Signing my first book contract

Christmas Book written by friends
January 15, 2008 is a red letter day for me. The breathlessly awaited contract, signed by the three Ohio Word Quilters the previous Friday, arrived in my California mail box today.
The U.S. postal service is very dependable, thank goodness.

This is the first book I have written, which our group has titled “Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts.” We six writers, while separated by miles, co-wrote the book, as we were united in spirit and writing enthusiasm.

Our book makes Christmas a longed for and enjoyed Holy Day that will engage each reader. We crafted lots of fun tips, recipe ideas, and personal family stories, from the silly to the sublime.
Purple stockings. Grandma’s snow angel. The recipe for King Cake, which was new to me. Christmas camping in the Everglades, a tale of my family of four plus Chile, our somewhat brave chihuahua, heading to the tip of Florida, from our snow bound Wisconsin home.

With our book we get you energized with scads of great ideas, for sharing with others in need, favorite children’s Christmas books and fabulous treasured family recipes.

We dream big: our hope is that we will all meet in person for the first time, when Oprah invites us to share our Word Quilters writing journey on her show.

The beginnings of the writing life are often slow and lonely, and will be enriched by writing friends, and by every person who tells me that they love what I write.

Wow. What a blessing to hear from one person that he/she enjoyed my jottings. I often write about gardening, and hear from a few people that they used my idea, or were inspired to buy a bare root rose or plant a “rebellious morning glory”.

If you love an author, consider sending them a note.
I wrote to only two authors thus far, by U.S. mail, and both sent me hand written notes that I treasure. Sheldon Vanauken and Madeleine L’Engle. What gracious people they were. They have since graduated to heaven.

So consider thanking a writer today. They will appreciate your encouragement. And look for our book, Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts, published by Leafwood, this fall.

Friendship Online

Online friendship

Have you made friends that you have “met” only virtually, on the Internet, through emails? Can these friends be truly life affirming, trust worthy, and an important part of your life?

Some of you, like me, already have found that the answer to this question is “yes.” Can you successfully collaborate to write a book together? YES indeedy.

I have five close friends, living in three states, in an online writers group, that began very informally in the fall of 2005. As we each reached out, carefully, we began to know and trust each other. Sometimes I could share a heart ache with my virtual sisters that I didn’t care to share with my coworkers. Since, for us, our initial common link is that we are all Christian writers, we share both faith and writing concerns with each other.

Being a writer has a lonely aspect to it. We six gals are all married with children, but when we sit down to write, we are alone. We feel sweetly connected as we write in our homes in Texas, Ohio and California. Others that love us are supportive, but writers share a special bond. We know how rejection stings, and acceptance sings! In our stalwart band, we commiserate about having editors say harsh no, and cheer lead for each other when a much more discerning editor says yes.

In the world of freelance writing, both for magazines and newspapers, and for books, the number of rejections is overwhelmingly more than the number of acceptances (except for Stephen King or John Grisham or Cecil Murphey, of course).

We have taken the group name of Word Quilters, and our members are Cathy Messecar, Karen Robbins, Leslie Wilson, Brenda Nixon, Trish Berg, and myself, Terra Hangen. The book we wrote together, under the leadership of Cathy, is A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts, to be published by Leafwood in October 2008.

Excitement builds for me as the contract for our book is headed to my home, via the U.S. mail. It was mailed to me yesterday, January 11, 2008, for future historians wanting to track the history of this brilliant (smile) group. The topic of the book is Christmas and bringing the joy of the holy day to your house, and leaving out any stressful aspects.

My husband promises to take a photo of me signing my very first book contract. Hey, Karen, Leslie, Cathy, Trish and Brenda, I love you babes!