"Skippin' over the ocean, like a stone" ~ Harry Nilsson

I think Harry was a much under appreciated artist in his time.  I'll always have fond memories of his song "Everybody's Talkin' At Me" that I first heard in the movie "Midnight Cowboy".  It's a classic from 1969 and I've seen it countless times.  If you haven't had the pleasure yet, rent it or download on your Netflix or Blockbuster, get a big bowl of butter infused popcorn, some Junior Mints since they always go so well with the popcorn, and settle in for a great movie.  And, a great song.  

There's an old saying:  people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.  Here's a little tip: we all live in glass houses.  No one is without sin, however I am loathe pointing out others shortcomings.  It will inevitably come back to bite me in my munificent ass.  So, the bottom line is:  just don't throw any stones.  But...here I go. We're all a little guilty of something, right?  Specifically, in the writing world I would like to address the bazillion (and that's a lot!) of blogs I subscribe to, get weekly or more often updates on, newsletters, sales pitches, etc., from everyone in the author world from editors to fellow writers to services that want me to subscribe to track my e-book sales (I can do that for free at Amazon, but thank you for the thoughtful offer).  There is a reason I'd like to address these kind folks who have such noble intent of making my writing the most perfect evah, with the use of whichever services they are so considerately offering me (to pay for). My beef is:  If you're going to pitch your services to me that you will make me a better writer, point out my shortcomings so as to make my story better, give me advice on such things as set-up, structure, form, grammar, spelling, etc., your pitch might carry a lot more weight if your own writing were policed.  Why would I want to pay someone who claims they can make my novel the breakthrough novel of the year (decade, century...whatever) when I read through your blog/pitch and find your own errors? Hhmmm?  I'm not casting stones.  I make my share of errors. Probably :-)  I do double, triple, and quadruple check, reading over all of my work, whatever it may be.  Book, short story, blog, e-mail to my mom...whatever I'm writing I work really hard at doing my own policing, but sometimes I'm (gasp!) human and I miss stuff, too.  But, mostly everything I write that is going to get out there for the general public to read, I carefully go through several times to avoid looking like an uneducated oaf.  I'm really (pardon the expression) anal about correct spelling and grammar.  These days, sometimes grammar can be subjective and even depends on the subject matter.  Like above...I wrote 'evah' to be a little sarcastic in my remark and lend some slang to it.  I know it's not proper English, but I was being dramatic.  Sometimes a little drama gets the point across well.  But, I did spell it correctly so that makes it OK.  Personally, I have some trouble with the apostrophe thing. I've read "Eats Shoots and Leaves" a couple of times. I think my right and left side brain just doesn't absorb it.  I've also been told I tend to use too many commas, so if you find that in any of my writing, please do point it out so I can make corrections, maybe, or not :-D

I see it this way: an editor or publisher wouldn't hesitate to send my manuscript straight to the shredder if I had spelling and/or grammar errors.  Why would I expect someone inspecting my work to go to any less effort? Besides, I can't trust someone who has chronic spelling or grammar errors.  It's a matter of pride and self respect.  Much like making sure one's physical appearance is presentable, not going out in public wearing plaid pajama bottoms and slipper clogs.  Ugh...don't even get me started...

I won't beat a dead horse; suffice to say if you're one who is putting yourself out there pitching your services to starving artists who would depend on your expertise to help them move up in their field, you should make sure you're putting forth your best work as an example. 

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Quick update on the Amazon exclusivity project:  it's going swimmingly!  I'm thrilled to report that e-downloads at Amazon are doing much better than I expected.  I've not any regrets about giving Amazon exclusive rights for Kindle.  They are great partners for self published authors like me.  If you haven't borrowed either "Random Encounters" or "Bright Lights, Money & Show Biz, Honey" on your KDP Select membership, please do and report back.  If you're not yet a KDP Select member, you can still download either for a paltry sum. I heard a rumor recently that none other than Mr. Jamon Scott has finished "Random Encounters" and is going to give a public review. I'm a little scared! *wink*

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Is everyone making plans to get to Spokane for the February 19th show of Roger Clyne? I'm super excited! I've seen countless Peacemakers shows, but never been privileged to see a Roger solo show.  It's at Knitting Factory which makes it even better.  It's just so much nicer a venue than the last one, which I will not publicly malign.  Give a shout out if you're going to be making the trek there.  I always love to meet people and you never know...I may just bring books to give away.  In fact, you can bet on it.  I give away more paperbacks than I sell :-) 

Hug an author today! We need love, too.  I'm gonna go make myself another Café Mocha on my Keurig.  I'm in love with an appliance!

Critically yours,

~ K