Article #1 in the series, Blogging for Fun and Profit:

Should I Be a Blogger?

I have debated for some time about whether or not I should blog about blogging. But I get a lot of questions - including questions from my husband who recently started his own blog about hacking into his iPod touch. So, I thought I’d start a short series about blogging, since it is a green activity that can enable you to live a simpler life! All in keeping with the theme here at OI.

So, the first question you need to ask yourself is “Do I really want to be a blogger?” Like anything else, blogging takes effort. You can’t start a blog and expect to make a million dollars. It’s not a get rich quick scheme. You have to look at blogging as what it is - a practical, inexpensive way to self-publish. If you have something to say, blogging is a great way to say it.

Continue Reading »

Just want to thank Fred Ecks at the Simple Living Newsletter  for posting my article - Zen and the Art of Clutter. I hope you’ll click over and enjoy it - as well as some of the other great articles in the July/August issue. The Simple Living Network is a great resource and I encourage everyone to check out the Your Money Or Your Life section - that is one book that inspired me immensely and has encouraged me on my path to financial independence - or FI!

I’m not quite there yet - but we’re getting there and my husband and I are both fortunate in that while we still have to make a living - it’s a living and not a dying. We both get to do work that we love and we don’t lose time with the children or each other.

http://www.simpleliving.net/main/custom.asp?recid=1

Real Living - the ezine, turned blog, is now becoming Organically Inclined. I had such an overwhelming response to that little bumper sticker I put out, that I’ve decided it’s a much better name! So - from now on, Real Living will be known as Organically Inclined and is becoming a print/pdf zine in August!

Inside the first issue will be a few reprints of popular articles as well as some great new stuff…including poetry, tips for the frugal, essays on the good - or simple life, birth stories, parenting stories and a new swap it section.

If you have a writer lurking somewhere inside you or you just have a great story to tell - or even a pretty good story that you tell really well - I’d love to hear it. In particular, I’d love to see some articles on practical things - like your lazy gardening tips or how you keep the diaper pail smelling fresh!

So, please email me at misha@mishakennedy.com and hopefully you’ll see your name in print. We are happy to offer contributions a one year subscription to the zine - as well as that super cool bumper sticker…

I just read a very interesting article on book deals: http://www.nyobserver.com/2007/my-book-deal-ruined-my-life?page=0%2C0

I found it interesting not because it was news to me, but because I know it was probably news to the general public.

I recently toured a homeless shelter and had a life skills session with the residents. I found out on my arrival that the residents had been preparing for my arrival for several days - they were nervous and unsure of what to wear. I was stunned to find this out. I had no idea that my arrival could cause such a ruckus! While I did feel flattered, I also felt very guilty. And so, when we all sat down around the table at the session, eating our pizza, I began by letting everyone know that being an author is not always what we think it is.

“I am not,” I told them, “a rich and famous author. I did not get paid a million dollars - or anywhere near it - to write my book. I drive a 1992 Volvo station wagon and grow my own vegetables.”

The residents were stunned. They thought for sure that I was a millionaire. That I lived in a big mansion and had a lot of spare cash. My house is fairly big, I told them, but it’s no mansion - it’s a fixer-upper that I rarely have time to fix.

Writing is a great job. Let me say that I have not had the horror of experiences that some of the writers in the NY Observer article have had. But I’ve also learned a lot. The first thing I learned, early on, is that writing is my occupation. I am fairly good at it. I enjoy it. And not a lot of people can say all of those things. But it’s not my life. I know many writers who make writing their world. They go to writers’ groups and conferences. They eat, sleep and breathe writing - and the world of literature.

I was very close to following this path. When Without a Net (my “big” book) was on the verge of getting a publisher, I went to bed nervous all of the time. I couldn’t wait to hear if it would get a “big” publisher and an even bigger advance. It did…and didn’t. I got the big publisher - Viking - and a small advance, broken up into even smaller pieces over a two-year period.

I wasn’t exactly crushed - but I was disappointed. Didn’t a small advance mean I would get no publicity? Did it mean my book was already doomed to obscurity? Well, yes and no. But I pursued and helped the publicity department get as much as I could going for it. And looking back, I achieved with that book, almost everything a new writer could hope to achieve…except the bestseller list. I got a review in the Sunday New York Times Book Review - as well as the LA Times, and many other fine publications. I was interviewed on more radio stations than I can count. And - my favorite of all - I got to do a commentary on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

And then I got a call from an Oprah producer. They loved the book, wanted to have me on, but couldn’t figure out in what capacity - so hang out for a couple of days and we’ll see if we can fit you in.

OK! I danced. I called all of my friends. I gloated. I couldn’t believe it was happening.

Then I got an email from my publicist. Oprah can’t fit you in - oh and by the way, there were a dozen other shows who were interested, but we had to put them off because Oprah was interested and now they aren’t interested anymore either.

Oh.

A year later, Oprah called again. I was subdued, but still hopeful and anxious.

They replaced me with Morgan Spurlock.

A funny aside is that I did an awards banquet in Seattle where Morgan Spurlock  was the first choice as the speaker. He costs $20,000 to speak for 20 minutes - for a homelessness and poverty organization. They called me. I usually speak for the cost of travel and a babysitter. I got to replace Morgan.

Somehow I don’t think he feels bitten by the experience.

It’s been an interesting couple of years since Without A Net came out. I’ve been flown around the country to speak for people who have moved me in ways beyond words - and I’ve been crushed by the madness that is the world of publishing.

I have another book proposal out now…making the rounds. Maybe it will get picked up - maybe not. It’s not the kind of book that will ever make it on Oprah - although I still hold out hope, sometimes, that they will call me again someday.

Writing isn’t my life (anymore), it’s my job. It’s one of many that I have. I am also a mom, a wife and a farmer - among other things. I love to write. I am very happy to call myself a writer (and a farmer and a mom). I am happy that I get to do the thing I want to do for a (very modest) living. But I can’t drink myself into a Hemingway-esque stupor lamenting or praising the literary life.

I have too much other stuff to do. I’m off now to make some strawberry jam for the winter!

Today, I got to do a really fun thing - I got to record another commentary on Vermont Public Radio. It is going to run on Thursday, June 14 at 6pm at the end of a half hour documentary on homelessness in Vermont.

I’m such a fan of public radio, so when I get to do these things it’s like my Oprah!

I hope I get to do more stuff in the future, but I’m just pleased they asked me! Hope you’ll listen and let me know what you think.

Hi!

I have tried on a number of occasions to write a blog. Unfortunately, I have not, as of yet, been very successful because, well, I have a lot on my mind and I have been unable to just reduce my ramblings to one area. For example, I like a lot of mothering-type blogs, but while I have been known to write some mothering rant stuff, I can’t reduce all of my writings to that one area. I also can’t just write a “gardening” blog or one on attachment parenting, homeschooling, being a shepherd, having a large family, cooking, being a writer or any of the other things I do.

So, I have decided that I am just going to take this blog and write about it all. Hopefully, there will be a few people who are interested. If not, I guess that’s OK too. If you want to contribute something - let me know. If you have a comment, please be kind - I may have gotten a lot of rejection letters in my life, but I still have a relatively thin skin when it comes to “constructive criticism.”

Slante,

Mish