FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ):
1. Who ARE you?
A free
spirit, a secretly wild child, and a creative person! See my profile
on my blog, rindawriter. Also, check NewThings for fun facts about me.
2.
Who designed your website?
I did, all
by myself! I wanted to see whether someone like me, with no art school
training who is a math dyslexic and who had no knowledge whatsoever
about websites or webpage coding, could create an entire website, graphics
included, all by herself--just from surfing the Internet along with the
commercial software that she already had on her computer and freeware.
Initially, I wanted to create a website that cost nothing; however, after much
study, I opted for a low-cost site, with the convenience of a reliable
hosting service and a secure domain name. My hosting service and domain name
cost me $70 per year, at Netfirms, a hosting service that specializes in
small businesses.
3. Do you have pets?
Yes, four indoors cats and two goldfish,
one white and one gold! And a back yard full of song birds and even an
occasional hummingbird. Check out Keeley's Kitty
Page for more.
4. Do you have children?
No, but did I need to have
children? I have always made room for other people's children in my life. I have
dozens of nephews and nieces as well as great-nephews and great-nieces. I also
have many years of doing volunteer work with children.When I am old and in my
rocking chair in some nursing home, I will have just as many happy memories of
the children in my life as any mother could possibly recall! And probably
more.
5. Do you REALLY write for children?
Indeed, I do, although
I keep the details of what I am presently creating private. My
favorite things to write are picture book and picture storybook texts, but I'm
keenly interested in middle-grade fiction as well. I have many completed
manuscripts, and I can't seem to stop creating more! I do many revisions on
each manuscript, with several in progress at once. I do not use a critique group
because I do not find such groups useful for my own writing process,
but I do enjoy socializing with "bookish" people. I am always creating
something! I also compose songs, both lyrics and music; design quilts;
write poetry; and post on my blog. I do not post samples of my unpublished
work on the Internet if I intend to sell it. I also do not publicize details of
my interactions with agents, editors, and publishers. Those are
business relationships, and I like to keep them so.
6.
Can you help me sell my own writing?
I will do copy editing and
writing consults for a fee to help writers polish their words, but I am not a
literary agent, and I cannot help you sell your writing. Nor am I an editor
working at a publishing house who can buy your work. My professional
services (and I am a professional copy editor as well as a published writer for
children) are completely separate from what I do with my own writing. When
I work with you, my focus IS on YOUR work, not mine, and I can help you to make
your words shine, but you must decide when, where, and how you will sell your
writing. If writers want good marketing advice and help, I would
counsel them to get reputable literary agents who are expert in
what is selling where. Otherwise, you should be spending many hours in
market research on the Internet and in the library if you want to sell
your work on your own! I only have time to focus on where
and how I can sell my own writing--not everyone else's. Also,
what works well for me in selling my work might turn out to be a disaster
for you in today's publishing world. Teachers, copy editors, and writing mentors
can help you to learn your writing craft, but, they can't show you how
to create something original that will sell, and it would be dishonest of
anyone, except a reputable agent or editor, to say that he/she can help you to
get money for your writing. Everyone's writing journey must be his or her own.
Be bold in this. Don't delay! Walk your own path.
7.
Are you a published writer?
Sigh...yes, indeed, I am. In
fact, I had writing published when I was in high school, in my high school
paper, which was also the official town newspaper. That newspaper
was completely supported by ads from businesses in our town! I do love
to write, but, I confess, I love to read even better. And I also tend to get
sidetracked into other creative interests, such as designing art quilts. I
have had poems for children and adults as well as essays for adults published
here and there and along the way as well as a picture storybook, "Mycca's Baby,"
which came out, to my great surprise, with excellent reviews! I don't
enjoy the tedious work of submitting my writing to publishers, keeping business
records, and trying to figure out contracts and forms; I would rather be
scribbling or sewing or even copy editing, but my husband helps me now with the
business end of writing, and, as a consequence, I am getting my work out to
publishers more frequently these days. Although, sometimes, I still forget where
I've put or filed things I've written...
8.
What do you like to read?
All sorts of books but especially
books for children, including middle-grade and YA. My reading interests are
quite eclectic. I also speed-read much of the time, devouring large numbers
of words that way. I love nonfiction on almost any topic if it is well written.
I like classic English novels. I like to dip into theology. I know my Bible
intimately and sometimes read it in Spanish. A lot of modern fiction for
adults and young adults bores me, but I manage to locate good reads in that area
now and again. I enjoy re-reading books that I really love. I don't have much
money to buy new books, and so, I rely on libraries to help me locate good
reads. I only buy books that I really love, as I tend to wear the books out
with repeated readings. My reading space is my own, private space. No one else
rules there but me!
9.
What is a math dyslexia? How can you be a copy editor if you have
dyslexia?
Dyslexias are not all of one type! A person can have a math
dyslexia but still read very well. Having a math dyslexia means that I cannot
read music scores quickly and that I have grave difficulty with working math
equations, although mathematical theories expressed verbally are easy for me to
grasp. I have a form of ambylopia; I also have astigmatism, and I don't see
depths well. That's why I also cannot drive. I learned to read, not
phonetically, but by painstakingly memorizing individual words and
learning their meanings in context. Once I learned the words, however, and then,
later, how to type them correctly, by memorizing each one, my reading speed
exponentially increased, and I then started memorizing whole groups of words! My
business school training in copy editing was excellent. Once I left there,
I could speed read groups of words, sentences, and paragraphs--even skim whole
pages--and find errors just as easily! Math equations, on the contrary, are
each unique; each one is different, as are music scores; I can't possibly
memorize all the math equations in the world like I can the words of an
individual language! When I look at a page of printed words, mistakes sort of
pop out at me, more so than for most people--almost as if the errors were in a
bolded font. Over the years, with so much practice, I can now copy
edit a page very quickly; although, to slow myself down sometimes, I will read
from the bottom of the page up. Don't think this is easy, though. Copy editing
is a complex process. It takes years of practice to be able to do it
efficiently in one reading like this.
10.
Are you REALLY part Native American?
Yes, indeed I am. My maternal
grandmother was born in Oklahoma Territory, and her mother was Chickasaw. We
don't know who my grandmother's father was. Neither my grandmother or her mother
were ever registered on the official Dawes Rolls as Chickasaw tribal
members, and neither had a birth certificate.This was a commonplace
occurrence back then. Not all Native Americans wanted or cared or knew enough to
be counted on the Dawes Rolls then in order to get government
benefits! Birth certificates were not required, either. However,
because my grandmother was not registered on those government records and
because she had no birth certificate, I cannot now be enrolled in the Chickasaw
tribe, even though I am more Chickasaw by blood than many, present-day
tribal members. Well, bones and blood don't lie--no matter what government
records may reveal! I got to know and love my maternal grandmother in my late
teens. We were very close. The rest of me is part Irish, part German, part
English, and part Scottish--a real mixture; however, culturally, I was actually
born a Thai citizen in Bangkok, Thailand, and grew up in that country until I
was fourteen as the daughter of missionary parents. To this day, my extended
family's traditional food, the food that is always cooked on special occasions,
is northern Thai food.
11. Do you REALLY compose songs and
design quilts?
Oh, yes, yes, yes! I've been hand-sewing since I was
nine years old; I used to memorize all the verses of hymns when I was a
girl and lots of other poetry as well. We had no multi-media "stuff" like
movies, TV, or DVD's in our village! Poems sort of pop out all the
time from me; I try to keep my poems written down, but it's been difficult to
find time to work on them with all of my other writing projects. I started
writing poems when I was eleven and started composing songs, both lyrics and
tunes, when I was in college. Most of my songs are gospel songs or hymns or
Christmas songs; they're personal, private, emotional, and I have some very
beautiful ones. Unfortunately, however, because I hope to sell my songs some
day, I cannot put them on a website. I can chord a bit on the piano and
pick out tunes on my recorder (a sort of flute-like instrument) and write my
tunes down now, but my main musical love is singing. I have a good ear and
a true voice and have always been able to start songs on pitch easily by myself.
I prefer acapella group singing to solo work--so much more fun! The
basics of quilting were easy for me to learn from books in the library, but the
big surprise was finding out, after much wandering through fabric stores and
matching fabric colors in my head and then matching fabrics for other customers,
that I have an excellent sense of color. It is likely that I was born with more
color cells in my eyes than most folks have. I certainly did not work hard
to achieve this particular ability! I cannot draw things in three dimensions,
but I do well enough with paper cutting and with drawing more abstract,
one-dimensional forms. If I could earn enough money from designing quilts, I
would not write so much, but with tough competition from overseas now in
the quilt world, it is nearly impossible to make any sort of living from
just quilting. Most quilt artists must teach and/or work for fabric companies
and sewing supply companies to support their quilting "habit." I don't do
everything well, however. I am terrible at making change; I have never been
able to keep track of a checking account; I can't play any musical instrument
well; I can't pitch a ball or drive, and I am an absolutely AWFUL gardener!
COMMUNICATE WITH RINDA:
You may leave specific
questions for Rinda and/or comments about RindaRealm in the comment box at
Rinda's blog, rindawriter. If your question is of general interest to all,
Rinda may respond to it there. On rare occasions, Rinda may respond
personally to non-business-related questions and comments.
To inform
Rinda about technical problems in RindaRealm or to request permission to use her
copyrighted materials in RindaRealm, you may e-mail here at rindarealm@hotmail.com
To get in touch with Rinda for
her copy editing and writing consult services, you may e-mail her at rindambyers@hotmail.com
Well Scribed
Words
*COPYRIGHTEDMATERIAL: These
words are under full international copyright, 2004-2008, by Rinda M.
Byers.
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