credekop's blog

I’d like to write on one of the most nerve-wracking elements of getting published: the reviews.

Perfect for the literary types with extra time and a knowledge of home decoration techniques:

Dictionary wallpaper!

*Big gracias to Bookninja for the link.

So, you’ve written a book. Bravo. You’ve gotten a publisher. Double bravo. Think you’re done? Not even close.

It’s time for Marketing 101; Putting Your Pretty Face Out There.

Yes, many authors seek the literary life because they enjoy the solitude. I could not tell you the statistics on how many authors are natural extroverts, but I’m betting it’s a low percentage. We have rich inner lives. It’s just you, the paper and ink, and whatever gossamer you can spin from the ether. We don’t aspire to the spotlight for ourselves; we want the work to speak for itself.

I'll have a longer entry on the dos and do not dos of public readings up soon, but first, some housekeeping.

I will be reading and signing copies of my novel Shelf Monkey at:

Type Books

883 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON
Date: Thursday, January 24, 2008
Time: 7pm-9pm

And if that weren't enough excitement:

Curiosity House Books

134A Mill Street
Creemore, ON
Date: Saturday, January 26, 2008
Time: 2pm-4pm

After which, of course, I check to see if I can see my shadow, and then vanish into the ground, subjecting you all to unrelenting winter. Yes, I have that power.

Remember that piece I wrote on luck a while back? That deep, penetrating look at that most intangible yet important resource to the writer?

Well, if you're not having any luck lately, I think I know why; this author has it all, with none to spare.

Must...keep...murderous...envy...down.

*Thanks to Bookninja for the info.

When I was young and marginally more stupid than I am now – ah, those heady days of youth, how fleeting they seem now to this aged mind! – I took a one-day course in skydiving. Well, parachuting, really, as you have to work your way up to skydiving freefall. Signing up, I had visions of every WWII movie I’ve ever seen; a lineup of eager recruits by the gaping door of a transit plane, each jumping out headlong into the endless abyss. Wheee!

Ok, you’ve been writing for hours. Your carpal is flaming, your fingers are numb, and you can’t stare at the screen without screaming. Time for a break. Time for a movie.

A movie about writing, of course. Can’t stray too far off topic here.

For those of you who have considered the possibility of intense, irreversible body modification, the Victoria-based online book retailer AbeBooks.com has a fascinating article on authors who've gotten tattoos.

Turns out such noted authors as John Irving (a maple leaf), George Orwell (blue spots on his knuckles), and Canada's own Alissa York (gecko) have willingly gone under the needle.

...but now, it appears I don't have to worry anymore.

I’d like to speak from my soapbox, if I may, on one of the most important tools in the first-time writer’s arsenal: luck.

Yes, talent, ambition, and perseverance still play a major part, don’t get me wrong. Yet – and let’s be honest here – how many of us have read a successful published novel by a name author and said afterward, “Someone published this?”