Great Friends To Have in Your Writing Corner, #FightForward

I Happy Weebly!  I extended my contract five years, so barrioblues is mine!  Mine for five more years!  Back off you rapperos and other Chicano writers.

Yesterday, I was thinking about how blessed I am that Adam Gottlieb is giving the collection a once over, and I reflected on all the wonderful friends who have given me feedback, including my sister, Diana, who read the whole first draft and painted the cover design.  (Come on Sis and get with The Harvest, already; your feedback is priceless.)  I am keeping those friends and family close like a mother holds her baby in a storm, or a stoner hangs on to his pizza. 

I was talking to a friend of mine or someone, who I hope will become more than an activist and Facebook friend, and we were discussing editor rates.  Well, my editor, Adam is definitely doing me a huge solid.  Huge.  I can’t pay him three cents a word, not by any means, but I want to give him a cut of the sales until he gets paid something decent and give him a cut of my readings, too.  I know it’s hard to make money, but if I do, he is getting his share. 
The truth is I should be helping him with his young author’s group because that is probably more valuable to him, but every time he asks me to read, I have a Union meeting. 

On another editor quandary, I have been using standard grammar for my novel when I write it, including comma usage.  I hate when people remove the commas to separate full sentences using coordinating conjunctions; it’s a personal preference thing, but, if I ever go to print, someone will have to take all those commas out.  Someone will also have to fix the spacing because I am old school about my spaces after sentences.  Oh well.  I won’t be paying that individual. 

This week, I am also ordering my creative writing books for next semester’s class that I am teaching.  I really have to read up on this genre, and I have been rather lax, focusing on reading short stories and flash fiction and occasional poetry.  I ordered Bird by Bird, which was recommended by another author friend and teacher.  I liked what I read and can’t wait to read it all and learn from it.  I also ordered some best American short stories, poetry, and an international flash fiction book.  The selections should be really exciting!  In my English classes, we are also studying Roque Dalton.  He was introduced to me by an old friend, and I love Dalton’s poetry. 

We need more Daltons in the world today, for sure. 

On a social media note, I have been thinking about what to do with my other blog on Blogger, and I think I will focus on teaching creative writing and adding resources to it.  That way, there will be some type of connection to what I do here, and I won’t duplicate posts.  I plan on updating that once a week.  Maybe I will find a larger community to belong to.  After all, teachers love to share. 

That will be my writing goal, to redesign my other blog and to focus on the street urchin character in my novel.  I don’t think much writing will get done until we move (we have to be out by this Saturday). 

Here is to friends to hang on to, especially the ones that get your writing.