Iceland - great place for writers.

[Ice.Maiden]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24399599

[Kellemora]

Wow, how cool is that. I LOVED that article!

I suppose books are really BIG there, because anything else would FREEZE, hi hi...

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Hi Gary. Might be an idea for would-be authors from other countries to send their manuscripts to some Icelandic publishers then. By the sound of it, books are HUGE over there aren't they? It doesn't surprise me. In places like that, I imagine that folk lore - written and sung - are part of their culture.

Have you ever read Beowulf? It's a literary masterpiece, still debated in university circles, and consists of so many thousand verses. OK., it doesn't hail from Iceland, but it's Scandinavian. When it was unearthed, many of the verses were missing, but I think it must have a grain of truth in it. In Denmark, King Hrothgar's hall's been found, and the epic tale's still doing the rounds after about one and half thousand years. It's superb. Films and other books've been written on the subject. I have a couple of these, plus a copy of the 3 or 4 thousand verses as they were translated. Brilliant.

[Kellemora]

I read what I think is the shortened English version. Been a long time ago though. Wasn't it about a Monster named Gringo or Gundle or Grimple. Sorry, I forgot the name. And then the monsters parents attacked the city. Seems like it had a dragon also.
I don't think there were even 2,000 verses in the version I read. So perhaps I'm thinking of something with a similar sounding name?

I'm more familiar with the Beowulf Cluster in computer operations, hi hi...

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

LOl, hi Gary.

Well I think you're on the right lines, and the monster was called Grendel. I like your "Grimple" one though!! : )

What you perhaps read was a paperback version of Beowulf? You get the idea - probably easier than reading the translated verses which can be hard to follow unless you keep reading - and just try reading all those verses in one go! I made it in two, but luckily I was already fascinated by what I'd heard of the epic tale, so I just ploughed through it as best I could. During the winter months, we often have a circle of friends round, and we debate Beowulf between ourselves. You keep finding new meanings, or bits that you've missed, no matter how many times you read it. I love it. I've even got a vinyl record about it!!

Anyway, maybe some of these Icelandic publishers might be interested in your work? It seems as though paper books are still in vogue over there, and although you might disagree, I still don't think you can beat turning the pages of a book! They smell nice as well. Ha! You don't get torn, bent or dirty pages with an eReader, but they don't have the same allure to me. I know that loads of people take them away on holiday, but I'm afraid that lying there reading, isn't my idea of a vacation at all. I can do that at home.

Whatever, for any budding authors, I just thought it might be a way of getting a book published - since it seems as though they're all avid readers in Iceland. I have a couple of friends who're flying up to see the northern lights in the New Year, and I'll ask them to take a look round and see what the market's like.

[Kellemora]

I prefer hardbound books myself.
What we call paperback, is a little different than what other countries call paperback.
Our paperback is at least index card thickness or slightly thicker.

I've purchased paperbacks from other countries, and the covers were no thicker than a magazine cover.
And normally a couple of sizes larger than our standard paperback size.
About the size of a standard hardback, but with paper covers.

This was LONG before e-books and POD printing presses too.

I wish I still had it, because folks don't believe me any more.
I had a copy of Exodus, obtained from an overseas distributor.
It was printed on paper so thin, it was like onionskin.
But of high enough quality you couldn't see through the pages.
Like bible pages almost.
It was the size of a Marvel Comic Book.
Yet was word for word, identical to the hardback version.
And NO it was not a bootleg copy. It was just the way that printer printed them.

I think when I get my Roaring Falls Series ready to roll, it will be everywhere.
I've already had publication offers from upper-middle sized publishing companies.
Based solely on the information they gleaned from my website.
A couple of them have sent me pre-paid mailers to send them the first chapter.
Which makes me think they might be serious about getting it.

We'll see. I'm still considering self-publishing as the way to go.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Well, good luck to you Gary. My author friend self-publishes, and now makes a fair profit, but it was a hard slog at first. She only managed it through her own determination and hard work, and that meant advertising herself as well. She put herself about - writing to newspapers and radio chat shows. She organised her own book launches, and she's now become a bit of a celebrity in her area, but she's also sold her books across the country and abroad. I hope that however you do it, you get there. If you believe in yourself, you will. : )

[Kellemora]

Ironically, I don't want to become famous or known all that well. I'm just hoping for enough of a following, that I end up with a steady income, rather than a lot at once then not a whole lot after that. Which is why I'm working the story the way I have laid it out. Several volumes in the same setting, that ages over 175 year time frame.

I wish I had the money to hire about 8 to 10 people to build the stories from my template and handle each phase of the writing and editing part. Make it like a little business so to speak. Duplicate the publishers steps on a smaller scale.

Who knows, maybe some day. If I live that long!

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

I concur with you on that. When I start writing again, I don't want to be particularly famous - OR with any extra steady income. That'd just be a bonus. I'd just like the people who read my books to be pleased and to enjoy them.

Some years back, I was a prolific writer. I loved it. It wasn't a chore, and I could write for hours before writer's block took hold, but because they were shortish stories, I could complete in one go. Some of these are going to form the basis of the book or books I'll write. I always feel that in my own case, first ideas come out better than pondering over them or changing bits, and I refuse to let an editor rip one to pieces and come up with something that doesn't even resemble what I first wrote - so yes, it looks as though I'll be self-publishing as well.

I suppose that sounds a bit arrogant of me. After all, who am I to argue with anyone who's had years of experience, but the fact is, I've tested some of my stories out on young people, and they all, bar none, thought they were fantastic - and it's to these children that my stories are aimed. I don't really care if an adult finds fault with them. I'm not going to change anything, so it'll be a case of like it or lump it! : )

[Kellemora]

Hi Icey

Anthologies are quite popular these days.
Collections of short stories that fit together in some way.
Sometimes I fail to see the connection, hi hi...

And I DO read them. In fact, I have five on my nightstand right now to read.
Just finished three others, since I reread the Little House series of nine books.

Eons ago, back home, when I was doing my other writing. I too wrote several shorts.
I always planned on expounding on them, turning them into a story for the publisher.
Then lost the whole cabinet of them in our tragic floods we had back home.
Probably for the best, since I can't write that way anymore.

But think about doing the Anthology thing.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Hi Gary.

Yes, an anthology's the way I want to go. I call it my compendium of works, for fun.

Like yourself, I know I could expound on them, but the reason I won't, is because it might turn into too much for young minds to take in. I'll be aiming for the young market - stories which could be read by parents when their children go to bed (ha ha ha - well, some of them!!), and which'll make a short, sharp impact on the imagination.

Each story has a twist to it. No child can guess what's going to happen at the end, and leaves them with a sense of wonder or with questions to ask. Each one's on a parallel with a fairy tale, for want of describing scenes. Not one of them could happen in real life, but this's how I deliberately wrote, to leave the reader or listener with eyes full of wonderment and to induce the scenes into their minds. If you make these stories too long, boredom can set in. The shortest one's about a page long; the longest manages about 4 pages - well enough for a child to want to hear some more, but short enough for them to remember.

[Kellemora]

If you can draw, or team up with a graphics artist, childrens books are always in demand.
A lot of them don't even have 50 words in them, as it is predominantly pictures.
But the better selling ones, often have anywhere from 200 to 500 words and a few less pictures.

One other avenue to consider is childrens magazines. Many accept submissions and pay if used.

The lady I used to write a column for, although pet related, after accepting so many of her submissions for publication. They gave her, her own column. Which paid a whole lot more than individual accepted submissions.

I'm always surprised, when some of the silliest stuff goes viral.
The purple dinosaur, my little pony, sponge bob square pants, holly hobby, etc.
I'm not around little kids anymore to study them to see what it is that captures their attention.
But if I was. I would probably be arrested for stalking.

[Ice.Maiden]

You would indeed, but I get the gist of what you're saying.

Yes, I'm not bad at art, and actually drew a few pics to accompany one story, but I'd prefer to stick with the writing part. I've looked at the characters mentioned above. Some of them are "alright", but don't, in my opinion make a huge impact on young minds. They might do when turned into films and DVDs, because visuals stick better than words do, but this is where I want to change things; to write in such a way that each young reader forms mental pictures of what's happening.

When I used to read to the boys every night, I'd stop and pretend I'd got something wrong, to jog their memories and for them to "correct me". That showed that they'd been taking notice of what I was reading to them, and we'd talk about the chapters afterwards. I enjoyed it as much as they did, but sometimes made up stories for them on the spot. They went down just as well, which encouraged me with my ambition. Unfortunately, I haven't got the time to devote to this venture yet, but fingers crossed that I'll get there.

[Kellemora]

Most of my favorite books to read as a child, did not have pictures in them, other than the little scenes at the beginning of each chapter. I loved to read, always have.

Love the way you handled reading with your kids. Helps them to pay attention, and learn.
I was more strict with my son, than I was with my daughter. After he could write, I made him write out small book reports for me. Before then, I asked him to tell me what the story was about. He always did great.
My daughter, well, after I finished reading even a page, she didn't remember what it was even about, half the time.
Often she would make up something, not even related to the story, to act like she paid attention.
It took me a long time before I found the types of books she could get interested in.
But once I did, she improved considerably. Even so, she didn't really like to read on her own.
Not even when I let her pick what she wanted to read herself. She preferred watching something on TV and talking or writing about it. So for her, visual perception improved. She learned to draw fairly well when young, then abandoned that too. The rest of this gets too long to talk about. Suffice it to say, I didn't see her much.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Most parents want their children to reach their potential and do well, but sometimes they don't have the same enthusiasm for the subject that WE might like, which's a bit disappointing isn't it?

The boot's on the other foot when it comes to maths. I draw a blank, whereas my eldest son's very good at it, and it's the younger one's favourite lesson as well. I can maybe help out up to Year 10 or 11 work, but forget it after that!

I've always loved reading and writing. English lessons at school were a delight, especially if I could do essays, and so it was natural for me to start teaching my own children from as early as possible. Having said that, it's no good if you don't make the learning fun for them. Our youngest struggled, with having autism, but from about a year old, I'd point to an alphabet chart on his wall and sing it to him. I knew when the learning got too much for him, and so we'd have a break and I'd devise a different approach. It was really long, hard work, but I don't regret a minute of it, and always, but always, read to them every night. I think it's paid off, but neither of them enjoy writing as much as I do. I've accepted that now. They'll shine in their own ways though.

I think you tried very hard with your children, and I hope that your daughter's happy in her life. I believe that everyone has something to offer, whether it becomes immediately apparent or not.

[Kellemora]

All I'm going to say is, neither of my own children are like me in any way shape or fashion.
(Grammarly wants me to us "is" where I have "are" above. Probably because I used the word neither?)

My son has done good in business, always in some form of sales.
He took to my brother, sorta like I took to my uncle, and we tried to emulate them, up to a point.
I'm proud of the fact he has done good, but no so proud of the way he has gone about it.

My daughter, emulated her mother, and went slightly beyond her, in the wrong direction.
She's lucked out a few times, where others would be locked away, permanently.
Not proud of her at all, except for short turnarounds that don't last very long.

I know my three foster kids were doing great, the last I heard from them, way back in the 1980s.
And my two step-children were both doing better than great. Good high paying jobs, and one with a fantastic career potential. Have not heard from the boy, since he moved to his new job, before his mother died. And have not heard from the girl since she moved out of the house, shortly after her mother died.

Picked up one new kid, when I married Debi, helped to get him through law school and provide wheels for him.
He's a lawyer, but having a rough go finding the type of work he wanted to do.
After taking a job at the other end of the state, he is finally doing better, but still not making what he would like to be making. Hard to pay the bills on what he is making. So we are still covering some of them for him. And as you know, we are both on fixed incomes now, and our savings was slowly depleted. So we are scraping bottom right now ourselves.
At least he calls and keeps in touch, as does my son. But that's it, nada from anyone else.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

I've mentioned something on another forum.

Gary - you and your wife're being brilliant, even though it means going short yourselves. To my mind, you're very good parents, even though circumstances might get on your nerves at times.

[Kellemora]

Hi Icey

It don't bother me anymore. I figure they've got their lives to live, and after all, who was I anyhow.

My son calls me, sometimes too often, hi hi...

I figure, I have a new life now too, so why bother about worrying about the past adventures.

Have a lot of work to get ready before NaNo starts November 1.

TTUL
Gary

[Ice.Maiden]

Well, it's not for me to go into anyone's personal life, but step-parents can have a huge input, and I think you did the best you could. Whatever, so long as everyone's happy, that's all that matters.

My brother's first wife died at a young age. When he remarried, he took on step-children. They called him "pops", and their father "dad", but they've actually admitted to preferring my brother as their father figure. I have to say he's been excellent - supportive and loving, even though his second marriage floundered last year. The kids haven't abandoned him though, and visit regularly. On his birthday, the girls gave him a card they'd made themselves. Inside, they wrote: "To the best dad in the world ..." The fact that they'd finally called him "dad" made him cry.

[Kellemora]

At the time the kids were all still in the nest. They all had a great time, and often asked me to go or do things with them. Always had little gifts for me, even when there was no special occasion to give one.
Even my foster kids were friendly, well, all except the eldest who was away at college first.
The boy liked me, even though he didn't see me often. When he got home from service and I got him a house (long story to go with that one), he used to call me at least once a week. Then his job had him traveling so much, the calls only came when he was home. Then after a couple of years, no more.
One of the girls loved me to pieces. And was very happy I took care of everything for her. Including her wedding. She wasn't much for making phone calls, but sent me little notes, usually with a photo or two. The last one I received was when she was getting ready to move. It too had a photo, of a new baby, and a letter telling about her husbands company moving him. She promised to write as soon as she had an address. I never heard from her again, and the post office never received a forwarding address. I often checked the phone directory for the town they were supposed to move to, but with his common last name, it was futile to try.
I did hear from the boy after about five years of nothing, via only a post card from Minnesota, with no return address on it. The personal note only said should be home by March.

Out of the clear blue sky, not from the foster kids or the step kids, but by one of the daughters of my late wife's oldest sister, I received a very long letter, filling me in on the happenings on my late wife's side of the family. It was written in such a way that it was obviously intended to go to all of her family members she had addresses for. In other words, not a personal letter to me alone. It originally went my home address, and returned to the sender. I had lived in TN for almost four years at that time. It was another year before I finally received it, shoved into a larger envelope. This time it did have a personal note inside the larger envelope, and sent to me directly by one of my late wife's favorite cousin's who I worked with.
He didn't explain exactly how he ended up with a letter from Ruth's sisters daughter, when he is from Ruth's first husbands side of the family. Or maybe he's from her own father's side of the family. I don't remember for sure.
The personal note just said what he had been doing since the last time we saw each other, mostly generalizations. He talked more about Ruth than himself, which is understandable. Said he was going through some of Marlene's files and ran across the enclosed letter. Being a lawyer, he had no trouble getting my address, but did say he used the ham radio call book, which he knew would be up to date.
I sent him a very long reply letter about three years ago, but never heard back from him.
Because I did the family genealogy work on both sides, all sides of my families, I had access to several of the SS numbers. And I found all of Ruth's immediate relatives, aunts and uncles I had numbers for, all deceased now.
I did not have those numbers for their children. And I never showed birth dates in the public records.

Oh well, no biggie, time marches on!

TTUL
Gary