WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MARCH

1. The Weather: Spring is in the air. I can see the cherry blossoms blooming out my office window, and my heart somersaults. This is the time of year when saplings surge through the ground, promising to replace the dreary wet carpet of winter with a fresh growth of green. Muddied boots take a rest. Sandals are fashionable again. It's fun to step outdoors and tend to your winter-weary garden. As Margaret Atwood famously said," In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."

2. The Indian festival of Holi: "Spring is nature's way of saying, Let's party." (Robin Williams) And, no better way to do that than with the great Indian festival of colors. Also known as Vasant Utsav, Holi marks the onset of spring in India. In recent years, Holi has been celebrated with much gusto both in India and abroad, proclaiming with colors and water, the vitality of the new season. Several different types of colored powder are sold in Indian stores and markets. The idea is to grab handfuls of different colors and smear all over the nearest face, self included. The aim is on friends and family, although complete strangers in this popular block party don't mind either. A word of warning: Try not to smile too wide when they return the favor. Pink teeth rarely suit everyone.
According to the Hindu calendar, Holi falls on 27th March, 2013 this year.

3. St. Patrick's Day: "It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" Mark Twain

I don't have even a wee bit of Irish in me but something about 'wearing the green' and leprechauns just make my heart sing. Dressed in green, my fet itch to dance and my eyes spy a full keg of beer...For people of Irish descent, and those who sometimes wish they were Irish, the festival is all about feasting, copious consumption of alcohol and numerous parades. San Francisco's annual St. Patrick's Day parade and festival attracts some 100,000 revelers and is one of the city's most popualr event.

 

4. Spring break: For most parents with kids in schools and colleges, early spring signifies a short recess. Which, coincides nicely with the upswing in the weather. Which, leads to the beginning of short trips, week-long getaways and outdoor fun. Who can quarrel with that?

5. Countdown to the end of school: Spring to me means that the end of the school year is in sight. Yahoo! That's the end of homework, carpool rides, dance recitals, soccer practices and the like, that I'm forever driving my kids to. Let the countdown and fun to the end of school commence! Bye-bye Head Chauffeur. Hello, BBQ Chef and Poolside Chaperon! But, I still have the next 10 weeks to muddle through. Sigh...

Drops of Spring

           MY EXPERIENCES AT THE COCOA BEACH WRITERS’ CONFERENCE

 

            Two weekends ago I attended the Space Coast Writers Guild conference in sunny Cocoa Beach, Florida.  The conference, in its 31^st year, is small in comparison to the upcoming San Francisco Writers conference – 80 or so attendee vs. 500+ but it draws a cachet of talented agents and speakers.  This year was no exception, with big names like Jenny Bent (The Bent Agency), Sartiza Hernandez (Corvisiero Literary Agency), Gordon Warnock (Andrea Hurst Literary Management), Paige Wheeler (Folio Literary Management), Lois Winston (Ashley Grayson Literary Agency) and Stacy Abrams (Entangled Publishing) present.

 

            Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing:

With all the hoopla surrounding self-publishing these days (In 2008, for the first time in history, more books were self-published rather than published traditionally.  In 2009, 79% of all books released were self-published.  Amazon.com fueled the growth by offering self-published writers as much as 70% of revenue on digital books. By comparison, traditional publishers typically pay their authors 25% of net digital sales) a newbie author like me could be forgiven for thinking that self-publishing equals a home run.  Not so, according to the riveting key note speaker, Chantelle Osman.  “You can always self-publish,” she stated empathically, “but first, do the work to try and get an agent.”

 

“You need just one agent to fall in love with your work,” reiterated Paige Wheeler (of Folio Literary).  “Most agents do have your best interests at heart.  They go into the publishing industry for the love of books, not to get rich.  People go into investment banking to get rich,” she emphasized.  “So, keep working on the perfect pitch.  Realize it’s a slow business.  The dream deal may be just around the corner.”

 

            From the Agent’s Perspective:

Etiquette for wanna-be authors: Be considerate of the agent’s time.  Paige Wheeler recounted an incident where she asked for a manuscript submission, loved the work and wrote the author back with an offer.  “I’m so sorry,” said the author.  “I just signed with somebody.”  “Why did she send me her manuscript, then?” demanded Paige.  “I work on submissions.  I can’t get that time back.  It’s like a lawyer with billables.”

 

“Conferences are just verbal pitches,” states Paige.  It’s not about making the first impression.  What matters is how well you write, which is the same whether in a query or a verbal pitch.  Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency reiterated that.  “Half of my client list is authors who wrote me cold and sent me a query letter,” she said.  Conferences are not about making a connection with an agent, but about learning the craft.

 

& lastly, you must edit your work before you send it out to agents.  Stacy Abrams of Entangled Publishing believes that while you do not need to rush out and find a professional editor, you should have a circle of writer buddies or beta-readers that will catch your grammatical errors, your typos and even plot mishaps.  Remember, if more than one person is telling you the same thing, it’s time to get back to the ol’ drawing board again and figure out what’s wrong!

10 NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS THAT I WILL LIKELY BREAK

               Much like the rest of the world, ever since I was 14, I've been making New Year resolutions on January 2nd and breaking them on January 7th.  This year I determined I would do away with the tradition.  I decided I would not make any resolutions at all - something about the mocking, self-pitying look my older, wiser inner diva gives me when the undoing of the resolution is complete.

              And yet with the holidays over and the beginning of January, the familiar feeling that 2012 has released us into another year full of possibilities began to creep up on me this week.  So, yet again, I take pen to paper and write out all the things I would like to accomplish this year.

1. I WILL EXERCISE EVERY DAY: Of course I'm not alone in this - with 66% of adult Americans considered overweight or obese by recent studies, it's not surprising that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year resolutions.  That is, to say...until February.

2. I WILL SPEND MORE TIME WITH MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Again, this is a very popular resolution.  Recent polls conducted by general Nutrition Centres, Quicken and others show that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year.  Again, easier said than done.  January is the month you're fired up with good spirit (no doubt aided by the good booze you've imbibed over all those holiday parties) and come February, you realize that you don't keep up with cousin Meena as much as you should cuz she's just so boring!

3. I WILL ENJOY LIFE MORE: Sanjay Gupta M.D. states that one of his resolutions this year is to act more like a kid (ref. Redbook Jan. 2013).  Given the hectic lifestyles of millions of Americans, it's no wonder that enjoying life more has become such a popular resolution.  However, come January 8th and the reminder that Uncle Sam will still come collecting...and its back to the grind again.

4. I WILL SPEND LESS TIME IN CYBERSPACE: I was in Bangkok with my family over the holidays and it struck me, once again, how difficult it is to find wifi once you leave the Western hemisphere.  And when you don't have it, by golly how much you miss it!  Beg, borrow, plead or pay, every place we stopped at, the question most asked by all 20 in our party was, "How do I get wifi?"
A good friend of mine texted me Happy New Year greetings and exhorted me to come back safe and sound.  As an afterthought she added, "Remember, safety is our second priority.  The first is the Internet".  Yeah, I believe that!

5. I WILL SLEEP MORE: More and more studies find that the less sleep people get, the worse their problems with mood get too.  I know that personally, more often than not, I can trace back the disagreements or spats I've had with my spouse, siblings or friends to a crappy mood brought on by...you've guessed it! Lack of sleep. This year I've resolved to hit the bed at 11 p.m. and wake up at 7 a.m. - the solid eight hours that I've realized over the years, is my personal required sleep fund.

6. I WILL EAT MORE CHOCOLATE, NOT GIVE UP CHOCOLATE: I've been eating dark chocolate much before it became fashionable to eat it.  The only problem - the 441 calories in the little bit of heaven that every raspberry chocolate Godiva square delivers.  Now I'm in a different bit of heaven after discovering the Meiji meltyblend of chocolates at Ranch 99 stores.  At 250 calories for 10 pieces, I can eat the whole box - and usually do!

7. I WILL APPLY SUNSCREEN: As an olive-skinned woman, I don't need to worry about skin cancer as much as my fairer counterparts, but I've fallen prey to pigmentation disorders because I failed to apply SPF 30+ sunscreen on more than one tropical vacay.  From this year onwards, that's gonna stop.  Cut to Downton Abbey, Episode 1, Season 3: Shirley Maclaine who plays the American mother of Lady Cora Grantham on meeting the dowager countess (played by Maggie Smith) remarks, " Oh dear... I'm afraid the war has made old women of us both."  The caustic dowager, never at a loss for words, retorts, "Oh, I wouldn't say that.  But then, I always keep out of the sun."

8. POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE: My first job in this country was as a sales rep. for an insurance company.  As such I had the whole Tony Robbins positive spiel brainwashed into my being.  PMA was the mantra of the day and I have to say it works. There's no one you spend more time with than yourself and your own head.  Repeating the phrase PMA to yourself 10 times a day works ...as does smiling.  There are enough studies to show that if you force yourself to smile, it may feel false at first, but something about turning the corners of your face up instead of down will actually make you feel better.

9. I WILL VISIT ALASKA BEFORE THE GLACIERS DISAPPEAR: 99% of Alaska's glaciers are retreating or thinning or both, a new book by the U.S. Geological Survey reports.  I've seen them once - admired their pristine glory and drank their pure water - and I want to behold them once before they all melt!

10. I WILL WRITE MORE - For me, personally, 2012 has been a year of new beginnings.  A novel, finally done, three edits later; and a blog that has attracted more than 2800 visitors...I'm thankful for what this new enterprise has brought me and I look forward to the rest of this journey.

       Okay, its officially January 8th, 7:31 p.m.  My inner diva is glowering at me over the top of her tortoise shell glasses - Resolution # 1 ate the dust today! Ah well, there's always January 2nd, 2014 to look forward to....