Here are my top marketing posts for the week! have a great weekend!
Mackenzie Blue - When HarperCollins publishes the first Mackenzie Blue novel on May 5, author and Buzz Marketing Group founder Tina Wells hoped the book will be only one of many ways that tween girls will engage with the title character—a 12-year-old student and aspiring pop star.
Marketing Tip Madness - Here are 50 marketing tips for authors – some free, some cheap, and some even not so cheap.
Free ebook giveaway marketing tactic - The arrival of The Sorceress, third book in Michael Scott’s bestselling Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel fantasy series, kicked off last weekend with RHCB’s first-ever PDF/e-book giveaway.
Are you ready if the Media calls? Are you prepared for the media to call you? If you’re not, you should be. Most authors go about their routine of sending press releases, e-mailing pitches or mailing books, but they’re unprepared for the caller that says, “Yes, I’d like to interview you for a story I’m doing.
Personal branding - Beyond your resume. Creating yourself as a brand. Also references Tim Peters - Your brand called you. You are a brand and you are in charge of your brand.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Teaser Tuesday: I need help!
Marketing Muse: Its a Librarians World
Did you know you can purchase lists of all mailing addresses and contacts to Librarians in the US? Go to http://www.librarymarketinglist.com/ Depending on your book/genre, it may be worth the investment.
Tuesday's Teaser
OK so I always see great posting about all of your new books and love reading them. I have never put my writing out there. I guess because I feel kinda vulnerable.
Am I crazy?
I mean what if you all hate it but don't want to tell me? What if you love it but hate to comment so all the comments are negative? What if the people who will love it dont' come today?
But I need help. So I have to just put it out there.
Past or Present, that is the question.
Do you like the book in present or past tense better? Or does it even matter? Before I ever query my book, I need to know. But I can't decide and have had different people pick each way.
OK so here goes (thanks in advance for your time in reading this.)
Be honest....
But be gentle :)
Premise
Gabby is a tween angel assigned to protect her high school rival, Angela. What’s worse, Angela is now dating Gabby’s pre-Transfer boyfriend. Soon, Gabby is put on probation by her Sky Agent for the three offenses: popping Angela's Wonder Bra, conducting an onion breath spell on Angela's first date with Michael, and influencing Angela to buy a pair of jeans that make her butt look big. But when Gabby continues her pranks and refuses to give up her mortal life, she sets off a series of “death changing” events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.
Present Tense (chapter 1/Copyright 2008)
Like all my birthday parties, my funeral is just plain boring. Nothing different. Nothing exciting.
Not exactly the final act I hoped for. Then again, I never expected this day to happen so soon.
First off, I hate elevator music, AKA crap tunes. I much prefer something a bit angrier. I’m also majorly bummed that my mom chose the hideous white pants that made my butt look as big as Texas. But then again, it didn’t really matter anymore. Except that now, I’m stuck with these pants for eternity. Lucky for me, white is cool where I’m going.
I balance on the open lid of my casket and watch all the tear-streaked strangers stream by my mortal form. The guest list freaks me out more than the music. I’m not only shocked at who has come, but how many. I am more popular dead, than alive. Who knew?
The strange, acne-infested kid from my Drama Class strolls up and starts to whimper. Weird. The kid never gave me the time of day so how can he be disturbed by my death? He’s probably hoping our Drama teacher notices and offers a lead role in the upcoming school play?
Ms. Cross, my World Religion teacher, comes up and whispers her respects. I betcha she feels guilty for giving me a D on my last test. Someday real soon, I’d probably be able to teach her a thing or two about “life after death”. That would definitely spice up her syllabus.
The snaking line parts and my mom stumbles through the sea of black polyester. She slumps over my mahogany box and sobs. Pain screams through my chest, forcing me to double-over. I remember what I learned in my Orientation Class. A downside of being a Bright is that we experience the pain of our loved ones, only 1,000 times more. Sometimes my mom’s agony gets so bad, it paralyzes me.
Now I know why every Brights hates it when a loved one mourns. Because we suffer too.
I clutch my chest and wait for the tide of agony to pass. Deep inside, I have a deep urge to cry with her. I’ve heard most Brights think their inability to cry is a total perk. But not me. I always loved a good cry. Not the whimpery kind. I’m talking about the all-out blubbering, snotty, suck-in-your-breath kind. The kind that - somehow – always makes you feel better.
Now, I’d give anything to have one last wail session.
One more thing I’m sure I’ll miss up here.
PAST Tense: (Just an exerpt of Chapter 1 so you can compare)
Like all my birthday parties, my funeral was just plain boring.
Not exactly what I expected as my final act.
First off, I hated the elevator music, AKA crap tunes. I much preferred something a bit angrier, like Muse. I was also majorly bummed that my mother choosing the hideous white pants that made my butt look as big as Texas. But then again, it doesn’t really matter anymore, does it? Except that I’m stuck with those pants for eternity. Lucky for me, white was in fashion where I was going.
I perched on the lid of my casket and observed all the tear-streaked strangers streaming by my mortal form. More than anything, the guest list totally freaked me out. Not only was I baffled by the people who showed up, but surprised by the sheer number, more than in my whole crummy town.
An acne-infested kid from my Drama Class strolled by and started to whimper. As I recall, the kid had never given me the time of day. Was he really that disturbed by my death? Or was he just hoping our Drama teacher would finally notice him and offer him a lead role in the school play?
Ms. Cross, my World Religion teacher, strolled by and whispered her respects. I bet she felt guilty for giving me a D on my last test. Now I betcha I could teach her a thing or two about “life after death”.
A few minutes later, the snaking line parted. My mom’s wilted body stumbled towards the front. She slumped over my mahogany box and sobbed. Pain screamed through my chest, forcing me to double-over. One downside of being a Bright was that you actually experienced the pain of your loved ones. Only 1,000 times more. Sometimes the agony was so bad, it paralyzed me.
The reason why Brights hated it when a loved one mourned. Because we suffered more.
I clutched my chest and waited for the tide of agony to pass. Deep inside, I felt an urge to cry with her. Some Brights thought their inability to cry was a total perk. Not me. I’d give anything to have one last wail session. I’m not talking about the whimpering kind, but the all-out blubbering, snotty kind. The kind that - somehow - always made you feel better.
Just one more thing I would miss up here.
What do you think? Past or present?
Did you know you can purchase lists of all mailing addresses and contacts to Librarians in the US? Go to http://www.librarymarketinglist.com/ Depending on your book/genre, it may be worth the investment.
Tuesday's Teaser
OK so I always see great posting about all of your new books and love reading them. I have never put my writing out there. I guess because I feel kinda vulnerable.
Am I crazy?
I mean what if you all hate it but don't want to tell me? What if you love it but hate to comment so all the comments are negative? What if the people who will love it dont' come today?
But I need help. So I have to just put it out there.
Past or Present, that is the question.
Do you like the book in present or past tense better? Or does it even matter? Before I ever query my book, I need to know. But I can't decide and have had different people pick each way.
OK so here goes (thanks in advance for your time in reading this.)
Be honest....But be gentle :)
Premise
Gabby is a tween angel assigned to protect her high school rival, Angela. What’s worse, Angela is now dating Gabby’s pre-Transfer boyfriend. Soon, Gabby is put on probation by her Sky Agent for the three offenses: popping Angela's Wonder Bra, conducting an onion breath spell on Angela's first date with Michael, and influencing Angela to buy a pair of jeans that make her butt look big. But when Gabby continues her pranks and refuses to give up her mortal life, she sets off a series of “death changing” events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.
Present Tense (chapter 1/Copyright 2008)
Like all my birthday parties, my funeral is just plain boring. Nothing different. Nothing exciting.
Not exactly the final act I hoped for. Then again, I never expected this day to happen so soon.
First off, I hate elevator music, AKA crap tunes. I much prefer something a bit angrier. I’m also majorly bummed that my mom chose the hideous white pants that made my butt look as big as Texas. But then again, it didn’t really matter anymore. Except that now, I’m stuck with these pants for eternity. Lucky for me, white is cool where I’m going.
I balance on the open lid of my casket and watch all the tear-streaked strangers stream by my mortal form. The guest list freaks me out more than the music. I’m not only shocked at who has come, but how many. I am more popular dead, than alive. Who knew?
The strange, acne-infested kid from my Drama Class strolls up and starts to whimper. Weird. The kid never gave me the time of day so how can he be disturbed by my death? He’s probably hoping our Drama teacher notices and offers a lead role in the upcoming school play?
Ms. Cross, my World Religion teacher, comes up and whispers her respects. I betcha she feels guilty for giving me a D on my last test. Someday real soon, I’d probably be able to teach her a thing or two about “life after death”. That would definitely spice up her syllabus.
The snaking line parts and my mom stumbles through the sea of black polyester. She slumps over my mahogany box and sobs. Pain screams through my chest, forcing me to double-over. I remember what I learned in my Orientation Class. A downside of being a Bright is that we experience the pain of our loved ones, only 1,000 times more. Sometimes my mom’s agony gets so bad, it paralyzes me.
Now I know why every Brights hates it when a loved one mourns. Because we suffer too.
I clutch my chest and wait for the tide of agony to pass. Deep inside, I have a deep urge to cry with her. I’ve heard most Brights think their inability to cry is a total perk. But not me. I always loved a good cry. Not the whimpery kind. I’m talking about the all-out blubbering, snotty, suck-in-your-breath kind. The kind that - somehow – always makes you feel better.
Now, I’d give anything to have one last wail session.
One more thing I’m sure I’ll miss up here.
PAST Tense: (Just an exerpt of Chapter 1 so you can compare)
Like all my birthday parties, my funeral was just plain boring.
Not exactly what I expected as my final act.
First off, I hated the elevator music, AKA crap tunes. I much preferred something a bit angrier, like Muse. I was also majorly bummed that my mother choosing the hideous white pants that made my butt look as big as Texas. But then again, it doesn’t really matter anymore, does it? Except that I’m stuck with those pants for eternity. Lucky for me, white was in fashion where I was going.
I perched on the lid of my casket and observed all the tear-streaked strangers streaming by my mortal form. More than anything, the guest list totally freaked me out. Not only was I baffled by the people who showed up, but surprised by the sheer number, more than in my whole crummy town.
An acne-infested kid from my Drama Class strolled by and started to whimper. As I recall, the kid had never given me the time of day. Was he really that disturbed by my death? Or was he just hoping our Drama teacher would finally notice him and offer him a lead role in the school play?
Ms. Cross, my World Religion teacher, strolled by and whispered her respects. I bet she felt guilty for giving me a D on my last test. Now I betcha I could teach her a thing or two about “life after death”.
A few minutes later, the snaking line parted. My mom’s wilted body stumbled towards the front. She slumped over my mahogany box and sobbed. Pain screamed through my chest, forcing me to double-over. One downside of being a Bright was that you actually experienced the pain of your loved ones. Only 1,000 times more. Sometimes the agony was so bad, it paralyzed me.
The reason why Brights hated it when a loved one mourned. Because we suffered more.
I clutched my chest and waited for the tide of agony to pass. Deep inside, I felt an urge to cry with her. Some Brights thought their inability to cry was a total perk. Not me. I’d give anything to have one last wail session. I’m not talking about the whimpering kind, but the all-out blubbering, snotty kind. The kind that - somehow - always made you feel better.
Just one more thing I would miss up here.
What do you think? Past or present?
Monday, May 04, 2009
Marvelous Marketer: Abigail Samoun (Editor, Tricycle Press)
Hi Abigail. Thanks for joining us today. 
Before we get pick your brain on marketing, tell me a little about yourself.
Tricycle Press is the children’s imprint of Ten Speed Press which began in Berkeley in the early 1970’s. After over 30 years as an independent publisher, we were just bought by Random House/Crown Books in February.
Ten Speed is known for its quirky, offbeat books like ‘Why Cats Paint’ and ‘The White-Trash Cookbook,’ but also for its business books (‘What Color is Your Parachute?’) and its high-end James Beard Award-winning cookbooks (Charlie Trotter, Hungry Planet, the Moosewood Cookbook). Tricycle’s list shares some of Ten Speed’s offbeat quality with board books such as the ‘My First Book of Sushi’ and ‘Urban Babies Wear Black.’ We’ve also done groundbreaking books like ‘King & King,’ about same-sex marriage, and ‘Mama’s Milk,’ promoting breast-feeding.
We have a whole list of character education books such as ‘Hey, Little Ant,’ which has kids think about the moral issues surrounding the question of squishing or not squishing an ant, and the picture books by anti-bullying expert, Trudy Ludwig. Our list ranges from photographic board books, to humorous read-alouds, to literary young adult novels. It’s an eclectic list and what all the books have in common is their high-quality and broad appeal to a trade audience. Our motto is ‘Books to Make Kids Think.’
As far as for me, I've been an editor at Tricycle Press since 2000 and focus on books, picturebooks, middle-grade, and early young-adult novels. These include the SCBWI Golden Kite winner GEORGE HOGGLESBERRY: GRADE SCHOOL ALIEN and the New York Public Library Ezra Jack Keats awardwinner, YESTERDAY I HAD THE BLUES.
I also edited the middle grade series Edgar & Ellen which has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide and launched a cartoon series on Nickelodeon.
There is more information on Abigail in her interview on Cynsations.
Do you or your publishing house have a website/blog? If so, when did you start it and who manages it?
TenSpeed has had a website since I came to the company in 2000. We have some individual contractors who help us with it but it’s managed overall by one of our marketing people.
In your opinion , what are the top 3 things every author should and must do to promote their book?
First I would have to say websites.
For writers, websites are a very good idea, but if an author feels overwhelmed by the idea, a Word Press or Blogger blog can work almost as well. If I’m interested in an author, I’ll often Google them to find out a little more about them. A blog gives me a good sense of their writing style, what they’ve been up to, what they might do to promote their book, and their interests.
For illustrators, a website is crucial. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to come across a book with amazing illustrations and then Google the illustrator only to find out they have absolutely to web presence. Most of my illustration searches are done online. Even if I get a postcard or tear sheet from an illustrator, I’ll always go online to see more of their work. Make it as easy as possible for an editor to find you: the best web address is one that’s simply your first and last name .com (or, alternatively, first and last name + illustration + .com). Be sure to include lots of samples (twenty or more is ideal).
Secondly, it would be platform.
Someone who has already made a name for themselves among teachers and librarians is gold to your publisher. We love illustrators and authors who do school visits. A few of our authors make a good living doing school visits. School visits and attending trade shows like ALA, TLA, and IRA is great, but also consider less obvious methods such as writing an article for a trade journal (i.e., ‘Teaching Tolerance,’ ‘School Library Journal’), writing a teachers’ guide for your book and offering it through your website or blog, or putting a video up on teachertube.com---give teachers and librarians free content to use and they’ll remember you.
The third thing is to focus on targeting specialty markets.
As trade book sales drop, the special markets are becoming more important to publishers. Most publishers will have someone on their sales team that deals with special market sales. Help them out by thinking of places to sell your book besides bookstores and schools/libraries. There are tons of places that sell books that aren’t bookstores: baby shops, gift shops, stationers, museum stores, tourist shops. chains like the Discovery Store, Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, ...the list goes on. Come up with your own list of special markets to explore and work with the sales people at your publishers’ to get the book into those places. If you have any contacts that might help your publishers’ sales team---i.e., your sister-in-law knows the buyer at Anthropologie---share them.
In your opinion, how important is social networking? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GoodReads.
I love Facebook because it’s a way to stay in touch with people I’ve worked with or met at conferences in a casual, less time-intensive way than email. Remember, though, that it’s still a professional relationship---it’s okay to be playful, but not okay to barrage editors or agents with lots of requests for quizzes and such.
I personally prefer Facebook to MySpace for professional contacts because it doesn’t have that teen vibe MySpace has and or as many obnoxious ads. The “status” bar on Facebook is great for letting people know about conferences you’re attending, awards you’ve won, exciting news about your book.
Jacketflap.com is my second favorite social networking site because it’s specifically dedicated to children’s book people. I just found a terrific children’s book designer through that site.
When evaluating whether to take on an author or book, do you ever Google them to see if they already have a web presence or platform?
I didn’t used to but now I do more and more. It’s especially helpful when I’m trying to convince my publisher why we need to take on a given book---it’s a big plus for the project if I can tell my publisher that the book has an “active author.” Having a web presence is a big part of this.
What marketing do you expect an author to do on their own?
At Tricycle, we’ll rarely sponsor a book tour. We’ll help schedule book signings and events, but the travel and lodging costs are almost always up to the author. We also expect authors to put together their own websites or blogs.
We expect authors to do a lot to promote their books. Its a partnership.
Thank you Abigail for being here!
Thanks Shelli!
Before we get pick your brain on marketing, tell me a little about yourself.
Tricycle Press is the children’s imprint of Ten Speed Press which began in Berkeley in the early 1970’s. After over 30 years as an independent publisher, we were just bought by Random House/Crown Books in February.
Ten Speed is known for its quirky, offbeat books like ‘Why Cats Paint’ and ‘The White-Trash Cookbook,’ but also for its business books (‘What Color is Your Parachute?’) and its high-end James Beard Award-winning cookbooks (Charlie Trotter, Hungry Planet, the Moosewood Cookbook). Tricycle’s list shares some of Ten Speed’s offbeat quality with board books such as the ‘My First Book of Sushi’ and ‘Urban Babies Wear Black.’ We’ve also done groundbreaking books like ‘King & King,’ about same-sex marriage, and ‘Mama’s Milk,’ promoting breast-feeding.
We have a whole list of character education books such as ‘Hey, Little Ant,’ which has kids think about the moral issues surrounding the question of squishing or not squishing an ant, and the picture books by anti-bullying expert, Trudy Ludwig. Our list ranges from photographic board books, to humorous read-alouds, to literary young adult novels. It’s an eclectic list and what all the books have in common is their high-quality and broad appeal to a trade audience. Our motto is ‘Books to Make Kids Think.’
As far as for me, I've been an editor at Tricycle Press since 2000 and focus on books, picturebooks, middle-grade, and early young-adult novels. These include the SCBWI Golden Kite winner GEORGE HOGGLESBERRY: GRADE SCHOOL ALIEN and the New York Public Library Ezra Jack Keats awardwinner, YESTERDAY I HAD THE BLUES.
I also edited the middle grade series Edgar & Ellen which has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide and launched a cartoon series on Nickelodeon.
There is more information on Abigail in her interview on Cynsations.
Do you or your publishing house have a website/blog? If so, when did you start it and who manages it?
TenSpeed has had a website since I came to the company in 2000. We have some individual contractors who help us with it but it’s managed overall by one of our marketing people.
In your opinion , what are the top 3 things every author should and must do to promote their book?
First I would have to say websites.
For writers, websites are a very good idea, but if an author feels overwhelmed by the idea, a Word Press or Blogger blog can work almost as well. If I’m interested in an author, I’ll often Google them to find out a little more about them. A blog gives me a good sense of their writing style, what they’ve been up to, what they might do to promote their book, and their interests.
For illustrators, a website is crucial. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to come across a book with amazing illustrations and then Google the illustrator only to find out they have absolutely to web presence. Most of my illustration searches are done online. Even if I get a postcard or tear sheet from an illustrator, I’ll always go online to see more of their work. Make it as easy as possible for an editor to find you: the best web address is one that’s simply your first and last name .com (or, alternatively, first and last name + illustration + .com). Be sure to include lots of samples (twenty or more is ideal).
Secondly, it would be platform.
Someone who has already made a name for themselves among teachers and librarians is gold to your publisher. We love illustrators and authors who do school visits. A few of our authors make a good living doing school visits. School visits and attending trade shows like ALA, TLA, and IRA is great, but also consider less obvious methods such as writing an article for a trade journal (i.e., ‘Teaching Tolerance,’ ‘School Library Journal’), writing a teachers’ guide for your book and offering it through your website or blog, or putting a video up on teachertube.com---give teachers and librarians free content to use and they’ll remember you.
The third thing is to focus on targeting specialty markets.
As trade book sales drop, the special markets are becoming more important to publishers. Most publishers will have someone on their sales team that deals with special market sales. Help them out by thinking of places to sell your book besides bookstores and schools/libraries. There are tons of places that sell books that aren’t bookstores: baby shops, gift shops, stationers, museum stores, tourist shops. chains like the Discovery Store, Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, ...the list goes on. Come up with your own list of special markets to explore and work with the sales people at your publishers’ to get the book into those places. If you have any contacts that might help your publishers’ sales team---i.e., your sister-in-law knows the buyer at Anthropologie---share them.
In your opinion, how important is social networking? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GoodReads.
I love Facebook because it’s a way to stay in touch with people I’ve worked with or met at conferences in a casual, less time-intensive way than email. Remember, though, that it’s still a professional relationship---it’s okay to be playful, but not okay to barrage editors or agents with lots of requests for quizzes and such.
I personally prefer Facebook to MySpace for professional contacts because it doesn’t have that teen vibe MySpace has and or as many obnoxious ads. The “status” bar on Facebook is great for letting people know about conferences you’re attending, awards you’ve won, exciting news about your book.
Jacketflap.com is my second favorite social networking site because it’s specifically dedicated to children’s book people. I just found a terrific children’s book designer through that site.
When evaluating whether to take on an author or book, do you ever Google them to see if they already have a web presence or platform?
I didn’t used to but now I do more and more. It’s especially helpful when I’m trying to convince my publisher why we need to take on a given book---it’s a big plus for the project if I can tell my publisher that the book has an “active author.” Having a web presence is a big part of this.
What marketing do you expect an author to do on their own?
At Tricycle, we’ll rarely sponsor a book tour. We’ll help schedule book signings and events, but the travel and lodging costs are almost always up to the author. We also expect authors to put together their own websites or blogs.
We expect authors to do a lot to promote their books. Its a partnership.
Thank you Abigail for being here!
Thanks Shelli!
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Sunny Sunday: The Perfect Journey
Another kickoff into Monday's Perk Project! (check out Suzanne Young's blog and Robin Mellom's blog for more perky posts tomorrow!)
We all want the perfect scenario when we write a book
write a book
in 3 months
submit to agents
all want fulls
get many offers
choose our #1 agent
submit to houses
with no revisions
book goes to auction
publishers fight over our book
finally get a 6 figure
and a series
worldwide
with movie coming out
packed book signings
bestselling, award winning author
on Oprah
and all the kids think we're cool.
Wait, am I the only one?
Some of you may have seen this already video, but I thought it was perfect for my post today.
Don't we all see the book process like this?
But we all know this is a long shot.
It is a dream
But we go for the dream because it makes living so much better.
In reality, we all know that writing is a tough process. That publishing is an uphill battle.
But isn't it better than giving up?
I think we write better and are happier writers if we stay focused on enjoying the writing process. The joy of typing and hearing the keys of our computer clicking. The joy of getting into the book and feeling your heart channel something bigger. The feeling of finishing. The anticipation of submitting. The joy of getting requests and even personal rejections.
This bizarre thing we have all chosen is so worth the climb. (can you tell the Miley Cyrus song is still on the brain?)
The climb to possibility. The climb away from a lesser self.
The ascending passion in our hearts.
And as we hike up this mountain, we need to remember to smell the flowers, enjoy our surroundings, make friends, breathe, and appreciate the fact that we have found our passion.
And someday, when we reach the top - after struggling over rough terrain and through crappy weather - we may realize the view is just as beautiful from below and above - its just different.
Writing is not easy and the journey can be hard and frustrating and sometimes feel completely impossible.
But I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.
Would you?
We all want the perfect scenario when we write a book
write a book
in 3 months
submit to agents
all want fulls
get many offers
choose our #1 agent
submit to houses
with no revisions
book goes to auction
publishers fight over our book
finally get a 6 figure
and a series
worldwide
with movie coming out
packed book signings
bestselling, award winning author
on Oprah
and all the kids think we're cool.
Wait, am I the only one?
Some of you may have seen this already video, but I thought it was perfect for my post today.
Don't we all see the book process like this?
But we all know this is a long shot.
It is a dream
But we go for the dream because it makes living so much better.
In reality, we all know that writing is a tough process. That publishing is an uphill battle.
But isn't it better than giving up?
I think we write better and are happier writers if we stay focused on enjoying the writing process. The joy of typing and hearing the keys of our computer clicking. The joy of getting into the book and feeling your heart channel something bigger. The feeling of finishing. The anticipation of submitting. The joy of getting requests and even personal rejections.
This bizarre thing we have all chosen is so worth the climb. (can you tell the Miley Cyrus song is still on the brain?)
The climb to possibility. The climb away from a lesser self.
The ascending passion in our hearts.
And as we hike up this mountain, we need to remember to smell the flowers, enjoy our surroundings, make friends, breathe, and appreciate the fact that we have found our passion.
And someday, when we reach the top - after struggling over rough terrain and through crappy weather - we may realize the view is just as beautiful from below and above - its just different.
Writing is not easy and the journey can be hard and frustrating and sometimes feel completely impossible.
But I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.
Would you?
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