November 13, 2012
I talked to a friend who recently brought me to reality. My decision to self-publish was not the right decision.
I also need to rethink my approach with writing. I need to figure out how to get a good editor to help me with proofreading. I need to research, when the new book is perfectly finished, how to get a literary agent to help get my work to the largest audience possible.
Lately, I've been depressed and frustrated. But it still leads to my determination. My recent mistakes leads me to refocus myself. I need to find a new plan, where I can best accomplish my goals.
Maybe publishing Hometown U.S.A. was a bit rushed because I was freshly unemployed with a wedding coming up and that I'm now expecting my first child in February 2013. Maybe I was focused on the money that was possible.
Does it mean I've given up on my first book? No. But I'm probably not going to expect much. Maybe I'm lowering my expectations.
In the next few days, weeks, months, I'm going to look towards researching the do's and don'ts. I'm going to contact people who I've worked with before - teachers, authors, acquaintences. I'm hoping someone can give me insight into what to do.
With everything that has happened the past few months, I'm hoping I can find some way to turn life around and get a better restart for this author dream I'm pursuing.
Hoping for the best.
Dean Siemon
Posted by Dean Siemon. Posted In : Creative writing
October 30, 2012
A lot can change in a year, especially when all of it falls outside your control. It makes it more frustrating, haunting you as you fall asleep wondering in vain what you can do to fix it. That's where I'm at right now in life. October 2011, I was en route to a newspaper assignment for two football stories. It was a two-way "highway" in Thurston County. The traffic slowed to a stop ahead of me because the car in front was wanting to turn left into his driveway. I stopped, but noticed another c... Continue reading...
Posted by Dean Siemon.
November 21, 2011
I write very often, obviously, for my job at the Nisqually Valley News. No probelm. Writing an average of 10 stories per week with a variety of topics - sports, politics, human interest, crime, etc. Then I get home ... I know I have an idea for a novel. To write a fictionalized tale of my first job as a one-man sports department for a weekly newspaper. Having traveled 2,000 miles to move out from his mom's house to his professional career. I know how the story goes, what will happen, who he wil... Continue reading...
Posted by Dean Siemon. Posted In : Creative writing
November 6, 2011
I'm sure some may say I am no expert on Valparaiso football, but who needs to be to see that the program needs a major upheaval.
For those who don't know much about the Crusaders, they are currently at 0-9 on the season (0-5 in the Pioneer Football League). The most recent defeat came at Marist on Saturday, 30-7.
Last season, Valpo went 0-11 in head coach Dale Carlson's first season in charge. The Crusaders have not won a single game since Sept. 12, 2009 against D-III Concordia (Wisc).
Here are ... Continue reading...
Posted by Dean Siemon. Posted In : Sports
June 17, 2011
I took a whole new chance by deciding to take the job as reporter for the Nisqually Valley News in Yelm, Washington. Anytime there is a career change, I would think that it is a risk because I was leaving a sure-fired guaranteed position for life. But considering that commuting from Puyallup, where I live with my future wife and her son, it was too much of a burden on my gas. Instead of leaving the love of my life, I decided to make a career change. I was secretly searching for a new job for a... Continue reading...
Posted by Dean Siemon.
December 23, 2010
Our editorial staff wrote a piece on how the Shelton-Mason County Journal has had one of it's best years in more than 100 years of existance, which is almost unheard of for a newspaper in the age of the internet. At a weekly newspaper in county of maybe 30,000 people (close to 10,000 in circulation), we are providing more news to our local readers than any daily would in their communities. That is because, as the editorial said, they try to appease the international audience through the intern... Continue reading...
Posted by Dean Siemon.
November 7, 2010
So this is a note for those that are wondering why it takes so long for new photographs from work to be posted. The way it works is that I have to wait a certain amount of time until the Shelton-Mason County Journal allows them to be posted for personal use. I have been allowed by my editors at the Journal to have a photo portfolio website but I have to wait about a month after a photo runs in the paper before I can post it here. In other words, the great photos from some of the North Mason an... Continue reading...
Posted by Dean Siemon.
October 15, 2010
I made a decision that as a side project, I will write a novel. There is a working title with the essential plot of the story being a fictional twist on my early years as a sports writer/editor: Everything from graduating and job searching to moving 2,000 miles for the first full-time job to working with various other factors in a first year out on the field. With most of my energy going into the Shelton-Mason County Journal's sports section, I feel it might be nice to take some of the creativ... Continue reading...
Posted by Dean Siemon.
September 14, 2010
This was a blog, but I'm currently working on a new addition to the website instead of a blog since I am unable to accept comments on them (what's the point if it's not open to discussion)..... Keep an eye on this, because a change is approaching.... Continue reading...
Posted by Dean Siemon.
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