Kindling an interest in ebooks

In the midst of a disappointing holiday season for the publishing industry, this article appeared in the New York Times: Turning Page, E-Books Start to Take Hold.

I think this is interesting for several reasons. For one, it's hard to believe that ebooks have been around for as long as they have — my awareness of ebooks has developed mostly in the last five years or so, and I have to admit I am a fan, though I don't often sit at my computer and read.

I have never seen Amazon's Kindle in person, though at one time I really wanted one. I have seen Sony's Reader, though, and I have to say if I were going to spend that kind of money on an ebook reader, the Sony would be the way I'd go — partly because I want the one I've had a chance to handle and play with, and partly because I think Amazon is turning into an evil corporation. Just look how many times in this article the author notes that Amazon won't report the Kindle's sales data!

I also was interested to learn that you can download ebook readers for the iPhone. Since eventually I want one, I will have to look into that some more. I might be able to have my phone, music, and my digital library all in one place!

As you may know, I self-published my own short ebook, How to Restring a Strung Doll, for collectors of vintage dolls. I've sold well over 200 copies now, and thinking back to when I first started selling, I think I have definitely seen an increase in sales — although, considering the nature of my ebook, that is probably due to more successful marketing rather than ebook readers gaining in popularity.

As much as I love ebooks, though, I can't say that I think they will ever overtake regular books in popularity — at least not those of us who really love to read. There is just something so comforting about the feel of a book in one's hand!

What about you? What are your experiences with the ebook industry, either as a reader or a writer? What do you think the future holds for ebooks?

Judy Blume on writing, puberty, and turning 70

I've probably mentioned it before, but Judy Blume is one of my writing heroes. I love her books — both her juvenile and young adult books, and her adult novels — and I have tons of respect for her courage in addressing subjects that were rather taboo back then (and still are sometimes today).

I was excited to see in the headlines yesterday Judy Blume's interview on NPR. She talks about what got her into writing — and surprisingly, she didn't always want to be a writer, but started out doing wall hangings for children's rooms at first. She also discusses what it was that drew her to write so much about the 9-12 age group, and laughs about finding out from NPR that she was turning 70.

I had no idea Judy Blume was 70, but her enthusiasm at that age only makes me look up to her more. I hope I still love writing that much at age 70!

In review: 2008 New Year's resolutions

I've been doing everything a bit late this holiday season, so I'm just now reviewing my 2008 New Year's resolutions and deciding what to put on my list for 2009.

(For the record, I don't really take this too seriously — obviously, because of how many resolutions I promptly forget about and neglect to meet each year — but it's still a fun New Year's tradition.)

My resolutions for 2008 were as follows:

1. Spend the first hour of every workday on my own projects
2. Finish and launch my website updates
3. Increase my annual income by a third
4. Pay off 75 percent of my credit card debt
5. Keep in touch with my friends better
6. Get pregnant

And here are the results:

1. Sometimes
2. Nope
3. No way
4. Not even close
5. Nope
6. No

Hmmm. Maybe I should make different sorts of resolutions for 2009...

Christmas with our families

We had a pretty good Christmas here. We ended up busier than expected, so I didn't get as much of my work done as I'd hoped, but we had fun.

Since Michael's family moved to Denver earlier this year, we decided to split the holidays between our families: Christmas Eve with my folks, and Christmas Day with Michael's parents, his brother, and his brother's family (who all share a house — yikes!).

We were expecting not to be at my parents' house very late Christmas Eve, which was why I thought I would have time to work. However, my mom got tipsy and didn't kick us out at 9:30 after all, and we ended up getting home around 11:30 instead.

Michael was feeling tired and a little ill (probably from too much food), so we laid down and fell asleep by accident. At 3:30 am we both found ourselves wide awake, so we watched episodes of The Office (more on that later) until 7:30 am. Then we went back to bed for three more hours.

On Christmas Day we stopped by the barn around mid-afternoon to drop off stockings and treats for the horses. Then we continued on to Michael's family's house, bearing gifts for the kids. I was especially proud of the big present we had for my two younger nephews: a used kids table that I sanded, repainted, and decorated with the boys' handprints and names. I had a little help from Michael and my mom, but it still took the better part of four days to finish!



We spent most of Christmas Day with Michael's family, finally arriving home around midnight that night — and once again, I was way too tired to work!

How was your Christmas? If you've posted on your blog about your own holiday celebrations, please feel free to include a link in the comments!

A freelance writer's Christmas

First of all, Merry Christmas to all of the freelance writers, clients, lurkers, and everyone else who reads my blog.

And now for the twenty-five million dollar question: How many of my fellow freelancers are planning to work around the holiday festivities?

I certainly do. Not that I'll be foregoing family and friends to work (well, unless they get on my nerves), but I'll most likely be doing some work late tonight (Christmas Eve) and tomorrow night.

I suppose that is probably the second biggest drawback to freelancing (after the income rollercoaster): How hard it is to take a break. It seems like every time I think I'll be able to take a few days off, a client produces a rush project, or I procrastinate on a deadline, or something of the sort.

Not that I'm complaining. I like being able to work a flexible schedule — and if the price I pay for it is having to put in some extra hours after everyone else goes to sleep Christmas Eve, that's fine with me!

Wrist pain: A writer's worst nightmare

Yesterday I blogged about this year's unprecedented Christmas crafts. Unfortunately, my projects had a side effect that I could not have predicted, and that ultimately scared me quite a bit.

About three years ago, shortly after I first started freelancing, I had some difficulties with what I believe was repetitive strain injury (RSI): I started developing pain in my wrists, which would often shoot up into my upper arms and shoulders, particularly in my right arm (i.e., from using the mouse).

After a lot of heating pad applications, Motrin, and taking it easy, the pain went away. I've had a couple of flare-ups since then, but nothing serious.

Until last weekend.

Over the weekend, I suddenly developed pain in my hands, wrists, and forearms. The pain was moderate when typing, but could be quite bad when I flexed my hands and fingers, particularly if I hadn't done so in a while. It was pretty much the same in both my right and left arms.

I was pretty worried for several days, as it showed no signs of improving, and I had no idea what had caused it. I even tried to limit my typing over the weekend, but typing didn't seem to aggravate it — it hurt about the same amount as anything else.

Finally, Sunday night it occurred to me what had caused the pain: spray painting my nephews' Christmas present. Unfortunately, I wasn't finished yet, but at least I had learned that I had to be more careful. After that, I took breaks and stretched my hands out frequently while painting, and that seemed to help quite a bit.

It's a good reminder for freelancers that anything, even things that have nothing to do with writing, can cause injuries that interfere with your work!

A very crafty Christmas

I've long considered writing my only serious creative bent. I liked to draw when I was a kid, but found that my skill did not grow to keep pace with my age... Or maybe it was my ability to recognize my own skill that grew up. In any case, I've never been the crafty type.

Until this Christmas. I'm making all kinds of things for the holidays this year:

* Stocking for the horses
* Homemade horse treats
* A big present for my nephews (it's a surprise, so more on that later)
* Props for doll photography including a really cute quilt I made out of old flannel pajama pants

I'm having a lot of fun making these things, but I'm discovering how much time and effort crafts take. I guess that's why a lot of people don't bother. I've also discovered one other (slightly scary) side effect, which I'll blog about more in a future post.