Wednesday, November 4, 2015

IWSG: Published Book Review & the Perspective of Karma

Today is IWSG day, a monthly event Alex Cavanaugh started to get writers sharing about their insecurities and non-insecurities too. On the first Wednesday of the month, a bunch of us gather on the blogosphere to share and visit one another.



Some fun news. Earlier this year, I submitted a book review to SCBWI Bulletin, the quarterly magazine of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. My book review spotlights Jennifer R. Hubbard's LONER IN THE GARRET: A WRITER'S COMPANION. Shortly after I sent out my review, an editor informed me that my review was accepted and the check was in the mail. I'm giddy to share that my book review appears in the Fall 2015 issue of the SCBWI Bulletin. LONER IN THE GARRET is not a craft book but a book that acknowledges the vast range of emotions writers experience, including our many insecurities….so this is right up IWSG’s alley.

Karma is another topic I want to discuss today. The idealist in me has always wanted to believe if you do good things with clean intentions, you get mostly good things back and if you’re a jerk, you reap what you sow. Sometimes my inner cynic couldn’t help but to notice bad things happening to good people and bad people thriving on their toxic behavior. This is a simplistic statement on my part, as I don’t know every detail of people’s lives and of course, no one’s perfect. Without going into specifics, I still know enough to confidently make this generalization. While a number of stories in my writerly mind come from a hopeful and optimistic place, at other times, they come from a cynical perspective too. I find that some people refuse to acknowledge the grain (or bushel) of truth that can exist in the latter of these narrations. But I hope if I ever pursue the writing of these stories, they will find a welcoming audience that gets it.

What books for writers do you like?
Do you believe in karma? Why or why not?

15 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's awesome they accepted your review and paid you!
Karma is real. We just don't always see it happen in this lifetime.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Congrats on the review! Well done! :)

Stephen Tremp said...

Steven King said if you can pay a utility from writing or related works then you are successful. Congrats!

Stephen Tremp
November 2015 IWSG Co-host

Pat Hatt said...

Awesome on the review and pay, win win. Karma could just be another made up human word like luck.

Mike Louie said...

Congrats on the review acceptance! Please share with us when it's published! Will it be linkable?

I enjoy books as an outlet for escapism - grabbing truths, insights, and lessons from spectacular stories that may not happen in real life, but the parallel situations can still be applicable to me. My favorites include Chronicles of Narnia, James & the Giant Peach (yay for fun childhood!), and The Stand by Stephen King.

As a believer in Jesus, my security blanket is trusting God is in control, even during the crazy, saddest moments. I believe we live in a world at war (spiritually) and that bad things happen to good people because there is an Enemy that causes these things to happen. I'd love to ask God why allow these things to happen. I know he redeems the worst experiences for greater bigger picture plans, but it's a tough pill to swallow.

Jennifer R. Hubbard said...

Thank you again for the feature!

I don't believe we get tangible rewards and punishments in this life, commensurate with our actions. It's pretty clear that doesn't happen. Still, I don't think that inflicting pain on others is a great way to live--even if we don't get punished for it in the short term. I try to follow the Golden Rule and hope to leave the world better than I found it.

TBM said...

Congrats on the review! And yes, I believe in Karma, maybe because it offers me hope.

Sherry Ellis said...

I'll have to look for your review. I have my bulletin sitting here. Congratulations on getting accepted!

Claire Annette said...

Exciting news! So many authors and illusrators read the bulletin. Not only will they enjoy reading your review but they will also learn about Jennifer Hubbard's book.

Arlee Bird said...

So cool to get a review accepted for publication and get paid for it! I never thought of this writing venue. I do reviews for Amazon sometimes and occasionally for GoodReads. Maybe I should consider something else.

I believe in something, call it Karma or what you will, where we all get our due eventually. Sometimes the world seems terribly unfair and unkind, but I can't help but believe that paybacks and rewards await us all.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the review!

You're getting paid for writing! Me = jelly.

I hear you on the karma thing. I wholeheartedly believe that you're an architect of your own life. Whatever you put out there will come right back. And you're right - sometimes it looks like good things are happening to crappy people but you have no idea what goes on behind the curtain.

So put your inner cynic to the side and send out those positive thoughts!

Sherry Ellis said...

Just wanted to let you know I read your review! Nice job!

Sandra Hoover said...

Congratulations on the paid, published review, Cynthia! What a great feeling, I'm sure. I'm a believer in what comes round, goes round - so I guess that's "karma". One of my fav books on writing is Stephen King's "On Writing". I find his story fascinating for one thing, and this book is full of priceless advice on just about every aspect of writing.

Stephanie Faris said...

So cool! I'm in the process of reading the bulletin now, so I'll check it out. I didn't know SCBWI paid contributors for their articles. How awesome of them! RWA never did, at least back when I was a member. People just wrote them for the free publicity.

Anonymous said...

I believe in karma to a degree. I believe your vibe reflects your position in life. If you're happy and positive, you attract like-minded people and things. If you're not, then you surround yourself with negativity.

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