of children’s books to use as examples of age appropriate writing. Regrettably I have a small messy pile on the floor of magazines to read, books to read and some paperwork. This is material under the constant threat of Isis the cat, who shreds paper like she works for a shady politician.

I don’t have a name for my room. I rarely call it my writing room despite that being its primary purpose. I just call it my room.  It also contains my curio cabinet. Housing the stuffed alligator, large bird skull, the glow in the dark, collapsing skeleton, and the pink head that giggles. It’s creepy… trust me. I have a more regal skeleton in the corner wearing a silk ribbon around its head, and a pink necklace that my grandmother used to wear. It sits cross-legged in a chair around a green candle. He’s a yes man. Never gives good advice.

I try to write every day, sometimes broken up with doctor’s appointments for my mother, or having to assist her throughout the day. She allows me as much private time as I need for writing, but still gripes about it. She’s lonely despite having close friends, and a daughter as an attendant. I can’t do anything about her loneliness, but I can write about it in my room.

Keeping a Writer’s Day Planner

By Sarah Herlong

This year, I decided to get a business day planner to help me achieve my goals with regards to writing. It helps me see writing as a business instead of a hobby. And like any good business you need to see where you’re going and where you’ve been.

I keep track of how many hours a day I spend writing.

I’ve noticed that after entering times like 1 hour a day, I became shocked at how little writing I was actually doing. Without really noticing it, I started working harder, and my time entries have started ticking upwards. I realized this by flipping back through the planner and seeing how far I’ve come.

I make notes about what I’m working on each day.

This has made me appreciate how much work I put into each story. I make a special notation when I finish a story. This means I can keep a quick count of what I’ve completed through the year. I’ve already written as many stories this year as I did all of last year. This day planner is really helping me!

I use it to keep track of who, what, and where.

I keep track of which agency, and the specific agent, where I send my writings. I keep track of contests I enter, including the date when the winners are announced. You would think this would be depressing to read if I’m not landing an agent or winning that contest, but it’s not. It shows progress. The year before, all I did was attend a conference. The year before that, I did nothing. At least that is all I can remember since I didn’t have a writer’s day planner.

I use it to plan my goals.

Holding the year in your hand makes it easier to conquer. I make a list of goals, and plot them throughout the day planner. I leave notes referring to the goal in the pages leading up to the important date. That way it isn’t a complete surprise what your goal is, the one you set up 6 months ago. That wouldn’t do anyone any good. Another handy tip is to have a master list briefly stating your goals attached in the front of your day planner. Then you’ll never miss a goal. Who knows where you’ll be in a year? You will.

My Biggest Writing Regret

By Sarah Herlong

I‘ve never written a story about my first epic road trip. I remember the route, but not all the fresh insights of seeing this country for the first time. We were just out of college and I had the trip planned to Arizona. With my boyfriend Eric, we pieced together the rest of the trip on the fly. We drove 10-12 hours a day. We were busy stopping at national parks and monuments, and roadside attractions. We were poor, so we stayed at hostels and Motel 6’s along the way. So here is the story of my epic road trip in 394 words.

We traveled through 26 states in 15 days. We left Charlotte having been paid by my boyfriend’s mom for making her a sequined Christmas tree skirt. Weird, I know. We sped away from an angry mob in New Orleans, where we saw burned out cars. Stayed in El Paso in a hostel full of cowboys. Then to Tucson where we saw the most beautiful sunset ever amongst the saguaro cacti. Then it was on to the meteor crater. That’s in Arizona along with the little known place called the Grand Canyon. If you have a choice, go to the meteor crater, seriously.

At this point I was faced with driving through the desert at night up into the hills and then over the Hoover Dam. There were lots of white crosses with messages warning about hell that added to the ambience of fear. Then we rounded a curve and there was Vegas laid out beneath us, lighting up the sky. It was breathtaking. We stayed in a Motel 6 off the strip with lots of people clutching briefcases, and wearing desperate looks on their faces.

It was disconcerting.

The next day we drove the length of Nevada, which is all desert. We crossed over the Sierra Nevadas and made our way to San Francisco. We were totally overwhelmed with its beauty, and promptly made our way through the tenderloin district on foot. I looked as tough and mean as I could. Eric did too, but he was wearing a sweater vest, and that look is hard to pull off. We made quite the bizarre pair alongside all the crack heads.

Then to Yellowstone where we made the acquaintance of some menacing buffalo surrounding our car, with us still in it. And we saw a moose minding it’s own business. We went to Thermopolis, a town with an old hot spring spa turned hostel. I remember a scary lady staring out at us from her window, never taking her eyes off us. It was a little Bates Motel. We had to use a payphone to contact the manager to actually let us in, which we were having a considerably hard time doing. This was before cell phones. I swear some places are just built scary, like that’s what the architect had in mind. Then after some more adventures, it was time to go home.

My Mother Loves My Writing

By Sarah Herlong

So my mother loves my writing. What’s new, right? She really likes it because it’s about her. That’s right, I write about my mother. I write about her struggles with mental illness and physical decline. She likes this. But what she really enjoys is that I wrote an entire comedy routine about her. I only have this hilarious information because I live with her. 

My parents had been very strict and very religious parents to us kids. When I first moved back home this was a problem. I scoured her old books to see where they came up with their parenting styles and convictions. I grabbed her journals to see just who was she at this time. But they weren’t personal journals, simply spiritual writings. It gave me insight into what she believed, which I already knew, but not who she was as a person. I then found a book of hers on anxiety. Not only had she underlined passages pertinent to her, she also filled in the little scoring sheets determining how anxious she was. She was very anxious. Something I never knew about her. Something I actually had in common with her. It was the next best thing to a journal from that time period.

Now I’ve discarded my wish to know my mother of the past, I want to know her now in the present. The person she has become. Frankly what I found was amusing. This is what gave birth to the comedy routine. The routine was initially just stories I would tell my siblings, something to enlighten them that she wasn’t the strict person she used to be. Now I’m actually starting to really like my mother, which is different from loving your mother.

This isn’t the first time I’ve written stories about relatives. The night before my grandmother died, I sat at the computer and wrote down every story I could remember about her. Now years later people still ask to read it because it brings her to life again if only for a few minutes. Now I’m doing it before my mom dies, that way she gets to enjoy it too.

My mother was there for me when no one was, and I’m trying to do the same for her now. What I get for my taking care of her is that I know her from a different perspective. We’re much closer because she is learning about me too. Sometimes when she goes to bed she says, “You know, I really like you Sarah Anne.” Which of course is different than loving your daughter.

A Reason To Write

 By Sarah Herlong

When my friend, Neil, was diagnosed with colon cancer I was a continent away. We would stay on the phone for hours at night talking. He wanted me to write about him so he wouldn’t be forgotten. I made notes on all the funny stories as I could remember about him. Only once he died, and the pain subsided somewhat, did I work on writing the full version of my notes. Then my cousin wanted me to tell her about Neil. It ramped up my writing about him, culminating in what I call the Book of Neil.

It was a passion of mine to fulfill this obligation. Get the material down while it’s fresh. Document our relationship so I’ll have it for the future, and so I can share Neil with others. And I can read it in the years to come to remember him as a well-rounded person instead of a shadowy person from my past.

Now I’m faced with a slightly different situation. My friend Lizzie has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. Whenever Lizzie would come over she would show interest in my writing, asking me to read her my latest creation. I would, and it passed the time while she helped my mom with various tasks. She even enjoyed my comedy routine. She had me practice it over and over with her.

Now she is in the hospital waiting to hear if they can do surgery, and waiting to start chemo. She called me today and wanted to talk. I asked if she wanted me to be there in the hospital with her now, and she said yes. I grabbed my latest two stories and arrived at the hospital in record time. She requested that I read to her. I began with Bernadette’s Big Night. Then I read Ghost Story to her. As always she liked both of them. I asked if she wanted reading material, some magazines, but what she requested is for me to read her more of my stories. She told me it helps her stop thinking about the cancer for a while.

So now my work is cut out for me. I need to write as productively as I can to polish old writings, and create new work. Maybe then I can provide her a respite from cancer even if just for a few minutes.