January 12, 2008 DRIFTING AND MUSING I find myself adrift this January of the new year. I still have no agent and no prospects for one. I am not even looking for one. The climate in the publishing world seems to be as frozen as the ground outside. Nothing is moving. No response for any of the proposals sitting on editors’ desks. Not a murmur, not a peep. So, I’ve been musing for a few days since finishing my short story for this month’s subscribers to SAM (Story A Month). With no income whatsoever, that frozen ground outside looks pretty bleak. Not as bleak as the landscape in my mind, however. What to do? I am still writing, of course, working on one of the new novels that I hope to sell. The fire inside me is burning low, however. It’s getting very chilly and my coat seems threadbare at the moment. I spoke to my sister Kay the other night. She has been taking writing courses from a woman teacher in Berkley, California, for some years. I asked her how much the woman charged and how long her courses lasted, and how many hours per session, how many students, and where she taught. She told me the woman teaches 4 times a year, has 8 students, charges $90.00. Her classes are in her home, two hours each and run for 6 weeks. Not a bad price, and that works out to around $7200 for each course, or $28,800 per year. Well, I thought, I am a teacher, having taught adult creative writing courses in California at Redlands University, University of California, Riverside, and Eisenhower High School in San Bernardino. I even had a temporary teaching credential. Then, too, I have taught courses at Southwest Missouri State University in Branson and in Springfield, Missouri. And, I have conducted numerous workshops here in Texas and in Missouri. So, I could teach and still write my books. Good idea. Maybe. Drawbacks? Plenty. I could not conduct classes in my home. Not enough room for 8 students and a teacher. My workshops draw 25 to 40 people and last 4 weeks, 2 hours each session. Or for a single day, a Saturday. So, I need a place to teach. And, I need students. I would teach a 4 week course and charge only $80.00. That’s a reasonable charge for what I offer. I would really like to teach in a classroom, but I could use almost any building that didn’t charge too much and was warm and comfortable. So, I’m looking for a venue where I might teach as I drift through these publishing doldrums. Anyone have any suggestions? Even a large home would do. Another minor obstacle. My days are long already. I go to bed before 8:00 every evening and am up by 1:00 a.m. So, I would have to make some major adjustments. My sister says that her teacher instructs from 7-9 and sometimes the sessions last until 10:00 p.m. I’d have to eat supper early, and sleep later in the morning. Well, I can do that, surely. Some of my classes in California were at night, and a class in Branson. Same hours. I have all the materials to conduct such a writing course. Some of my students in Branson and Springfield went on to publish and teach those same classes themselves. That was certainly gratifying. Some took over my day classes at SMSU, when I got too busy to teach any longer. And all of my classes were full. Meanwhile, as I warm my hands over the dying fire, I’m putting together a collection of my short stories. Such collections are very difficult to sell, and, often, even if published, do not do well in the marketplace. But, the manuscript, if rejected, could be used to start another fire. I still have plenty of matches left. And, if I run out of matches, I an always rub two sticks together. There are plenty of sticks out here in the woods. I just hope I don’t run out of firewood. I’ve burned a lot of it in 50 years of writing. I think there’s enough to last another 10 or 20 years. Hear that sound? That’s me, blowing on the coals, trying to get them to flare up again and become flame.   J.S.