Tag: future

Posted in my books, News, Thoughts, Uncategorized

My Birthday

Posted on by Sherri

Happy Birthday to me. My birthday is on it’s way. I remember as a kid always anticipating my birthday. I would start six months away adding half a year to my age. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve not been as anxious to add those extra years. But shouldn’t we celebrate even more so the years we’ve been given. A dear friend just celebrated 95 years and I cannot even imagine all that she has seen. Each birthday is a blessing. While our culture may celebrate youth, I think there is a lot more to be gained from age. I believe that each of us can benefit from the other. I believe youth needs the wisdom and the connection to our history that comes from those who are older, but older people need the young to remind us of what it was to be young. Being around young people keeps us current, relevant and vital.

As I celebrate this new birthday, I am grateful for this year that I have had with its ups and downs. I can honestly say 55 was filled with more good than bad even though some of the bad things were terrible, like the loss of my young grandson and dealing with this virus, the unrest in our country and the continued racial inequality, but even through all of those tragedies have been shining moments of joy, love and friendship. Each of you have made this year better and I hope in some small way, I have made things better for you.

I look forward to 56 with excitement and joy. I know I won’t be celebrating like I have in years past, but I am grateful for the love and support of my family, friends and you guys, my community of readers, followers and friends. It means so much to have you here supporting my dream. I wanted to be published before my 50th birthday. I didn’t quite make it but this year, I turn 56 with 6 books, so that’s almost as good, right? I hoping to have a couple more books before the end of the year, but life doesn’t always go as planned. I’m working on Roxy’s story and already have details of Trent’s story planned. I just have to decide if I’m going to make Remy wait a while for his story. Too many ideas and plans I’ve got to get busy. Thank you for celebrating with me.

Celebrating my birthday with a book signing at The Next Chapter Book and Art Store in New Bern, North Carolina. It will actually be the day after, Saturday, July 25th, 10-12 noon. Come check out Michelle’s little store with the big heart and maybe buy one of my books. I hope to see you there.

Posted in Thoughts, writing inspiration

I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can

Posted on by Sherri

My writer’s journey has been more like a Dancing with the Stars episode, two steps forward and many more backwards. I’m dancing as hard as I can and still get the of steps wrong. I’ve had articles published in magazines and newspapers. I’ve been short listed on anthology competitions, and I even caught the interests of a couple of agents.
After working with an agent for over a year, I now find myself without a dance partner. I’m facing a dilemma now of which way to go. Do I become a solo act and self-publish or do I take another chance with an agent and hope we can learn to move as one, or do go straight to a publisher and dance the choreography they already have in place?
My greatest fear in working with another agent or even a publisher is giving up control of my story. As much as I learned while working with my agent, there were changes we made to the story changed so much that it is barely recognizable as my original story. I know that I was blessed to have such a conscientious person honing my skills and molding me into a more productive writer but after all that work, my misstep landed me back on my butt with nothing published and no agent.
What do I need to do to succeed as a writer? I have good friends who have found success with traditional publishing and others who have succeeded with indie publishing. What is the right path for me?
My main concern with self or indie publishing is the cost. While it’s true, as an independent publisher I have complete control and will reap total rewards but it also means that all of the cost, all of the decisions and all the risks are mine. The past ten years since deciding I wanted to be a published author, I have learned a lot about the publishing process. I have attended workshops, programs, watched YouTube videos and taken online classes. But I know there is no knowing like doing.
I had about made up my mind to self-publish when an opportunity to pitch my story to an agent came knocking at my door. What do I do? Part of me wants to take the plunge and see what I can do and part of me says, you’ve been down that road, let’s try something new.
My first step in this new dance is to read my story with fresh eyes and see what I want to keep and what I want to change back and even what I want to make new. I still hear my agent’s voice in my head, guiding me, but I know whatever decisions I make are mine. So, whether I dance with the stars or fall on my butt, the choice is mine. Whatever I do, I’ll sing and new song and make up the steps as I go along. I’m still dancing, but for now, I’m dancing to my own tune.