Writing can be fun

Hello to all!
Nope, haven't died, got bone disease from that rotten goat's misdeeds, or anything else.

On the other hand, I have got something finally done that I have wanted to since, well, whenever.

I have written and got published a book. Yay!!! Okay, so what? Doesn't everyone do that these days? Well, yes, they probably do. I love reading and I have joined the Kindle Revolution. Bit late, I suppose, but, hey who is worried? Not me anyway. I am now back to being a voracious reader and a bit more: a published writer.

No, I didn't self-publish. I got a sweet man, Ron Kness, to do all that finicky stuff. otherwise the book might never have got to where it is. Thanks a lot, Ron. He set up all the small details, like an Amazon account and all the bits which I would probably messed up something shocking. And it didn't cost me and arm and a leg either.

So, one lesson during this exercise. Fine, self-publishing is great for those of us who know every function of every button on the computer and what exactly font and style is needed. Amazon is fantastic with this for most people, but not for someone as timid as I am where those things are concerned. Maybe I fluked a good publisher for me the first time, maybe the Fates felt sorry for me. Either way, paying someone to do all the down-and-dirty parts, including source a nice photo for the book, saved me a hell of a lot of worry. so, if you have a book you really want published, I can thoroughly recommend Ron. Polite, obliging, reasonably priced:  what more could you want?

But the main lesson I learnt was: I can do this. Not all the gritty, post-write stuff. No. Not that. Yet. The book, Opals Are Bad Luck by Cheryl Taylor, may not be everyone's cup of tea. I have no idea. I wrote it, so I'd be biased if I talked about it. great literature, it is not. Fifty Shades of Grey or Harry Potter it certainly is not, but I enjoyed writing it. Mind you, I ignored all of what I say( so what's new?) and wrote by the seat of my pants, a big no-no. You need to plan these things. But it worked okay. I think. 

So what is the excuse for all you others now? I will never be J.K.Rowling. Indeed I never want to be, in all truth. I certainly don't want to be E.L.James and be asked all those sorts of questions about my personal life, but I wish them nothing but the best.  Writing can be fun, as an old mentor of mine always maintained, no matter what it is. Whoever said paper would be obsolete when computers really took off wasn't watching the clouds right. Not that paper is needed these days, fair enough, but writing is. It is the life blood of our businesses online, for almost everything we do. So, if you want a third lesson: LEARN TO WRITE. Just look at all the free classes online that give you a bird's eye view on punctuation, spelling, grammar and just about anything else you could want, pick one which you know you are weak in and get on with it.

 Write your first book in draft, while you are picking up the bits you aren't wonderful on. That way, you have something at the end of it, and you can polish it with what you have learned. You don't have to be too smart, or too cute, when you write. Write in your style, not someone else's. You may have to fool around until you discover it, but usually the tale you are bursting to get out will show you the way it wants to be written. Opals Are Bad Luck did that to me, anyway. The  follow-up is on the way too.

So, get writing! Anything. You can always find something in free writing that you can build on.