Thursday, January 10, 2008

Our Featured BLOG VILLAGER – Meredith Gould

It's been awhile since we have had a Featured Villager interview, so I was very pleased when the Gatekeeper sent in her interview with one of our newer Villagers, Meredith Gould.

  • Tell us a little bit about yourself.

  • These days, I characterize myself as a "working writer", because most of my paltry annual income comes from providing editorial services in some form. But since writing is also something I feel deeply called to do, it's as much vocation as occupation. In fact, it was occupation before it was vocation.

    My work history includes stints as a graphic production artist, waitress, secretary and bartender after dropping out of college. I dropped back in at age twenty-three and earned a doctorate in Sociology by age thirty. I taught college for a decade, then worked in state government and at an ad agency, before going freelance in 1989. In addition to copy writing and editing, I regularly published essays and features in regional and national magazines. I loved magazine work enough to edit a bi-monthly for a while.

    Book writing? Not interested back then. That required piling up way too many words. I certainly never imagined writing books about spiritual and faith formation from a Catholic Christian perspective, especially since I was raised Jewish.

  • Why did you decide to blog?

  • My decision to launch More Meredith Gould was the result of several realizations about publishing. First, the print outlets for "inspirational humor" have basically disappeared. I finally realized that most of this writing was happening in e-zines and the blogosphere.

    I also developed a low-to-no tolerance for the time lag between writing and publication. I finally realized that the blogosphere would allow me to reach existing readers more quickly and find new ones more quickly, while giving me creative control over content and design. Yes, I'm a creative control freak.

    Still, I resisted blogging because of internal blah blah about what I thought I was supposed to be doing at this point in my writing career. I made a slew of snobby assumptions about who was blogging and why. But then, after getting into the habit of reading a couple of blogs, I developed some much-needed humility. Surprise! Surprise! The blogosphere was not, in fact, dominated by hacks and dilettantes. I was reading some terrific, provocative, smart, creative writing. Clearly, other working writers and book authors were blogging. It was time for me to get involved with what everyone is calling the "new media." The definitive shove came from Ruth Harrigan, who blogs at Wheelie Catholic. She persuaded me to futz around with the Blogger templates one night, and I quickly became smitten with the entire enterprise.

  • Describe what your blog is about.

  • More Meredith Gould is an extension of my other work, because, as I note in the tag-line, "I always have more to say." I offer quirky observations in posts about the challenges of communicating for and about faith; practical spirituality; Catholic Christian-Jewish interfaith weirdness; and the agonies and ecstasies of writing for a so-called living. I welcome reader questions and anchor my answers in experience and scholarship without being stuffy or boring. I'm very proud of the fact that reviewers have characterized my humor as "gentle" and "surprisingly unprudish."

  • How many books have you written? Can you pick one of your books, and tell us why it’s your favorite?

  • I have five published books, and one forthcoming in July 2008. Like every other author, I have a couple of completed manuscripts that will never be published – and the world will be a better place for that.

    You want me to choose a favorite among my children?!? I can't do that! Each book has served a special purpose. Each seems to build on the previous one. I love my first book, Tips for Your Home Office (Storey) because it was my first, plus easy and fun to write. Staying Sober: Tips for Working a Twelve Step Program of Recovery (Hazelden) will always occupy a special place in my heart and not just because it earns royalties! That book allowed me to make an edgy, funny contribution to the generally grim recovery literature. Like most middle children, Deliberate Acts of Kindness: Service as a Spiritual Practice (Doubleday) has gotten somewhat lost. The shelving designation ("Social Science") killed it in bricks-n-mortar stores. People who discover it find it useful and inspiring. I sometimes forget I wrote it until readers contact me. I love how The Catholic Home: Celebrations and Traditions (Doubleday) helped me define and develop my voice as a Catholic author. It is purchased a lot as a gift for newlyweds and young families, and by catechists. Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder (Plowshares Publishing), written over a period of seven years, was a labor of love and religious conviction. I'm thrilled that it has been adopted by a number of parishes for their annual Passover seder. I'm still too close to the experience of writing my latest, Our Words Made Fresh: Communicating Church and Faith Today (Morehouse), to do anything but whimper about the process.

  • What's your advice for other writers who are still trying to get into print.

  • Keep at it, but get real about your goal. If it's to make money, then forget about getting a byline, and go land a copywriting job in either the private or public sector. You'll be writing- you'll get into print - you'll have fun.

    If you write for self-expression, don't expect to get either published or paid. But that shouldn't matter, because real writers feel compelled to write, with or without publication. Everything – heart, mind, and spirit – atrophies when we don't write. Garrison Keillor, in a recent edition of the Authors Guild Bulletin (Summer 2007), is quoted as saying, "It's like a major illness having a book in the works. Good days and bad days, but you keep going…" He's right. If you're a real writer, you'll keep at it no matter what. If you're determined to get into print, then as a practical matter, you're going to have to become very savvy about the publishing business. You'll need to pay attention to trends and market demands, because print publishing is a business first and foremost.

  • Which other blogs do you read?

  • Regularly, thanks to Google Reader: Anti-Itch Meditation, Ask Sister Mary Martha, A Third Way, Dirty Catholic, Happy Catholic, The Ironic Catholic, Kingdom Come, spiritually delicious!, Sweetness and Light, Wheelie Catholic, and Whispers in the Loggia. In addition to Blog Village, I belong to St. Blog's Parish and subscribe to BlogRush, which I wander through regularly to see what other folks are writing. I'm noticing how visiting blogs and websites has significantly reduced my need to subscribe to a zillion print magazines, so I shouldn't be complaining about the dwindling number of print outlets. Mea maxima culpa.

  • Please suggest someone else's blog at Blog Village so we can do a feature on them.

  • Barbara's Tchatzkahs is a very smart, sassy blog, although it takes way too long to load.

    DMD Scratchboard Gallery is a visually beautiful blog.

    When Meredith first emailed me I could already tell she was quite a wonderful character. She's funny, witty and very gracious. Her blog has been a pleasure to read. Meredith will make you laugh, or at least chuckle, and has a canny way of sprinkling a little bit of wisdom throughout her writing. Visit her at More Meredith Gould (because she always has more to say), check out her books and tell us what you think. Enjoy Meredith's blog . . . I did.

    The Gatekeeper

    Wednesday, January 09, 2008

    A Hulabaloo Carnival for OOOPS! I Goofed - for EVERYBODY!

    Entries accepted weekly

    Anthony's Jan. 11 Carnival is open to BLOG VILLAGERS ONLY!

    NO, I misunderstood Anthony's post. He does this Surfer's Paradise post from time to time where he features certain blogs and links to them in his post. This is very good for the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the blog he links to. SEO determines your Page Rank on the Internet. The higher the number, the closer to the front page of results of an Internet Search your site will be. Obviously, being on the FIRST Page is Fantastic!

    Well, it is the Surfer's Paradise recognition for this week that will feature ONLY BLOG VILLAGE BLOGS. His Carnival is open to anyone, Villager or not.
    Sorry for the mixup! It was entirely my fault.

    But that shouldn't change anything, really.
    Let's support Anthony, and have a good turnout of Villagers in the next

    Surfer's Paradise Hullabaloo, !

    We'll see you over the rainbow... (enter)



    Interested in joining BLOG VILLAGE? Start HERE.

    If you are interested in being the Featured Villager on our BLOG VILLAGE News blog, please contact Janey Loree, Kilroy, the Gatekeeper, or Marsha - the members of our Village Interview Team.

    Tuesday, January 08, 2008

    Another TopList You Might Be Interested In

    I ran across this TopList from the forum for the TopList owners, and it looks like one some of you would benefit from joining.
    Top Blogs for Crafters

    We have the best art, craft, sewing, knitting, needlepoint, designer, woodworking, painting, illustration, story telling, cross-stitch, free craft articles, doll making, folkart, primitive, country, seasonal, mixed media, abstract art, scrapbooking, e-products, crazy quilting, quilting, vintage, victorian, shabby chic, printables, beading, gardening, food, altered art, candle making, Americana, holiday, animal crafts, wool felting, textile, food crafts, applique, basket making, abstract art, contemporary art, creative embroidery, watercolor art, wearable art, ribbon crafts, crewel, decorative painting, crochet, digital art, graphic art, dried floral design, fiber art, weaving, wedding crafts, baby crafts, fragrance crafts, gourd painting, home decor,paper crafts, jewelry making, lamp making, rug making, soap making, stamping, stenciling, tiedying, pottery, handbag making, purse making, totes making, pocketbook making, polymer clay, potpourri, etc. blogs by the best artists and crafters on the web.

    We are looking for everyone who loves arts & crafts or hobbies and has a blog to come join us. If you are a crafter, sewer, woodworker, artist, designer, graphic artist, doll maker, painter, scrapbooker, photographer, fabric designer, needleworker, knitter, stamper, or anyone involved with making or selling arts & crafts and you have a blog please come join our toplist.

    This TopList has about 300 members. If your blogs fit their niche, you might want to check them out. And for those of us who are not artistic or crafty, you might want to look through their members to see if they have something you would like to buy.

    This is not an endorsement in the sense that I know anything about the owner of the list, or the members. It just looked good to me, and I wanted you to have the opportunity to look at it. Please let us know what you think of it, if you check it out.


    Interested in joining BLOG VILLAGE? Start HERE.

    If you are interested in being the Featured Villager on our BLOG VILLAGE News blog, please contact Janey Loree, Kilroy, the Gatekeeper, or Marsha - the members of our Village Interview Team.

    Monday, January 07, 2008

    Plush Memories Lost Toy Search Service linked in an Interview on MSNBC.com!!

    I just had to let everyone know that I was interviewed for an article on MSNBC.com about our blog helping families find lost lovies.
    Desperately seeking Lovey
    When a child loses a lovey, parents often stress as much as the owner of the precious toy, triggering frantic searches through the house, neighborhood and, in some cases, even cyberland.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22491129/from/ET/

    Interested in joining BLOG VILLAGE? Start HERE.

    If you are interested in being the Featured Villager on our BLOG VILLAGE News blog, please contact Janey Loree, Kilroy, the Gatekeeper, or Marsha - the members of our Village Interview Team.
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