IWSG February 2022

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay 

Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn't around anymore? 

Yes, yes, and yes. So many writers/bloggers come and go. As a matter of fact, the advice that rings in my head and keeps me in the business is from a writer/blogger buddy who has stopped blogging. Years ago, Brinda Berry told me to remember writing is a marathon, not a sprint. 

She's still writing, but no longer blogging...you can find her here.  

Anyone you miss?

There are so many I miss. I cannot even begin to list them all. The loss that stings the most, of course, is Jo Wake who passed away. Jo was more than a blogger friend. She was family and her presence in my personal and professional life is felt daily. There's a magic to blogging that unifies and solidifies friendships like no other social media platform (IMHO). 

Thanks to this month's awesome co-hosts for the February 2 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jacqui Murray, Sandra Cox, and Lee Lowery!

Did you know the IWSG has a Facebook page also? We do! IWSG Facebook member, Mike Mulhern published his first book after retirement and wanted to let everyone to know, it's never too late to make your book dream come true. 

A message from Mike...

Available Now!

SUCCESS AT LONG LAST – Like all journalists addicted to seeing their byline in print in newspapers and magazines, I had planned to go to the next level by authoring volumes of books – and lots of them! This is where I found the transition difficult to make. Major publishing houses were disappearing and book agents returned my submissions sight unseen, saying, “We have too many clients to serve already and are not taking on any more.” My only option was to self-publish with a company that also offered a promotional package, and their services weren’t cheap. Even the inexpensive ones wanted at least seven grand! Then three years ago, my mother died at the age of 97 and left me enough where the self-publishing option entered the realm of affordability. I finished up the book-in-progress that was closest to completion and selected the publisher that was the best fit. Even THAT was not easy. I submitted a 500-page nostalgic childhood memoir about growing up in the ‘50s. The rep with that company (Best Seller Publishing) said, “People don’t read books that long anymore. But your chapters on race are dynamite and quite readable! Besides, it’s a real hot topic right now!” Last week, my first hot-off-the-press volume arrived in the mail – “The Repentant Racist” (available from Amazon.com), only 135 pages and readable in three hours. But it’s got that all-important ISBN number, so it counts! I am disappointed with the whole process, but happy I finally arrived in the Published Author’s Circle. I hope to see all you fellow aspirants there as well! – Mike Mulhern.