A little tidbit

I was looking up publishing law yesterday and came across a little tidbit that might affect some of you. Did you know that if you publish under a pseudonym you may be decreasing the length of your copyright? Here's the deal. Assuming you created your work after 1978, under current law your copyright lasts for your life plus 75 years. However, if you use a pseudonym, your copyright lasts for 75 years from the 1st date of publication or 100 years from the date of creation; whichever is less. In my case, I may be close enough to death it may not make that much difference, but for some of you it could make a lot of difference. Just something good to know.

The Hardest Part of Writing

By Christine Thackeray

I was (electronically) talking with Rebecca Talley a while back and she mentioned that her book had just come out and she was facing the hardest part of writing. At the time I had no idea what she was talking about but now that my first book is here, my eyes are wide open.

For me the actual writing of my story was challenging but fun. I'd sit at the computer clicking away, watching the ethereal images in my head come to life in full color. While doing laundry or dishes, new plot twists would come to mind or a phrase from one of my children would be so clever, I'd have to include it. Although my family would laugh at me or catch an ocasional typo, it was smooth sailing and a lot of fun.

Then came the rejections. I thought that was the toughest part. Plain form letters with not a single comment, no glimmer of encouragement. But after some rewrites, it shockingly got accepted. The editorial process was very pleasant and I loved the cover. It was great.

When the time came to get my book out there, it was tough begging for reviews, blogging, emailing all my relatives and telling them to beg all their friends to buy it. But the worst part was when the reviews started coming back. Yup, it's the hardest part. Your book is your baby and when people stab at it, its like getting poked in the eye with a toothpick. I suppose I've just got to smile and keep encouraging sales. I mean three of my neighbors said they adored it and couldn't put it down so what does an accomplished reviewer know anyway-- do I sound too much like an "American Idol" contestant?

My First Novel- A Surreal Experience

By Christine Thackeray

OK, so I am a newbie at this whole publishing thing. I know others on this sight are old hat at it but for me the entire experience has been a surprise. I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't that. As a matter of fact, it has been almost surreal.

Last year I decided to quit my part-time job and pursue my life-long dream of writing. I was surprised what a quiet and lonely experience writing was except when I was yelling at my kids to quiet down so I could finish another chapter or when they would totally ignore me and continue wrestling happily any. But after months of torturing my family with burnt dinners and laundry mountains, my manuscript was complete.

Then I began sending it out and after many rejections and a few rewrites, I was ecstatic that it got accepted. But once the contract was signed, it was as though it had never happened. I waited patiently for weeks (well, maybe Annaliese would disagree) until I got back the first proof. The corrections only took a few days and then it was as though I hadn't done anything again- it almost felt like I had imaged the whole thing.

But then yesterday out of the blue Doug emailed me the new cover. It looked totally different than I had imagined but I love it! I can even see my two boys about to jump into the "potty pond" if you look really closely at the crayon picture at the center (which really happened, gross.) It's finally becoming real and I am psyched because this story is great! Now I just have to let the world know. Any ideas on that front?