This blog will track the success level of one normal, average person’s efforts to make the impossible happen.
After a 25-year career in corporate marketing, I began reinventing myself and my resume so I could seriously pursue my literary dreams. Those dreams were born when I was twelve and began winning prizes for my fiction, and when a play I wrote and produced won a local talent contest. But real life and economic priorities intervened, moving my dreams off to the side.
For the past ten years, I’ve been reordering my circumstances to give the dreams another later-in-life shot. I am now a freelance editor, and my first novel, The Truth About Cinnamon, was published with iUniverse, earning both an Editor’s Choice and a Reader’s Choice designation. My second novel, Separation of Faith, was released in September 2010, again with a coveted Editor’s Choice designation from the publisher. Since release, Separation of Faith has placed in more than a dozen contests and has reached excited readers across the country. And … we’re just getting started!
Through this blog, we’ll see if I can find a way for any of that to become widely known or to make any sort of difference. And I will openly share what works and what doesn’t, which may be of value to other writers whose dreams may be similar to mine.
Should be interesting …
Best of luck with the novels and your blog. : )
Thanks so much, Jeff. I’ll keep you posted on the results of my experiment. Let me know how you’re doing too.
Hi cherilaser,
This blog and brief bio look really impressive. Hope to see more.
Thank you so much for connecting. There will, indeed, be more coming, and I’m hoping you and I will stay in touch.
Great.
Hello! Thank you for your wonderful comment on my blog! I wish you all the best with your writing and success in everything you endeavour
Thank you. I wish the same for you and that beautiful writing style of yours.
Cheri-
I’m struggling so with these exact issues. Not enough hours in the day to write, edit, layout, publish, post, blog, and comment on others’ blogs to drive traffic to our own. Oh, and did I mention I have a full time job which supports a family and requires me to actually show up and focus on it?
God help us!
Which is to say, good luck. I’m subscribing…
Hi, Nate! Thank you so much for reaching out. Your website looks extremely enticing and interesting. As one of those passengers who’s never been able to grasp how airplanes stay up, I’ve always been in awe of pilots–and now I’m especially starstruck by the pilot/author combination. Clearly, I will be following what you’re doing as well.
The scarcity of time you addressed has accelerated a bit of late (see most recent posts regarding the move), plus a winter bug gained a grip on me and has been hanging on. So I haven’t written a new post for much longer than planned, since I’m hesitate to write unless I believe I have something substantive to say/offer/share.
New info is being gathered as we speak, however, on the technicalities of making the free serialized download of The Truth About Cinnamon available to anyone interested. And I’ve begun the final edit of Separation of Faith , after receiving all the input from my beta readers.
So the target dates of my plan have slipped by about two weeks. But I’m doing my best not to be too hard on myself, especially since all of those deadlines have been self-imposed. Hopefully, a new post with all the updates and current stats will be published by the middle of next week.
Once again, Nate, thank you for finding me. I wish you the best of luck too, and I’m looking forward to our continuing dialogue as we keep our dreams in sight.
All the best,
Cheri
Cheri,
Your personal story could have been written by me! I also used to have great dreams of being an author when I was young, but eventually ended up in corp marketing. I resigned last year and have decided to make a go at getting published.
Best to you with your novelling!
Hi! How great to hear from a kindred soul. Are you still working on a manuscript or do you have one finished? I’d love to communicate more about what you’re doing and where you are in the process. And if you have a minute (and haven’t done so already), I inivite you to read my Blog Launch Posting on November 4. I think there might be information in there (and in my subsequent posts as well) that could be of interest and use to you.
I’ve been at this a long time, and there’s still much to learn (obviously). But the publishing world is a very different animal that even a year ago, and changing more each day. So the things I/we need to learn are not the same as when I transitioned out of the corporate world and into that of being a writer. Just sending out query letters and attending writers conferences once we’ve carefully crafted a great book just isn’t enough any more (although still important). Those activities now need to be coupled with an active social media presence that we build well in advance of sending out that first query letter–and that single fact was revelational to me a few short months ago.
My goal with this blog experiment is to “put myself out there,” helping others with the same dream to avoid pitfalls I’ve experienced, to capitalize on what works in the new world, and to pick up some writing tips along the way.
Having you along for the journey, so I can follow what you’re doing as well (and gain a better grasp of where you’ve been), would be terrific. I do hope we’ll stay in touch.
All the best for success in your new and exciting endeavor.
Cheri
I think you are an inspirational writer Cheri, and I think my mind is where yours was when you started your blog.
Putting yourself out there is part of gaining exposure, and is a real leap to take, but I positively agree with you that it must be made.
I, too, left a professional life behind – one on the legal side of the mortgage banking industry. I’m probably no worse for the wear, given what the industry has gone through during the last decade. I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in a while – so there is definitely something to be said about that. That takes me back to my original rule that I enforce every day: just write.
I’m so glad to meet you! And I’m sure you’ve had some bumpy times coming out of that industry. Sometimes those bumpy times can be so empowering–perhaps even a blessing in disguise. So I’m happy to hear that you feel you’re in a good place now, and I’m looking forward to our continuing dialogue. Take care. –Cheri
I came across this link this morning and thought of our discussion yesterday. http://bit.ly/8bq7xK
Good morning, Tracey. Thanks so much for sharing this link. Creating something wonderful and then sharing it for free was one of the points covered in that September conference.
Consequently, in preparation for the release of my 2nd novel and a re-edited second edition version of my first, I’m releasing a free serialization of The Truth About Cinnamon through the initial seven chapters (one per week). If you’d like to take a look, you can find the download at http://www.filedby.com/author/account/scribd.aspx.
Meanwhile, thanks so much again, Tracey, for forwarding the link. I’m excited about staying in touch with you.
Cheri
Hi, Tracey. We haven’t communicated for awhile. Hope all is well with you.
Regarding our discussion way-back-when on social media, I ran across an article last week that I thought might be of interest to you: http://writerunboxed.com/2010/02/19/audience-development-critical-to-every-writers-future/
Let me know how you’re doing when you have a minute.
Cheri
Hi again, Tracey. I sent you the wrong link for the free download of Cinnamon. Here’s the correct link, which will give you access to the two issues already available.
http://www.filedby.com/author/cheri_laser/2721580/documents/24081497/
Take care.
Cheri
I’m so happy to read ‘happily ever afters’
I can relate to what you mean, even though I’m just at the beginning of my own journey.
Loved this story, and your blog is wonderful, with many great articles and I only had time to flip through quickly for now, but I know it will be a great stay each time I come back.
Keep up the great work with the blog and all the best with novelling
Hi, Estrella! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and for your wonderful comments. I’m always thrilled to meet a kindred spirit, and I’m looking forward to our staying in touch as we both move forward with our Journeys. Take care for now.
Cheri
Hi Cheri
Your writing/editing/proofing tips are very useful. I am completely new to the process. I wrote my first book in January, my second last months, and amd editing/proofing the first now. I went to the London book Fair last week and I came back with exactly the same advice – edit and proof before you submit.
I was sorry to hear about your upcoming op. I’ll keep popping in to see how you’re doing (and for more tips).
Bea
Hi, Bea! I’m always excited to meet new writers who are just beginning to discover their talent and to explore the world of publishing. If you’ve read a few of my more recent blog posts, you’ll see that I have a client who’s twelve (actually, I think she must be thirteen or close to it by now). And watching her develop has been amazing. I’m looking forward to talking with you more, and please let me know if you come up with any questions that you’d like to bat around as you flip through my blog.
Thanks also for your thoughts on my upcoming surgery. I’m in pretty good shape, but I’ll be glad when May 4 is behind me. (I hope to stay in touch through my blog while I’m in the hospital.) Take care!
Thanks for the invitation to your blog. I really like the concept of reinventing oneself as we move toward self-actualization. I too am on a quest to change my calling, although in my case, it’s more of a shift than a jump. My goal is to go from helping one company at a time to influencing as many individuals simultaneously as possible using my blog as the vehicle. Writing for a wide and unseen audience “at the speed of light”, is new to me, and I am encouraged by all the brave souls like yourself who have taken the plunge before me. Thanks again for stopping by my blog, and I look forward to reading your posts with great interest.
…john
Hi, John! I’m excited to meet you too! Technology has really opened up so many possibilities and opportunities for everyone who wants to make a change or take a chance. And I believe that helping each other is good for all of us. I’m looking forward to communicating with you more as we both figure out where we’re going! –Cheri
I appreciate your stopping by Peppermint Place today–always nice to meet another writer. This self-promotion part of the writer’s career is truly the hard part. I noticed though that you’ve got a good start. If you don’t already belong to one, I’d recommend that you join a major organization for writers. Networking with the big league can really give you a leg up!
All the best!
Linda
Hi, Linda. Yes, I do belong to several writer’s organizations and plan to expand my affiliations further. Hope we’ll stay in touch. –Cheri
I’d like to subscribe to your blog. Thank you.
Hi, Cat! Thank you so much for your interest in my blog and the Journey being chronicled here. After visiting your site, I see that you’re on a Journey of your own as well, and I’m looking forward to our staying in touch as we travel and learn together. I’ll be publishing a new post this weekend with some fun updates on the Plan, and I’ll be excited to hear from you. Once again, I really appreciate your finding me, which led me to find you as well. Take care. Talk to you soon. –Cheri
Hi, nice to meet you !
Hi! Nice to meet you too, albeit in cyberspace. Since you appear to be in North Jersey, I’d like to personally invite you to my Book Launch Party for Separation of Faith tomorrow (Thursday, September 23) from 4-7 pm at the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights (650 Terrace Avenue, Hasbrouck Heights, right off Rte 80, in the Terrace One room, back entrance). If you could possibly drop by, we could meet face-to-face, and you could feel the excitement about this novel up close. Please let me know if you think you could get there. Meanwhile, thanks for reaching out and saying hi. All the best. –Cheri
To whom it may concern
My name is Eric and I am a Media Buyer at Grammarly.com. I found your website through a keyword search where your web property’s rank was high and well-targeted for our product. Therefore, I would like to discuss potential options for an advertising campaign on your website.
Grammarly.com is the world’s leading writing support solution, with over 300,000 users around the world. Grammarly is based on a market-leading technology that, by one click, can fix all your grammar problems, spelling mistakes and otherwise automatically proofread your texts. I believe that your website, with its compelling content proposition and great design, could be a perfect fit to market Grammarly writing support solutions. Accordingly, I would like to speak with someone from your organization about a potential cooperation. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience to discuss this further.
I look forward to a lucrative business relationship and keenly await your reply.
Eric Beatty
Grammarly Team
Hi, Eric. If this would be something that could benefit other writers who follow my blog, I’d be interested to hear what you have to say. Please contact me through my Web site: http://www.CheriLaser.com. Thanks so much. –Cheri Laser
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I feel like I’m at the beginning of your career! I just got a job in marketing, and my writing dreams have been held to the side for the past few years while I got through school. I look forward to keeping up with what you’re doing. Good luck!
Also, thank you for checking out my blog!
Funny how this writing business connects us with one another at different junctures! I’ll look forward to keeping up with you as well, Mary! Take care.