The Decision?

So I've decided to drop the daily blog and just drop in here now and then when I have something to share. Right now I'm excited about:

• The ANWA writers' conference coming up next month. I have an entry in the BOB (beginning of book) contest and I'm interviewing an agent to rep my work to NY.
• A great trip I'm planning in March: almost three weeks researching Lorenzo di Medici and the Renaissance in Florence, Tuscany and Rome. Oh yeah!
• The LDS Storymakers conference in May and another chance to interview a great agent.
• Getting my Rainbow Rock books up in digital format. Cool!

Whoever you are and whatever your writing goals, I can only wish for you as many exciting projects as I have going on right now. Happy new year!

How to Write a Book Proposal

Yes, it's true. I am considering suspending, limiting, or changing this blog, and yes, I've asked for opinion from readers. The response so far has been somewhat, uh, underwhelming.

Nevertheless, I can't help passing on a great tip I just found online. If you are, or think you may ever be, a writer of book-length non-fiction (sometimes even fiction, too), you may want to learn how to write a book proposal.

This post gives you a guide, an outline, and a rationale for every bit of work you'll put into that effort.

Every good wish for you and your writing in the coming year.

To Blog or Not to Blog?

For some time now I have wondered about the efficacy of maintaining this blog. It takes time; it takes patience; it takes knowing something to write about. Mostly it takes away time and energy from the other writing I need to do if I wish to remain an author -- and I do.

I conducted a small experiment by simply not having a new blog post yesterday and waiting to see if anyone noticed. Though some of you may have noticed unofficially, no one said anything. Therefore, officially, the missing blog was not noticed at all.

This leaves me in a quandary. If some of you follow me regularly, appreciate my observations about the writing-publishing business, and wish me to continue, I'm yours. If no one really cares, I'm outta here.

In other words, if you have an opinion, please let me know. You can send me direct email at susan.aylworth.author@gmail.com or you can leave a comment on this page. I'll be watching thoughout this week and waiting to see what you have to say with a yes or no decision coming soon. Either way, thanks for being there for me these past months and have a great 2012.

New Year; New Blog

When I began this blog last year, I gave myself a fairly structured schedule for what I would choose as topics with a different category for each day of the week. I mostly stuck to it, too.

As we begin a new year, I am seeking to "emancipate myself from mental slavery" (apologies to the ghost of Bob Marley), and I'm freeing my blog, too. This will become my personal free-for-all, with room to comment on writing and the creative life but many other topics as well. I hope you'll come along for the journey.

May you all enjoy a happy, peaceful and prosperous 2012!

Sympathetic, not Pathetic

The title harkens back to my subject of this end-of-the-year blogging: how we write sympathetic -- never pathetic -- main characters. Author Mary Lynn Mercer has an excellent blog on the subject, written in 2003. For today's web tip, let me send you to her. She is working with the exact character traits and problems I've been discussing here, and she does a nice job with good examples. Check her out!