Liz Lee's Blog, page 7

Questioning the Muse

Once upon a time this plot line showed up at the mid point and the whole time I was writing my brain was going, really?
I mean the seeds were planted almost from the very beginning so it doesn't just randomly show up on the page, but still, it wasn't planned. And since I'm at the mid-point, that point where sometimes it feels like you need to drop a dead body to shake things up, I wonder if that's what's going on here. I wonder if I was sitting there and my brain was going, what's the worst thing that could happen now, and I dropped this new line in just because.
I'm not sure.
But I do believe in the Fast Draft method, which means I write and write and write without stopping and then I go back and revise.
So maybe the answer here is to write the line, and then cut it if it doesn't work.
Maybe by the end of the book I'll look at this line as gift from the writing gods.
BUT
what if it's not a gift at all? What if it's a distraction?!? The whole last half of the book will have to be rewritten because you can't just surgically remove a whole story line and not have it affect every other line in the story. You just can't.
<3



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Still working

The Meg book is a little past the half point on the plan I had going in. I don't always stick to plans, but I think I will this time.
The hero cooks, which has led to some fun scenes to write. Yum. Enough said.

I'm going through my old blog posts over on marybethlee.wordpress.com to tag them and pull top posts for a teacher motivation book. It's interesting to see my writing journey over the last nine years. It's also interesting to see how often I've gained and lost weight. And discouraging.

For two years I successfully lived the Atkins lifestyle. I lost 60 pounds. I didn't worry about calories or fats or exercise. And then six months ago hit, and I've gained 24 pounds, mostly courtesy of cookies, ice cream, chips, root beer, Dr Pepper, and other carboliciousness. This week I broke and ate bread, too. This is not healthy for me or for my writing.

I was going to jump back on Atkins or maybe go back to Weight Watchers, but I decided to try something different. I downloaded an app and I'm tracking everything as far as food and movement go. SparkPeople has a great recipe converter, so that's helpful.
I'm not sure this is the best plan for me. It's still low carb to a degree. You eat a cookie, and you commit to an hour working out to still lose weight. I guess we'll see. I'll update my progress here every once in a while, over on the other blog regularly.

Looking forward to next month and the first of the Liz Lee books in a year!
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AND for one more day, you can get Texas Gold free for kindle!

Meg's Book

The new book or Meg's book. That's what I've been calling the WIP. And then today during the 3k-word writing jag I hit the half-way mark on the novel and the PERFECT phrase showed up on the page. I love it when that happens! <3
For now I'm not sharing.
Less than a month until the next Liz Lee book comes out. Woo hoo!
In the mean time, Texas Gold is free for the kindle until Thursday. Actually, if you subscribe to kindle unlimited, all the Liz Lee books are free. And if you're a Prime member, you can borrow them for free. Yay!
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There's a Reason I Write Small Town Books

My current books are set outside Fort Worth. I love Fort Worth like I love chocolate martinis, pumpkin spice lattes and long, slow kisses with my hubby. But Fort Worth isn't small town. And even the used-to-be small towns around Fort Worth aren't small towns any more. So it's a good thing I grew up in a small town.
I loved a lot of places as a little because my dad was military. I don't remember all of those places but round about Bald Knob, Arkansas, I do. I loved Bald Knob, but it's not why I know small towns. Tecumseh, Oklahoma made a huge impact on me since I spent summers with my grandma there. BUT the reason I know and love small towns in Texas is because when I was nine, my dad got stationed at Sheppard AFB and we moved to Burkburnett.
Burk is everything great about a small town. It used to have a thriving downtown, and they're working on that again. It definitely had its hometown places to shop. Life centered around school and church. We could walk barefoot down the street to the corner store for candy and Icees. That store closed, sad day, but there are others.
When we were out and about playing in the park we knew ALL the parents on the block were our parents and if we crossed the line....OMG, we were in so much trouble.
It's funny because I couldn't wait to leave Burk at 18. Now I miss it.
If you ever get the chance to visit, do. It's just south of Oklahoma on I-44. The people are nice, the food is great and there's a casino right across the river. If you come in October, you might catch Friendship Days in the park. On Friday nights in the fall you can watch the football team play, but the real reason you'll go to the games is to see the renowned drill team, The Boomtown Babes. Not that the football team is bad, but football is the second favorite sport in town. Burk basketball is the big game. Has been as long as I can remember. Softball might be second.
I think the Sweet Shop has closed, which is really too bad, but you can go to the Mexican restaurant that used to be Dairy Queen or you can stop by The Feed Lot for the best chicken fried steak ever. OR if you just want something quick, grab a burger at Whataburger. I worked there for a short time. It snowed twelve inches on a SPRING BREAK night and my dad had to come dig my car out for me to get home. It rarely snows like that, and definitely not that late in the year, but Burk is North Texas, and the thing about North Texas is the weather can change on a dime.
Speaking of weather, even though it's smack dab in the middle of tornado alley, Burk doesn't have tornadoes. It was blessed by a Chief. I heard Quanah Parker  growing up, but I don't know. There was a tornado warning this year, but the funnel didn't touch ground in town.
I love small towns because I lived small towns. I guess that's what you call blessed. <3

Speaking of small towns, Texas Gold is free right now-Thursday on kindle (Book title is a link that will take you to the kindle page). The book is set in Serendipity, Texas. It's a billionaire meets small town girl story, and it makes me happy. One day I'll go back to Serendipity and write more books. I'm finishing the Caldale/Fort Worth It Started in Texas books with the current WIP, so that might be next. We'll see.

Writing Sprints

The Meg book is a sprint book. Most of my crappy first drafts are, but this one is different. I'm closing in on the end of summer break, and I need a draft done ASAP. I struggled at first. I've been in revision mode so long, new words were tough. So I turned to twitter and started #1k1hr sprints inviting others to join me, cheer me on, whatever.
I don't have a lot of followers on the Liz Lee name. I mostly use it for writing. It makes it a little easier to stay focused.
Once I got past the very rough start, the book started to gel. That's normal, too. SPend some time with characters and the begin to become real.
Now I'm inches away from the middle of the book, a part that I usually slog through. Not this time. This time, because of the sprints, I think, I've been one scene behind the way the novel is working in my mind. That means the next scene in in my brain from the time I stop writing until the time I start again. WOW. Between that and sprints, this book is so much fun to write.
I'm adding this to my bag of tricks. The while know what comes next and let your subconscious play with it while you go about the business of life.
Woo hoo!
I love writing sprints. <3
Word of caution. One time my friends encouraged me to try Write or Die. So I did. Not realizing the whole concept was if you stopped for a bit your words would disappear.
WORST day ever.
I do love Write or Die, but if you use it, just realize the name is serious. <3
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Second Chance Hero, a romantic suspense, is free right now on kindle. Check it out!

Busy, ACK!

Okay, it's here. The busy weekend I knew was coming and I'm mid-WIP. I don't want to lose my momentum, so that means planning.
Fail to plan, plan to fail. I learned that during my stint as a Mary Kay Consultant (lipstick. I loved lipstick!).
I will prevail, and I'll post about it. It might be Sunday, but I will post.
Sometimes friends who don't write ask why it's such a big deal to get words on the page every day when working on a first draft.
Maybe it's not for everyone, but for me, it is essential. The characters are real in my brain and they REALLY want to get on the page. If I take a day off, they get a little less real. ANd a day can become 2 days can become a week can become a month FAST. If I take a month off a first draft, I'm going to have to start the whole thing all over.
So there's that.
It's going to be crazy busy in 24 hours and it's going to stay that way for 48, and I've got a plan.
<3
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Sign up for my newsletter here. No spam, just news.
Second Chance Hero, a romantic suspense, is free right now on kindle. Check it out!
AND if you like fun YA Paranormal mysteries, the first Guardian book Dead Girl Walking by Mary Beth Lee is free today on kindle. Check it out here!

Late Night Writing

I'm drafting a new book right now. It's either magical or craptastic. The emotions run the gamut within a single paragraph. If you've ever written a first draft, you understand.
My plan was to Fast Draft my way through. If you don't know the Candy Haven Fast Draft method, I HIGHLY recommend. Fast Draft isn't for slackers though. There are no excuses for missing your page count, which leads to some pretty hilarious moments in writing. Thank God for revisions!

I'm loving the Enya station on itunes radio. Great music to write to. Dh is not a fan, but he tolerates it because I like it. I tolerate his insistence to stop the TV on that insane Tosh show, so it's all good.

I'm excited to start publishing the Liz Lee romances. Less than a month now! The scene I'm working on today involved freezing temperatures. The one tomorrow will include a blizzard. NICE when it feels like 106 outside. :)

If you're a writer, happy writing. If you're a reader, happy reading! <3

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Sign up for my newsletter here. No spam, just news.Second Chance Hero, a romantic suspense, is free right now on kindle. Check it out!
AND if you like fun YA Paranormal mysteries, the first Guardian book Dead Girl Walking by Mary Beth Lee is free for four more days on kindle. Check it out here!

5k day, and NO, I didn't start running

I wrote over 5k yesterday. Meg's story is taking shape, which means nothing to those reading this but is HUGE to me. The Liz Lee romances will start publishing again in August, exactly a year since the last books. Meg's story must be drafted before that process starts or I could suffer another freak illness and end up with months of no published work. That's not an option.
If you're a reader from the #amwriting followers on twitter, hi and thank you! The #1k1hr sprints made a HUGE difference in the word production. I knew I could take a small break every 1000 words, and I did.
I didn't move enough though, and that's part of what led to the frozen shoulder last year, so that's another goal for me.
Yes, #1k1hr. No, sitting still for five straight hours getting to the 5k.
Yay!
It's almost August. I can't wait to share the next Liz Lee romances. <3

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Sign up for my newsletter here. No spam, just news.
AND if you like YA Paranormal mysteries, the first Guardian book Dead Girl Walking by Mary Beth Lee is free for four more days on kindle. Check it out here!

I learned about kboards and it changed everything

I'm not sure where I heard about the kboards. I think it must've been a Hugh Howey post about kindle unlimited. I know I checked the site out yesterday and my mind is blown.
NOT by the content. I barely had time to browse that. BUT the first thing it said was to put in my author information. That author info requested my total sales.
I had no idea what my total sales were. I wasn't even concerned really. (See post about 10-yr plan from Sunday.)
Still the board asked, and I thought that was probably information I needed to know, so I set out looking for it.
The numbers I have are strictly from Amazon.
They blew me away.
What I learned is my first six months publishing in 2011, I sold a grand total of 40 books.
And then as I added titles regularly those numbers improved. To date I've sold over 8,000 books from 12 titles. The last year sales have fallen off. I hope that changes now that I'm ready to start publishing again. (See multiple entries about frozen shoulder and how when your left arm quits, it's hard to write.)
The books that sell the best surprised me, too.
My Mary Beth Lee YA paranormals (My guilty pleasure. I love them so much.) don't sell very well at all, even though they get great reviews.
My YA historical sells like crazy. My Mary Beth Lee inspy romances sell.
My Liz Lee romances sell...especially my small town romances.
All the books sold significantly better when I was on KDP Select...which I am using again. The free days had a measurable impact on sales overall.
All that have sold have done so on their own without advertising from me except here and on my Facebook page (see 10-yr goal from post yesterday).
I didn't count the borrowed books, although there were hundreds.
Wow.
I realize 8k books isn't some ginormous number. It's not anywhere near a list...I figure Honor and Lies, the YA historical, has made an Amazon list with its numbers. It sold over 1k one month. CRAZY!
Still, Amazon did this for me. Gave me an outlet to pursue a dream. How cool is that?!
Last year when I was gearing up to push for one new release a month before my arm quit, I asked a question on an indie loop and Marie Force--who is always so incredibly giving of her time and expertise--said to focus on the writing when you're first starting out.
Since then I've seen several other successful indie authors suggest having four-five books ready to publish before you put anything up.
That's what I've been working on the past few months. I never want my readers to go months and months without new content from me again.
If you're a writer reading this looking for self-publishing direction, I can tell you after three months of publishing regularly, my sales numbers went up hundreds and in some cases thousands. It is important.
So that's that.
I know my numbers now.
And I'm glad.
Thanks for asking kboards! That question changed my life.
<3
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Goals

I have a goal. I want to be able to make a living off my writing in 10 years. I've been intentional with my writing this year and that's led to four books--five including my YA title. The romances start releasing next month.
When I first came up with this goal, I felt like a slacker. All around me I see people making careers out of their writing now. I read their marketing plans and their blogs and their tweets and I get a little freaked out.
I mean I do tweet, and I blog, and you can find me on GoodReads, but for the most part, what I do is write.
And that's okay.
Because in ten years I'll have a list of books for my readers.
I love my day job. Until I started publishing my books, my day job WAS my dream job.
With the 10-yr plan, I can have the best of both worlds.
<3

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To Risk a Heart, coming soon!