Testing out editing and grammar check software

•May 5, 2013 • Leave a Comment

ImageI decided that Grammarly costs too much and I can’t justify it. The deciding point came when the waning battery on my dedicated-to-writing Acer finally totally died, and I found out that the laptop won’t power up on plain old AC from the wall socket without a working battery in there. I figured that out by using a different power cord. So – that being the case, I needed to spend $43 bucks on a half-off priced battery over the internet. That made me realize the $29 a month Grammarly wanted was way out of my price range. Besides, their plug in was constantly losing the server connection when I was trying to use it with MS Word. That made it take forever.

Now, I am trying something called PerfectIt out (30 Day Trial).

So far one thing that I really love about PerfectIt, above MSWord’s built-in features and the Grammarly plug in, is that it is REALLY fast, churning through a 100k + word document. Usually, the checkers choke on these bigger documents. Perfect-it is able to be faster because it breaks down each task: for instance, it checks for inconsistencies in capitalization in one run, pausing before the next task.

Do you have a favorite grammar and spell checking software?

Editors are really valuable. Too bad I can’t afford professional editing. I am going to have to double-check all of my work myself, in some cases first-check it because I don’t have an editor for The Moon Cried Blood. I do have one for Warmth (thank you Aurora Martinez) and Solitude has been partially edited by two people so far. It seems to constantly need more help. Maybe I should just – well, try to help myself this time, if I can.

Either that or I’ll be over on Kickstart, begging for editor funding. lol!

Posted in Everything Else
Tags: , , , , ,

The Mechanics of Things

•May 3, 2013 • 2 Comments

ImageI’m really in a funk about writing lately. I am trying to perfect works that I have no reason whatsoever to believe anyone is actually going to read, and I suppose that shouldn’t really matter to me. It didn’t when I wrote the first three books: after all, my dad might read them, or my mom, and that seemed good enough. But now I’m editing my books (again) and crying over my keyboard, because my dad is dead, and I kind of don’t getting much feedback good or bad from anyone to let me know if people are actually reading anything I write, so I feel supremely unmotivated.

No, I don’t want to finish “Disillusionment”. I don’t think I can.

I just wanted to let you know that “Disiullsionment” is tabled indefinitely. I am not able to write it – I don’t really have any confidence at all that there would be any market for it, and I feel supremely unmotivated about writing it – or writing anything. I’m basically really depressed.

I’m guessing no one really cares if I don’t write it.

I’m going to go back to trying to perfect “The Moon Cried Blood” and crying. But not blood. Just water.

Thank you.

Posted in Everything Else

The Summer of Editing

•May 3, 2013 • Leave a Comment

editing_marks_thumbI made a promise to myself today. It’s sort of like a New Year’s Resolution, in a sense, except I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, and this New Year’s Eve, I was spending my last night on Earth in the presence of my father – I spoke to him on the phone over the next few days, but I didn’t see him again between about 10:30 pm on December 31 and when he died January 3rd. But today, I made myself a promise. I will be brave enough to put all of my writing on my laptop and spend time going over it, giving it a second look, and give it another round of proofreading and copy editing. It makes me nervous, but I quit smoking. I should be up to this.  I am pretty sure it will be easier to do if I am not trying to pass college classes at the same time, so I’m going to do it this summer, while I’m out of school.

Grammarly

I discovered Grammarly today, thanks to a kind student in my Shakespeare class. I can’t afford toproofreading pay the $11,000 I was quoted for editing my shortest book, “Warmth.”  If I had $11,000, I wouldn’t be driving a 20 year old car with a huge dent on the front fender and no radio. I would definitely be out buying a radio for my car – AT LEAST, and getting the driver’s seat fixed so that it was secured with actual bolts, and not a combination of ropes and bungie cords. But I can sort of barely afford the around $30 a month that it costs to subscribe to Grammarly – if it works.

Right now I am testing it out on a seven day trial. I am heavily testing it out,  revising “The Moon Cried Blood” – as you probably know “The Moon Cried Blood” is available for free download on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo). The new version won’t be available yet then, but I am working on it.

The Summer of Editing

editing-marksThe goal is to finish a third edition of “Solitude” and a second edition of “The Moon Cried Blood” and “Warmth.” The reason is to address some grammar issues that have been found by my more observant readers. In Self Publishing, you can’t expect to get the level of editing a mainstream published work has without putting a good amount of money into your project (see above). I spent last year putting my profit (which was about $50 a month then) back into proofreading for the books and they still need work.

With “Solitude” I was so fortunate as to have an editor on board, but the amount of time we were able to spend on the first half was greater than the second.

At this point, I’m not looking to make any major changes here. It’s just proofreading and copy editing.

The types of editing: http://www.gramlee.com/blog/different-types-of-copy-editing-services/

The reason? I feel so distracted by issues with the first books that it’s causing me writer’s block, and I want to free my mind to focus on “Disillusionment”.

Posted in Announcements, Sumiko's Writing
Tags: ,

Cinco de Mayo Giveaway on Sunday, May 5th.

•April 29, 2013 • 1 Comment

ImageThose of you who have read “The Moon Cried Blood” already know that it’s central protagonist, 13 year old Tisha is a young lady of African American and Mexican American heritage living in Los Angeles in the mid 1970s. In this gritty work of dark fantasy and urban fiction, the teen comes to know that she is one of a long line of witches called “Luna” whose powers are connected to the cycles of the moon.

Here is the official description of the book:

It is said that the Wolf may howl at the Moon, but Imagethe Moon never howls at the Wolf. In the gritty urban streets of Los Angeles in 1975, Leticia Gordon is forced to come to terms with many things: the tragic death of her stepmother and baby sister in a car accident, fear she’ll wind up in foster care, and the sudden revelation she belongs to a long line of powerful witches known as Luna – who exhibit first power upon reaching womanhood. Running from foes natural and supernatural, will her newfound powers be the turning point that elevates her position of honor, or will it destroy her like the dark forces that consumed her father? In a world turned upside down where time itself seems in flux, in whom can she trust?

Here is an Amazon customer review of the work:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very powerful imagery September 29, 2012
Format:Paperback
Cycles of the moon, Generations of women, a young woman unaware of her incredible gift. A delicate weaving of history, character development and esoteric overlay that makes for an interesting saga. I read it twice, I missed a lot in the first round with all the symbolism. A lot of work went into the background and technical aspects of the writing itself and it shows.”
 

What is Cinco de Mayo?

ImageCinco de Mayo is Spanish for “the fifth of May” and it began as a celebration of the Mexican Army’s victory over France in the  Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It has since gone on to become a celebration of Mexican American culture in the United States. It is traditionally celebrated here with outdoor activities such as picnics, parades, and festivals. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cinco de Mayo, although a spring festival, is generally the kick-off of the busy summer season of outdoor activities such as street fairs, and frequently coincides with the start of warmer weather as spring comes to a close and we approach summer.
 
Some of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations taking place here in Oakland include a Cinco de Mayo Day party at the Ferry Plaza, and a return of the traditional Fruitvale Cinco de Mayo.
 

Where to get your Free Copy:

ImageAt 12 midnight Pacific Time at the dawning of the day May 5th, 2013 it will become free for Kindle Download at Amazon.com, here is the link:
 
 
If you don’t have a Kindle, no problem! You can get a Kindle reader for your PC for free here:
 
 
Have a Mac or an Android? No Problem! You can get a free reader here:
 
 

Posted in Everything Else
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today is Hug A Writer Day!

•April 28, 2013 • 3 Comments

Okay.. maybe I just made that up. But still. Hug a writer. We work our fannies off.  There should be a hug a writer’s day. Today is April 28, 2013 and I officially declare April 28 hug a writer’s day. I honor of “Hug a Writer’s Day” I have a few words of encouragement for you… from the Beatles.

Why You Should Hug A Writer Today

Gregory Hug demonstrates proper writer-hugging technique in this photo with his fiance Sumiko Saulson.

Gregory Hug demonstrates proper writer-hugging technique in this photo with his fiance Sumiko Saulson.

  • You know how you hate getting a job performance review from your boss? Or – if you work at McDonalds, you might be getting one from like, three bosses. Well, a writer gets to look forward to numerous performance reviews from customers (readers) called “customer reviews” that appear on places like Goodreads and Amazon, and if the writer is successful enough, “professional reviews” from newspapers and other periodicals. This can be stressful for the writer. Interestingly, not getting ANY reviews is also stressful for the writer.
  • The writer may be underpaid. If the writer is getting royalties instead of any hourly wage working for someone else, the writer could be getting less than minimum wage.
  • If the writer lives in the United States, the writer has probably just finished dealing with Tax Season. Receiving royalties means having to file an additional tax form. The writer may have a half dozen royalty forms from different publishers or periodicals he or she has gotten small amounts of reportable income from. Your writer is probably suffering post income tax stress right now.
  • Your writer has to keep revising things. Revising things is stressful.

If you are unable to hug your writer in person, I’ve provided a link to this Beatles cartoon for “Paperback Writer” that you can send to your writer friend. The lyrics are also linked to below, in case you’re feeling ambitious and you want to perform an impromptu serenade for your writer loved one.

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Paperback-Writer-lyrics-The-Beatles/6C24A6E106E6B40C48256BC2001D2199

Posted in Sumiko's Writing, Writing Advice
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Writer’s Blah

•April 23, 2013 • 3 Comments

ImageWriter’s block is when you can’t think of anything to say. What about when you can write, but you’re so overwhelmed by other types of writing that life requires you to engage in – say, grantwriting, term paper writing, and yes even the maintenance of your own personal blog – that you can’t seem to set aside the time or dredge up the juice to achieve your writing goals, on a creative bent, because your mind is stuffed with stuff and you are constantly exhausted.

That’s not writer’s block!

I have an idea… let’s give it a new name. Writer’s Blah. What do you think?

Posted in Writing Advice
Tags:

Some Literary Facts in Honour of World Book Night

•April 23, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Wow… I didn’t realize today was World Book Night. How cool! Reblogging…

Posted in Everything Else

Sumiko Saulson ~ One of the Most Active Women in Horror!

•April 19, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Joslyn Corvis interviewed me. Wow… I’m blushing. Anyway here is her interview:

Sumiko Saulson ~ One of the Most Active Women in Horror!.

Posted in Interviews

Family of five needs your help to move…

•April 19, 2013 • Leave a Comment

petersons 392533_1366223889.0461

I’m just going to put that right there…

http://www.gofundme.com/2mezok

Click on the link to see their story in their own words.

My friends the Petersons are a wonderful couple with three beautiful children who live up in Oregon, and the mother, Shawndra Peterson is a very talented portrait photographer who even living so far away brightens my day on a daily basis with her creative family portraiture. Shawndra’s images are really special because she sees the beauty in folks who may not be considered traditionally beautiful. The couples and children she photographs always look magical, because she’s managed to capture them with her own loving eye.

She is one of the smartest and kindest people I have the pleasure of knowing. Sure, we bump heads sometimes – I’m a Christian and she’s an Atheist and we’re on Facebook posting conflicting ideologies sometimes – but actually she’s respectful to me and to everyone. She’s also very smart.

As for her husband, Rh0ne, why I’ve known him for half my life. I can’t tell you how elated I was for the both of them when I found out these two longtime friends had started a family together. I remember a time when Rhone was worried it might never happen for him.  Now they are one of the happiest families I know. But they have some trouble now. And they need your help.

Now, I am a broke artist in the “starving artist” category so my donation isn’t much right now. I however do have a shelf full of copies of “Things That Go Bump In My Head” which I am willing to give to people as a kind of fundraising incentive, you know like when NPR gives people donor gifts. I guess my donor gift is kind of small, but we do what we can. If you donate $20 or more to the Peterson’s and email me to let me know you did so (or just comment here) and ask for the book, I’ll send a signed copy to you, along with a thank you card.

I would also be really, really happy and touched.

One Love,

Sumiko

Posted in Everything Else

Support your local brick and mortar bookstore

•April 19, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Image

Brick-and-mortar bookstores are important. The small, independent ones like the ones that carry my books (Laurel Bookstore, Pegasus Books, Marcus Book Stores and Bookshop Benicia) are to authors and other writers what indie music stores with events like Amoeba Records are to musicians: the first place most of us get exposure and connect with local audiences. We live in a connected, online world, but when you’re first starting the first fans and businesses to show you love are usually right where you live.

That’s why I am concerned that my local brick and mortar bookstore, Laurel Bookstore is in some trouble lately. The Lucky’s that used to be across the street from Laurel Bookstore has been replaced by a Maxx Value Foods. It isn’t the only local Lucky’s to be replaced: the one at the Fruitvale Station Shopping Mall was replaced by a FoodMaxx… the names sound very similar, but the two stores are not the same. Both are “no frills” type food marts, similar to the Grocery Outlet or Walmart, which offer huge, widely-spaced warehouse like aisles of supermarket goods, but unlike FoodMaxx, which is a traditional outlet-style grocery store, MaxxValue has a fairly limited selection of inexpensive goods.

The sparsely populated product aisles of the new MaxxValue are easier to navigate but lack the selection of the old,  crowded Lucky’s, and the new store has been met with mixed reviews. The 14 reviews on Yelp! are all very divided. While the overall rating is 2.5 stars, it is composed almost entirely of either 4 star or 1 star reviews.

When I went into the store with my mom and my friend Serena, it was very obvious why the store might be a problem for some of the previous group of core shoppers. Dedicated ominvores, my mother and I didn’t notice the strong smell of poultry rising off the meat aisle until a somewhat queasy Serena pointed it out and asked to wait outside the store for the remainder of the shopping trip. Until I read the Yelp! reviews I didn’t notice the lack of organic vegetables, because I don’t buy organic vegetables.

All I noticed was the cheap produce. 

But even those who do shop at MaxxValue can’t buy all of our groceries there. With the exception of the meat and produce sections, the selection is far to small. For people like me, who wouldn’t be caught dead in Trader Joe’s (although I’m happy to eat any Trader Joe’s food other people give me, I just wouldn’t pay the extra money to buy it there) it’s a great value for fresh foods. However, most cheap, non-organic food eaters like me aren’t buying books across the street at Laurel Bookstore.

This is a real problem for the store, which has been in business in the same location since 2001. It’s losing walk-in customers, as a lot of it’s core neighborhood customer base is shopping in the Dimond over at Farmer Joe’s or Safeway due to their dissatisfaction with the MaxxValue.

Laurel Bookstore is having an event today and tomorrow to promote the store and encourage sales. Mostly, it’s just to heighten community awareness. I hope you will be so kind as to repost this, and to drop in if you are in the area.

Posted in Everything Else
Tags: , , ,

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »