I can be found at the book festival in ‘roughly’ three weeks. I will not be a participant, though! I will meet fellow authors, check out how the program is structured and what is expected from the authors, listen to some public speaking, wander around between the tents, and meet authors from my friend list and new ones.
Since I am an HSP, as addressed in an earlier post, I particularly picked a smaller event to look into rather than being surrounded by a vast mass of people and noises.
However, would you mind letting me know if you will be there? I’d be delighted to meet you in person!
When I read this quote, I remembered all these people telling me about their plans and dreams to become an author ‘one day’.
When they find out I’m an author, I suddenly hear: “Oh, I ALWAYS wanted to write a book if I only had more time!” My reply usually is: “Well, it needs a bit more than only time to write a book… like a plan, a plot, an outline, character sheets, character voices, character development, knowing the craft, editing, an editor, a cover designer, a publisher, networking… AND TALENT!” The regular reaction to this bravery is generally a more or less polite excuse and the welcome departure of my conversation partner.
But there are a few people I met who dream of becoming an author and have the time but not the courage to write that book. and to them, I’d like to show this quote by Estee Lauder.
No book was ever written by dreaming about it!
Get up, plan, plot, outline – AND WRITE!!
Only by writing that story will be written, and only when you work on that book will the story be told to the world. Some dream forever about their hopes for success. Others, like Estee Lauder, wake up, roll their sleeves, and start working! Do the same; only then will your dream come true!
Don’t think about ‘becoming’ a writer. You have that story in your head – you already ARE a writer! But only by hard work and the guts to get that story out into the world will you become a successful published author!
What you need is the courage to start. Find it. It’s hidden within yourself. Dig it up, sit down, and write. It doesn’t matter HOW you write it. Take a pen and paper – or use your laptop, a desktop, a tablet… whatever rocks your boat. But without your investment and emotions, your story will be lost.
Get up, write that book, bring it into the world, and be proud of yourself!
Maybe nothing will ever last from me… nobody will write my biography, ever… but my books, my stories, are for eternity.
And that’s something to be proud of, isn’t it?
Estée Lauder (/ˈɛsteɪ ˈlɔːdər/EST-ay LAW-dər; néeJosephine Esther Mentzer; July 1, 1908 – April 24, 2004) was an American businesswoman. She co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter (later Lauder). Lauder was the only woman on Time magazine’s 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century.
Lauder graduated from Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, and much of her childhood was spent trying to make ends meet. Like most of her eight siblings, she worked at the family’s hardware store, where she got her first taste of business, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to be a successful retailer. Her childhood dream was to become an actress with her “name in lights, flowers and handsome men”.
When Lauder grew older, she agreed to help her uncle, Dr. John Schotz, with his business. Schotz was a chemist, and his company, New Way Laboratories, sold beauty products such as creams, lotions, rouge, and fragrances. She became more interested in his business than her father’s. She was fascinated watching her uncle create his products. He also taught her how to wash her face and do facial massages. After graduating from high school, she focused on her uncle’s business.
Lauder named one of her uncle’s blends Super Rich All-Purpose Cream, and began selling the preparation to her friends. She sold creams like Six-In-One cold cream and Dr. Schotz’s Viennese Cream to beauty shops, beach clubs and resorts. One day, as she was getting her hair done at the House of Ash Blondes, the salon’s owner Florence Morris asked Lauder about her perfect skin. Soon, Estée returned to the beauty parlor to hand out four of her uncle’s creams and demonstrate their use. Morris was so impressed that she asked Lauder to sell her products at Morris’s new salon.
In 1953, Lauder introduced her first fragrance, Youth-Dew, a bath oil that doubled as a perfume. Instead of using French perfumes by the drop behind each ear, women began using Youth-Dew by the bottle in their bath water. In the first year, it sold 50,000 bottles; by 1984, the figure had risen to 150 million.
Lauder was a subject of a 1985 TV documentary, Estée Lauder: The Sweet Smell of Success. She explained her success: “I have never worked a day in my life without selling. If I believe in something, I sell it, and I sell it hard.”
Lauder died of cardiopulmonary arrest on April 24, 2004, aged 95, at her home in Manhattan.
Unsuccessful English writer Henry’s novel sells to no one. But when his book is suddenly a surprise hit in Mexico, his publicist insists he travel there on a promotional tour. Upon arrival, a confused Henry discovers the reason behind his novel’s popularity – Mexican translator Maria has rewritten his dull book into a steamy erotic novel. As tempers flare between them, the sparks begin to fly.
As writers we can only imagine how confusing it would be to find out that our translator has turned our work into something we barely know anymore.
That’s exactly what happens to writer ‘Henry Copper’. What sounds like a nightmare to us writers, turns out to be the hilarious plot to a very cute movie. I watched ‘Book of Love’ today, and had a lot to laugh. There are quite a few sparks to fly between reserved Englishman Henry and enthusiastic and extroverted Maria. To people with a ‘flair’ for romance, please, watch the movie.
But this is not a movie review. I decided to prepare this blog post looking at the movie’s plot from a writer’s point of view.
Imagine your publisher tells you, nobody wants your book, but it’s very famous in another country, one, whose language you don’t speak. You are invited on a book tour in said country, and find out, your translator actually changed your book. Suddenly you sit there, your wonderful, thoughtful, considerate and logical characters had turned into passionate irresponsible hot-blooded lovers, without regrets.
As a writer I have to say: please, translator, whoever you are… don’t change my book! That’s not your job! As funny as it sounds in this movie, I’d like to have my characters the way I wrote them!
Let me make an example: ‘Soul Taker’, the first book in my series. The main characters, Katie and Raphael… I write Young Adult fantasy. And even though they do fall in love, I wouldn’t want anyone to turn them into wild sex-maniacs. It would be completely off. That’s not what I had planned. However, I figure, I would have to make amends, I expect. Another language means often, that a ‘word-by-word’ translation isn’t possible. The translator knows how to interpret my book without effectively changing it. But how do we trust that person’s work? If someone translates ‘Soul Taker’ to German, Dutch, or French, I could follow easily… but Spanish, Russian, Chinese? (And yes, of course, I hope, one day, ‘The Council of Twelve’ series is going to be loved globally).
How can we trust the respective translations are correct and leave my story the way I wrote it?
I have never translated an entire book. I translated short stories and a few articles and blog posts into German, and I was always making sure I kept everything the way it was written, including the tone, which wasn’t always easy. But not in a million years I would have even considered changing anything. I consider that unethical. I wasn’t actually thinking twice how the authors of the respective pieces felt about trusting me. Did they? Or did they just ‘accept their fate’ and hope for the best? I can imagine it’s quite a risk!
If someone has experience with their books being translated, would you let us in on the secret in the comments? We’d really appreciate it! Thank you!
Lucy Mitchell explains why there is a magical relationship between a writer and notebooks. Thanks so much for your post, Lucy! How many people don’t understand that bond.
This weekend will be spent clearing out my dressing table and creating a temporary work desk. As I am working from home in my day job, the teenagers are off school due to half term, my husband is also working from home and we are in the middle of a strict lockdown, I cannot spend the next two weeks working from the living room. Not only will I have to put up with pyjama clad teens wandering about in the background while I am on Zoom calls, I will also have to listen to my loved one shouting at everyone to keep the noise down from his desk.
Underneath my dressing table there are three large boxes filled with notebooks. Some of my old stories were born inside these notebooks and some still reside between the pages. I have to write this post because I think my family believe this will be the weekend I finally clear out all my boxes of notebooks.
It’s 2020 and ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’ is five years old.
I am very proud to have this blog up and its success and progress are significant. I thank all followers and readers for making this such a pleasurable experience and great adventure for me.
There is, however, one thing that I’d like to extend even more: The chance for many other writers to use “Writer’s Treasure Chest” as a promotional platform.
Do you feel like trying how it is to publish blog posts?
Do you have anything important to say?
Would you like to show up on this blog?
Do you have a book to promote?
Use “Writer’s Treasure Chest” and contact me for
a Blog Tour
a “Featured Author Interview”
a “Guest Post”
So many things are possible, and I’d like to give you a chance to introduce yourself and your work here!
For once I used the contact form within a blog post and hope you will use it!
Generally, ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’ does have a contact form on the right side, as a widget.
It is always there! Check it out and contact me, I’ll be delighted to work with you on your plans, your guest post, your blog tour or send you the sheet with the interview questions!
I will be proud to have you as a guest on ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’.
Sandra Beckwith provides us with the wisdom of 25 authors who share what they learned about self-publishing. Thank you so much, Sandra.
on Build Book Buzz:
It’s a common author lament. Maybe you’ve said it, too.
Nearly everybody has a story about something they learned after they started the self-publishing process. For many, the discovery came too late to save them time, money, or trouble.
That doesn’t mean you have to make the same mistakes, though.
Derek Haines provides us with a post about the best free tools Amazon has to offer its authors. Thank you very much, Derek!
on Just Publishing Advice:
Are you planning to self-publish your first book on Amazon?
For new authors, Amazon self-publishing is the simplest, and a free way to publish your book.
If you plan on writing a book or have already written one, there are many free tools available that will make publishing your book with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) much easier.
Before you rush in and upload your manuscript, here are some must-have tools that will help you publish a better book.
Leverage was an American TV show which aired from 2008 to 2012. The series was produced by executive producer and director Dean Devlin. Leverage was based on a five-person-team:
The Brain – -former insurance investigator Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton)
A retrieval specialist Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane)
The team had decided to help people who cannot help themselves. Citizens who are not strong enough to fight corporate or governmental injustices. They say their team starts to work where the law stops.
Picture courtesy of Google.com
Story plot:
Most episodes follow a set story structure: After meeting the client, the Leverage team researches the villains to find a weakness to exploit. Each con, either as originally planned or as complications develop, typically requires the specialized skills of all the members of the group. Towards the end of each episode, the villains seem to get the upper hand, only to be outwitted by the team. Because most of the narrative has seemed to follow the team’s point of view, the audience is momentarily uninformed as to exactly how they have succeeded in their con. A flashback then reveals how a seeming complication was either anticipated by the Leverage team, or used in a clever improvisation. These flashbacks, which are featured in most episodes, excepting 113, sometimes reveal only in retrospect that an earlier scene was actually a clue to the Leverage team’s plan. More often, the flashbacks reveal new information to which the viewer has not been privy. This formula is followed by every episode in seasons one, two, and three. With the exception of the final season, each season ends with a two-part finale which involves a two-part, multi-stage con designed to bring down a major adversary, such as an international crime financier in season three, with an ending that advances the team’s story into the new season. (Source: Wikipedia)
But why am I telling you all this? It’s actually very simple: I watched that TV shows for years. After it was canceled I bought all five seasons on DVD and watched them until I had learned them by heart.
As simple and dray Wikipedia has described the story plot of the episodes and seasons, the pattern the episodes and seasons followed, is quite correctly shown.
The actors gave their hearts to the show and they visibly relaxed around each other and enjoyed working together.
No matter how well the episodes followed that pattern, each one was different and I could not tell two who were the same. Each one was thrilling and exciting.
More and more I admired the writers behind the Leverage show!
Leverage was written by show creators John Rogers and Chris Downey along with a team of writers. The team changed with the seasons, but there were never less than three or more than five writers, along with the season’s script editor.
Every single episode to me was an adventure. I saw the characters develop within the show. I saw the actors develop as well and grow as a group and as a team.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who loved the show. It had (and still has) fans all over the world.
We all admired Parker’s physical abilities, we all envied Sophie’s cleverness; also we all wished we had Hardison’s IT and technology knowledge, Nate’s masterful mind – I heard men hoped they had Eliot’s strength and strategic experience – and we girls were all a little bit in love with Eliot.
Let’s celebrate the group of writers who were able to create a TV show of such sophisticated finesse that they kept fans globally on their seats for 5 years.
Kristen Lamb, one of my very favorite bloggers whose wisdom and helpful educational blog I appreciate very much, published an amazing post about writers and the Holidays. Thanks so much, Kristen!
It’s the holiday season, and this is a tough time for most people. For, writers, it’s peace hell on Earth, largely—though not entirely—due to the whole ‘having to wear pants’ thing.
We authors, historically, have been a misunderstood group of people.
Burned as witches. No holiday there. Survival rate after a political coup? Close to zero. Odds of being shot? Pretty much hundred percent, which correlates closely with odds of keeping mouth shut #FunFact.
Friends and loved ones still invite us to holiday gatherings. Sadly, no ‘burned at stake’ or ‘firing squad’ option. Those require pants, but less talking and no prerequisite to bring some dumb@$$ ‘White Elephant’ gift and a nut-free appetizer.
*makes note to hunt down and murder person who invented ‘White Elephant’ game’*
*Why is the elephant white and not pink?*
*makes note to google that later*
*makes note to put that in novel and kill it*
*along with the person who invented it*
Where was I? Oh yes, holiday stuff. Writers. Why writers should be able to qualify for service animals every year. Holiday honey badgers that bite.
It’s a common author lament. Maybe you’ve said it, too.
on Just Publishing Advice:
Writer's Treasure Chest 
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