Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Welcome to The Book Window

Welcome to The Book Window! Whether you want to read a book review, get some writing done, or shop for writer’s helpers, this is definitely the place. Come on in! Writing is fairly solitary work, so yes, recommend this site to friends, but step in all by yourself.

 
PLEASE COME IN!

Saturday, November 21, 2015

A Journey Begins


The Wednesday after I retired from thirty-three years of teaching in June 2006, I began attending classes at UCLA’s Writing Program through Extension. A whole new world opened to me as we wrote and shared, laughed and cringed (what was I thinking when I wrote that???). Eventually, I had taken all the classes Extension offered, both in-person and online.

I attended writers’ conferences. I joined critique groups with friends from the classes. I entered innumerable contests and queried agents via letter and personal interview. Ultimately, I wrote and self-published two anthologies of poetry, two anthologies of flash fiction, and four novels. The fifth novel is currently undergoing painful revisions.

The turning point in deciding to self-publish came after I received an exciting email from one of the top agents I had talked to at a San Francisco conference. The email said, “I knew our acquisitions editor would love your book! Please send the rest of the manuscript.” I was so excited. I was busily imagining my book on the shelves of book stores, my book being read in book groups. I had only notified my husband. And then the balloon burst. A second email followed, “Oh, we are very sorry. We sent the letter to the wrong Eileen.” I had met the “right” Eileen. I was happy for her and furious for myself.

And thus, I self-published.