Today I worked on fleshing out some more anecdotes about filming pictures for Magda. I have/had lots of ideas that couldn't be included in the book--its long enough already--so I'm writing them now to be included as Additional Material on movingpicturesbook.net.

I haven't written anything new for Moving Pictures in a long time--several years. But, once I got started, I felt like Magda was right there again. Her voice came back so quickly I feel like we've never been apart. The way I wrote that makes it sound like she's her own, real person. To me she is her own person. Especially since the book is in her first-person voice, her personality is very real to me.

I'm glad we got to "work" together again.

_I’m having a blast getting my website ready. Getting the structure in order, putting the content in, all that. The only problem I’m having is writing the structural text. As it is my website and it is, really, about me, I have to try and promote myself . . . my work. I’m finding it ridiculously difficult to write about my writing. Even harder is writing about the other creative things I do. The arts and crafts I’ve decided also need to be up on the site. Actually, I’m finding it hard even to write about the things I write about – the short stories that I’ve put on the site.  I’d like to get the text just right, but trying to find the right tone is very hard. A little bit of marketing, a little bit of self-promotion. I can do this in spades for any company I freelance for, but for me, not so much.

_Even though I finished writing my novel four and a half years ago and haven’t revised it again in two years, I’ve decided to go the self-publishing route and publish my book as an ebook. I’ve got years of book marketing and bookselling experience. I know how to put together websites. I know how to use social media. It seems like a no brainer.

Last week, I realized that I don’t want to go the way of traditional publishing anymore. Of course, I’d like to see my book in print, but with POD machines, I can. I may never see it in a bookstore, but I don’t think I’d like to wait my whole life for that to happen. There are three different writing conferences happening in February. I like going to those for, when I come home, I’m highly motivated to write. Unfortunately, February is a very busy time at work and I don’t have much or any time to write. The other thing about the writing conferences is the opportunity to meet with literary agents and pitch your book. Sure it seems like a great chance to get past the gatekeepers, because sending out queries is certainly a losing prospect. But really it's a chance to be snubbed and put down by strangers. And, on the off chance, if they decide you are allowed to send them sample chapters, you’ll be lucky if you hear a response from any of them.

I've decided not put myself through that again--at least for the time being. I’ve got too much else I want to accomplish to keep repeating the same scenario over and over. It reminds me of that old adage about being crazy, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I keep going to these conferences and hoping that there will be a different outcome. For now I'm going to create a different outcome of my own. (I’ve always been a doer.) It may not come to much, but I’d rather give it a try than not.