Jennifer L. Davidson's Blog, page 18

Writing groups

Writing groups. You either love 'em or hate 'em. I really can't make a statement either way because I'm not sure I gave our local group a fair chance. I went to a couple of the informal meetings and loved listening to the advice the other writers had to offer. They were also great listeners, and most could even finish my sentences. So, why do I no longer attend the meetings? Too much talk, not enough action. I found that the more I talked about writing, the less I actually wrote. Also, being with a group of writers that appeared to know what they were doing intimidated me. I scared myself into thinking that my writing wasn't good enough. I started to question all the time I had spent writing a book that perhaps no one but me might enjoy. After a stern talking to from my husband and a quick phone call to my mother, I "quit" the group and set myself back on the path that I had started. It turns out all I needed was the support of my family and friends. Go figure.

Writing resolutions

Tis the season to make resolutions that may or may not last the entire year. I've learned very quickly that with writing, I can't predict the next day, much less the the next 365 days. A year ago I didn't know that I would self-publish a book, nor did I know that I would sell over 200 copies by the year's end. So, with that being said, all I can resolve to do in 2012 is to continue writing my next book with the goal of self-publishing it in October. I have other personal goals, but like my husband said last night, "I have the same goals I've had the last four years so I don't want to talk about them."

A tough time to write

December is turning out to be a tough month to write in. I haven't totalled my word count just yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be short of my goal of 15,000 words. It seems that there is always something else to do, which is usually to go shopping and I don't even like to shop. After the holidays I plan to play some catch-up while also putting together a marketing plan for Missing Maggie. I have grand plans for 2012.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Keep reading!

Video blogging???

My husband came back from shopping (for wood, mind you) and thought he came up with a great, innovative idea to help me market my book: video blogging. I don't know much about it, but I can only assume it would be me sitting in front of a web cam speaking about the same things I write in this blog. Generally, I don't consider myself a public speaker. That's more his thing. But perhaps I could verbalize what I feel passionate about, which is writing and all of its elements. I don't know. It's something to consider I guess.

WSJ self-publishing articles

A few articles from the Wall Street Journal have been passed on to me by a friend, all pertaining to self-publishing and the success of some very talented writers. I find these articles interesting because they give details as to how a particular author came upon their success. I've learned which websites the author used to publish, which ones they used to gain reviews from, and how they, too, struggled to find an agent and/or publisher. I've taken some notes and plan to do some of the same things in hopes of mimicking their success.

Learning from the best

I watched a video interview with Sandra Brown on goodreads.com the other day. I had to watch it a second time to take notes. The interview covered the movie recently aired on TNT that was based on her novel, Ricochet. I haven't read that one yet, but that's not why I watched the video. I mostly watched it because she is an amazing author with over sixty best-sellers. She is obviously doing something right. Sandra and the host discussed various details concerning the movie, but she also gave some insight as to how she writes her novels. Here's what I learned:
Sandra begins each story idea by writing a 12-15 page synopsis.She writes the first draft just to get the story down on paper.The second draft is where she goes through the story scene by scene, developing the characters and the plot as best she can.Pacing is the main focus of the third draft. If she gets bored reading it, more than likely so will her readers.Finally, the fourth and final draft is when she polishes the story, assuring herself that everything is as it should be.http://www.goodreads.com/videos/show/18975-goodreads-live-with-sandra-brown

November's word count

It was my goal to reach 15,000 words (500 per day) for the month of November. My total ended up being about 800 words shy of this goal, but considering this is the first time I've kept track of my writing, I'm pleased with the result. Next month is going to be even more challenging with Christmas and the kids being home for two weeks. I'll be forced to take a day or two and escape to the library or somewhere I can concentrate. That actually sounds pretty wonderful!

Getting paid

I got paid for selling copies of my book! If you'd have asked me a year ago if I thought I'd be getting paid for what I love to do, I'd have laughed...or cried. A year ago I'd given up hope that my writing was good enough to put on the market. Apparently a few people think it's good enough. I'm also really excited about getting paid since it's been almost four years since I recieved a paycheck. This direct deposit isn't much, maybe enough for a couple of Christmas presents. This is just the beginning though. I have big dreams, people. Great things are going happen! Man, I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Back to work

I had a great Thanksgiving weekend filled with family, fun, food, and shopping. I think I'm still recovering actually. Now, though, it's time to get back to work. I'm about a third of the way done with the first draft of my second novel. The characters are coming to life nicely and the action is building. Kody's clients are proving to be a little challenging for her, but that's only because she feels the need to fix what is broken. One client might be beyond repair though.

As for marketing "Missing Maggie," the review from areavoices.com was printed in Sunday's Fargo Forum. I still have mixed feelings about the review. Either way, it's free publicity. Otherwise, over the weekend I slipped my business cards in random places. I'm not sure Denny's and Walmart appreciated that, but it seemed like a good idea at the time!

Printed fliers

This morning I finally went out and posted a few half-sheet, book fliers at the various coffee shops in town and at the public library. I was so nervous for some reason. My nerves were completely unnecessary though because each establishment was more than happy to post a flier during the holiday season. I figured I should get them out there now before Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Hopefully someone will be intrigued enough to check it out. You just never know!