Prologue

Hi, my name is Matt Ulmer. You may remember me from such blog handles as Mullows , or as the brunt of most of the abuse over at unclenasty land. What you may not know is that I’m a former hockey star, periodic Best Damn Tech Show, Period cast member, current public relations professional and writing manager at Educational Directories Unlimited, and future published author.

Ok, so that last part isn’t set in stone yet, or even remotely close to happening, but a girl can dream, can’t she? Uh…right.

So I suppose you’re probably wondering why exactly you are reading this blog, and why it’s called BookSay.Mindsay.com.

Well, this is an officially sanctioned MindSay blog that will chronicle one man’s attempt to get a book published. That one man is…wait for it…wait for it…did you figure it out yet?

That’s right.

Me.

I have written two novels and am about a third through my third, plus I have plenty of ideas swirling around my warped head like water spinning around a toilet after being flushed. And like hundreds of thousands of other people in the world, I am trying to become a published author. I hope to one day walk into a Borders and see one of my books sitting on the shelves (actually, probably a bunch of copies of one of my books sitting on the shelves since no one will really buy this junk). Will it ever happen? I don’t know, but thanks to this blog you can find out right along with me.

Most of my posts will be about the writing process as well as how to get published based on what people have told me, what I have read in different how-to books, etc. Now, I know a lot of people here on MindSay are published authors. Will they help me out? Hook me up? Give me advice? Contact their agents for me and ask them to look at my work?

Probably not. But again, a girl can dream, can’t she? Yeah, so that’s getting kind of creepy.

Anyway, this blog will be about where inspiration for books comes from, how you craft a believable character, why you need an agent, how to get an agent, writing query letters, and much more. The remainder of this post, however, will be about me, because one of the most important aspects of getting published, sad as it might be, is whether or not the author is marketable.

I’d like to think I am. I’m 23-years-old, so I have a hip attitude that could appeal with younger readers, but I’m also well cultured and well traveled, so I can relate to a more mature mindset. Plus, I started writing my first novel in June 2004, and I’m already well into my third, which means I’m prolific. I’ll be able to churn out plenty of yarns for agents to try to get published, and publishers to try to get money off of.

I’m 5’ 7”, 155 pounds with broad shoulders (at least that’s what a tailor once told me) and a thin waist. My eyes are deep blue with small rings of green around the pupils and I have light brown hair that forms a sort of wave at the front of my scalp, right over my forehead. If it were an ocean, my hairdo would be the sort of wave daring surfers dreamt about at night. In this case, however, it’s just typical hair sitting atop my head, with the occasional strand sticking up, looking like a shark fin cutting through that figurative ocean.

I played hockey for the majority of my life until I had heart surgery (I’m fine now, thanks, and my torso doesn’t look like the stitching of a baseball because I had a hot new procedure that doesn’t involve cutting through the ribcage). I recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from La Salle University in Northeast Philadelphia with a degree in Communication and a minor in English.  I am in charge of all writing and public relations at Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc., in Chester, PA, and many of my articles have been printed in various magazines throughout the world.  I read a lot, watch movies more, and am totally addicted to TV, plus I have toured through Europe, scuba dived in a submerged volcano, and was almost eaten by a shark off an island near the Bahamas.

Both of my parents are professional writers (one is a journalist and the other is in non-profit public relations) and I have been writing poems and short stories ever since I knew what the written word was. I also do that whole Mullows thing on the side.

Speaking of blogs, my next BookSay post(s) will go into more detail about my writing, from my first accolades to the inspiration for my latest book, and then we’ll really get into the meat of getting published. You know, because I have so much experience and all.

Until then, if you just can’t get enough Ulmer (and let's be honest, there’s never too much Ulmer) then check out http://www.MatthewUlmer.com for a website on my books. I’d love your feedback on how crappy it is. Honestly.

And that’s all for the inaugural post of MindSay’s second BookSay. Thanks for joining me on this crazy journey that roughly one in 25,000 people actually get to see through to the end. Hopefully we’ll have some fun times along the way. And if not, well, at least it doesn’t cost you anything to read this blog.

Unlike the future fees that will be involved in reading my books…