Jacqueline E. Smith's Blog, page 55

New Game Plan

So, for the past like, two months, I have been blabbing on and on and on about marketing.  I need to get my book out there, I need to get people to read and review my book, etc…  I’m still obsessing, reading articles, trying to put every effort into promoting Cemetery Tours.  I’m not an aggressive person by nature, so I often feel like promoting my work is the same thing as bugging people.  I definitely prefer to let my work speak for itself, and, at the risk of sounding like an arrogant, self-important dingbat (one of my favorite words at the moment), I’m pretty confident that it will.  I, like several writers, am very sensitive to criticism and humiliation, and I would not have put Cemetery Tours out there if I wasn’t damn proud of it and confident that people would enjoy it.  So far, I’ve heard only good things.  I’m curious as to how I’ll feel when someone looks me in the eye and says, “You suck.  Your book sucks.  Get thee to a nunnery, you hopeless loser.”  

As much as I love my book, however, I have found I’m not all that fond of marketing.  I have a few more ideas in mind.  For example, there will be another Kindle promotional thing for Christmas.  It won’t be free again, but it will be discounted.  Amazon won’t let me schedule it yet, but as soon as I can, I will announce it… over and over and over again…  

I was talking to my dad (basically my business brain since my own brain is all sparkles and dolphins and rainbows) and his advice to me was, “Focus on the sequel.  Get that done.  Then, at the beginning of the year, make one last big push for Cemetery Tours while spreading the word about the upcoming sequel.”

See?  This is why it pays for writers to know BUSINESS.  I never would have thought of that.  I would have just gone on my merry little way begging people to read my book while sporadically working on the sequel.  I know how to write stories, but my dad (and other lucky smart people) knows how real life works!  I used to joke around that the world would be a better place if everyone was more like me, but the truth is, I’m really glad more people aren’t like me.  If they were, nothing would ever get done.  Absolutely no one would do anything productive at all.  They’d all sit around by lakes, writing stories about ghosts, and wondering if things that happened in the past are actually happening now… but in the past.  Or if everyone sees color the same way.  

The world really doesn’t need very many people like me.  I do try to do good things and give back though, so maybe I do contribute something.  

Anyway, that’s the new game plan.  Promote still through the holidays, but really focus on getting the sequel together.  I’ll announce the title as soon as its registered on Bowker, which it won’t be until it’s finished… However, I am very excited about it.  I’ve had the idea for this book in my head longer than the idea for Cemetery Tours.  I basically wrote Cemetery Tours so I could write this book.  

That’s all for now!  Gonna go eat blackberries and edit and write!  I’m also going to go get socks because it’s actually COLD here and my feet are freezing!    

Just Rolling Along

It’s a new week, and as usual, I am still learning, still writing, and still single.  

That last one was a joke.  Sort of.  

Anyway, as you all probably know, I like to keep this blog updated, even when I don’t have all that much to say, so here it goes.  

1.  I think I’ve found an image for cover of the Cemetery Tours sequel.  I’m still waiting for approval from my graphic designer, but I’m super excited about it.  I hope he likes it.    

2.  Upon finding said image, I have determined that I need to find cover designs for every single book I have in my head.  Needless to say, I wasted  spent a LOT of time on Shutterstock.com last night.  

3.  I’m still making progress on the CT sequel.  I’m halfway through chapter 12.  Hoping to finish first draft by the end of 2013, but I think I’ve already mentioned that.  

My manuscript and my cat.

4.  Cemetery Tours is up to 8 reviews on Amazon, and 8 ratings (All 5 star!) and 3 reviews on GoodReads.  Here’s the latest from Amazon!  

 

5.  I’m editing a book this week!  It’s important in this line of work to lend a helping hand.  Always be willing to read, edit, review fellow authors!  It’s a great way to build friendships, develop new skills, and network!  

6.  There’s an event on Facebook going on this month that is designed specifically for helping independent business owners/artists/whomever has a “like” page to meet other people and build their following.  It’s great!  This is the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/60748...

Thanks to this group, Cemetery Tours has gained 23 “likers” in one day!  

https://www.facebook.com/CemeteryTours 

7.  IN EXACTLY TEN DAYS I WILL BE GETTING READY FOR THE MIDNIGHT PREMIERE OF CATCHING FIRE!!!  

Goals

Well, it’s the end of another week.  It’s been semi-productive.  I’ve made a little progress on my books, I’ve attended my first writers’ meeting, I had lunch with my high school English teacher who is also writing a book (I’ll probably be helping him out with the social media aspect of book marketing), and I’ve done my best to keep spreading the word and hoping for reviews for Cemetery Tours.  So far, it’s going pretty well.  I have seven reviews on Amazon and three on GoodReads.  

My new goal, aside from hopefully getting more reviews, is to finish the first draft of my next book, which I’ve decided will be the sequel to Cemetery Tours, by the end of 2013.  I really hope to have it published sometime by late spring, early summer.  

When I started writing this entry, I had this whole idea that it was going to be about goals and dreams and freedom, but at the moment, I really just want to work on my manuscript, so I think that’s what I’ll do!  Good night, all!  

About Time

Okay, so there’s this new movie out.  It’s called About Time.  It stars Rachel McAdams (one of my favorite actresses ever… I’ve never not liked anything that she’s been in) and Domhnall Gleeson AKA Bill Weasley from the last two Harry Potter films.  

This Guy! —>   

In case you are not aware, Domhnall Gleeson (son of actor Brendan Gleeson AKA Mad-Eye Moody) is one of the cutest people alive.  But that’s totally not the point of this post.  

The point is I had seen trailers for this movie and thought, “Aw… that looks cute.  And Rachel McAdams and Bill Weasley are in it!  I kind of want to see that.”  

I had completely forgotten about it, however, until tonight.  My friend and I decided to have a somewhat impromptu girls’ night and she mentioned going to the movies.  Being the little hermit that I am, I had no idea what was playing.  This movie came up.  I remembered that I wanted to see it.  Okay, let’s go!  

I thought it was going to be one of those cute chick flicks that you see once, think, “Aw, that was cute,” and then never think about it again.  Not even close.  I’m not sure I’d even call it a “chick flick.”  Yeah, it’s a romantic comedy, but it’s one that I really like that guys would enjoy too.  

Domhnall Gleeson is perfect as Tim, the gawky, slightly awkward, too-tall, too-skinny, and too-ginger protagonist, who turns out to be a time-traveler, as are all the men in his family.  Thanks to this ability, he is able to go back and relive all the moments and save himself from totally embarrassing situations (several of which are laugh-out-loud hilarious and adorable).  He also ends up using this little talent to meet the love of his life, but I don’t want to go into too much detail.  I’d hate to give away the entire movie!  All I can say is, as part of a generation who really loves the tall, dark, and broody bad boys, it’s so refreshing to see a leading man who is awkward, fair, and real.  He’s cheerful, sweet, by no means a lady’s man, and just simply the cutest guy ever.  I’ve heard that guys hate it when girls call them “cute,” but seriously, it is a huge compliment.  You should take it and run with it.  Rachel McAdams is delightful as ever.  I don’t even feel like I have to tell you she was wonderful, because she always is.  I loved Tim’s kooky family members as well, particularly his sister, Kit-Kat, a pure-hearted free spirit who is the very heart and soul of the film, and their slightly crazy but ultimately sweet and lovable Uncle D.

Aside from amazing casting and characters, About Time had one of the single best messages of any film that I’ve seen in recent times: Live each day like it was so wonderful that you meant to go back and relive it.  I have nothing to add to that, because I think it’s pretty perfect on its own.

Writing Lessons Learned

Last night, I went to my first local writer’s group meeting.  I had a lot of fun and met some really nice people.  I talked with one girl, who was from Barcelona, for hours about Harry Potter.  She asked me if it was true that American girls like British guys.  I told her that all a lonely British guy has to do is come to America, say “Hello,” and he’ll never be lonely again.

She also asked me how I learned how to write, and to be honest, I really didn’t have a great answer for her.  I’ve been thinking about it, and although I did take short story, poetry, and even screen-writing classes in college and grad school, I’m not sure it’s really something that can be learned.  Writing is just one of those things that has always come naturally to me.  Like my sister and singing.  I had to work and train and listen really hard just to learn how to carry a tune.  My sister has a natural ear and quite near perfect pitch.  She’s taken lessons, but she’s never really had to work at it like I did.  As far as writing goes, however, I just decided that I wanted to write a book one day and that was it.

That’s not to say I haven’t taken advice from other authors.  I read Stephen King’s entire book On Writing and it had some great pointers (Duh, he’s Stephen King).  One of them was to use adverbs sparingly.  I like adverbs.  I use them all the time.  But any writer will tell you that it’s better to show than to tell.  It’s something that my high school English teacher called “pics.”  Paint me a picture with words.  Don’t tell me.  Show me.  That was honestly some of the best advice I ever received on writing.

Another bit of good advice that I’ve tried to keep with me, I learned from an author I met at the Renaissance Faire of all places.  She was there, signing books, and I told her that I was working on my first novel (this was at least a few years ago), but that I couldn’t seem to get past the first couple of chapters because I kept going back, rereading, and changing them.  She told me to stop doing that immediately, or else I would never move forward.  This may have been the best piece of advice I could have received.  I’m by no means a perfectionist, but I do want my work to be the best it can be.  However, it won’t matter how good it is if I never finish it.

For me, the creative process has always seemed like a leak in a dam.  I believe everyone has creativity and stories and paintings and music all stored up in their brain, but sometimes, it gets trapped.  For those of us who write and paint and compose in our day-to-day lives, that little bit of creativity that leaks out is like a trickle in a dam, and if we keep working at it, eventually a trickle becomes a wave until the entire dam bursts.

One of the guys was asking how another author and I keep going through writer’s block.  The only answer either of us had was “keep writing.”  Make something up.  Do something you had no idea you were going to do.  It always amazes me how, when I sit down to write, I’m never 100% sure what’s going to happen.  The other night, I was working on one of the stories, and one of my characters just kept spouting out stuff that I’d never even considered before.  It’s amazing how the words and thoughts and emotions that you never knew you had inside of you flow so freely and so honestly through your fingertips, and often times, spoken through the mouths of others.  That’s one of my favorite parts of writing.  I can have an idea of where I want the story to go, but deep down, I’m not totally in control.  In writing, you have to be determined, but you also have to keep an open mind and be willing to make changes, because you never know where the story will take you.

Finally, the last piece of great advice I received was from Josh Groban.  Sadly, he was not talking to me one on one.  My sister and I were at his concert a few years back (Fantastic, by the way.  He sounds better live than he does recorded!) and he started talking about his training and everything he learned.  He said, “The only advice I can give, and it’s the best piece of advice I ever got, was to never stop learning.  Always be a student.  Be humble.  Be thankful.”  In other words, don’t get too big for your britches.  Unless you’re JK Rowling, in which case, the size of your britches don’t matter one bit because you created Harry Potter.  But for most of us, it rings true, no matter what line of work you’re in.

As for me, I need to just sit my butt down and write.  This is the busiest time of the year, and I’m thankful that I have stuff to do!  But I really want to finish my first draft of the Cemetery Tours sequel by the end of the year.  I think I’ll make it.  I just have to sit down, concentrate, and write.  It’s not that hard, but at the same time, it is so incredibly easy for the creative mind to get distracted.  To be honest, I blame my  mother.  She brags all the time about how she gorged herself on Twinkies and Ding-Dongs when she was pregnant with me.  I’m like, “Well, that’s great for you, but did you ever think about the effect all that sugar had on my brain while it was still developing?”  Clearly, it was not a positive one.

And with that, I’m off.  Please enjoy my feeble attempt at holiday humor/shameless self-promotion.

My cover designer is going to kill me.

Lazy Day

So far, today has ben one of those pajamas-all-day-do-absolutely-nothing-productive days, and I’ve got to be honest… I’m loving it.  

Part of me feels like I should be straightening up around the house (especially my bedroom, which is just a total disaster zone), but then I think to myself, Would you rather spend all that time cleaning a room that’s only going to go right back to the state it’s in now after about two days… or would you rather write?  

Of course, writing wins, hands down.  Come on, why should I waste my time on cleaning when I could be finishing the next chapter of the Cemetery Tours sequel?  Or any of my other three books?  Or reading another book by one of my cool new author friends?   Seriously, there are so many more important things I could be doing than cleaning.  

Sorry, future husband.  Your wife’s a bum.  A really messy one at that.  

Something that has really motivated me to keep writing instead of doing absolutely anything else is this great review I got last night on Amazon!  This one almost brought tears to my eyes.  

Well, that’s all for now.  I think now, I’m going to go write and see if the new Dracula episode is on Hulu.  Later! 

Oh, and remember… tonight is Daylight Savings Time!  One extra hour of sleep!  Yes!!!

 

 

Happy November!

Well, another Halloween has come and gone.  It’s sad because I love Halloween, but I’m also thrilled for the upcoming holiday season!    

The Cemetery Tours Halloween giveaway turned out to be a HUGE success!  It had 302 downloads on Kindle!  In two days, I more than doubled my readership!  I’m thrilled!  I’ll be even more thrilled if those readers enjoy and review!  ;)

Now that the promotion is done, along with waiting for reviews and figuring out more ways to get the word out, I feel like I can finally get back to doing what I enjoy most, which is working on my other novels.  I figure that the first day of NaNoWriMo is the perfect time to start!  

I’m also excited about November because I get to see my sister after far too many months of her being away at college and Catching Fire finally hits theaters!  I’m so excited, I’m not even sure what to do with myself!  

In other news, I’m really happy that Boston won the World Series.  I mean, I wish it had been Texas, but at least one of my favorite players and former Ranger Mike Napoli earned his ring!  Now come back to Texas, Nap!  

Again, thanks to everyone who spread the word and downloaded Cemetery Tours!  As hokey as it sounds, you are all helping me make my dream come true!  I’ll always appreciate you! 

Cemetery Tours Ranks #92 on the Kindle Store’s Best Sellers in Contemporary Fiction

This is so incredible and a little surreal! Thank you all so much for the love and support. Remember, Cemetery Tours is still FREE on Kindle until Midnight tonight! Happy Halloween!

Click on the picture to download!

Free for Halloween!

It’s official!  Cemetery Tours is FREE to all Kindle readers today and tomorrow!  Get your copy now!

Cemetery Tours

Not Bad for a Tuesday

So, my mom and I jokingly refer to Tuesday as “Monday #2.”  Sadly, we did not actually make this up.  I actually saw it on Pinterest and thought it was funny.  

For the record, here are the days of the week according to that post.

Monday = Monday #1

Tuesday = Monday #2

Wednesday = Monday #3

Thursday = Monday #4

Friday = FRIDAY!

Saturday = SATURDAY!

Sunday = Pre-Monday

All in all, I thought it was hilarious.  Anyway, this Monday #2 wasn’t all that bad.  

For one thing, I got another great review, this time on GoodReads!

 

For another thing, I had coffee with one of the writers I met at the Indievengeance Day book-signing.  I had a lot of fun talking to her.  She hosts a writers meeting once a month and the next one is Monday.  I’m really excited about going and meeting other writers.  

Finally, it’s almost October 30, which means Cemetery Tours is almost FREE on Kindle!  It’s also almost Halloween, which is the best holiday except for Christmas.  

Happy Haunting!