Tag Archives | publishing

Analyzing your writing and publishing path.

I spent this past weekend with family, at soccer games, and celebrating birthdays. I squeezed in a few emails and I read like three blogs, but they made me think.

About writing.

And publishing.

And setting goals.

Though I was busy baking cupcakes and coaching soccer and talking about life, in the back of my mind were questions, ones I’m still thinking about.

We can’t keep living our writing life and career path as if it were 2005. Too much has changed. But even though I already made the incredible decision to self publish last year at about this time, there are still many aspects of my career to evaluate.

Here are some of the posts that got me thinking:

Katie’s or Creepy Query Girl’s on Are blog tours losing their promotional power?  Read the comments too!

Jody Hedlund’s on Is blogging a time suck for writer’s?  Again, read the comments.

Denise Grover Swank’s on A business plan for self published Writers Part one two and three.

  • Are blog tours really effective? Especially with ten going on every week? Especially with the effort it takes in organizing it?
  • How important is brand these days? Will branching out and trying something different spark my career in a new direction? Help me to grow as a writer?
  • How important are production schedules and planning years in advance?
  • What about blogging in general? The only thing that seems to sell a book is the book and word of mouth. Where does social media fit in? How do I use it effectively?
  • How am I spending my work time? How can I be more productive while growing in craft?
  • How can I push myself in the area of craft?
  • What about five year plans and adjusting for aspects of this business I can’t control?

I’ve come to my conclusions about some of these questions, and others I’m still thinking about. When have you taken the time to really evaluate your path and your decisions? Are they still from five years ago? Or even last year?

Let me know! I’d love to hear from you.

 

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Four steps to purchasing Indie books successfully.

I’m so excited to celebrate Indie authors this coming Fourth of July!

But first we have to find them. Read on to find out how!

 

It doesn’t matter what forums I go to the debate of self publishing is there, constant, whining like a mosquito in my ear.

“I stay away from free books.”

“Writers self publish because they couldn’t make it traditionally.”

“It’s all crap.”

This might be true in some cases. But the Indelibles wanted a way to change the stigma, to show that great Indies or Self Publishers – whichever you prefer – exist. So we created this INDIEpendence Day event to showcase these high quality books.

You can read all the rules and sign up at the Indelibles. We’d love for you to join us! And it can be a self published or small press book. What a great way to pay it forward and show the love!

How to sift through all the books and find the nuggets.

  1. Go to a traditional or self published book you love on Amazon. Click on the customers also bought and scroll through. Usually the self published books are 4.99 and lower but not always. I’ve also found some on Pixel of Ink, my Twitter feed, book bloggers, the Amazon free lists and paid lists…etc.
  2. Download a sample to preview later or click on the book and read the first pages. You know your tastes and the style you like.
  3. Read the reviews – specifically the 3 and 4 star ones. Look for the constructive criticisms not the rude ones. Are the downsides something you don’t mind?
  4. Purchase or don’t purchase. It’s that simple.

Of course, no matter how a book is published we might love opening pages and the reviews and then halfway through the book lose that lovin’ feeling. But in the opening pages you should be able to tell if the writing is up to par and a style you’ll enjoy. I know this process is really simple but by following it I’ve enjoyed almost every single self published and/or small press and/or traditionally published I’ve purchased.

So if you’ve recently read a small press or self published book I invite you to join us in paying it forward. Sign up here. And everyone who participates will be entered in for a prize. There’s a nifty Linky Link way to sign up!

How do you find books?

 

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The secret is out! My good news!

I signed my first book contract! Yay!

Here’s the official PM announcement that several of you pointed out to me!

Children’s: Middle grade

Laura Pauling’s HOW TO SURVIVE ANCIENT SPELLS AND CRAZY KINGS, convinced that her grandfather needs help, a twelve-year-old persuades her family to fly to the Mayan ruins of Tikal on a search and rescue mission; she and her brainy cousin sneak out and follow the clues to the ancient Maya city of Etza, where the people haven’t aged in 2,000 years; due to an ancient prophecy she must hurry…in three days the city will be destroyed, to Jennifer Carson at Pugalicious Press, in a nice deal, for publication in November 2012.

What can I say? It was a now or never kind of deal for me, especially with the whole 2012 Mayan apocalypse. I love this story. I love the philosophy behind Pugalicious Press so I went for it! There’s a longer story behind this story but that can come later.

Okay, and it was kinda cool to see the announcement.

I do feel like a total newbie at the announcement thing. People tweeted and emailed me before I knew it was out! Talk about bad planning. But better late than never. And thank you to anyone who emailed or tweeted their congrats!

I’m really excited to see this story out in the world next fall.

If we survive the apocalypse…

Check out the announcement on Pugalicious Press. I’m officially in the doghouse. Woo hoo!

Any questions about it? Ask away in the comments.

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Don’t hurry.

It’s New Year’s Eve.

Yes, I’m at home. The fire is going in the woodstove. I have a book ready to read. A part of me is really in the mood to watch TITANIC and I have no idea why.

In the next week everyone will be posting and tweeting about 2012 and their goals. And I’m sure there will be a flurry of posts about how to reach those goals. But it doesn’t matter about the planning – it’s about drive. If you really want to lose weight, you will. If you really want to write 3K words a day, you will. If you really want to learn to ride a unicycle, well, I wish you the best of luck!

I never write down my goals. They’re in my head. I know what I want to do. Every week I re-evaluate where I am and what I need to do differently. I’m just not a big New Year’s resolution kind of gal.

Lots of things will change for me this year. I started with a new avatar – a much needed new avatar. A new design on my blog will be coming – a much needed new design. My writing will take new directions.

The stars are calling me as I strap on my moonboots in preparation for the coming year.

But one thought weighs on my mind. This one thought is like my new mantra and I find myself saying it to people often.

Don’t hurry.

Don’t hurry the writing process or the publishing process whichever route you take. It’s better to do something excellent than just do it. Sure, obstacles slow us down but that’s okay.

Take your time.

Do it right. Do it excellent.

Bake some cookies. Play Monopoly with your kids.

Write and edit a story.

Just don’t put so much pressure on yourself that you hurry.

Here’s to an excellent year!

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