I had to write a short bio for an upcoming writers’ conference. I never know quite what to say and tried looking at some old program books to see what other people had written about themselves. The bios I looked at were all written in the third person, so it didn’t exactly come across as though they were talking about themselves, but then it was pretty obvious they were written by the subject of the bio.
I’m not so good as raving about my accomplishments. When I looked at mine, it was pretty cut and dried. Joe Friday would have been proud because it was just the facts, ma’am. What I write, what I studied after college, and where I live.
Since I’d technically missed the deadline, I was going to go with the same bio, but the person collecting them offered me more time. I took it as a nudge that I should come up with something different.
Here is what I finally sent in:
All Betty Hechtman ever wanted to do was to make something out of nothing. Like taking a ball of yarn and turning it into a scarf, or taking a dictionary full of words and turning them into a mystery series. Writing the national bestselling crochet series featuring Molly Pink and the Tarzana Hookers for Berkley Prime Crime is a dream come true.
It is true that making something out of nothing has been my life’s goal. I remember the exact moment I made that decision. I was in third grade in Mrs. Reed’s class. We didn’t exactly get along, but that’s another story. Anyway, a girl named Angela sat in front of me and I watched as she took out a cigar box of crayons. They were a sorry lot, all were broken hunks of waxy colors and some were just nibs. Then she showed off the picture she’d made using those crayons. It was fabulous and I was awed that she’d turned those nothing pieces of crayon into something so wonderful. And right then I knew that was what I wanted to do. To take something that appeared to be nothing and turn it into something wonderful.
I started doing it with sewing. I taught myself how to make doll clothes out of some of my old baby clothes. A friend and I went to some place I now realize was very creepy and collected scraps of fabric from a manufacturer and we made doll clothes out of those. They wouldn’t have won any awards on Project Runway, but at least my Ginny doll was no longer naked.
Later, I moved on to making my clothes and my mother’s. I could take a couple of yards of fabric that cost very little and turn them into a wonderful dress. I turned scraps of fabric into purses, scarves and headbands and sold them at an art fair.
As an art major, I turned tubes of paint into portraits, white tee shirts into batik prints, copper plates into etching that could be printed.
When I learned how to crochet, a skein of cotton yarn that cost barely a buck could become a wash cloth, a cowl, or a cell phone sock. Even better I could take the time I spent sitting on a plane and with a ball of yarn and a hook, turn the time into a bunch of granny squares, or part of a scarf.
And always there was writing. All those random words became stories, a newspaper column, magazine pieces, screenplays and finally my mystery series. Soon to be joined by another.
I’m not sure what I wrote counts as a bio. There are no facts about where I live or went to school, but I think it does tell who I am.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Social Media and Writers
We writers are a quirky bunch. Our work is solitary. Yet, we need people to know about our books so they will buy them—so that we can actually make a living (or something of a living) from our hard work. And make no mistake, “hard work” is what writing is—even though it’s enjoyable and I find it incredibly satisfying, it is still work.
Yet, even though we need our books to sell, we don’t want to be the ones to sell them. Not exactly, anyway. Often, we can’t afford publicists of our own. And our publisher’s publicity department is overwhelmed. We find it difficult to sell ourselves—it’s, um, kind of uncool for a writer, but not for an accountant or an antique store owner, for some reason. They sell themselves and their products and nobody gives it a second thought—whether it’s with an ad in a magazine or online.
Enter social media. For writers, it can be the bane of our existence, or it can be a very good friend. It’s easier than ever to connect with your readers. And that is what we crave—connection. We want readers to know about our books, heck, to even like (maybe love) our books. It’s so much easier to get the word out. The opportunities are endless.
But we also crave and need solitude. It is a precarious balancing act. What we need to do is use some of the self-discipline we’ve developed as writers to keep the social media in check. I check in to Twitter three times a day. If I have nothing to say, I don’t post. I comment or retweet—and then off I go—to Facebook to do the same thing. All told, this might take 30 minutes a day. I switch back and forth from my writing. I find little breaks like this really help clear away those cobwebs.
And sometimes social media is just what I need to help give structure to my day. Twitter, for example, has several writing prompts and groups. The #1k1hr thread always helps me structure my time. If I know a group will start at 9:30, and I have an hour, I’ll structure the rest of my morning around it and have 1,000 or so more words on my WIP. The #amwriting thread helps me to check in with other writers to see what they are up to. Like it or not, community can be so important to writers.
I’ve been active with my cookbooks on social media, but with the release of SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS next week, I’m fully embracing it to help launch the book. I’m having a Twitter launch party on February 7, 7-8 p.m. EST, with the hashtag #scrapbookofsecrets. (Just go to the search function during that time, place #scrapbookofsecrets in and the stream will come up and then you have to use the hashtag each time you post.) I’ll be giving away books and other little surprises. The next day the virtual part continues on my Facebook author page, where I’m having a love poem contest. Just post your favorite poem—or line from a poem—anytime during the day—and I’ll choose my favorite. Once again, free books and so on!
Will it help? I hope so.
If you have a chance to stop by, please do. I keep telling myself after the madness of all the promotion next week, I’ll give myself the treat of a couple of days of nothing but writing. How do you manage your promotion and writing schedules?
Yet, even though we need our books to sell, we don’t want to be the ones to sell them. Not exactly, anyway. Often, we can’t afford publicists of our own. And our publisher’s publicity department is overwhelmed. We find it difficult to sell ourselves—it’s, um, kind of uncool for a writer, but not for an accountant or an antique store owner, for some reason. They sell themselves and their products and nobody gives it a second thought—whether it’s with an ad in a magazine or online.
Enter social media. For writers, it can be the bane of our existence, or it can be a very good friend. It’s easier than ever to connect with your readers. And that is what we crave—connection. We want readers to know about our books, heck, to even like (maybe love) our books. It’s so much easier to get the word out. The opportunities are endless.
But we also crave and need solitude. It is a precarious balancing act. What we need to do is use some of the self-discipline we’ve developed as writers to keep the social media in check. I check in to Twitter three times a day. If I have nothing to say, I don’t post. I comment or retweet—and then off I go—to Facebook to do the same thing. All told, this might take 30 minutes a day. I switch back and forth from my writing. I find little breaks like this really help clear away those cobwebs.
And sometimes social media is just what I need to help give structure to my day. Twitter, for example, has several writing prompts and groups. The #1k1hr thread always helps me structure my time. If I know a group will start at 9:30, and I have an hour, I’ll structure the rest of my morning around it and have 1,000 or so more words on my WIP. The #amwriting thread helps me to check in with other writers to see what they are up to. Like it or not, community can be so important to writers.
I’ve been active with my cookbooks on social media, but with the release of SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS next week, I’m fully embracing it to help launch the book. I’m having a Twitter launch party on February 7, 7-8 p.m. EST, with the hashtag #scrapbookofsecrets. (Just go to the search function during that time, place #scrapbookofsecrets in and the stream will come up and then you have to use the hashtag each time you post.) I’ll be giving away books and other little surprises. The next day the virtual part continues on my Facebook author page, where I’m having a love poem contest. Just post your favorite poem—or line from a poem—anytime during the day—and I’ll choose my favorite. Once again, free books and so on!
Will it help? I hope so.
If you have a chance to stop by, please do. I keep telling myself after the madness of all the promotion next week, I’ll give myself the treat of a couple of days of nothing but writing. How do you manage your promotion and writing schedules?
Explaining Ourselves
Happy February, everyone!
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m teaching an online class called Kiss Me or Kill Me: Cozy Mystery Writing 101 for Romance Writers starting in a couple of weeks. And, as I said in that blog post, it isn’t really only for romance writers. It revolves around the basics of writing cozy mysteries.
I’ve started writing the class lessons and it’s a fun but incisive experience. Yes, I know how I write a mystery... sort of. And yes, I’ve done some review of how others appear to do it, too. But the process of explaining it to someone else is a bit like looking in a mirror and making notes!
Teaching isn’t really new to me. I’ve taught writing classes before, and I’ve been on plenty of panels where writers discuss their work. Even so, I’m finding the process more intense this time, maybe because it’s an online class so it’s like writing an essay for each class--or a blog! When I’ve given lessons in person, I’ll generally do an outline, and even if I write a whole talk I don’t always stick to it.
I’d already outlined what I’ll be describing in the four-week class. I’ll teach two classes a week, plus give assignments. Each class will be on a cozy mystery basic. The first class will describe what a cozy mystery is, and what distinguishes it from other genres. Others will be about how to choose a protagonist, another about theme, and so forth--all the elements of what must be blended to come out with a good cozy mystery.
I’m hoping to teach my students a lot, but I’m already learning from it myself. Describing the elements is more compelling and thought-provoking, in some ways at least, than just doing it. When I write a scene in a novel, I just sit at the computer with an idea of what I want that scene to contain. Sometimes my characters spin it in a different direction, which is often a good thing. If not, I mentally scold them and get back on track.
With a how-to lesson, I’ve tried to be concise yet all-inclusive, addressing all parts of the day’s lesson theme in an interesting way. Plus, my subconscious takes over in different ways, asking me questions about whether I really do things myself the way I’m describing, or if I just wish I did! The answer usually is yes, that’s my process, although I have to consider the question carefully.
Which do I like better? Well, I love my fiction writing and don’t intend ever to give it up. But writing lessons for an online class is educational to me, too, and I’m having lots of fun with it. I’m looking forward to having real students read what I’ve said and provide questions, feedback, and responses to the assignments I’ll give them.
And if they learn too much about me and how I write? I’ll just have to change myself, so I can remain mysterious!
In case you’re now brimming over with eagerness to see all the juicy tidbits about my writing that I’ll impart to my students, here’s the link again: http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassFeb12.html
How about you--have you ever taught a class or even an individual something that’s of special meaning to you? What did the process feel like?
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m teaching an online class called Kiss Me or Kill Me: Cozy Mystery Writing 101 for Romance Writers starting in a couple of weeks. And, as I said in that blog post, it isn’t really only for romance writers. It revolves around the basics of writing cozy mysteries.
I’ve started writing the class lessons and it’s a fun but incisive experience. Yes, I know how I write a mystery... sort of. And yes, I’ve done some review of how others appear to do it, too. But the process of explaining it to someone else is a bit like looking in a mirror and making notes!
Teaching isn’t really new to me. I’ve taught writing classes before, and I’ve been on plenty of panels where writers discuss their work. Even so, I’m finding the process more intense this time, maybe because it’s an online class so it’s like writing an essay for each class--or a blog! When I’ve given lessons in person, I’ll generally do an outline, and even if I write a whole talk I don’t always stick to it.
I’d already outlined what I’ll be describing in the four-week class. I’ll teach two classes a week, plus give assignments. Each class will be on a cozy mystery basic. The first class will describe what a cozy mystery is, and what distinguishes it from other genres. Others will be about how to choose a protagonist, another about theme, and so forth--all the elements of what must be blended to come out with a good cozy mystery.
I’m hoping to teach my students a lot, but I’m already learning from it myself. Describing the elements is more compelling and thought-provoking, in some ways at least, than just doing it. When I write a scene in a novel, I just sit at the computer with an idea of what I want that scene to contain. Sometimes my characters spin it in a different direction, which is often a good thing. If not, I mentally scold them and get back on track.
With a how-to lesson, I’ve tried to be concise yet all-inclusive, addressing all parts of the day’s lesson theme in an interesting way. Plus, my subconscious takes over in different ways, asking me questions about whether I really do things myself the way I’m describing, or if I just wish I did! The answer usually is yes, that’s my process, although I have to consider the question carefully.
Which do I like better? Well, I love my fiction writing and don’t intend ever to give it up. But writing lessons for an online class is educational to me, too, and I’m having lots of fun with it. I’m looking forward to having real students read what I’ve said and provide questions, feedback, and responses to the assignments I’ll give them.
And if they learn too much about me and how I write? I’ll just have to change myself, so I can remain mysterious!
In case you’re now brimming over with eagerness to see all the juicy tidbits about my writing that I’ll impart to my students, here’s the link again: http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassFeb12.html
How about you--have you ever taught a class or even an individual something that’s of special meaning to you? What did the process feel like?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
DEADLINE!
I promised my editor and my agent that I'd send the manuscript of And Then You Dye today - and I'm not finished with it. So I'm not submitting an entry in Killer Hobbies today. Apologies all around. I'm not purposely neglecting you and I hope to have something interesting next week.
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