Pacific Northwest Writers Association's annual summer conference is one of the biggest in the Northwest. There are always interesting people at this low key, casual conference who are pursuing publication in every fiction genre imaginable, as well as nonfiction and literary. PNWA usually boasts a good number of editors and agents that are equally well-pursued by attending writers. I like meeting these writers because they're full of great stories and a bright hope that's pretty contagious. They want information and an "in" in the publishing world, and if they can combine the two in the offered workshops, all the better.

I presented the seminar, Internet Promotions for Every Writer, on Thursday afternoon to a packed house. Because of the nature of the program, I determined that a PowerPoint show would best demonstrate select effective promotional author websites and MySpace pages, podcasts, YouTube book videos and blog sites. I'd requested a projector when asked about AV needs prior to the conference. But my looooong experience as a speaker, teacher and trainer compelled my distrust of having what I need "provided" at a speaking venue so I bought my own projector. I also took a multiplug and extension cord. Good thing, too, as the large room was not only devoid of requested AV, it had striped wallpaper. Wheeeeeee! Next time I'll take a screen, if the gig is local. Thanks goodness I had a fabulous support team with me--my critique partners Lisa Wanttaja and DeeAnna Galbraith. They helped me set up and took down afterwards when I was meeting attendees. Lisa also videoed my presentation, which I'll edit and post to my site and on DVD that I'll make available as a "gift with purchase" of any of my books.

I had such a great time at PNWA, that it made me nostalgic for the early days of MMMmmm pre-published authoring when I attended every RWA (Romance Writers of America)annual conference in some far away city in the dead of summer with a couple thousand other romance writers. All of us were full of great stories and bright hope, too. I'm not doing RWA this summer, though the site is closer to Seattle than it has been in years. A couple of my critique partners are going to San Francisco on Wednesday and I'm sending with them my best wishes and fond hellos to old friends I'm sorry to miss seeing this year. But there's always next summer . . .

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMelinda

We often hear authors say that their editors or agents demanded that the entire concept for the book be changed to something--more marketable, modern, romancy, edgy, different but not too much so, and so on. Of all the novels I've written and published I've never had to rewrite a whole book, just bits. One of my editors did call once and say if I kept the ending of a certain book we'd get hate mail. I love my readers and didn't want them to be "hatin' on me." I trusted that editor to know what would fly in the market and with reviewers and readers. So I changed the ending and a character I was certain should have died became a central character in the follow-on book, which was far more successful than the changed book.

However, an author might want to be a bit circumspect in whom he/she invests trust to read or edit his/her work. If you have a contract and have been assigned an editor, that's who you establish a trusting working relationship with if at all possible. It's somewhat the same when you're working with a critique group or others who read your stories and suggest or demand that you change this or that because "I bumped on this" or "That just doesn't work for me." Do you trust that these critiquers to impel change for your work, and why? If you're going for a general impression feedback or mechanics editing on your work that's one thing. If you want to make the book the best it can possibly be, be sure you put it in front of those who have the chops in terms of writing, publishing and marketing experience to know how to help you make your good book great.

I have a friend who will let anyone who wants to read her WIP (work in progress) because she wants to know what "the ordinary reader" thinks of the story so she can rewrite and make it better accordingly. IMO, she's looking for support in all the wrong places. I've been with my critique group since 1991. I trust each for their individual strengths they bring to the critique session--the line editing grammarian, the along for the ride plot watcher, the scene goal keeper, the content expert, the information gatherer. Several years ago I participated in another critique group for too many long months. The group leader, a published author, would read my chapter and tell me to rewrite it because it had problems. The others nodded, but said little that would help me know what to change or why. I'd change the piece and take it back. The leader invariably would pronounce it still unworthy and decree that I change it back to what it was before. More nodding. No specifics. I'd do that and would be told to change it again because it still wasn't working. Because I hadn't yet sold a book and the leader had, I trusted the leader and the others to know what was right with my work. Consequently, I soon allowed myself to feel like a no talent hack instead of the award-winning writer I'd proven to be. One day I had what my dear friend Darcy calls an epiphany. I was trusting people who didn't have the power of yes to buy and publish my book to tell me that I couldn't write a book that would be acceptable to them. Why in the world, I asked myself, would I continue to subject myself tender creative self to that kind of "suffer for your art" abuse? So I moved to another city--okay, yeah, I liked these people too much to get confrontational about their treatment of my work and the moving thing was already in the works. Thank goodness.

Trust and Verify
Trust is the engine of all relationships. You go in, hoping for the best, but you must do more than blindly hope or trust things will work out. You must verify your trust is deserved. Is this situation, are these people delivering on what I'd hoped? Am I giving as good (I do mean GOOD) as I get? If the answers to these questions aren't feeling "right" in any way, it may be time to look for better opportunities to cast your trust elsewhere. And most important, trust yourself to know what's right for you.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMelinda

Summer has finally come to the Pacific Northwest. It's sunny, humid and hot--for here. I'm sitting in the back garden writing this on the AlphaSmart in a shady little patio area we've created under a lovely weeping willow. I've finished hand watering the plants, hanging baskets, fruit trees and two large kitchen garden plots we've put in this year. All while I do my own plotting about this creative project or that novel. (Please note that the picture is not of my garden in Seattle, but one I shot of Monet's in Giverney, France in April. Sigh.)

Since the DH and I keep talking about that automatic irrigation system instead of actually putting one in, we hand water. It's time consuming, but very pleasant to do in the delicious early mornings and velvety sultry evenings. We're one of the few in the neighborhood who have an air conditioner on the house, so on the hottest days it's very coooool inside. However, we spend most of our time outside sitting, swinging, lounging here and there with a glass of wine in the evening and coffee in the mornings. My summer days turn into a sort of creative observation and cultivation ebb and flow in the garden. Everywhere I look there's something new to see like the Russian blue tomato plant with its crazy double stack mutant tomato, currently bright green.

This morning I noticed the fountain in the front bed was nearly bone dry. I turned the hose on it only to discover that, speaking of bones, something had left remnants of its KFC snack in our fountain--now cloudy, murky and oh so putrid. At a raucous squawk, I looked up at a crow sitting on the porch roof. The trickster cocked its head at me. "Yeah, I so lunched poolside, sue me," the wretch seemed to taunt. I don't claim to be able to communicate with animals but that crow's attitude was pretty clear. I filled the fountain again, now less cloudy but still contains bones of crow lunches past. Think I'll let the DH deal with that. Which may involve an air rifle or a tiny green apples launched from a slingshot. And all I want him to do is clean the fountain, but the DH is invariably a clean up the root cause first kind of guy.

Cultivating Creativity
There's something about keeping the body busy as when you're doing dishes, polishing the car, watering the garden, taking a shower or mowing the grass that creates a shift in consciousness. Your conscious mind is busy running the body, which allows your creative self or subconscious mind to whisper memories or thoughts that lead to creative ideas and solutions. Because we're so action or results oriented, we can't easily hear that still small voice within when we're in the thick of it, trying to get something done.

No matter what your deadline is or how much you have to do, you'll want to take a five minute break once an hour to breathe deeply and quiet your mind. Focus on your breath and direct your observation within, noticing how relaxed your body becomes. Your conscious mind is tricked into believing you're only deep breathing and relaxing to help the body keep performing well. But the creative you knows you're really taking this little respite to listen to the still small voice within. With conscious practice, you'll be able to drop into relaxation and inspiration immediately. When they say take time for yourself--this is what they mean. Take time to cultivate your creativity.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMelinda