Another November Gone

November is the National Novel Writing Month.  For those who have tried, failed, or succeeded to spin out 50,000 words in a month, you understand what an undertaking it is.  For those who haven't, you probably think the rest of us are a wee bit mad.

Last year was my first attempt at NaNoWriMo.  I've been writing since I was in the first grade, and I had finished close to 12 stories at the beginning of November last year, but I tended to keep what I did a secret.  I know I am not alone in my introverted ways as a writer.  My writing is personal, a piece of me, and it took the wonder of NaNo and the continued support of my friends to finally embrace this side of me.  But not just that.  It wasn't just about embracing, it was about sharing.  I had never shared what it was I did.  There is no doubt in my mind that without the community of NaNo, the opportunities that came with winning, and the feeling of accomplishment I would still be what I was.  Now I can say I am a published author.  Self published, but still, near strangers have read my work and that is something I could not have said before.

Now I might be an oddity in the fact that while I do not willing share what I do with others, I know what I do isn't half bad.  I have confidence in my writing.  Is there room for improvement? Of course, there always is.  Anyone who stops learning has stopped living.  But I do know that I have a talent that extends past simply putting words on paper.  And so I wait patiently, still writing, always writing, for an opportunity to finally shine.  That waiting game is what has prompted me to try furthering my self published works.  I said before that I would try and document these struggles.  And I tried, but life intervened.  

Now, it occurred to me rather belatedly, that what I should write about is not necessarily how to self publish.  There are plenty out there who have done this and done it far better than I can.  What I've decided to share is the process of becoming a writer.  If that means self publishing or floating ideas or taking a break and day dreaming, then that is what it means to me.  And I hope I can help others who struggle like I did in the shadows find the force that helps you to break through.  We all know the stories are in us.  We can talk to our characters, feel what they feel, but it is truly another experience to share those thoughts with others.  That is what all the fuss is about.  So good luck to all of you out there who are trying to find it within them.  Just remember we write for the sake of writing.  Making a penny on the side is just a bonus.

Having said as much, I have two books out in the world and I've decided to try different avenues for each.  I will be sharing what I find with the world for what good it does.

Ramble on...
L.E. Gibler

Like a Beacon...

"Like a beacon in the cold dark night...

So, having decided in the last few months to fully embrace being an author, I also decided to embrace a writers' conference, the Rivers of Ink.  I have to admit to some last minute jitters.  After all, anyone who considers themselves a writer is probably going to be quick to admit that we're not the most social of groups.  By nature, we are introverts.  I imagine those writers who are extroverts are exceptions to the rule.  

...told you everything would turn out right...

For me, personally, my writing was something personal.  This isn't to say that when I write I bare some sort of dark secret of my soul, it just means that when I write, my characters are a part of me, and like a mother seeing her children off to their first day of school, the idea is quite terrifying.  Filled with such trepidation, I went with very low expectations.  Instead, I learned a great many tidbits, not necessarily what I had been hoping for, but valuable all the same.  I'll transcribe my notes for my next blog to give those tidbits to others, without giving away trade secrets.  I'll give my impressions, not what was specifically told.  And helpful websites as well.  We all sort of promised...

...so don't lose hope...

The biggest takeaway I had from it all was that the author's themselves oftentimes joined in on the classes they weren't teaching.  This was probably the coolest part, and I got to sit and learn how to attack people, complete with demonstrations.  To know that these people, successful in a field I wish to be moderately successful in as well, are always searching for ways to continue their own education.  That, to me, meant the most, and it made me realize we are none of us ever done with learning.  And so I must take a humble step backwards and ask for help before boldly striding forward again.

...keep your eyes on the skies...


Just to try and keep a theme going, I will reiterate what I said in my last post that had to do with the self publishing market: the first person to message me with the movie that I am paraphrasing the sound track of this month, I will send you a free copy of my book:Caitiff Academy: The Tigress.  And seriously, don't just Google it.  I'm paraphrasing for a reason.  And as a hint, its not one of the better known animated films of a certain powerhouse.  We are all still capable of problem solving, trust me.

Until next time.
 

He Went to Paris

He went to Paris...

Despite my better intentions, I realized that at this date and time, I cannot write 24/7 about self publishing while I am in the process of getting my feet wet.  Staying with the proverbial feet, I have finally reached the ocean, but I'm still working on getting my feet used to the feel of the surf.  Having said this, I've come up with a break down for what I can write about if not 24 hours, then at least 7 days a week and it goes something like this:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Self Publishing/writing (with a weekly challenge that if anyone should happen to answer correctly, I will give away a free copy of my book, Caitiff Academy: The Tigress to the first correct response)
Tuesday: Travel ideas/memoirs (and believe me, the traveling I've done is beyond eccentric)
Thursday: Throwback to my first true passion, horses (usually with pictures)
Saturdays: With a tip of my hat to Big Bang, it is anything goes Saturday.
All in all, this takes into account the title of my blog, Rambling, and it also keeps me occupied while I continue to pursue my career(s).

...looking for answers...

Having spent a great deal of this time explaining what I've come up with, I'll have to make this particular travel episode short and hopefully sweet.

...to questions that bothered him so...

I have spent most of my traveling with my grandmother.  She is delightfully eccentric in her unwillingness to fly but her obsession to travel.  As an intro to just how she operates, I shall introduce the great wide world to Clarabelle.

...he was impressive...

To reiterate, my grandmother will not fly.  She and I went to Europe by way of car from home base in Washington State to Texas, cruise ship to Barcelona, train to Rome and then on to Munich, tour bus through four countries, train back to Hamburg, cruise ship back to the States.  Unfortunately, during our two month absence, the train tracks on our way home had been flooded.  This left us stranded on the East Coast with no quick fix available. If we stayed with the train, we could make it as far as Chicago before waiting three days for a patched route down to Texas, over to California, and finally up the coast to Washington.  It was over $3000 to go up through Canada and we still had to wait two days.  After an hour of conferencing, we hopped on a train and went to buy some time with my cousin in Washington DC.

...young and agressive..

While in Europe, my grandmother had developed a tendresse for a car, something of a rarity for her.  The car in question was a Smart Roadster.  After pricing the cost of a rental car, my grandmother decided, instead, to try and find that car.  My cousin, who lives and works in teh DC area, took us all around to the local car shops.  We finally found a Smart dealer, snuggled between a Aston dealer and a Mercedes, who just happened to have a used Smart car that had been driven onto the lot and exchanged for a newer model that very day.  The only downside?  Besides the fact that it was not a Roadster, of course.  It was orange.  The dealer insisted it was Rally Red, but I'll post a picture and let you decide.  I consider it the smae color as a Cinderella Pumpkin.  After a single test ride, and a little bit of haggling on the price, my grandmother quite literally wrote a check for the entire price of the car.  It had to stay for a weekend of mandatory checks and inspections, but come Monday, it would be alright.

...saving the world on his own...

An orange Smart car is a conversation starter.  We left the DC area early on a Tuesday, thankfully going against traffic, which, around the beltway, is intense.  We drove on to Pittsburgh, a city I have always wanted to visit.  We checked off several boxes, my grandmother got her insurance printed off just outside of Pittsburgh, I took pictures of Consol Energy Center (home of the Pittsburgh Penguins), the soon to be demolished Mellon Arena, and i tracked down a house I had found online that had become the home of a series of characters I had written about a little bit before.  It was perfect, and as yet, we didn't quite stand out.

...But warm summer breezes...

As we ventured into the MidWest, though, we started to stand out a little more.  At a McDonalds in Indiana, a group of ten teenagers stood outside in the parking lot arguing over just what the car was and just what color. Amazingly enough, a few people actually thought it was red.  We were incredibly lucky to skirt more than one storm as we crossed Indiana and Illinois.  After crossing up through Minnesota, we were really in uncharted territory in South Dakota.  Before, we had planned to travel by where the nearest Starbucks was.  For all of the expansion of my favorite coffee, it has not really breached the interior of South Dakota.  In fact, nothing in the way of fast food has.  Between Rapid City and Sioux Falls, there is only a testament to the way things used to be, mom and pop diners sitting right next to gas stations.  Bikers were fascinated by us, and truck drivers stopped to ask what our gas mileage was.  (To those who are curious, we managed around 40 mph, no it is not a hybrid)

...French wines and cheeses...

The best moment of our journey, though, was in Montana.  We had, miraculously, managed to avoid yet more bad weather in Bozeman.  We arrived, looking for Starbucks, to find shop owners putting up temporary plywood after a huge wind storm had whipped through. Making our way through the great state of Montana, on our way to meet up with my other cousin, who has my everlasting respect for teaching middle schoolers science, we had a Subaru drive by us, lean out their window with a camera (not the camera phone type) and take a picture.  Of us.

...Put his ambitions at bay...

To this day, people are completely astounded to learn that the first trip we took with the little Smart car, who my grandmother named Clarabelle, was cross country.  We literally drove over 3000 miles in 4.5 days in a car that weighs little more than one of my horses.  It fit the five bags of luggage we took to Europe with us in the back, along with the Pepsi my grandmother continued to pick up (more on that later. See next weeks In Pursuit of Pepsi)

...His summers and winters, scattered like splinters...

I still have Clarabelle.  She's been all over the state of Washington, and down and back to Oregon a time or two.  She survived a harsh run in with a curb, and has nearly been blown off the road in our own Eastern Washington wind storms.  But still, she is a conversation starter.  She's an orange car, she always will be.

...And four to five years slipped away...

(This is the best pic I have for now, will look for one of just the car later)

I Have Often Dreamed

I have often dreamed...

The problem with having a blog that comes right out and says it will be a rambling bit of who knows what, is that there will never be solidarity.  I can write about nothing to my heart's content, but what, truly, is the purpose?  I have decided to alter the premise of my blog a little.  I am truly passionate about four things in life, writing, horses, traveling, and sports (largely hockey).  But I have decided that as a struggling artist turned struggling author, I need to make a point of doing what all the know it alls out there say.  I need to write every day.  The problem with this premise is that when I write to tell a story, I write 12-16 hours a day for seven-ten days, and then the book is complete.  It is a compulsion, an obsession, and certainly not something I can break down and give helpful tips for.  But this also means that I can go months without writing until it just bubbles up inside me and bursts.  To try and make the life I lead and the one that goes on in my head more harmonious, I've decided to try blogging as my outlet of writing daily.  And that means having a daily topic, though I think I'll take Sundays off.  Or Mondays, I don't have an overflowing fondness for Mondays.  Chances are, I've completely lost any prosepective readers in my first paragraph, but I'm trying to learn as I go, so I'll just keep on going.

...of a far off place...

When coming up with a reason to self publish, there are really three reasons.  Reason Number 1, you love what you do and you want to share it.  Reason Number 2, you think you can share something and gain an audience.  Reason Number 3, no agent/publisher would take you.  I confess, I'm a bit unmotivated when it comes to finding an agent.  I've had a tiny bit of interest, but never enough to launch my own career, and so I stopped trying.  INstead, I did what I love to do, I continued to write.  Then, I had no ability to write, I am currently suffering the worst case of writer's block I've ever experienced.  Four months and counting.  So with no ohter outlets, and growing pressure from friends, I chose the self publishing route.  I am largely a self published Reason Number 1, with a dose of laziness and Reason Number 3 thrown in.  If you are looking for great insights into the self publishing world, my best suggestion is to either find someone else or stick around for awhile. I am literally learning this all as I go, and my own trials and tribulations might someday be helpful.

...where a big, warm welcome will be waiting for me...

What I have learned so far is simple: Createspace was much easier for me to navigate than Lulu.com, formatting is a pain in the rear, and no matter how much help your friends might be in promoting you, professional help is probably necessary. Having successfully checked off all but the last box, I am currently researching avenues for professional assistance. I am lucky in that my mother was an editor for the government in several avenues, so I don't have to pay for that particular part.  I have had some success with Cover Generator from Createspace, enough that I'm not inclined to go out and pay $500 for a professionally done one.  So that leaves me with the promotional part. 

...where the crowds will cheer...

On my own, I have this blog, one on Createspace, one on Write On by Kindle, as well as a Twitter feed (@blythelea), a Facebook page (L.E. Gibler), and now an Amazon Author page.  All in all, it is a lot of upkeep but so far with very little reward.  Now, I've decided to test paid for services, and I'm leaning towards Self Publisher's Showcase.  I will also, when my budget permits (please note I have six horses), attempt one or two of the Tweet Your Book promotions.  All such experiences will be duly noted here, for whatever purpose it might serve.

...when they see my face...

As one last self promotional bit, if anyone can identify what movie I paraphrased today's song from, message me, and the first correct response will recieve a free copy of Caitiff Acadmey: The Tigress.

...and a voice keeps saying, this is where I am meant to be...

BlytheLea/L.E. Gibler

Live and Let Die

In this ever changing world in which we live in (is that a line from a James Bond film?  I think it is...Live and Let Die), keeping up with the Jones' is near impossible.  I do not have full time internet access in my life.  Every morning may be spent at Starbucks, but that is a close as it gets.  The surface I have just been beginning to scratch when it comes to successful social marketing puts me on the short end of the stick.  

There are several key points that I have quickly come to notice.  1.) A lot of money can be poured into this life dream, but without a guarantee of any payback.  (Note: I do not have a lot of money.  I have a lot of horses) 2.) Social marketing is really an all day affair (See Note about having horses).  3.)There are far more people out there doing something similar to me.  It's downright awe inspiring and a touch depressing.  

And so here we are, well, here I am.  The odds are currently against me, but if there is one thing to learn from trying to attain the unattainable, it is that if you love what you're doing, then you're going to keep doing it.  I have joined no less than three chat groups, NaNoWriMo is just around the corner, and I'm trying to land a full time job.  If I can still squeeze in time to do the two things I love most in this world, then that will be what I determine success by.

In this ever changing world in which we live in, makes you give it a try, say live and let die. (Pretty sure that's not exact, it's paraphrasing.  What are the rules for citations on paraphrasing?  I write fiction, citations aren't really my forte.)

And finally, one last shameless plug for anyone who has made it this far in my blog.

 http://www.amazon.com/Caitiff-Academy-L-E-Gibler-ebook/dp/B00O2EQ8P6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412446036&sr=8-2&keywords=l.e.+gibler

A First Time for Everything

So this is a first.  I can't come up with anything to write about.  Does this mean I'm having writer's block?  That would definitely be a first.  I know this will come off as incredibly pretentious, and I don't mean it that way, but my writing has always felt something like Mozart.  He didn't sit down a meticulously plan, he just let the ideas flow.  That's how I like to write.  I'm not a fan for plot lines and in depth character arcs before I write.  I just let that happen.  Is it a flaw?  Possibly, but really, at this point, I've decided to embrace what and who I am, so if it works, it works.  

Look at that, I managed a whole paragraph.  That was better than I thought I'd be getting today. And then my dog goes and wraps himself up in a chair.  Must deal with one crisis at a time.

For anyone wondering, dogs love Starbucks.  Ask for a puppy whip or a puppy-ccino.  It'll make their day.

Here's hoping for a better tomorrow.

Break From Routine

With the focus of my life being, for a rare change, about my writing and not my riding, I've decided to have a Throwback Thursday.  Horses are still the number one driving passion in my life, but with three different things wrong with my foot right now, they have to take a back seat for a few weeks more. 

The subject of this week's Throwback is, by necessity of what my computer is willing to load, Merlin.  Merlin, registered name Exit Flight, was a true diamond in the rough.  I picked him up for a meager $250 last spring.   He had some issues, he liked to invade personal space, he had a bit of a limp from the onset of arthritis, and he wasn't too fond of being told what to do.  Now, though, he's the best Thoroughbred gelding I've ever been around.  He is also amazingly tolerant, probably largely from the six weeks we spent together last summer healing a gaping wound in his leg after he got caught up on a horse trailer. He has since gone back to jumping 4 foot oxers and running through Training level cross country courses.  He is, as I said, one of the best, and every day an absolute hoot. So, for those who can appreciate a good laugh I present Merlin dressed up as, well, Merlin.

 

Update Volume 3

Oh my goodness there is SOOO much information out there about self-publishing, writing in general, forums, the like.  I know for a fact I have only scratched the surface with a single fingernail, if that, and I'm feeling just a little bit overwhelmed!

Today's great adventure, after a more mundane job interview to pay for the increasingly expensive passions/hobbies in my life, was to set up profiles.  Profiles for what, you might ask.  Well, there is this blog, that I feel I'm not quite fully covered on, my Createspace website (which I managed to update, but still don't have a picture for), Amazon in general (yeah, got lost on that), and Writers Carnival.  In a rare turn of events, I am going to shamelessly plug something that has almost nohting to do with me.  If you are a new writer, or you just like to put a few creative thoughts out there from time to time, join Writers Carnival.  I've never come across a more fun and supportive group of people.  I really expected the writing community to be all about htemselves, but so far that has not been the case.  The only small problem for me is that the writi8ng that goes on is all short, and in case you missed it, I'm far too verbose to manage something short.  High school papers were hell for me.  For my senior research paper, I fudged the page count by changing my font to 10.5 instead of 11 to make it under the 14 page limit.  Yeah, that's me.  If I can take an hour to say something someone else could say in five minutes, I probably will.

The other, not really about me plug for the day is NaNoWriMo.  I've been getting more and more updates, and I am so freaking excited!!!  I loved the crazy experience of writing a book in a month so much last year, that I wrote two.  And with the running of a 16+horse barn that finally closed to setting up my on the side teaching business (please don't tell the authorites), I haven't had any time to just write.  Hence the push on publishing.  Here's my tip of the day:  If you can't write, publish.  Anyway, I have an idea I'm having to hold on tight to that I am really hoping will just be unleashed come November 1st.  Oh, those thirty days.  On the bright side, those thirty days are in my favorite month.  

Who loves Halloween?  Pictures to follow, and they will be more horse related.  I just got Maleficent horns, maybe one of my mares will submit to having her picture taken with them...

Update Volume 2

The great wide world of self publishing is a massive Catch 22.  On the one hand, a desire to be published can drive an author to send their fledgling creation out into the world.  On the other, any chance of success in this cut throat world is entirely dependent on a plan, and money, preferably lots of it.  I will freely admit to being one such conundrum.  In a fierce desire to have some sense of accomplishment, I have entered the fray of self publishing.  Two books are out there, for the world to see.  And please stay with me on the following (shameless) plug:

The Other Side of the Looking Glass
( http://www.amazon.com/Other-Looking-Glass-World-Walkers/dp/1499573510/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412114907&sr=8-1&keywords=l.e.+gibler )

Caitiff Academy: The Tigress
( http://www.amazon.com/Caitiff-Academy-Tigress-L-E-Gibler/dp/1502544431/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1412114907&sr=8-3&keywords=l.e.+gibler )
(Both available on Amazon)

So, back to the point at hand.  For those who crack, give up on big contracts just to feel a sense of accomplishment, the real world is out there waiting to remind us of our own smallness.  There is a certain feeling that comes with being an author, a feeling of being a part of another world. And that can be a powerful feeling.  Then, when the glow wears off, you begin to realize just what a small fish in a big pond you are.  However, I do feel a sense of accomplishment.  Without the availability of my own money, I will stay just that, a small fish, but at the same time, all seven copies are seven more than it was a year ago.  So, success, and yet still so much further to go.

Another funny point about self publishing: how many others just like you there are out in the world.  Funnier still, how they all seem to find you on Twitter.  So tip of my hat to all of those struggling just like me.  May we keep on keeping on.

Updates Volume 1

And so another day, another check list that will no doubt prove too long to accomplish in a mere twenty four hours.  

On the bright side, I have been struggling mightily with Lulu.com and the formatting of my cover, complete with the perfect image for my second book, Caitiff Academy: The Tigress.  (Shameless plug?  Maybe)  I switched over to Createspace, and viola.  In a simple morning at Starbucks, the groundwork is already laid, and I'm well on my way to where I want to be.  

I like to consider myself a realist.  I am not looking to publish the next great American novel, or to snag a massive contract, but I absolutely love the feeling of accomplishment that comes with knowing that something I created is out there for the world to see.  Would it hurt my feelings if a lot of people appreciated my work and bought in bulk? Absolutely not, I'm a realist not an idiot.  And no, this time, that was not a plug, just an observation.  I'm not publishing to make money, I'm doing it to feel like I've done something.  And you know what?  It's working.

Now, with November on the horizon, I am positively giddy at the opportunity to continue my new NaNoWriMo tradition and write book #2 in the series in a meager 30 days.  Last year I wrote book one in eight, so I think I should be fine.

As always, feedback is welcome.  Surely there are more people out there in the world with experiences to be shared. Until then, keep rambling on.

With a Purpose

Rambling With a Purpose

So, thanks to the support and continued reminding (sort of like nagging, only much nicer), of my friends (shout out particularly to Jackie and Wendy) I can finally say I am a published author!!! And also a huge thanks to those who have already purchased my book.  It is such an odd, wonderful feeling to finally say I am an author when people ask what I do for a living.  Or I say I am a riding instructor, but saying I write and ride is so confusing.  Saying I ride and am an author, doesn't that just sound so much less so?  (input your own level of sarcasm)

As to the rest of the world, may I just say that while I love my family, it is incredibly stressful to have them visit.  Why do we all have to be worried about the state of our silver for family?  For visiting celebrities or dignitaries, yes, that might make sense,  but my family should be well aware  by now that my priorities are out in a barn and what goes on in the house is a long distant second.

In other news, my second book is now in the hands of my unofficial publicist.  After she reads through, and I make corrections, it will be out there for the whole wide world to see.  Not to mention book number three is in the formatting stages.  I don't know how the rest of the self publishing world has operated, but I have found that CreateSpace is far more user friendly than Lulu.  So, going forward, look for me on Amazon!  (And, yes, that was a shameless plug)

In the meantime, here's to many more rambles with no rhyme or reason.

Wow, what a couple of weeks.  I can't believe, after posting the accomplishment of my website, I forgot to post a picture of my first book.  Let me say that again, my first book!  It has been a lifelong ambition of mine to publish something I wrote, and thanks to the wonderful people at NaNoWriMo and Lulu.com, I was able to do just that.  Thank you anonymous benefactors!

Now it seems the craziness of November, and the rewriting and publishing of Februray, is to be duplicated at Camp NaNoWriMo.  Am I crazy?  I have to think I am, for I've already signed on.  And I don't even have the whole month of April to write, as I am going to the Derby, the one and only Kentucky Derby.  Isn't it the first Saturday in May, you might ask.  Well, yes, but then you don't know my grandmother. Eccentric doesn't begin to describe her, but more on that another day.  So, I decided to be kind to myself, set a low bar, and hope for the best.

Here's hoping that I haven't just signed my own ticket to Bedlam.  Anyone else have a similar situation? I'm looking forward to my randomly selected campers.  Hope someone brings s'mores!

Keep rambling on!
BlytheLea

Finally, something to show

Well, I'm not exactly the promptest person.  My unofficial class motto was "Why do today what can be put off until tomorrow?".  That being said, I finally finished a project I started and took care of a lot of niggling little things all in one day.  I can feel productive now.  Whew.

Still, that project that I finished seems to need a bit of a send off.  So here I am, trying to give my baby a little more notice.  As a horseback riding instructor, notice can be hard to come by.  It is a well known fact that it is harder to ride in the cold and wet than in the sunny summer.  Students come and go, with little to no notice.  But those like me, we just keep trekking on.  Here's hoping the trek gets a little easier to find now. 

http://legibler.wix.com/blythelea

Thanks for visiting.  Ramble on fellow ramblers, ramble on.

BlytheLea 

P.S. My newest installment of blogging will be the lovely details of last JULY.  Believe me, the caps will explain themselves when I share.