Vacation Time!

I'll be away from this blog next week because I'm on vacation. Not that it really matters, no one's discovered this blog yet anyway.
I don't have any big plans, just r&r and writing.

Have a great week!

~J

Press Release

Jim JordanPoet / Author
jimj74012@yahoo.com
Phone: 918-704-3303Lulu Publisherwww.lulu.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2008

Local Poet/Author Finds Niche in Self-Publishing

Jim Jordan of Broken Arrow, has released his first full length book of poetry called Chasing Emily.
Jim Jordan has been a poet since 1982. In addition to winning various poetry contests he has had work published in The Great American Poetry Anthology, Eternal Portraits, and Black Book Press Poetry magazine.

In 2007 Jim launched into the self-publishing market, publishing his first book with Lulu.com. Lulu eliminates traditional entry barriers to publishing, and enables authors to bring their work directly to their audience. Jim says Lulu offers authors an affordable, do-it-yourself publishing shop. Lulu offers free book publishing services. No set-up fees. Ever. They make the book publishing process simple.
The author can upload digital files of their book to the website, and when someone orders the book online (similar to ordering from Amazon.com), the book is printed and sent. “The beauty of this service is there is no upfront fee”. The author sets the price, and controls every aspect of their books publishing process. Lulu takes a 20-per-cent commission plus printing costs, which are very reasonable. In addition to printing, Lulu offers world-wide distribution and marketing services and registering the ISBN.

Self-Publishing is nothing new, however, it has gained much more in popularity in recent years.

These are just a few popular writers reported to have used self-publishing to launch their careers.

- Mark Twain - Walt Whitman
- James Joyce - D.H. Lawrence
- Margaret Atwood - Stephen King
- John Grisham - Tom Clancy

Jim say’s overall he’s been very satisfied with his experience as a self-published author.
“Chasing Emily” is a soft-cover book published by Lulu.com; $16.00; 104 pages.
It is available through your favorite book seller, Steve’s Sundry Books and Magazines, or may be ordered through such resources as Amazon.com, and directly from Lulu.com .

Hello Blog, Goodbye Homepage.

Before blogging became popular, personal homepages were the outlet of choice for individuals who wanted to create an online presence. Some homepages performed similar functions to today’s blogs – they were updated regularly and displayed the author’s thoughts or diatribes, links to favorite websites, movie and music recommendations, and so on.
Unlike blogs, however, homepages were cumbersome to update. Revising a homepage required the site’s owner to have at least a basic grasp of HTML, and to upload webpages and images to a server using FTP. This didn’t require a huge level of technical skill, but it was a big enough barrier to put off most non-geeks.

This all changed when easy-to-use blogging tools hit the scene. Instead of having to sit through a session of updating your homepage bit by bit, a blog could be updated from any computer with access to the Internet without ever having to tinker with tedious code or mess around with FTP program. Furthermore, the blog’s chronological structure meant that anyone visiting the site could see at a glance what was new.

Whatever you’re using today, whether it be blogs or a homepage, there are some things every writer’s site needs. Here are the must-haves (or in some cases, nice-to-haves) for a site that will wow editors and readers.

All about you. Somewhere on your site-whether it’s the front page or an “About Me” section- should be a bio that lets editors and readers know who you are and that you’ve got the goods.

Your contact information. Don’t forget to tell people how they can contact you. If the content on your site is appealing to an editor or publisher but they can’t easily find your contact information, that’s bad.

A picture of you. While not obligatory, a photo is a nice perk to include on your site.

A press page. If you’re selling a book, a press page can make it easy for the media to spread the word about you and your product. At a minimum you want your book announcement press release, some biographical information about the author, a graphic of the book cover and a headshot.

Testimonials. Testimonials and review can give you even more credibility than you naturally have. “Other people can say things about your qualities that you can’t say yourself.” How to get them? Ask! If it’s a book you’re plugging, include positive reviews you’ve garnered.

Samples of your work. To pique editors’ and readers’ interest, include sample chapters, your table of contents or clips of your articles.


Buying 411. If you’re selling a book, be sure to have a way people can snap it up right then and there, whether it’s through a form on your site or a link to your book’s page on Amazon.com.

Personality. It certainly doesn’t hurt to show a little of your personality on your site as well. (Assuming you have a good personality).


Good luck to my fellow poets and writers in promoting your work.

Keep writing ~ J

Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignor


I didn't get around to writing any on Savage Lust this past weekend. I just felt like I needed some time away from it for a few days. You know...to sort of recharge my batteries.


Anyway, I did do a lot of reading over the weekend and one book I'm reading now is really an excellent book on revision and rewrites. It's called Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon. Elizabeth is the author of The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, A Writer's Guide to Fiction, and other books on the craft of writing. She has been a contributor to The Writer and Writer's Digest. Elizabeth is an editor, teacher and mentor to many writers.


This book is a must for any writer.


~J

Weekend Writing Prompts

On the web, you'll find hundreds if not thousands of sites that provide writing prompts for those times in all of us when we just can't seem to get anything down on paper, (or computer screen, in some cases). One such site which I found to be pretty good is at writingfix.com. Corbett Harrison has created a prompt generator that is very simple to use. Simply go to the page, click on the random writing fix button and voila, a prompt will appear. Check it out, I think you'll like it.
The reason I titled this post "Weekend Writing Prompts" is because I will be posting here Monday through Friday for the most part. Weekends I'm kept pretty busy with working on my novel, not to mention the 'honey-do's' my wife finds for me to do around the house. Occasionally I may pop in to post something on the weekend though.

Anyway, check out writingfix.com for your writing prompts and keep writing....

Have a great weekend!

~J

Novel Expectations

For the last year or so I've been working on my first novel. I hope to have it finished by the end of October. At least the first draft. After that of course comes the rewrites. The title of the book is Savage Lust. I'm hoping to make it into a series.

The synopsis of the book is...

Monica Savage, a wealthy Key West, Florida woman is missing and her billionaire husband Tom Savage has been murdered. A ransom note found suggests Monica has been abducted. But the authorities believe Monica faked her abduction and is on the run. Monica’s best chance for proving her innocence, if in fact she is innocent, is her ex-husband, Johnny Zen.

Johnny, a washed-up radio DJ and part-time novelist with a nose for trouble, finds plenty of it when he lands on the list of suspects. He believes Monica is innocent and has indeed been abducted, so he sets out to find Monica before the authorities find her.

During Johnny’s investigation into Tom and Monica Savage he uncovers a tawdry tale of sex, murder and deceit. And Monica Savage is in the middle of it all.


I must say, I'm pretty pleased with it so far. The writing has been coming along quite well. If I do make it into a series, it will feature Johnny Zen as the lead character.

I'm going to go the traditional route in publishing this novel insead of self-publishing. That will mean finding an agent first.

I will discuss more about the pros and cons of self-publishing in future posts.

~ J

Why "Chasing Emily" For My First Book Title

Titles are usually the last thing I come up with upon completing a poem. It was no different with this book. Several ideas came to mind, however I kept coming back to Chasing Emily.
I had written a poem entitled Chasing Emily Dickinson Through the Snow. Which is included in the book. That particular poem is one that kept haunting me to finish for several months. It's a metaphor poem about the influence Emily Dickinson has had on me as a writer and poet. The italic lines in the poem are from Emily's work and fans of Emily Dickinson will certainly recognize the 'Emilyisms' in the poem. Emily comes to me often and I want to thank her for allowing me to collaborate with her.
Chasing Emily is, in a way, what I've been doing my whole life. I in no way compare my writing to that of Emily. But I write, in part, because of her.
So with that said, as a poet and writer, I'll keep Chasing Emily...

I know I said I wasn't here to post my poems, but in this case I'll make an exception. You'll find the poem below.

*One note, I don't usually write in rhyme. But this is one of those rare exceptions.

Hope you like it.


Chasing Emily Dickinson Through the Snow

My mistress is the fragile recluse
running barefoot through the snow,
in a gown and field of white
where roses would not dare to go.

Wherever runs the breathless sun
how far the village lies,
how soft the wind that blew her hair
beneath the Amherst skies.

I’ve tasted of the liquor brewed
of so eloquent she told,
I’ve felt a funeral in my brain
and know of buried gold.

She taught me how the sun rose
I felt like I was there,
she spoke to me of flies that buzz
of death and of despair.

Too late I came to find her gone, and
because she could not stop for death,
out into the cold she ran,
fleeing love and out of breath.

Within my grasp so desperately
I measure every grief I meet,
step lightly on this narrow spot
with footprints of my lover’s feet.

I would not stop for night, or storm
or frost or death, or anyone,
until I hoped to find her safe
beneath the Amherst morning sun.

Yet before the night was over
I knew without a doubt,
the flame that was my Emily
grew weak and flickered out.

A curious cloud surprised the sky.
What spirit lifted there above?
She went as quiet as the dew,
it was then I knew I’d lost my love.

Love can do all but raise the dead,
The immortality she gave ~
She died for beauty, but was scarce,
and now I weep ~ beside her grave.



~J

1st Book Signing!

This is me and my daughter Jalia at our first book signing. We were signing copies of "Chasing Emily", my poetry book, and "I Found a Spider in my Shoe". The second book is a kid's poem book that I wrote and Jalia did the illustrations for.
The booksigning was at "Steve's Sundries Books"
in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Steve's Sundries is a Tulsa tradition in the world of booksellers. Joanie and everyone there is so willing to help first time authors get their books on the shelves. They currently keep about 10 copies of mine.
Both books can be ordered at Lulu.com. Also check your favorite book seller. If they don't have a copy on their shelves, they can order it for you from their supplier.
"Chasing Emily" is available through Amazon.com and many other book distributors.
It's also available at several branches of the Tulsa County Library. It's pretty cool to see your first book on a library shelf.

Why am I here?

I find myself in a bit of a quandry, I'm here certainly to promote my writing and other interests, but I'm not here to post my poems for example. There are plenty of websites available for that. However, that is not to say that I won't occasionally post one of my poems. (stop shuddering and rolling your eyes, they won't be that bad. I hope.)

I think my main goal here is to simply meet other authors, especially first time authors, and share some experiences about writing and publishing. Oh...and by the way...I'm NOT looking for a romantic hookup either. The web is easy place to get caught up in that sort of thing. (no pun intended).



~ J

Entering the World of Blogging

To Blog or Not to Blog...That is my question...
Wow, I must admit this is a little intimidating, (no make that very imtimidating). I feel like someone who's never been swimming, entering the water at the beach for the first time. I'm not sure how far out I'll wade into the depth of this ocean, and I hope the water isn't so cold.
You would think being a writer, blogging would be easy for me, but it isn't. So with that said...
here I go...shivering...into the deep ocean of blogging....

Aug. 11, 2008

~J