Author of the week:)

by

    My very first Author of the Week is the lovely Sarah Cradit. Sarah is smart as a whip, funny and has been one of my very favourite bloggers ever since I started this blog.

 

She is also an author and has written a series that you will not want to miss.  You can already find St. Charles at Dusk and will soon be able to get your hands on the second book in the series.

For more info on how to find Sarah’s books or if you just want to go say hello to her, click here:

http://sarahcradit.wordpress.com/an-introduction-to-the-house-of-crimson-and-clover-series/

A rather one sided interview

by

Sunrise & Sunset 2347So I wanted to do a blog interview, since I hadn’t done one for a little while and I am lazy, so I found the nearest person I could  to interview.

My guest today has been told by some that she is intelligent and funny and has a lot to offer. (Thanks Mohamed) I wouldn’t go that far, but she was available so I agreed to interview her anyway.

Please welcome me to my blog.

Ionia: So why did you decide to start this blog anyway?

Me: In the beginning it was supposed to be a book blog. I like to read. Then, somewhere along the way I lost focus and it became a book, writing, life, stupidity and everything else blog. Besides, I wanted to hang out with the cool kids, like Kira

Green embers

Charles

Mimi

Sarah Cradit

JS Riddle

and all the other cool people. But then, I’m still nerdy and awkward so I get a little bitter from time to time, like Ben.

Ionia: Has it been tough finding something to blog about just about every day?

Me: Not really. The other bloggers are a constant source of inspiration and also the voices in my head never shut up long enough for me to run out of material.

Ionia: I know what you mean.

me: I’m sure you do.

Ionia: Wait, were you talking about me?

Me: You’re a little slow sometimes eh?

Ionia: Can we please get back to the reason for this interview? So is there anything interesting you would like to talk about?

Me: What was it you wanted to talk about again?

Ionia: Lots of stuff. The Rome Construction Crew. I wanted to talk about that.

ME: If I don’t do this you’re never going to shut up are you?

Ionia: (Awkward silence)

Me: So why, great and powerful blog operator, don’t you tell us about the RCC?

Ionia: That is a great question! Thank you for asking. The RCC is a place where people who are aiming to reach goals in their life can find a sense of community among other like minded individuals. Some of the members are struggling to overcome something that has affected their lives and are looking for support and encouragement. Some of them are simply setting personal goals. It is free to join and anyone and everyone is welcome. Before last week the RCC was on Green Embers’ blog, but now it has moved to its very own home, right here http://romeconstructioncrew.com

We have a lot of fun there and are setting up new features to be more interactive every day. If you are looking for a place where people are accepting and motivational, it is the place to go.

Me: ZZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZ

Ionia: Seriously? You can’t fall asleep while I’m talking. It isn’t right. I’m going to ignore you if you keep it up.

Me: You can’t ignore me or you won’t be able to write. I’m your muse.

Ionia: Who ever heard of a psychotic muse?

Me: Have you seen Secret Window?

Ionia: Of course I have, it has Johnny Depp.

Me: The only thing we agree on.

Ionia: We should move on to our next topic.

Me: You’re in control of the fingers lovemuffin.

Ionia: I like you better when you are a bitch.

Me: Whatever you say sweetcheeks.

Ionia: ANYHOW–

Me: stop yelling you’re hurting our ears.

Ionia: I want to feature an author of the week on Fridays, much like I feature the blogger of the week on Mondays. How does that sound?

Me: Are you asking me or everyone else?

Ionia: Everyone else.

Me: And you called me a bitch?

Ionia: I will begin randomly choosing an author of the week every Friday to feature on the blog. There are so many great writers out there I will always have material.

Me: Great I should go write a book so I can finally get some fame miss important-pants.

Ionia: I’ve been trying to get you to write a book all week long.

Me: Not my fault you’d rather read other people’s blogs.

Ionia: It blocks out the sound of your voice.

Me: I should be so lucky.

Ionia: I’m not talking to you anymore.

Me: Fine.

Ionia: Don’t make me close my eyes.

Me: You wouldn’t dare pull the shades, you know I’m afraid of the dark.

Ionia:* Blink!*

Me: Phew! Must have been a power bump.

I would like to thank me for interviewing me today. Next week I promise to put some work into my guest. :)

For Marie: Make Every Hour Count

by

Reblogged from Through the Wardrobe:

Click to visit the original post
  • Click to visit the original post

I'm posting this from my other blog.  It has nothing to do with Narnia, and I thank God that it has nothing to do with my grandchildren, but it is every parent's worst nightmare.  My heart is so full today that I cannot keep quiet.

http://zephyrhillfarm.blogspot.com/2013/05/for-marie-make-every-hour-count.html

For Marie: Make Every Hour Count

Yesterday we got word that a distant family connection in Switzerland, our son-in-law's sister-in-law, had been abducted by a convicted rapist-murderer.  

Read more… 572 more words

Prayers are desperately needed. Please read and send warmth.

Marketing With Harry Steinman: Part IIII

by

I am beginning to love Thursdays, how about all of you? Time for another round of do and don’t about Marketing with the very talented Gentleman Mr. Harry Steinman.

The feed back from this series has been great, but every author needs a bit of encouragement, so if you feel you have learned something here or are just enjoying listening to the story of another author, please let Harry and I know that you would like for us to continue:) Without further ado–Harry Steinman

 Pantser or Planner?

Twelve Tips to Self-Publish

By Harry Steinman,

Publisher With a List of Exactly One Book

Some authors are “pantsers”—free-form writers who write ad hoc, and then edit like crazy. Others are planners, methodical writers who follow outlines…and then edit like crazy. The best approach to writing is the one that works for you.

Publishing is another story. Only planners succeed. Publishing is right-brain territory. Pantsers succeed in self-publishing about as often as construction crews erect habitable skyscrapers without blueprints.

I studied self-publishing in workshops, read books and pestered experts with questions. Sometimes, I ignored the planning discipline, because I prefer fast to careful. This led to speed-induced bonehead decisions that were expensive to repair and humiliating to endure.

Lesson learned: planning and execution take time. Allow at least nine months—perhaps longer—to move your baby from final draft to first edition.

Here are a dozen tips so you can prepare to self-publish. See the last ‘graph of this post for more information about timelines and costs.
1. Decide on a selling strategy and stick to it. Print or eBooks? This single decision drives the entire process. I attempted both. EBook sales went well but print sales languished. IMHO, significant print sales require distribution through the traditional publishers.

2. Create a budget. Understand the process in advance and estimate the costs. Figure out how you’ll pay. I used Kickstarter to raise about half of the costs to self-publish. That will be the subject of a future post.

3. Should you just let a vendor do the work? There are dozens ready to handle all of the publishing and distribution tasks for you. Give ‘em a manuscript and, presto! Book. WARNING! If the vendor provides the ISBN, then the vendor owns your content. WARNING! Vendors will format your book, but many will not return your formatted manuscript if you choose to go elsewhere. Some will not let you go elsewhere.
Read the street-savvy guide, “Editors and Predators”. This labor of love exposes publishing, agent, and writing contest scams. http://pred-ed.com/

4. Shop for a cover designer. Don’t skimp here. A great cover plus a perfect blurb sell books. Weak covers produce tepid sales. You can get a cover, cheap, and it will show. I paid the price for a pro. It was the best decision I made. Look for a future post on covers and interior design.

5. Learn about book interior design and find a good designer. Good interior design is a plus for eBooks and a must for paper books. I consider the interior of Little Deadly Things to be exemplary. Check it out.

6. Amazon, Part I. Going to publish a paper edition? Create an Amazon strategy. Many print-on-demand (POD) houses act as a distributor for you for a small fee. If you use them and Amazon and other retailers will buy your book at a discount and then undercut your retail price. Amazon will always take first position in the buy box. Not sure what that means? Better learn everything you can about Amazon before you commit your resources.

7. If your strategy focuses on eBooks, then a POD that provides distribution may be a good idea. Smaller royalties for you, but no printing costs, no inventory carrying costs, and you can stick to promoting eBooks.

8. Amazon, Part II. Learn about the Kindle Select program. Great benefits, but you’ll give up some freedom with eBook sales in order to sign up. I’ll cover this in a future post.

9. Independent third-party reviewers require an advanced review copy (ARC) at least three months in advance of publication. Ignore this and you’ll empty your wallet to get an independent review—with no guarantee you’ll like the result.

10. If you publish a paper edition, choose cover and paper stock carefully. The tactile experience will enhance or diminish the reader’s pleasure.

11. Print your ARCs at least four months in advance of your production run. (Certain language is crucial on your ARC. You can find it on Dan Poynter’s website, listed below.)

12. Buy your own ISBNs. You will need an ISBN for each edition, print, eBook, library, etc. You can buy a single ISBN (bad deal) or 10 or 100 or 1000. There is only one vendor for ISBNs in the United States, Bowker. You’ll also need a bar code on a paper book.
This step is expensive but crucial. DO NOT LET A VENDOR OBTAIN YOUR ISBNs. (See Tip #3.)
I’ll share a bit more next week, enough to get you started. You have beacoup research ahead,well in advance of publishing. A good resource is Dan Poynter’s website and books. http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/about/danpoynter.cfm
Next week, I’ll cover an equally bewildering list of tasks, and, in future posts, discuss the importance of cover design, and interior design, of selecting vendors, and planning your launch.
***

Why bother with all this? Freedom. Creative control. Money. Satisfaction. Read the lengthy post, “Eisler & Konrath Vs. Hanchette” and you’ll be proud to say, “I self-published.” http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/12/eisler-konrath-vs-hachette.html

Want more info on planning and costs? I’ll trade you my timeline and a breakdown of the costs I incurred for a review of Little Deadly Things on Amazon and Goodreads. I’ll send you an eBook copy, no charge, or a print copy if you cover the shipping cost (media mail is cheap). E-mail me at info@littledeadlythings.com for your copy.
Till next week!

A Kindle best-seller

on sale on Amazon or www.littledeadlythings.com

Every purchase supports the Young Adult Writers Program at grubstreet.org

cover   Buy this book for Kindle here

Why Don’t you take a night walk?

by

  This week has been an excellent week for getting free books. This free book experience would not be complete without getting David Hudnut‘s Night walk. I love to mention free kindle books of any type, but it particularly makes me happy to mention books that I have already had the chance to read and review. That has been the case twice today:)

If you would like to download and read Night Walk you can do so here for free, through Sunday the 19th:

Also David has been kind enough to contribute a guest piece with his thoughts on the importance of reviews to indie authors, which you can see below.

You can find David HERE

tell him I sent you, he might give you a coupon for a cocktail. Or at least some pretzels.

Night Walk Free

HERE

This book sort of crosses the boundaries between genre. It does have some horror elements, but it is not terribly graphic and even those who don’t particularly care for horror of any type have had a good experience with it.

Here is the description from Amazon:

Like any cookie-cutter suburban family you know, on the outside the Wistfell family appears fresh from the oven with their Tic-Tac smiles and formica hair styles. On the inside, beneath their Sears Family Portrait exterior, lies a pitch black heritage. The Wistfell family knows a thing or two about the Devil’s business.

Rob and Amelia Wistfell are all set to enjoy the weekend with their four-year-old daughter Eva, but their troubles begin immediately. A run-in with a menacing bunch of locals over a parking space sets off a chain reaction. No matter where the Wistfell family goes, trouble follows. Rob and Amelia have no idea why.

They don’t realize that their daughter Eva has blossoming telepathic powers and she’s messing with people’s heads.

When the family accidentally crosses paths with two thugs bent on murderous destruction, the Wistfells face a life-threatening challenge.

Will Eva’s powers save them or destroy them?

Find out in Night Walk by David Hudnut.

The importance of leaving Book Reviews

by David Hudnut

Why are Book Reviews important for self-published, and many traditionally-published, authors?

That’s pretty obvious, right? Reviews help sell books. A book review is a virtual form of word-of-mouth advertising. You’ve heard the conventional wisdom: a book review can gently take the hand of a reluctant book buyer and say “Hey, this book really is good. See, all these other people have said so.”

Think about what happens when you stumble onto a book online, and it has only one review, or none. What’s the first thought that crosses your mind? Well, if the book was released that morning, ok, it just came out. But if it wasn’t, and unless you’re a fellow struggling independent author, you’ll probably assume the book isn’t that good, right? Because if it was good, wouldn’t there be a ton of reviews?

Of course, we know that’s simply not true. We’ve all discovered great books by independent authors that we’ve thoroughly enjoyed, and yet such books often have few reviews online. That’s why writing and posting a book review for a book you’ve enjoyed is vital to the support of independent authors, and the Independent Voice in general.

So why does this matter? Because without the Independent Voice, what do we have? The Corporate Voice. You know what I’m talking about:

Iron Man 3.

Unless you live under the proverbial rock, you’ve probably seen plenty of ads for Iron Man 3 in the last month. Don’t get me wrong, I love Iron Man. It thrills me to see what was once a marginalized character targeted at nerdy boys between the ages of 9 and 90  (yes, you read that right, 90) has now become normalized. It’s cool to like Iron Man. I’m grateful for that change. I wish it had happened 20 years ago, but I can’t complain.

But here’s the thing: Iron Man is owned by The Walt Disney Company, which owns Marvel Entertainment (the owner of Marvel Comics). Iron Man has been around since 1963. That’s 50 years of promoting the character constantly in various media, with a massive amount of creative talent behind the character in terms of writers, pencilers, inkers, colorists, and letterers (who worked on the comic books), the massive video game companies putting out the games, the animation studios putting out cartoons, and the movie studios putting out the movies. With all that creative talent backing Iron Man, of COURSE he’s going to be popular. And with the tens of millions that are spent annually on advertising, Iron Man is now probably more famous the Hercules, and that guy’s been around for thousands of years.

So what if, dare I say it, you are tired of Iron Man? Or what if you don’t even like Iron Man to begin with? This applies to all genres, from action heroes to romance heroines (Twilight, anyone?). What options do you have?

The Independent Voice.

Compared to the bellowing corporate behemoth of Iron Man and The Walt Disney Company, most independent authors are but tiny ants clicking and whispering about their stories. How can an independent author compete with the efforts of literally thousands of creative people backing ONE character for fifty years? He or She can’t. Period.

Which circles us back around to the book review. For independent authors who don’t have a massive marketing budget, your book review is crucial to helping keep their books alive. Otherwise, their books are buried under the landslide of corporate advertising, and the infinite distractions that bombard us every second.

If you like a book, leave a review, whether it be on Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you shop for books online.

Support independent authors. Support the Independent Voice.

Everville:The First Pillar

by

Here is some great news! This book is FREE through tomorrow! If you have not grabbed a copy for yourself yet, you can do so here.

Free Everville

Here is the description:

Owen Sage is the emblematic college freshman at Easton Falls University. He studies hard, plays hard, and is incredibly charming. With all the worries about his first year in college, he was not prepared for what would happen next. His way of life was flipped upside down when he was drawn into a different world, a world unbeknownst to him. He mysteriously crossed into another dimension, into the beautiful land of Everville. His tragic excitement was abruptly halted when he discovered that there was a darkness forged against both the natural world, which he knew well, and the new land which he discovered, Everville. He must devise a plan to save both worlds while joining forces with the race of Fron and The Keepers, whom both harbor hidden secrets he must learn in order to gain power over the evil that dwells in The Other In Between.

With a race against time to save both worlds, his short time at Easton Falls did not quite prepare him for the evil, dark forces he must fight in order to conquer The Other In Between.–goodreads

I read this book and fell in love with it. Roy Huff has a unique style that makes you feel almost as if you are one of his characters.

I asked him to do a guest post about publishing and why he chose the route he did, and he kindly agreed to do so.

You can find him at http://www.owensage.com

Please welcome him to Readful Things:)

 

The original idea to write the book Everville: The First Pillar came from the response I received to an English paper written for a college course I had taken.  It was the first time, I had seriously thought about writing a book, though I had often flirted with the idea through various stages of my adult life. After I decided to embark on the journey of writing a book, my initial plan was to go the traditional publishing route. My thoughts were that I wanted to be respected in the writing community as well as have a better chance at a commercially viable book. Even though I expected it to be a little more challenging, I thought using the standard method would make the most sense.

Over the next eighteen months, I slowly wrote a page or two in fits and starts, while periodically doing research into literary agents, publishing companies, and what would be the best approach to getting published. It soon became clear that before I even approached a literary agent, I would need to have a polished manuscript. Even then, it would still be difficult to find an agent willing to look at the completed manuscript, and I would likely receive numerous rejections beforehand. If I were fortunate enough find a literary agent who would have been willing to represent me, the manuscript would still need to be sent to publishers for review with no guarantee that it would be accepted. I could have tried to go directly to the publishers, but considering most publishers do not even consider unpublished authors, it seemed unlikely that would have been a good idea.

After writing only thirty pages, I realized that the daunting task of getting represented and published was preventing me from writing the book. I did want the book to be commercially successful, but I also wanted to finish the idea that I had in my head as well as make a contribution to the literary world. I then did a little more research into self-publishing and e-book options, and I eventually decided that it would be the best approach. Once I made the decision to self-publish, through Kindle as well as print, I finished the first draft in three months and took other steps to market the book. I can honestly say, that had I not done that, the book would not have been written.

If only for the purpose of completing the book, self-publishing was clearly the correct choice. There were some mistakes that were made, and the traditional route may still be an option now that the first book in published, but the initial decision has so far seemed like the right one, and it has allowed me to start on a path that I otherwise might not have taken. Whether the book or subsequent books in the series achieve commercial success, remains to be seen, but deciding to take the plunge and self-publish has encouraged me to make connections and contacts in the writing community, as well as research additional ways to improve my writing and market future books. More importantly, has also allowed me the opportunity to get feedback from readers who have already been inspired by my work. That alone has made it all worth it.

Thank you so much Roy for sharing your thoughts with us. I would love to have you back for another visit to tell us more about your series!

You can see my review of Roy’s fantastic book here:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/558632473

Sparkle and Fade: The lifelong question of the author (Tuesday Two cents)

by

I keep seeing various forms of the same question being asked on blogs, in forums and personally from authors. Please note, that I did not say INDIE author, I simply said author.

CHARLES

I really am picking on you, and all the other authors out there. Mostly you.

So, this question goes a little something like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I have done everything I can to keep my sales going, but it

seems like they have just fallen off. I have settled into a

pattern of selling very few copies each day. I can’t figure out

where I am going wrong. Has anyone else had this

experience?”

I would like to dissect these statements and eventual question and offer my take on the situation. So here we go.

 

So you published a book right? Yep. Good on you! Hours of slaving away behind a computer compiling words in a strict order that are intended to wow audiences into disbelief of your awesomeness!

You have read everything you can find on the internet and in books about how to be successful at social media marketing, trends in the book industry, formatting, distribution etc.

You have written and rewritten and written one more (or a hundred more times) your blurb. You have chosen the best quote from your book or from a reviewer for your cover.

You have spent money, time and effort on your cover ensuring that it really relates your story in a visual way.

 

The first couple of weeks your sales are okay. Not the million plus books you dreamed about late at night when no one was looking and you were awake staring at the ceiling. Still, sales haven’t been bad.You have gotten a few reviews and they have been pretty good. You’ve possibly survived your first really bad 1 star review at this point and set aside the time for the appropriate meltdown. Was it good? I bet it was. Mine were too. I didn’t like that vase anyway.

 

You have been good about posting to your blog, word of mouth marketing, have passed the book to others aside from your immediate family and friend circle. You do regular social media updates and you do guest blogs, author interviews and take advantage of every other opportunity you can to spread the word about the goods you have to sell. You have finally gotten over the sting of having to give away something you worked hard on to increase sales. Look at that, you are almost all grown up.

Then the book has a burst of success!! You get up to your first goal number of books sold. Be it 100, 500, 1,000 or for you really big success hounds, 15,000. You made it onto the various lists on Amazon and while you were there more books started selling and you made it onto more lists. You are on top of the world. There is no way you are ever coming down from here. With your book being so successful in so many places you are guaranteed that someone from a movie studio or a major publishing house is going to spot you and drag you from the pit of misery you currently live in, watching your numbers go up and down, climbing and then falling off the lists, feeling joy and then heartache as your baby struggles first to stand and then to walk and then swiftly falls down on their bum and refuses to get back up and try again.

Hi. My name is reality. This is called being an author.

I don’t care of you are an indie author or a traditionally published author. You are an author and that means you have been cursed and blessed to this life. Enjoy it, appreciate it, live it to the fullest.

Do you really think that you are alone in this? Do you think that others, even the ones who are currently on the New York Times best sellers list are not going through the same thing. Woo! Guess what? When John Grisham falls off the NYT list and is replaced by some author no one had ever heard of before, his shame is public. Your shame of falling off the mover’s and shaker’s list on Amazon, more private, but still painful. Look at the parallel lines there peeps. You wrote a book. So did John. You both went Humpty-Dumpty and had a great fall.

If your book does not do well and you are with a small publisher or you have self pubbed, there are opportunities to correct the book, make it bigger, badder, better and try it again. Give it a new cover if that is part of the problem. Rewrite the blurb. Find new advertising sources.

If John’s book bites the big one guess what? There are a HELL of a lot more steps to correcting it. Chances are, the word about a poorly written book from a major author will travel faster than the speed of light, thus relegating the book to a deserted wasteland of missed opportunity. Your book, on the other hand, still trucking along even at a few sales a day, and no one is really saying anything bad about you. Go, read the bad reviews and negative comments about John’s book. It might make you feel better.

 

Here are some basic things that you must realise when you are staring at your numbers and trying to make sense of them.

 

1. Every single author whether published traditionally or not is going to have a different experience. Yes, there are some absolute no no’s and there are some good examples to be followed with hope of success. The only guarantee you get as an author is that you will work hard.

2. Luck has a hand in the entire outcome. Some people would argue with this. Let them. Ever heard one of those stories of someone happening to be in the right place at the right time and have something amazing happen? Me too. Not to say that you don’t have to work hard, but rather that sometimes an author gets lucky (not like that, honestly people focus.)

3. Genres are different and some sell better than others. Do you have more chance of selling books in the romance/erotica genre than in any other? Research would say yes. There are fads for each genre. Depending on what the current market trend is, you could do the exact same thing with your book two years in a row and get two completely different results. Sadly, a very poorly written book in one genre may outsell an excellent book in another genre.

4. Unless you are very strange, the call to be a writer was never about money in the first place. If you have given up all other forms of work to be a writer, you had better be dedicated, determined and have a thick skin. I am not saying you cannot support yourself with your writing, I am saying that until you have built enough of a following–until you have enough steady sales–you may have to do some piece work as well. Freelance writing can be tough, but it can also pay the bills when times are lean. You can also monetize your blog, should you have the desire to do so.

5. Being a lower ranking author is no different than being a top author from a major house when it comes to give and take. When a big name author puts their seal of approval on another author’s work, it may have actually been the publicist that arranged for those words to magically appear on that cover. When you don’t have a team of editors, publicists and so on behind you, then you do this work yourself. Either way you must learn to give and give often. Don’t make it all about you. Take a hint from the above mentioned author Charles Yallowitz

He is great at this particular aspect.

Share your blog with other authors who want to do guest posts. Read other author’s work and do the same thing you are asking of them. You didn’t get to where you are alone. You won’t go any further than you are alone either. Appreciate that others are going through the same thing.

6. Grow a pair. (Ladies this includes you too.) If you are going to make it in this world of hard selling your brand, name, book(s) to an audience of unadoring fans who have no idea who you are, find your inner self confidence. Doubt and negativity will only harm you.

If you were selling X number of books before and now you are only selling % number of books, this is called life. Do you really take the time to examine what this means? If you have 1 copy of your book in someone’s hands, you are reaching an audience you never would have reached if you had not published your book. 2 people is twice that many. Wow! What are you complaining about again? Two strangers who don’t know you from Adam are reading your work, possibly all the way across the world from you. How can this be a disappointment?

Ever heard of 6 degrees of separation? Really, go look it up. Yes, I really did plan for that to be part of #6. The rule in action.

7. Write your bum off. Seriously. Whether you write in multiple genres or the same genre, the most important thing if you intend to take the world by storm with your writing is that you keep putting out books. Everywhere you go, there you are. If you are dedicated to supporting yourself with your writing, then you must be disciplined and treat it like a full time job.

When you were working your past life job (pre writer) did you let the TV stop you from working? Did the other distractions stop you from doing your work. Not if you wanted a paycheck they didn’t. You know that nagging voice in your head telling you to get back to writing? Listen to it, that is your boss telling you to get back to work.

8. Take a break once in a while that does not include looking at your numbers, writing or doing anything with your own work. I love strawberries. They are quite possibly my favourite food of all time. If I ate them every day I would get sick of them. You will come to a point when your writing is shite and it reflects your mood. Get away from it for a while. Go outside, get vitamin D. Do something with your family, friends, whatever. Get away. Your audience will thank you when your characters do not suddenly commit suicide in the middle of your book.

9. When you are staring at those numbers you are not working.

 

10. Pick an author, any author. Now go do some research on them. How long did it take them to get their name out there and become famous? When did you publish your book again? A few months ago. Whew. You have really fallen behind. That other author only took ten years to get his book into print and five failed attempts before one took off, what are you waiting for?

 

So here are my final thoughts: If you want it bad enough you can do it. Some things are out of your control and always will be. Serenity prayer, unless you are an atheist. Then “Oh F*ck it” will work just as well. Look outside your bubble once in a while and see what the rest of the world is doing. Write, write, write. Edit and put out the best book you can. Have some self confidence. Learn as you go. Stop stressing and write. You didn’t sign up for this to increase your blood pressure and cholesterol. You signed up to increase your sales, your fame, your success.

 

And there is my Tuesday two cents.

Coin 23