Sunday, October 20, 2013

#BUSY



They all mean well
they are just busy.

Don’t you love that word
#BUSY?
It’s the #trending excuse for not prying.

To answer one of your many questions and address your
temporary state of un-busyness;
I am happy with my choices
finally.
Yes, life is short
and winter is fast approaching
and twill be cold outside
in the frigid North.
Thankfully, I am not homeless
or penniless
or winter would be dreadful indeed.
Got to run now

I am  #busy.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Leaving Neverland


What stopped me
all the time
was
the lack of cash
the self-doubt
the fear that I wouldn’t make it on my own
You assured me of that.

Everyone
including your mother, warned me to
put some money away
because even though I was in love
and blind
they know how you are.
I reasoned that the time was not right
that perhaps if I gave it a chance
I would change you
or even
see things from your
point of view
but
that never happened.

On countless occasions
when you snowed me
I had decided that I must be insane
to doubt you.
After all
you were a good provider
and always right
even when you were wrong
you were right
because
you told me so.
And I being the younger
less mature one
I would have to abide by that fact
unless of course
I could come up with some hard facts of my own
I didn’t.
I wanted so much to believe.

I gave up on myself when I met you
Your master plan was to shape me into a Wendy
I just had to cooperate
I didn’t
I fought you tooth and nail
You told me to just do it and not to think
Don’t think!

I thought
I don’t have to be here at all.

I can conjure another Peter Pan
he can claim me as one of the found
we can have adventures together
be kids
I could just be me.  And this Peter

this Peter would be proud. 

Monday, October 14, 2013

Treading Water


I am in awe
most of the people I meet at readings
must’ve known Jesus,
walked down those same streets
carried his cross
up to Golgotha
because their words have power
their speech is charismatic
 perhaps one of the apostles
recruited them to pen their book in Acts
they couldn’t possibly be from the mean streets
of Gotham
couldn’t know the Batman
or have visited Wayne manor in their Rolls Royce
I am humbled at the mastery of syntax
the quiet juxtaposition
metaphor
magic
As they deign to glance in your direction
ethereal in their gray
horn rimmed specs
stained teeth
so hard core
and so frighteningly real.

©10-14-13 Cornelia DeDona

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Worth sharing!

Hugh Howey’s Top 10 List of Counterintuitive Tips for Self-Publishers


Hugh Howey
Hugh Howey with a Wool poster in the London Underground.

1. Asking people to buy your book doesn’t work. Instead, try to entertain or enlighten with your Facebook posts and tweets.

2. The people who sell your books are your existing readers. Concentrate on interacting with them and being accessible.

3. There is no promotion as strong as writing the next book. None. That always comes first.

4. It doesn’t matter how quickly your book jumps out of the gate upon release. An undiscovered book remains fresh and new. You have the rest of your life to promote or gain sales, so keep writing!

5. Give your books away. You need to build up a fan base. That means free ebooks, sample chapters, and not worrying about piracy or DRM.

6. A good agent is your best friend. Even if you don’t want to sign with a publishing house, there are overseas markets and media rights that they can help you with.

7. An email list is more powerful than Twitter or Instagram (though not quite as powerful as Facebook). You want to reach out to those who are receptive, those who have signed up to hear from you. Build that newsletter email list as soon as possible.

8. Videos are worth a million words. Readers love connecting with and getting to know their favorite authors. Shoot a video rather than typing out a blog post. They are quick to watch and easy to share.

9. Be yourself. This shouldn’t be counterintuitive. I hope it isn’t. Don’t lose sight of who you are. Embrace the awkwardness, the glee, the dumbfoundedness.

10. Authors are not in competition with one another. We are in this together. A happy reader buys more books, so celebrate others doing well and help who you can. Remember those who helped you. Pass it along.

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