Cobwebs Of The Mind

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Now This Is All I Need - A Second Life!

It has been oh-so-long since publishing in Cobwebs Of The Mind. But like a wayward child it is gone and not forgotten.

I have much news to report from the writing world, and over the next couple of weeks some of the dedicated may learn about some really new and exciting markets opening up with serious people.

But first where was I? Oh my oh my. Writing, creating FaceBook Applications and more recently exploring the world of Second Life. Now for those of you who have no clue what Second Life is, and I am sure there are many, you should take a peek at the web-site Second Life.

Second Life is a graphic environmentally rich world, though not a social network like Facebook, put contains much power and some incredible things. For the techie in me it was hard to resist. So finally after being cajoled by a friend to finally in their words "would you at least try it!", I took the plunge into an avatar based system which certainly is at the cutting edge of 3D graphics on a computer screen.

Second Life can be anything you wish it to be. After all that is the purpose of a rich, animated (and I do mean animations!), graphic, colorful environment. It has gadzillions of SIMS (Simulated Worlds), it is based on real estate and you can shop, and buy and meet people and....and...and...

In other words, Second Life, in many ways mimics our real lives. It is fun and to the techie sometimes awesome.

But wait this is Cobwebs Of The Mind! Hits head! Smacks self. This is not a blog about graphics and technology. But as usual my dear readers, there is method to my total and complete madness (shush up those comments from the peanut gallery).

Second Life is replete with writers and authors. Lest you think we are only talking about the wannabes, forget it. Koontz made an appearance in Second Life. You can watch a Shakespere play in SL with voice. You can meet published and famous authors all the time in Second Life.

There are also various SIMS dedicated to writers, which I gravitated to. These SIMS have an ever growing amount of events for writers. Poetry, Novels and Short Stories are all represented. Readings, courses, workshops...it is really a growing and very interesting place for a writer to learn and to be.

Of course, as all over, the scammers are there as well, trying to take advantage of naïve writers. But we know this to be an evil we live with, and thus it should come as no surprise to any of us that some have invaded Second Life.

Well where are we going with all this? After meeting up with some published authors from all over the world, (and we will be doing some interviews with some of them, as their books are about to come out), it was fun to become an active part of the community. I teach three different workshops in Second Life, all well attended all fun, all with great people.

There are also some fairly interesting literary mags. available in Second Life. It of course is an extension of Internet/Ebook Publishing, though not in the same way. Protection in this closed environment is fairly good. And we will be doing an interview with an editor or two of these magazines to give you an idea of what they are looking for and how to submit.

They don't pay yet, this is a very expermental avenue, but a growing one, and most of the magazines have huge readerships, plus all have plans to move into the normative print medium. This is not something any writer looking for other avenues of publishing should ignore.

So, along with the normative posts we will be doing some on Second Life. Beware though, I have some really funny stories to tell.

By the way if you are already a Second Life member, come on over and visit me at Written Word in the SIM called Cookie. My Second Life identity is "Kitviel Silberberg" (shhhhh...don't tell anyone) and I am giving workshops on Blogging, Short Story Writing, and Ebook and Publishing Rights.

You will find the free Downloads of PDF summaries of all the Workshops by clicking here.

And if you are not then take a look at Second Life. Just don't get addicted!

Posted On: Cobwebs Of The Mind

Friday, December 14, 2007

Throw A Rock And Hit A Writer...

One of the most startling things tourists from the US find in the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv streets while they take a stroll, are the incredible amount of street cats that populate the cities. The city managers have over the course of the years, attempted to bring this blight under control coupled with the ASPCA, but cats are still all over. When my mother, years and years ago used to visit here, she would love to say, "If you throw a rock in Jerusalem, chances are you will either hit a lawyer or a cat." And certainly it is true there are more lawyers here then one knows what to do with, but I think most of us would kind of hope the arc of the rock would miss the cat and let us say, graze the lawyer. A gentle nudge as it were.

Well, things change. The world moves on. Technology has taken over our lives. And so today, the saying should be changed just a wee bit. "If you throw a rock in Jerusalem, chances are you will either hit a writer or a cat."

Everyone I meet these days is a "writer" or an "author". I do not say this with any embedded cynicism by the way. I think self-expression is a very good thing. But recently while I perused the pathways of the Internet, I have come to amend that statement once again.

"If you throw a rock on the Internet, 99% of the time you will hit someone claiming to be a writer. The other 1% of the time your rock will land in a no-man's land."

Recently with a bit of tongue in cheek I talked about the new Internet craze, Facebook. (The Book Will Not Make You Succeed - You Make The Book Succeed). And in truth Facebook is somewhat fascinating, in that gadzillions of people secretly found a way to waste their time by throwing kisses, hugs, booze, cats, balloons, and every object you can possibly think of at each other. They flirt, they take virtual showers together, they talk and they babble. It truly is a fascinating aspect of human culture in our day and age. And every time they do something you get hit with an email!

On Facebook there are groups. Much like the "old technology" of Yahoo groups and Google groups. Anyone, as far as I can tell, can start a group, about any subject under the sun. So of course one should not be surprised that there are quite a few "writing" groups on Facebook as well. Some have already garnered a few thousand members. And what is actually interesting, is that there is no snipping, no foolishness and certainly none of the Absolute idiocy one finds on other writer Absolute writer forum boards these days. Isn't it amazing that when people from all over the world get together, in a decent forum, they can actually deal with the topics at hand?

But back to the point. So these groups allow many of the writers to emerge from the closet as it were. Some of course, make the major boo-boo of posting their work on Facebook itself. Others publish it in their blogs.

But the major lesson is this:

Everyone is becoming an author these days!

To be sure I myself got into trouble when I joined a group whose Administrator had begun it to give some more PR to her own business. I did not realize this at first, however, it is perfectly legitimate to do such things. So when this person started posting about the great possibilities of self-publishing, I posted back a reply not in favor of it. Well I got smacked down! OMG! On Facebook yet! I still cannot figure out if the person is a PR company, or offering her services to be a go-between. One of those people who promises to get you an agent. Is this individual legitimate or just a shell for a scam?

But you know what? Everyone is an author. And no matter how many times we write about scams and such, grown people will often do childish things. Simple as all that. And they are often parted from their hard-earned money.

Back to the point... yet again!

Sites like Facebook (Gather as well) are slowly making inroads into our way of acting, reacting and thinking. It is a very swift exchange of information, and there is certainly an ever-increasing "information overload" going on. The trouble is no one person can cover it all. Trends come and go, but the art of writing certainly is loved and cherished still, if one is to judge by the numbers.

I assume, and this may be a faulty assumption, most of the writing is just for fun though many have professional aspirations. Still if one wants to get a handle on things that interest people today, and write about it, I can think of worse endeavors than to spend a few days looking at Facebook and Gather and studying the actions and reactions of people. You are not going to get famous on Facebook. It wont raise your Google ranking for your name. But it will allow you a peek into the changing world of things.

So when you do your research, go to Gather and Facebook and throw a rock. Make it a light one and don't hurt anyone. But chances are you are going to hit a writer or a would be author. Chances are as well, you will end up wasting an enormous amount of time. But it is better than watching and episode of Law and Order or CSI for the fifth time! And besides, on Facebook if you do publish your latest chapter, you can at least get all your listed friends to read it! Just throw them a hug and a kiss and a balloon!

Posted On: Cobwebs Of The Mind

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Manless In Montclair - The Genre Of Memoirs

It is rare that I will do a book review here at Cobwebs Of The Mind. And in truth the following book review for Manless in Montclair: How a Happily Married Woman Became a Widow Looking for Love in the Wilds of Suburbia is not so much due to the nature of the book but the story behind it. Let me be a bit clearer. Not the story in the book itself, which is basically a fictionalized account of the true story of Author, Amy Holman Edelman. It is due to the way one woman was able to take her own life experience and parlay that into a book which has garnered a great deal of interest.

In 2001, Amy Edelman went out one day, she returned to her home to find out she had become a widow with her husband's sudden death. At that point Amy did not give up on life, which is something very tempting to do. After a few years Amy decided it was time to try and find a relatinship which would lead to marriage. The story of this quest is documented in Manless in Montclair.

What I want to bring to the attention of readers of Cobwebs Of The Mind is the ingenuity and perhaps even gumption of how Amy turned an event into her life into a book, which is actually a memoir but a fictionalized one. The message here is there are stories everywhere, if you are willing to let the world read about your most intimate thoughts. The genre of memoir is usually reserved for the famous and infamous. However, even in this genre, one can turn around and find that specific niche and idea which will enter the market in a positive way. And while I certainly do not wish upon anyone the events which took place in Amy Edelman's life, it is an education for writers who are sifting through ideas and possibilities on what to write and how to write it.

It is true though one must be careful in this genre. You should have a story and a message. Few people want to read a fictionalized account of how wise your grandparents were. To be incredibly crass but completely realistic, tragedy sells, but it has to be written in a way which interests many people, and something the public at large can relate to. And again it is worth repeating, once you decide to go down this path, you must be willing to lay your soul bare and express its pain as well as the joy. If you cannot do this, memoir writing is just not for you.

The following is a review up at Amazon on the book by Jamie Driggers.

When Isabel went out to get her teeth whitened, she didn't know that she would return to a life she couldn't recognize. Husbands shouldn't die unexpectedly, leaving their happily married wives as widows. And young daughters shouldn't request a new daddy for Chanukah. Where is a suburban woman supposed to find love when she thought she was out of the dating pool for good?

Manless in Montclair is a fictionalized account of Amy Holman Edelman's own journey. Sudden widowhood was bad enough, but finding a new daddy for her girls through 21st Century dating had its own challenges. When internet dating, dating services and speed dating didn't work, she tried an email blast offering a free trip to the person who found her next husband.

In a journey back and forth through time, from dating her husband, through their relationship to his sudden death, we get to know what makes Isabel tick. She isn't just another woman desperate for a man; she is a mother desperate to honor her daughter's wishes. You have to laugh at her antics while also feeling sorry for her situation.

I admit that the time travel in the beginning of the book was disconcerting. It took a while before I felt relatively confident about what was going on. It also felt like we spent most of the book in about two weeks worth of time and then went into hyper speed because of the method. Also, East Coasters will probably better relate with this book than Midwesterners as many topics were rather foreign to me (I've been in the burbs my whole life). But overall, it did work, so give her a chance and stay with her.

Manless in Montclair is a witty and heartbreaking story of coping with sudden change.

You can also read an interesting though short interview with the author up at Yahoo News. However this book does on the market, one can only wish Amy Holman Edelman only joy and happiness from now on. And may she and all of you out there who celebrate it have a wonderful Hanukkah - full of light and love and chasing away the darkness.

Posted On: Cobwebs Of The Mind

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Book Will Not Make You Succeed - You Make The Book Succeed

Way back on June 22, 2006, I published a piece here at Cobwebs Of The Mind, called, "Viral Technology - An Introduction". This piece was aimed at bloggers and trying to help them understand what in the end causes one site to be successful while another fails. MySpace and more recently, FaceBook, are excellent examples of "viral" technology at work. Especially Facebook, which seems to grow in astronomical terms.

Up until the other day I viewed Facebook as a curiouso. I thought of it as another MySpace only a lot more technologically minded, in that it's structure was open and allowed people to contact others with a unique method of causing everyone to enter the system and spreading the word. Even the Home Page of the user screams "viral system".

I personally used Facebook simply because a good friend asked me to join, and then I could be kept abreast of some parties and events they organize and go to. Most of the time I ignored it. Another click and a massive waste of time. Then one day, my nieces, somehow found me on Facebook and sent me messages. Of course they told me not to hit on any of their friends and to change my picture! But they also told me it is boring because I only have one friend listed!

So my nieces became my friends and then my nephew. I was up to four friends! Now, the original person who instigated my joining Facebook to begin with, started bugging me to "get more friends" as well. Relentless, she was. Drove me bonkers.

So one day I log in, and in a moment of madness, I allow Facebook to read all my Gmail contacts, saying to myself, "o.k. out of all these people in my gmail account maybe one or two will show up". Boy was in for a shock. My friends list went from four to Zoom.

So what does this all have to do with Writing?

Ahh two important points here. Here was my big shocker. In my private email account which I used for Facebook, there were quite a few agents, editors etc. Most of these agents I had queried at one time or another. And suddenly, they were showing up as friends in Facebook! Now that may not be astounding for you, but to me it was an eye-opener. And I will try and explain.

You see, I have always looked at the mysterious world of getting published, as being somewhat arcane and behind the times. Just witness the amount of agents who still refuse to accept any query or submission via email and you may get my drift. It also is a very slow moving world. Of course agents, editors and publishers think they move fast enough thank you very much, but truth be told they are no where near to speed as other industries.

Another factor is something I have noticed as well. In my mind I call them the "traditionalists". These are the people who resist any change, any nuance of innovation in the publishing industry. Any type of change smacks of a new way to take advantage of writers. And whereas, readers of Cobwebs Of The Mind know I am a great fan of sites such as Writer Beware, who does an awesome job, I still find much of the way we work and how we work to be in the middle ages.

So yes, I was kind of shocked at this sudden ability to view profiles and gasp!, even pictures of the agents who were second to God to me for much of my writing life (though no more).

And this whole experience got me to thinking about the nature of the game. Publishers and agents will tell you this, without any embarrassment, nor should there be, that if you want to break in to a non-fiction field, you must have what is known as "name recognition". This is just another term for "viral systems". In this case your own name is a "viral" system. Your own expertise. They rely on word of mouth in almost the exact same way that Facebook does.

So if you are an unknown novelist or non-fiction writer, what you must do in your search for a successful career in writing, is create your own "FaceBook". You must "market" yourself. You must be smart and allow people to know who you are and spread your own FaceBook around. This is not a secret by the way. It is simple common sense.

The day your ms. is accepted for publication is the day you need to start being a FaceBook. Not when the book is published, and not even on the pre-publication date. But months before. You need to "spread the word", "create the hype", and put notices up on your "wall" in your own Facebook. How do you do this? That is an excellent question, and I will share one failure which I had in this area.

I run quite a few blogs as hobbies. I am not one of those believers that you are going to make zillions on blogs. Topics of interest to me actually. One of those blogs is named, Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen. This blog is described by myself as:

A humorous look into the adventures of a single parent who learned the hard way and with a great deal of trepidation how to cook, feed his children, friends and the rare date with a measure of dignity and (hopefully) good food - Recipes Included! And it is all KOSHER to boot!

(No this is not a plug for the blog!) When I began Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen, it was a mixture of frustration and just a desire to entertain a few people. Frustration because I had tried to sell a humourous though "real" book on recipes and humor, to the publishers aptly named of course "Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen". My agent at the time loved the idea. But I had NO "name recognition" - I had no "Facebook". So the answers came back and almost all said, along the lines, "Great idea. Good reading. But no commercial name recognition."

Lots of terms were used but it all boiled down to "Who the hell is this guy who is writing recipes? Is he famous? Is he on TV or Radio? Is he a famous chef?" Witness the success of the new cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld, Deceptively Delicious, (wife of the famous Jerry Seinfeld).

So on the advice of a friend I just took Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen from a book into blog format. And to my total shock, and I do mean complete and total shock, the blog "Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen" became famous in just a couple of months. It won awards. It had thousands of hits a week. People from all over the world were submitting recipes, and kosher ones to boot.

So after a few months, I tried again on the book vein. After all, I could now lay claim to the fact that "Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen", as a book was a viable and popular project. I could prove it with numbers. To me it was a no-brainer. And guess what? Again I got back:

"Who the hell is this guy who is writing recipes? Is he famous? Is he on TV or Radio? Is he a famous chef?"

My own "FaceBook" still did not make it in the big leagues. It was a frustrating lesson and a depressing one to boot. But a real one. In 99% of the cases, the book is not going to make you famous or rich or sought after - You are going to make the book! In other words: The Book Will Not Make You Succeed - You Make The Book Succeed.

Publishing is moving forward. But your work is not going to become an overnight sensation even if you have a thousand friends in Facebook. You need to create and work on, along with writing your book, your own Facebook. So anyone who told you the business of a new, fledging writer is to write, and only to write, is full of crap. You don't only have to write. You have to sell yourself. You need to create your own unique Facebook.

Oh, and by the way, before I forget. I am Ted Gross on FaceBook. So add me as your friend. My nieces are telling me that I really do need more friends!!!!

Posted On: Cobwebs Of The Mind

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The Kindest, Most Compassionate And Wisest Man I Have Ever Met On The Face Of This Earth

I usually try and refrain from really personal things on my blogs, especially on Cobwebs Of The Mind, where the goal is to discuss the aspects of being an author and the life of one. However, today I will break from this tradition just once, as it is something that I think I must write about. Maybe, I am getting hit with "memoir disease" so excuse this post if you are not into it.

Tonight and tomorrow is the "Yureitzeit" that is a Yiddish word, which means "Anniversary of the Death" of my father. This year it worked out on Thanksgiving. The Hebrew calendar is Lunar and thus we go according to Hebrew dates and not English ones. It also is a fact that my Mom's birthday (who is long gone as well) is Thanksgiving. So I guess this year is a double whammy for walking down memory lane.

I am astounded that my father has been gone for 26 years now. One would think after so much time a child will no longer miss his father or mother. Time heals all wounds as they say. Certainly after 26 years it is time to move on. Or is it?

I have lived through a great many events in my lifetime. I have met thousands of people. I have seen pure goodness and pure evil. I have been the recipient of both evil and good. I have taken part in war and reaped the blessings of peace.

Through the years I have listened to a great many people express themselves. I have watched them and their actions. I have learned or try to learn from everything and everyone.

And I would still give my right arm for the wisdom my father possessed in his little pinky. In this sojourn upon the earth, I have rarely come across one whom I could hope to compare to Pop. And I have never, ever, come across anyone, who had the kindness and compassion for all humanity that Pop had.

He taught me from a very young age two simple rules.

"When you see," he would say, "someone better off than you, do not let jealousy take hold. Because you never know what that person is carrying around inside and what his sorrows are. And when you see someone worse off than you, always remember, 'If not but for the grace of God there goes I'."

That is great advice. Best you can get as far as I am concerned.

Pop was kind. Too kind, some people would say and have said. Perhaps you can never be too kind, I truly don't know. He knew the measure of compassion that people required. This was a measure of his wisdom.

This is not the place to eulogize Pop or Mom, nor is it the place to describe how much good they did in this world.

When I was all of 20 we went to visit my Grandmother's grave. At that time Pop had been without his Mother for 21 years. (I never met any of my grandparents.) I will never forget that day in the cemetery in Queens, off the Long Island Expressway when snow flurries floated down from the sky. Pop drove to that grave as if he had been there the day before. Not one wrong turn along the many pathways in that huge cemetery. Then Pop stood over his mother's grave and cried like a baby. And I remember thinking a not so good thought at the time. I remember wondering if I would be able to cry like that 20 years after my father died. I did not think it was truly possible to be honest. Pop was well, Pop. He was special beyond the words that a post in a blog can describe. I was not Pop. I could not see myself that emotionally upset 20 years after my parents died.

Well it is over 20 years since he died. I miss him terribly. Still. And I know I will always miss him, even if I live to be 120. It simply is the legacy he left me with. I have learned the hard way and with great pain, that when you know someone like Pop, well you have no control over the tears.

But this I also know. Pop was the kindest, most compassionate and wisest man I have ever met on the face of this earth.

In the end that is all I wanted to say. That is my thanksgiving on this holiday of Thanksgiving. Thank you Pop and thank you Mom - for being mine.

Posted On: Cobwebs Of The Mind

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

If You Write Short Stories ... Another Opportunity

The following came to my attention yesterday and the information is worth passing on. Z7 Novel Writers, Short Story Writers, & Poets Support, Information & Critique Group is a serious forum for writers, though not well known. There are many posts there which concentrate on helping writers, and listing writing opportunities, contests and information on markets. One of the members there, P.D.R. Lindsay, takes time to list every month or so, markets for writers under the title, P.D.R. Lindsay's Short Story Markets. Her newest post, "A Mixed Bag Of 25 Markets Plus A Jan 31st Deadline Comp" appeared yesterday. It is worth your while to check out.

In the same vein the editors "The Deepening", an Internet short story web magazine, which has announced a time-out for awhile and is no longer accepting submissions of short stories, in a surprise announcement now is offering this really exciting opportunity for writers. Of course, you are going to have to check out what rights you are selling etc. etc. - but the full post can be found here - Call for art, fiction, essays, poetry, & mixed media submissions.

I am taking the liberty of quoting the post as it is in public domain.

January 1, 2008, The Deepening is open to:
Poetry, fiction, and essay submissions, limit one per author, payment, royalties based on sales (see below). Send us only your best. Word length limitations: 30,000 words, preferred 500 to 2000 words. Flash fiction, short-shorts, vignettes, slice-of-life, memorials, okay, but they MUST be riveting. GENRES INCLUDE ALL EXCEPT EROTICA, PORN, CHILDRENS AND YOUNG ADULT.
Art submissions to illustrate the accepted poems, essays, and stories, payment royalties based on sales (see below) with full bio and promotional pages dedicated to that artist. Send portfolio to us, and, if you are accepted, when we have a final list of stories, assignments will be distributed. See genre list above.
Art submissions by artists as stand-alone presentations. Work must be unique, visually stimulating and unerringly executed for print publication. Composites, mixed media and article presentations accepted. Payment: royalties based on sales (see below)
Mixed media and collaborative projects accepted. (Authors and artists working together, author/artist are one individual, art telling a story without words.... Payment: royalties based on sales (see below)

Think of this as hard-bound, book-sized "fun" and get creative! "Intrigue me. Mystify me. Enthrall me," as our editor-in-chief is so fond of saying. I add: do that both visually and in your prose. Be BRILLIANT!

Deadline for submissions is April 30, 2008. Response in July 2008. Previously published submissions, okay. Simultaneous submissions are NOT okay. Exclusive submission of your work from time of submission to response deadline is mandatory. Withdrawal of any submission will be noted for future reference.

We are anticipating book release in September, 2008. The book will be listed in the Ingrams, Amazon.com, and will be made available for distribution through Barnes and Nobles, their right and prerogative to stock inherent.

If we do not receive enough quality entries or if life circumstances prevent fulfillment of this project...like I get run over by a truck (let's hope not), all accepted submissions will be returned, their rights fully reverting to their creators.

MORE ABOUT PAYMENT: POD will most likely be LuLu.com unless we find someone we like better with the same or better service. Net profit will be calculated as of June 1 2009, whereupon we will decide if the book's sales warrant continuing its publication and distribution. Net profit at that time will be calculated, then distributed within 30 days or by July 1, 2009, through PayPal at the following rates: 10% for The Deepening, 90% distributed to contributors calculated on a per page basis. You must accept payment upon distribution through PayPal AT THE TIME OF DISTRIBUTION or forfeit such payment forever, so keep your PayPal account active, verified, and in good standing, please.

All editorial decisions are the right of The Deepening and its agents, editors, and owners.

SUBMISSIONS ADDRESS AVAILABLE on January 1, 2008. E-submissions ONLY.

Please refer all questions etc. to the Z7 Novel Writers, Short Story Writers, & Poets Support, Information & Critique Group. By the way it is worth your while to join and enjoy the help of your fellow authors. And Good Luck!

Posted On: Cobwebs Of The Mind