You might not believe this, but at the same time my coomputer at school went "belly-up." Yer, that is correct and I lost a lot of things on it that I used at school. I turned it on one day and it started giving me this goofy message about the hard drive. Well, I tried everything and it did not get better. It got worse.
Finally, I have my new laptop up and running and I love it. It is an hp and I love it. Ooops, I already said that. I am going to try not to load it down with stuff and keep more stuff on a disk. I have started out pretty well, right now.
You might not believe this, but at the same time my coomputer at school went "belly-up." Yer, that is correct and I lost a lot of things on it that I used at school. I turned it on one day and it started giving me this goofy message about the hard drive. Well, I tried everything and it did not get better. It got worse.
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I recently had a very bad problem with my computer. It started doing crazy things and I was afraid that I had lost everything. After two weeks of frustration, I finally got it to boot and I was able to pull most of the files off the computer.
I now have a new laptop. It is wonderful. I am going to be very careful and not slow it down by saving so much to the desktop. I am going to save things to a disk. I hate drama and I really hate computer drama. It is so nice to have things Where has the time gone? What is coming in the days ahead? Will the Earth stop spinning at the end of 2012? Will someone finally walk up and hand me "one million" dollars? What came first...The Chicken or The Egg?
These, plus a large number of other questions have puzzled sages for ages. Some things may never be answered. I do know that the world is full of people who love to write, read, draw, and paint. What will we do with our time? I, like you, never seem to have enough time in the day. Plus, my lap top, at home, has been driving me crazy. I think it is a computer conspiracy. If so, it is working. My lap top, at one time, seemed dead. It would not open Explorer. It would not open InDesign. it would not start-up in a timely manner. Finally, after almost taking it to the loacl dam and tossing it over teh side, I can go online. I can open InDesign. It does, finally start...but, It will not open Photoshop. I can not tell you how frustrated that is right now. I have things to do and I can not get them done. It is no secret that the Publishing World has been shaken to its core by "changes." There are a lot of things happening. No one really knows how the party will end.
Some believe that Traditional Publishing Houses will go away. They believe that those companies will stop producing a "book" that a person may hold in their hand and read. I do not believe that. I do think that changes have happened and continue to happen. I do not think the book will ever vanish. There are too many places that a book must be available. EBooks are big, but people still enjoy books. I did hear, on the radio, that last year 18% of the American Public had an eReaders. Over Christmas and into 2o12, that number has increased to 21%. That makes it very important that authors have eBooks available. But, the questions is this...What about Traditional Publishing? I do not see the "BIG" publishers going anywhere. I do see them being picky because of less money to spend on an author. I have talked with several authors who were published traditionally and have had their publisher put-off publishing a book that was once scheduled to come out in 2011 and now plan on it coming out in the Fall of 2012. The author that talked with me was upset, but "What do you do?" The economy has hurt a whole lot of people. I am not against traditional publishers. I am just passing on to you what I hear and see. Something really weird happened to my computer this week. I was sitting on my bed, using my lap top. It was plugged into an outlet. I heard a "sizzle" and looked down into the floor. Since it was night outside, the room was liut by lamp-light. I saw sparkes along with the "sizzle."
I thought, "What is it now?" I unplugged my computer and began to examine the plug. To my horror, I discovered that it was "shorted-out." It had either burned through or broken over time and the wires were bare in this one spot. The weird thing was that I probably would not have noticed, if my computer had not suddenly started to shut down because it was not getting power. Yes, my battery does not hold a charge a long time. I have worn the battery out. I have to plug in my lap top to use it. I can use it off power, but it does not last for very long. Fortunately, I went online and found a replacement cord for $7.99 with $5.99 shipping. it will be in around the 24th - 27th. In the mean-time, I can not use my lap top. It is really strange. When you do not have a computer, what do you do? I am reading a book. I am reading my copy of "the Writer" magazine. There is a great article titled "6 SELF-PUBLISHING SUCCESS STORIES.
Several years ago, writers who decided to self-publish were looked down upon as if they did not know what they were doing. Those authors were not considered good writers. Now, FINALLY, that view is changing. Many authors have fullfilled their dreams by going the Self-Publishing route. The article gives us a view inside the world of six authors and we might actually benefit by what they have to say. Yes, they do a lot of marketing, but as I learned, those who were with traditional publishers discovered there was no money or effort being put into their book. They chose to "take the bull by the horns" and do something about it. One great piece of advice was gleaned from one of the authors: She said, "It's all about the writing. No one wants to read any book, traditional or self-published, that is badly written." She went on to say that you must have people interested in reading what you have written. She also suggested that an author START blogging "now" to build up a readership for a book. Post on Social Networks. Always keep extra books with you. You can purchase "the Writer" Magazine at your local book store, or order it online. I did!!! If you have not been published, by a publisher, in book form, check out the New Voice. This is a special promotion to celebrate the first "two" years of Sleepytown Press.
Submissions have started coming in. They are being read. We are going to find "two" winners for this special contest. If you missed the deadline for the Short Story Anthology, start getting something ready for the next submission deadline. So far, the Collection of Short Stories has been narrowed down to around 100 stories to choose from for the 2012 Edition of "Gallery of Voices." The cover color has already been selected. We have enough to do one book and maybe two. There is a chance that we might do "two" books for 2012. One might be Spring and the other might be Fall. Why "TWO?" This is the Second Anniversary of Sleepytown Press and what better way to celebrate than publish "Two" instead of "One." Watch the web site for more exciting NEWS. I am very excited over the number of stories that have come in for the contest. If you are still wanting to send something in to us, do so before the New Year. This time, Gallery of Voices will feature stories from people outside the United States. In a few days, we will list those who have been selected, so far to be part of the next Anthology.
Every year, around this time, there are comments made concerning how people express their beliefs at this time of year. Many people turn toward what is considered "politically correctness." Even government agencies and businesses shy away from phrases that they fear will offend someone.
Generally, most people who get offended by innocent comments were miserable before they became offended. Example: If I try a hot tea and do not like the flavor, I learn a valuable lesson. I need to change my tea bag. The hot water just brought out the flavor that was already there. I do not decide to throw out the hot water and brew my tea the next time in cold water. Hot tea should be hot. If someone cuts in front of me at the grocery store and I get mad, it is not their fault that I got mad. They were just the hot water that brought out what was inside of me all along. It is my choice to react a certain way. It is, like the song says..."The Man in the Mirror.." I actually love this time of year. Most people seem to catch some of the "cheer" and some keep it all year long. This past Sunday was my birthday. It was not that eventful of a day, but it came and went just the same. I got to watch my two grandchildren run and play in the front yard. That was a highlight of the day. Nope, I did not go out to eat. I cooked the meal myself.
We had Beef Strogonoff, cubed steak, broccoli and cheese, green bean casserole, squash, and iced tea. It was good. I actually like to cook. In the near future, I hope to publish my cookbook. It has my favorites in it as well as tried and true food items that would please just about anyone. Well, got to go. Time is short right now. Oh, I fogot to say...nope, I did not have a birthday cake. I refused to cook my own and no one did it for me. LOL I guess I did not need the cake, anyway. Life goes on! |
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