Janet Van Gorden's Blog, page 2

What Do I Do With My Blog?

I am a creature of habit, and I HATE change.  But change is a necessary evil.  It leads to progress, and progress leads to success.  And success is what we all strive to achieve.

One morning, as I sat in my usual and now permanent writing spot at the end of my kitchen table, I was complaining to my husband that I had no idea what to do with my blog.

I toyed with the idea of nixing it all together, to eliminate the tug on my already overstretched time, but I didn’t want to make a decision without information.  After some research and a plethora of internet opinions, “the experts” all seem to be in agreement that authors NEED a blog to ensure successful audience growth.

Great!

I asked my husband for some of his advice in the middle of my whine fest, he follows several bloggers, and he told me the key to growing an audience is frequent posting.  Get my name out there, with my content, as often as possible.

Super great!

What do I write?  How am I going to draw new readers to my blog?

So, of course, I returned to the internet, this time hoping to find some answers or even better, inspiration.  Google so kindly supplied me with more information than I could ever want or use, minus the inspiration and helpfulness.  With the disappointing realization that no one was going to hand me a magic formula saying, “Hey, write this…” or “blog this way…,” without paying an arm and a leg, I had to solve the problem on my own.

I drew in a deep breath, pulled up my bootstraps, and decided to make the complicated, simple, and go old school.  All the way back to my elementary reading classes when we were taught to think, ‘who, what, why?’

Who is my target audience?

What do I want to say, or share?

Why am I writing it?

The answer to the first question is easy and obvious.  I’m either writing for other authors or readers.  No brainer, there.  Readers, it is.

I have my audience, now what do I want to share with you?  Do I go personal with my entertaining family stories, or do I try the “authorial” approach and stick strictly to writing process and techniques?

That’s where I get stuck.  I have no idea which approach is best.  Is personal better than professional, or vice versa?

What, dear reader, interests you?  What would make you want to return to my blog again, and again?  The point of this whole exercise is to churn out something you want to hear.

As always, my husband came to my rescue.

“What if you write about things that happen to you in a day that leads you to think about writing?  Something that pops into your head and snowballs into a story idea.  Your ‘writerly moments.’  It will make you stop and think about what inspires you and your thoughts.  Readers love to know where writer’s get their inspiration.”

Isn’t he so awesome?  Part professional and part personal.  The perfect resolution.  And his advice has a point.  Not just for my blog, but my writing in general.  I need to be more aware.

His answer reminded me of an interview I did with a local newspaper.  When the obvious, cliché question came up, “Where do you get your ideas from?”  I shrugged and smiled, which didn’t matter because it was a phone interview.  But anyway, I gave an answer something along the lines of, “Well, the ideas just sort of pop into my head.”

I still cringe when I think about the lameness of that response, although, lucky for me, the reporter made it sound so much more articulate in the article.  But, hey, I was honest.  I never gave my inspiration much thought.

Artists, writers, musicians, and creatives alike, refer to their “muse” when they talk about inspiration.  I have a “muse,” and when it speaks, I write it down.

Ironically, mere hours after I had the conversation with my husband about recording my “writerly moments,” I had such said moment while shopping for his birthday presents.

I was standing in Dick’s Sporting Goods, perusing fishing lures.  I hate fish, fishing, and anything to do with any animals covered in scales, but being the good wife that I am, I put that aside.  As I stood there, the only female surrounded by aisles full of serious outdoorsmen, I tried to pretend I knew what I was looking at and what I should be buying. It led me to think about what would happen if someone approached me and asked if I needed help.  I would have most definitely said no.  I might even have made up something to make myself seem like I had it all under control.

This thought strayed into a story idea.

A woman is shopping for fishing lures for her father, or maybe a brother, and has no idea what she is looking for, but would rather run a marathon in heels before embarrassing herself by asking for help.  Yet, the sight of the guy working the store’s department makes her think he might be worth sacrificing her pride.

I imagined her to be a woman who bumbles her way through a lot of situations with as much grace as she can muster, and makes falling in love with the sporting goods guy a lot of fun.

Now, whether that turns into a story someday, I can’t say, but it’s a nugget of possibility.  I am apparently always gathering ideas, and I’ve never actually been conscious of it until now.

So, let’s recap my blog list:

Who? Readers
What? “Writerly moments.”
Why? Entertainment.  We all need that now and again when this world pummels us with chaos and bad news.  Escapism is a requirement to keep our sanity in check.

I hope my blog posts provide a source of entertainment during your busy day.

Check back often, both here and on Facebook or Twitter for updates.

Talk to you soon.  Keep reading!

BELIEVE in the New Year

 

Are you ready for a New Year?

It’s that time again when we get ready to say goodbye to the old and look forward to ringing in the new.  Armed with our laundry list of resolutions and promises to ourselves to do the things we’ve either neglected or dreamed of trying, we run towards the New Year full of hope.

Every year when January rolls around, I get excited about organizing.  I can’t wait to get my life, my home, and my family in some semblance of order.  I pull out the date books, fill family calendars with notes in multi-colored markers, and set up all sorts of bins to make the house more functional and life easier.

But this year I have a different goal.  I’m going to make 2017 not about the things around me, but the things within me.

As we all know, attempting personal change isn’t always easy; most times it doesn’t last.  Often, we end the year no further along in accomplishing our hopes and dreams than when we began.  If you visit your local gym the second week of January, then head back in April, you’ll have a very different experience.

Personal change is even harder when it’s a part of our core personality we somehow wish to alter.

For example, I am an introvert.  A trait which presents me challenges.  In today’s over-saturated book market, it’s a requirement for well-known authors to be socially savvy and have a knack for not only marketing books but themselves, also.

My thoughts flow when I’m in my isolated writing world, but when I’m in a large group, those thoughts evaporate.  My comfort zone is family and a few good friends.  But to become the writer I’ve always wanted to be, I have to step out of that safe circle.

We all have something we fear, or struggle with, or wish we could master.  The New Year is about embracing change, right?

The internet is teeming with offers, options, and solutions for quick fixes meant to help with whatever it is we want to overcome.  Personally, I prefer to learn from others like me, rather than paying some self-proclaimed “expert.”  As I’ve read posts and followed blogs, I’ve seen a technique other authors and friends use when struggling, or searching for inspiration.  They choose a word to describe what they want, or picture for themselves, to use as their guide or mantra.  I decided to try it, too.

When choosing a word to best encompass my New Year goals and what I want to accomplish, and being that it is Christmas, I turned to one of my many all-time favorite books, made holiday movie, The Polar Express.  A story that contains the magic and power of believing.  If you haven’t read it or seen the movie, learning to believe makes all the difference to the little boy who seems to be unsure about everything around him.

So, I chose Believe as my word for 2017.  I think it’s a word we can all use from time to time to help us out.

This year I am going to Believe…

Believe in myself , and the power of my writing as a way to connect, inspire, and entertain.
Believe in success, in whatever form it takes.
Believe in what’s meant to be, and that I’m on the right path.

AND

Believe in the power of dreams.

Whatever you have planned for 2017, I hope you believe in your ability to accomplish your goals.

Tell us what word would best describe you in your New Year?

 

Making Time “To Do” It All

Are your to-do lists out of control? Do you struggle to accomplish all that you want in a day? You’re not alone. We all want to be more organized and productive. That’s where a little multi-tasking and purposeful planning go a long way.

I recently listened to a podcast for indie authors promoting the crucial steps of what it takes to grow an audience and create a successful book launch. What I learned is that I have direly neglected the “business” side of my writing because there never seems to be enough hours in the day.

But success is about managing details.

We romanticize the idea of writing as a simple process of authors magically pouring words out onto pages. While part of the writing process is indeed magical, it still takes a great amount of time; months or even a year or more, to write the gem you read. And during the hundreds of hours spent crafting that novel, there are an infinite amount of other details also demanding attention. A lot of necessary juggling goes on behind the scenes.

For writers, large chunks of time are spent on tasks such as:

• Editing/Revisions

• Cover creation

• Blog writing

• Newsletters

• Social media maintenance

• Platform building

• E-book formatting

• SEO keywords

• Marketing

• And on and on and on…

This is just the tip of the iceberg at which I have been chipping away. It’s the not so glamorous side of the job I never knew or thought about, and it’s mind boggling.

Time management, making boundaries, and being effective are difficult concepts to stick to when the distractions of life are bombarding you at every turn. Working twenty-four hours a day is not an option, and long days are stressful for everyone, especially those raising a family.

To keep me on my writing path, and reduce some of my stress, I am creating a long-term “content calendar” to organize my goals, boost my productivity in all the right areas, and help me make a conscious effort to prioritize my daily tasks.

As I fill my calendar with months’ worth of scheduled details and deadlines, I am holding myself accountable, forcing myself to be more efficient.

 

Pre-planning is the current trend right now, and for good reason, it works.  From all the hundreds of websites and Facebook pages promoting life hacks, weight loss, and even freezer meals, they all have one premise — being organized makes life simple. It saves time, gives direction, and helps limit chaos from day to day.

For me, it’s all about streamlining the numerous demands on my attention so I can carve out the necessary time to foster a connection with readers often and get my stories out in a timely manner. I must create, and take advantage of, every opportunity I can give myself to become a more recognized name in the author world. After all, I am competing with thousands of other voices vying for your attention.

Thanks to my bullet-listed, ink covered calendar, I will be able to provide more consistent blog posts, a monthly newsletter with exclusive insider content for subscribers, more sharing of information I’ve learned about the craft and other authors, fun extras, and so much more, all while actually meeting my book deadlines!

• What goals do you have for yourself and your detailed “to-do” lists?

• How can you do more in a day?

If you have an organizational time tip we can all benefit from, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Here’s hoping we can all gracefully juggle our full plates and manage to keep them in the air.

 

 

 

P.S. To get my monthly newsletter (mentioned above), chock full of exclusive insider information, you can subscribe here.

Now back to my writing! Thanks, and I’ll talk to you again soon.

Reasons for Writing

On Sunday night of Memorial Day weekend at 8:11 pm I try to gather my thoughts and put this post together.  Looking back, the entire month of May has been nothing short of chaotic and stressful.  I have dealt with my father’s several trips to the hospital with heart issues.  Even as I write this piece, he is back in the hospital awaiting another surgical procedure.

Along with that, I have been juggling more than my usual share of various obligations. The anxiety is closing in and I’m having a difficult time dealing with my rollercoaster emotions.

Why?

The answer hit me one morning when a story idea flew through my head.  I haven’t taken the time to read or write for several weeks.  I have been sacrificing the one thing I rely on to keep me calm and focused.  Some people run, some people eat, some turn to bad habits when dealing with this thing called life.  I turn to books.

As long as I can remember I have always loved reading.  Days of childhood summers with my nose buried in books are among some of my fondest memories.  My love of reading led to my love of storytelling.  An obsession I have pursued since elementary school and now enjoy every day.

I never gave much thought to “why” I write.  It didn’t seem necessary.  But according to the “experts”, to be a successful author I must have a reason or purpose for my act.  A mission statement, if you will, to give me a voice in promoting myself and my author brand.  I can now articulate that purpose.  I write because it’s who I am.

So simple but yet so honestly true.

Writing is an innate part of me.  It serves as a source of comfort.  I write to get lost in the lives of the characters and settings that will never stop springing up in my head.  I crave molding those ideas into stories and letting them carry me into their adventures.  To distract me from my ordinary or burdening problems if only for a few hours.

As a lifelong reader, I have always admired talented authors whose books, like magic, transport me into their pages.  As a writer, I want to pay it forward and also sweep readers off their feet.  I want them to fall in love with my imaginary worlds.  I want to give them the same experience when they open up the pages of my books.

So despite my temporary challenges the last few weeks I am grateful to find clarity.  I need to write!  I will always craft stories, whether for myself or a large audience.  I love my books and I hope you do, too.

What makes you write?  Or read?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

Talk To My Heart Cover Vote

My newest book is almost ready for publication. But before meeting my deadline, I have several key details left to finish. The most important of these details is choosing the best cover for introducing my story to the world.

Research indicates a professional cover is a MUST. I am a notorious rule follower, except in this instance. My Paramour Romance books all have DIY covers. I like them. They each tell a story and I feel they are a piece of me. I decided, though, for this book, to follow the voices insisting an expert image is the way to go.

I started out excited to see what a designer would create based on my brief story description. But when I received the final product I had to let it sit for several days. I had to mull it over. While the cover was well done, the imagery did not suit the mood or tell the visual story I intended.

To give myself a possible comparison, I decided to make a second cover, of my own. I hoped to convey the missing drama and mood while enticing the reader to find out more. All the obvious hooks a successful cover should contain.

I now have two options to represent my book. I know which one I prefer, but I’m the author. I need a reader’s opinion. This is where you come in.

What are your thoughts?

Which one appeals to you? Why?

Vote for your favorite and stay tuned for the winning cover reveal!

Book Description for Talk to My Heart

An aching, desperate heart unsure where to turn…

Sahara Wilson is taking an impulsive plunge. An anonymous phone call to a late night radio show seems harmless enough. Simple, straight up love advice is exactly what she needs. Minus unwanted drama and surprises, of course.

But things never go according to plan.

The smooth, empathetic man behind the microphone is the one surprise she never expected.

Colin Reed spends his nights dispensing love advice on the air. Repairing broken hearts is his expertise. If only he could get a second chance to mend the one he destroyed so long ago. Ready to help yet another faceless person, he accepts a last minute call to his show. Nothing could prepare him for the sweet voice about to change his world.

He is determined to help her love again.

Will the process bring healing to both their hearts?

What’s In a Name? (Part 2)

After my recent post discussing the inspiration for my current story-in-progress, I am bringing you another blog blast from the past.  This entry  also from January 2014 talks about character and title names.  There are many moving parts to a story that an author must address.  Any one or more of these can be a thorn in the side to even the most successful writer.  For me, it’s coming up with the perfect character name and title for my book, thus the blog post.

Naming a character is like naming your child.  Sometimes it is one of the most difficult decisions you face, and sometimes you know right away.  In the case of a child, there is no procrastinating.  You don’t have the luxury of waiting to find a name choice suited to their personality because referring to them as “baby” for the first two to three years of their life is not practical.  So in a way choosing a name for a character is somewhat easier.  You are able to name them fittingly, according to their quirks, characteristics, or attitude.

Despite my usual struggle, I had no problem developing the characters for this book.  They came to me instantly, particularly the main male character.  I knew his name would be Colin Randall Reed the moment I thought him up.  It suits him perfectly as a young man coming from generations of wealth, expected to carry on the family legacy.

The female character also proved extremely easy, both developing her as a person and choosing her name.  Sahara Wilson is, as her name suggests, a kind-hearted, not so prestigious, free-spirited personality.

So besides the difficulty of choosing character names, what goes into settling on the right title?  If you read my old post you will see several title choices listed at the end.  I had, at the time thought one of them would be “the one”.  Fast forward two years and none of them made the cut.  Much like life, in writing, the details tend to change often, and usually for the best.

The title I chose is Talk To My Heart.

So now that you know the final book name and some of the back story behind the story, I have plenty of current tidbits and fun info to reveal going forward.  Including some possible requests for your input.  As I work my way toward the completion of this story I cannot wait to share it all with you!

New Year, New Readers

As the old year comes to a close and the New Year looms ahead, we tend to reflect on what we have experienced, and what those moments have taught us.  In looking back on my writing life over the course of 2015, I am pleased to find my writing has improved compared to where I was a year ago.  But developing ourselves, and learning our craft, never ends.

This year, I discovered the importance of a solid author platform.  The way we present ourselves as authors in the virtual world is critical to drawing in readers who discover us, whether intentionally, or simply by accident.  What greets that reader when they land on our site tells them in an instant if they will stay, or move on.  For those accidental landings, we have the ultimate opportunity to gain a new reader simply by providing a compelling layout, and intriguing content.

In a quest to improve my own author website, I did a great deal of research and landed on many author sites, searching for inspiration.  Some of the authors were bestselling writers, others were simply independent authors, and/or bloggers, who I “tripped” across, but found interesting enough to take a moment to stop and read.  AND…in most cases, they proved to be successful with their platform as I added their books to my list of “want to read” in 2016. (Check out my Goodreads page).

Never underestimate your virtual presence.  Much like in face to face interactions, impressions are made immediately, and you may not have a second chance to capture a new reader.   Be clear with your message of who you are, what you write, and if you have a niche, be sure to play it up.  Create an engaging author tagline if you don’t already have one.  Use a color palette coordinated across your site, and have a variety of clickable buttons to promote social sharing.  Market your book, or yourself depending on your approach, but either way make sure you are giving the reader a reason to remember your name.

I wish you much success with your author platform, and all the best of reading and writing in the upcoming New Year.

Chase Your Dream

This past weekend I enjoyed another successful book signing.  While I love sharing my books, even more, I love that each and every time I have a signing I meet someone who, like me, has a passion for writing.  At this signing, I met two women who approached me, excited to share their writing journeys. One told me about her son who is an aspiring author, but the second woman in particular, made my day.  She writes poetry, and her face lit up when telling me what inspires her.  I couldn’t help but catch her enthusiasm.

During our conversation she described all of her little writing quirks, which sounded a lot like mine, and we made a connection.  It was awesome.  I felt honored when she told me she wished she had her poem with her so I could read it.

It’s amazing how many people dream about being a writer.  Words can’t express how amazing it is to see people’s faces bloom with their passion.  Young, old, and in between, we all have some calling we love, whether it’s writing, running, practicing yoga, or even playing an instrument.  Most of us are not out to become famous, we simply do what we do because it’s at the core of what makes us happy.

For me, it’s not only my writing that I find satisfying, but the hope that I can pay forward my dream by serving as an example, and encouraging others to take the leap, and chase their own dream, too.

Let the Fun Begin

Christmas is my most favorite time of the year.  I love decorating, planning, and the anticipation of the special moments that make the holiday memorable for my children.  One of the biggest memory makers our family enjoys is…yes, Elf on the Shelf.  The night our tree goes up, right after Thanksgiving Day, I immediately bring “John” our Elf, out of hiding.  This year has been no different, except that as the kids have gotten older, making John interesting has required me to up the ante.  John has gone from simply hiding, for the kids to find in the morning, to now playing amusing tricks.

On the first night, a little more than a week ago, John appeared under the tree bursting from a package, bearing gifts for each of the children.  I was unbelievably excited for them to wake up and find him waiting, with his little Elf written note… “I’m back. Let the fun begin”.

Boy did I have a lot of fun planned!  I spun my excitement into a long list of nutty scenarios, enough to cover every night, from that moment through to Christmas Eve.  For the first week I didn’t want to miss a night.  My giddiness grew with each silly set up.  So much so, even my husband joined in on the fun.

Then, on about night eight, after waking up from dozing on the couch, I stared at John through squinty eyes, and considered skipping the nightly adventure.  As I started shuffling toward my bed, the awesome scene I had waited all day to assemble, danced like a vision of sugar plums in my head.  Pushing through my sleepy haze, and picking up my dragging feet, I managed to scour the house and collect the necessary items to keep the Elf antics going.  When I finally dropped into bed, proud of myself for not giving up, or giving in, I wondered how I had become so dedicated.

It dawned on me that it all had to do with interest.  I love being creative.  I am motivated by the challenge of outdoing my imagination, and sharing it with my kids.  For some, this probably sounds crazy.  There are plenty of parents who find the whole “Elf” thing just another holiday nuisance. They forget to move their Elf because it’s one more chore, on a list of a million, fighting for their attention.

That notion set my thoughts spinning down their usual nonsensical path, and to save you the scenic trip, long story short, I drew a connection to my blog.  There are bloggers, and authors out there who appreciate the process, and perks, of blogging.  They create well written, inspirational posts, and do it with dedication.  When I think of attempting a single entry, I find myself struggling for a subject, and stalling with excuses.  I end up forgetting about it because it becomes one more task in a long line of writing tasks competing for my time.  It ends up falling to the bottom of my list simply because I don’t enjoy it.  But I would, if I took my own advice and applied the same approach to my blog as I have to our Elf—keep it creative and “let the fun begin.”

So in the upcoming weeks, and throughout 2016, I plan to have fun with my posts.  Who knows what exciting things I will find to write about if I challenge myself, and expand my boundaries.  It’s all in the perspective.

Here’s to wishing you a happy holiday season filled with the very best.  I hope you find that one chore you can make fun in the New Year.

 

The Front Porch…stories on books, writing, and life

Why the “front porch”?

For me, it’s the place where people gather together, swap stories, and share laughs.  It welcomes visitors and serves as a landing place at the end of a long day when you can’t wait to get home.  It’s a spot where you can sit and enjoy a good book and time seems to slow down for a little bit.  This blog represents that special space, a place where I can share my thoughts, and stories with you.  Grab a comfortable seat, and take some time out of your busy day to come hang out on the “front porch” with me.