Posts by Cameron Powell
One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy
One must imagine Sisyphus happy. — Albert Camus I’ve noticed, over the two and three-quarter years since my mother died, that I have not been noticeably more social or outgoing than I was in the years before she died, when I was geographically isolated from close friends, sad, and sometimes depressed. Now, why would that be?…
Read MoreWhen you open Facebook and your friend is dead
Like most people, I open Facebook too much as it is. This afternoon, I opened it to read — It is with a broken heart that I write here that my dad – Bruce Cady – passed away unexpectedly yesterday. Level 1: incomprehension. I looked to see who had made the post. I didn’t recognize…
Read MoreOfficially Cutting Off All Escape Avenues With This Post – Please Hold Me Accountable!
So I’ve been absorbing information like a black hole for the last six months, as I’ve turned my attention to how to publish and market my book. I’ve thought of sharing what I’m learning a few times. I’ve read of examples of how that can create vibrant online communities around particular kinds of ideas or…
Read MoreOn Creativity and Risk, Self-promotion and Fear
Reading Jane Friedman’s publishing column the other day made me wonder if it could be harder to get a publisher than I think without a much bigger platform than I have now. Then I read some literary agent’s tweets about the importance of platform even for memoir writers. Later, the thought hit me: If I’m…
Read MoreHänschen klein
On this Mother’s Day, my third without my mother, I thought it appropriate to share this excerpt from the Epilogue to Ordinary Magic: Now in Silke’s living room she’s alive and she’s singing “Hänschen Klein,” as she had on the Camino. It’s like one of those dreams. I’m watching my mother sing, among the people she…
Read MoreCan you help me make a good story great?
Can you help me make a good story great? A few months ago, I set myself a deadline of today to get a draft of the manuscript for Ordinary Magic to willing readers. Nothing like a deadline to concentrate the mind! But with three days to go, I began wholesale reconstruction of Part II of the manuscript…
Read MoreHow to Sew a Book Together, in 767 Simple Steps
Hi, and welcome! About two weeks ago, I set a deadline for getting the manuscript for Ordinary Magic to readers. That – and the totally gratifying response of my friends, both longtime and actual as well as never-met-before and virtual — has been a HUGE motivator. So too is the feeling that I’m closing in. Compared…
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