Peter Lopez Jr.'s Blog: Xulon Press Blog , page 16

6 Bad Habits to Give Up This Month as a Writer

If you participate in Lent, you’re accustomed to giving up certain things—chocolate, social media, soda—in your life during the 40-day period. As a writer, however, there are also some negative habits you should give up, too. So, with the last few weeks left of Lent, refocus on these six habits you can remove from your writing life. 

1. Comparison.

We all get caught in the comparison game at some point or another, and as a writer, it can be hard not to compare your current writing status with someone else’s status, especially with access to other writers’ lives on social media. Remind yourself that you’re seeing another person’s highlight reel on social media and that you don’t know how many years, rejection letters, and self-doubt they had to work through to finish their first draft or find a literary agent or receive their first royalties check.

2. Perfectionism.

Waiting to write until you have the perfect setting or a stroke of inspiration, not releasing your manuscript to an editor because you don’t feel it’s good enough, or tucking your manuscript away and not publishing it because you’re scared of what people will think are all negative experiences that spawn from perfectionism. A perfect book does not exist—every book on the market has a few errors. So, don’t let your desire for perfection stand in your way of publishing your book.

3. Your time.

Your time and energy are extremely important and the more of it you give away to people and activities that don’t serve you or your writing, the less time you have to fulfill the true desires of your heart. If you’re spending three hours a day scrolling social media, you’re wasting three hours you could put toward writing. Use the screen limit settings on your phone to track and set cut-off times for social media and then give the remaining time back to yourself to do something you truly enjoy.

4. Self-doubt.

If there’s one bad habit that can stop your writing dead in its tracks it’s self-doubt. Give this negative self-talk the boot through positive affirmations, journaling, and any other activities that can help you beat self-doubt.

5. Excuses.

If writing is something you truly want to take up, you have to kick excuses to the curb once and for all. Don’t let yourself make excuses for not writing. You’re not too busy; you simply need to reallocate your time. Bad grammar hasn’t stopped other writers. If it’s got you down, sign up for an online grammar course or pick up a writing guide book from the bookstore.

6. Idealism.

There’s never going to be a perfect day to write or a perfect time in your life to publish your book. There will always be something standing in your way or creating a sense of writer’s block. Build up your creative stamina to be able to surge past these roadblocks along the way. Idealism will simply stall you out altogether. When you feel your idealism kick in, allow yourself to be messy. Creativity and inspiration can be found in the messiness of life, too.

Looking for more writing tips and advice? Visit our page full of writing tips.

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Women’s History Month Reading List

Women have been at the center of history-making moments for centuries. From Cleopatra and Joan of Arc to the suffragettes in the early 20th century and the strong women who embodied Rosie the Riveter during World War II to present-day female heroes around the world—women’s stories are worth celebrating. To help celebrate Women’s History Month, we’ve put together a list of books with strong female protagonists, important nonfiction, and biographies about women, as well as a book to read with your children.

FictionLittle WomenMy AntoniaBelovedNonfictionThe Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksHidden FiguresAmelia Earhart: A BiographyMargaret Thatcher: At Her ZenithThe Diary of a Young Girl: Anne FrankVictoria: A LifeFor KidsFantastically Great Women Who Changed the World

Looking to publish your own story? Call 1-866-381-2665 to speak with one of our publishing consultants today or visit XulonPress.com to learn more.

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Tips for Brainstorming Book Titles

If you’re not part of the lucky group of writers that knows the title of their book right from the start, we have compiled a few tips to help. By the end of these book-titling exercises, you should be able to put together a decent list of potential titles for your book. The list of prompts below should help spark ideas. Read them one day at a time (so you can look at them with fresh eyes each time) and write down any book titles that come to mind. Keep in mind, book titles should ideally be 5 words or less (not including the subtitle).

Consider the essence of your book.

What is your book really about? Is there an underlying theme that runs throughout your story? What is the conflict?

Look over the text.

Are there any lines that jump out at you when you read your book? Any particularly interesting pieces of dialogue?

Add perspective.

How do your characters see themselves? What would people think of the ideas that your book presents?

Consider the visual.

Is there a special setting, event, or object? Can you describe its uniqueness?

Add some mystery.

Pique readers’ interests by teasing them with your title. Create a question, mention something of meaning without explaining it, or express your book’s main theme as a dilemma.

Change up your words.

Try exchanging a commonplace word for a more unusual word.

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5 Times to Update Your Book Cover

From time to time, you may notice one of your favorite authors rereleases a book with a new book cover. Often when an author’s book is adapted into a movie the book cover will change to match the movie poster. But there are plenty of reasons to rerelease a book with a new cover. If you’ve published a book and are wondering if it’s time to give it a design refresh, here are 5 reasons why you may want to update your published book’s cover.

1. If your cover looks outdated.

If your book’s cover is starting to show its age (and not in a good way), now is a great time to fresh your book’s cover with something more modern.

2. If your cover doesn’t match other books in your genre.

Take some time to peruse the bookshelves containing popular books in the same genre of your book. Take notes of cover designs and decide if your book’s cover is similar in style. If your cover isn’t on par with other books, take the time to refresh your book’s cover so it’s more in line with what’s selling in your genre.

3. If you revise your book.

If you decide to make changes to your book and republish it, you’ll also want to do a full cover update. This distinguishes the first version from your newest version.

4. If you’ve published a book series and want a more streamlined “branded” approach to the design of all the books.

Maybe you didn’t plan to turn one book into a full book series or maybe you had large gaps of time between publishing books in your series and you’ve noticed that there isn’t a “branded” look to your series. If that sounds like you, take the time to update the covers of your entire book series so there is a uniform look to them. This helps readers better identify the books as a collection instead of thinking each book is a standalone story.

5. Ownership rights of your book have changed.

If you regain the rights to your book from your publisher and decide to reprint, you will most likely need to have the book cover redesigned, as well as the interior of the book. This typically comes about because the previous publisher owns the rights to the cover artwork/interior design.

Have questions about updating your book cover? Call 1-866-381-2665 to speak with one of our publishing consultants.

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30 Writing Prompts for the Next 30 Days

Grab a new notebook or open up a new doc, it’s time to start a new writing challenge! This one is simple and its sole purpose is to get you writing every day. At the end of the 30 writing prompts, you may have either found an idea for your next writing project, written publishable content, or just practiced writing every day–which is an accomplishment on its own.

There are 30 writing prompts below. Read one prompt per day and write a sentence, a poem, a paragraph, an essay, or whatever you’re inspired to write!Write about the time you were the furthest from home.Write about what someone told you about yourself that you’ve never forgotten.Write about your favorite books.Write about a fruit you dislike and why, without ever mentioning the name of the fruit.Write about what five places you want to visit.Bullet-point your whole day.Write about your earliest memory.Write about your goals for the next week.Write about a place you would live that you’ve never visited.Write about five blessings in your life.Write about a book you disliked.Write about a difficult time in your life.Write about your proudest moment.Write about five things you are grateful for right now.Write about one of your favorite quotes.If you could have any job in the world, write about what it would be. What would a regular day look like?Write about some of your favorite movies.Write about someone that inspires you.Write about something that most people don’t know about you.Write about the highlights of your week, good or bad.Write about what a perfect weekend would look like to you.Write about three traits you like about yourself.Divide your goals into categories. (Spiritual, career, personal, financial, etc.)Write about your short-term goals. (Goals you’d like to accomplish by the end of the year)Write about your long-term goals. (Goals you’d like to accomplish over the next few years)Write about fun things you like to do with your family.Write about fun things you like to do with your friends.Write about fun things you like to do for yourself.List 10 things you want to start doing and 10 things you want to stop doing.Reflect on the last 30 days and this writing challenge.

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How to Live a More Creative Life

Creativity isn’t just for people who study or work in creative fields. In fact, we all can enhance our personal and professional lives by adding more creativity throughout our day. If you’re interested in living a more creative life, start by incorporating different types of creativity and being more intentional about making creativity a priority.

1. Return to favorite childhood activities.

If you loved putting together puzzles or coloring as a child, try your hand at these favorite pastimes again. As adults, soothing activities like these can help reduce stress, which in turn creates more room for fun and play—or creativity. If you have children or grandchildren, start up a fun game of make-believe. Putting both your heads together to create make-believe situations isn’t unlike writing a novel.

2. Schedule creative time.

Prioritizing creative time is the best way to ensure you actually allow yourself to be creative. If you don’t schedule the time with yourself, you’re less likely to allow yourself to enjoy it. Without planned creative time, you’ll always find a reason to put household chores, work, or something else ahead of it.

3. Surround yourself with other creative people.

Much like having a team of people at work to bounce ideas off of in order to find new and creative solutions, the same can be said for surrounding yourself with creative people in your personal life. These people can help you stay committed to the creative life, they can creatively brainstorm with you, and they can provide a different point of view when you’re feeling stuck.

4. Turn off technology.

Spending too much time tethered to technology can put a drain on your creativity. The constant nag of notifications, endless scrolling through other people’s highlight reels on social media, and pouring over information can have a negative effect on creativity. Instead, take time away from your phone or computer to give yourself a rest.

5. Let go of the ideal of perfection.

One of the biggest roadblocks to creativity is believing everything you do has to be perfect in order for you to do it. Once you’re able to let go of the need to be perfect in your creativity, the more you’ll enjoy your creative time.

6. Slow down and pay attention to what’s around you.

Rushing from place to place and task to task doesn’t leave much room to experience the goings-on around you. Next time you go for a walk, take your phone and snap photos of flowers, buildings, or something else that inspires you along your walk. Instead of packing your day full of errands, allow some room for a picnic in the park or something else that helps you relax and enjoy the moment.

7. Cultivate a new hobby.

A new hobby is a great way to trick yourself into being more creative. Try baking new recipes on Saturday mornings or learn embroidery or start playing a new musical instrument. The more you continue to learn, the more you open yourself up to being creative.

8. Know that you still won’t always feel creative.

You’ll still experience a day every now and then when you don’t feel particularly creative, and that’s okay. If you aren’t getting paid for your creativity, you don’t have to force yourself to be creative when you aren’t feeling it. Some days, the brain just needs to recharge.

 

Interested in turning your creativity into a published book? Call 1-866-381-2665 to speak with one of our publishing consultants or visit xulonpress.com to learn more!

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2021 Writing Self Check-in

Self-Check 

How are your 2021 writing goals going so far? If you feel like you’re devoting a lot of time to writing, but you aren’t seeing your word count climb, then you may want to start keeping tabs on yourself. Is self-editing, as you go, slowing you down?

Starting each writing session by editing what you wrote during your previous writing period can eat up a significant amount of time you could have been writing, and you’ll never make large strides in your word count that way.

Find a paper planner you can use solely for this self-check. Add in your writing schedule for the month to keep track of the days you plan to write. Also, write down the word count you’re starting with going into the new month. For instance, if you start your self-check on March 1st, and you have 10,000 words currently written, then note 10,000 words off to the side of your planner’s monthly spread. This way, you can see where you started and how many days you plan to write during the month of March.

Then, every day you write, keep track of your total word count at the end of the writing session. For instance, if you write on March 1 and you get to 10,400 words, then write that number down on that day in your planner. Continue to keep track of your word count in your planner at the end of each writing session. If you see your word count drop under the previous day’s word count or if you notice you’re working two to three hours at a time, but only see an uptick of 200 words each session, you’ll start to see that you aren’t actually writing as much as you should be.

How to Change

Once you are able to pinpoint the reason for your underperforming word count, you can begin to take steps to change how you embark on your writing sessions. For some writers, using timed writing sessions is a great way to force writing focus because they don’t allow themselves to do anything but write while the timer is going. When the timer stops, they can go back and check their work or they can take a short break before setting another timed writing session. These timed writing sessions are also called writing sprints.

Ernest Hemingway would always force himself to stop writing for the day in the middle of a sentence. That way, he had to dive right back into the writing the next morning. He couldn’t bear staring at the unfinished sentence.

You could do the same with your writing, so you have to finish the sentence as soon as you start writing again. This will also help you with forwarding movement and should help prevent you from going back to read over your writing.

 

Looking for more writing tips? Click here to  read more .

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10 Perfect Moments to Listen to an Audiobook

Remember when we thought ebooks would take over the book publishing industry because they would make it so much easier to carry books on to go? Well, now that audiobooks have reentered the publishing industry with renewed zeal, it’s safe to say this format isn’t going anywhere. Gone are the days of never finding time to sit down and read a book. Now, you can listen to audiobooks anywhere, and doing just about anything.

Are you still unsure if you’d find the time to listen to an entire audiobook? Here are 10 times you can easily listen to an audiobook:

1. In the shower.

Pick up an inexpensive, waterproof Bluetooth speaker and you can easily listen to your audiobook in the shower.

2. While drying your hair.

Noise-canceling air pods almost completely block out all noise from your hairdryer, making it super easy to listen to your audiobook at a normal volume level

3. When making breakfast.

Whether breakfast takes you five or 15 minutes, you can sneak in some audiobook time during breakfast.

4. While walking.

If you head out the door for your daily 30 minutes of movement, grab your headphones and listen to your book as you pound the pavement.

5. When doing chores around the house.

Is there anything more monotonous than house chores? Instead of dreading the time it takes to do laundry or clean the bathroom, you can now enjoy that uninterrupted time you gain to listen to your book.

6. When working on another hobby.

If you have a hobby that’s more about letting your mind wander — coloring, cross-stitching, crafting — that’s a great time to also listen to your audiobook. While your hands work away, your mind can enjoy your book.

7. When making dinner.

Most nights, dinner probably takes at least 30 minutes to prepare. During that time, you could let your mind replay your entire day — good or bad — or you could listen to the news and going in to dinner with your family feeling stressed out. You could also use that time to listen to your audiobook, which can help lower stress levels because you’re doing something you enjoy.

8. When completing autopilot-style work tasks.

Is your email inbox overloaded and you need to clean it up? Do you need to add some meetings to your calendar? When you have mindless tasks to check off your list, that’s a great time to push “Play” on your audiobook.

9. Before bed/when struggling to fall asleep.

If you typically enjoy reading a book before bed, you may want to switch to listening to your book instead — especially if you tend to read your book on a tablet at night. The harsh blue light from your tablet can disrupt your sleep patterns by telling your body it’s not time to produce melatonin yet. Since listening to an audiobook doesn’t require a screen, your body can more naturally begin to wind down for bed.

By all means, don’t choose a suspenseful thriller to listen to when you’re struggling to fall asleep — it could actually elevate your heart rate and make falling asleep even harder. Instead, choose a nonfiction book and set the sleep timer so your audiobook shuts off by a certain time. The soothing rhythm of the narrator’s voice can be enough to lull you to sleep.

10. At the beach or pool.

There’s nothing worse than a bright glare on your tablet while trying to read at the beach or pool, or getting pages of your physical book wet. Choose an audiobook and simply lay your head back on your chair and relax.

Want to create your own  audiobook ? Call 1-866-381-2665 to learn more.

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Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Writers

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Are you stressing over the perfect gift for the writer in your life? Here are seven gift ideas for writers that your valentine will be sure to love.

1. Audible subscription.

Audiobooks are still on the rise with readers because it allows them to listen to a book while doing almost anything. If your valentine loves to read or wants to read more books this year, they’ll love an Audible subscription. 

2. Blue-light blocking glasses.

If there’s one negative of a writer spending all that time in front of a computer typing out his or her next book, it’s the havoc blue light can wreak on their eyes. Protect your significant other’s eyesight with a pair of blue-light blocking glasses.

3. A candle that evokes their writing vibe.

Writers always talk about finding that perfect space to sit and write their next book. For writers, it’s the top floor of the library, surrounded by the smell of books, that inspires them. Other writers love a coffee shop with the smell of fresh-baked bread and brewed coffee. Give the writer in your life the gift of their favorite writing space in the form of a candle.

4. Laptop bed tray.

Some of the best writing happens away from an official writing space. That’s where a laptop tray comes in handy. Gift the writer in your life a laptop bed tray, so he or she can write wherever inspiration strikes minus the neck and shoulder pain that comes from writing in a space without good ergonomics.

5. Blackwing notebook and pencil set.

Writers find inspiration at any turn throughout their day and sometimes forget it if they don’t have a place to write thoughts and ideas down in the moment. Your writer will love this notebook and pencil set for on-the-go inspiration.

6. A local bookstore gift card.

Chances are your significant other loves to read books just as much as he or she likes to write them, so when all else fails to give the gift of books is a true win. You can also use this as an opportunity to support a local bookstore in your area by getting a gift card from them instead of a larger retail store.

7. The ultimate Valentine’s Day gift.

Looking to give the writer in your life the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift? Gift them a publishing deal to publish the book of their dreams! Call 1-866-381-2665 to speak with one of our publishing consultants or visit XulonPress.com to learn more.

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Video Marketing For Self-Published Authors

Video marketing is something that a lot of indie (self-published) authors can neglect. Using visuals can increase awareness of your book as well as introduce the author behind the book to the readers. 

3 Ways to Use Videos to Promote Your Book1. Book Trailers

Book trailers have the same effect on viewers as movie trailers do: they create awareness of your book and hopefully entice the audience to purchase it.

Video trailers can provide a preview of the story or a glimpse of a scene to elicit curiosity. To make a great book trailer you should keep the video short and sweet, about 1 – 1.5 minutes long. With a video trailer for your book, you have the ability to reach millions of potential readers. 

2. Behind-the-Scenes Video

Avid readers are fascinated by the creative and writing process that goes on behind great books. With a behind-the-scenes video, you have the opportunity to share your writing routine, do a tour of your writing space, talk about the inspiration behind the storyline, and much more. These videos can be casual and authentic with minimal editing. 

With the rising popularity of short video clips on platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram Reels, these behind-the-scene videos could easily become a brief series of short clips on your social media. 

Behind-the-scene videos can also help authors make a personal connection with the audience. This is beneficial towards building a following and can lead to more readers for the author in the future.

3. Interview Video

An interview video can be done either privately or with a (virtual) audience. When done privately, you can pre-record the interview and upload it to your social media platforms, like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram TV. If you’re wanting to do an interview with an audience, you can use tools, such as Instagram Live or Facebook Live, to video-stream in real-time with your followers. The viewers can also send in questions for you to answer in real-time.

 

 

The possibilities of connecting with potential readers are endless when it comes to video marketing. And thanks to modern cell phones providing everything we need to film and edit, it’s never been more achievable.

Are you ready to take your marketing to the next level with video trailers? Give us a call! 1-866-381-2665

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