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Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Guest blogger: Cheryl Wyatt


Today, we have a very special guest, one of my dear friends, Cheryl Wyatt, aka Squirl. I am so thrilled and honored to be a part of her blog tour for her very first book, A Soldier's promise. She's been a great friend, but rather than share all the embarrassing stories and pictures I have of her, I'll be nice and let her do the talking...

Leave a comment and I'll draw a name for one very lucky person to win a copy of her book.

THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE I SOLD


*THAT MY CHILDREN WOULD EXCHANGE SIBLING RIVALRY FOR CYBER-RIVALRY
*HUSBANDS DON'T BELIEVE YOU WHEN YOU TELL THEM EVERY NEWLY CONTRACTED WRITER HIRES A MAID
*ICKY, FUZZY GREEN MOLD STILL GROWS ON UNWASHED DISHES THAT DON'T CARE THAT YOU CAN'T COME NEAR THE SINK DUE TO DEADLINES
*NEVER PUT A FLASH DRIVE ON OR NEAR A SPEAKER THAT HOUSES POWERFUL MAGNETS INSIDE
*GELLING OF A STORY FOR THREE YEARS BEOMES A LOST CONFIDENCE-VICE
*SUCH JOY WOULD COME FROM OTHERS' OVERWHELMING EXCITEMENT OVER MY REALIZED DREAM, EVEN IF THEIR OWN DREAMS REMAIN IN WAITING.

I HAD BEEN MORE PROFICIENT IN KNOWING BASIC HTML AND WEBSITE UPKEEP

*WHAT A RUSH THAT PHONE CALL WOULD BE AND WHAT AN OUTRAGEOUSLY EXCITING RIDE IT WOULD SET ME ON
*I WOULD HAVE KNOWN TO COMPLETELY CLEAR MY CALENDAR THE MONTH OR TWO BEFORE MY DEBUT NOVEL'S RELEASE
*SOME PEOPLE WOULD TREAT ME DIFFERENTLY BUT NOT NECESSARILY IN A BAD WAY. THERE'S MORE RESPECT, WHY I'M NOT SURE BECAUSE I'M STILL THE SAME SILLY, GOOFY ME
*HOW EASY GALLEYS WOULD BE BUT HOW SHORT THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU HAVE TO DO THEM AND TURN THEM BACK IN. LOL!

I WOULD STILL HAVE TIMES, LOTS OF TIMES OF SELF-DOUBT

*KIDS+RED SLUSHIE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY+WHITE LAPTOP KEYBOARD=ALWAYS SPELLS DISASTER
*NO ONE BELIEVES AUTHORS HAVE TO BUY THEIR OWN BOOKS BEYOND THEIR FREE AUTHOR COPIES
*EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER MET WHETHER YOU REMEMBER THEM OR NOT WANTS A FREE COPY
*WINDOWS VISTA AND WORD 2007 ISN'T SOMETHING YOU CAN MASTER THE WEEK YOUR BOOK IS DUE

*BE SURE TO MAKE A HARD COPY OR ELECTRONIC COPY OF YOUR MS AS SENT TO YOUR EDITORS BEFORE YOU MAKE A SINGLE CHANGE ACCORDING TO THEIR REVISION NOTES. ONCE YOU MAKE A CHANGE, IT CHANGES THE PAGE AND LINE NUMBERS, WHICH THE EDITORS USE IN THE LATTER HALF OF THEIR LETTER TO DIRECT YOU TO THINGS YOU NEED TO CHANGE, BEEF UP, ADDRESS, FIX OR NIX.
*EVEN BIG, PREVIOUSLY DAUNTING GERMAN SHEPPARD'S SCAMPER AWAY SCARED WHEN YOU STREAK (CLOTHED) DOWN THE STREETS OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SHRIEKING ABOUT YOUR BOOK BEING ON AMAZON
*FEW PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND THE TIME COMMITMENT WRITING TAKES
*ONLY ANOTHER WRITER TRULY UNDERSTANDS YOUR EXCITEMENT OVER FINDING THE PERFECT, ACTIVE VERB OR THE PERFECTLY PLACED METAPHOR, OR THAT YOU FINALLY MASTERED MODIFIERS. AND ONLY ANOTHER WRITER CAN APPRECIATE HOW HARD AND LONG YOU WORKED TO GET TO THE PLACE YOU ARE IN YOUR CRAFT BECAUSE THEY KNOW. THEY'RE GRITTING AND GRUNTING THROUGH IT TOO.
*READER LETTERS ARE THE MOST INSPIRING REWARD
*EVERY ASPIRING AUTHOR COMES OUT OF THE WOODWORK TO ASK YOUR ADVICE AND YOU FEEL NEARLY LIKE A FRAUD ANSWERING THEIR QUESTIONS BECAUSE YOU STILL FEEL SO GREEN MOST OF THE TIME.

I WOULD HAVE KNOWN TO ORDER MORE STARBUCKS CARDS AT CHRISTMAS AND TAKE DOWN NAMES OF EVERYONE INVOLVED IN MY BOOK FROM ART, TO MARKETING, TO PROMOTION, TO EDITORIAL ETC. IT IS SUCH A COLLABORATIVE TEAM EFFORT FROM SO MANY PEOPLE AT THE PUBLISHING HOUSE IN GETTING A BOOK SHELF-READY. AND I THINK WHEN AN AUTHOR MISSES A DEADLINE, I IMAGINE IT'S LIKE THAT OLD I LOVE LUCY EPISODE WHERE HER AND BETTY ARE WORKING IN THE CANDY FACTORY AND THEY GET BEHIND SO THEY HAVE TO START CRAMMING PIECES IN THEIR MOUTHS AND EVEN THEIR TOPS. ANYONE REMEMBER THAT? I PRAY I NEVER MISS A DEADLINE.

*SPELLCHECKER WILL CHANGE "MEMORIES ASSAULTED NOLAN AS HE WALKED ALONG THE BRIDGE" TO "MAMMORIES ASSAULTED NOLAN AS HE WALKED ALONG THE BRIDGE" WHEN YOU'RE NOT LOOKING, AND THANK GOODNESS YOU PROOFED THAT THING ONE MORE TIME BEFORE MAILING IT TO YOUR EDITOR AND PROSPECTIVE AGENTS.
*ONLINE CONNECTIONS, BLOGGING, AND DIGITAL MARKETING WOULD BE SO IMPORTANT IN GETTING THE WORD OUT AS EFFECTIVELY AS FOOT-TO-STORE BOOK SIGNINGS
*LITTLE CHILDREN CAN BE ENCOURAGED THAT GOD HAS A DEFINITE PURPOSE FOR THEM AND A PLAN FOR THEIR LIFE AND THAT SOMETIMES HE GIVES US DREAMS EVEN WHEN WE'RE LITTLE. AND WE MAY FORGET BUT HE DOESN'T.
*DAYS AREN'T ADDED TO THE WEEK NOR HOURS TO THE DAY NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY TO CONVINCE GOD YOUR REQUEST IS VALID

16 comments:

Cheryl Wyatt said...

Thanks so much for featuring me, Dream!

Hugs,

Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Thanks for featuring Cheryl. I enjoy her so much and am excited about her book. Can hardly wait for the whole series.

Mary Connealy said...

I loved the post, Cheryl. The red slushie in the keyboard is painful but true none the less.
I loved A Solder's Promise, too. I'm so excited for the rest of the series to come. Write FASTER.

Missy Tippens said...

So much wisdom for such a young little squirrel!! :) Thanks for sharing, Cheryl.

Thanks for inviting her, Danica!

(ps. don't enter me in the drawing. I already have the book, have read it, and it's SOOOOO good!!)

Missy :)

Myra Johnson said...

Excellent words of wisdom, Cheryl! It's important to realize the road to publication isn't all moonlight and roses. Thanks for the "mammories"!

EllenToo said...

I loved your list of THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE I SOLD. Some of them are true for what ever you decide to do. Especially the "icky, fuzzy green mold".

Janet Dean said...

A delightful post, Cheryl! I enjoyed every word. And yes, I remember that I Love Lucy episode. Hilarious, but not when it's a missed deadline.

I loved A Soldier's Promise!!!! Can't wait to read the next one.

Thanks for having Cheryl, Danica.

PatriciaW said...

Apparently you are still "silly, goofy" (your words, not mine). But your sense of humor shines through as does your warmth.

And I'm having a blast reading your book, although I really should be writing so I can ask you questions and help you with your fraudulent feelings.

Congratulations, Cheryl!

lilac grandma said...

Cheryl,thanks for your encouragement thru the prompt contests and Congratulations!! Love and prayers Melody msproule1225@GMAILDOTCOM

Pammer said...

Great job! Now, I need to make a copy of things just in case I ever get published.

Hug!

Pamela J said...

One very lucky person to win a copy of her book, indeed. I'm thrilled for whoever wins, I have my copy and it's great.
Pam
cepjwms at yahoo dot com

Kim said...

This is awesome! As a former officer's wife (US Army) I am particularly interested in this novel. Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks!

Kim
kimfurd[at]hotmail[dot]com

Cheryl Wyatt said...

He he!
Thanks everyone...and did you guys happen to notice the list is the acronym for THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE I SOLD. Meaning the first letter of the first word of every sentence makes the sentence.

HE HE. I love to be creative. Thanks for stopping by, everyone..and thanks, Dream for having me!!! I'm honored to be on your awesome blog!!

hugs,

Cheryl

Krissy said...

I enjoyed reading this blog. Very funny line about the maid, Cheryl!!
I'd love to win a copy of this book. Thanks!

Krissy
designyourpursenality@yahoo.com

Nell Dixon said...

I'd love to read this as the line isn't sold over here and it sounds great.

Danica Favorite said...

Thanks for coming by!! Cheryl, it was a pleasure having you as always. And look, no embarrassing pictures!

Congrats to the winner, Nell! Nell, email me with your contact info and I'll get the book sent out. The rest of you... I hear there's more chances to win on Cheryl's tour...