P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 293
August 2, 2015
Scrivener Collections Pt. 3: Getting at the Facets of Your Writing
Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.
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Diamond photo courtesy Morguefile.com free section.
Just as a gemstone must be cut, so it is with a writing project. There are a variety of ways to approach editing any book. Fortunately, Scrivener’s Collections allow you to organize the various stages of your editing and help you get to the final version of your writing project that is your diamond.
If you’ve been reading my Scrivener posts the last few weeks you’ll know I’ve been discussing the use of collections. For those who may have missed the other posts they are here & here. Today, I continue with collection usage and approaching my current edits for my second novel in The Bow of Hart Saga, An Arrow Against the Wind.
My first round of editing covers structure whereby I’m adding necessary chapters and scenes to the book. To that end, last week’s post covered creating a collection and schedule for this editing. While I’m certainly not finished with that round of editing, I’m going to discuss the next type of structural editing that I can schedule now using collections.
For those who are wondering, yes, multiple collections can be created for any number of reasons. So my next collection will cover style. The chapters and scenes will address different ones to those added last week as well as some saved searches I expect to use during this editing phase.
If you need instructions on creating collections, please refer to the last 2 Scrivener posts linked above in this post. From this point, I’ll assume if you’re reading you understand what I’m doing. In the following screen-shot, you’ll note that I’ve create a second collection named Structural Edit – Style as it appears in the list of collections.
As I mentioned earlier, the chapters and scenes for this collection are different since I switched to deep POV during the time I wrote this draft. So I’ve identified the chapters that need to be edited to deep POV style. Note the chapters are different between the two collections.
Similar to the first collection, I’ve edited the meta-data for Status and Labels and I’ve applied them in similar fashion to the first one. I’ve learned to edit for these changes previously, so I’ve created some searches based on these so I can use them in the chapters to I can quickly make basic changes before making more specific ones. This makes editing the chapter or scene in question much quicker.
Now when I’m ready to proceed to this phase of my structural editing, I’m ready with a schedule and expected searches. If I need anything new, I’ll be able to add the necessary elements to the collection.
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Sign up for my Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list to receive the forthcoming edition of my newsletter with announcements about upcoming releases and events (this months volume has already gone out). Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Street Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. Anyone who reserves a copy by 8/7 on Barnes & Noble, or iBooks (via the iTunes app) and emails me the screen-shot of the order will also receive a free coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag containing a sample chapter of The Bow of Destiny. Additionally, August’s free e-book: Trading Knives is now available on Wattpad until the final version goes to retailers (remaining free).
Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor. However, I am working on becoming an affiliate for Scrivener ads since I like the product so much. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. For more about my FTC statement see my sidebar.
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Privacy Policy
This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).
You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.
I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.
This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).
Filed under: An Arrow Against the Wind, Archer's Aim Digest, Barnes & Noble, Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, iTunes, Kobo, Mailing List, Marketing, Pinterest, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Smashwords, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Trading Knives, Twitter, Wattpad, Writing Tagged: An Arrow Against the Wind, Barnes and Noble, blogging, Collections, Editing, Epic Fantasy, Facebook, Fantasy Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, Kobo, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Short Stories, Smashwords, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Trading Knives, Twitter, Wattpad, writing
Deleting Dotted Lines in Word
PHS:
Had this single line of this hanging around in a manuscript for not reason. This worked! Reblogging on Archer’s Aim!
Originally posted on Writing Your Way:
I’ve finally figured out the most maddening problem in Microsoft Word. I never could get rid of these lines of small squares that reached from margin to margin.
Nothing would dent them. I couldn’t highlight them, delete them, or overwrite them. The only solution was to erase the whole passage that contained them, and type from scratch. Sometimes that failed. They spread like rabbits.
Here’s the secret. That line is the bottom border on the paragraph immediately above. So you have to attack it in that paragraph. Here’s how.
Highlight the whole paragraph before the line, even if it’s just one carriage return. Click FORMAT, then BORDERS AND SHADING, then BORDERS (1). Under APPLY TO, click PARAGRAPH (2). Under SETTINGS (3), look at the bottom item: CUSTOM (4). That’s the baddie. See that little line of four dots? You have to kill that. Click NONE (5) at the top of…
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August 1, 2015
Using Scrivener As Your Reference Library
Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.
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The Inspector in Scrivener hides a number of useful features. Previous posts on Archer’s Aim regarding the Inspector include:
Inspection! What Scrivener’s Other Bar Does
Strategic Usage of Snapshots in Scrivener
Keywords & Project Searches in Scrivener
Lost Your Scratchpad? Here It Is In Scrivener!
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This week we continue with use of Document References from the Inspector.
Just as a refresher, the Inspector is turned on by clicking on View in Scrivener. Slide down the menu to Layout and click on Inspector in the fly-out menu that is displayed (for keyboard command enthusiasts use CTRL + Shift + I).
The Document References are accessed using the second from the left button located at the bottom of the Inspector.
To toggle between Document References and Project References click the up-down arrows.
There are several other controls for the Document References. To Add/Remove references click on the +/- buttons. The + button reveals a menu that allows adding internal references from the project as well as external references (Look-up and Add or Create), all of which are pictured below:
The Add Reference Menu Displayed
Add Internal References Menu Displayed
Adding An External Reference Displayed
Personally, I’ve been using Document References of late when writing posts. If I start researching aspects of my post then I add the references that I find which are usually external. So when I add the external reference I give it a title that makes sense and the web link to the page. This way I can access the information or add the link into a post. To add the referenced web link to your document, double click on the reference to open it. Then copy/paste the page link that’s opened into the your document via Scrivener’s link command.
Using references can also be used in various types of writing besides blog posts. The internal project references are also very valuable for larger projects, especially those involving research.
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Insider Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. You’ll also receive a coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag, for free as well as July’s free e-book: Recommended Reading for Authors!
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Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor. However, I am working on becoming an affiliate for Scrivener ads since I like the product so much. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. For more about my FTC statement see my sidebar.
Privacy Policy
This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).
You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.
I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.
This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).
Filed under: Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, Non-fiction, Pinterest, Planning, Reviews, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Document Reference, Editing, Facebook, Indie Publishing, Inspector, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, writing
July 31, 2015
8 Ways Scrivener Aids My Writing
Clip Art Image Copyright by Microsoft. Clip Art Used by Permission of Microsoft
When I originally gave Scrivener a whirl earlier this year I didn’t know how the software worked. But I read several articles and posts about how other writers put this writing tool to use. I took my time working through the provided tutorial after which I began using it with increasing regularity.
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Over the last few months, I’ve begun using Scrivener for almost all of my writing. I’m so impressed with it’s usefulness, I’ve begun writing about this software to share my ideas. I’m getting lots of mileage out of blogging with it and I’ve begun using it for my newsletter and other email templates.
Here are 8 ways Scrivener boosts my efforts as a writer:
1. I’m better organized from the beginning of projects. Because Scrivener is an organizational tool, I’m able to develop structure from the beginning of the project.
2. I can easily make changes to structure. Even though I’m structuring my projects well at the beginning, if I find I need to make structural changes I can do so quickly and easily using the binder.
3. I can turn out short projects at a faster rate. As I’ve written, I’m using this software for blogging, newsletters and email templates.
4. I can use different media to assist my efforts. I can copy pictures, links, video and other forms of media into a project. This is very effective for visualizing aspects of a project like characters or locations. I place these in a sub-folder within the Research folder.
5. Since I’m more organized and faster with short projects I have more time for longer projects. It becomes a real time-saver so from this efficiency I can spend more time on my longer projects which have a higher importance over the long haul.
6. In relation to number 5, I don’t waste time staring at a blank screen since all the preliminaries are out of the way. As a writer, it’s not a good thing to sit staring at you screen. For me, beginning with organizing the project and working with development tasks means my ideas are so developed that I’m more than ready to write the project when the time comes.
7. In relation to number 2, I can edit more effectively which is a plus for a novel. I don’t have the whole manuscript staring at me, just a piece that is manageable. I’ve found that trying to manage a whole manuscript in a single file structure means that I bog down with the entirety of editing. With Scrivener, the book is already segmented and ready for editing.
8. It’s my multi-function tool. As I’ve written in earlier posts, the software is so flexible I can use it for any type of work that I’m doing as a writer. And because it is so powerful a tool I can plan a project like a blog series with growth potential and conversion into a different format as a book – and let’s face it, bloggers like the idea of transforming their blog posts into an e-book.
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Bonus Info: Here are links to some helpful templates:
Scrivener template designed for a year of blogs from AllIndieWriters.
Another template for blogging from Thaddeus Hunt.
Clip Art Image Copyright by Microsoft. Clip Art Used by Permission of Microsoft
Upcoming News: Next week, I’m planning a post about Scrivener for another use.
If you use Scrivener, how has it improved your writing? If you haven’t started using Scrivener, what’s stopping you? What other usages can you share?
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Insider Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. You’ll also receive a coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag, for free as well as July’s free e-book: Recommended Reading for Authors!
Follow Blog via Email
Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor. However, I am working on becoming an affiliate for Scrivener ads since I like the product so much. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. For more about my FTC statement see my sidebar.
Privacy Policy
This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).
You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.
I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.
This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).
Clip art licensed from Microsoft Office.
Filed under: Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, creativity, Facebook, Indie Publishing, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, writing
Author Sara F. Hathaway, on Character Development
PHS:
It was an all Sara/Sarah Wednesday for this week’s RRBC Spotlight Blog Tour featuring Sara Hathaway and hosted by Sarah Wathen!
Originally posted on Sarah Wathen:
Big thank you to Sara F. Hathaway, author of Day After Disaster, for her guest post today! Read what Hathaway says about creating memorable, consistent characters…
Characters are key to a great novel and developing them can expand your mind to new places. Readers appreciate being able to feel the emotions and understand the feelings of each character not just your main character. Make sure that all your characters have their own stories and motivations. Some of your characters may come straight out of your life and some may be completely fictional but either way you have to bring them to life and keep their profile consistent throughout the story.
When I created Day After Disaster, I did it over a very long period of time so maintaining the same characters throughout the story was a challenge. To tackle this obstacle I kept a notebook that has notes not just…
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#RRBC Spotlight Author Blog Tour with Sara F. Hathaway
PHS:
This is the Tuesday stop for Sara Hathaway on this week’s Spotlight Blog Tour – thanks for hosting, John Howell!
Originally posted on Fiction Favorites:
I am very pleased to welcome Sara F. Hathaway Rave Reviews Book Club Spotlight Author for this week. You can visit her schedule here.
Day After Disaster: A Letter Home
To whomever finds this letter,
I sit here writing you now, hoping that this letter will be useless. Hopefully I have found my family still alive in this wreck of a world I must now navigate with only my horsey companions, Artaz and Kit. They were gifts given to me by angels. Good people who still exist and cling to a reality we all inhabited just months ago.
When the Great Quake hit I was at work. Just another day and another dollar. Nothing unusual to heading down into an old bunker that existed beneath the restaurant I worked at. Its constant cool temperature made it a perfect place to store the wine that the restaurant boasted from the local…
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Meet Sara Hathaway
PHS:
Here’s the Monday stop for Sara Hathaway on her RRBC Spotlight Blog Tour This week!
Originally posted on Right The Writer:
Today’s Meet Author post is an author spotlight for the Rave Review’s Book Club Spotlight Author Blog Tour.
Who is Sara?
Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the book, Day After Disaster. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor’s degree in business management, she returned to her passion for a rural existence. She has extensively researched and practiced survival techniques and utilized forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first novel and helping other authors skyrocket their careers to the next level. For more information and a free copy of The Go-Bag Essentials featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in…
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July 30, 2015
Rave Reviews Book Club SPOTLIGHT Blog Tour Featuring Sara Hathaway
Today I’m happy to welcome Sara Hathaway to Archer’s Aim for a Spotlight blog tour stop via Rave Reviews Book Club. She’s written a rather interesting book that I’m sure you’ll want to read. Take it away, Sara!
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Day After Disaster Visibility, Crash Course in Marketing 101
When Day After Disaster was finally completed and the publisher was chosen, I was launched into the book-marketing world. I quickly found a use for the business management skills I studied in school. I had fine-tuned them in various positions before I became a published author but I had never worked for my own business. Even with the slight advantage of a business background, it has been an enthralling adventure full of knowledge to learn. More than anything though, I have met some outstanding mentors that have kept my efforts focused and my goals aimed at success.
I graduated from The California State University of Sacramento in December of 2004, with a bachelor’s degree in General Business Management. While I studied business, I never could decide upon a specific area of business that I liked the most so I just studied them all, finance, marketing, human resources, entrepreneurship and more. In my career, I worked managing a smoothie shop and then managing an insurance office. This gave me a solid background in business operations and sales.
When I started down this road of publishing, I understood immediately, I was putting together a new business based around my novel. I made a business plan and started to map out the steps I needed to take to navigate the path successfully. I took a clear look at the goals I was setting up for myself. I mapped out the financials of the business and how I was going to keep track of things. I needed to set up a game plan to pay back my biggest investor (my mother) and have extra money to be able to spend on promotions. I cruised along the business plan, joyfully filling in the categories with ease. Until, I got to the marketing section.
My publishing company had provided me with some basic steps to take. They also made it very clear that the idea of me filling the shelves of a store with my books and having author book signings there with a line out the door was not going to happen. This privilege was reserved for the most well-known authors and honestly sometimes even they don’t have a very big turnout. So, what was I to do? How was I going to sell all of these boxes of books that showed up at my door? Obviously, I had some research to do.
I started at the site LinkedIn. I got a membership and started joining some groups. I talked to authors and listened to their advice. I learned about things like Goodreads.com and facebook pages. I started researching some of my favorite authors to see who gave them endorsements and how they got that done. Unfortunately, I discovered that I was too close to my publication date to get many of those reviews. I had missed the starting gun but how is a new author to know? With the very limited funds I had, I needed to seek out information and advertising methods that were inexpensive but effective. I was willing to put in the work of sorting through the information and I wasn’t about to pay someone to do it for me. Maybe I am too controlling but I felt I needed to learn the process myself so if the time came where I was financially in a position to hire a marketer or agent, I would know if they were doing a quality job or not. One of the most awesome things I figured out while pouring through this information is that there is a big network of intelligent and helpful authors out there, who are willing to give you a hand if you just ask. I started delighting in the relationships I was building and then I met a lady named Sandra Beckwith.
Sandra was the first author mentor I met who seemed to really care about getting authors quality information at a very low cost. Many people out there who claim they want to help you will only do so if you pay them lots of money. It is like trying to wade through a pool of sharks. Luckily, I found Sandra early before I had a chance to be bitten by those hungry monsters. I got tons of valuable information from Sandra and started to really develop some quality material but then it got better. She introduced me to a program that D’vorah Lansky was hosting called the 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge.
D’vorah’s program was geared toward non-fiction authors but it was free to participate and I needed all the information I could get my hands on. At the free level, I only had access to each day’s events for a limited time so I focused and studied each day. I followed the action steps and before I knew it I had a solid author platform established. As the program continued on, D’vorah mentioned that there were a lot of fictional authors in the program and she wanted to know how we were applying the information. I poured over my notes and prepared a lesson on just that, how fictional authors could apply the material to their books. Imagine my joy when D’vorah loved what I had put together and featured my write up the next day during the class! (To view the feature follow this link: http://www.authorsarafhathaway.com/#!marketing-challenge-feature/c1o5r )
Over the past year I have digested a ton of information and my desk is buried in notebooks overflowing with notes. It has made me into a totally different person. I have confidence and I am stretching my marketing muscles but I remember very clearly how difficult a process it has been. I realized that many new authors are at a big disadvantage. They are authors not business managers and marketers. Many have no idea how to get started or where to go for help. I was so blessed to have the background that I did and so lucky to have met some very influential mentors early in the process. I tell all the authors that I meet that I am here to help. I feel honored that they would want to pick my brain. There are so many aspects of this business that I am by no means a master but I will always lend a hand when I can. It was the people that reached out to me that got me where I am today and I would do nothing less for others.
My own journey continues on as well. Currently, the sequel to Day After Disaster, the next book in The Changing Earth Series, is at the editor and will be released in a few months. I have participated in a Virtual Book Tour, I am conducting a Virtual Podcast Tour and soon I will be releasing my own podcast titled, The Changing Earth Podcast. I am still working through my list of marketing ideas because the list keeps growing and the ideas keep evolving. For all the authors reading this and wondering how I can help them, don’t be afraid to contact me, all of my contact information can be found on my website. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the adventure in Day After Disaster and keep pushing to share your own message to the world.
Tips to Get You Going:
An author who talks about their book is an author that sells their book. Whenever you can find an appropriate time with anyone you are talking with bring up your book. Let them know you have been published and how awesome it feels. They will probably want to know what your book is about and may even buy one on the spot. Always have book with you!
Talk with other authors. There is always something to learn from everyone. Even if that something is what not to do. Chances are though you will learn something you never even considered to add to your marketing options list.
Keep knocking at those doors! Make a great big list of all the marketing ideas you gather from everywhere and keep going through the list from one idea to the next. Some will yield results some won’t but don’t stop trying. The rule of sales is some will, some won’t, some wait, so what.
Sara F. Hathaway is the author of the book, Day After Disaster. Sara grew up in the country where she developed a profound interest in the natural world around her. After graduating from The California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor’s degree in business management, she returned to her passion for a rural existence. She has extensively researched and practiced survival techniques and utilized forgotten life-sustaining methods of the generations past. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in California where she is at work on the sequel to her first novel and helping other authors skyrocket their careers to the next level. For more information and a free copy of “The Go-Bag Essentials” featuring everything you need to have to leave your home in a disaster visit: www.authorsarafhathaway.com
Book Description:
Day After Disaster is an apocalyptic, adventure novel, featuring a dynamic young woman, mother and wife, Erika, who is thrust into a world turned upside down by a series of natural disasters. Finding herself alone in a city mutilated by this disastrous situation, she must save herself. Once free of the city confines, she desperately tries to navigate through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to get back home to her family. Not knowing if they are alive or dead she must call on all of her survival instincts to plot a course through this broken environment.
Book Links:
http://www.authorsarafhathaway.com/#!saras-survival-stuff/c1mzf
http://www.amazon.com/Day-After-Disaster-Changing-Earth/dp/1631221345
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/day-after-disaster-sara-f-hathaway/1119581911?ean=9781631221347
Follow Sara online!!
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sarahathaway19
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author.S.Hathaway
Website: http://www.authorsarafhathaway.com/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sarafhathaway/
Congratulations to Sara Hathaway on her book and Spotlight tour with RRBC. As always, please take a few minutes to look at Sara’s book and support this author.
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Insider Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. You’ll also receive a coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag, for free as well as July’s free e-book: Recommended Reading for Authors!
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Privacy Policy
This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).
You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.
I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.
This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).
avoid spammers).
Filed under: Amazon, Blog Tour, Blogging, Day After Disaster, Fiction, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Pinterest, Planning, Rave Review Book Club, Reviews, Sara Hathaway, Self-publishing, Social Media, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Coverart, Day After Disaster, Facebook, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Pinterest, Rave Reviews Book Club, Sara Hathaway, Self-publishing, Social Media, Spotlight Blog Tour, Tips, Twitter, writing
July 29, 2015
The Bow of Destiny News: Events Calendar Posted
Hello everyone, just sharing more news regarding The Bow of Destiny this week. As mentioned three weeks ago, the book is now available for pre-release reservations via Barnes & Noble, & iBooks (via the iTunes app). This week I’ve got additional news about upcoming events.
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I’ve created an ongoing list of events and appearances on schedule for The Bow of Destiny that now appears on my News page. Check there for my calendar as well as links about interviews, blog tours and other events as well as ways to help spread the word about them.
The first major event is my upcoming interview with Beem Weeks on Beyond the Cover via Rave Waves on Blog Talk Radio. But soon after that, I hope to release Trading Knives on retail sites for free which will include a sample chapter from The Bow of Destiny. I’m working on additional Thunderclaps and Rafflecopter giveaways so check back often.
Meanwhile, I’ve gotten rather good feedback for The Bow of Destiny from my beta readers. I continue to make a few tweaks as the beta readers respond and hope to have a final draft ready within a the month so it will be formatted and ready for release. Additionally, I’m working another development that I can’t reveal at the moment but if everything works out well, I’ll announce it within a few weeks at best – and I think it will be very interesting for fantasy genre fans.
Have you reserved your pre-release copy of The Bow of Destiny yet? Anyone who emails me a screenshot of their receipt will receive a coupon for the free download of The Black Bag containing a free sample chapter – offer ends 8/7/15. While you’re at it take a look at Trading Knives and What Is Needed on Wattpad to become familiar with a few characters appearing in The Bow of Destiny – c’mon, you know you want a copy of the book!
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Insider Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. You’ll also receive a coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag, for free as well as July’s free e-book: Recommended Reading for Authors!
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This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).
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July 28, 2015
Break This One Habit & Find More Writing Time
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I noticed a bad habit the other day and realized it is rather costly to my productivity. No, it’s not just wasting time on the internet or any other act of procrastination. Rather, it is a bad habit involving poor perspective. But I think breaking this one bad habit could mean much to productivity as a writing in a serious way.
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Want to guess what this bad habit is? It’s the simple comment to myself, “I don’t have enough time.” I noticed that between five and seven times a day I may have upwards of fifteen minutes when something else is pending that I literally give up the time to write, believing there’s no actual time to accomplish something productive. You want to know what I did when I realized this? I ignored myself and wrote just over 100 measly new words of fiction. That’s not much since I know I can sit down and write several thousand words in a day.
But then the math hit me square in the head. Let’s say you actually write six months out of a year – the other half dedicated to editing and/or the business of writing. Those one hundred measly words five times a day add up quickly. If I need 40,000 words over thirty days of writing that adds up to 15,000 words out of those forty, or 37.5% of the total. String that out over six months and it’s 90,000 words.
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Let’s put that in perspective. It’s a whole book. It’s 18 short stories at an average of 5,000 words. If you average 1,000 words per blog post it’s 90 of them. Since most of my posts average around 500 words that’s actually about 180 posts or almost 70% of what I would post on my blog in a year (and I have a lot of back-logged ideas). That’s a lot of productivity over time.
Now, I’m not advocating that you or I frantically squeeze writing into every available second. I’m just observing how often I think I don’t have time when I actually do. I mean what am I doing with those spare fifteen minutes several times a day? Surfing the internet aimlessly?
Instead of fumbling useful time away I think I’d like to use it to be more productive – even if I don’t approach that full total part of it means I’m much further along with a number of projects. And what about actual spare time? I think I may find that I have more time for walks, reading, conversations, etc by being productive when it’s time to be productive.
I’m chipping away at this bad habit starting today (and it started by writing this post). How about you?
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. Want to be listed in The Bow of Destiny credits? Join the Insider Team to share upcoming links. Either way, you’ll be the first to have news about my books, especially some free offers this summer related to the upcoming release of The Bow of Destiny, the first novel of The Bow of Hart Saga. You’ll also receive a coupon to download my e-book short story, The Black Bag, for free as well as July’s free e-book: Recommended Reading for Authors!
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This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).
You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.
I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.
This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).
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