I was going to blog about Harlequin opening its digital publishing doors as Carina Press.  It was a relatively small wave, only notable because of the backing of the large traditional publisher and some digital publishing heavy-hitters on its staff.  But that move was eclipsed by a tidal wave of the shitstorm known as Harlequin Horizons.

The venerable Grande Olde Dame of romance publishing has partnered with a vanity publishing service known as Author Solutions to create “Harlequin Horizons.” They are marketing it as “self-publishing” and selling dreams between slices of snowy-soft white bread.  Breathless marketing on the site (which I’m not linking to and not giving legitimacy to, even for my six readers out there–Hi, you guys!) heaves with moist declarations of making your dreams come true and being the center of attention at booksignings, about showing the world you are a Serious Published Author through a hardcover copy of Your Book in your sweaty little hands.  My bosoms heave just thinking about it.  I mean…it’s–it’s Harlequin!  You, too could be a Harlequin Author…for the modest price of seven hundred bucks.

Now, if no one else has told you this yet, allow me to be the first, and to be undeniably clear when I say YOU DO NOT PAY SOMEONE TO PUBLISH YOUR WORK.  If someone walks up and offers you a discounted price to publish your work, refer to the words in caps.  Money flows TO the writer.

There are lively discussions, with input from Malle Vallik, the Harlequin rep with the misfortune to draw the short straw and become the spokesperson for this fustercluck, at Dear Author and Smart Bitches, where I’ve posted comments among many voices much more erudite and knowledgeable than mine.  If you aspire to write stories and publish them for public consumption in any way, shape, or form, you need to read both of these threads, along with the Writer Beware blog entry, and the thread at Absolute Write‘s forums.  Yes, the comments and threads are long, but anyone who is interested in either publishing a story or making a career (main or side) of writing, cannot afford to tl;dr this.

Writing is one of those activities that can be done with little conscious focus, and in the atmosphere of many distractions, but at the same time, does require a significant amount of brainpower if you want it to make any sort of sense. And crafting stories does need focus. I’m not sure how everyone else does it, but if I’m in the middle of a pivotal scene (and they’re all supposed to be pivotal), I have to feel it if I’m going to write it well. And that does involve not being interrupted every five minutes with, “Mooooom! Can you make a tee shirt out of ham?” (actual question, and no, you can’t. Not with turkey either. You can, however, bowl with a frozen ham, as well as a frozen turkey, as long as you have some empty bottles from the recyclables bin to act as pins).

So when I’ve looked back at my log of “What I Did On Summer Vacation” so far, I see work–and that’s some solid work–on three different WIPs, plus an outline of one more for the future. Right now, the secret seems to be to divide my efforts between ol’ Sparky the laptop and good ol’ fashioned pen and paper. However, it’s not just dividing time between home and away. My pen and paper stuff has to be worked on in pen and paper. And my electronic stuff needs to stay electronic. As a result, I end up with different mediums, but works that are completely on a single medium. My brain seems to be coping with it this way, though, so I’m content to keep things as they are.

I’ve also discovered that the brain needs resting time. Once, in a discussion with other writers, another writer mentioned that she kept her full-time job even though she’d been published, and had full intentions of furthering her publishing career. I thought, “who in the world would want another career if their writing one could pay off enough to keep them in coffee beans?” But it turns out, that writer may have had a point. Now, I’m in a position where I don’t have another paying job (because nobody pays you to raise kids, yet to many people–self included–it’s the most important job in the world, and while the bennies are fantastic, I wish they included health care and pocket change), but I have learned that having something else to focus on–and making it a priority–can really go far in uncramping a writing brain. Especially if it’s something the creative part of your brain, or the part that moves your hands, can engage in, leaving the verbal part to toddle off on its own and have a think. Being one of those “writer’s writers” makes it hard for me to actually leave writing, even when I’m not doing it, but it’s worth it to take care of your brain.

I’m pampering my gray matter this summer, and its response is typical of anyone presented with a free vacation. It’s gone to disneyland.