Tricia Drammeh's Blog, page 26
February 20, 2015
To Writers Who Struggle with Self-Compassion #1000Speak
Please enjoy this brilliant post by Christy Birmingham. Do you want to join the 1000 Voices for Compassion movement? Read Christy’s post to find out how. #1000Speak
Originally posted on Poetic Parfait:
I am proud to take part in the #1000Speakmovement for compassion and here is my contribution with this post. I thought about what to write and then got hard on myself, judging whether the concept I came up with would ultimately meet readers’ expectations. Then I thought of this Faulkner quote:
The work never matches the dream of perfection the artist has to start with. ~William Faulkner
Okay, well, now that’s a little depressing, isn’t it? I mean, if we can never make the idea as perfect in written form as it is in our minds then why bother? Aha, but isn’t is so worth trying to get out to the reader those amazing ideas, to try, to ponder them, to meld them into words? Isn’t that a wonderful challenge to take on?
I think so. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t be blogging and working on a second…
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February 16, 2015
The Power of Wattpad: Jaw Dropping Info & Crash Course
Please take the time to read this post by Leona Henry. She explains how to use Wattpad and ways to maximize your efforts on this popular site.
Originally posted on Leona's Blog of Shadows:
Wattpad is a game changer for authors, espeically YA authors if used right. It has 35 million active users, most of which are young adults. Non-YA authors can benefit a great deal, too, there are millions of speculative fiction readers on Wattpad.
Here is one success case featured in The Guardian article: “Brittany “The Book Slayer” Geragotelis is a Wattpad superstar. Her first serial on the platform, Life’s A Witch, gained more than 19m reads and lead to a six-figure, three-book deal with Simon & Schuster.”
Excerpt from the author’s bio:
“After 10 years of rejection from the publishing industry, she began to post her original novel, Life’s a Witch, on the online writing site, Wattpad, hoping that others would enjoy reading her book. A year after the first upload, the book had received 19 million reads, which caught the attention of Publisher’s Weekly, The Huffington Post and…
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February 14, 2015
Meet the Authors of Grá mo Chroí
If you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day book, here’s something unique. Grá mo Chroí: Love Stories from Irish Myth is available on Amazon. Stop by Authors to Watch to meet the authors.
Originally posted on Authors to Watch:
Thank you Tricia for inviting Ali and myself to talk about Grá mo Chroí our collection of retellings of some of the great love stories from Irish myth. Quite a few people have asked us what prompted us to have a go at rewriting perfectly good stories. To explain…
Jane: I started these retellings about a year ago with the story of Deirdre. It was cold.
Exceptionally, we had had a dusting of snow; the blackbirds were taken by surprise and fussed about in the trees. Something in the combination of the snow and the black feather reminded me of the story of Deirdre, a young girl kept in seclusion, just waiting to be married to an old king, and I decided to write her story. One story led to another, and when Ali, at the end of last year suggested we have a go at rewriting some of…
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February 12, 2015
My Valentine’s Day Gift to You
As my Valentine’s Day gift to you, Better than Perfect is free on Kindle through this weekend.
The best things in life are the least expected.
Twenty-three-year-old Karlie has few friends, no boyfriend, and no plans to graduate from college anytime in the immediate future. She spends her free time hanging out with her elderly next door neighbor, daydreaming but never doing anything to escape the endless cycle of predictability. When Karlie’s world is invaded by two surly twins bound for criminal court, a too-good-to-be-true love interest, and a cute cop who keeps showing up at the most inopportune moments, Karlie can either fight against the changes in her life, or embrace them.
Tagged: better than perfect, chick-lit, free book, kindle freebie, new adult, romance, valentine's day gift, valentines day, women's fiction
February 11, 2015
Stop Procrastinating and Write Your Book
As a wife and mom, I’ve spent the past many years putting others ahead of myself. Kids, of course, always take top priority especially when they’re young and depending on mom for everything. Siblings, parents, spouses, and friends – these are people who are important in our lives and who depend on us. There will always be times we have to put others ahead of ourselves. When it gets to the point where we’re putting everyone ahead of our own needs, we’ve got to make some tough decisions.
I’ve barely written anything all year, and now it’s time for me to take a good, hard look at myself and the way I manage my time.
So far this year, I’ve skipped my writing time on multiple occasions in order to beta read for friends. I also read and reviewed a book for a complete stranger, regardless of the fact that I am no longer doing reviews on Authors to Watch. I broke my own rules for a complete stranger who didn’t even have the decency to say thank you in return. Whose fault is this? It’s mine. I have a difficult time saying no. I put others ahead of myself, and in the case of beta reading for friends, that’s okay to do sometimes. We all need help. We all rely on others. But when it comes to breaking my own rules in order to accommodate someone who displayed a lack of regard for my time from the very beginning? That’s unacceptable.
Time and time again, I put my writing on hold to beta read. Or review books. Or help someone write a blurb. Maybe I’m too nice to say no. Or maybe I’m allowing other people derail me as an excuse to procrastinate. This is my fault. And it’s unacceptable.
It’s unacceptable for me to allow others to derail me, and it’s even more unacceptable for me to blame other people and things (other writers, my day job, my laundry, invitations to play Quiz Up) for my inability to prioritize.
The truth is, I waste time. I procrastinate. I don’t prioritize. I don’t put myself first – ever. I don’t write because I don’t make time to write.
It’s time to make some tough decisions. Am I a writer, or not? Am I in it for the long haul, or am I going to keep “playing writer” by changing backgrounds on my blog or making pretty banners? Writers write. Yes, we all have issues pop up from time to time, but if Facebook can distract me so easily, maybe I’m in the wrong business.
Where are my priorities? Reviewing books? (If so, that’s fine, but then I need to call myself a “reviewer” instead of an author.) Facebook quizzes? (I love Facebook quizzes.) Sharing Grumpy Cat pictures? (I love Grumpy Cat!) Website maintenance? (I can waste tons of time rearranging stuff on my website.) Or writing?
If you time to spend on Facebook, you have time to write. Even if it’s only for five minutes a day. Yes, social media is important to your author platform, but do you really need an author platform if you never finish writing your book? How important is that pretty banner on your author page if you’ve pushed back the deadline on publishing your book until no one believes there’s an actual story to go with that snazzy cover?
Making connections with other authors is important, and so is promoting and helping other writers. Without forging relationships with other writers, we go crazy. But take a look at these friendships. Are they give and take relationships, or are you doing all the giving? Are you sharing support and advice, or just complaining about the publishing industry and the evils of writer’s block?
Do you really have writer’s block? Or are you just using that as an excuse for slacking off?
No more excuses! I’m determined to finish a book (or two) this year. I’m determined to write every day, even if it means skipping Facebook and Quiz Up. I’m determined to kick procrastination in the rear. And I’m determined to find that elusive balance between helping others and making time for myself.
Saying “no” to other people is a way of saying “yes” to myself. It’s a way to tell myself (and others) that I have a job to do. I’ve made a commitment to myself. I would never dream of backing out on a commitment I’ve made to someone else, so why would I back out on a commitment I’ve made to myself? Aren’t I just as important?
You are important too. So is your writing. For some of us, there are REAL challenges to writing. Family problems, health issues, day jobs – we can’t control everything. If you have REAL challenges that prevent you from writing, that’s okay. Take all the time you need. But if you have time for television and computer games and Facebook quizzes, chances are your problem is you – not writer’s block. So get busy and write!
For those of you who have fallen into a pattern of procrastination, I challenge you to get to the heart of it. Is fear holding you back? Are you afraid to say no? Do you allow others to derail you, and if so, why? How do you plan to prioritize your writing?
Tagged: advice for writers, prioritizing, procrastinating, saying no, time management for writers, writers block, writing
Follow-up to #Authors #Marketing Yourself and your Work article…
If you read all (or parts) of Susan Toy’s 5-part marketing series, you might be interested in reading this summary on Chris the Story Reading Ape’s blog. Links to each episode are listed at the bottom of the post, so if you missed any parts of the series, you can easily click to be directed to the section you’re looking for.
I’d like to thank Susan and Chris for presenting such valuable information to the writing community. And all for free! There are paid seminars out there that don’t offer half of what Susan offers, not just in this series, but on her blog as well. I strongly encourage you to subscribe to Susan’s blog. Spend an hour or two perusing the site and reading the helpful articles there. I would also strongly encourage you to follow Chris’s blog. His blog is unique because it combines author promotion with helpful articles. Chris is constantly combing the net in search of the best and most informative articles. He reblogs or links back to the original articles so authors can read the posts for themselves.
Again, thank you Chris and Susan for everything you do for the writing community!
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog..... An Author Promotions Enterprise!:
As a demonstration of how to put into practice; and get results from, what Susan Toy was telling you in her great 5 day series, we decided that a few statistics, based on the series, would be interesting:
TO DATE:
Part ONE has had 351 views, 104 likes, 60 Comments, 54 tweets, 58 uploads to Facebook, 33 uploads to LinkedIn and 13 reblogs
Part TWO has had 232 views, 88 likes, 57 Comments, 34 tweets, 56 uploads to Facebook, 21 uploads to LinkedIn and 11 reblogs
Part THREE has had 186 views, 73 likes, 38 Comments, 23 tweets, 51 uploads to Facebook, 22 uploads to LinkedIn and 9 reblogs
Part FOUR has had 155 views, 66 likes, 36 Comments, 21 Comments, 16 tweets, 31 uploads to Facebook, 26 uploads to LinkedIn and 7 reblogs
Part FIVE has had 172 views, 72 likes, 18 tweets, 47 uploads to Facebook, 25 uploads…
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Tagged: author marketing, author promotion, chris the story reading ape, susan m toy
February 9, 2015
Snowpocalypse
The past two days, I’ve been working on the sequel to The Seance. It’s the first time in over a month that I’ve done any significant writing. It’s probably because I’m practically housebound due to our third winter storm in only two weeks.
Snowpocalypse!!!
It’s our second winter living in New England. Last year we thought the snow was “neat” and “fun.” Now we just want it to go away.
Yesterday, we used a roof rake for the first time. For those of you who don’t live in the frozen north, a roof rake is used to scrape accumulating snow off your roof before it collapses. Between shoveling, roof-scraping, and struggling to run errands in slushy, snowy, hazardous road conditions, I’ve found time to write.
Today, I tried to take a few pictures of the snow. Forgive my bad photography and poor phone-camera quality. I hope these pics will give you some perspective of what we’ve been dealing with this winter. It’s been a challenge!
Help! We lost our backyard.
It’s a great day to play outside. Swing set, anyone?
Welcome!
The snow is slowly taking over.
The snow has almost reached the top of the fence
Snow Selfie!
And a few pictures from when we visited the seacoast a week ago…
And a picture of what the cats are doing while the humans are taking care of snow removal…
Tagged: lazy cats, snow, snowpocalypse, winter storm, writing time
February 8, 2015
#Authors #Marketing Yourself and Your Work (Final) Part FIVE
Here’s part five to Susan Toy’s five-part marketing series hosted on Chris the Story Reading Ape’s blog! Again, it’s full of helpful information for authors.
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog..... An Author Promotions Enterprise!:
The following is an extract from a talk delivered at the Calgary Public Library in Feb. 2011.
Part 5
Another area of promotion you should consider developing – and only do this if you are comfortable with it – is speaking engagements. Speaking engagements are something your publisher will not arrange for you, unless they are approached directly by a group inviting you to speak. Make sure you are either allowed to sell books or that a bookseller has been asked to look after sales wherever you appear.
Here’s another important statistic I gleaned from reading Get Known Before the Book Deal: Authors who speak at events sell three times as many books. (This book is listed in the bibliography at the end of this post.)
You can give a straight reading from your book, but my preference is to hear an author talk about how…
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February 6, 2015
#Authors #Marketing Yourself and Your Work Part FOUR
Part Four in Susan Toy’s marketing series is now available to read on Chris the Story Reading Ape’s blog. Whether or traditionally published or self-published, this post is full of practical advice. Marketing your book is about forging relationships – contacting booksellers, striking up friendships with bloggers and other authors, working with your publicist (if you have one) to get the word out about your book. After reading this post, I see areas where I can take positive steps toward better marketing my books. Thanks, Susan, for this amazing series. And thank you, Chris, for hosting Susan on your wonderful blog.
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog..... An Author Promotions Enterprise!:
The following is an extract from a talk delivered at the Calgary Public Library in Feb. 2011.
Part 4
Okay, now you’ve completed the further editing, the proofs have been approved, and it’s just a matter of waiting for the printer to produce and ship your book. So, what’s been happening at the publishing house all this time? The main thing they’ve been up to is preparing for, and holding, sales conferences for their sales reps. A catalogue page for your book should have been completed and posted online. Be sure to link to this page on your own blogsite, and direct anyone to it who asks about your book. The reps have been told about you, and they have discussed how they can best sell your book to booksellers, libraries, wholesalers and specialty markets. Some of them may have even read the manuscript. If at all…
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#Authors #Marketing Yourself and Your Work Part THREE
I’m a little late reblogging this. Many of you have probably already subscribed to Chris’ blog and you’ve read Part Three of Susan’s excellent marketing series, but for those of you who haven’t read it, here’s a snippet of the post here along with the link to the original. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Susan’s articles and I hope you have too!
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog..... An Author Promotions Enterprise!:
The following is an extract from a talk delivered at the Calgary Public Library in Feb. 2011.
Part 3
Once the contract is signed, and while the manuscript is being worked on by the editor, is the best time for you to ramp up your web presence. While you wait for the edited copy to be returned to you – and this could take several months – is when you should work on further developing your blog and Facebook presence. This may be a good time, as well, if you haven’t done so already, to create a website (and your publisher may help you with this as they will want you to link to their site), and prepare yourself for the time in the very near future when you can actually call yourself “a published author.”
It’s not too early to announce that you have signed a…
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