Unfortunately, things mostly occur in their own time. You can’t rush the cake to bake. And don’t forget the old cliche “a watched pot never boils”. All true and very frustrating when you are waiting and wanting something to happen.

My eldest grandson graduates from high school this weekend. I remember thinking that when that milestone was over I’d be an adult and my life would really start hopping. Neither are true, really. Every day is a journey through our lives and we can’t make it go faster or slower like an old 8mm movie.

If I live to be 112 I’m middle aged now. Will I ever find patience? Probably not completely. I’ve learned to be patient under certain circumstances:

• It takes ~9 months to have a baby
• It takes 1-2 years to publish a book
• It takes ~12 years to complete our education (K-12)
• It takes elephants ~2 years to have a baby, with a lot of kicking and screaming (at least that’s what I’ve heard)
• It takes time to cultivate a lasting relationship
• It takes 25 minutes to bake fudgy brownies
• It takes ~2 weeks for grass to germinate
• It may take years for me to learn to speak fluent in French

There’s more, but I can’t think of them right now. The point is we have to work at being patient. It doesn’t come easily, but then nothing worthwhile ever does.

Enjoy the journey, my friends. Peace.

Make someone’s day by giving them your undivided attention for a little while. It’ll be fun and very worthwhile.

FEISTY FAMILY VALUES appeals to women of all professions, from the busy homemaker/mother, the retired mother/grandmother, to the company CEO. We women ROCK and we READ. 

My uncle asked me the other day “why don’t you write westerns?” I told him that although I’ve read all of Louis L’Amours books, I didn’t feel compelled to write a western. I want to write about what we women go through in our lives. He told me I’d probably be rich if I wrote a western.

Maybe so, but my heart is in the stories of my sisters and their relationships, families, fighting cancer, finding love, breaking out and finding our selves. The guys just really don’t get it. And besides, there are 38 million women baby boomers out there and we hope to find stories we can relate to. There are a bunch of us out here writing, too.

What does all this have to do with marketing and media. To be successful we have to market to the audience that we’ve written to. Men probably won’t be very interested in FEISTY FAMILY VALUES, but that’s okay – women 40+ are interested and reading.

How do we reach the media? I’m still working on that one. I’ve been in the paper, magazines, a couple of television stations have interviewed me (a clip for one will be posted soon), but no radio yet. And I send news releases out to all forms of media when my book or I win an award; an speaking event comes up; a book signing has been planned. Not all of the media outlets feel it’s “news” or has room for much more than a one liner. But we authors have to keep trying, because one of these days one of these events is going to hit the right person or group and POW! BANG! ZAP! Your book is NEWS and people can’t wait to find out more. (I was channeling the old Batman series for a moment there.)

Enjoy the journey! -BD

Writing isn’t for whimps or speed demons. It takes a lot of time to write and edit a book for publication. Sometimes years, if you have a full time job, family, home and yard to care for. Once it’s done you begin querying agents or publishers and you wait some more. Many of them are really good about responding within a month or three. But some are SO busy that it might take a year and an occasional reminder to get the “final answer” (usually, no thank you).

Once you have an agent they will help you do any last minute polishing while they shop your manuscript to publishers. Hum. Waiting again, only this time – you’ve got company! I don’t have an agent yet, so when I shopped my manuscript to publishers – you guessed it – I had to wait for them to review it and the hundreds of others in the pile.

Once you have a contract you’ll be busy polishing up the manuscript yet again, preparing jacket copy, getting a new photo for the cover, and if you’re lucky you’ll get to help chosing the cover art. The actual time from contract to shelves for FEISTY FAMILY VALUES was 18 months. It seemed like forever when I signed the contract, but I got busy with all of the above and began making marketing plans and researching media and venues for signings. All while I wrote my second manuscript (PATCHWORK FAMILY). Time passed fairly quickly.

PATCHWORK is looking for an agent or publisher as we speak. I have several queries out. Meanwhile, I’m taking advantage of the time and writing my third manuscript, with brand new characters and situations. (Wisdom) Oh, and I’m “waiting”.

It’s not a game really, and it isn’t always fun, but I’m not about to compare it to a casserole that will make me sick for a week. Let’s just say it’s a little like watching someone stinky consume your lunch.

Have a great day everyone. Be patient and kind to one another. Have the wisdom to read lots and enjoy the journey!