Sunday, May 29, 2005
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Thoughts about Reviews
As an aspiring author you never think further than getting The Call, getting the contract. I never even thought as far as reading and understanding the contract! (Duh.) So when my editor faxed me the contract, I spent the first evening after The Call, that momentous event in the life of a writer, I spent that evening sitting in my office and crying my eyes out because I couldn't understand a word of the coveted contract. (Double duh.)
After finally managing to understand the stupid thing (if I can read Beowulf in Old English, I'm not going to be defeated by a publishing contract!), I only ever thought about keeping my editor happy, i.e. handing in the revised manuscript on time (after some more panicking) and (worriedly) hoping he'll like the revisions. And after that was done, I only thought as far as getting a website set up. And then in the midst of general worrying and panicking (by now you might have realized that I'm rather good at worrying and panicking) it finally dawned on me: There will be REVIEWS of my book. Perfect strangers will read my book – and comment on it! And if they don't like it or if they just feel like it, they're going to write nasty things about it. Reviewers at amazon might trash it. AND THERE'S NOT ONE THING I'LL BE ABLE TO DO ABOUT IT. Aaaaaaargh!!!!
You see, for a writer her book is not just a book; in a way it's a part of her, something she has created. It's her baby. And now she is supposed to give it to the babysitter for the first time and leave it all alone. You see what I mean? (At that point I vaguely thought about phoning my poor editor and telling him I wanted my manuscript back and didn't want to get published after all.) (In the end, I didn't, of course. I'm not that gaga, after all!) (But the thought most definitely crossed my mind.)
In the end, I took some calming breaths (translate: ate LOADS of chocolate) (which explains why two weeks ago I had to buy this stylish new stepper where you wriggle your butt while stepping and hope that you won't only miraculously end up with this cute peach-shaped butt, but also with this tiny trim waist so you'll be able to fit into this absolutely wonderful pair of trousers you wore once ten years ago when for about two weeks you were a size 8), and decided I'd just wait and see what would happen (even though that meant I had to find another thing to worry about) (ah yes, getting my heroine to that %$&§* castle). So far, there are two reviews of THE LILY BRAND online (at onceuponaromance.net and blether.com) – and guess what! The reviewers liked my book!!! Hooray!!!! So these days, I'm running around with a goofy grin on my face (when I'm not worrying about the RT review, getting my heroine to that castle, or about my weight).
But really, today it's mucht too hot to worry at all, so I'd better make myself some more ice tea, grab a few strawberries and finally get my heroine to said castle. (Or, if that doesn't work, write another love scene *g*)
Sandy
After finally managing to understand the stupid thing (if I can read Beowulf in Old English, I'm not going to be defeated by a publishing contract!), I only ever thought about keeping my editor happy, i.e. handing in the revised manuscript on time (after some more panicking) and (worriedly) hoping he'll like the revisions. And after that was done, I only thought as far as getting a website set up. And then in the midst of general worrying and panicking (by now you might have realized that I'm rather good at worrying and panicking) it finally dawned on me: There will be REVIEWS of my book. Perfect strangers will read my book – and comment on it! And if they don't like it or if they just feel like it, they're going to write nasty things about it. Reviewers at amazon might trash it. AND THERE'S NOT ONE THING I'LL BE ABLE TO DO ABOUT IT. Aaaaaaargh!!!!
You see, for a writer her book is not just a book; in a way it's a part of her, something she has created. It's her baby. And now she is supposed to give it to the babysitter for the first time and leave it all alone. You see what I mean? (At that point I vaguely thought about phoning my poor editor and telling him I wanted my manuscript back and didn't want to get published after all.) (In the end, I didn't, of course. I'm not that gaga, after all!) (But the thought most definitely crossed my mind.)
In the end, I took some calming breaths (translate: ate LOADS of chocolate) (which explains why two weeks ago I had to buy this stylish new stepper where you wriggle your butt while stepping and hope that you won't only miraculously end up with this cute peach-shaped butt, but also with this tiny trim waist so you'll be able to fit into this absolutely wonderful pair of trousers you wore once ten years ago when for about two weeks you were a size 8), and decided I'd just wait and see what would happen (even though that meant I had to find another thing to worry about) (ah yes, getting my heroine to that %$&§* castle). So far, there are two reviews of THE LILY BRAND online (at onceuponaromance.net and blether.com) – and guess what! The reviewers liked my book!!! Hooray!!!! So these days, I'm running around with a goofy grin on my face (when I'm not worrying about the RT review, getting my heroine to that castle, or about my weight).
But really, today it's mucht too hot to worry at all, so I'd better make myself some more ice tea, grab a few strawberries and finally get my heroine to said castle. (Or, if that doesn't work, write another love scene *g*)
Sandy
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Swan Lake Ponderings
Adam Cooper and Scott Ambler in Bourne's Swan Lake
Cissy has still not arrived at her castle (duh), but at least I've managed to finish my article on The Search for Masculinity in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake today. Yeah! And it was such a good excuse to watch the DVD of the ballet once again. I absolutely ADORE Bourne's Swan Lake! It's lovely, sexy, heart-wrenching, and there are lots of extremely handsome men. What more does a girl want? *G*
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
More Chatter
I spent the last four hours (which just shows what a computer dummy I am!) inserting a link to my wonderful new blog in the menu of my homepage. But strangely enough, the welcome page remains unchanged and blog-linkless. *scratching my head* Anyway, the link appears somewhere so I guess it is alright. For now.
So what am I doing these days when not being mystified by the intricate workings of cyberspace in general and my 'puter in particular? At uni, the semester is in full swing, enabling me to panic about the preparations for my class on a regular basis. Teaching, I've found, has a lot to do with acting and standing on a stage: you are responsible for the amusement of the masses -- and you always hope they won't start throwing rotten vegetables at you. (But I wouldn't have any qualms about throwing the veggies back! Hehe.)
As to my writing life, I'm happily (or not so happily) working on my next novel, The-Book-after-the-First-Publication, which, people keep telling me, is the most difficult book to write. (So this certainly gives me something else to worry about!) The story is again a historical romance, set in 1827 (I needed steamships on the Rhine, and there weren't any before 1827). Cissy, my poor heroine, got stuck on that steamship on the Rhine for weeks on end because her author was having panic attacks and suffering from severe bouts of insecurity and self-doubt. In the end, I decided to go for the "patchwork approach" and depart from the linear way of writing. So, while she still hasn't reached that deuced castle in the Black Forest yet, she has at least had some fun in the bedroom! Yeah! *G*
Sandy
So what am I doing these days when not being mystified by the intricate workings of cyberspace in general and my 'puter in particular? At uni, the semester is in full swing, enabling me to panic about the preparations for my class on a regular basis. Teaching, I've found, has a lot to do with acting and standing on a stage: you are responsible for the amusement of the masses -- and you always hope they won't start throwing rotten vegetables at you. (But I wouldn't have any qualms about throwing the veggies back! Hehe.)
As to my writing life, I'm happily (or not so happily) working on my next novel, The-Book-after-the-First-Publication, which, people keep telling me, is the most difficult book to write. (So this certainly gives me something else to worry about!) The story is again a historical romance, set in 1827 (I needed steamships on the Rhine, and there weren't any before 1827). Cissy, my poor heroine, got stuck on that steamship on the Rhine for weeks on end because her author was having panic attacks and suffering from severe bouts of insecurity and self-doubt. In the end, I decided to go for the "patchwork approach" and depart from the linear way of writing. So, while she still hasn't reached that deuced castle in the Black Forest yet, she has at least had some fun in the bedroom! Yeah! *G*
Sandy
The Maiden Voyage
... or rather, the maiden blog entry. :O)
Hello everybody out there,
it certainly feels strange to chatter into cyberspace like this, even though I am known for talking to myself. (Occasionally.) Last week I went to the German Booklovers Conference in Wiesbaden and was told that blogging is now all the rage -- so here I am, adding my voice to the blogging community. So welcome to my world and the trials and tribulations of Sandra Schwab, romance author. I hope you'll enjoy yourself on my Chatterblog!
All the best,
Sandy
Hello everybody out there,
it certainly feels strange to chatter into cyberspace like this, even though I am known for talking to myself. (Occasionally.) Last week I went to the German Booklovers Conference in Wiesbaden and was told that blogging is now all the rage -- so here I am, adding my voice to the blogging community. So welcome to my world and the trials and tribulations of Sandra Schwab, romance author. I hope you'll enjoy yourself on my Chatterblog!
All the best,
Sandy
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