When the Orchestra Wears Jeans

Or shorts, tennis shoes, sandals, or cowboy boots. That's how the Charlotte Symphony showed up for rehearsal today, creating an amalgam of orange jeans, pink sweaters, turquoise pants, and bright scarves as a colorful background to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Symphony No. 4.


I've lived in Charlotte for over 25 years and for the first time took advantage of attending a rehearsal for the inexpensive price of $14.00. What took me so long?


On top of having a prime seat at a discount price, I also was able to watch the symphony up close and personal. They were experimenting with live video feeds of the performance and from my point of view, it was a great success!


There is nothing like watching a tuba player's cheeks puffing, the deep breaths of a flautist, the cellist's concentration, the percussionist playing the castanets against his knee, the drummer hitting the drums with gusto, or the synchronized ballet of the violinists' pizzicato--to make you appreciate an orchestra. But beyond that, it was wonderful to watch (from the front!) Christopher Warren-Green's face and arms as he danced his mighty conductor's dance. 


The soloist was Joshua Roman, featured here, and demonstrating that he is indeed, comfortable playing in jeans: 


I hope you don't wait for 25 years to attend a classical music or drama rehearsal near you. I can't wait for the next one.

This n' That

Every once in awhile I want to pass along noteworthy items. Here are a few for this week:

• As a follow-up to last week's blog on humility, I found John Rosemond's recent column on teaching children humility interesting. Although not written from a distinctly Christian point of view, I think that Rosemond's advice is often sound and helpful. In this column he wrote:

            "Society is strengthened and culture is moved forward by the efforts of people who think of others before they think of themselves, not by people who think they are the cat’s meow. In that regard, one of the most foreboding things about contemporary American culture is that today’s young people regard the narcissistic, self-promoting celebrity as more of a role model than George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.  That, in fact, may be our ultimate undoing." 

The Charlotte Observer, 3/26/12

www.rosemond.com

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/03/26/3121088/john-rosemond-teach-children-humility.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/03/26/3121088/john-rosemond-teach-children-humility.html#storylink=cpy

• Homeschool educators might be interested in checking out this link that provides interesting statistics about homeschool vs. public school education. 

• Have you ever wondered how to determine your child's reading level? Here is a great post on ReaderKidZ that can quickly help you figure it out.

Graphic by James Larson

• NPR has recently launched a new radio segment called "The Backseat Book Club."  Readers have the opportunity to read selected books and send in their questions for the author. A great way to encourage reading and discussion with authors!

Humility in the Marketplace

As a Christian writer I have struggled with the tension between Biblical instructions to be humble, and the publishing world’s advice that I should promote myself. As a result, when Jean Hall, Write2Ignite’s founder, asked me to be a keynote speaker at this year’s conference I thought I’d tackle my own quandary.

As it turns out, I’m not the only one who wrestles with this issue.

I opened the keynote by asking the audience to consider the following questions:

Which is most important:

• To learn humility?
• To practice writing skills?
• To promote yourself through social networking?
• Or perhaps, some combination of all three?

I then asked participants to probe their motivation by considering:

• Why do you write?
• Who do you imagine telling when you get an assignment or get a piece published? (Why this person? What will you say?)
• Would you still write if there was no hope of getting published?

One of the principles that I believe should guide Christians, comes from 1 Corinthians 4:7:  “What do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” Just as salvation is a gift from the Lord (Ephesians 2:8), writing and teaching abilities are also gifts.  I encouraged my audience to pray as I do, that they would glorify the Lord in the use of their gifts (1 Corinthians 10:31).

After discussing five examples of Biblical humility: Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Paul, and Jesus, I suggested that there were three tools that provide “humility training.” The Bible shows us our sin; trials show us our need to look to the Lord for wisdom; and the editor’s red pencil shows us our writing weaknesses.

In the final analysis, I admitted that I didn’t have any easy answers. Instead I emphasized that humble thanksgiving for the Lord’s gifts will help Christian writers develop the right attitude about self-promotion.

Afterwards, several people came up and thanked me for the presentation.  Cheryl Reid, a songwriter said, “If I take credit for a song that I write, it takes away credit from the Lord and doesn’t matter eternally.”

Brian Keay thought that our desire to promote ourselves has deep roots: “We all come from painful backgrounds so that we yearn to be significant, to gather attention to ourselves.” He added, “When we are doing what is right we are a reflection of Christ’s glory.”

As I was walking out the door, a woman came over to me and thanked me. “I’ve attended many SCBWI conferences in Virginia and the D.C. area,” she said, “and have never heard a talk on humility.”

That same weekend, the Lord used my own words to remind me of my tendency to “think too highly of myself” (Romans 12:3).  I was both thankful and humbled to receive the Lord’s gentle chiding.

How about you? If you are a Christian writer, how do you handle this tension? I welcome your comments and dialogue on this topic. 

From Book Idea to the Book Shelf: The Process & Business of Publishing

From left to right: (standing) Susan Walker, Quinlan Lee, MaryBeth Whalen, Carin Siegfried
Angela Harwood, Amanda Phillips, Nancy Clare Morgan, (standing) Sally Brewster
photo courtesy of Daniel Coston
www.danielcostonphotography.com

Recently the Charlotte chapter of the WNBA hosted a soup-to-nuts panel on the publishing industry. The panel was moderated by chapter president, Susan Walker. 

Quinlan Lee, an agent with Adams Literary, serves the children’s and young adult market. She defined her job as a matchmaker. “I dig for gold all day long,” she said. She finds authors and illustrators and matches them with editors. Despite the fact that the agency receives 7000 manuscripts a year, and each agent only signs about ten new clients a year, she encourages writers to “beat the odds!” In her spare time, Lee goes into the local Barnes and Noble store and re-shelves Adams Literary books so that their covers are facing out.

Marybeth Whalen, author of She Makes it Look Easy and The Mailbox, advised writers to “work on your hook!” In her book, the mailbox was an inanimate object that drew people together; an idea which editors latched on to. When asked how much an author can estimate to earn she said, “Authors can figure they get about a $1 a book. For me, it’s either this or WalMart. I feel blessed to be writing from home rather than taking on a part time job.” 

Carin Siegfried is a freelance editor with Carin Siegfried Editorial who also has worked at St. Martin’s Press. She shared how many professional readers and editors, as well as members of the marketing and sales departments, weigh in on manuscripts.  Books are often shopped around to several publishers before acquired. Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber made the publishing rounds for four years before being purchased by Carin at St. Martin's. It went on to become a NY Times bestselling book and a television film starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Joey Lawrence. 

Nancy Clare Morgan brought her expertise as the former Publicity Manager with Random House, Inc. to the panel. As a publicist she always thinks about how to get free media attention for a book. A publicist asks the editor, “What make this book stand out?” She asks the author:

• What inspired your book? What are its talking points?
• What pre-marketing work have you done?
• What is your media profile?
• Who are your contacts?
• Do you know any bookstore owners?
• Do you have an Internet/social network presence?
• Who should get the galleys and review the book?

Morgan advised authors to be involved, respond to all fan mail, and be ready to create a “Media fire storm” the week your book comes out. 

Angela Harwood, the VP of Sales and Marketing at John F. Blair Publisher spoke about marketing. Her days consist of working on databases and Excel worksheets; she typically works on a book six to twelve months before it is scheduled for release. “We have hoops to jump through to make a book available; we want to make sure that it’s for sale everywhere there’s a potential audience.” She works with the author to develop a marketing plan and agreed with Morgan about the importance of an online presence, a significant fan base, and potential readership before a book comes out. 

Amanda Phillips is the MarComm Manager at wholesaler Baker and Taylor. This well-known distributor buys books from publishers and resells them to schools, stores, and libraries. “This streamlines the ordering process for the buyer,” Phillips said. “We also offer collection development service, e-commerce solutions, as well as additional advertising.” The company also generates preorders, which helps publishers decide how many books to print. Distributors such as Baker and Taylor also foster relationships with niche stories such as Michael’s or other specialty markets. 


Independent bookseller, Sally Brewster, hosted the event at Park Road Books. “Book publishing is the weirdest industry in the world—but we do it because we love it,” she said. She encouraged writers in the group to keep writing and to remember that publishers don’t want to publish just one book; have at least two or three ideas ready. Her store is one of the few in the country that carries self-published books. “I want to give writers a chance.” Although she agreed with other presenters that traditional book tours might be dead, an author who takes the time to talk to a bookseller will find that her books will be more likely to be recommended and sold. 


The next meeting of the Charlotte WNBA chapter is on April 9 and will feature SCBWI Crystal Kite winner, Monika Schroeder.

Souls of White Folks

Participants & Teachers

Several months ago I received an email advertising the class, "Souls of White Folks" sponsored by Mecklenburg Ministries. Since my sister had challenged me to understand how white privilege might impact my work-in-progess Half-Truths, I enrolled. 


Along with my classmates and teachers, we have explored the following topics:

• choice and access to services
• divisions caused by race and economics
• awareness of who we live, work, and socialize with
• white shame 
• the difference between patronage and partnership
• safety in private and public places
• the cost of racism
• differences and similarities
• fears and assumptions
• cross-cultural connections

Last week we were encouraged to write a prayer, a personal response to the class, or to record what we hoped to remember. One of my classmates, Tom E. Bowers, wrote this:

I am a racist. When we meet, I always notice color.

I am not a racist. When we connect, I don't notice color because I care about you and what's happening in our world.

A young thin white male store clerk handling a return asked unanswerable questions required by the store. The nearby middle-aged, heavyset black employee keyed in what the store system  required and instructed the clerk how to proceed. I was surprised. Shame on me.

I am a racist until we connect at a level of sharing thoughts and feelings with interest and caring for each other. 

**********

I wrote this poem:

Gifts

Remember

who you are,

and where you have come from.

You have gifts

that you have not even recognized as gifts.

You have taken for granted your skin

your privilege

your heritage

your safety in coming and going

your lack of fear.

You have not had to fight

or work,

for these gifts.

Remember

those who have

not

lived without a battle

because they were born

shades darker than yourself.

Brown, at times,

was not beautiful.

But was mocked

degraded

discriminated against.

Shunned.

Is that history in each

black person you meet?

Maybe yes,

Maybe no.

But know that

somewhere in their family

a mother, father

aunt, or grandfather--

did not have the

same gifts as you.

Remember.

**********

For a thought-provoking article on white privilege, read Peggy McIntosh's article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack."

Reading for the Fun of It

A student lent me her fun hat!

Today I celebrated Read Across America Day along with third and fourth graders at Olde Providence Elementary School. In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, I had the pleasure of reading The Bippilo Seed and Other Lost Stories (Random House, 2011).

The students enthusiastically appreciated Dr. Seuss's imagination, rhymes, and the lessons he cleverly taught. 

I know next week students will be fighting over who will check this book out of the library first.

I read the book's introduction between classes. The book was compiled by Dr. Charles Cohen (a dentist--believe it or not!) who loved Dr. Seuss books as a child. He found seven stories that had been published in magazines between 1950-1951, but had since been "forgotten." Cohen provided a brief background into these stories as well as some insights into Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel). One time a three-year-old boy recited one of Geisel's stories. After his initial astonishment, Geisel realized that the child had memorized the words because he loved how they sounded. 


With that insight under his belt, Geisel went on to write prolifically with a crusader's passion to make reading fun. As reported in an article on today's TIME website:


"Geisel considered his greatest achievement to be killing off the Dick and Jane books, which he said weren’t challenging enough for children, and were boring. Dr. Seuss’ books became the new standard in children’s publishing—expanding the imagination through brilliant illustration, social issues, and clever rhymes and vocabulary."


I think these students would agree that reading is fun!

While I read today, I remembered how much my father enjoyed reading silly poems like these to his children. My father inspired my own love for reading and writing. And in that spirit, here is my mini-tribute to Theodore Geisel:

I thank Dr. Seuss

and the Cat in the Hat

for happy kids reading

and that is a fact!!

How about you? What was your favorite Dr. Seuss book to hear as a child, or to read to your own children?

More Thoughts on Re-Visioning

This past week Becky Levine, author of The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide, hosted me on her blog. I discuss how critiques I have received on Half-Truths have helped me shape and re-vision my work.


Click on over to Becky's blog and leave a comment. You'll be entered to win a copy of her book which should be on every writer's bookshelf. 


You only have until Monday to enter, so act now!!



I am also going to give away a copy of her book. So, leave me a comment and share this post on Facebook or Twitter--and I'll enter your name into my contest also. Contest ends on Leap Day- February 29th. 


One way or the other, I hope you win a copy of The Writing & Critique Survival Guide!

Rosa Parks: My Story

Unaccustomed to attention, Rosa Parks (1913-2005) was an unlikely heroine of the Civil Rights movement. Yet on December 1, 1955 when she refused to relinquish her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, she set in motion events that she would not have dreamed possible. 


In her own words, this autobiography is a window into history and into Mrs. Parks' life. I read it to better understand the Jim Crow South as the backdrop of my work-in-progress, Half-Truths. Since I think she can tell her own story better than I can, here are some quotes that grabbed me.


About her maternal grandfather:
"My grandfather was very light complected (note: his father was a plantation owner), with straight hair, and sometimes people took him for white. He took every advantage of being white-looking.... He'd be introduced to someone white man he didn't know, and he'd say, "Edwards is my name," and shake hands with them. Then people who knew him would get embarrassed and have to whisper to the others that he was not white. At that time no white man would shake hands with a black man. And black men weren't supposed to introduce themselves by their last names, but only by their first names." p. 16

After being scolded by her grandmother for daring Franklin, a white 10-year-old boy, to hit her:
"...I came to understand that my grandmother was scolding me because she was afraid for me. She knew it was dangerous for me to act as if I was just the same as Franklin or anybody else who was white. In the South in those days [1923] black people could get beaten or killed for having that attitude." p. 23.

In 1941 Mrs. Parks got a job at the local Army Air Force Base. President Roosevelt had integrated the base but,
"I could ride on an integrated trolley on the base, but when I left the base, I had to ride home on a segregated bus. [A white woman worked in the same building as she did.] "We would get on the base bus and sit right across from each other....She had a little boy about nine years old...We'd sit across form each other and talk. .......when we'd get the city bus, the white woman would stop at the front and we'd go to the back and the little boy would be looking at us so strangely." p. 65.

In 1945, in Montgomery, Alabama:
"Black people had special rules to follow [on buses]. Some drivers made black passengers step in the front door and pay their fare, and then we had to get off and go around to the back door and get in. Often, before the black passengers got around to the back door the bus would take off without them. There were thirty-six seats on a Montgomery bus. The first ten were reserved for whites, even if there were no white passengers on the bus...Blacks were required to sit in the back of the bus, and even if there were empty seats in the front, we couldn't sit in them." p. 77

From her experience working as the secretary for the local NAACP office in the late '40's:
"We didn't have too many successes in getting justice. It was more a matter of trying to challenge the powers that be, and to let it be known that we did not wish to continue being treated as second-class citizens." p. 89

Remembering the conversation with the bus driver in 1955, after he asked her to get up to give her seat to a white man.
"The driver of the bus saw me still sitting there, and he asked was I going to stand up. I said, "No." He said, "Well, I'm going to have you arrested." Then I said, " You may do that." These were the only words I said."
......
"I was not tired physically...I was not old...I was forty-two. The only tired I was, was tired of giving in." p. 116

Remembering what Mr. Nixon, former head of the NACCP in Montgomery, said about her arrest:
"I was a perfect plaintiff....I had no police record. I'd worked all my life, I wasn't pregnant with an illegitimate child. The white people couldn't point to me and say that there was anything I had done to serve such treatment except to be born black." p. 125

During the year-long protest that the blacks staged against bus segregation; this was one group that became vocal:
"Some of the white women couldn't get along without their maids....The mayor appealed to them...He said the boycott was successful because the white women were taking all the maids back and forth. They said, 'Well, if the mayor wants to come and do my washing and ironing and look after my children and clean my house and cook my meals, he an do it. But I'm not getting rid of my maid." p. 145

Reflecting on how she was rattled when a reporter tried to intimidate her and find out "what made her tick."
"I was not accustomed to so much attention. There was a time when it bothered me that I was always identified with that one incident. Then I realized that this incident was what brought the masses of people together to stay off the buses in Montgomery. p.154.

Thinking about the problems blacks encountered (snipers firing, curfews) after the buses were integrated:
"Black people were not going to be scared off the buses any more than they are going to be scared unto them when they refused to ride." p. 159

About the Civil Rights Act of 1964:
"...[it] did not solve all of our problems. But it gave black people some protection, and some way to get redress for unfair treatment." 
p. 167

In 1992 she wrote:
"Organizations still want to give me awards for that one act more than thirty years ago. I am happy to go wherever I am invited and to accept whatever honors are given me. I understand that I am a symbol. But I have never gotten used to being a 'public person.'' p. 185

Her concerns for the future:
"What troubles me is that so many young people, including college students, have come out for white supremacy and that there have been more and more incidents of racism and racial violence on college campuses. It has not been widespread, but still it is troublesome. It seems like we still have a long way to go." p. 187

****************

Without pride or self-consciousness, Mrs. Parks simply tells her story. Her life spanned almost an entire century; a century in which she was a witness to--as well as an instrument of--change. This autobiography is easy to read and I recommend it for both young and old readers.  We all can learn from her humble example.

Kreativ Blogger Award

Elena Caravela recently honored me with the Kreativ Blogger Award-- which I didn't even know existed! In order to accept, I in turn most nominate six other blogs and tell you 10 things you might now know about me, and leave a comment on one of the blogs. So, here I go:


1. Joyce Hostetter's blog, "This Blog is history." With a subtitle like that, how can you go wrong? I have learned so much from Joyce: her passion for communicating the details of history in a  kid-friendly manner, her giving back to the writing community, her passion to use the right word for the right job.


2. The Write2Ignite blog brings together Christians who care about writing quality materials for children and young adults.


3. Barbara Younger blogs at Friend for the Ride. Since most of the blogs I follow are about writing, it is refreshing to follow someone who takes a humorous and informative look at menopause and the "mid-life roller coaster."


4. Becky Levine's writing blog. I draw upon her blogs repeatedly in my writing classes at Central Piedmont Community College.


5. Joy Acey's blog is aptly named Poetry for Kids Joy. Subscribe to this blog and you'll get a fun poem almost everyday in your inbox. 


6. Lori Baldwin's blog. Yes, she is my daughter so I am biased. But her blog, The Unmeasured Cup, is all about recipes she concocts and are gluten free. On top of it, her photography is excellent! Oh, and did I say she's a good writer to?

***********

Now, for what you may or may not know about me:


1. I like digging in the dirt- planting flowers, tomatoes, or herbs.
2. I used to have a golden retriever named Pax. He was very unlike his name (Pax is Latin for peace).
3. I was widowed when I was 27. Remarried at 32.
4. Sometimes I eat peanut butter with cottage cheese on bagels for breakfast. A college friend once told me it was complete protein. Try it sometime-- you might like it!
5. I have my Bachelor's degree in Mental Health and my Master's in Counseling. 
6. Half-Truths (my WIP) started out as a picture book...many years and revisions ago.
7. My first published book was, "Friendship Counseling: Lay Counseling in the Church." It was translated into Chinese in 1998.
8. I like to swim laps.
9. I believe strongly that good communication is indispensible for building good relationships.
10. We are a family of females: I have 2 step-daughters, 3 daughters, there granddaughters, and one grandson (so far!).