Writerly Success: What Does It Look Like to You?

 "...as a writer, one of the things I've always been interested in doing is actually invading your comfort space.  Because that's what we're supposed to do.  Get under your skin, and make you react." ~ Stephen King

I've been writing for more years than I want to recall.  It's embarrassing how many years it has been.  Embarrassing because we're trained as children that you practice and get better over time.  Then, one day after years of practicing and getting better you succeed.  But that's not how writing is.  It's a breed apart from traditional paths.  Acting, dancing -- the performing arts, in general -- all follow this unusual elliptical pattern.  Success is not always what it's cracked up to be in traditional terms.

Writing success is personal.  Whether you are a major literary star like Stephen King or Maya Angelou or an aspiring author striving for their first big break success is measured very subjectively. 

"...there are those critics -- New York critics as a rule -- who say, 'Well, Maya Angelou has a new book out and of course it's good but then she's a natural writer.'  Those are the ones I want to grab by the throat and wrestle to the floor because it takes me forever to get it to sing.  I work at the language."

Ms. Angelou clearly feels that 'success' comes to her through diligent hard work and the wooing of her muse and structuring and re-structuring the language in her works-in-progress.

Success is an elusive word when it comes to artists.  What defines success? How much money you make?  The acclaim (or flame...) from critics?  The acceptance by the literati?  A sizable niche following?

Who's to say?  It could be one of these.  It could be all of these.

Success could also be defined as doing what you said you were going to do; the accomplishment of one's intention.

Here are some fab quotes about what success is (and is not) by some folks you may have heard of.

"The writer operates at a peculiar crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet.  His problem is to find that location."  ~ Flannery O'Connor

 
"To succeed in life you need two things: ignorance and confidence." ~ Mark Twain

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally." ~ David Frost

"Action is the foundational key to all success." ~ Pablo Picasso

Girl Before Mirror (1932)

"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents." ~ Salvador Dali

The Persistence of Memory (1931)

 Success to me is centered around my family and children and the assistance I can share with them in achieving/striving for their dreams and goals.  My own personal success is tied into creating a life that I find worth living.  Writing is an integral part of that life.

Another interesting aside to this topic of success is this.  When you go looking for something in the wrong place, or with the wrong information you never arrive.  For example, my Art History class back in college is a dusty memory (an alarmingly dusty one!).  I just knew that this painting was a Picasso painting...

When in reality, this is Georges Braque's Cubism.  My brain misremembered who actually painted it and recalled that Braque and Picasso revived Cubist painting.  I was on a chase for a painting by Picasso that -- didn't exist!  Success can be just like this episode.  You imagine you will find success somewhere where it isn't, or you mislabel what true success is.


I'd love to continue the conversation with you.  How do you define success?  What is your personal take on it?

as a writer, one of the things that I've always been interested in doing is actually invading your comfort space. Because that's what we're supposed to do. Get under your skin, and make you react.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/writer_2.html#X8pF1a2i4FokefSA.99

Writing Zombie No More: NaNoWriMo, Take 2

November is supposed to be all about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) as it was for me last year.  I posted my word count several times a day, every day, last November.  I tweeted about my issues with my characters and how the one I slated to die didn't.  I stressed about Superstorm Sandy, my kids getting to and from school with Mass Transit in varying stages of workability and most of all, I stressed about getting all 1,667 words down each and every day.  But that was last November 2012.

Little did I know that the 4 and 5 cups of coffee I was imbibing to stay awake during non-writing hours was the beverage that was nourishing my little daughter.  Yes, somehow in all of that madness of NaNoWriMo 2012 I conceived and still managed to win last year.

This year??  Well, my little daughter is 3-months old and a bundle of joy!  I also went back to work the week before NaNo began.  Then, to top it all off, we had a TB scare in our household -- yeah, all in the last few weeks.  These are not excuses.  I know I can force myself to get the words down but I am still feeding my daughter on demand and sleeping on average 4 - 5 hours a day.  I can take the lessons I learned from last year and put them to work with my new and now very full schedule.

Half the time I'm so tired I could cry.  The other half I'm being pulled in 50 directions for work, pumping 2-3 times a day, my teenage children, my dear hubby, the commute, my family, my desire/need to write, my friends and Tupperware.  I've also realized that I have severe Baby Brain.  How do I know this?  I walk from one room in my home to another and cannot recall why I've come into the room?  I used to be able to recall things for several days, sometimes weeks, and would be able to get things done from a mental list in my head.  Not anymore!  So, EverNote is my best friend!

So far, I've written just over 5700 words for Book 2 of my paranormal cop thriller for NaNo this month.  I sit here and type away as my daughter lays next to me cooing and munching on my hair and her pacifier alternately.  I stare down at her and something inside of me breaks down.  I smile and realize that this year I have to give myself some slack.

There are priorities and necessities in life and then there are newborn babies.  I think I bit off more than I could chew this year by attempting to take on NaNoWriMo.  It was tough last year and it was just my teenagers and I.  They told me they didn't talk to me at all during November.  I was just a writing zombie.  Now, I guess I'm just a zombie. :-)

Okay, baby's getting restless and beginning to cry.  I'll wrap up and say that as a writing new mother I have to take one day at a time.  I have to make room in my life for the written word but it cannot consume me as I have a very little person who depends upon me for everything.  NaNoWriMo will be here for many years to come but these months are fleeting and precious.

I officially am not trying to finish NaNo this year.  I'm going to let myself forgive myself and wait to try again next year.

Wishing all my WriMo friends endless word strings and sated muses.

Happy Writing!!

My littlest angel...

Cover Reveal: Flirting With Chaos by Kenya Wright

Title: Flirting With Chaos

Author: Kenya Wright

Genre: New Adult Rock Star Erotic Romance

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Release Date: November 19, 2013
Add to Goodreads

Synopsis:

 

Can two mentally unstable best friends have sex and not drown in chaos?

 

Rain's been washing blood off her hands for far too long. After five years, she accepts the fact that she"s still a little crazy but feels as if she's finally gotten it all under control.

 

Parties, drugs, and sex flood Jude's life, and music and scandal run through his veins. He's the son of a rock god and grandson of a jazz legend. It's no surprise that his own star is on the rise, and with so many groupies vying for his attention, his childhood best friend Rain keeps him anchored in reality.

 

She's nothing like him--an art student with no idea of her own beauty, who would rather curl up with a sci-fi novel than party in the spotlight. Everything changes when she asks him for a unique favor: she wants him to take her virginity. He's more than willing to oblige, but things get complicated when his pervy father gets involved. Meanwhile, intense feelings rise to the surface, ones neither Rain nor Jude are prepared to deal with.

 

If their relationship has any chance for survival, she must finally confront the demons of her past, and he must face the addictions of the present. When the smoke clears, will they find that sex between best friends was a good idea, or will they discover they had been Flirting With Chaos the entire time?

 

A Short Teaser...

An intricate pattern of colorful tattoos decorated both of his arms. It was a mural of his life—stars that intertwined with musical notes; guitars interlocked into microphones; nude, big breasted angels riding hulky demons. Those arms and that face had adorned the covers of magazines for years. Now he represented a legend of rock history. To obtain his interview would mean lots of money and skilled maneuvering through his agent, publicist, bodyguards, entourage, and any of the other people that walled him away from society.

Kenya Wright always knew she would be famous since the ripe old age of six when she sang the Michael Jackson thriller song in her bathroom mirror. She has tried her hand at many things from enlisting in the Navy for six years as a Persian-Farsi linguist to being a nude model at an art university.

However, writing has been the only constant love in her life. Will she succeed? Of course.

For she has been coined The Urban Fantasy Queen, the Super Iconic Writer of this Age, The Lyrical Genius of Our Generation. Granted, these are all terms coined by her, within the private walls of her bathroom as she still sings the Michael Jackson thriller song.

Kenya Wright currently resides in Miami with her three amazing, overactive children, a supportive, gorgeous husband, and three cool black cats that refuse to stop sleeping on Kenya’s head at night.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ YouTube ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

Writing Down the Scary...

Today is a Boo-tastic Day here in America otherwise known as Halloween, or All Hallows Eve.  Samhain is another moniker.  It is a day when the veil between the world of the living and of the dead is gossamer thin.  It is a day when all things improbable are given some semblance of credibility and our imaginations are allowed to take flight.  With this in mind, how do we account for those among us that live and breath this life and energy every day?  You know who I'm talking about -- our favorite writers of horror and of the macabre.

We don't know what drives many writers of horror to pen the words that they do but on days like today we appreciate that they write down the scary things.  It helps us shiver as we imbibe orange-tinged alcoholic drinks while preening in our costumes.

Fellow blogger, Tim Janson, wrote an article listing the 20 top horror writers and I agree with his list!  The funny part is Stephen King is not in the spot I thought he would be.  Check out Tim's list here.

Tim talks about the horror genre having no set 'start' period and that its highest award The Bram Stoker Award (only around since 1987) is not a true starting point.  However, this award does share new and emerging talent with us.  One of my favorite new horror writers is Kealan Patrick Burke author of the Timmy Quinn series.  Talk about scary!!  His novella The Turtle Boy won the Bram Stoker Award in 2004. 

While the Timmy Quinn series scared the pants off me I couldn't stop reading it!  The language was beautifully evocative and haunting.  The air of suspense and the foreboding written into the white spaces between each letter and word flowed off the Kindle screen straight into my veins.

After reading this series, I was emboldened to combine my love of all things sci fi, fantasy, horror, suspense, thriller and paranormal.  These are the genres and sub-genres that I love.  I penned my own novel which has horrific moments but is truly a -- (get this) paranormal horror thriller. 

In writing this over 85K word opus, these are some things I've found out about writing things that will scare &/or thrill readers.

• Never be predictable.
• Enjoy the scene. Don't draw it out for no reason but allow it to expand naturally and go on to the next thing only when it is time.
• Create tension first within your main (POV) character.
• Use words that jolt the mind, heart and imagination.
• Take tips from literary writers and evoke lasting images that keep the reader coming back for more.
• Never say never.   One of my characters was supposed to die.  In my mind, the character died.  In the book, the character stuck its tongue out at me and re-appeared many chapters later. <sigh>
• Put your character's back against the wall.  This is a must for all fiction (and good writing).  If the challenge is flimsy who will want to read it?  Make it believably difficult for your character and imagine a solution that could actually work without having a magician come in and save them.
• Keep writing.
• Get feedback from your writing group or peers.

 Here is terribleminds blogger, Chuck Wendig's list of 25 Things You Should Know About Writing Horror.
(I love #2: The Ululating Goat Song! Freakin' hee-larious!)

I will leave you with a small horrific excerpt of my new novel.  Feel free to leave comments below.  I love speaking with you guys! Oh, and have a Happy Ghostly Halloween!

Excerpt by Rochelle Campbell

Saturday, November 10^th, Night

            The buzzing was bothering her.  She sat up and looked around.  She was in a nondescript room.  It had no personality.  There was the bed she was on, two plain night tables with lamps on them – both of them were off.  There was a dresser with a bevel edged mirror on it and a TV on a simple black stand.  The curtains were the tan elegant floral pattern seen in cheap motels and the carpet looked threadbare in spots.  The only chair in the room had a rip in it with some of the fluff sticking out of the seat.

            The buzzing was coming from the bathroom.  Jennifer got up and went to investigate.  She looked down and saw she was fully dressed in her gabardine pants and sparkly top.  Her feet were clad in the funky boots but they made not one sound on the worn carpet.  She peered into the bathroom that was brightly lit and saw a vision she would not soon forget.  She saw a tall man, a little over six feet, with dark blonde hair and a solid build.  He was shaving – the source of the buzzing – but he was shaving his skin off.  It was coming off in narrow sheets of skin as thinly sliced as good prosciutto.  Where his eyes should have been were empty sockets with blood seeping out.  His fingers were almost perfectly clean against his sightless dead body but his movement belied what her brain knew to be the truth.  Too horrified to scream and too dumbfounded to move Jennifer watched as the man turned towards her.  He waved with a ghost of a smile playing around his lips.

            “I’ll be right in.  I just wanted to freshen up for you,” he said in a refined modulated tone. 

When he turned Jennifer could then see what she had missed before – his chest was torn asunder and his stomach cavity was just like his eye sockets…open, empty and oozing blood.          With a full smile, the man turned back towards the mirror and began to shave skin off the other side of his face seemingly trying to make it even on both sides…

            Jennifer woke up screaming,clutching her face and stomach alternately remembering the abomination of his cavernous eye sockets still vivid in her mind’s eye.

***

Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo 2013

This year will be my second year of doing NaNoWriMo.  I live on the East Coast and last year at the start of NaNoWriMo I had Hurricane Sandy to thank for a tumultuous start to this annual writing event.  The fear that the electricity would give out, that we would be flooded out, or a host of other concerns plagued me but I forged on.  I was able to complete the challenge and put 51,107 words down in the 30 days.

However, this year I am wondering if I can repeat the success.  Why?  Because I have been blessed and have a beautiful 3-month old daughter in my life this November.  With work (out of the home), late night feedings, my daughter confusing night for day and day for night, grogginess from sleep deprivation and a pervasive feeling of being overwhelmed I am a bit apprehensive about committing to NaNo 2013.

But, writers...write.

By saying 'no' to taking up this challenge, I am saying 'no' to that thing that feels like oxygen to my lungs.  I'd prefer not to asphyxiate before Thanksgiving.  I may give myself a break and not dive into book 2 of the work I just finished editing and perfecting.  That would be suicide trying to put down1600 words on that since I am 'coming down' from the high of writing/revising/editing that work.  I also want to allow myself to appreciate that work fully before delving into its sequel.  I may work on a totally different project this year one that does not have a tight deadline so I am not required to finish it within a certain time frame.

As a new mother, I have to be kind to myself while still being true to myself.  I think I will focus on laying down the foundation for a book of short stories which is a project that I've wanted to do forever!  I love the short story form.  Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants (1927) is my all-time favorite short story.  I read it originally in HS and the story has stayed with me all these years.  The story is driven by dialog with very little prose.  The subject matter is not clearly stated and must be inferred - delicious!

Writing short stories for NaNoWriMo will be refreshing, engaging and challenging.  Writing short is tough.  Writing well and short is an art.  That is how I will challenge myself during NaNo this year.  The goal will be to write 10 short stories of 5,000 words each.  I will decide on a theme in the next few days.  Since the goal of NaNo is to write the 1st word on November 1st none of the short stories I have currently in progress can be used. (DARN!@@!)  More challenge! LOL.

For those of you who are doing the true to the letter NaNo, here are some great articles about getting ready for this awesome writing challenge.

 How to Prepare for NaNoWriMo: To Outline or Not to Outline

The Journey to NaNoWriMo 2013: The Basics

Ways Novelists Can Brainstorm Plot and Scenes

Preparing for NaNoWriMo 2013

Preparing for NaNoWriMo and Writing the First Draft


Here's to wishing you success in being one of 14% that successfully finish NaNoWriMo this year!

How to Publicize & Market Your Self-Published Book - Brooklyn Book Festival Workshop - Part 2

Hi everyone!  We're here to continue the conversation of how to publicize and market your self-published as shared at the Brooklyn Book Festival (#WormsUnite) on Sunday, September 22nd.  If you missed part 1 click here to read what you missed then read on! 

This is part 2 of the workshop and it was shared by Rich Kelley.

Rich had it rough because Bridget and Sarah shared quite a bit of very good actionable information for writers and authors to publicize their work.  However, Rich started off strong.

He shared that to be successful in garnering followers on your social networks and readers of your work you must 'add value'.  To do this you must provide:

1. Information
2. Insight
3. Assistance

Rich gave as examples of writers to follow:

• Guy Kawaski, author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur: How to Publish a Book 
• Hugh Howey, Wool (book series)

Rich shared that the model that Hugh Howey showed writers is that if you build a world for your readers it's best if you let them share it with you.  Rich said that Hugh ran a website that allowed his readers to write their own stories (fan fic).  He kept writing his Wool stories and Hugh's rank continued to rise on Amazon.  And the catch?  Hugh's books were free! (Some still are!)

You are probably well versed in Hugh's success.  He was approached by traditional publishers to publish his work.  He told them no, he was having too much fun with his readers!  He was directly interacting with them.  Hugh did not want anything to interfere with his connection to his readers.  So, he was re-approached and the publisher wanted only to have print rights to publish the Wool series.  Hugh agreed and history was made.  Hugh retains all the rights to his work and the publisher only has print rights.  Amazing, right?  Writer's Digest did a feature article in May of this year on Hugh's story.  Read it here.

Rich's next point was that publishers are getting on the bandwagon and creating forums for fan fiction on their pages.  Penguin has one such site and it's called Book Country.  As Rich describes it, "[Book Country is] readers helping writers and writers helping readers.  Many publishers are doing digital imprints that will help writers." 

When I checked out Book Country what surprised me most was that after writers workshoped their books there are options for publishing it with Penguin.

Rich then went into a great tool to help you assess your marketing.  There are three areas of marketing:

1.  Owned Market
2. Paid Market
3. Earned Market

The Owned market are the things you have control over such as your blog page, your friends, your Amazon Author Central (make sure there's a picture there!), your website, etc.

The Paid market are those things you pay for such as advertisements, blog tours, etc.

The Earned market are those things that you earn through your work such as getting a starred reviewer to give you a book review, on Amazon, someone reading your book and sharing it with others, or someone has discovered your book and wants to review it without you directly intervening.

Clearly, getting into the Earned market is where you want to be.  Rich shared one way to get into this market.  He said, "If you can persuade a starred reviewer from Amazon to review your work that is how you can get this type of earned market."

Similar to Sarah, Rich shared that identifying your audience is key.  "What do you have access to?  What's your platform?"  Rich says that by answering these questions you will be able to reach your target audience.

Rich next discussed the importance of Social Media and the various outlets.  For Rich, the most important ones are:

• Google+
• Twitter
• FaceBook
• LinkedIn

The first three are the most important he feels.  So, to build a presence on your preferred social network here is Rich's list as to why people follow you:

1. They trust you.
2. They like you.
3. Competence (demonstrate your competence)
4. Commonality of Interest(s)
5. Engage people

Communicating with people, especially your readers, is very important!!  Become a trusted source to your followers.  You can do this by garnering speaking engagements at writers' groups.

And there you have it!  Even though this workshop was only a little over 45 minutes in length the information shared was quite powerful.  By focusing on one aspect of this great advice each day (or week!), an author can see their book's exposure increase greatly over the next few months.

I hope you enjoyed these tips and advice as I did.  Please feel free to comment and share tips of your own below so that we all can benefit from our collective wealth of information.

Please Note: If you missed part 1 of this workshop, you can find it here.

Ta-ta for now,
NoteBook Blogairy

Cover Reveal: Dinner Thieves by Sidney Moore

Today, we are doing a cover reveal for author Sidney Moore whose book releases tomorrow, Friday, October 18th.  Sidney came to my attention via Twitter (only my favorite social media outlet) where we was a brand newbie with less than 150 followers.  Since I believe in the pay it forward concept, without further ado, please read on to find out more about Sidney Moore and his new book Dinner Thieves.

Dinner Thieves synopsis:

Dinner Thieves, the first in "The Forlorn Hope" series, takes you on a high speed race through the streets of Portsmouth and Norfolk, VA during the height of the drug wars that devastated the area. Follow Malik as he tries to balance being a son, a student, and a survivalist as he goes against all odds to make it out of his hellish surroundings and forge a better life for his mother, his friends, and himself.

NB: Tell us about yourself.

SM: Well, my name is Sidney Moore, and I’m a novelist by nature who happens to be a freelance writer to pay the bills. I have done a lot of journalism for The Tidewater News (newspaper) and Western Tidewater Living (magazine). I am on the verge of 30, actually next month. Hooray for me! I’m from Portsmouth, VA and have been some of everywhere in the world in regards to traveling. I love live music, indie films, running, and good whiskey.

NB: How, if at all, has your upbringing influenced your writing?  

SM: I was raised in a household that had a lot going on and much of nothing at the same time, but my mother was always a big reader. She pushed that on me heavy. Then being where I’m from, Portsmouth, VA, and being so interested in what was going on, which was crime, it shaped my writing heavily. It created the underworld understanding that my characters convey to the reader. Instead of reading what they did the reader has the opportunity to learn why they did it.

NB: How long have you been writing? 

SM: I’ve been pushing the pen since grade school, but actually pursuing it as a craft that began in 10^th grade. I have to credit my English teacher, Ms. McGhee for convincing to take her creative writing class. I guess she saw what I didn’t at the time. I took a break from writing literature for a few years and got back into it about 7 years ago.

NB: How much of the book is based on real events?
SM: A lot of it is.  In 1995 Portsmouth, VA was labeled the “Heroin Capital of the East Coast” by the DEA, and it was 5^th in the country for homicides. I’m a preteen watching all of this unfold in front of my eyes. Though the book is fiction, the events are some of the kind that was taking place during that time period. It was a real dog eat dog life then. My mom didn’t even like me leaving my side of the neighborhood then. Guess I didn’t listen. Lol.

NB: How important do you think villains are in a story?
SM: Very very very very important. In order for a story to grasp a person there has to be some element of struggle between the protagonist and the antagonist. Whether it’s internal or external, man versus man, man versus element, or man versus himself, it has to be there. If not, it’ll make for a very boring read. Besides, who wants to read about everything going right in a story? Not me.

 

NB: How do you deal with rejection letters? 

SM: I look at it like this. First of all, you should make sure you know what you’re doing and have prepared things properly before submitting. Then you have to understand that rejections letters are based upon a person’s opinion. The way I feel about opinions is this, opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one and sometimes they stink. Just keep pushing the pen.

NB: What are your current writing projects now?
SM: I’m getting Crystal Kings together for print. It’s about a few military vets that returned from the war and had nothing going for them and these guys who are looking for the easy come up after taking a couple of losses. So after a few white-collar crimes the vets decide to get into the crystal meth market. When they get robbed for a heavy load and some money, they leave a sea of bodies in their wake as they track down the drugs, money, and the people responsible.

NB: Do you have any advice for other writers?

SM: Just write. That’s the easiest thing to do that leads to better things. Write down your ideas, thoughts, and what you see. Remember this. You have to writer crappy work before you can start doing good and excellent work. That’s why there’s these wonderful things called editing and rough drafts. But the first thing you have to do is put it on paper.

NB: What projects can we expect from you in the future?

SM: I’m the process of getting a treatment together for a short film that some friends and I will be trying to send to a film festival. I also want to do some writing for television, but my heart is in the literary world.

NB: What do you believe contributes to making a writer successful?

SM: Being very attentive to everything going on around you. Some like to say they are on the outside looking in or on the inside looking out. I like to say you need to be on the inside looking all around and remembering everything. The gold is in the details.

NB: What do you do to unwind and relax?
SM: I like to watch movies, go to concerts and festivals, read, exercise and sometimes have a drink and think. More than anything, I love to travel around the country and the world and immerse myself in other cultures. I seem to be at peace amongst a lot of confusion, as long as I’m anonymous.

Where can readers find you?

I can be found on www.facebook.com/sidneymoorethewriter

www.twitter.com/the_sidneymoore

www.tidewaternews.com

Where can readers purchase your books?   

My novel, Dinner Thieves, can be found on Amazon.com as well as BarnesandNoble.com.  

 I should have everything situated for the Apple Store by the weekend but no later than next week.

How to Publicize & Market Your Self-Published Book - Brooklyn Book Festival Workshop - Part 1

Way back on Sunday, September 22nd I attended the Brooklyn Book Festival.  My daughter wasn't even 8 weeks old and I was given my very first afternoon "off" to attend two lectures at the Festival.  

Bridget Marmion and Rich Kelley's How to Publicize and Market Your Self-Published Book was one of them.  [I wrote about the other lecture last week. You can read about it and my meeting Edwidge Danticat here.]

Please Note: To shorten this post (a bit) I have broken it up.  Part one will share what Bridget and Sarah discussed.  Part two will share what Rich Kelley discussed (really good stuff!!).  So keep your eyes out for this post next week Wednesday!

The very first question Briget Marmion asked us was:

Why are you publishing? Who is the audience of my book?

Bridget told us that if you can't answer this question then you will not be successful in getting your book into the hands of readers.  Her exact words were, "The clarity of who your audience is determines your success."

When writing about your book and describing it to others, you should not compare your book to the number one bestseller in your category.  Look at other authors of your genre &/or style.  Aim for the not so lofty so that your hubris does not showcase your novice status.

"Until you understand who your target audience is you will not know HOW to spend your money." Bridget said next.  Depending upon your audience, your "title, jacket, how many books to print, what form (digital, print, etc.) should the book take -- these are all formed based on target audience."

Once these things are defined, the next big hurdle is ensuring you use meta data which are the key words in your title, subtitle and description.  This will be how you book will be discovered by using the right words that will appeal to your target audience.

Bridget then invited Sarah Russo, a publicist, to take the floor and share her perspective.  Sarah shared with us that Getting work published prior to your full-length novel being finished/published is a great way to build your platform and readership.

You (the writer/author) need to "think of levels of publicity".  Sarah says, "publishing is all about relationships.  Talking to people you know is important to see how they can help you."

"Share information with others!!" - was almost a mantra of Sarah's to the group of about 60 writers and authors that afternoon.  Sarah says good places to share are:

• Twitter
• Tumblr
• Wattpad

If you happen to be a nonfiction writer writing about a specific genre (say, the environment) find websites such as Treehugger and begin speaking with them about your book.  See if you can have your book on their site, speak at their events, etc.  In essence, find an organization/group/company whose constituents/members/participants would be interested in the topic of your book.  Yes, it involves research but you are searching ultimately for your READERS.

If you happen to be a fiction writer, Sarah asks you to answer this question: 

What is it you are doing differently from other fiction writers?  Why should readers read your work?

The next hurdle is to "have professional looking materials.  Be super professional when dealing with publishing/marketing people.  Be polite!"

Sarah stressed that the people you are contacting about furthering your work (publishers, publicists, editors, agents, writers, journalists, etc.) are people too!  "Read the work of the people you contact!  Read them.  Google them.  Find out about them."  Don't just contact them to help you.  Again, they are people too!

A key thing for both fiction AND nonfiction writers is Social Media.  Sarah said, "Building your platform is super critical!  Find what you have to say without being totally self-promotional.  Your stuff should be 1 of 20 tweets (or posts)."  This shows you the correct proportion of sharing interesting information with your target audience and sharing info about your project/book.  [Surprising isn't it??]

 Here are some other great tips from Sarah Russo:

• If you're interested in getting your book into the book club circuit your book needs to be printed in paperback form.
• Book signings at your local library is a great way of getting exposure for your book.  Take a copy of your book to a librarian to see if that specific librarian is interested in reading your book.  If so, work with that librarian to get a book signing at that branch.  Be friendly!  Develop a relationship with the librarian.  Remember Sarah's earlier advice -- publishing is about developing relationships!
• Find mentors!!  They will help you and edit you.

A great piece of advice Sarah shared was to find a book model for your book.  This is a book that is similar to yours in genre, target audience and content.  See how this book moves in the publishing world and how the author gained publicity/exposure for the book.  Then, if possible, see if you can model your marketing/promotions in a similar manner.

Last tips from Sarah are:

1. Utilize your networks
2. Engage your audience
3. Be YOURSELF

To get other helpful tips, contact Bridget at: YourExpertNation.com.  Or, if you prefer to meet them live, they will be hosting an all day event on October 29th in Manhattan.  The event is called "Publishing Professionals Offer Best Practices for Self-Publishing."

October is Paranormal Month!

Psst...did you know that this month is Paranormal Month?  Every day this month author Merissa McCain will be featuring a paranormal book on her blog!

Merissa McCain

All of you paranormal fans hold on to your chairs!  It's going to be a rocky horror of a month!  Here's the first post from Merissa's blog featuring Chris Redding's Which Exit Angel. 

Ta-ta for now,
NB

Creating Dangerously in a Dangerous World - Brooklyn Book Festival 2013

On Sunday, September 22nd, I attended the 2013 Brooklyn Book Festival (#WormsUnite).  The main lecture I wanted to hear was called Creating Dangerously in a Dangerous World.  The panelists were: Edwidge Danticat (Claire of the Sea Light), Courtney Angela Brkic (The First Rule of Swimming) and Dinaw Mengestu (How to Read Air).

I was thrilled by the opportunity to hear and meet Ms. Danticat.  I had read her work The Dew Breaker several years ago and found her voice poignant and powerful.  I wanted to know hear her speak hoping she would share some secrets into how she was able to put such depth and insight into her work.

One of the first things she said that struck me was when asked how does she handle survivor's guilt.  Her reply was, "Fictional [characters] are a great place to deposit guilt."  Danticat saw and experienced the ravages of war and violence in her home town of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  Danticat uses her unique perspective to create stories that simultaneously paint beautiful exotic tropical landscapes juxtaposed against extreme poverty.  She describes characters that are complex in that they are both cruel and true to the experiences that created them.  However, she does so with a deft hand that is neither accusatory or preachy.

Another loaded comment from Danticat during the Creating... lecture was this:

"The burden of parenting in ware zones...is laden with uncertainty...it's laden with complexity."  She explained that parents have larger issues to focus on when there is a war happening.  The children's basic needs are met: food, shelter, clothing.  However, the softness, the nurturing that is not necessarily given as the energy needed for survival takes the place of the niceties of parenting in a world not torn by violence, pain, suffering and war.

Writing about Haiti and other cultures, Ms. Danticat exposes certain factual truths about the state of how things were at the time of her story.  She spoke of how she received some criticism that the way she portrayed Haiti is not the real Haiti.  She smiled and shared that she writes what is truth for her and does not sugarcoat things. 

When she was asked how people take her work back home she said she was told, "Write good things!  Join the tourism board!"

Dinaw had a most interesting answer to this question of how people at home take his work.  He said (and I paraphrase) that people often are relieved that these stories are being told.  There there are always those that are skeptical of anything a writer writes.

Dinaw Mengestu (Center)

I came away from this lecture with a sense of strength.  I rushed up to Ms. Danticat after the lecture with my copy of The Dew Breaker in hand for her to sign.  (I had no idea I was to ask her to sign at the table downstairs!)

She must have thought me a stalker as I followed her everywhere.  I was awestruck in my own nutty way.  I asked for her email address to communicate with her when I joined the line downstairs after the lecture.  I even took a picture with her.

NoteBook (R) and Edwidge Danticat (L)

However, I think she was completely spooked by me.  The email bounced back.

No matter.  I am still a Danticat fan.  Her work is an inspiration even from afar.

Twitter 101: How to Navigate on Twitter

 

Step #1: Create a handle that will not embarrass you in 6 months. 

Have you ever seen a Twitter handle that made you smile?  What about those handles that made you wonder about the owner’s moral code?  Yeah.  Those are the ones that I’m referring to.  Body parts should not be a part of your handle unless you’re hawking a medical thriller. 

It is in this step that you lay the foundation for your Twitter account.  What will you tweet about?  Is this a personal account?  Or, is this an account that you will use to build a platform for yourself or your product?  Or, is this account to find others who have the same interest/hobby as you do?  The reason for your account will shape many of your upcoming actions.

Step #2: Use a picture of yourself or something that relates to the content of your tweets.

If you have a skull and crossbones as your Twitter avatar (picture) one would expect you to be a pirate, an author of a book about pirates, or you love pirates and will be tweeting about them…constantly.  If you have a picture of a cute bunny as your avatar then we would assume you will be tweeting sweet things about children or that you have a daycare of some sort.  Or, you could be a filmmaker working on a kids’ film featuring the furry creatures.  You get the idea.  No crazy body parts in your avatar please.  Most people will not follow you.  You will get tons of followers thinking you are running one of those sites.  [If you are doing a sex related Twitter account, please be aware that your account may be flagged and removed if people report it.]

Step #3: Who to follow?

@NoteBkBlogairy

So, you know what you will be tweeting about (sort of).  You have a decent avatar and you’re all set to go.  Now, who should you follow? 

• People who have the same interests as you
• Companies/Organizations that you like and are in the field you’re into
• Check out the suggestions Twitter throws up on the left side of your home Twitter screen
• Find your actual real world friends on Twitter

Notice I put your ‘real world’ friends last.  Why?  Because they may not have the same interests as what you’re seeking for the Twitter account you are considering putting together.  If they are – great! I hope you have a 1,000 friends so you can start of strong! J

A key factor in getting new followers is the verbiage under your Twitter handle.  Those 160 characters are all that new potential followers have to go on – Is this person worth following?  Or, am I going to get crap, or worse – no good tweets – if I follow this person?

Twitter is nine-tenths entertainment!  Make your tweets lively, interesting and most importantly of value to the people you want to connect with.  The content and the delivery of said content is the ‘entertainment’ for your end reader/Twitter follower.  Once you provide consistent tweets that interest your target crowd you will gain followers without all of the tricks and sleight of hand maneuvers that some people engage in to get followers. 

You’ll see accounts where all they want is for you to pay $25/$50 for xyz amount of followers.  Sure you can try this but who are these followers?  Are they the audience you are seeking?  Think about it.  What’s more important to you?  The number of followers?  Or, the quality of followers (quality in regards to the follower being in line with what your Twitter account is all about)?

Step #4: Be a good Twitterverse Citizen (TC)!

Okay, now onto the fun stuff!  You now have a few followers.  They begin re-tweeting you.  Awesome!  Now, you have to be a good Twitterverse Ciizen and thank them for their re-tweet.  Yes, each and every person.  E.g. – Thanks for the RT [their name]!

If someone shares some info that you shared on your blog, or website, or on another social media outlet you thank them for the shout out (S/o).

If someone clicks the star on your tweet, they have favorite-ed your tweet.  They liked it!  That means you should tweet more of whatever that subject matter is.  You should also thank them for the fav or fave – whichever you prefer!

You can also thank people in bulk (at the end of the day) for fav-ing and RT-ing.  That looks like this:

Thanks for the RTs & faves! @xyz @abc @ypmd @zippy

You can find out who has fav-ed and re-tweeted you by going to the “@Connect” on the upper left hand corner of your monitor/screen.  That is the timeline for all of the interactions (which gives you all interactions on your Twitter timeline) and mentions (which just gives you the mentions and not all of the back and forth RTs and such).

This is pretty much it for Twitter 101.  But for those who I haven’t bored to death, here is a little Twitterverse experience that helped me learn more about shares on Twitter.

My Twitter Shares Almost-Fiasco

There’s something I learned kind of the hard way a couple weeks back.  There’s an oddity in Twitter world called a share.  This is a RT (re-tweet) but it does not have the letters RT in it and it does not show up in your timeline as a re-tweet either.  It shows up as if that person sent out the tweet directly to you.  They didn’t.  It’s a share.

Someone could have set something up for you and all people have to do is click the “T” on that page to tweet that thing they’re reading about.  The way that tweet goes out is not up to the person clicking tweet.  The tweet is pre-written and the person just has to click “Tweet”.

I did not know this was the case two weeks ago.  I teamed up with another blogger and they offered to help me find reviewers for my book “Leaping Out On Faith”.  Within a couple of hours, I was getting tweets hitting my timeline that said “Review Request…”.

I was excited!  There were over 25 of these on my timeline within 5 hours.  You can imagine this writer’s glee.  But, I tested one out first to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding what was happening.  The first person who responded, I sent them a Direct Message (DM: Twitter’s version of a personal non-public inbox).  I thanked the person for responding and requested their email address so I can send the book to them in whatever format they required.

Within 40 minutes, the person DM’d me back with their email address.  Bingo!  I was not making a mistake these were legitimate book review requests – all 30 of them now.

So, I made a list and began tweeting each of them and asking for their email addies to be sent DM to me.  I could not follow them all as I was close to my cap (totally another post!) hence the tweets.

I soon received an irate tweet from someone who told me that they did not request a review they were just retweeting.  The exchange was a bit more heated than this but in the end it was a very rewarding and productive exchange that taught me that things are not always what they seem on Twitter!’

The lesson in this story?  Even if you think you know what you’re talking about, check at least 3 times before launching into a full campaign on anything.  Either check with some fellow tweeps (your friends on Twitter), check with the person who helped you out, and check online for information on that topic.  Why?  Because if the person who helped me out by pointing this out to me wasn’t so nice they could have reported my account for being a spammer.  Yep!  And guess what?  You’ll have to start ALL over again rebuilding your followers and regaining trust which is never an easy thing.

I hope you have gotten the basics of how to use Twitter.  I would love your comments and suggestions on how you use Twitter.  Also let me know if I’ve made any egregious errors and point them out to me by using the comment section below.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

Ta-ta for now,

The NoteBook Blogairy

 

New Book Review for Leaping Out On Faith!

Some days are not the most productive while other days you take your own breath away with the amount of things you've checked off your to-do list.

Today is not one of my most productive of days.  There's a good reason...I'm floating on air!  In my inbox this morning was the most wonderful writerly gift -- an awesome review for my book Leaping Out On Faith.

The review was written by Amanda Herps and you can find it here:

http://amandaherpsreviews.blogspot.com.au/

I will try my best to calm down and possibly get something to eat...

In the meantime, if you haven't seen the book trailer for Leaping... check it out below.

 Have an awesome Friday everybody!

How to Protect Yourself From Spinning Your Wheels For Another Year

As summer was winding down at the end of August, I felt strong.  Strong to hit the ground running and really push my goals forward once the kids were back in school.  I spent a lot of time this summer learning about how people make things happen and the best practices for productivity.

My goals had a renewed sense of importance to me, and this school year was going to be my time.  Bring it on!

Then the backpacks came home filled with papers needing my attention.   On the eve of school starting, my e-mail inbox began to fill up with reminders and requests for my time and attention … and baking skills.  I could already feel the pull and school hadn’t even started.  Then came an e-mail from a mom, asking when I could come into the school cafeteria to sort the recycling trash like I did every month last year.  ”So sorry, but I’m not going to be able to do Terracycle this year,” I replied.  I cringed a little when I hit “send,” but what a relief to have one less thing on my plate.

In the past, I would have justified to myself why I needed to do this or that at my kids’ schools, but I’m happy to say that I’m now in a new place.  This year I’m learning to say no.  I’m not spreading myself too thin.  I’m not living my life according to the expectations of others.   I’m not buying into the guilt.

This year I’m guarding my dreams like a mama bear guards her cub.  Grrrr …  

Whether you’re a parent or not, we all have distractions that creep into our lives, wanting our attention and time.  If we want to achieve big goals, we have to make big changes.  We have to find what hasn’t worked in the past and fix it.

Here are some things I suggest keeping in mind to stay on track and make real progress:

1.  Reprioritize.  Learn to put yourself and your goals first.  This is something you don’t have to announce to friends and family; it can be your own little secret.  You have to believe that giving up short-term responsibilities and time drainers to pursue long-terms goals is in the best interests of you and your family.  I liken this to putting the oxygen mask on my face first before assisting my child.  What you give up now will pay off in the future.  But keep in mind that putting yourself first goes hand in hand with learning to say no.

2.  Don’t Share Your Vision …  Yet.  Some people believe that if you tell people your dreams/goals, you’ll feel more accountable to deliver.  I disagree.  You can’t possibly communicate your vision to another person about something that hasn’t been created and expect them to have the same level of understanding and/or excitement that you do.  Holding your ideas close while you get things off the ground will help prevent you from never starting as a result of feeling discouraged by a lukewarm reaction from someone who can’t possibly have the same level of excitement about your idea.   Put your head down, get to work and once things start to take shape, begin to share.

3.  Give Yourself Permission To Guard Your Time.  Don’t you dare feel guilty for not signing up to be the President of the PTG, class mom, team mom or head coach.  You’ve probably done more than your share already.  You’ve got to carve out new blocks of time and that means managing your time differently and lightening your load.  If you are a parent, pick one activity that is most important to you and give it your all, knowing you’ve got other important work to pursue this year.

4.  Forget What Others Think.  The way you feel about yourself is more important.  Think about how you’d feel at the end of another school year, finding yourself in the same place.  Make it your goal to be proud of YOURSELF this year.

5. Acknowledge You’re Different and That’s OK.  Maybe you’ve spent time trying to unlock the mystery of your life’s work, and now’s the time to execute.  You don’t have to fill you time being on committees to feel important.  You have a mission and right now maybe you’re a committee of one.  It’s ok for you to walk your own path right now.

6.  Manage Your Energy Around What’s Important.  In order to make optimal progress, pay attention to how you spend your reserves of physical and mental energy.  If you have the flexibility, be careful not to deplete your energy supplies before you do your most important work each day.  Also, be realistic about what you can accomplish, depending on your energy levels during different times of the day.

7.  End Your Work With a Starting Point For Tomorrow.  Before your close up your work for the day, decide where you will begin when you resume tomorrow.  This practice will help ensure your work has continued momentum as you begin each day.

8.  Schedule Time & Set Goals.  Now that you’ve lightened your responsibilities and reclaimed some time to work on your important work, make sure you set a firm, unbreakable appointment with yourself.  Also, set short -term and long-term goals so you can track your progress every day.

Have I missed anything?  If there are any other suggestions you can add that have worked for you, feel free to leave a comment below.

This post was originally published on Invisible Sun's blog page.  You can find the original post here.

About this Guest Poster:

Ellie lives at the Jersey Shore and is a busy mom of three. She loves inspiring others to pursue work that is important to them.

FOX's Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow, a new television show on FOX, started last Monday (9/16).  I became interested because the trailers being shown on various cable stations (Starz, Encore, etc.) showed actors that were extremely passionate about their characters.  While they are actors for some reason the passion in their demeanor and the interesting story line caught and held my attention.

Wasn't quite sure what the story was about other than the TV series would be based (in some way) on the short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow written by Washington Irving (1820).

Turned on the boob tube on the 16th and was blown away by the full story and plot twists that the writers of Sleepy Hollow created!  This is my take on this new show's storyline/plot:



Abigail Mills (Nicole Beharie) is a cop that is about to move away from Sleepy Hollow to run away from her checkered past.  In her youth, Abby and her sister, Jenny, saw something in the forest they could not explain.  Something that scared them both very badly.  The town really never let the two young girls forget it.  They called them crazy.  Abby stopping talking about the experience and basically recanted what she saw while her sister did not.  Jenny is now in a psychological facility.

The night the series begins, Abby and the Sheriff (her mentor and almost father figure), are out and investigate a murder.  The Sheriff is murdered by a headless horseman and Abby witnesses this incredible event.  In her mind, it takes her back to that unforgettable time in her youth where she saw something that others did not believe.  Therefore, since she's leaving the following week she does not divulge what she saw in its entirety.

Later that evening, a stranger man is picked up and brought into the jail.  It's Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison).  He identifies the killer to a 'T' including mode of dress, scar on hand and the missing cranium.  Abby is astounded and ensures that Crane is made a consultant on the case with her.  All this even though Crane tells Captain Frank Irving (Orlando Jones) that his last memory was from 250 years ago!

Okay, here comes the historical/paranormal/time-bending stuff.  <SPOILER ALERT>

The headless horseman is really the first of the 4 horseman of the Biblical Apocalypse (Revelations).  Crane and Abby are the 2 witnesses that are charged with preventing the 4 horesmen from destroying the world.  Crane's wife, Katrina, is a witch who is caught between the two worlds.  She acts as an oracle and helps Crane know what to do next and what is to come.  So, the events in this little town can affect everyone on the planet if they don't do all they can to stop the headless horseman from reuniting with his head.

The other part of this puzzle is the Sheriff (who died in the first few minutes of the first episode) had a slew of secret files that Abby found only after his death.  These files point to murders that have been taking place for years up and down the Northeast and around the country.  The Sheriff knew they were somehow linked but could not find out how.

The Sheriff did know that 250 years ago there were two sets of people that were trying to change the outcome of the war.  The first was a group of dark witches and the other a group of white whites.  It was the white witches that put the spell on the headless horseman that kept him in stasis for these last 250 years.  The white witches also took his head and buried it separate from his body.

Crane and the headless horseman are linked in death because the horseman (who still had his head) gave Crane a death blow on the battlefield.  However, Crane was able to decapitate the horseman before he died.  The blood of the two of them commingled tying them and their fates together.

Fast forward to our time.  The descendents of both sets of light and dark witches are still at work.  The progeny of the dark witches have cast a spell to awaken the headless horseman.  This also awakened Crane.

The Sheriff knew that no one in the town of Sleepy Hollow could be trusted because he did not know and could not figure out how to ferret out who was working for which side.  So, he kept his research and his files secret.

The Sheriff had a very good idea as to what Jenny and Abby saw in their youth but he was afraid to share any information.  So, he kept Abby close and helped her as much as he could without telling her what he knew.

The writers of Sleepy Hollow have given us the skeleton of a fabulous story!  We know the foundations run back 250 years.  We have a way to gain information from that time (Crane's wife, Katrina).  We have ample research to delve into to get more information as things reveal themselves and to find connections via the Sheriff's files.  We know why this is so cotton-pickin' important -- we need to save the world.  And, we have a crazed demonic murderer wreaking havoc on the town of Sleepy Hollow for immediate drama in each and every episode (if need be).

Now some folks on Twitter have been saying there are loopholes in the story's plotting.  Where?  I don't see them.  The writers have given us a pretty clear but incredible set of parameters for our modern-day cop and the recently revived Crane to work through.

What's missing?  Please share with me!  I want to see what you see!  I appreciate all comments and will be watching and waiting to interact with all of you.

Ta-ta for now,
The NoteBook Blogairy