Rita Sawyer's Blog, page 4

First Steps = Accountability, Productivity, Discover-abilty

Day 1: Accountability
This isn't my 1st attempt to find a way to keep track of my goals and make myself accountable for getting them accomplished. However I'm going to go harder, deeper, and longer. In fact this project is going to last a full year. I'm going to list my goals and hopefully get a lot done this year.
         : ProductivityI'm still working on Book 5 in ht Heiresses In Aprons series. This will be the final book. It's going to feature Gina Foster, Sophia's younger and wilder sister, and Wes Moreland. Right now it sits at almost 12,000 words. I hope to have it finished and out by the end of the month.
Also I'm starting a new Series called Kismet Falls. This series is going to be different from the series I normally write. Kismet Falls will actually be host town where a few series take place. Some will contemporary romances and some will be romantic comedies, so there will be full-lengths (50k words and up) and novellas(up to 35k words). I'm hoping that will allow me to get more stories finished and out for readers to enjoy.
         : Discover-abilityThis is going to drive me crazy until I figure out what the hell I'm doing wrong. I may even be doing some stuff right and not knowing it. Don't consider this whining, because it's not. Really what I'm doing is learning and that shouldn't be confused with complaining. If I do complain its only going to be about me. I know I can't compare myself or my writing career (yes, I do consider it a career not just a hobby or job) to anyone else's, but I can hope to someday reach the status of some fabulous writers.

Planning, Planners & Goals= My Year Of Productivity, Accountability and Discoverability

This is it! I've been working on this for about a month and have 6 days to finalize all my plans and goals for next year. I'm starting January 1st for a few reasons. 

First- I want to give myself the full year to pull this off- I have some major plans. There's weekly, monthly, quarterly and of course the final yearly goal I fully plan to meet. I have so many personal, writing, and financial things I want- no I WILL accomplish this year.

Second- My daughter got me a Passion Planner for Christmas, but it wont be here until some time in January. I have printed temp pages to use until it gets here. When it gets here I'll do a whole post about it and how I plan to use it.

Third- I'm going to do weekly end of the week post here to keep track of everything.

I know plans don't always work out. Some goals are unattainable (or at least they seem like it). And there are a lot, I mean tons of aspects, you just can't control. But I'm determined not to let any of that get me down. I need to do something to keep myself moving forward!

Looking Back At The Past Year And What's To Come.

I'm making some plans. For me personally. For my writing. For this blog. As we get closer to the new year I'll start talking more here. Right now lots of thinking and planning going on. Talking to myself is occurring probably more than it should. Is that a writer thing? Probably not.

So for now I'm letting my mind ramble and working on a story tentatively titled Seducing His Private Chef.

Trip to Graduate School and First Day of NaNoWriMo

So yesterday was the start to NaNo. I got in 2467 words, which wasn't bad considering my day.




I guess you could blame some of it on the night before since I didn't get to bed until 5 am. So it was bed at 5 up at 7:30 am, and on the road by 8am. We drove into Boston to learn about the Masters program at Simmons College and take a tour of the campus.

We saw the common areas and the tech lab, which has state of the art equipment. They even have a 3d printer.



It was great and my daughter is sure this is the place she wants to go.

After that we came home and I worked for a bit, but honestly my brain was mush. So by 5:30pm it was nap time! I woke back up around 8:30 and managed to get in some writing.

Today however is all about the writing. I do have to take a tip to the store at some point.

Good luck to all my fellow NaNoers. Here's hoping you don't have to many distractions.

Realizations: Good & Bad

Last night and tonight were filled with lots of issues.

I'm going to start with the GOOD. After some deep thought last night, while I started to pack up my office, I figured out why my current story wasn't working. It took a few hours but I was able to revamp the chapter points and decide how to fix it. So good by original first chapter and hello new beginning!

Another GOOD I chatted with some great authors tonight at Coffee Time Romance. Check out @LauraLeeLenhoff and @AndreaRCooper on Twitter and Facebook. We talked about branding and books.

Now for the BAD. I had to spend almost an hour fixing the links on the book list on my website. All my Pink Petal (Jupiter Gardens) titles weren't working.

Break from Branding to Swap Rooms

I'm taking time this week to prep for swapping rooms with my daughter this weekend. I'll still be writing and every, but most of my focus will be on getting everything ready.

So what do I need before we actually switch.

Large area rug for under my desk and chair to protect wood floor. Done!
Small area rug for under huge file cabinet. Done!
Curtains. Done!

Now I have to pack. Man I have so much stuff.

Sad part of the swap is my daughter is going to paint over my sexy pink walls. Still I'm looking forward to the move.

Branding: A Deeper Look At Me

Here I am?
Do you know me?
If not we it's nice to meet you.

For this post I looked at me and asked those who know me a few questions.

I'm going to start with my tagline. But first I'm going to admit something. Back in 2009 when I first found out I was getting published I wasn't ready. I thought I'm going to write first and figure out the rest when I need to. WRONG! I wish I had at least dipped my toes into the promotion and business end of things.

Okay back to taglines. Here's a few I like, and links to some great authors websites:
 
Brandy Walker Passionate, Breathtaking Romance. http://brandywalker.net/

Tilly Greene Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties. http://tillygreene.com/

Nina S. Gooden Love That Breaks Bonds! http://www.ninasgooden.com/

Lissa Matthews Where the men are NAUGHTY http://lissamatthews.com/

Shannon Stacey fun contemporary romances and more http://shannonstacey.com/

Jaci Burton Passion On The Edge http://jaciburton.com/

Okay, now here's mine:

Rita Sawyer Giving You It All. Romance. Passion. Laughter. www.RitaSawyer.com

Now we're going to go over those questions I talked about.
First, does my tagline encompass all my books?
The consensus here was yes, which is a relief. I hope all my books have romance and passion, but the laughter is key. If you're not having fun doing whatever you're doing why do it? That's not to say I don't enjoy tugging at people's heart strings. I just like my stories to have a good balance of ups and downs.

Okay next up is the logo I use on my self-pubbed books.
 
I know what you're thinking. What's the difference? Nothing in the text, but that was my point. In this case I wanted to say the same thing, but hopefully in a more eye catching way.



Since this goes in the back of my books I still had to ask myself  How is this going to help me with promotion ? After some friendly discussion with a little help I came up something I could put on my promo items.

I know it's the same thing. BUT different. This I could use. And boy did I. Book 3 in my Heiresses In Aprons Series is Martinis, Manicure & Mud Pies. My promotion guru and favorite daughter (she's my only daughter) designed these mini business cards,



 and we put the logo on the back. Then we punched a hole in the bottom and attached them to these mini-martini glasses filled with candy covered chocolates and a gumball olive, or candy fruit slice.


I think they came out great. I like to try and do something original and little special for events. I'm always on the look out.

What does any of this have to do with my brand? That's what I'm trying to figure out. I think I'm getting closer.

I would love to really go with the humor angle a little more. I've even sat on a few humor panels at, Authors After Dark, a romance readers conference I go to every year. The problem here is I don't set out to be funny. It's kind of something that just happens. Honestly it was one of my publishers who first decided my novella A Damsel Without A Dress was a romantic comedy, not a straight contemporary romance.

It was readers who told me my Heiresses series has a chick lit feel. I was totally thrilled with that. Book 1 Shit Kickers & Stilettos hit the chick lit bestseller list at ARe

That's enough thinking for now. I'm going to shut off the business side of my brain and write.

Branding: How Much Do I Suck!

I'm not sure, but I'm going to figure it out starting now. Since I decided to be completely, 100% honest with this blog I'm going to just say whatever comes to mind. Starting with this topic.

Branding is an issue for a lot of people. Companies, artist, and ordinary people all want to be recognized for what they stand for. As an author for me it's how get someone to look at my books as a cohesive group. I want people who read any of my books to say yup that was on of Rita's books.

So what are the questions I need to answer myself to see if I can do this?

What do all my books have in common?
Well hopefully they're fun. I like to laugh. So even though there are some serious moments I don't think the books are too heavy. So I try to give my readers it all. Romance, Passion, and Laughter.

Do people even know who the hell I am?
This comes down to discoverability and promo. I'm working on this topics as well, but again I have to get my ass in gear and figure this shit out!

How the hell do I make readers take notice?
That's the million dollar question. I'm not one of those authors who start shit. Meaning if I don't have something nice to say I try not to say anything. I often hear about authors behaving badly and I never want to be one of those. On the other hand I need to step up and shout hey here I am.

I know there's so many more things that affect me and my writing and sales. For now I'm going to have to focus on these three and decide where to go.

New Release:Pampered, Polished & Playful

New Release! Yes, it's finally here.

Pampered, Polished & Playful is available now.

When Tiffany Craig’s father served her with an ultimatum to go to college or he’d cut her off she knew the last thing he expected was for her to turn the tables on him. Sick of her entire family looking down on her she does just that by issuing a threat of her own. Her mother and sister were annoyed that they were going to have to take her place on the charity boards and foundations she sat on in her family’s name. Her father could change that by just taking back his demand. She knew he wouldn’t do that. So Tiffany was going to live her life the way she wanted.
Tiffany and Ace Fentonworth don’t have the best first meeting, or second, or third, but each time she ends up in his arms with his mouth on hers. Ace had no idea what it was about Tiffany Craig that drew him in. Whatever it was it also turned him into a first class jerk, but he couldn’t stay away from her even when he tried. The more he was around her the less he wanted to. Nothing about her made any sense and Ace wanted to find out why. He knows the only way he’s going to figure it out is to spend more time with her.But could they work past their assumptions about each other and find out why they couldn’t stay away from each other? Get your copy at Amazon, ARe, Smashwords, B&N and other e-retailers.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Authors After Dark Featured Author Interview: Jessica Jarman

AAD Featured Author Interview: Jessica Jarman
 
Welcome Authors After Dark 2014 featured author Jessica Jarman!
 Is this your first year attending AAD?
Nope, this is my fourth. :)

What brings you back to AAD?
It is by far my favorite con to attend. I love the atmosphere, catching up with old friends, laughing so hard my face hurts... The events are spectacular. I’ve met and spent time with more readers at AAD than any other con I’ve attended. And I LOVE that. I’m so excited for Charlotte, I could pee my pants (but, don’t worry, I won’t!)

Do you have a book coming out before AAD you want the attendees to know about?
YES! I’m part of an anthology with Jenny Trout aka Abagail Barnette and Bronwyn Green. It’s called If Ever I Would Leave You. The three stories are NA and contemporary twists on Arthurian Legend. I canNOT tell you how pumped I am for this collection to release. I’ve always loved anything to do with King Arthur, Merlin, Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table… To be able to channel that into a book, AND get to work with two of my favorite people in the world has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. I seriously have the best job in the world.





 
If you were to suggest one of your books to the AAD attendees, which book would it be? 
Aside from If Ever I Would Leave You, for all the reasons I mentioned above? LOL I would say any of my New Reality books. They’re set after the world pretty much falls apart, but there is still love and sexy times to be had. They were so much fun to write and will probably always be favorites of mine.
What panels will you be on at AAD?
I’ll be on the Take a Chance, Odd Paranormals and If it Makes You Feel Good. So come and see me!!!

If an adoring fan wanted to buy you a drink at the bar, what’s your poison?
Oh, I’m fairly easy. I’m happy with a beer, to be honest. A beer and some good conversation and I’m yours for a while. :)

Where can readers find you?
http://www.jessicajarman.com
http://jessicajarman.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/jessjarman
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Romance-Author-Jessica-Jarman/161691307207648
http://authorjessjarman.tumblr.com/