Skye Callahan's Blog, page 12

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Self-Publishing 101

If you’re a writer unsure of where to start to launch your own books or build and expand your brand and audience, this is the place for you!

[image error]

Join the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/18774...

Current posts:

Useful Tools for Authors: Mailing Lists
Useful Tools for Authors: Creating awesome social media posts
Hacking Creativity: Simple Steps to Become More Creative
Useful Tools for Authors: Writing
Jigsaw Plotting
Useful tools for authors: Distribution

 

 

WTF is going on? My Mental Breaking Point

I’ve been trying to make a post, update, something, but it’s difficult to find the words right now. At the beginning of the year, I was excited to get back in the game. I was on schedule to completely finish She-Devil by the end of March–and that was giving myself extra time.

February was okay. Stressful, but manageable as I tried to play catch up in a book world that’s changed significantly since last year.

March was hell, kicking off with the birthday of the friend I lost to suicide last year. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I then went to my nephew’s birthday party, and who were the first guests to show up? That friend’s two little girls! I spent the entirety of my nephew’s first birthday party bawling my eyes out. All of this around a time when I couldn’t log onto Facebook without seeing posts about someone in the book world who’d attempted suicide.

A week later, my uncle died.

Two weeks later, my younger cousin (as in maybe 30 years old) died after having heart surgery.

I pushed back ARCs, determined to still finish.

And then April… Parts of April were great. I had some huge, very productive days, until the panic attacks started. And if you’ve never had a panic attack… it’s worse than hell. And since I have a combination of panic and anxiety attacks, as well as PTSD and depression, yeah, that shit isn’t fun. It’s like being locked in your worst memories as your brain convinces your body that it’s actually happening again. That phone call… it’s bad news. That email… it’s the end of the world. That message… I don’t know, but something might pop out and kill you. There’s nothing logical about it, and while I can “logic” my way out of it to a certain degree, it takes time.

And during that time, everything is super real and completely unreal at the same time. I dissociate (any of a wide array of experiences from mild detachment from immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from physical and emotional experience), I feel like everything around me poses an immediate threat, and of course I can’t concentrate on jack shit. I can’t watch TV. I can’t listen to music. And I sure as hell can’t string two sentences together.

How is this going to effect my writing?

Well, it gives me plenty of fodder, so I guess that’s a good thing. I need to write. It’s usually something I enjoy. It’s usually something that gives me relief from my symptoms, until it sneaks its way in as the cause of my symptoms. I thought I was over that part, but I’m completely and totally not.

So, I’m making a resolution with myself this time. I’m not going on hiatus. I’m going to stay active in publishing, and I’ve created a little group on Facebook to help other authors, which I’m very committed to. I love this world, and I love many of the people in it, so I can’t bring myself to take time off.

I’m going to write. I have too many ideas not to write. I wish She-Devil was ready for readers, but it just isn’t. And I feel like a failure for that, but I won’t let that temporary feeling continue to get in the way.

So, I’m putting aside deadlines and pre-orders and going with the flow for a few months. I don’t know how well this is going to work out either, because I usually need that release date out there in order to hold myself accountable. I’m living on a double-edge sword.

It’s just going to be a surprise for all of us (which, I know sucks), but writing is my passion. I write because I love it. I publish because I want to share that love with readers. It’s not the most effective marketing plan, as far as marketing goes, it’s a shit plan. But, I’m a shit planner, that’s why I’m a pantser. I guess this is taking pantsing to the next level, but it’s my solution for now. I think I dived back in too quick and expected my mind to work the same way that it used to, but I’ve come from a place where writing used to be my therapy, but She-Devil is turning into the reason I need therapy. These characters are giving me issues upon issues. -_-

That said, She-Devil will be out sometime this year. Probably early summer, because I will finish and I will get the book out there.

She-Devil is coming… Who wants an ARC?

If you’re interested in receiving an ARC of She-Devil, simply fill out the form below!

Useful Tools for Authors: Mailing Lists

There are so many options for email marketing, but these are a few that I have used and the pricing that you’ll be looking at when you’re starting out.
MailChimp

I love MailChimp. I love the little high-five he gives me every time I send or schedule a post. Plus, you can link MailChimp to almost everything: your InstaFreebie promotion, a Facebook ad… I mean it has hundreds of possibilities. Best yet, it’s free until you hit 2000 subscribers. If not for this, I’d probably still be using their service. The problem is that once you hit that 2001st subscriber, you’re looking at jumping from free to $30 per month! I don’t have an extra $360 laying around to send a newsletter every now and again, so I went looking for another option.

MailerLite

This is where I ended up after leaving MailChimp (after trying free trials for Aweber and Constant Contact). Like MailChimp, it’s easy to use (but no high fives) and has a lot of functionality with outside services like InstaFreebie. And, best of all for your bank account, it’s cheaper once you’ve hit that 2001 subscribers threshold at $10 per month. And for 2501-5000 subscribers, you’re still only looking at $20 per month. The only caveat is that they start charging at 1001 subscribers  (if you have less than 2000 subscribers, I’d still recommend starting out with MailChimp because you’ll be able to take advantage of their free services longer).

Mad Mimi

Oh, Mad Mimi. The name always reminds me of a bitter, mean distant aunt that you never want to have over for dinner. It works, it’s fairly simple, and I used it for two years while working for the Ohio Employee Ownership Center. It’s a lot of drag and drop and simplified HTML, but I, personally, don’t like it. I’m including it here, because it is an option and I have used it extensively. MadMimi is free until you reach 100 subscribers–that’s an insanely low threshold when compared to other services. $10 a month for up to 500, $12 for up to 1000 and $16 for up to 2500. Once you hit that 2000 subscriber threshold, it is cheaper than MailChimp, but more than Mailerlite, and it just doesn’t have the functionality to compete at those prices, but hey, you do get that bitter aunt standing over you and watching everything you do.

Others

As I mentioned above, I also tried out Aweber and Constant Contact, but not enough to really remember how well they functioned. I do recall getting completely frustrated after a few minutes of trying out Aweber and giving up on trying to figure anything out.

Aweber starts at $19 per month for up to 500 subscribers and goes up to $29 per month for up to 2500. So, it’s a bit cheaper than MailChimp when you have 2000-2500 subscribers, but MailChimp is so much easier.

Constant Contact starts at $20 per month for 0-500 subscribers (it blows my mind that you could pay monthly and have 0 subscribers, how is that even an option?!), and goes up to $45 for 501-2500 subscribers.

 

Useful Tools for Authors: Creating awesome social media posts

There are tons of sites out there now dedicated to making picture quotes, but these are some of my favorites–and you can use them all for FREE!
Canva
[image error]

A quick Facebook cover that I whipped up in about 2 minutes.

If you’re tired of trying to figure out dimensions for the perfect images for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. check out Canva now! This site has a template for just about everything you could ever need from infographics to web banners and Facebook ads. Plus, they have a good selection of stock images to use or you can upload your own. All you have to do is select the type of product you want to create, and you’ll get a whole collection of layouts to choose from, then add your own information, elements, and images for a perfect post every time.

And, they save all of your creations so you can download or modify them later!

Pablo by Buffer
[image error]

Another quick design that took about a minute.

This website allows you to create beautiful quote images. Choose from more than 600k stock images for the background, select your size (based on the social media network you’d like to share on: Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook/Twitter), pop in your text, and play around with the design. Within a few minutes, you’ll have a beautiful quote image to share.

As soon as you’re done, you can share directly to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter!

Quozio

[image error]This is a much simpler quote generator. Once you paste in your text, you’ll have about 15 layouts to choose from. So, if you find a fantastic quote you’d like to share, but don’t have the time to put together something more complex, this is a great way to generate a quick image to share.

Once complete, you can share directly to Pinterest, Facebook, Google+, or via email.

 

Join us at the new hangout for Skye’s Darklings for exclusive content

I’ve bee[image error]n toying around with Mighty Networks, and I’ve decided to launch a network just for my Darklings. This will be a place where we can all chat, hangout, and I can post teasers, sneak peeks, and giveaways just for you!

Right now, I have a Facebook group for this purpose, but we all know about Facebook’s tendency to hide posts (my timeline is a giant MESS) and put folks in jail for random stupid stuff, so I’d love to move everything to the new Darkling Network.

Here, all of the sneak peeks won’t get lost somewhere in the depths of Facebook land, and you’ll have full control over the notifications you receive. PLUS! There’s an app, so you can get release notifications right from your phone.

I’d love it if you would pop over and let me know what you think and what you’d like to see: https://skye-s-darklings.mn.co/

It’s easy! It’s free! And I hope it’ll allow us all to connect and share whatever our dark minds like.

 

Hacking Creativity: Simple Steps to Become More Creative

Feeling a little blah, and in need of some creative inspiration?

Creativity Hack #1: Take a break
[image error]

Alexas_Fotos / Pixabay

Everyone needs a day off every now and then, but sometimes it’s just about taking fifteen minutes. Do it! Walk away from the computer, make a cup of coffee, do some stretches, just get away from the keyboard and the screen.

This is not only a good practice for your creativity, it’s great for your mind in general and your body.  Constant sitting puts your body at higher risk of health problems like heart disease and depression, but it also impairs your willpower and reasoning.

“When we work, our prefrontal cortex makes every effort to help us execute our goals. But for a challenging task that requires our sustained attention, research shows briefly taking our minds off the goal can renew and strengthen motivation later on.” Nir Eyal

But, if you’re going to take your creative break chatting with friends or exploring the depths of YouTube, set a timer!

Creativity Hack #2: Do your chores

There’s nothing more menial than doing menial tasks. I don’t enjoy chores, but who does? However, your brain will get more out of it than you think. Much like taking a simple break, doing chores forces your brain to concentrate on something else. Remember: not all distractions are bad!

While you’re distracted, putting away groceries, sweeping the floor, or doing dishes, your brain continues sub-consciously working–incubating your ideas and letting them develop further.

“Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind.” Maira Kalman

Just don’t get too carried away and end up in Procrastination Land rather than Distraction Land.

Creativity Hack #3: Read a book

Just like your car needs fuel to run, your brain needs fuel to work. Not only might you find a spark of inspiration, you’ll be sharpening your writing skills as well.

“Good description is a learned skill, one of the prime reasons why you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot. It’s not just a question of how-to, you see; it’s also a question of how much to. Reading will help you answer how much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how. You can learn only by doing.”

― Stephen King

Read your favorite genres, read the popular books, and read outside of your favorite genres. Study the craft in everything you read, but don’t forget to lose yourself in the pure enjoyment of it at the same time (remember, that subconscious of yours is always working).

Creativity Hack #4: Freewrite
[image error]

ElisaRiva / Pixabay

Step away from your project and just write whatever comes to mind. There are a ton of benefits to even a short freewriting session;

It’s a great way to exercise your brain. Describe your surroundings, what you’re hearing, the taste of your coffee. Capturing every day moments and thoughts is a great way to exercise your brain and incorporate your senses into your writing.
It helps you clear out all of that clutter that is keeping you from finishing that last chapter. Maybe it’s an idea for a different story, just get it out and build your collection of ideas to come back to later.
It can silence your inner critic. It’s freewriting! No one is going to see it (unless you refine it later) so there’s no pressure!

“The point of freewriting is to get past the voice inside your head that tells you your ideas aren’t good enough, your words aren’t good enough, you’re no writer and so forth.”

― M. Molly Backes

Creativity Hack #5: Put on some tunes

Music is emotion. It has a powerful effect on our minds and bodies. Maybe you’re not feeling sexy enough to write that perfect love scene, but a good playlist could remedy that!

Just like a good book, music has the power to take us to a different world. It acts as a powerful mental cue and catalyst allowing you to tap deeper into your emotions and memories.

Plus, it’s relaxing, and for some people can help increase focus. If you find the words distracting, you might also try listing to some ambient noise from services like brain.fm or Noisli.

“A moderate level of noise the equivalent of the background buzz of conversation prompts more-creative thought” Wall Street Journal on Noisli

Creativity Hack #6: Get happy
[image error]

motihada / Pixabay

There’s a good reason we come up with our best ideas in the shower. First, it incorporates some of the topics we’ve covered so far: distraction, a break from the mental strain, and a relaxing ambient noise. If you love hopping in the shower and relaxing, that’s because it’s also having an effect on the chemicals in your brain.

High levels of dopamine have been shown to correlate with an increase in creativity, so when you’re doing something that makes you happy, you’re actually giving your brain the chemical fuel it needs for optimal function. Whether it’s exercise, coloring, or hanging out with your cat on the couch, whatever makes you happy will also help break past that writing block.

“People vary in terms of their level of creative drive according to the activity of the dopamine pathways of the limbic system.” Alice Flaherty

I’m not sure why, but I’ve always been intrigued by the effects of dopamine. I remember a discussion in college about how a lack of dopamine is attributed to Parkinson’s Disease while too much dopamine is associated with schizophrenia.

Research supports the notion that psychologically healthy biological relatives of people with schizophrenia have unusually creative jobs and hobbies and tend to show higher levels of schizotypal personality traits compared to the general population. Scientific American

Some have argued that a writer’s brain is similar in function to the brain of someone with schizophrenia–after all, we do hear voices on a regular basis. But while writers tend to experience “positive” traits like “unusual perceptual experiences, thin mental boundaries between self and other, impulsive nonconformity, and magical beliefs,” without the “negative” traits like cognitive disorganization and apathy which would hamper productive creativity.

And now that you’ve taken a few minutes to reboot, I hope my creativity hacks help you overcome your obstacles and give you a few new tools to consider in your battle against writer’s block.

Useful Tools for Authors: Writing

Write or Die

I have the windows version of Write or Die 2 and it’s a great way to push yourself to get as many words as possible within a set time. You can set up rewards or punishments for yourself as you go to make sure you’re not slacking, and there’s a nice distraction-free workspace.

Last I checked, the creator was launching Write or Die 3 with increased functionality. And, you can use either version on the web for free. If you’re the type that needs a little extra motivation to hit those word goals, this is a fantastic program (just use Kamikaze mode with care).

Scrivener

I think many folks have a love-hate relationship with Scrivener. It is a difficult program to learn and I walked away from it a few times in frustration. However, it’s the go-to program for many authors and provides everything you need to organize your thoughts.

My favorite part about scrivener is the ability to put each new scene in a different file within the document. If you don’t always write in chronological order, this is amazing because you can write out scenes as you think of them and then drag and drop them into the right order. It also has note-card functionality to help you plot, and an area to keep your notes and research.

She-Devil Chapter 2

Are you ready for chapter 2?

Trent’s POV