A Rally of Writers

On Saturday, April 5, I'll be in Lansing as a part of a writers' conference called A Rally of Writers.

It looks like a great day, and a great deal for only $60.00 (with pre-registration).

Sessions will be conducted by writers like Jack Driscoll, Lev Raphael, Linda Peckham, J.D. Dolan, my good friend Ken Meisel, me, and others.

Learn more at www.arallyofwriters.com

Feel free to post this web address where you see fit.

Monetary Report for Week 8 (and other thoughts)

Well, things are back to normal. I sold one copy of my novel this week at $10.00. So . . . my profit was $1.00. This brings my total profits for the year to $104.30. I felt like I was climbing to the D+ list, but I've slid right back to the D list.

I also started reading a non-fiction book this week entitled (and subtitled) The Trouble with Diveristy: How We Came to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality. What an excellent book. Very thought-provoking. Every time I pick up a non-fiction book, I'm always glued and almost always provoked to think. Last year my non-fiction book was The Living Great Lakes, which I still highly recommend -- especially given the eventual water wars that we seem destined for.

For me this has raised the question: What is the purpose of fiction? Why make up stories? Is it simply to entertain? To exhibit craft? Or to say look at how surreal/experimental/nutty I am? Is it posturing? Is it masking the fact that the writer really has little to say?

To clarify, I go to literature to see the world in a way that I hadn't before. I want to be closer to understanding some aspect of the human condition. If I'm entertained along the way, great! For me, though, being interested or being enlightened IS being entertained. Leisure entertainment I can get from television. I guess I just expect a little more from my reading time.

So, why do I feel I'm getting more out of my non-fiction experiences than my fiction experiences -- especially when I read contemporary fiction? Also, in general, why is fiction on the decline and more readers are turning to non-fiction? Is it because most fiction has become apolitical? Is it because contemporary fiction writers seem much more interested in craft and effect over Truth and position?

I don't know. Anyone have the answer?

Fifth Wednesday Journal

Great way to start a Monday. I received news from the publisher of Fifth Wednesday Journal that they want to publish my short story "Writing on the Wall" in their Spring '08 issue, due out in April.

This will be their second issue. From what I can tell from the website, their first issue looks really good. The contributors have pretty impressive bios.

Check it out at: http://www.fifthwednesdayjournal.com/

Monetary Report: Week Seven

Well, for whatever reason, another big week. (Remember, this is all relative). I sold a few books here and there - a few to students, one to my kid's third grade teacher. I also sold a few books to the Caro Public Library (They asked me to come and give a reading/talk in April, and I think they wanted to have a few books to display.)

However, the big thing . . . well, let me give some background. About a month ago, someone from the Castle Museum in Saginaw emailed Delta College to see if we had anyone who could speak for a half an hour or so on Hemingway and his connection to Michigan. I'm not a Hemingway scholar by any means, but I stepped up and volunteered -- stating that the only pay I wanted was the chance to sell some books. I think D-listers need to do this kind of thing whenever there's an opportunity. Well, it paid off. My talk went well, and I managed to sell nine books. Believe me, for a public appearance of a virtually unknown writer, that's a lot of books.

So, the lesson . . . when you can make a public appearance, do it -- especially, and maybe only, if they'll let you sell books.

With all that I mentioned above, this week saw profits of $35.47. That brings the total for the year to $103.30. (Yes, I broke the $100.00 mark!)

On a different note, I started reading Walden Two by B.F. Skinner this weekend. So far, I'm really enjoying it. It's a novel, but much more idea-driven than it is character-driven. Still, a very thought-provoking read.

Monetary Report #6

Financially, it's been a huge week! First, I sold a copy of my novel at a $3.00 profit (not because I insisted, but because my buyer insisted on paying me more than $10.00). In addition, there's a colleague of mine who's using my short story collection, Emergency Stopping, in two sections of her ENG 112 course. I sell copies to her students at a discount, but I still turn a bit of a profit on each book. In any case, she gave me the first installment of student cheques this week, and the profits (yes, the profits!) came to $45.00.

So . . . this week saw me making $48.00 -- more than I made in the first five weeks of the year put together.

This brings my total for the year to . . . $67.83.

That means, a D-list writer like me averages $11.30 a week in profits from writing.

Ooh -- kind of takes the glamour out of things, doesn't it?

Highly Recommended Book

I just finished reading Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. What a great book. Bazarov, Turgenev’s “nihilist,” is one of the most fascinating characters I’ve come across in a book in some time. He seems so different from the post-modern character I feel like I’m bombarded with again and again – broken, despairing, disillusioned, angst-ridden and weak. The post-modern character is epitomized in Carver’s “Cathedral”. Almost useless, but capable of a slight redemption – or was that just the pot and booze? It seems like so many people have taken “Cathedral” as their model for what a character goes through.

Bazarov is no sword-wielding hero. He is quite flawed in many ways. But, he’s strong, arrogant, confident and, for me, altogether a new thing on the page – though he made his debut in the Nineteenth Century.

If you’re looking for a good book to read, check out Fathers and Sons. Weighing in at 164 pages, it’s a quick read compared to most Russian novels.

It’s funny, but after reading Turgenev, I started a book of short stories by a contemporary writer. It feels like more of the same ol' schtick. Characters start in weakness and end in a little less weakness – but still weakness. Compared to Turgenev, this collection of short stories feels like Literature Lite.

Monetary Report #5

Well, I did it again. Last night. Ken Meisel and I gave our presentation at the Creative Spirit Center, and I sold a copy of my novel for ten dollars -- one dollar over cost. So, this week sees me earning a hefty $1.00 from my writing.

That brings the total to: $19.83. Well, at least that's not likely to trigger an audit from the IRS next year.

Ken and I will also get some money from the Creative Spirit Center for last night's presentation, but I'm not sure how much, so I'll report it in the weeks ahead. Believe me, it won't be much.

Ken and I did an excellent presentation, if I do say so myself. He talked about about the neurobiology of love and the means of sustaining long-term attachment. I walked the participants through the dos and don'ts of writing a love poem. We closed with a brief poetry reading. The eight people who showed up thought it was quite good.

Our "Love" presentation is available to groups. Just send me an email.