Robyn Heirtzler's Blog, page 7

When Pain becomes a Blessing

A tragedy rocked my world yesterday. I think about it, agonize over it and decide that instead of letting it crush me, I will allow it to motivate me. There was a time I'd have given in and allowed the darkness in, living with despair. But that helps no one. 
The thing is, we all realize at some point that things happen that can't be undone. Things change us, challenge us and our very beliefs, but when we stay true to our beliefs and view our painful experiences as learning opportunities, we grow and we improve. 
It doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes weeks or years ... but when we can look back and see how we can use something painful to help ourselves or others, it becomes a blessing ... albeit, not always a pleasant one.

The challenge is learning how to recognize the future benefits of a current situation -or being able to wait for the emotional shock to wear off to at least view it objectively. 
... because it's our reaction to these life events that define us.
Photo by: Becky Freeland

What are you Willing to Give up for Safety?

A Texas school has decided to track their students via an electronic chip in their school IDs. Why? Because too many kids are being marked absent when they're actually on school grounds, and it's costing the school millions of dollars in funding ... oh yeah, and to be able to track the kids down if they're worried about their safety.

But seriously, how would you like to walk around with a chip in your wallet so someone could tell whether you're under the stairwell, at a desk or walking out the door? What if we take it a step further? What if, just by plugging in your info, an organization could track you down to the room in which you're standing, day or night? Track every movement, every activity in which you participated, just because you were required to carry a tracking chip on your body wherever you went?

They're calling it protection. They're calling it better school funding. They're calling it a security measure. What they don't say is that it's stripping freedoms. It's promising the illusion of security in exchange for your basic rights.

Are you willing to take a tiny bit of promised security if it means giving up freedom? 

Many people are. I'm not.

I'd love some opinions on this. Watch the news clip. Comment below or leave a message on my FB wall.


One more Step toward Stealing our Freedom Video Here.

Are Schools Killing Creativity?

Sitting in my daughter's eighth grade class for back to school night, the teacher said something like this, "We're going to teach you how to write things that matter, like research papers and resumes ... because creative writing won't help anyone. Nobody makes a living as a writer."

I wanted to jump from my seat and exclaim that I knew many people who made VERY good livings as writers and call her our on her lie.

I didn't.

Instead, I turned to my daughter and explained that if she wanted to be a writer, she could do it. I told her not to listen to her teacher and to do anything her heart desired. It's something I firmly believe in to this day.

Children should not be stifled. They shouldn't be taught like they're all little sugar cookies, pressed into the same boring mold. They need to be themselves, and pursue the interests that make them unique.

Each person has their own strengths, their own value, and we can't dictate what that is or how they should use theirs to the best advantage.

It's time to let children be children, to develop their own personalities, talents and strengths. It's time to stop killing their creativity. Because, the sad reality is - if you take away their creativity while they're young, it's nearly impossible to give it back.

If you agree, take a minute to watch this interesting and very humorous Ted Talk.

Ted Talk on Killing Creativity

Creating Trust and Success in the Indie Novel

I'm an editor. I proof and format eBooks for New York Times best-selling authors. And what I've learned is this: 

It's tedious. It's time consuming. It's mind-numbing. It's worth it.A well-proofed and professionally edited book is going to garner larger sales, more reviews and more attention. That translates into more money. However, as indie authors continue to produce subpar work, it reflects badly on the rest of the indie market. We need to stick together and educate each other.

We need to produce quality work so it reflects well on the indie market as a whole.
There are many common problems in indie novels, problems that make me (and other readers) delete the book from my Kindle after a few sentences. There are other problems that manifest later that leave readers frustrated they wasted time reading the novel in the first place. I want to support other indie authors and leave reviews, but the book must feel real, professional and it MUST have a resolution! 
That being said, here's my list of the top ten things you can do, as an indie author, to make your book more successful:
Find out what makes a story work. This may sound basic, but nearly every indie book I've read in the past six months contains an element that fatally wounds the finished product.     *i.e.: characters ceasing to exist as a means to end a book - no resolution to any major plot lines - opening with a dream - weak protagonists - crying in chapter 2 ...Use POV that works. If you have multiple POVs, they must appear consistently throughout the book. Having a book written entirely in one POV until chapter 12, when you throw in a cryptic chapter from a POV of someone the reader has never met, throws the reader out of the story. Read Orson Scott Card's Characters & Viewpoint.Quit Copying. If you're a serious writer, you are smart enough to come up with your own ideas.Realize that spell check is NOT a fix-all. Hire an editor. Pay them. It's worth it. In the meantime, learn the difference between BRAKE and BREAK - BUSSING and BUSING - THEIR, THEY'RE and THERE, BREATH and BREATHE, etc.Create a hook in the first sentence. If you don't hook your reader immediately, they'll put your book down. Read Hooked by Les Edgerton. Follow his advice with the beginning of each new chapter.Be realistic - to a degree. People enjoy fantastic elements in their stories, but they must be consistent and realistic to the rules of your fictional world. Create the limits and rules of your magic systems, government reach, etc. and stick by them. Leave the extras behind. Avoid excessive adverbs, passive voice, the word then.    *i.e.: She saw him jump over the fence then run down the street while she was waiting for the light to turn green. -- He jumped the fence and darted down the street before the light turned. Learn how to format your eBook. Simple process? You'd think so, but no. When you convert a file to eBoook format, any glitches, that may or may not have been visible in your original, will be exaggerated. Tabs may be off, text may appear large in one area and small in another. Line spacing may be off. Centering may or may not translate. It's tiring and tedious, but proof your electronic files before you startle your readers with giant bold words where there should be none.Some of us are NOT graphic designers. Know your limits when it comes to your cover art. If you are not a designer, hire one. A cheap-looking book is a turn off to most readers. Keep it professional and you create a better future for all indie authors.Keep it clean. I'm not sure why I saved this for last, but keep your writing clean. When picking up an indie novel, it's hard to gauge the content. Unless explicitly indicated in the description or genre, don't use graphic sex, violence or an overabundance of cursing to try and sell your book. It turns readers off. It leaves them with a bad taste for the indie market. I've had numerous readers comment on this issue recently - it's not just personal opinion.There are more issues, I know, but this is all I could cover in one day. Thank you for reading and I look forward to creating a trustworthy indie market, where readers know they can get quality, professional fiction.

If you found this article informative, please share it with your indie author friends. As we create a more professional indie market, it benefits us all.
If I missed a crucial element, please comment below. I love your feedback.

@juliansmithtv Never Interrupt me when I'm Reading a Book!

My two youngest have always been huge fans of Julian Smith, so I had to post this one! 
... never interrupt me when I'm reading a book ...
I've got this one down, and Akbar, and the whole hot Kool Aid episode.


Poor Akbar.

Reviews - Love Dystopian

"Thank you, Hunter, for bringing back my love for dystopian novels! I think this was definitely a good read." -Maureen's Book Haven
Read the entire review of inDIVISIBLE here.

Indies helping Indies

As an Indie author, there are obstacles, but what I love is the way most Indies help each other out! It's like we're friends - who don't actually know each other, like watching your baby take their first step as we see someone succeed who we've helped along the way.

And believe me, many have helped me along the way - and they continue to help by posting some amazing information online for anyone who wants to do a little searching.

I've posted a few of my favorites here so you can see what I mean.

Some of the most helpful Indie information I've received comes from J.A. Konrath, who's had great success from his ebooks, success he calls getting lucky - wait - being lucky. It's a lengthy blog post that I've devoured, not literally. So get a pen handy and take notes as you see what Konrath can teach you about becoming a successful Indie author and maybe you'll get lucky too.  GIVE ME INFO!

Another blog I actually just stumbled onto today is from Richard Stephenson in his blog about advertising. Sounds a bit like a dirty word, doesn't it? He's got some good information and stresses that what works for one may or may not work for another. In other words - gotta get lucky - but your hard work counts for something! CHECK IT OUT.

Finally, though not always about Indie publishing, David Farland sends his advice out in a daily kick, designed to propel you in the right direction to be successful in all aspects of writing your next novel. A subscription based writing blurb, you can read past entries on his website and believe me, there are enough to keep you busy for weeks of solid reading, so PACE YOURSELF!

Thanks Zsuzanna Killian for the cook book photo btw! 

Library made of Books ...

So I'm wondering - how do I get my book spine featured on this library?

I'm a Chocolate Lover ...

So I was browsing today ... that's what authors do a good portion of their time ... and I saw this commercial for Lindt Truffles. Would you do this for chocolate? I'm afraid I probably would. :)Especially for Lindt extra dark truffles ...

Thought Provoking Book

The inDIVISIBLE book launch was a success! Thank you all for stopping by my FB page to say hi, ask questions or just browse. We've also gotten some great reviews already! This one calls inDIVISIBLE, "Truly a thought provoking book for our time..."

See the rest of the reviews here and thank you again for showing support on the release date of my new novel!