Hello

Have you copyrighted all your work? I hope you have. I’ve sent my book off to the United States copyright office, a forty-five dollar deal but worth every penny as you know. I of course have the right to the works I create and I don’t believe anyone would take my work as their own but I also believe in doing my part by copyrighting with the registry office just in case. I also submit my screenplays to be registered at the screenwriter’s guild.

I don’t believe sending your work to yourself through the mail is good enough anymore to be called “copyrighting” your work. With my work and yours too we just want to make sure we cross our t’s and dot our i’s when it comes to legally protecting our precious.

If you know of any other avenues of protection, please e-mail me and let me know the information will be appreciated.


If you have any other comments or suggestions please e-mail me at my new address: shabazzl@adasbcc.org.

Until next time, God willing,

Lori

Hello

I’m submitting my book, You Don’t Know Me next month to Lulu publishing and I’m excited about it and of course scared too. But I heard something on the Sopranos the other night (yes, I love writing crime fiction and watching it too) and the character Christopher said something like this—I paraphrase, “Face the fear and do it anyway"—do what you love to do or believe you were made to do. He’s a major mafia guy who happens to be absolutely above board on this one.

His comment really lessened my fear quotient about putting my book out in the world without agent back or a major book publisher behind me, his words made me realize those things don’t matter what’s important is following your dream (cliché though it may be) and making it a reality because life is so short its unbelievable so you want to make your life the best it can be; I do.

So there’s still a little fear there and it’s okay, its healthy natural but what’s not okay is not to do it, not to find any means I can to get my novel out because it’ll make me feel wonderful and because I know--know absolutely-- others will love the story and the characters.


If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at my new e-mail address: shabazzl@adasbcc.org.

Until next time, God willing,

Lori

Hello,

I read the other day in the Writer’s Magazine www.writermag.com how this writer loved having a day job as a teacher more than he loved being a full time writer. While reading the article I thought: he’s joking. How could he love having a day job as opposed to writing full time? I can understand him loving his job, teaching young minds to be great but still…

Then I thought about it. I like my day job, it pays the bill of course but one of the more important reasons why I like my job is that I feel when I do find the time to write while working, taking care of my family and other things, is that writing in between is like getting a special present or having a little holiday during my regular life. It’s such a joy to write so getting it in on those wonderful snatches of time: a day off to write, writing on a quiet Saturday afternoon or writing on my lunch hour or at four in the morning, makes the writing experience that much more precious and when its really going well—wow.

So I can understand that guy loving his day job—many people do—I like mine too and mostly because I’m blessed to be able to add actual writer to my resume, its the gift that keeps on giving as long as I keep putting pen to paper between the report to my boss or helping my kids with their homework the writing always fits in somewhere.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at my new e-mail address: shabazzl@adasbcc.org.

Until next time, God willing,

Lori

Hello and Happy Holidays,

The other day I received an e-mail from this person who saw a message I left on Fodors the travel site asking for information on the Western Sahara for my novel The Geography of Love. The person opened the letter with a question: Are you the Lori who is a writer? The question made me smile “the writer”. I said yes with all my heart I am “the writer” because if I don’t believe it and prove it to my self again and again, no one else will believe it either.

My belief in myself as “a writer” can wax and wane depending on how the writing is going. If it’s not going well because I hadn’t researched enough, don't feel smart enough to write this story or didn’t complete more pages I wanted for the day, then I feel less a writer and more a failure. But when my writing is sailing along, every word the right word, filled pages are flying one after the other (though rare for me) I know then I’m the best writer I can be.

If I had to list who I am, my qualities, no matter how my writing is going, “writer” would make one of the top three defining myself. It was nice to get that message asking if I am the writer; of course I am and always will be.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.

Until next time God willing,

Lori