Erica Vetsch's Blog, page 80

Seekerville is Closed Today

 

Seekerville is closed today as we celebrate the Labor Day holiday . . . a day for all of us to rest and reflect on God's promises during these uncertain times. 

Please stop by again!

Sunday Scripture & Prayer Requests

The Exhortation to the Apostles, by James Tissot, Jesus talking to his 12 disciples, 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum. [PD-US]

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. 
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you,
so that ‘every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. 
If he refuses to listen even to the church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you,
if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. 
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.”

Matthew 18:15-20

HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

 The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

Please join us in praying for the United States--and the world--during this Coronavirus outbreak. Also please pray for calm to be restored to our country and for peace to reign.
We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! 

May the Lord bless you and your families and keep you safe.  

Weekend Edition

  



If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Note our new email address and please send your emails to Seekerville2@gmail.com







Monday: Blue Moon Monday Open Critique
Wednesday: Mindy Obenhaus gave us some insight into Revisions, Edits and Other Necessary Evils.
Friday: The Winner of Her Secret Song by Mary Connealy is MonicaH!


Monday:  Labor Day - Seekerville Closed
Wednesday:  Ruth Logan Herne  Friday: Annie










Publisher's Weekly Review of Her Secret Song
Join ACFW DFW via Zoom on Saturday, September 12, 2020 – 10:30a-12p CDT with award-winning author, Mindy Obenhaus as she presents, “God is in the Details, and We Should be, Too.” She will use this time to share with and guide us on how we can craft characters our readers will care about beyond the “The End.”

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. For more information on this event, click here 

ON SALE NOWThe Accidental Guardian$1.99 in all ebook formats
Click here for Amazon Kindle
Click here for Nook

More Amish SuspenseFrom USA TODAY bestselling authorDEBBY GIUSTI
Amish Christmas SearchOct 2020An Amish girl’s disappearance is a mystery…and the clues lead straight into danger at Christmas.Convinced her friend didn’t run away as the policebelieve, Lizzie Kauffman searches for the truth—butsomeone will kill to keep it hidden. Now the Amishhousekeeper and her friend Caleb Zook are on therun for their lives. And if they want to find theirmissing friend, Lizzie and Caleb must figure outa way to survive the holiday.
Pre-order HERE!



Cate Nolan released the cover for her next book this week. 
Don't let the snake scare you off!



She saw something she shouldn’t have…

Assistant US Attorney Christine Davis is positive she witnessed a murder, but with no body, the police aren’t convinced. Now someone wants her dead, and Texas Ranger Blake Larsen is the only one who believes her. For Blake, protecting Christine must stay more important than their growing feelings for each other. But can he keep her safe from an unknown enemy who wants her silenced?

From Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.
Preorder here





7 Considerations for Your Antagonist's Motivations by KM Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors

Are You Showing or Telling Your Internalization by Janice Hardy at Fiction University

How Authors Are Using Video Effects To Grow Their Reach by LA Sartor at Book Brush

What are the Upcoming Trends in Fiction by Tamela Hancock Murray at Steve Laube

Using Character Traits to Plot Your Book by Sarah Sally Hamer at The Write Conversation
Back To Virtual School: 5 Tips For Productive Writing During This New Season by Heidi McCahan at Learn How To Write A Novel
Creating A Bible For Characters and Screenwriting by Ellen Buikema at Writers In The Storm

New Release Coming Soon!!!

 

Her Secret Song 

(Brides of Hope Mountain Book #3)

The gunfighter and the recluse…what could go wrong?

 

Wax Mosby was climbing Hope Mountain in part to atone for his terrible choices. He was hired to drive out the Warden family and now knows he was duped. But when he's wounded during the climb, the last person he expects to rescue him is a beautiful blond woman with the voice of an angel. 

As both Ursula and Wax weigh the costs of living new lives, the two find an unlikely bond. And they're joined by Ursula's sisters and the Warden family as the final showdown over the family ranch looms with the coming of spring. 

 

Coming October 6th! The action packed finale to the Brides of Hope Mountain series!

Read and excerpt HERE

Buy Her Secret Song HERE

Leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for the FIRST EVER IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE GIVEAWAY OF HER SECRET SONG!!!

Mary Connealy

Revisions, Edits and Other Necessary Evils

You’ve spent years learning how to craft a story worthy of publication. You have enough rejection letters to paper a feature wall. And then, one day, you get THE CALL. Finally, all of your hard work has paid off. You’ve made it to the big leagues. And then your editor says she’d like a few revisions. “Sure,” you say. You’ve got this. No problem.

Your editor sends the manuscript and you open it to discover phrases like “This scene isn’t working for me. Can you rewrite it?” Or “There’s not enough conflict in this chapter.”  And my favorite, “The stakes need to be higher.”

Your euphoria evaporates and you wonder why he/she even bought the book. You whine and complain for 24 hours (per Seekerville rules

BLUE MOON MONDAY OPEN CRITIQUE!!!!!

 

Okay, guys, some of you know the drill:

You post a few paragraphs/a page in the comments and we lovingly rip it apart.

Sound fun?????

BIG SMILE HERE!

Well, that's kind of a stretch, some of us are very nice, some of us are barely human, but what we want and long for is your success as an author/writer/storyteller.

We'll offer advice...

And you decide to take it or leave it.

But every book, every story, every novella begins with an idea that needs to be fleshed out and unforgettable characters.

That's what you want to strive for: People who tug the heart for good or evil and a story that stands the test of time.

So polish things up, you can give us an intro (especially helpful if these aren't opening lines) and post it here, today and let the games begin!

But in the meantime, darlings, if you want to be a writer, there are no secrets. None. Not one. No short cuts, either.

If you want to be a writer, you need to write.

And that's the bottom line.

Good morning, Seekerville!!!!

And happy writing!

The Seekers began as fifteen wannabe authors who forged a bond back in 2004 and 2005 to begin a group, an online loop, to pray one another into publication by a royalty paying publisher... They accomplished that goal in a very competitive business, a business with only so many slots open annually in traditional publishing, and they did it together... and they're still helping others.

Because they believe that there's room for all of us, that limits are self-inflicted and that (especially now with indie publishing) that authors should work hard and reach for the stars... but they promise you that the work comes first! 

Blue Moon Mondays are breaks in our schedule where we have an extra Monday to be filled with either critiques or guests, but we love, love, love working with authors.

So jump in!

The water's fine.

Sunday Scripture & Prayer Request

Get Thee Behind Me Satan, James Tissot, 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum. [PD-US]


Jesus began to show his disciplesthat he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatlyfrom the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter,“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
Then Jesus said to his disciples,“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.What profit would there be for one to gain the whole worldand forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,and then he will repay all according to his conduct.” Matthew 16:21-27
Our prayers go out to all those impacted by Hurricane Laura, especially the good folks in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi.Let us know how you're doing if you were in the storm's path.
The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 
Please join us in praying for the United States--and the world--during this coronavirus outbreak. Also please pray for calm to be restored to our country and for peace to reign.
We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! 

May the Lord bless you and your families and keep you safe.  

Weekend Edition

  



If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Note our new email address and please send your emails to Seekerville2@gmail.com







Monday: Erica went back to the basics and talked about Finding Your Voice.
Wednesday: Cate chatted with readers about how our reading tastes have changed over time. We had a great walk down memory lane with some favorite characters.
Friday: Pam and her friends shared ideas for Passive Income. If you missed the post, check it out to get ideas to jumpstart your passive income strategy.


Monday:  Blue Moon Monday Open Critique!!!!!! Seekers will take a break from other things to review and offer advice on your work-- online and in the open-- EEK!!! :) Think Joshua 1:9 and be brave, my friends! Be of great courage. The only way to get to the top is to keep on climbing, even when it's tough. 
Wednesday:  Mindy will be here to talk about Revisions, Edits and Other Necessary Evils.  Friday: Surprise!





Join ACFW DFW via Zoom on Saturday, September 12, 2020 – 10:30a-12p CDT with award-winning author, Mindy Obenhaus as she presents, “God is in the Details, and We Should be, Too.” She will use this time to share with and guide us on how we can craft characters our readers will care about beyond the “The End.”

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. For more information on this event, click here 

More Amish SuspenseFrom USA TODAY bestselling authorDEBBY GIUSTI
Amish Christmas SearchOct 2020An Amish girl’s disappearance is a mystery…and the clues lead straight into danger at Christmas.Convinced her friend didn’t run away as the policebelieve, Lizzie Kauffman searches for the truth—butsomeone will kill to keep it hidden. Now the Amishhousekeeper and her friend Caleb Zook are on therun for their lives. And if they want to find theirmissing friend, Lizzie and Caleb must figure outa way to survive the holiday.
Pre-order HERE!









Becoming a Sensitive, Responsible Fiction Writer by CS Lakin at Live Write Thrive
My Favorite Writing Rule (That I Made Up) by Angela Ruth Strong at Learn How To Write A Novel
Starting From Zero - A Free Course on Marketing by David Graughran
Afraid To Let Anyone Read Your Writing? by KM Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors
12 Authors on YouTube with Writing & Publishing Tips by Leila Hirschfeld at Book Bub Partners Blog
8 Best Book Cover Reveal Templates, Graphics & Mock-Ups by Beca Lewis at Book Brush 
Are Editors Responding to Submissions During Coronavirus ? by Jane Friedman

Passive Income With an Emphasis on Writers

Today’s topic covers a wide range of ways to generate passive income, especially with the home-based writer in mind. Let’s just dive in, shall we?

First, what is passive income? I like this description from Wiki…

Passive income is income that requires little to no effort to earn and maintain. [notice MY emphasis on maintain] It is called progressive [again, my emphasis] passive income when the earner expends little effort to grow the income.

That sounds simple enough, but let’s go ahead and admit that there will be some kind of effort to set up a stream of passive income. This effort comes in the forms of time and/or money. Some ideas I saw to make “passive income” aren’t that passive, so I’m going to focus mostly to true forms of passive income where once your “investment” is finalized, it continues to work for you for a long, long time.

Let’s start with time. One person’s idea of using their time to set up a stream of passive income might be another person’s worst nightmare. For instance, while researching for this blog post, blogging (for money via ads, product placement, and affiliations), designing book covers, and copyediting were listed as ways to make passive income. Unless each blog post can be used over and over forever, that’s not truly passive income. Copyediting is work… since you have to contribute your time for each project. IMO, that’s not fully passive. So, for a venture to be truly passive time wise, it needs a bit of time to set up, then it churns out money for years to come. Examples: writing/publishing books, becoming an affiliate, creating podcasts or videos in your area of expertise.

Money. Some passive income strategies take more money to set up than they do time, although there is a learning curve for everything, of course. We’ll come back to this, but a couple of good examples are dividend investing and rental property. While these aren’t specific to writers, this post is about using your time and money to create passive income, and I’m all about that, as long as it’s legal.

One other thing before we jump in. Whether you are working a public job, working from home, retired, or a combination of all three, working out a steady stream of passive income to pay you a bit of “pocket change” can be done. Applied month after month, project after project, and year after year, and eventually, that pocket change can add up to enough to live on… and then some.

The College Investor website gave a really nice breakdown of all kinds of passive income strategies, with links and how-to’s. I combed through this list and found what looked to be the best of the best for true “set it up and forget about it” streams of income.

I highlighted the ones on this list that were most interesting to me personally and I’ll discuss them in order that the article above lists them.

Dividend Stocks

Dividend paying stocks is what got me to thinking about passive income and led to this post. There’s a reason this article and many, many others list dividend stocks as the #1 source of passive income.

Dividend investing is so much easier and accessible to the average person these days due to commission free accounts and mobile apps so that an investor can buy and sell stocks right from their phone. That’s pretty cool. So if you like spending your free time crunching numbers, then this might be a way to add to your passive income “portfolio”.

This strategy will take a lot (a LOT) more money than time. I recommend reading Dividend Growth Machine by Nathan Winklepleck and The Snowball Effect by Timothy McIntosh if dividend investing interests you.

Check out the Dividend Aristocrats and the Dividend Kings. These blue chip stocks have consistently increased their dividend payout for (a gazillion) years. Okay, I’m stretching that a bit, but they are consistent.

Mind-Blowing Thought: AT&T, a Dividend Aristocrat, is currently paying 6.96% dividend yield per share. Shares of this writing were $29.92. Reinvest your dividends and your money continues to grow quarter after quarter, year after year. If you invested $10K into AT&T stock, at the end of 10 years, your stock should be worth almost $20 grand even if the stock price remained the same and the dividend payout continued to grow yearly. (This is not a recommendation to buy AT&T or advice on investing. It’s simply an example.) But who has $10K to invest? Not me, but the principal remains the same. Invest and continue to reinvest for your future and that of your heirs.

Final Mind-Blowing Thought: Marry a Dividend Investment plan to a Roth IRA. It’s a wonderful thing.

$$$ My Current Monthly Dividend Income on a small portfolio: $9.44 $$$

Write/Sell Books

Okay, so now we’re getting to a passive income strategy that we, as writers, understand. Mostly.

As we all know, writing books is hard work. It takes a lot of effort on the front end. But the good news is that once your book is published and remains published, it has the potential to continually make you (and your heirs) money for many, many years.

Maybe it seems like it’s not passive if you are continually writing new books and adding new content to your backlist.

But it is. Passive income means that one book (print, ebook, audio, foreign, etc.) is creating passive income month and after month, year after year. If you have ten published books, then all of them have the potential to create passive income.

Final Mind-Blowing Thought: I know writers who make $10 a month and those who make $10,000 a month. (Or so I’ve heard.) Write that book and get it published.

Then do it again. The first is in the bag, so that income, even if it’s just $5 a month, is now passive income. Much like reinvesting your dividends in stock prices, the second book shines a spotlight on the first book and spikes its income threshold… if you do your job right. Then the third book spotlights the first two, and so on.

I already have several traditional novels and novellas  published with Tyndale and Barbour, and I’m taking steps to Independently publish some novellas that have already been written and edited. All of this work feeds off of each other.

I'm working on a cover and will be formatting my first independent novella soon. As Seekerville is my witness, I will publish these novellas! All these other projects to generate income are nice, but it makes sense for a writer to write and get her stuff out there.

$$$ Let’s be real conservative and estimate that an author can make $10 a month off of a stable of 10 published novels and novels. $$$

Stock Photos

If you have a knack for taking pictures, consider uploading them to a stock photo site. This seems like work to me, but for some who enjoy the process and is knowledgeable about photos, it could be fun and bring in a few dollars extra cash. Passive income from a hobby. What’s not to love? The College Investor has links to whet your appetite for this.

Online Writing Related Content, Reviewers, Influencers, and Affiliate Marketing

I lumped all of these together because they kind of go hand in hand. Are you an expert in some field that you could create audio (podcasts) and/or video (youtube, etc.) content? If you are, or you blog or maintain a website, or have a huge presence on social media, then you have the potential to monetize that experience. You might receive a free book to review, then also include the link to buy back through your Amazon affiliate account. Amazon Affiliates is a good way to share all your favorite products, including BOOKS.

Food bloggers do the same when they share a recipe and include affiliate links to purchase specialty items. Mommy bloggers blog about all things related to their kiddos. On a vacation a few years ago, my husband and I met a couple and their two kids from Germany who were bicycling across Canada and the US and blogging about it. They were influencers for a three-wheel tandem bike and kiddie trailer and blogged about their travels. It was a win-win for them and for the company they were promoting.

Also called Influencers, these bloggers receive free products to review all across social media. But a weight of responsibility comes with this. Just as publishers and authors vet the list of influencers they provide with free books, retailers vet their list of influencers. Only pursue this avenue if you truly believe in a company and their products.

Lumping advertising here. I have NOT gone down this rabbit trail with social media, but if you already have a platform, then why not? Search for things like, “five ways to monetize social media” or “monetize _________” (fill in the blank with Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, etc.). Watch a few videos and develop a strategy. If you are already reading and reviewing, you might be missing out on some lucrative areas of passive income.

Done well and with a mutual respect between the retailer, the influencer and the consumer, this is a two-fer for influencers: Free product plus being an affiliate for whatever product they’re promoting. Pretty cool.

Okay, I could go on and on, but you get the drift, and I need to wrap this up and let you guys share your thoughts on passive income. 

Some bullet points to leave with you …

1) Do NOT think of passive income as a get-rich-quick scheme. We’re talking a dollar here, a dollar there.

2) Pick one or two (three at most) doable passive income strategies that appeal to you and only pursue those. Don’t get sidetracked with big $$$ signs. We’re talking PENNIES a week/month sometimes. After a while, you can re-think your strategy, add and/or take away an income stream if it’s not working in your favor.

3) Cash Back and Awards Points Opportunities. My mom is a huge believer in her Choice Privileges card which rewards points for travel. Do your due diligence and use cards that give you the awards you prefer. Since I rarely travel, this hasn’t been a good fit for me. Cashback Rewards Cards (#27 on the College Investor site) links to lots of cash back credit cards, so you might find one that meets your needs if this is appealing to you.

Did you get on the ebates wave a few years ago? I did (I think it was a Seeker who recommended it!) and made $64 back in 2018, mostly Christmas shopping that year. It fell by the wayside and I totally forgot to use it. Rakuten bought ebates, so I updated my account using my handy-dandy mobile app, and started intentionally buying things using Rakuten for cash back as of this writing. I’ve made a whopping $1.16 cash back this week on a Walgreens order for my mom … on an order I was going to place anyway. Plus, I got a discount of $10.80 for creating a new Walgreens account. (If you don’t have an old ebates account, you’ll get $10 for creating a new Rakuten account.)

Unfortunately, Walmart and Amazon have a zero cash back policy with Rakuten at the moment. Just so you know.

$$$ Savings last week using Rakuten and Walgreens: $11.96 $$$

4) TRIM THE FAT - Cancel subscriptions you aren’t using. I just cancelled two that I thought I really needed in my life, but that I never use.

$$$ Monthly savings on those two subscriptions: $12.00 $$$

Bottom line. There are really NO real sources of passive income that I’ve found. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, in life requires SOME investment of some sort. The only thing I can think of that even comes close (other than manna from Heaven!) is a bunch of free-range chickens like my son has, but even then you have to pick up the eggs. 

$$$ 2 dozen free range hen eggs, plus 2 dozen quail eggs: about $2.65  $$$

So, let’s add up the passive income I’ve intentionally generated over the last few weeks. Granted, some of these won’t be every month (like cancelling subscriptions you’re no longer using), but every so often (maybe at tax time), look at those recurring fees and see if you really want to spend $120 or $240 on something every year. If not, cut it.

$$$ $46.05 a month, including the eggs. Pretty cool, huh? $$$

(The eggs were a freebie, but kind of a fun aside this week)

Well, there you have it. Passive Income with just a handful of strategies. I wanted to touch base on SO many more of these, but this blog post has already gone on way too long. Did you come up with any ideas for passive income while reading this? Has this whetted your appetite to get that novel finished and published? Or maybe you’re ready to start that Youtube channel? I’d love to hear your ideas!

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

Let's Hear from Our Readers

 Good morning, Seekerville.  

As I started to type that, I couldn't help it. My brain burst out with this.

We really are our own wonderful neighborhood here. 

So today I was hoping we could grab a mug of coffee or tea, maybe share some donuts, and just hang out and chat about reading. 

I have a couple of reasons why I've chosen to do this post today.

1) Criminal Minds  - I will come back to this.

2) Pandemic Reading

3) A question from a workshop I attended.

I'm going to do these backwards because #3 is the most recent. In a workshop I attended, we were asked to write about things we enjoyed from our childhood. Honestly, the first thing I came up with - and the only one I didn't have to think hard about - was READ.

There were other questions, but my first answer to all of them was either a book title or READ.

I've always known reading was a major factor in my life and development, but answering these questions just emphasized for me how dominant a role books and reading have played throughout my life.

Which brings me to #2 - pandemic reading. 

This has been a mixed bag. There have been books that have totally consumed me for days at a time, and then there have been dozens that (through no fault of their own) couldn't wrangle my skittish attention span. But the ones that did capture me - oh they reminded me of why I love books so much. They allowed me to step out of a pandemic-ridden world into a place of magic.

I guess my daughter knew what she was doing when she gave me this mug for Christmas.

So that brings me to Point #1 - Criminal Minds.

I've spent a lot of days this summer with day-long marathons of Criminal Minds playing in the background as I wrote my next suspense novel. I have sort of a love-hate relationship with this show. Years ago, when it was running, I couldn't watch it because frankly I found it terrifying. But I happened to stumble upon the final episode when it aired back in February, and I was captivated by the personal relationships between the characters and the very believable camaraderie.

I discovered my cable station running marathons, and I learned that I could skip the first five minutes with the bloody criminal introduction, and just focus on the profilers - their relationships and their methodology for solving the crimes. Sure I still had to cover my eyes from time to time, but I found myself feeling like I was hanging out with a group of friends.

{For anyone who may not know, Criminal Minds follows the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) of the FBI as they profile unsubs and solve crimes - usually serial killers and always gory. I cover my eyes A LOT.}

Jan and Mary may never forgive me for this comparison, but it reminded me of how I used to feel as a child when I hung out with The Happy Hollisters in their books - me with a group of fictional friends. Hopefully that doesn't sound as pathetic as it sounded to me when I wrote it.