Learning, Loving, Living

I'm a lucky girl...I love the life I live and am thankful for the opportunities that come my way.  Yesterday, I attended an excellent panel discussion about Publishing sponsored by the NC Writers Circle...and the drive through the mountains was pretty awesome too...

...a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains...

 ...cows in a pasture surrounded by mountains...

 ...vistas with mountains surrounded by mountains...

...autumn's colors sprouting all around me...

...it was a very relaxing drive.

The panel discussion was exactly what I needed...I've been thinking about writing a book for a long time...ever since I started living this log cabin life...but I've always been intimidated by what I didn't know about what to do with the book once it was written, so I kept the ideas spinning in my head instead of putting the words in print.  A few weeks ago, I started putting the words down...OK, I wrote about six sentences and then stopped...I've been reading Glenda Beall's blogs for a while now (she's the Director of Writers Circle) and there I learned about this panel discussion...what better time than now to learn what to do next with the book I'm going to write...let me restate that, am writing.  I'd never met Glenda though we correspond through our blogs...I was excited about what I would learn but also about meeting her.  I was not disappointed.  When I arrived, I introduced myself to Glenda who responded with a big smile and a warm hug...I knew I was in exactly the right place!

The discussion was well attended and very informative.

The panelists (seated from left to right) Nadine Justice, Kathryn Magendie, and Maren Mitchell shared their experiences with publishing (Nadine and Maren are self published and Kathryn is published through a publishing house).  Glenda (at the podium) is a writer, poet and teacher, and in addition to directing the Writers Circle she writes the Writing Life Stories blog.  

The most important things I learned?  First...write.  Second...edit for structure, edit for content, edit professionally...edit some more.  Third...develop a marketing plan.  Fourth...publish.  Sounds easy enough...I'm excited about the new enthusiasm I have for writing my book(s) and am truly grateful to have met all these talented women.  Glenda, a special thank you to you for your encouragement!  I'm so happy to have met you...I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship:)

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise