A slight change of plans

Oops, it’s been a while! My bad. I’ve been working on a book about growing up in my mother’s diner, and was planning to enter it in this memoir contest. I was all caught up in the frenzy and panic of finishing my submission before the Feb. 15th deadline, and I badly neglected my blogging duties. But guess what?

I’ve decided not to enter the contest.

Like any true flake, I just skimmed the rules at first. But last night I read them more carefully. And right there, in black-and-white fine print, was this:

..GRANT THE SPONSORS THE PERPETUAL, WORLDWIDE, IRREVOCABLE AND UNRESTRICTED RIGHT AND LICENSE TO ADAPT, PUBLISH, USE, EDIT, AND/OR MODIFY SUCH ENTRY IN ANY WAY AND POST THE ORIGINAL ENTRY ON THE INTERNET OR USE THE ORIGINAL ENTRY IN ANY OTHER WAY…

Which means that even if I don’t win, Huffington Post, AARP, and Simon & Shuster can do whatever they want with my book — forever — without paying me a red cent. That, my friends, is called a rights grab. Screw that. I am not about to give away the rights to my work (even if the intention was just to cover their asses) on the off chance that I might win a few thousand bucks and a potential book contract. This story means too much to me.

And by that I mean, I am not giving up.

Thank you, HuffPost/AARP/Simon & Shuster, for kicking me in the butt and getting me started on this journey at last. This story has been in my head since I was twenty years old. Without the contest, it would still be there. Now, I am seriously working on it at last, and I intend to finish it.

I am 67 years old. I don’t have the time or patience to go the traditional route, searching for months for an agent and a publisher, then waiting a year or more for the book to come out, only to have to do most/all of the marketing myself. Those are the realities of traditional publishing, and there are some compelling reasons to choose it. But I would rather be in control from the start, get the book finished and out there much sooner, and reap the benefits at the end.

I have posted the first-draft of the first four chapters to my private, VIP mailing list, and will continue sharing chapters there as I write them each week. Subscribers will also get the final draft when it is finished as well as a copy of the book in digital form (Kindle, Nook, or PDF) when it is published.

Sneak a peek at the first four chapters

If you haven’t subscribed already, you can do so here. The cost is a measly $7/mo (what’s that, a couple of Frappucino Grandes?), which also gets you membership in my secret, Road Trip Facebook group, along with the Dispatches from La Vanne newsletter that includes videos, photos, and other updates as I continue my vandwelling adventure.

Come along with me on the adventure (and story) of a lifetime