Alley Poet’s Pen: “Never Too Late”

Nashville, TN – “Never Too Late…” (For an MFA)

Many people wonder what it’s like to go back to school later in life to do something they were meant to do (or should have done) a long time ago. Some people dream of a long-forgotten talent being awakened, a paintbrush being lifted back up to a canvas, or delving into studies for an advanced degree in a field they’re passionate about. Thankfully, in 2010, I found out what this is like.

Excerpt from Sandy Gertz’s article in Clarksville Online- Read more. 

Discovering Mindfulness

Joe: Good afternoon Calliope.

Calliope: Good afternoon Joe. What’s new with your writing.

Joe: I am very involved on all fronts. I continue to develop my new tools and work on a new book on stress while I wait for feedback on my teen book.

Calliope:Any new discoveries?

Joe: Yes and no. I have been searching for years for a way to simply describe the focus of my writing. For lack of anything better, I called my theme commonsense wisdom. My goal has always been to help people understand themselves better and be more aware of the implications of their actions.

Calliope: I recall. So what’s new?

Joe: I just came to realize that there is a single word which embodies my goal. The word is mindfulness.

Calliope: Is this something new?

Joe: Mindfulness is not new but it embodies my approach to writing.

Calliope: Tell me more:

Joe: From what I understand, mindfulness means the conscious awareness of yourself and your surroundings at any given moment.

Calliope: And that is the word you have been searching for for years?

Joe: It is. No longer will I have to stammer while trying to put into words the point of what I am trying to do.

Calliope: Congratulations. To what do you owe the honor of this discovery.

Joe: One of my new tools, KindleSpy. In searching for keywords for dealing with stress, I discovered many books with the theme of mindfulness which is where my writing belongs even though I didn’t know it. Let me bask in this discovery for a while.

Calliope: Okay. Happy basking.

Ready for Publication

Sunset in Englewood

Joe: Good afternoon Calliope.

Calliope: Good afternoon Joe. What’s the news on your book.

Joe: I have been very busy. after my conversation with Mary Dougherty, I decided to self publish my book on BookSurge.I know it would involve all my resources so i braced myself. I located the upload page without any difficulty bud did not find any directions. With a little luck I found them and soon got a sense of what was required. I formatted my book as a paperback in 6″ by 9″ page dimensions. I converted my book into this format and uploaded it. With a few tries, I got it to the point where I was satisfied. I was then off to procure an ISBN and Library of Congress Control Number. Then I designed a cover and uploaded that too. I submitted the book and now am waiting to hear that BookSurge is ready to print it. I know I am.

Calliope: Great news. When do you expect it to be available?

Joe: I wish I knew. But I am ready to go at a moment’s notice and move into the world of marketing.

On to Publishing

A New Day

Joe: Good evening Calliope.

Calliope: Good evening Joe. I haven’t heard from you lately. I assume you have been hard at work.

Joe: It is summer, you know. I have been enjoying it but still moving along with my book on stress, tentatively titled “Give Your Stress a Rest and Live Your Life to the Fullest.

Calliope: Where are you in the process?

Joe: The manuscript is finished and i have a few people reading it for me. I am trying to decide between a go at traditional publishing this time instead of self publishing.

Calliope: Tell me more.

Joe: I am currently exploring the possibility of an agent. I understand that the best way to get one is by referral. Unfortunately I don’t know any agents or people who can refer me to one. I would appreciate any help I can get along this line. 

Calliope: Maybe one of your readers has an idea.

Joe: That would be nice. I’m all ears.In the meantime I am sorting through possibilities through AgentSearch and exploring possible contacts through LinkedIn.

Calliope: Good luck with the search.

Joe Thanks, I will need it.

 

Less Stress with My Stress Book

Sailing at Sunset

Joe: Good afternoon, Calliope.

Calliope: Good afternoon Joe. What’s happening with your book?

Joe. Glad you asked. I finished an initial reading of my draft and found a few topics missing. I then went back and added them.

Calliope. Good. What else?

Joe: I developed a list of further readings for the end of the book. I added a Foreword and Table of Contents with links to and from each chapter. I also lined up five trusted readers.

Calliope: Sounds you are about done.

Joe: It does. I decided to read the book through from the beginning one last time before sending it out to my readers. I am almost half way through that. Then it will be ready, to the extent it can be without some input.

Calliope: How are you with criticism?

Joe: I have learned to handle it well and appreciate it. My significant other has been reading my columns for fourteen years and I have had readers for each of my previous books. Onward! 

Around the Post and Into the Stretch

Incan Road- Cozumel

Joe: Good evening Calliope.

Calliope: And a good evening to you, Joe. I thought you might have taken an extended vacation.

Joe: Not quite. I have been very busy socially with people coming to town and with small trips here and there. 

Calliope: How is the writing coming?

Joe: I finished a review of my first draft, attending to grammar and flow of ideas. I discovered a few stress related topics I overlooked in planning the book. They include organization as a way to minimize stress, physical and psychological stigma, the enchantment of everyday life (per Thomas Moore and the dream of the earth after Thomas Berry, my old mentor. Maybe I will include that story in the book.

Calliope: How do you feel about your progress?

Joe: Very good. I felt the book was a little choppy, but once I read it through I found it holds together quite well.

Calliope: What’s next?

Joe: After I add the sections I just mentioned, I have several readers lined up for their input. Then I will decide how to approach publication. But one step at a time.

Calliope: Well said. Good luck with the stretch. 

On to Spirituality

Getting in Gear

Joe: Good afternoon Calliope.

Calliope: Good afternoon Joe. I wondered what became of you.

Joe: As you might have guessed I became sidetracked from work on my book.

Calliope: What happened this time?

Joe: Summer happened. After being holed up all winter, everyone I know seems to have suddenly become more social. I must include myself. So far the summer seems like a constant party. Well not quite, but it seems like it. I have been having too much fun to concentrate on writing.

Calliope: Are you still in party mode?

Joe: I still have plenty on my plate, so to speak. Maybe it was the heat, but I have found myself in the cool basement with my computer screen staring at me. I tried writing a few times and it felt unfamiliar.

Calliope: So now what?

Joe: I wondered that myself. Natalie Goldberg advises keeping the pen moving (or the cursor in my case.) Eventually it worked and I am back into writing mode. I discovered a few topics I left out of my first draft.

Calliope: What are you working on now?

Joe: I am revisiting the chapter on stress and spirituality. I wrote a couple of columns in the mean time and added them to the book.

Calliope: Do you think I could see one of the columns of which you speak?

Joe: Indeed. I would be happy to share  on on Life, Religion and Spirituality. I will have it to you tomorrow.

 

I’m de-stressed. Time to get back to work

Engine 999

Joe: Good morning Calliope.

Calliope: Good morning Joe. I wondered when I would hear from you.

Joe: I haven’t forgotten about you. I told you I was taking a break to work on diabetes. It took longer than I thought to hear, take notes and organize them. I finally finished. I also had a newsletter to do for today. I will add it to the end of this post for you.

Calliope: I thought you must be up to something. How is the editing on your stress book coming?

Joe: I’m up to page 26 so far. I added a couple sections and might think of more as I go along. I am happy working at my own pace and also taking time to enjoy life along the way. Carol and I just got back from a few days in Albany, Connecticut and Cape Cod. I have also been reading Natalie Goldberg’s books on writing.

Calliope: Glad you are keeping busy. Keep me posted.

Joe: I will. In the mean time, here is the latest newsletter:

 

Relax and Leave the Thinking to Us

For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.

~H.L. Mencken~

I once read H.L. Mencken’s opinion that only twenty percent of our citizens are capable of thinking. I found it hard to believe that so many people could be incapable of thinking. I neither agreed nor disagreed with this opinion. I decided to ponder it for a while. I am done pondering. Although I am still not sure about the percentage of thinkers, I have come to the conclusion that there might be other reasons people do not think than inability to do so.

Anyone who went to college knows that thinking is hard work. Thinking means using your mind to consider or reason about something. One way of doing this is to gather facts and evidence to see what they add up to. That approach is called inductive reasoning. The other approach is deductive reasoning. Here you start with well established general principles and draw conclusions based on them. I told you it was hard work.

So what about people who could think for themselves if they chose to? Some people are afraid to think for themselves. What if they reach the wrong conclusions? They would prefer not to have such responsibility. They are happy to have someone else think for them and tell them what to do. Others are too busy seeing to their own comfort and possessions. They might read the paper or go to meetings but seldom take an active part in decision making. In most organizations, a few people are left with the responsibility of making and implementing decisions.

Two large scale examples of organizations are government and religion. In any jurisdiction from village up to the national level, we elect representatives to act in our best interest and sometimes they do. Most of the time they act in their own best interest (being reelected). They also work hard to be seen as acting in their constituents’ best interest.

Religion is the other Great Decider. Over time, religions develop rules, commandments, and traditions seen as necessary to follow in order to obtain salvation. It is the job of the believers to follow these dictates in pursuit of a better standing in the afterlife.

Governments, religions and other organizations help you make sense of the world and of your life. Yet it is up to you to make sure the rules you are asked to follow fit the principles by which you live regardless of the community in which you find yourself. Taking exception to the rules has consequences. Yet even well established rules do not always continue to make sense as civilization evolves.

Life Lab Lessons

• Take responsibility for how you live your life.
• On occasion, spend some time evaluating your beliefs and principles.
• Don’t leave living your life to the whim of anyone else.
• If you are not satisfied, decide what changes you can make.
• Maybe you can help change the percentage of thinkers in the world.

 

Distractions, Distractions

Joe: Good afternoon Calliope.

Calliope: Good afternoon Joe. What news?

Joe: My book has been chugging along nicely for the past couple months. In the last post, I mentioned the Diabetes Summit on ways to prevent or reverse type two diabetes. I thought I would listen to a few of the presentations but found many of them fascinating and highly informative. After all my quality of life lies in the balance. Most of them grabbed my attention and it was usually well into the afternoon before I was ready to move on. Fortunately the series ends this Friday and I will be back to business as usual.

Calliope: So you haven’t worked on your book at all?

Joe: Not quite as bad as all that. I have done some work on it but not as much as I wanted. And then I have a column due this Saturday.

Calliope: So, another post

Sailing at Sunset

ponement?

Joe: Not quite. In reviewing the manuscript, I realized I had omitted a section on toxic shame as a stressor. I decided to write a column on shame which I could also insert into the book. So I have not lost complete touch with my project. Talk with you later.

 

Time Out for Diabetes

Aquinnah Lighthouse, Martha’s Vineyard

 

Joe: Good afternoon Calliope.

Calliope: Good afternoon Joe. How are you ding with the stress book?

Joe: I finished the first draft and am now reviewing what I wrote, making corrections as I go along, noting what might be missing from my list of topics and considering its organization. So far, so good.

Calliope: What’s this about diabetes?

Joe: I thought I knew enough for diabetes for now, but found myself distracted from concentrating on it while I am in the midst of working on this book. As luck would have it, I discovered a series of very informative interviews on diabetes, particularly dealing with it naturally rather than through medications. The link is  Diabetes Summit in case any of my readers are interested in a side trip into diabetes world. I am into day three of a two week series and am learning quite a bit.

Calliope: Sounds interesting. Do you find this a distraction from your writing?

Joe: You could look at it that way, but I would rather be alive to be able to write longer. It’s a matter of perspective. Talk with you later.