To Write is to Learn Patience

There is a lot of waiting in this career called writing. Waiting for the book to show up at the library so you can do some research. Waiting to hear back from editors and publishers. Waiting for the five o'clock bell to ring, so you can do what you like to do most - write. And at the moment, waiting to hear back from magazine publishers. I sent one off to my magazine-of-first-choice and they agreed almost immediately to buy it. And then I waited. And waited. Eighteen months later I sent an inquiry and I was told to "be patient, sometimes these things take time. Yes, we still want to publish your article, but..." It's now 27 months since they took the piece, and 8 months since my last inquiry... and I'm still waiting. I really don't want to send it someplace else - they pay very well, indeed, and I truly wrote it for them, in their style. So I wait.

I have two more queries out for finished articles, and I'm waiting on those publishers as well... One is for Vietnam Magazine, the second for World War II Magazine.

I think the solution is to dive into my next article, and thereby to distract myself. Colonial Life, here I come.

Merry Christmas. I hope all is well.

November is a good month...

It has been a great month indeed. My article "Your Best Customer's Business Burned Down - Now what do you do?" appeared in Property & Casualty Magazine early this month.

A week later, Portland Family Magazine published "Getting to Know Your Parents." It's a great (new) free magazine on the Portland scene. I encourage you to watch for it in local coffee shops and restaurants, and beauty parlors.

And yesterday, American Digger, a treasure hunting magazine, published my article "Have All the Big Ones Been Found?" American Digger is mostly by subscription, but it can be found at The Lifestyle Store 2550 NE Hwy 20 Ste. 140, Bend, OR 97701.

The challenge, I am finding, is not in getting published, but in finding a pathway to earning enough to allow me to do what I love to do most - writing. For every article that I publish there are two or three magazines that wanted it for free. Trade publications, in particular, are apparently deluged with writer submissions that are offered to them for nothing. That's usually because the author is promoting something else. I will occasionally give something away to allow me to break into a new genre, but I'm trying to phase that out.

With that in mind, I am tinkering with an article idea that might be suitable for one of two magazines that pay a rate that might allow someone to develop a liveable wage. Wish me luck.

My pattern of publishing is "wrong" according to American patterns. I almost never write a query letter. Instead, I write a completed article, polish it like mad, and send it off. I have received a total of three turn-downs and have published 20 articles, so my success rate is good.

Attached is my American Digger article. I hope you enjoy it.

New Article - and Writing Update

My latest article, Getting to Know Your Parents, is out today in Portland Family Magazine. I will reproduce it here when it is off the stand. This is a fine magazine, and I encourage you to pick it up - it's free - in coffee shops, cafes, and nail salons around town. It's been a busy time: o My article Your Best Customer's Business Burned Down - Now What do you do? appears in National Underwriters magazine Property & Casualty appears this week. o I have two articles appearing in the December issue of Family Chronicle Magazine, a genealogy magazine. o I have an article appearing in American Digger, a treasure hunting magazine in January.

My Writing Progress Report

Last Wednesday I stumbled over a local magazine that I'd never seen before. It's one of those freebies that you see in beauty parlors and coffee shops. It's well done, glossy, and well-edited. I sent them a proposal for an article on Thursday. The editor confirmed that she liked my idea an hour later. I started the article Thursday night, but then it sat until Sunday because I was speaking (briefly) at church on Saturday morning. On Sunday I finished it, and I sent it off Monday at 2:00 pm. At 3:00 they accepted it for publication in their November issue. I think that's the shortest period between conception and acceptance for me. I've had good luck in recent months. At the moment I have four pending artciles, one for November, two for December, and one for January. Based on my over-confidence, I took a chance. I sent off an article that I have had sitting on the shelf for five years to a magazine that "doesn't pay for articles." In theory, I'm asking for the editor's comments and ideas, but what I'm really doing is asking him to make an exception and find some way to pay for this article. I've done that once before, and it worked, so I figured, why not take a chance? It won't always work. The article has to be very polished, I think. I won't give the article to them. I've done too much of that. He tried the "you'll see your name in print" routine, but I don't need a byline in his magazine, which is targeted towards the insurance industry. The old saying that you're "building your portfolio of published work" just doesn't wash for me any more. I have plenty of articles in print in fifteen or more magazines and one more magazine title doesn't do anything for me. I'll still write for free from time to time, but only for a charity or cause that I believe in. Robert Heinlein said keep trying until you publish everything you write. Well Bob, I'm trying. I think I have one or two more on the shelf. (I also have about five in various stages of production, but that's another story.) Stay tuned. I'll tell you if he finds the money somewhere in his budget. Stilo Arripere - Seize the Pen - and keep on writing.

Amazing Find! American History at my Fingertips.

I dropped into an antique shop in Eugene and prowled through their assortment of books, pamphlets, and ephemera. I was looking for things that might interest me - and I have a wide range of interests. Without going into detail about what I saw or where, suffice it to say that I came home with a small bundle of papers that I paid what, to me, was a lot of money. I paid $40. I didn't go through the bundle until I got to the office, and then I got a shock. The Continental Congress met three times. What most of us think of as "The Continental Congress" was actually the Second Continental Congress, which culminated in the Declaration of Independence. Before that, in 1774, the First Continental Congress laid the groundwork for what was to come. Among other things, they listed their grievances against Britain, and approved the first draft of the Bill of Rights. When they adjourned they contacted a local printer and commissioned a pamphlet called "Extracts from the votes and proceedings of the American Continental Congress held at Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774 containing the resolves, the association, an address to the people of Great-Britain, and a memorial to the inhabitants of the British American colonies." It was dated September 5, 1774. You guessed it. In the back of the packet of miscellaneous papers that I purchased was an original pamphlet dated 1774. It needs some gentle restoration, which I will probably turn over to a professional. Then I probably need to find a museum to donate it to. I'm still shaking.

What have you read that made your heart clamor for more, more of this?

I remember the first time that I read a book by Robert Heinlein. It was one of his juveniles adapted for publication in Boy's Life, a magazine that I started reading when I was twelve. I was amazed. Is it possible that there can be more writing by this man? It was possible, and thus began my forty-plus year love affair with Bob Heinlein. Some of his stuff was great, most of it was very good, and only a few pieces, thankfully, were bad. He's not the point of this blog post, but rather the moment that I stumbled over his writing. Sparks flew. I have heard of other authors having that impact on readers, most notably Mark Twain. I had that same feeling this past week. I ducked into a small estate sale in Gresham, Oregon on a Sunday, which is a great day to visit an estate sale. Magazines were free, and I quickly piled up several copies of "Firsts," a magazine about first editions, and then more than fifteen copies of a magazine called Biblio, which I had never seen before. Biblio is also about first editions, but is broader in its approach. Auction results are given, bookstore owners are highlighted (including Michael Powell), and collectible ephemera is discussed. One article discussed more than a dozen English-language bookstores in Paris. Another dealt with the original Tom Swift series. I have told my wife that I won't subscribe to any new magazines unless I drop one. I would have to find a way to make room for Biblio. It was that good. Reading my first issue of Biblio was bittersweet. By the time I read my first copy Biblio was already a thing of the past. It lasted just three or four years, and was gone by 1999 or 2000. I have little room in my den for more magazines, but it will be hard to not find room for these 25 issues that I picked up. But I will find the space, I think. It was that good. And I'll watch, I think, for the issues that I am missing, to complete my set. What book or magazine did you read that caused sparks to fly, that made your brain or heart clamor for more, more of this? Add your comments to my blog. Thanks for reading.

Free Books, They Told Me.. A Dangerous Thing to Say to To a Leslie

Kristi and I stopped by an estate sale on Sunday. Their internet listing said that they closed at 3, and also that they closed at five, which gave us an advantage. Most people left, but they let us stay and root around without competition Almost everything was picked over, but four bookshelves were labeled "free books on Sunday." They meant that ALL books and magazines were free. That's a dangerous thing to say to a Leslie. Kristi helped me haul more than 40 books to the car, including several dozen kids' books from the 1940's to mid-1950s in new or almost new condition. They included the Real Book of Daniel Boone, All About Dinosaurs, eight books from the Landmark series of books, including books about the Marquis de LaFayette, Lincoln, The Battle of Britain, the U.S. Air Force, and others. It appears that a small, two-shelf bookshelf had been slid in front of a tall bookshelf, and no one troubled to move it. They snooze, I win. Most of the books are on eBay, with more to follow. I also picked up several dozen issues of "Biblio" and "Firsts," both books for book collectors. So the hint is, if you love books, go to estate sales on the last day. You won't always find free books, but you may find some bargains. Good reading.

What Books have Impacted you?

A recent Facebook post challenged me to list ten books that have impacted me. Fortunately, there was no requirement to explain why you had been impacted. Here's my list, which is not in any particular order, and which is not complete. The Power of one, by Bryce Courtenay Don Quixote de la Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes Shibumi, by Trevanian The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Robert Heinlein The Honor Bound series, by W.E.B. Griffin Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsberg My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George The Immigrants Saga, by Howard Fast Winds of War and War and Remembrance, by Herman Wouk All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot. Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis Money, Possessions, & Eternity, by Randy Alcorn. Okay, I cheated. That's more than ten. The powerful impact that two of those books had on me came back to me as I wrote the list - Mixed Up Files and My Side of the Mountain. Both of those are kid's books, but I can still remember how I felt when I read them, approximately 1.2 million years ago. I decided that the thing to do was right to Jean Craighead George and E.L. Konigsberg and say "thank you." Sadly, both of those authors have passed away in the past two years. I'll never have the chance to say thanks. I looked through my list and quickly determined that the authors of 10 of my 11 favorite books have passed away. See if you can see the one that remains. My challenge is for you to write to your favorite author, not to request an autograph, but to say thank you. If your favorite isn't alive, write to your English teacher, or to the librarian who introduced you to those books. We are in debt to anyone who introduces us to a writing that impacts us.

Like Elephants, I Work for Peanuts

I stumbled over an idea for a treasure hunting article. The magazine that I chose (which shall remain nameless) asked for a proposal and an outline of how I would treat the subject.  As I almost always do, I ignored their request, and just wrote the article.

Which they immediately purchased.  For peanuts.  This writing business is tough.  To put the payment in perspective (they asked me to conceal the payment - they usually don't pay at all) it would pay for a medium-nice dinner.  If you don't drink a glass of wine or have dessert.

Peanuts.

But hey, I love writing.  This is about the tenth article in a row that I have written on spec, which immediately sold.  I must be doing something right.

Novel is progressing well.  Hope to send it off to a couple of agents soon.

AICPA Article

Here's a link to my latest article, which appeared in the E newsletter put out by the AICPA, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants:

http://www.cpa2biz.com/Content/media/newsletters/cpainsider/cpainsider140324.jsp

A letter to my cat

Dear Frodo,

I'm jotting you this note in the interests of protecting our relationship.  We've been together seven or eight years, and I have reached the conclusion that I am doing the things necessary to maintain our relationship, but you are not doing your part.  I feed you, keep you inside when it is cold outside, and take you to the vet when you need a rabies shot.  (I know you don't care for that, but it's important.)  I pet you every day, even when you dig your claws into my leg.  On the rare occasions when I leave town, I make sure that there is someone to look after you and feed you.

I don't ask much from you.  Most of what I do ask, you handle just fine.  I asked you not to throw up on the pillow in the spare room - like our old cat did - and you've complied.  I ask you to do your business either outside, or in the kitty box, and you do that just fine.  I don't think you've had an accident. 

But I need more.  Your job is to protect the house, and the yard, and the moles are getting out of hand.  There are at least three of them that need your attention.  Our old dog helped with that, and I think you should be able to do the same.  You outweigh them by a factor of eight or ten, and you have claws and some rather sharp teeth.

So, that's your assignment.  Save me from having to go dig in the dirt with the four mole traps that are rusting on the shelf in the garage.  Go to it.  By the way, there is something in it for you.  I have my eye on some catnip, and if you can accomplish this simple task, I'll arrange for it to find it's way to your bed.

Thanks,

Bill

Good news!

My pen has been busy, and I have some good news.
o I sold two articles last week to Family Chronicle, a genealogy magazine.
o I placed a third article with the AICPA - American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 
o And it appears that I will soon place a fourth with American Digger Magazine (a treasure hunter's magazine.)

Persistence is the key.  Fellow writers, hang in there, and write about things you care about.  Write for yourself, not for others. 

Meanwhile, my novel pushes forward.  I am on rewrites...

Writing about Family History - and Teaching Family History at Good Shepherd Community Church

On March 2, 2014 I taught a class called Introduction to Family History at Good Shepherd Community Church, as part of a continuing program called Heritage of Hope.  It was a special day in several ways.  I shared the microphone with my friend Stu Weber, and it was also my anniversary.  Twenty-nine years ago today, Stu married Kristi and I.  Happy 29th, Kristi

I'll be teaching a similar class at Cornerstone Community Church in May. 

Click on this link to access the slides from today's presentation at Good Shepherd. 

 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SUxOKLmrEwitWYbX7rwjtmWnF6T2o0nqS6SG8UkkIV8/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

As many of you may know, I've had some success in writing for family history magazines, including Family Chronicle and Discovering Family History.  Good news - I sold two articles to Family Chronicle yesterday!  Watch this space and I'll keep you informed of when the magazine comes out, and I'll eventually post the articles here.  One article is called "What's a Family Heirloom, and Where can I Get One."  The other is called "Handling Sensitive Information - and What to do About the Black Sheep in your Family Tree."

Writing, vs. Working. Hmmm

I recently picked up a nice small business consulting engagement that brings some revenue our way at a good time.  It's the kind of work that I am qualified to handle, and I'm looking forward to it.  And I resent the interruption of my writing that it represents. 

Partly, this is a strategic decision - short-term goals vs. long-term goals.  The consulting consulting deal will take a few weeks, perhaps less, and provide almost immediate rewards.  The writing of a novel is more strategic, a process that began more than ten years ago, and may reach fruition a few months.    Maybe.

It's also a strictly financial decision.  This allows us to push a little more money into retirement accounts, which is important.  

There's also the basic challenge for writers:  Do we write, which we love.  Or work, which we must do so that we can write. Less than 2 percent of writers make their living doing just writing.  For almost all writers, some other job pays the bills.

I placed an article with the Journal of Accounting yesterday.  No cash (ouch, it hurts to say that) but it continues to build my professional platform, and it gets my name out there.

Keep on writing!

Robert Heinlein's Rules for Writers

Robert Heinlein, sometimes called the Dean of science fiction, had five rules for writers.  For those of us who see ourselves as writers, they have stood up pretty well to the test of time.

Heinlein’s Original Rules:
1. You must write.
That's not hard.  I constantly turn to writing for fun.  It means that I read less than I used to read, but I love to write. 

2. You must finish what you write.
A little harder for me.  I have a number of unfinished pieces.  I am torn between writing what I like, and writing what I can sell.  At the moment, I have six pieces in various stages of development, but that's not all bad.  Sometimes pieces need to perk, or need to find a home (an interested magazine) before they can be completed.  But I hope that number doesn't increase.

3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
Hard.  When does "writing" become "rewriting?"  Every piece gets revised along the way.  At least, mine do.

4. You must put the work on the market.
I think he means "sell it."  I have not found  that to be a problem.  I've been very fortunate in finding a home for most of what I have written.


5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.
Not quite sure what he means, except "keep selling."  That's curious, coming from him, because with one or two exceptions when he was starting out, Heinlein sold everything he wrote  

Malevil, by Robert Merle. I'd rate it 8.5 out of 10

Malevil is a 1972 French novel about a man who restores a medieval castle in rural France as a tourist attraction.  He and some friends and employees are in a vault deep int he castle bottling wine when a nuclear holocaust hits the region, and therefore survive.  The novel starts out slow, but picks up pace nicely after the bomb drops.  Nice character development, and this work doesn't suffer for being translated from French, although it feels a bit dated today.  It was made into a movie in 1981, which wasn't released in the U.S., although it may be available on DVD.  I'd rate it an 8.5 out of 10, which is pretty high for me.

The book is hard to find, and relatively expensive when you do find it. 

Robert Merle also wrote The Day of the Dolphin, which was made into a movie, I think with George C. Scott.

How to teach your kids to love books.

Some years ago, one of my kids won a reading contest at school.  My kid's teacher came to me and asked for advice on how to get her kid interested in reading.  Here's the conversation that followed:

Me: Do you have books in the house?

Teacher:  Sure.  We have a bookcase.

Me:  We have four thousand books in our house.  My son probably has a thousand books of his own.

Teacher:  Oh my gosh.

Me:  Do you read to her?

Teacher:  Well, I did, when she was little.

Me:  I still read to my son.  He can read on his own, and doesn't need my help, but we both enjoy being together with a good book.  It's a special time for us.   We often read together just before lights out.  Does your kid have a tv in her room?

Teacher:  Well, yes.

Me:  Not my son.  We help him manage his tv, and video games, too.  It leaves a lot more time for reading.

End of story.   My daughter loves reading every bit as much as my son.  Both are adults now, and they manage their own time.  They find time to read dozens of books every year.  Most adults haven't read a single book since they left high school.

It's not hard.  If you want your kids to read, fill your house with books.  Let your kids see you reading.  And tell your kids to turn the tv off.

This blog is parked at styloarripere.blogspot.com

Stylo arripere means "seize the pen" in Latin.

I wanted Carpe librum, "seize the book" but it was already taken

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

I love books.  I love looking at them, reading them, and of course, buying them.  I tried estimating how many books I own, and gave up when I started getting to scary numbers.  I picked up a copy of a first edition of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at an estate sale not long ago.  It was two dollars, so I figured I couldn't get hurt.   It had no dust jacket, and the owner's name scrawled in front, so it turns out it is worth about what I paid for it.  It was written, by the way, by Ian Fleming, of James Bond fame.  Now, there's a writer who could move from genre to genre. 

I wish there were a place that I could get a good scan of an original dust jacket.  I know that there websites where you can order a replacement dj, but the cost would be prohibitive.  Wouldn't it be nice if we could help one another with that, share our dust jackets?  Two problems, of course.  First, most of us don't have a scanner big enough to scan an entire dust jacket.  And even if we did, we don't have a printer big enough to reprint one. 

Keep reading.