Elizabeth Funderbirk's Blog - Posts Tagged "literary"
What Happens Next????
Although my Debut Novel "Love TORN Asunder" Has been completed and the release date is April 30th. When I started this journey I had ALOT of questions. Below I posted a blog entry that I wrote on my blog ~Trials, Tribulations and Torn http://writingtorn.blogspot.com
...So I have been making some head way in my Book Publishing Quest... Although NOTHING has been finalized. I am feeling more confident... Mind you I may still be on the hunt for a publishing company. I am just realizing that the fear that I started with has slowly but surely diminished as time passed on and I keep pushing on.
When I began this process and I mean all way back to when I first started to pen this Manuscript... It was with alot a hesitation. I was scared that I was not good enough, scared that no one would support me, and scared that I was doing this for nothing.
As time has passed I have grown in so many ways... The fear of not being good enough has faded with the knowledge that I am serious about this and certain I will perfect my skills.
The realization that the ones I thought would be my biggest supporters did not break me... It has opened my eyes to a world of support that I did not anticipate.
I know this is not for nothing because I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far... and that alone is worth it.
On this journey it is so important that you don't jump on this first opportunity that comes your way. RESEARCH and ASK QUESTIONS!!!
I felt an overwhelming sense of relief the first company that showed interest. I was wrapped in my joy. Until I laid there that night and wondered WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!? You see since this is all new too me. I need to ensure that I am making the right choices, asking questions that are necessary in order for me to learn and grow in this literary world. Not allowing things to just happen because I don't want to ruffle any feathers.
I believe you can get the answers you need and NOT burn any bridges along the way if you just approach the situation in a professional manner. These are business people and should appreciate that you are conducting business in such a positive and professional manner.
You can't as a new writer allow yourself to be taking advantage of...
I have come up with some starter questions that you may want to ask when making inquiries with publishing companies. these are things that need to be consider to make an informed decision. You may decided this is the RIGHT choice for you. You may decide you need to expand your search and keep your options open. You may decide to self publish...
1...CONTRACTS: Will there be contracts sent to me? Advising exactly what it entails to be published by {INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE} ? What are the fee's that will be associated with this process?
Example: For editing( if necessary), Proof reading ( if required) ... and any services the publishing company provides that you may need clarification on.
2... PRODUCTION: Will I the author be in contact with the many people that may handle my work in the various stages of production?
You want to ensure that you are hands on with the production of your manuscript.
3.... PROMOTIONS: What if any promotion assistance will I receive?
You need to see if there is a budget for promotions.((Depending on the size of the company that may be left solely up to you the Author)) As an Author you should be prepared to promote you own work ANYWAY. However, ask questions regarding services that are provided.
4... PRINTING: Will my Manuscript be printed in mass quantity or will it be printed upon the request for sale?
What are the fee's associated with this process? And what is the price difference? Do I have a choice or which I prefer?
5... DISTRIBUTION: What type of distribution will {INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE} provide? Do you have a relationship with book stores ((National and/or Privately owned))? Besides {INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE} website,Will my book be available on Amazon? What other advertising will be in place?
As an author YOU should be prepared to get your book out to the public. You will need to research the different avenues that you can use to get this accomplished. However get clarification of role the publishing company you're interested in plays in all of this.
These are just questions to get you stated... At least this is similar to the format that I used. More questions will arise. DON'T be hesitant to receive clarification.
I hope this has helped someone... Please leave feed back and Tell a Friend.
Lots of Love Liz... :-)
...So I have been making some head way in my Book Publishing Quest... Although NOTHING has been finalized. I am feeling more confident... Mind you I may still be on the hunt for a publishing company. I am just realizing that the fear that I started with has slowly but surely diminished as time passed on and I keep pushing on.
When I began this process and I mean all way back to when I first started to pen this Manuscript... It was with alot a hesitation. I was scared that I was not good enough, scared that no one would support me, and scared that I was doing this for nothing.
As time has passed I have grown in so many ways... The fear of not being good enough has faded with the knowledge that I am serious about this and certain I will perfect my skills.
The realization that the ones I thought would be my biggest supporters did not break me... It has opened my eyes to a world of support that I did not anticipate.
I know this is not for nothing because I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far... and that alone is worth it.
On this journey it is so important that you don't jump on this first opportunity that comes your way. RESEARCH and ASK QUESTIONS!!!
I felt an overwhelming sense of relief the first company that showed interest. I was wrapped in my joy. Until I laid there that night and wondered WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!? You see since this is all new too me. I need to ensure that I am making the right choices, asking questions that are necessary in order for me to learn and grow in this literary world. Not allowing things to just happen because I don't want to ruffle any feathers.
I believe you can get the answers you need and NOT burn any bridges along the way if you just approach the situation in a professional manner. These are business people and should appreciate that you are conducting business in such a positive and professional manner.
You can't as a new writer allow yourself to be taking advantage of...
I have come up with some starter questions that you may want to ask when making inquiries with publishing companies. these are things that need to be consider to make an informed decision. You may decided this is the RIGHT choice for you. You may decide you need to expand your search and keep your options open. You may decide to self publish...
1...CONTRACTS: Will there be contracts sent to me? Advising exactly what it entails to be published by {INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE} ? What are the fee's that will be associated with this process?
Example: For editing( if necessary), Proof reading ( if required) ... and any services the publishing company provides that you may need clarification on.
2... PRODUCTION: Will I the author be in contact with the many people that may handle my work in the various stages of production?
You want to ensure that you are hands on with the production of your manuscript.
3.... PROMOTIONS: What if any promotion assistance will I receive?
You need to see if there is a budget for promotions.((Depending on the size of the company that may be left solely up to you the Author)) As an Author you should be prepared to promote you own work ANYWAY. However, ask questions regarding services that are provided.
4... PRINTING: Will my Manuscript be printed in mass quantity or will it be printed upon the request for sale?
What are the fee's associated with this process? And what is the price difference? Do I have a choice or which I prefer?
5... DISTRIBUTION: What type of distribution will {INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE} provide? Do you have a relationship with book stores ((National and/or Privately owned))? Besides {INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE} website,Will my book be available on Amazon? What other advertising will be in place?
As an author YOU should be prepared to get your book out to the public. You will need to research the different avenues that you can use to get this accomplished. However get clarification of role the publishing company you're interested in plays in all of this.
These are just questions to get you stated... At least this is similar to the format that I used. More questions will arise. DON'T be hesitant to receive clarification.
I hope this has helped someone... Please leave feed back and Tell a Friend.
Lots of Love Liz... :-)
Teaser of CHAPTER 15 "Love TORN Asunder" ....Suspense, Drama, Romance, Lust & Loyalty.
Teaser of CHAPTER 15 "Love TORN Asunder" ....Suspense, Drama, Romance, Lust & Loyalty.
CHAPTER 15
HER
Kendrick has been spending a lot of time at home. He even spent Thanksgiving with me and the kids although he usually celebrated it with his family, and I went with mine. It was nice us spending it together, but he is getting antsy. I have been trying to do my best to accommodate him by allowing Bernard over without a lot of fuss. I know that this isn’t going to last long. Ever since we went to that blues lounge, The Indigo, he has been even more on edge than usual. I thought it was strange for him to invite me out without me having to push him. The last time he was so accommodating was the last time I caught him cheating on me. We had taken a cruise to the Bahamas with a group of friends. I’d paid for the trip because I just wanted to spend time with Kendrick without his friends around. I’d wanted to let him know that I would do anything for him and this marriage. Kendrick and I just couldn’t get it right. My oldest son, Robert, had moved out about a year a half ago and I became severely depressed after that. No one understood. My family said that I had chosen Kendrick over my own son. Kendrick is my husband and Robert, my first-born. Robert is an adult though and the things that he was accusing Kendrick of couldn’t have been possible. He wouldn’t have disrespected me like that in our house. I knew Kendrick did things that a husband shouldn’t do in a marriage, but he would not bring those things to my home. A year and a half ago was when I started detaching myself from Kendrick’s indiscretions.
Robert and I came home from the grocery store on a Tuesday afternoon. Robert started unloading the groceries from the trunk of my car and taking them in the house while I gathered my daughter, Rayne. I was walking through the garage to the back door when I heard the commotion. I picked up my pace and when I entered the kitchen I could tell that it was coming from upstairs. I secured Rayne in her high chair in the kitchen and raced to the hallway. I stood at the bottom of the staircase and watched Robert and Kendrick attack one another. I didn’t know what to do. I was planted in that spot and couldn’t find my voice. Robert’s girlfriend Emma was shouting at them to stop, that they were acting like fools. I agreed but I couldn’t talk. She looked at me asked if I was going to do anything? Was I going to get Robert off Kendrick? I couldn’t move. My baby began crying in the kitchen and I still couldn’t move. Out of nowhere, Reggie came bounding through the front door and up the stairs. He pried them apart after a few tries. Robert was staring down at me, breathing hard, nostrils flared. The glare on his face made tears spring to my eyes and burn a trail down my cheeks. He turned his anger toward my husband, demanded that he leave and told Emma to do the same. Robert was pushing her down the stairs, one step at a time. The tears impaired my vision, which made everything blurry.
“Mom! What are you going to do about this?” I heard him but I couldn’t answer. What could I say?
“Are you going to let him stay here after this shit? He has always been a cheater, but I know you’re not going to let him get away with this!” Robert yelled, demanding answers. My lungs were burning from holding my breath. “He was fucking Emma in my room, Mom. He’s sleeping with my girlfriend under your roof!” His voice boomed throughout the house, the sound echoing inside my head. “Mom?”
I could hear Kendrick telling him to calm down and to stop raising his voice in his house. “So you’re really not going to say anything, are you? You’re just going to look the other way again? Even though this time he didn’t just fuck you over he fucked me too!” My son said those words to me, and that was the last time we stayed under the same roof.
After some time, I made sure that Robert was settled into an apartment. It took a lot of doing since he didn’t want to speak with me and I couldn’t blame him. When things sort of fell in order, I planned the cruise. It was a five-day, four-night event. By night three, he was antsy. He couldn’t even keep it together on a boat in the middle of the ocean. One evening while I was in the shower, he left the room. I knew that he was up to something. He kept trying to get me involved in an activity to keep me busy so he could get away, but I wasn’t falling for that. I stayed stuck to his side, until I went to take a shower that is. I got out of the shower and wrapped the new robe that he purchased for this trip around my body. I then called everyone that we came with on the cruise to see if had hooked up with any of them. No one had seen or talked to him since we left after dinner. I had an idea of where he might be, but I just didn’t want to believe that he would embarrass me like this with all these people to witness it. I went straight to Barbara’s room. She was the sister of one of my friends that came along. She was exactly what Kendrick liked. She had light skin and big breasts. She was very cute, so the sight of him being friendly with her made my insecurities rise. She and Kendrick had been a little too friendly for the first couple of days. My stomach was in knots and I had a bad feeling about the whole thing as I got closer to her suite. When I made it to the door, I just listened at first. I could hear him inside laughing with her. Why would he do this shit here? Why now? I knocked. They became quiet, so I knocked again, louder. Then louder. Nothing.
“I heard y’all in there and I am not leaving until you send my husband out here, Barbara.” I heard movement. Then there was nothing. I stood there for ten damn minutes then knocked on the door to the next cabin. A woman tentatively opened the door. I asked her if I could borrow a chair. She kindly brought one out to me without question. I’m sure she could hear what was going on through the thin walls. At that point, I didn’t care anymore. He’d already made me look like a fool for pulling this so why should I give a fuck? I sat there, arms folded, in the middle of the hallway on the cruise that I paid for to bring us closer together. He waited another fifteen minutes before he showed his face. He came out and all he could say was a pathetic “I’m sorry”. He took me by the arm lifted me from the chair and escorted me back to our room. He didn’t say anything about what happened and foolishly, neither did I. He made love to me as soon as we got back to our suite, while I cried.
I have that same feeling that I had that night on the cruise, the knots in my stomach that I had at The Indigo. Now Kendrick is in the shower preparing to go to Dahlia’s house. What he doesn’t know is that I’m going too. He is not about to leave me in this house tonight while he runs the damn streets. I know that my husband has needs that I’m not always willing to fulfill. I’m tired! I deal with a five-year-old autistic child all day long and a sixteen-year-old with raging hormones, who is driving me crazy to drive my car. My day begins with me taking Rayne to the center that provides classes with other children like her and support counseling for the parents, which Kendrick refuses to attend. I believe he is under the impression that if he doesn’t acknowledge it then it isn’t true. Therefore, Rayne and I don’t get the support that we desperately need and deserve from her father, my husband. When I do return home he’s not there and by the off chance that he is, he is in our bedroom asleep or watching porno DVD’s. He doesn’t come to help me. He doesn’t come out to spend time with our daughter. There is laundry that needs to be done, dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning up after my little angel. Then Reggie is home. After talking to him about his day, checking to see if he completed his homework, then carpooling him and four other rowdy teenagers to football practice, I get home and start dinner. By the time dinner is ready, Reggie is home from football practice. After all is said and done at the end of the day, everyone is bathed and sleeping soundly in their beds. Believe me there is so much more that happens before I head off to bed for the night. I just don’t have the energy to be a porn star for Kendrick after all that.
He finally emerges from the bathroom dressed head to toe in black and smelling of cologne that I didn’t purchase. Kendrick is so tight with a dollar that I know he didn’t buy it for himself. He sees me sitting on our queen size bed,
dressed and ready to go.
To purchase "Love TORN Asunder" is available on-line through ALL major book retailers, Amazon, Emeraldstarpress.net, and my website "Literary Liz Writes" www.Literary.com. If you buy "Love TORN Asunder" through my website there will be NO shipping added to your purchase.
CHAPTER 15
HER
Kendrick has been spending a lot of time at home. He even spent Thanksgiving with me and the kids although he usually celebrated it with his family, and I went with mine. It was nice us spending it together, but he is getting antsy. I have been trying to do my best to accommodate him by allowing Bernard over without a lot of fuss. I know that this isn’t going to last long. Ever since we went to that blues lounge, The Indigo, he has been even more on edge than usual. I thought it was strange for him to invite me out without me having to push him. The last time he was so accommodating was the last time I caught him cheating on me. We had taken a cruise to the Bahamas with a group of friends. I’d paid for the trip because I just wanted to spend time with Kendrick without his friends around. I’d wanted to let him know that I would do anything for him and this marriage. Kendrick and I just couldn’t get it right. My oldest son, Robert, had moved out about a year a half ago and I became severely depressed after that. No one understood. My family said that I had chosen Kendrick over my own son. Kendrick is my husband and Robert, my first-born. Robert is an adult though and the things that he was accusing Kendrick of couldn’t have been possible. He wouldn’t have disrespected me like that in our house. I knew Kendrick did things that a husband shouldn’t do in a marriage, but he would not bring those things to my home. A year and a half ago was when I started detaching myself from Kendrick’s indiscretions.
Robert and I came home from the grocery store on a Tuesday afternoon. Robert started unloading the groceries from the trunk of my car and taking them in the house while I gathered my daughter, Rayne. I was walking through the garage to the back door when I heard the commotion. I picked up my pace and when I entered the kitchen I could tell that it was coming from upstairs. I secured Rayne in her high chair in the kitchen and raced to the hallway. I stood at the bottom of the staircase and watched Robert and Kendrick attack one another. I didn’t know what to do. I was planted in that spot and couldn’t find my voice. Robert’s girlfriend Emma was shouting at them to stop, that they were acting like fools. I agreed but I couldn’t talk. She looked at me asked if I was going to do anything? Was I going to get Robert off Kendrick? I couldn’t move. My baby began crying in the kitchen and I still couldn’t move. Out of nowhere, Reggie came bounding through the front door and up the stairs. He pried them apart after a few tries. Robert was staring down at me, breathing hard, nostrils flared. The glare on his face made tears spring to my eyes and burn a trail down my cheeks. He turned his anger toward my husband, demanded that he leave and told Emma to do the same. Robert was pushing her down the stairs, one step at a time. The tears impaired my vision, which made everything blurry.
“Mom! What are you going to do about this?” I heard him but I couldn’t answer. What could I say?
“Are you going to let him stay here after this shit? He has always been a cheater, but I know you’re not going to let him get away with this!” Robert yelled, demanding answers. My lungs were burning from holding my breath. “He was fucking Emma in my room, Mom. He’s sleeping with my girlfriend under your roof!” His voice boomed throughout the house, the sound echoing inside my head. “Mom?”
I could hear Kendrick telling him to calm down and to stop raising his voice in his house. “So you’re really not going to say anything, are you? You’re just going to look the other way again? Even though this time he didn’t just fuck you over he fucked me too!” My son said those words to me, and that was the last time we stayed under the same roof.
After some time, I made sure that Robert was settled into an apartment. It took a lot of doing since he didn’t want to speak with me and I couldn’t blame him. When things sort of fell in order, I planned the cruise. It was a five-day, four-night event. By night three, he was antsy. He couldn’t even keep it together on a boat in the middle of the ocean. One evening while I was in the shower, he left the room. I knew that he was up to something. He kept trying to get me involved in an activity to keep me busy so he could get away, but I wasn’t falling for that. I stayed stuck to his side, until I went to take a shower that is. I got out of the shower and wrapped the new robe that he purchased for this trip around my body. I then called everyone that we came with on the cruise to see if had hooked up with any of them. No one had seen or talked to him since we left after dinner. I had an idea of where he might be, but I just didn’t want to believe that he would embarrass me like this with all these people to witness it. I went straight to Barbara’s room. She was the sister of one of my friends that came along. She was exactly what Kendrick liked. She had light skin and big breasts. She was very cute, so the sight of him being friendly with her made my insecurities rise. She and Kendrick had been a little too friendly for the first couple of days. My stomach was in knots and I had a bad feeling about the whole thing as I got closer to her suite. When I made it to the door, I just listened at first. I could hear him inside laughing with her. Why would he do this shit here? Why now? I knocked. They became quiet, so I knocked again, louder. Then louder. Nothing.
“I heard y’all in there and I am not leaving until you send my husband out here, Barbara.” I heard movement. Then there was nothing. I stood there for ten damn minutes then knocked on the door to the next cabin. A woman tentatively opened the door. I asked her if I could borrow a chair. She kindly brought one out to me without question. I’m sure she could hear what was going on through the thin walls. At that point, I didn’t care anymore. He’d already made me look like a fool for pulling this so why should I give a fuck? I sat there, arms folded, in the middle of the hallway on the cruise that I paid for to bring us closer together. He waited another fifteen minutes before he showed his face. He came out and all he could say was a pathetic “I’m sorry”. He took me by the arm lifted me from the chair and escorted me back to our room. He didn’t say anything about what happened and foolishly, neither did I. He made love to me as soon as we got back to our suite, while I cried.
I have that same feeling that I had that night on the cruise, the knots in my stomach that I had at The Indigo. Now Kendrick is in the shower preparing to go to Dahlia’s house. What he doesn’t know is that I’m going too. He is not about to leave me in this house tonight while he runs the damn streets. I know that my husband has needs that I’m not always willing to fulfill. I’m tired! I deal with a five-year-old autistic child all day long and a sixteen-year-old with raging hormones, who is driving me crazy to drive my car. My day begins with me taking Rayne to the center that provides classes with other children like her and support counseling for the parents, which Kendrick refuses to attend. I believe he is under the impression that if he doesn’t acknowledge it then it isn’t true. Therefore, Rayne and I don’t get the support that we desperately need and deserve from her father, my husband. When I do return home he’s not there and by the off chance that he is, he is in our bedroom asleep or watching porno DVD’s. He doesn’t come to help me. He doesn’t come out to spend time with our daughter. There is laundry that needs to be done, dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning up after my little angel. Then Reggie is home. After talking to him about his day, checking to see if he completed his homework, then carpooling him and four other rowdy teenagers to football practice, I get home and start dinner. By the time dinner is ready, Reggie is home from football practice. After all is said and done at the end of the day, everyone is bathed and sleeping soundly in their beds. Believe me there is so much more that happens before I head off to bed for the night. I just don’t have the energy to be a porn star for Kendrick after all that.
He finally emerges from the bathroom dressed head to toe in black and smelling of cologne that I didn’t purchase. Kendrick is so tight with a dollar that I know he didn’t buy it for himself. He sees me sitting on our queen size bed,
dressed and ready to go.
To purchase "Love TORN Asunder" is available on-line through ALL major book retailers, Amazon, Emeraldstarpress.net, and my website "Literary Liz Writes" www.Literary.com. If you buy "Love TORN Asunder" through my website there will be NO shipping added to your purchase.
