Hi all!
I don’t have any great wisdom to impart, or challenges to offer, or prizes to give. I just want to check in so you won’t forget me out there in the blogosphere.
The heading? Well, as I said recently, I’m focusing this month on finding ways to get Mrs. Job published and marketed. I’m checking out self-publishing — again (now that my contract with iUniverse is broken) — and the possibilities of aid with marketing if I choose that route. Obviously I haven’t been very successful on my own.
I’ve also submitted a query letter to an agent who looks right for the book and I’ve paid money toWriter’s Digest for an evaluation of that letter. It will be weeks before I hear their opinion. I’ve sent the manuscript to Beaver’s Pond Press for an estimate of cost for publishing with them. I’ve consulted a marketer who is looking into her contacts to see if there might be someone who specializes in working with authors. And I’m considering “Create Space.”
In consultation with my MFA sister, I’ve decided on the new working title: Pomegranates and Special Cheeses. Perhaps with a colon addition: A Biblical Love Story. If you’ve read Mrs. Job you may recognize this as a description of their young love, mentioned a few times in the text.
It goes without saying that the book needs a different cover — more appealing if one should see it sitting on a bookstore shelf.
In the meantime, it’s taking a lot of time to learn the music (to be done a cappella) for the nun’s chorus in “The Sound of Music.” Mark Abelsen, the director, is, I’m happy to say, a stickler for perfection. Scary, but should produce a really great result. As for Sister Margaretta, I think I’ve got her part down, except when I panic on stage.
And then there’s winter in Minnesota, though I’m happy to say we seem to be past the extreme deep freeze that had my fingers numb in no time when I went outside.
The part that bugs me most, perhaps, is that I can’t get to “My Father’s House.” I’ve thought about it, and I think the word really is “can’t.” I just can’t postpone the work on “The Sound of Music,” and I’ve committed myself to working this month on Mrs. Job — oops! Pomegranates and Special Cheeses.
I would be very happy to receive comments — on the potential title, or possible marketers, or to share cold weather stories, or anything else I’ve said here — or just to let me know you’re still willing to bother with me in spite of my frequent absences.
I have received e-mail responses to my latest blog, encouraging me to keep pushing for Mrs. Job’s publication, making really nice comments about the book. Such things are good to hear.
monagustafsonaffinito 