Alice Walker Meet and Greet

I spent last evening at a meet and greet with Alice Walker. It was very nice. I am so glad I went. It was right after work and I was lazy to go but I pushed past my laziness and went.

DISTRACTIONS
She dropped many nuggets of wisdom throughout her lecture. Her commentary on society, especially here in the United States, was refreshing to hear. She said that we live in a culture that wants us to be distracted. Television literally PROGRAMS you to be distracted. It moves you all the way off your authentic path. I have to be in the mood to watch TV otherwise I rather be reading or writing. Living alone, the TV serves as company mostly. I like to hear the noise when I'm moving about my apartment. I never did sign up for cable. I'm content to have the basic stuff. I love to be in my own thoughts, in my mind creating. TV is just a distraction!

CONNECTING
Something else she mentioned is that she has always written since she was a child. I certainly know all about that. I look at the volumes of books that I have written - journals of my life - and I am floored that I have that many thoughts in my head. And I lost the journals from my childhood and my teen years. I also lost a poetry book in high school. Someone stole it. I had penned some of the most beautiful poetry in it. I wish I could get those words and thoughts back. Ms. Walker said that she wrote/writes as a way to connect to "the whole," as she calls it. She said that all art does that. We want to be transformed by artistic impressions. Art is an attempt to connect. I certainly agree with that. When I am moved by beautiful music, I go with it. When I look at beautiful pieces of art, it evokes deep emotion. I want my writing to do the same. I want it always to lead someone home.

Anyway, I am going to spend the rest of my week devouring an Alice Walker novel or two. I also have these writing exercises to do that will help me get out of this writing funk that I've been in.

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Writing is Art

Navigating the self-publishing world has been an adventure. I am pushing myself beyond my known boundaries. The feeling is exhilarating and scary. I have not thought, not once, of failure and I am grateful that I am gifted with such a fierce optimism. That optimism has gotten me through some very rough patches and I know that it will carry me through the rest of my life.

People have asked me why I don't submit my manuscript to a publishing house. Here are my reasons:

1. TIME - I am not sure that they will move on it quick enough for me. They are looking for "trending" stories that are highly marketable. I think I am a great story-teller but I don't want to sit and wait for them to decide. I set a deadline for myself and I want to keep that deadline.

2. EDITING - Though I would appreciate feedback, I don't want my voice to be drowned out by an editor that wants my story to be "more marketable." The idea behind my writing is not just to sell books but to have my words and the stories make an impact on the reader.

3. CREATIVE FREEDOM - I have a clear vision of how I want the cover to be and how I want the text to be formatted.

I have not eliminated the possibility of pitching this manuscript to a publishing house. A dear friend of mine whose resume is quite impressive as a cultural expert (she was a consultant on Disney's Moana) has already put me in touch with Little Island Press located in Auckland, NZ. I don't want to wait though. I want to push this first novel into the print world. There are so many more that are coming after it.

People think that writing is cheap. And it is. It doesn't cost a thing for me to put my ideas on paper or here on the world wide web. But to bring it all to life costs money. Think of an artist that has sketched or has sculpted or has took beautiful photos. How do they bring it forward? They need the materials and then they need all the fluff to present their final product. Fluff = frames, columns and stands, printing costs, marketing -- it all costs money to present the end product to the world. And though sales and future commissions on their creative works might be a byproduct, that will not be realized for weeks or even months, sometimes years. Vincent Van Gogh probably had no clue the "value" of his work while he was alive.

I think of my writing just as an artist thinks of his or her pieces. I place my heart and soul into the things that I write and when I present it to the world, I make no apologies for the story that I tell. The best stories will change you, will push you to think of things differently.

So as I continue to weigh my options for bringing my first novel to life, self-publishing is still my chosen avenue. It is expensive -- from copyrighting the material to the actual publishing and the  marketing. I thank the people who have contributed to this first endeavor - donors who gave without hesitation. And though it is not enough yet, I am extremely grateful and humbled by their generosity.

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