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The Story Doesn’t Write Itself By Shelia M. Goss

It seems only another writer will understand the plight of an author when they are trying to juggle their everyday life with a writing career. If you decide to write when you have time, you will never write because there will always be something that will interfere with your writing.

Below are a few tips to better manage your time in order to complete your writing projects:

1. Make an appointment with yourself. We schedule doctor’s appointments, hair appointments, school events, etc, so why not add “writing” to your schedule. Not only schedule it, but keep to the appointment.
2. Set boundaries. Inform those in your inner circle (family and friends) that you need X amount of solitude time to write. A story doesn’t write itself and in order for the story to be written, you, the writer need the solitude time to write the story.
3. Limit your social networking time. This is a catch-22 because if you’re marketing, social networking is a must. In order to write however, logging off Facebook, Twitter, etc era is a must. Social networking is a time zapper and if you don’t be careful, you’ll spend hours and hours without writing one sentence on your writing project.
4. Set word count/page writing goals. It helps to set goals on how many pages or words you want to write. Most importantly, when you set these goals, stick to them. Write them by any means necessary. If it means less time watching TV, being on social networks, getting up earlier or going to bed later, do so.
5. Set mini-goals. A lot of times we get frustrated because we don’t see an end to what we want to accomplish. One way to avoid this is to set mini-goals. Once you reach the mini-goal, then go on to the next goal.

What are some other tips that you use to help manage your time?

Shelia M. Goss is a national best-selling author and a 2012 Emma Award Finalist. She has over fourteen books in print and numerous of ebooks available. She writes in multiple genres. With unique storylines, her goal is to create “stories with a twist.” For more information, visit her website at http://www.sheliagoss.com/

Shelia M. Goss

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Mr. Me Too by Kisha Green

I have been spending the last few weeks just thinking and basically analyzing my literary life and my offline life in general.

Anyhow, I have felt mentally drained from all of the projects that are currently on my plate. I initially wanted to help people and thought that my projects would be a good thing as well as bring exposure for my publishing company and myself.

What I failed to realize is that not everyone shares my views. That is not a bad thing, but let me clarify before someone misunderstands what it is that Kisha Green is trying to convey.

Well, in this literary world there are Writers and Authors. Wait; before you ask where I am going with this rant, there is another category called “aspiring.” These people will never publish a damn thing, but they are all in every literary mix.

They will post a million and one notes on Facebook and let you read snippets on their blog, but a published book will NEVER happen. They may even send you book cover samples, but they are not ever going to be anything but aspiring.

Writers are people who simply write as a hobby and are content just W-R-I-T-I-N-G—nothing more and nothing less. They don’t care if they are going to be published or possibly ever become a NY Bestselling author. They write because it is their passion; they do not want any monetary compensation or notoriety.

Authors are those who love to write any and every chance they get and live, eat, and sleep literary. They want to have their work published whether it is self-publishing or even getting a literary agent, and shopping his or her book around for a traditional publishing house book deal. They write books, articles, short stories, and whatever else they can get their hands on.

“OH…you wrote a book?”

“Oh ok—yeah me too!”

“You wanna self publish?”

“Yeah, me too!”

“You’re working on your next book?”

“Yeah, me too!”

When I initially decided to publish anthologies through my DivaBooksInc publishing company, I thought that I would be meeting authors, but have come to the realization that all people aren’t ready to be authors and are rather happy just being writers. This was a hard pill to swallow since I know myself that I love the literary world. I love, meeting and networking with newbie authors, like myself, as well as seasoned authors.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of talking to me on the phone knows that I can go on for hours about LITERARY HOLLYWOOD!!

I completed four anthologies and the screening process was…exhausting, LOL!

“OH,you wrote a book?”

“Oh ok. Yeah, me too!”

“You wanna self publish?”

“Yeah, me too!”

“You’re working on your next book?”

“Yeah, me too!”

You can see where I am going with this—LOL—I am sure you have had this conversation with someone at some time or another.

“Oh, you wrote a book?

“Oh ok. Yeah, me too!”

“You wanna self publish?”

“Yeah, me too!”

“You’re working on your next book?”

“Yeah, me too!”

Yeah, Mr. Me Too is too funny and the reasons for this rant today. Plus, I was listening to the Clipse song called “Mr. Me Too” and said to myself, I have to write about this because there are a lot of those people out there in literary. So, basically, what I am ultimately trying to say is, SOME PEOPLE FAKE MOVES…WHILE OTHERS MAKE MOVES!!

The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch. ~Jim Rohn

Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience- Victoria Holt

Kisha Green

www.Literary-Jewels.com
www.DivaBooksIncOnline.com

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Seven Deadly Sins of Self-Publishing

The publishing industry is a dangerous place. I read an article the other day that stated the overwhelming majority of self-published authors don’t even sell 500 copies of their titles. Scary huh? What can authors do not to be in that number? I have my opinions on the subject, but called in additional experts (self-published authors) to give their two cents on what self-published authors’ worst enemy is. I received lots of great responses that pretty much fell into the below deadly sins.

Arrogance – There are authors out there who have done decent to quite well selling books and get to smelling themselves (as my grandmother would say). What these authors see as confidence, others often perceive as a funky and/or dismissive attitude. As my good friend author J’son M. Lee would say, “It’s best to keep it humble.”

Distribution Issues – Unfortunately, many authors do not know or understand what their different distribution options are. This goes deeper than just who is shipping your book where (electronic and print). Many also do not understand how ISBNs work and why your publishing company should own its ISBNs. Yes, it takes research. Start with Bowker, the only official source of ISBNs in the United States, and learn everything you can about ISBNs. Don’t be afraid to contact their support if need be.

Know exactly what your distributor can and can’t do for you. Will they offer marketing of your title to regional book sellers and libraries? Will your print titles be returnable? What seller and warehouse catalogues will your title(s) be listed in? Are they print on demand? What is print on demand? Are they taking a percentage of each sell…?

Speak with authors who have distributed in different ways and ask what worked and didn’t work for them. Research, research, research then make informed decisions. It’s okay if you change your mind later on in the game. You may do it this way for now and another way later, but at least you truly know what you’re doing.

Doubt – This one came up a lot. Not only self-doubt, but the doubt of others in us that we’ll make it. Fear of failure and of disappointing our loved ones has stopped many from reaching for their dreams. There is no easy way to say this, so I’ll just put it out there. If you do not try, you have failed yourself. The desire for this dream is in you for a reason. Nurture it by writing, learning the craft and business and doing your best to see your dream to fruition.

Gullibility – It breaks my heart every time I hear an author has been taken advantage of by a supposed editor, publisher, distributor, book seller, cover artist… The list goes on and on, including fellow authors. I have been in the business for over a decade, but don’t listen to every word I say. Do your own research. Same goes of other experienced authors, industry insiders and those who are supposedly in the know. There are a lot of good people out there who truly want to help you, but there are also a lot of cons who do not want you to succeed for whatever reason or who want to take advantage of your dream. Be careful.

Instant Gratification – There are self-published authors who want their book out there now, now, now. They don’t want to wait until they have enough money to properly produce their books. Many don’t want to take the time to have their book properly produced. Many don’t want to invest time in learning the craft and business. Many don’t want to invest time in creating and implementing marketing plans. Many don’t want to invest in the time it takes to have reviews (from legitimate review teams and publications) before their book is released. Many don’t want to invest the time in truly building a relationship with their base. Many won’t even decide who their base is… It goes on and on.

Laziness – There are authors who just want to write the book. Forget about the research that goes into writing their book(s) or learning the craft or business. Money is tight so everyone is trying to save costs, but some authors are so lazy that they won’t even learn how to properly format their book (which is easily found online).

Poor to No Planning – You’ve written this book, now what? Many have not set aside production and marketing budges or created a marketing plan. They haven’t been nurturing their relationship with readers and networking. They haven’t pinpointed how to connect with their target audience or even know where or what their target audience is… Publishing is a business. For a better chance at success, it pays to have plans for your business and each product you release.

There you have it. The Seven Deadly Sins of self-publishing, but as I went through them, I think some of them carry over to traditionally-published authors also. Be careful out there. The publishing world is dangerous!

Deatri King-Bey

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Writer Jealousy: Mind Your Own Business!

On Facebook the subject of writer/author jealousy came up. Some people were saying how they couldn’t let go of the green-eyed monster. They just couldn’t stop fixating on other authors and what they were accomplishing.

I think we all know that jealousy is the doorway to self-destruction. It’s a human trait we all experience but it can be incredibly damaging to one’s self if they allow jealousy to overtake them.

I remember what it was like to be unpublished and let me tell you newbies something, writer jealousy does not stop when you have a contract. Oh no. Even published authors are jealous of each other sometimes. There’s always someone you feel gets the better deals, the bigger advances, more acclaim. So don’t think that you can escape the demon once you release a book. No. It’s about getting your head straight. That’s where it starts.

You wanna put that energy into bettering your own writing so that one day you’re so super that you’re the recipient of one’s jealousy, not the jealous person. It’s not always easy to face being jealousy. It makes you feel even more inadequate.

You have to work at it and change how you approach yourself and your goals.

I’ve outlined some steps to help you go from being jealous to having superstar confidence.

Stop Watching other Writers:

Stop paying so much attention to other writers’ business. What another writer accomplishes or does has nothing to do with you or your career. Their book deals, their publishing company, their advance is none of your business! Concentrate on your work and being the best you can be and you won’t have time to “hate on” someone else.

Reevaluate Your Expectations:

Yep that’s right. Writing is not the type of career where having high expectations helps. If your expectations are too high you can end up losing your drive because most writers cannot live up to their unbelievable expectations. When things go wrong it’s natural to believe we’ve failed and that feeling of inadequacy opens the door to jealousy simply because someone else’s career seems to be going perfectly and yours is stagnant. Writers should have goals of course but if your expectations exceed the normal realm of possibility you’re setting yourself up for developing career jealousy when things don’t turn out as you expect. And most times they won’t.

Figure out Why You’re Jealous:

The misconception is that jealousy means we wanna be someone else or have their lives. Jealousy stems from us being depressed and unhappy about ourselves. A lot of jealous writers have things going wrong in their lives that have nothing to do with writing but the jealousy might be leveled to someone in our field because that’s who we’re around the most. If you’re unhappy, try to figure out why. Left ignored, depression can cause jealousy among other destructive thoughts to fester.

Write:

Maybe you just aren’t busy enough. If you’re sitting there worrying about other writers then you should take that wasted energy and write your book! Poor the emotions you feel in your writing. Turn it from negative energy to a positive result. Sometimes writers are just lazy. They want the rewards but don’t want to put in the work then wonder why things might be going better for others. The only way to stop being jealous is to accomplish something of your own and that starts with writing.

Separate Yourself from Other Writers:

Sometimes you can’t fight jealousy no matter what you do. Separate yourself from other writers if you can’t escape their “good” news. Some days it’s like you get online and everything is going great for every writer except you. When things aren’t going as well for you then hearing loads of good news at every turn can be very depressing. Step back for a while. Stop going to writing forums, Facebook writing groups or anywhere that makes you uncomfortable for a while. You’ll come back with a better out look and realize that another writer’s success does not affect yours.

Stacy-Deanne

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

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Keep Experimenting to Sell Books

I’ve never met a book author who didn’t want to sell more copies of their work. It doesn’t matter if they are published through one of the largest publishers or Podunk Press (I don’t believe there is such a small publisher named Podunk Press but maybe since there are many of them).

I’ve interviewed more than 150 bestselling authors and spoken with hundreds of other authors. If you bring up the topic of selling more books, almost every author has a story about something they tried yet failed to work. Often these stories are filled with the author blaming someone else for the lack of sales. They blame:

their publisher
their publicist
their agent
their editor
the wrong title
the wrong cover
the missing endorsements
_____ you name it

It’s rare that I hear the author blame the real culprit: themselves. Yes, it’s hard to admit but it is the first step toward selling more books and understanding who bears the true responsibility for selling books—the author.

In Jack Canfield’s bestselling title, The Success Principles, How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, he begins the book with some fundamentals for success. The first principle is: Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life.

For book authors, you can easily take the word Life and substitute Book: Take 100% Responsibility for Your Book. It’s amazing how your attitude will shift if you take this simple step.

Many authors long to have their book appear on the bestseller list. For some authors they equate getting on the bestseller list as their benchmark of success for their book. Over ten years ago, I read Michael Korda’s Making the List, a Cultural History of the American Bestseller 1900–1999. Korda at the time was the Editor-in-Chief at Simon and Schuster, one of the largest publishers. If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend it.

In the introduction, Korda writes, “The bestseller list is therefore neither as predictable nor as dominating as its critics make it out to be. Plenty of strange books get onto the list and stay there for a long time…at least half of the books on any given list are there to the immense surprise and puzzlement of their publishers. That’s why publishers find it so hard to repeat their success—half the time they can’t figure out how they happened in the first place.” (Page xv) I love his honesty. There is no magic bullet and it is different for every book. The author is key.

Some books start slow and steadily sell then catapult in sales. Other books begin strong then sales drop to nothing. There is no consistent pattern.

My encouragement is for you to keep experimenting with different methods to sell your book. Each author has a different experience.

Yesterday I spoke with an author who had sold 8,000 to 10,000 copies of his self-published books. He had held over 300 book signings for his book. For many authors book signings have yielded almost nothing but not for this author. He regularly speaks at schools and service clubs and even AARP meetings.

If you aren’t speaking much as an author, I encourage you to get a copy of Barbara Techel’s Class Act, Sell More Books Through School and Library Appearances. This book gives step-by-step help and is loaded with ideas where you can take action.

What proactive steps can you take to learn a new skill or try some new way to sell books? It doesn’t matter if your book is brand new or has been in print for a while. Keep the experimentation going until you hit the elements which work for your book.

W. Terry Whalin

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Sharing Is Caring

SHARING IS CARING….RIGHT???????

If that were true then we would have a world of shiny happy people who walked around all cheery. The real word exists so we can’t really do that …

Here on this wonderful social networking site there is a button titled SHARE, and what this means is if you feel that the information you have viewed is of benefit to others, you can share it with others.

This is an easy and cool concept, right? Yes, I too agree, but what happens is that we do not utilize this FREE service because…. Yeah, exactly, no reason, we just don’t want to…

I believe if you want support, you have to actually support others, and trust me, there are ways you can support someone without spending money.

A lot of us are in the literary business so we are constantly promoting our books. So if you cannot afford to buy that authors book, why not promote the book on your site or page for them.

Why? Because you support them and only want the best for he/she right? You would want someone to do the same for you right?

SUPPORT SHARING

No, this commentary isn’t the cure all for all those in the world needing support, but sometimes you need to read something to understand it clearly. Here is my thing. If you do not want to support the person and not at all concerned with seeing him/her grow and become a success, why do you have them on your friends list, follow them, visit their blog… if you aren’t willing to support them?

If you are doing this to keep tabs on a person, that is lame… EXTRA lame and what should be done immediately is you should delete yourself and keep it moving.

WHY CARING IS SHARING

I am not jealous or envious of anyone in this literary world because we all are striving for success and it will come. I am a success in my own right. I have accomplished a lot that many will not accomplish in their lifetime, that isn’t me being cocky or arrogant, but it’s my true feeling and as being a firm believer of everything can be obtained if you seek success can only come into fruition if you are focused and determined.

We are here to network, and if you are serious about it, pressing the SHARE button should not be such a hard obstacle. This isn’t high school, even though some people do carry on online like it is indeed Facebook High where a few corny few think a high friend count means they are suddenly “cool.”

Anyhoo- What I am ultimately trying to convey is EACH ONE TEACH ONE

Just don’t think you can get support from the very same people you aren’t willing to support.

If you cannot help someone, then tell them just that you can’t help them. but if you can help-

THEN JUST DO IT!

We are all on here to network, so if that is true shouldn’t that networking be EFFECTIVE???

Kisha Green

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Book Distribution—The Necessary Evil

Having your book professionally edited isn’t the only necessary evil you must deal with in your journey to becoming a successful author. Don’t forget your book’s distribution. This article will focus on print distribution.

You’ve written what you know will be a best seller and done all of the other production legwork, and now you’re holding a copy of your finished print book in your hand. Yes, there are still billions of dollars in sales per year for print titles and you want your chunk of it. But how do you get your title to the point of sell? Oh no, you skipped an important step–distribution. In order to talk distribution, we need to talk printing also.

Print On Demand (POD) Printing

POD Printing is used for small print runs. Publishers have been using this technology for over a decade for Advance Review Copies and when they want to do small print runs. Using this method is more expensive per book than using offset printing (which is used for large print runs), but you don’t have to pay the storage and insurance fees you do for large print runs or risk having large amounts of books, that you’ve paid for, taking up space (space is money) if they don’t sell.

Self-Distribution

Many printing companies offer POD Printing services. Create Space and Lightning Source are two popular ones, but there are also companies that do offset printing (large print runs) such as Bang Printing that offer POD Printing. In self-distribution, you’d have the company print however many books and send them to you to sell from your home, website, storefront and so on. You’d make contact with book sellers for your book’s inclusion in their catalogues. You’d submit your book to wholesalers such as Baker and Taylor and Ingram (at least six months before your book’s release). You’d do it all. If you go this route, be careful of signing consignment agreements with book sellers. In consignment agreements, the author sends the seller an agreed number of books. The book seller then sells the books and is supposed to give the author his/her agreed upon royalty for those sells, and the books that don’t sell are supposed to be returned to the author. Unfortunately, numerous authors have been ripped off by signing consignment agreements. Many do not receive their pay or return of their books. Be sure to speak with other authors who have had their titles with the seller and do your research before you sign anything and/or ship your books.

POD Distribution/Publishing

With POD Distribution, you work with a POD company such as Create Space or Lightning Source for the printing and distribution of your title. The company utilizes POD printing combined with its distribution channels to have your title listed in book sellers’ catalogues (for example Baker & Taylor, Ingram, Barnes & Noble). When a customer orders your title online or from the physical store, a copy of your book is printed and shipped to the customer or seller, depending on the arrangement between the POD company and the seller. Once the sell is complete, you will receive a royalty on that sell.

Many authors (and some publishing houses) use POD distribution/publishing because of the low upfront cost, but there is a major downside that you must understand. Numerous book sellers will not carry your title in their establishment because if the copies do not sell, the book seller can not return them (which is common practice in the industry for unsold books). It does not matter that your title is listed in Baker and Taylor or Ingram, they still will not be returnable when working through most POD distributors/publishing.

Some POD publishers, such as Lightning Source, have an arrangement with the wholesalers such as Baker & Taylor to allow returns. The author, of course, pays the POD company additional fees for this. The great thing about this is more stores will be willing to stock your title on their shelves. The downside is, outside of being listed in catalogs and websites, there is little to no additional marketing from the POD publisher and distributor. It’s up to the author to make those connections.

Traditional Distributor

A distributor stores your print run, markets your titles to the booksellers (chains) and works to ensure your title will be on as many store shelves as possible. This is the main type of distribution traditional publishers use and is very costly, which is why many self-published authors do not go this route.

Having a marketing team promote your books to major book sellers and your title being returnable is HUGE. Granted, you’ll still need to market your title to get readers to the bookstore (online and physical) to buy your title, but at least it will be on the shelves.

Not all traditional distributors are created equal. Some of the smaller ones do not market your book to book sellers. If they aren’t going to market your book to the major chains and book sellers, I suggest you go a different route.

Final Words

It’s important that you know your options where distribution is concerned so you can make informed choices. The publishing industry is ever changing and so are the roles of distributors. Do your research and know what you are getting into.

Deatri King-Bey

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If You Build It & They Don’t Come

Years ago when I launched my first website, I worked hard at all of the details of this site—the functionality, the appearance and the contents. I was convinced this website would sell tons of books and generate terrific amounts of new writing business. I was stuck in fantasy and not reality because it did not happen.

I often meet unpublished authors who are convinced a website or lots of activity on Facebook is the single answer to sell many books. They have fallen into this trap of believing the line from the movie Field of Dreams, that if they build it, the people will come.

Today I’m wiser and have written more than 60 books for traditional publishers. As a book publisher, I’ve helped more than 150 authors launch their own book. From my years in publishing I want to give you five critical actions to take with your book marketing.

Decide to take 100% responsibility for your book marketing. Many authors have told me about their dismal book sales whether they have been published from a recognized publisher or a self-published. They always want to blame someone or some event. Anything and everything is responsible except their own actions. Your attitude is critical and yes others will help you but you have to lead the charge for telling others about your book.
Be willing to try a limited number of new things. You must focus your book marketing efforts to be successful. I encourage you to be reading books and online materials of others. As you learn about something new, try it and add it to your book marketing strategies. I understand you have to limit the new things or you will run in a million different directions and be completely ineffective at anything. It is important to be open to new opportunities.
Always be learning something new. It is a book marketing attitude killer to feel like you know everything there is to know about selling books. No one knows everything. Look for new ideas through blogs and online reading and reading books. With this open attitude, you will find new opportunities to sell your books to others.
Meet new people. Whether you go to a local Chamber of Commerce meeting or a conference, get out of your office and interact with others. Listen to their ideas and tell them about your own efforts. The cooperation and networking will increase potential for your own book sales. Many authors spend too much time at their keyboard or computer and not enough face to face time with others.
Decide to never give up on your book. Some books are slow starters in the market and take a while to begin selling. Persistence will be your friend when it comes to selling your book. I’ve read an individual has to hear about your book seven times before they actually make a buying decision. Whether it is five or seven times, these readers have to hear about the value of your book repeatedly to make a purchase decision. Your persistence in telling others and reaching new audiences will pay off for you. Never give up.

Finally I want to give you two free resources to help your book marketing efforts. First is a free traffic newsletter from my friend Jimmy D. Brown. His success in Internet Marketing is legendary. Pick up the first issue of his Traffic Jam Newsletter and 10 Ways to Get Other People to Send You Free Traffic. His newsletter will stir ideas.

The second resource is my free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. Get it free at: http://terrylinks.com/pb Next read this book and take action on the ideas.

You can build it and they will come but only if you continue to promote your book.

W. Terry Whalin

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________________________________________

W. Terry Whalin understands both sides of the editorial desk. A former acquisitions editor and a former literary agent, Terry is a Vice President and Publisher at Intermedia Publishing Group. He has written more than 60 books for traditional publishers including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and several of Terry’s books have sold over 100,000 copies. He has authored an innovative training for writers, Write A Book Proposal. Terry is an active member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Upcoming Free Workshop: Character Cake (Character Development) Facilitator: Deatri King-Bey Date: May, 19 2012 Time: 4-5 p.m. Central Location: Become A Successful Author Website (link and password will be given the day before the event). Sign up for the newsletter to participate.

Grabbing Writers Block by the You-Know-What

All writers deal with the dreaded writers block from time to time. It’s the enemy of all of us. It makes us huddle in corners, chew our nails to the nubs and go completely insane! But no more! You hear me? Writers no longer have to bow down to the big WB! You can beat it and it’s not as hard as you think.

It’s about how you approach it. Some argue that WB isn’t real. That it’s all in our heads. Others are convinced it’s as harmful as a deadly disease. Well maybe that’s a little dramatic but if you’ve ever experienced writers block you know it can be a frustrating and sometimes terrifying experience because you don’t know if you will ever get an idea again.

Writers block is different than procrastination. Procrastination is our own fault. It’s when we have ideas, can write, but don’t. Writers block is when you’d sell a chunk of your soul for just a tiny bit of direction for your next story or scene. It’s miserable but there are tips to help you conquer it.

You guys know that by now I tend to only give advice that I use myself. So when I say these tips work, they work. Do not doubt me. I challenge anyone who is dealing with writers block at this moment to try at least one of these tips and I bet it will help you.

Leave the Work Alone

Yep, there is nothing wrong with walking away. This is what’s wrong with writers. We think we have to always write even when we can’t. Sometimes a lack of direction is a message from our bodies. Maybe our brains need a break. Maybe we are just exhausted. Maybe we are dealing with things in our subconscious we don’t realize. Learn that it is okay to take a break and just walk away. Ideas will come back to you and when they do, they will be better than ever. You will be surprised at how not writing can jumpstart ideas.

Stop Trying to Be Perfect

You can tell a perfection wannabe from a mile away. They can never write one single word without second-guessing themselves. They struggle over every single sentence, bellyache about every misused comma, cry about how the sentence just “doesn’t seem right”. If this is you, you my friend are your own worst enemy.

You cannot expect your work to be perfect, point blank. You especially can’t expect a first draft to be perfect. If you agonize over everything to the point of obsession you will never finish a book. So you need to remember you are allowed to make mistakes. Let your muse run freely. Stop interfering with its flow. Once you give your muse control you’ll be able to write and you’ll feel at ease doing it.

The first draft is the time to just get those ideas on paper to resemble some kind of story. Save panicking for when it’s time to edit and revise.

Don’t be a Rule Whore

Sorry for my choice of words but needed to be blunt. That’s how I do. A rule whore, oh yeah we know it. It’s mainly writers just starting out who think they gotta follow every writing rule they see. They tie into the perfection crowd. Look writing rules are there for a reason but you do not have to live by them. Once you’ve learned the basics of writing and you’re good enough, rules can be broken. You’re only hurting yourself if you try to write to a rulebook. You will stifle your own creativity because you’re too busy worrying about how many exclamation marks or adverbs you can use than writing the darn story!

Once again, the first draft is not the time to panic. You can go back and edit by using the rules that can make your work better. Don’t, and I repeat, don’t write strictly by the rules.

Stop Trying to Shortcut Drafts

Some writers try to be squeaky clean during the first draft so they don’t have to go back and edit. Give it up. You’re making it hard on yourself because once again you’re fighting to be perfect. You are going to have to edit and probably even revise that thing plenty of times so deal with it. Also would you wanna be an author who just throws up one draft and put it out into the world? No. And if you plan on being published you are gonna have to realize that you might go through as many as ten or more drafts of the same book before it’s ready. It’s just part of the business.

Ditch It

Hmm, sometimes things are commonsense. And no I’m not trying to be condescending. I’m trying to get writers to see that we do more harm than good to ourselves in terms of writers block. If something is not working whether it’s a scene or even a story, ditch it. If you cannot make that sucker work maybe that’s a sign that you shouldn’t write it.

Writers have huge egos. Yes, yes we do. And we can’t stand having to walk away from anything especially permanently but sometimes the story you want to tell is not the story your muse wants to tell and honey you aren’t getting anywhere without the muse agreeing.

Stacy-Deanne

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Stacy-Deanne (Dee-Anne) is an award-winning novelist of crime, mysteries and interracial romance. She is known as “Interracial Romance’s First Lady of Crime and Mystery.” She’s been writing professionally since 19-years-old, and her work includes “Divas of the New Millennium,” “Everlasting,” “Melody” and “Giving up the Ghost.” Stacy is profiled along with notable authors in the NAACP-nominated 2006 book, “Literary Divas: The Top 100+ African-American Women in Writing.” She is a 2011 African-American Literary Award Show nominee.

Adventures in Plotting

Part of the key to succeeding as an indie writer is to offer new products on a fairly regular basis. You cannot expect to put out one book and then sit back and count the money. Readers want more, and writers have to offer it. There are ways to get around this. Established writers can publish eBook versions of backlist titles they own eBook rights to. If your project is coming along slowly, you can write a few self-contained short stories featuring the characters. An ideal publication schedule is to have something new every three to six months.

This can be difficult for slow writers like myself. I find that regular writing helps, and I use tools like a hand-held recorder compatible with Dragon dictation software, to help maximize my output. But my biggest obstacle with this is being able to knowing what to write about.

I’m not sure I ever really understood plot-driven vs. character-driven (probably not a good thing for a fiction writer), but I do know this: When it comes to writing my books, I am a plotter, not a panster. I summarize the entire story first. This comes from my years as a traditionally published author, when new contracts were offered to me on the strength of the synopsis I provided to my editor. When I began to indie publish, it was easy to keep up this practice.

I have had times when putting together a story where I became more stuck than tires in mud. In the case of my book A Kiss of a Different Color (2010), I had a basic premise of a black woman forced by economics to take a job in overwhelmingly white North Dakota, where she decided to take a chance and enroll for the ballroom dancing lessons she’s always dreamed of taking. There she is paired with a handsome, tall blond man from Minnesota. Some cute banter and a few fireworks at their first meeting…a car that won’t start after one night of classes that puts them together in a bar while they wait for a tow truck…and then what? I had a promising beginning, but nothing else.

I did what most writers would do…I put this story aside and worked on something else. I kept coming back to it, hoping that the “light bulb” inside my head would go off. Months passed, and then years…and I still couldn’t come up with a plausible story.

‘Plausible’ is an important word to me. While I’m a big believer in having a defined plot, I also feel it’s important to stay true to my characters. Have you ever read a book where a character you think you know does something totally out of character? This usually happens when the author is trying to force the characters to fit their predefined plot, and it won’t ring true, which will leave readers feeling bewildered and ultimately unsatisfied.

Obviously, I eventually figured out a plot line for A Kiss of a Different Color, although it took several years. I ran into a similar problem when outlining the story that became Isn’t She Lovely? (2012). I was pleased with the story I’d created, but then after reaching a pivotal moment in the story, where the hero is threatened with exposure of a carefully guarded secret by a vindictive person (who learned of his secret by her own devices, not because he confided in her), I got stuck. What would happen next?

This time the solution came to me much more quickly. I let the characters decide. My hero was running for governor, and if his secret became public knowledge, it might mean the end of his campaign. My heroine was being threatened by her ex-husband who wanted custody of her children and was desperate to keep her name out of any scandal that might make the judge decide in her ex’s favor. I had written these characters pretty well and felt I knew them. By getting into their heads, I figured out what they would do. The solution opened the door to a ton of additional conflict, which would keep the story moving. I was happy…my editor was happy…and, judging by the responses I’ve received directly and those left on review sites, the readers are happy.

Plot-driven vs. character-driven? I guess I believe in a little of both. Have a plot, but let the characters’ personalities propel it forward and get from point A to B and so on. Once you have a fully defined story, it’s easy to focus on one scene at a time until you have an entire book.

Because the clock is ticking.

Bettye Griffin

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Bettye Griffin began indie publishing in 2009. Her latest eBook, Isn’t She Lovely?, was published in March 2012.

Ramblings Of A Literary Nobody

I LOVE literary—literally. I have sacrificed a lot of time and energy into this, and often sit on my bed or couch wondering What for? I neglected family and friends for what I believed I was destined to do. I wrote my first book “And Even if I Did” to simply rid my brain of these characters that were often there. I didn’t want to call myself crazy, so I simply assumed it was best that I wrote a book; that or go talk to licensed professional. *smile*

It has been a lot of work. I have met a lot of people; some of them are still here and some of them couldn’t take the heat and decided to keep their day job and leave literary to Judy Blume, James Patterson, or even Terry McMillan for that matter.

After making some mistakes of my own in the pursuit to being a literary superstar, I had to sit down and just chill. I made a list of reasons why I wanted to write my first book and why I wanted to publish others on my anthologies. Mainly, that what was my goal period.

It was rough because during that time friends became foes and foes became friends. I saw that association with the wrong type can be a very tragic thing. I was guilty by association. We must remember that we live in a very judgmental society; and even though you might have your own brain and thoughts, it really doesn’t matter since you spend a lot of your online presence around the wrong people. Who are those wrong people? Those posing as concerned colleagues so eager to help you because they simply “know it all”. At least that’s the way they appeared. They often had suggestions on how to take my career to the next level; but after it was all said and done, I was the one doing all the work and they were taking all of the credit.

After this happening several times, (and I do mean several), I just decided to do me; and that meant keeping to myself and turning into “Anti- Social Annie.” I was comfortable with this because I had to learn my lesson that everyone doesn’t have my best interest in their heart. During this time, I researched the literary business and decided it was time for me to take control of my goals and stop depending on everyone for everything.

I decided if I was going to be successful, I had to get my feet wet and network—and I had to be effectively networking. I wasn’t going to go for the okey doke any more. Enter social networking; this was a good place to start, BUT there are some “special” types that frequent social networking sites.

There are three popular types-

-The deaf, dumb, and blind: They are so eager, wanting information and very thirsty for knowledge; but no matter how much you assist them, they still end up doing the complete opposite of what you advise them to do, only to come back saying they should have listened to you.

-The “know-it-alls”: Those that think they know the answer to any and every question. Those types of people are starved for attention, so you have to be careful. No matter the subject, they have to comment and, even if they have nothing to say, they will disagree just for the sake of argument.

-The sideline watches: Those that are like sponges. They will absorb everything you and every other person says regarding jumpstarting his or her career, but can’t ever offer any help—ALWAYS having their hand out for assistance.

So, at times, attempting to network was indeed a full-time job since I was dealing with all types of people, but what I did was simple. I closed my mouth and opened my ears. This is very simple to do, but we, as humans, get it confused. *smile* So I say this to say, do what works for you and only YOU. There is only going to be one person looking back at you in the mirror, so make sure you can face the reflection that appear before you. I will leave this with you—when you learn better, you do better.

Kisha Green

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Kisha Green is no stranger to the literary world. She is the well-informed, knowledgeable publisher of DivaBooksInc.(www.divabooksinconline.com). Green is a senior writer and founder of the Writer’s Vibe (www.writers-vibe.com) a literary site to help promote artists.

Unplug and Write

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a fellow author about writer’s block. She said she didn’t know what was wrong. For some reasons the stories weren’t coming to her like they used to. “Writer’s Block,” she claimed, but that didn’t sound right to me. The stories were coming to her as always. She had concepts and would go on and on about plots, but when it came to sitting at the keyboard and bringing the characters to life—nothing. Or even worse, the writing felt flat. It was time for a major shake-up. I couldn’t allow my girl to go out like that.

Did you know that writing by hand, speaking into a recording device and typing into a word processor each tap into your brain differently? It’s faster to type your manuscript than having to transcribe something that is handwritten or recorded, so that is the method many of us use. My author friend lived and planned on dying by the word processor. When I suggested tapping into her creativity using handwritten or oral methods, she said she didn’t have all of that time.

I told her to indulge me. Turn off the computer—which she hadn’t been able to do much more than surf the Internet on when she was supposed to be writing—pick up the writing utensil of her choice and start writing the book she’d told me about during our walks.

She came over to “visit” me, but I will go to my grave saying she actually came over to “torture” me while we both wrote using pen and paper. This was also an exercise for me, because I hadn’t written this way in years. I’ll give you one guess what happened? It started out rocky and she worked my last nerve, but within an hour, we were both writing demons. After we typed out what we’d done, we critiqued each other’s work and her writing had that umph again. Don’t get me wrong, her books were still good but they were missing some of the zeal of the past. And yes, I’ll tell on myself. She said the same types of things about my writing.

I wrote so much faster this way that I believe I still came out ahead time wise by writing by hand then typing it into the word processor. This got me to thinking—WHY? Why was my writing freer? I also recorded a few scenes as I took my walk, and they also flowed easily. I have no scientific evidence to support what I’m about to say, but in addition to tapping into a different portion of my brain for creativity, using a pen and paper unplugged me from two huge distractions.

Distractions:

Easy access to the Internet is a HUGE distraction. Be honest, how much of your writing time do you spend surfing the net, on social media, checking emails… If you must write using your computer, be sure to turn off your Internet connection. Granted, it is easy to turn log back on, but resist the urge. And don’t make excuses like I need to check the dictionary or look something up. You may need to, but instead make a list of items then set aside time to do that research. Every time you stop writing to do whatever, you interfere with the flow of the work and it’s hard to get into a good rhythm.
Spelling/grammar check and your internal editor. I know you are thinking I’m crazy, but I noticed this the other week when I was writing a scene. As I’m typing, if I make a mistake, I go back and fix it right then and there. This messes up your flow.

Though life itself can be quite a distraction, at least I wouldn’t have either of these distractions when I write by hand or record scenes. I don’t worry about spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax… I just write. I’m free. Then when I transcribe the scenes using the word processor, I massage them a little, and I’m good to go.

I know we are in the electronic age and many of you are thinking there is no way you will take the time to handwrite or record then transcribe but I want you to give it a try. In the long run, you may save time and release new parts of your creativity.

Deatri King-Bey

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Deatri will be conducting a FREE Character Development workshop for people who are signed up for my monthly newsletter. Workshop: Character Cake Cost: Free Date: Apr, 28 2012 Time: 4-5 p.m. Central Location: Become A Successful Author Website (link and password will be given the day before the event)

My Adventure as a Mainstream Author Doing Self Published ebooks: Part 2

Last month, I discussed why I, a mainstream author, decided to self publish ebooks too My Adventure As A Mainstream Author Doing Self-Published eBooks Part 1. This month, I’ll share my experience with using the Amazon KDP Select program.

I decided since The Commitment Plan and VIP were two of my older titles re-released as ebooks that I would try the KDP Select program and see what the hype was about.

One of the drawing factors to the program was being able to offer the title for free for a limited amount of time. Free? How does that benefit the author financially if the book is free?

Several ways. There are millions of people with Kindles. Unless you’re a Jackie Collins or James Patterson, you may not have a million readers so being able to offer the book for free is a good way to give readers an opportunity to read a book with no strings attached by an author they are not familiar with or who’ve they’ve always wanted to try but was unsure.

Will offering the book for free guarantee future sales? Nothing is 100 percent but from my experience being a part of the KDP program, my sales not only increased for the book that was offered for free but also sales for some of my other titles increased.

I saw sales triple for both The Commitment Plan and VIP after being put on the program. What gave it the boost? Believe it or not is offering the book for free over a one to two day period. I don’t know what the magic is about increasing sales after a free promotion but yes, folks, it works.

When the books were offered for free there were enough downloads to place the books in the top 100 Amazon best sellers list which brought more awareness to the books. Another thing that happened is the books were also offered as a “recommended” read after a customer makes a purchase of another book in that same category.

I experienced the most sales the first six weeks after being in the program. Although sales have waned some from the first six weeks, they are steady.

When is a good time to put your ebook in the KDP program?

If your book is an older title being re-released as an ebook, then it may benefit you.
If your book is part of a series and you want to get people interested in the series, then it may benefit you.
If you noticed low to no sales and need a boost, then it may benefit you.
If you only have one title out, it may or may not benefit you.

Another feature of the program that is either a plus or minus is people who have the Amazon Prime Membership will have the option to borrow the book. Authors get paid when the book is borrowed, but the amount paid per borrow will fluctuate. Members are only able to borrow one book per month but can extend the borrow. There aren’t any limits on how many people can borrow one book though.

In my opinion, the only negative I could find with the program is giving exclusive rights to sell for a period of 90 days. That means you can’t sell it on your website or at any of the other online retailers for the specified 90 day period. So people who don’t have Kindles, will not be able to read your book until after you offer it on the other devices after the 90 day period.

Overall, participating in the program has worked for me. Remember, my journey is not every author’s journey. If you decide to try it, put forth your best effort. Stop back by next month when I talk about writing under pen-names, the pros and the cons.

Are you an author using the Amazon KDP Select program? What have been your personal pros and cons?

Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments field.

Shelia M. Goss

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For a full list of the books in the Shelia Goss eBook Collection go to: http://www.sheliagoss.com/ebooks

Shelia M. Goss is a national best-selling author and a 2012 Emma Award Finalist. She has over thirteen books in print and numerous of ebooks available. She writes in multiple genres. With unique storylines, her goal is to create “stories with a twist.” For more information, visit her website at http://www.sheliagoss.com/

Twitter… Tweeps… Tweeties… Oh My!!!

Ok, let me first say that the creation of Twitter was a godsend to me because I am so random at times, and this social media site let’s me be just that, and others actually want to follow my randomness.

What is Twitter you ask? Well, according to PC Magazine it is –> A very popular instant messaging system that lets a person send brief text messages up to 140 characters in length to a list of followers. Launched in 2006, Twitter was designed as a social network to keep friends and colleagues informed throughout the day. However, it became widely used for commercial and political purposes to keep customers, voters and fans up-to-date as well as to encourage feedback.

After establishing a Twitter account at www.twitter.com/, individuals can import their e-mail addresses as well as use the Twitter search to locate and invite people. Twitter messages (“tweets”) can be made public and sent to anyone requesting the feed, or they can be sent only to approved followers.

Messages can be sent and received via cellphone text messaging (SMS), the Twitter website or a third-party Twitter application. To follow a Twitter feed, the Twitter site and feed name become the URL; for example, Microsoft’s Twitter feed is www.twitter.com/microsoft and for an actual person the twitter feed would be www.twitter.com/kishagreen

What does all of this technical twitter stuff mean to you? Well it means that you can tell the whole world wide web what you ate, plan on eating or don’t want to eat. The beauty is that even though you think this is useless information it is actual relevant to your followers since they find you interesting.

Commonly Used Twitter Lingo

Followers
These are the people who “follow” your tweets. Every time you tweet, these people automatically see it on their timeline, whereas someone else would have to search and find you on Twitter. The same goes for the people you follow; their updates will appear on your timeline

Retweet (RT)
Twitter became a viral conduit when users initiated “retweeting,” which forwards tweets they get to their followers. People retweet to pass on worthwhile information, and the ease of retweeting can quickly build large audiences. This is the same as sharing on Facebook

Direct Messages (DMs)
Initially a one-way broadcast from writer to follower, this is not seen on your timeline this goes to one person’s inbox. Writers can send followers a “direct message” (DM), and followers can do likewise. Followers can also delete the DMs they sent, making them disappear from the writer’s inbox. Please note: You cannot send DM’s to people who are not following you.

@ Signs
When someone replies to a Twitter posting, they use their Twitter account name preceded by an @ sign; for example, “@KishaGreen” This is how you know someone is talking directly to you.

# Hashtags
A hashtag is a # prefix used to group tweets together. For example, people commenting about a Twitter about my online radio show would use #WritersLifeChats in their postings (tweets) and all those messages could be viewed as a group by searching for #WritersLifeChats

Why should you tweet? Because it’s fun! LOL… Seriously, because it is a way to reach any and everyone all at once as opposed to just saying it to the same people on Facebook. Meaning if you have 1700 friends on Facebook and you want to advertise or promote something you are limiting yourself to just those 1700 whereas Twitter let’s you tell the whole world wide web, well all of those with a Twitter account.

How do you tweet? Easy just say what is on your mind, good or bad, but the trick is to keep it under 140 characters, so this requires you to be clever yet creative. You can tweet from a computer, iPads (tablets) and cellphone

Is Tweeting effective? According to Twitter, there are over 200 million registered users, but how many are active users that we don’t know yet. According to Business Insider, there were 119 million Twitter accounts following one or more other accounts. Either way, if you have a business to promote or a product to sell or in my case books to sell, Twitter is where we need to be to connect with a bunch of people for FREE! Yes, I said free. I don’t know about you, but that’s a good enough reason for me.

I promote my radio show, author promo services and my books all on Twitter, and have been more successful with it than on Facebook. How do I do this? Simply, by tweeting all relevant info to them all. If there is someone I want to interview, I tweet them and begin a rapport with them, and then we exchange contact information and from there I arrange my interviews. For selling books, I post pictures (twitpics) of my book cover along with purchasing URL’s. I then tweet about the most random things that to a complete stranger it is interesting and makes them want to follow me and eventually purchase my books. As for my Author Promo Services, I am constantly tweeting pertinent literary information, and those in the industry are interested, and then later on utilize my services. I cannot lie, it does require time and effort, but it is well worth it.

Examples

Book Tweet–> A Write Way to Love by @KishaGreen on Kindle for $2.99. One Click today! #ReadingIsSexy #GoodBook #Ebook

Author Promo Tweet –> Authors: Do you need help promoting your book? Let DivaBooksInc help YOU today. www.divabooksinconline.com #Promo #Books #Marketing

Radio Show Promo Tweet –> Writer’s Life Chats with @KishaGreen Mondays at 7pm www.writerslifechats.com #literaryjewels #authorinterviews #writerslifechats

See how the hashtags are all relevant to all of my tweets BUT most importantly less than 140 characters.

Kisha Green

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Be Active On Twitter & Automate It

When I meet with writers at a conference or on the phone, they will often tell me, “No one knows me or my writing.” Maybe they have written a few magazine articles but never published a book. Or maybe they haven’t published anything but want to get published. Other people have written for magazines or newspapers but never written a book (nonfiction or fiction).

First a reminder: I know of no overnight successes in the publishing business. If you have someone who appears to become an overnight success, then look closer at the journey of that person. I’ve often found they have been in the trenches for years before they achieved their dream of success. OK, with this reality check, now what can you do to begin building your visibility in the community? There is not a singular answer to this question. There are many answers.

One answer is to become active on Twitter. According to Twitter’s site, as of September 14, 2010, there are 175 million users who tweet 95 million times a day. Those numbers are right–a million. What are you waiting for? Let’s get started.

1. Who is your target audience? Who do you want to reach and with what message? It is important from the beginning to select one or two “themes” to your tweets because this consistency will attract your audience and help you.

2. Create your Twitter profile and add your photo and bio. Get more details in my free Ebook, Mastering Twitter in 10 Minutes or Less.

3. Add a distinctive twitter background to your twitter profile. Here’s a free tool to create it.

4. Use a free tool like Hootsuite to send out your tweets and also to schedule them.

5. Locate Twitter Leaders in your area at Twellow. Follow those leaders and learn from their tweets.

6. Use a tool like TweetAdder to automate your twitter process of gaining followers. It is excellent and adding about 100 to 150 followers a day to my Twitter account. You can get 20% off TweetAdder by using code JONB20.

If you don’t like to tweet, then automate your content on Twitter using Google Alerts. Select several key words and pull in content to your twitter account.

Follow these ten steps:

1. Do you have a Gmail account? If not create one. While you are signed on to that Gmail account…

2. Go to Google Alerts

3. Select several phrases that you want to turn on alerts

4. Leave the Type as “comprehensive” or from anywhere on the web

5. Change How Often to “as-it-happens” because you want it throughout the day and fresh

6. Change Deliver to: and select “feed.”

7. When you save it, you will see the feed in Google. Notice the orange icon or the word “feed.” Right click on that and copy out the feed URL because you will need it for the next step.

8. Go to Twitterfeed and log on to this free application using your twitter username and password.

9. After you log on to Twitterfeed, you are creating a new Feed. Give your feed a title and paste the RSS feed URL from Google alerts into the feed spot.

10. Click the Advanced Settings. Change “Update Frequency” to every 30 minutes and post up to “3” new updates at a time.

This ten step system will automatically pull content into your twitter account. I have this system set up for some twitter accounts that I do not monitor as closely as I do for my main twitter account.

It is critical to provide content, point to articles, give free resources and not to engage in hard selling (buy me, buy me). It’s a soft sell approach that works on Twitter. With millions of people on Twitter and using some (or all) of these techniques, every writer can increase their presence and activity on Twitter.

W. Terry Whalin

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W. Terry Whalin, a writer and editor, lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com.