Tangerine Tango
image: Amazon.com
If you were paying attention, I slipped this bit of news into my post Extra! Extra! on Monday: I am now, officially, a (paid) published author! I feel incredibly lucky to be part of what has turned out to be a very lovely little book. However, before I gloat further… I have a confession: I was a snotty skeptic about this project for a while. When Lisa Winkler of Cyclingrandma, who has kindly supported and followed my blog for ages, approached me about a book idea, I was interested. She proposed putting together a collection of posts written by women. It was something I’d been thinking about myself, so the ideas sat well with me initially. However, as it progressed… I got snotty. That in turn led to me being taught a big, fat lesson: trust, let go, and don’t cut off your nose to spite your face!
When Lisa diligently began to put writers together and ask us for stories; I was still willing and in the game… but just the teeniest bit of snotty attitude had moved in. I began to question the very thing that’s been driving me nuts about my own novel: how can a self-published book, really turn out professionally and be a good project? I’ve been tripping over that one, personally, for months now. When the book project that would be come Tangerine Tango started, I found myself applying those same concerns to Lisa’s project and assuming things would not go well. For the record, boy was I wrong!
As things moved along, Lisa certainly had tenacity and she seemed to be talking about all the right things, but I remained skeptical. Then she began lining up all the appropriate ingredients: cover artists, editor(s), layout person, etc. Despite all that, I had it in my head that this just couldn’t be a professional, good book, that I would be proud to be included in… and that then made me wary about including the stories that Lisa was asking for. I was anxious about handing over my work, not knowing where it would really end up, or how it would be represented. Lisa and I only knew each other through our blog comments, and that was tenuous in my mind. As doubts began to feed my arrogance (I know better, and My stories should only go somewhere I believe would be a worthwhile landing pad…), my snotty got snottier.
Snotty, snotty me… Fool.
image: blog.manhag.org
Lisa had me send her stories and she wanted edits. There were things she wanted changed that I refused to change. In my defense, some of the changes would have altered the very character of some of the posts, and I wasn’t willing to do that; while other suggestions were fairly reasonable, but snotty me got in the way and threw up road blocks. Lisa remained tenacious despite that. She pushed for more stories and she encouraged me, with her enthusiasm and positive vision. Not enough for me to drop my snotty however… So, in the end I gave her two stories and frankly, wasn’t all that sure the book would pan out. There were a few glitches and a lot of work to do and I figured maybe something would come out of it, maybe it wouldn’t. I sat back and stayed snotty, while quietly Lisa worked… and worked… and worked!
One day she started emailing us all that the book was actually coming together. I found out that she had a very talented young woman who was managing the cover, layout and “artwork” (details on the pages, not illustrations, that make the chapter headings look really top notch, etc). Foolish, doubting me. I found out that things were being edited, and re-edited. Hmm, I began to think. This may just work out. Maybe I should have included a few more stories…? Lisa totally blew me away with her unrelenting dedication and timing! She worked constantly and that book came together before I could say, Wait! I was a snotty fool, I have more stories for you! And in the end, the book has been released with only two of my stories, and man is it beautiful!
Introducing Tangerine Tango, Women Writers Share Slices of Life, the brain child and baby of Lisa Winkler, with the contributions from some really wonderful women writers who I am now getting to know, and am honored to share pages with. This is a small book that you can slip in your purse, or your pocket, which is currently available on Amazon.com and Create Space. I have to admit, for the first two days, I kept going back to Amazon’s page, just to see my name on there, I was so excited! It’s a short ode to a range of things mostly focused around family, with stories that range from funny to tender, sad to uplifting. Eleven women share their blog posts with readers, with proceeds from all of the Amazon sales (only) going to support the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA), a cause that is near and dear to me and my family. I can’t thank Lisa enough for that extra kind gesture.
So in the end this girl learned a big lesson about trusting others and letting go, and thanks to a cool group of women and the creative, tenacious and very determined Lisa Winkler, I am a published author, in a book that I hope you will all consider buying!
TALES FROM THE MOTHERLAND 
This is amazingly awesome! Congratulations!!
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Thanks Maryanne! It is pretty amazing and awesome! I’m very excited to see how it sells, and to get my own copy. 🙂
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awww.. thanks, Dawn. Really, you weren’t nearly as difficult as you think you were!
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That’s because I was difficult behind the curtain! 😉 Lesson learned and I am so proud and excited to be part of your project Lisa. You really worked hard on it and I can’t wait to get my copy. Fabulous!
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Lisa’s determined all right, and talented. An anthologist who’s going to be fun to watch!
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Absolutely! Now that I really understand the talent side, I’ll be in her pocket for life. 😉 Wonderful to be connected Barbara. Can’t wait to read your stories. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by my blog.
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Congratulations! I wish I could access your book via my Nook, but alas, Amazon and Barnes & Noble aren’t compatible. Suggestions?
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We are hoping to have Nook and Kindle on board soon. Copies can be purchased and mailed to you on our end as well, but the shipping may be prohibitive w/your location. 😉 I’ll keep you posted if/when we get it going on Nook. Thanks! I’m very excited.
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What a wonderful opportunity for you! Congratulations.
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Yes! It was very fortuitous, and a good learning experience in the end. 😉 I’m really impressed with how the project turned out, and can’t wait to read the other stories, myself. Thanks for taking the time Jonesing.
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I ordered a copy on Monday! Looking forward to receiving it.
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Thanks friend! I hope it lives up to my hype! I’ve only seen proofs, but it looked wonderful and I’m really excited to get my copies as well! Thanks for all the writing support K!
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I too was impressed with Lisa’s quick and professional work on the project.
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She rocked this baby! No doubt about it. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Hope you’ll read more and share your thoughts. 🙂
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So cool! Thanks for promoting our wonderful little book. I can’t wait to see it in person!
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I’m really excited too Leah! So fun to finally meet all the other contributors as well. Thanks for stopping by my blog; hope you’ll come by again.
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Fun going back and reading the comments. I don’t think it will get on Nook, only Kindle since the guy I had hoped to do the conversion couldn’t do it. Because of it’s small “pocket” size, it wasn’t available for expanded distribution (ie, B&N, independent bookstores). This is another way Amazon has a monopoly. It’s a love/hate relationship— they really provide fast service and are reasonable– no start up costs— but it’s hard for anyone to compete. I hope to investigate other companies for the next.. ha ha.. anthology.. same time next year.
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thanks for clarifying Lisa. Excited anyway… glad you and others are dealing with the technicalities!
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Hard copy for me, thanks for the link! Hmmm, great little gifty for the gals I work with 🙂
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Thanks Val! So grateful for the support. We’re all very excited and yes, I think it’s a great book to share. Super size and topics.
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Congradulations mom!
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Thanks Principessa! Hugs and kisses.
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So excited for all of you – and I love, love the title! It is on my Amazon list! 🙂
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Lisa did an incredible job! Title, layout, contributors… she was a force to be recon’ed with for sure! Thanks for the support Jean!
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