A Dog's Eye: I've moved.

Square Pegs posts can now be found at D.A.CAIRNS AUTHOR.

Quite a long time ago, Blogger changed their interface, (or whatever you call it - sorry for my non technical knowledge/awareness), and I was displeased. The functionality I had enjoyed since beginning Square Pegs back in 2009 had been impaired and it was no longer as easy or enjoyable to use.

Two things in particular annoyed me every time I wrote and posted an article on Blogger after the 'improvements'. One, I could no longer place a photo in the text. It had to sit alone between paragraphs or...or nowhere. The second thing was I could no longer scroll through my post to check it in any way other than using the side bar. I don't use a mouse, so you can imagine how irritating this process became.

Aside from the negative changes to the Blogger interface, I had for some time wanted an official author website; not a blog, but a professional looking, hosted website with my own domain. After exploring this move myself, and finding it above my pay grade. I checked out how much it might cost to hire someone one to build website for me.As I'm still waiting to make money from my writing, I found the cost prohibitive and shelved the project until such time as...well, until such time as the cost was no longer an obstacle. 

Fast forward to roughly a month ago, with the imminent launch of my first non fiction and first self-published book, I Used to be an Animal Lover, the time was right. However, it was only right because my sister stepped in with an offer to good to refuse. What was the financial incentive? What cleared the obstacle, making a path for a long held goal of mine? A payment plan.

In the end, with assistance from my children, and content from me, my sister built me a great website and I am now there. Not here. On the site, which is well worth a visit, you will not only find Square Pegs, but also information about me and my books, including preview and purchase links, links and downloads of my work, and a selection of writing services which I offer as a freelancer.

It's time to say good bye to Blogger and hello to D.A.CAIRNS AUTHOR. Please come and visit, have a look around a sign up for Square Pegs posts, and subscriber only content, including news and giveaways.

Thanks for the memories Blogger. Thanks to all those who have read, commented, and shared, especially those hundred odd people in Poland who followed my short lived food blog, I Don't Cook. Archived articles will remain available here, but all the new content can only be found at D.A.CAIRNS AUTHOR. See you there.

Breath of Encouragement

A very special friend of mine, who is also one of my greatest supporters, sent me a link to an interesting article. It was in my inbox this morning. The link is below if you want to read the whole article which is about the power of author branding, but here's what I took from it.

Lee Childs, the creator of the Jack Reacher series, has sold 475 000 books and been translated into 16 languages. In the early days, he recalls standing in a book store for 3 hours, and managing to sell 5 books and make some new friends.

I've been there and done that. Now I want to go where Lee Childs is now, and I believe I can. Thanks for the encouragement Delia.

the power of author branding

The Fast Track to Clarity

It's easy to get lost, to lose perspective, to live an unbalanced life. There are times when I not only forget to stop and smell the roses, but I can't smell the coffee, and the stench of some dead creature in the corner of my office cupboard fades from my olfactory register. Sometimes I run but I forget where I am going.

For five days this week, I banned myself from social media. I fasted from something which in itself is neither good not bad. For me, however Facebook and Twitter, had begun to distort my view of myself and of reality. One of my best lines, when my children show me something on Facebook, is that Facebook makes me despair for humanity. Lately, it had been making me despair for myself.

The problem is I don't like to communicate in a vacuum, and who does? If I say something, I would like a response. If I ask a question, I would like an answer. My experience of social media is that it is mostly one sided. Roughly half a dozen of my Facebook friends interact with me, and the figure for Twitter is even lower. This dearth of interaction annoys me, and the reason I get irritated is because I am self centred.

I am looking for love in the wrong places. Social media is a tool not a barometer. The popularity game promises great rewards but delivers superficiality. I chose not to play this week, and as a result I wrote four chapters of my next novel. Fasting something which I enjoy (usually) but do not need, helped me to see clearly that I am an author, and I am important regardless of how many hits, friends or tweeps I have. This clarity led to productivity.

I also fasted from Coke for three days, but that is another story.

Photograph sources:
http://www.totalwallpapers.com/wallpapers.asp?number_id=574
http://hicks-tuj.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/social-media-and-its-contributions-to.html

A Murder of Crows

After many successful years as a criminal defense attorney, Lawrence Russell finally succumbs to his conscience and verbally attacks his own client in court. As a result, the defendant is found guilty, and Lawrence is disbarred.

Happy to be free of the burden of defending people whom he knows are guilty and unrepentant, Lawrence sets about making a new life for himself. He decides to write a book but can't get started so he spends his days drinking and dreaming instead. One day he meets a man who gives him a manuscript about a man who murders five defense lawyers, and the man asks him to read it over and offer his opinion. When the man dies, Lawrence decides to put his own name to the novel and submit it for publication. Although A Murder of Crows is a huge success, it also turns out to be a true story. As the "author", Lawrence becomes the prime suspect in the subsequent criminal investigation.

Lawrence Russell did the right thing in obeying his conscience to quit as a defense attorney but when the rewards he hoped for, like success as a writer, did not materialize, he disobeyed his conscience by putting his name to a manuscript which he did not write. The consequences of this latter decision were life threatening.

The film, A Murder of Crows, demonstrates two things. Firstly, the rewards for doing right are not always immediate or obvious. And secondly making a decision to do good, or to do the right thing at one time in your life does not make it any less likely that you won't make a wrong decision, or a decision to do something bad, at another time.

Keeping a Lid On It

It's not easy. I began my writing career in 1998 when I was gifted my first computer,(thanks again Darren)and I became familiar, very quickly, with the cycle of submit and be rejected. Editors say things like "we appreciate your interest in the magazine but your story is not quite right for us", "we appreciate the chance to read your story, unfortunately the piece is not for us", "after careful consideration we've decided we won't be able to use your story", and "we read your work but it wasn't a good fit for us at this time." Not all rejections are flat out rejections. Although adding fuel to the fire of frustration, some editors provide encouragement by praising what they liked about the story. They say things like, "Good idea", "well paced", "well written", "I loved the character", "I enjoyed it" etc, and then apologize that they won't be publishing it.I've written 71 short stories and had 11 of them published. That's 11 acceptances out of 252 submissions.

I've also written two novels. The first, Devolution was published as an e-book in 2009. I paid for that to happen and I did not recover my costs through sales. Nevertheless, it was an achievement. I had a product to sell and some supportive friends and family bought copies. Now Devolution is available in paperback and it cost me nothing to produce. It's called "print on demand" and I set it up with CreateSpace. When the proof copy arrived on my doorstep, I was stoked. The book was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. In a couple of weeks, I'll be appearing at the local bookstore to sell and sign copies of Devolution on the back of some publicity, including a feature article in the local newspaper. Like I said, it's not easy to keep on lid on my excitement. These small steps mean everything and nothing much at the same time. You can imagine my anxiety as I think of the in store appearance.

Will complete strangers buy my book? Why should they? Because they like the cover? The blurb? Because they want to support a local author? Will the appearance be a flop, leaving me to walk way with a box of unsold books? All writers have experienced rejection. All writers have had the fear that they are writing for themselves when what they desperately want is readers. Some writers become hugely successful, rich and famous...most writers have to keep their day jobs.I have to keep my day job which is okay because I actually love my day job...but I want to write and want people to read what I write. All I can do therefore, is try, struggle to contain my enthusiasm, keep writing and keep dreaming of eventual success.