Writers On The Move

The Many Hats of Writers

With fewer traditional publishers willing to publish new authors and the overall publishing industry getting harder books published, today's writers must wear many hats by necessity.

Today’s writer has two options, DIY or outsource. Outsourcing can become expensive and some writers may not be able to afford outsourcing, so that leaves DIY.

The hats of DIY that writers must wear.

Writer
Editor
Proofreader
Publisher
Promoter
Marketer
PR person
Video Creator
Retailer/Wholesaler
Booking Agent
Web Designer
Content Creator
Web Manager
Content Manager
Social Media Manager
Networking Manager
Shipping Manager
Bookkeeper
Entrepreneur
Record Keeper

So much for time to write. If you want to be a writer, you’ll find the time to write. No one ever said the writing is easy in today’s writing market.

Writing take dedication and hard work to be successful, whatever that means to you. Only a few writers make it big, the rest work hard and with some luck and hard work can make some money writing.

Writing is a calling, not a way to get rich unless you come up with the next “Harry Potter”, which rarely happens. There is a good deal of luck in making it big. J. K. Rowling the author of the “Harry Potter” series, was rejected 12 times before a friend of her daughter read it and told to her father about how good it was. He took a chance on publishing it, we know how well that went.

If you are a writer that must DIY everything because you just don’t have the money for a literary agent, which can cost thousands of dollars, if you can find one to take a chance on your book, you will have to wear many hats and learn what you need to get your book in front of readers.

This article is to enlighten you about the uphill battle you face as you work toward publication, and getting your book into the reader’s hands.

Robert Medak

Freelance Writer/Blogger/Editor/Proofreader/Reviewer/Marketer

http://www.authorsden.com/robertmedak

http://rjmedak.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/freelancewrtr

Real Life Can Challenge the Writing Life

Writing is one of the most important things in my life but this summer I find myself balancing more than I have ever had to before. We are relocating 3 hours away so many of our days are met with traveling back and forth to the new house while trying to maintain the home we live in until it sells. Add in interviewing for a new nursing job for myself and my husband getting adjusted to his promotion and you can have a ball of stress if you allow it. So how do you keep writing, marketing, and social networking at the forefront when life is moving so fast all around you?

Balancing stress, real life activities and writing can be a challenge. Here are some of the tips I have found helpful during this life changing season of our lives.

Get organized: I am reorganizing every aspect of my writing as I prepare to move my home office from our old house to our new home. I spend a couple hours each day going through old papers, getting rid of old information and filing new information that has piled up around me. Pretty file folders make if fun and stand out in my drawer against the plain manila folders I also have. Newer projects get the new fancy folders.

Continue to pursue new avenues: I have continued to look for writing jobs for at least a half hour per day on my regular job sites. My writing resume is updated and I can easily write a quick cover letter to accompany the resume so applying to at least 2-4 jobs per week remains a constant goal. And it works. I have acquired two more paying jobs this month.

Ration writing time: I spend at least 5 hours a week writing the paid assignments I have to do on a weekly basis. The paid blogs I write for are pre-scheduled so I can write them all at the same time or I can grab writing time in short increments and still pre-schedule the posts to appear on the date they are due.

Continue an online presence: While I have limited the time I spend on Facebook and other social networks, I continue to blog, make comments on other blogs, and make 2-4 Twitter posts per day about my writing. I limit the time I am online otherwise I can find myself distracted and under productive, so social networking only takes 15 -30 minutes of my time. I also do some of that on my phone while waiting for my turn at other activities. But the truth is that marketing your work can't wait. Keeping an online presence and marketing yourself and your work will enhance your presence when you get up to full speed again.

Keep the notebook handy: I have a notebook in my bag for jotting down ideas that I don’t have the time to pursue at the moment. I have jotted several book ideas that have come to mind during this move that maybe viable. (Relocating and redefining your life pre-retirement and into retirement when you are not a millionaire may be a lucrative idea)

Relax: It is also important to relax and enjoy the process of writing. Enjoy the real life challenges that you have been asked to face in this life. And enjoy a few hours of free time, reading a good book or relaxing on a beach, resting in the afternoon, or enjoying a hot fudge sundae in front of an old movie. Relaxation allows us to rejuvenate even if we only grab a few minutes.

The important thing is to keep the writing fresh and at the forefront but to know when I have to stay off the computer for a day or two to attend to the move, my husband, and our new adventure. Even when not online though, writing is not far from my heart and a pen and paper are never far from my fingertips.

Terri Forehand

The Gift of Feedback

Feedback, otherwise referred to as constructive criticism, can make the heart beat a bit faster. Each of us, in our lifetime, have been subjected to this feedback, yet society doesn't tell us either how to give or receive feedback well. Consequently, even when our intent is to help another, the feedback we give feels hurtful or mean. With writers, too often, this "constructive criticism" may stop a person from writing.

Some suggestions: When giving feedback:
1. Ask for permission first. "May I make a suggestion . . ." This gives the person the option of saying, "no."

2. Use "I" statements. "I have found . . ."

3. Remember that even though you may appreciate and accept feedback well, others may be more sensitive to criticism. Keep that in mind and adapt your comments to reflect how they may be received by someone else.

4. Do not say something to someone on-line that you would not say if that person was standing in front of you.

Some suggestions: For receiving feedback:
1. Resist the urge to become defensive. Remember, it is difficult to give feedback too!

2. Take a deep breath. You are not perfect. No one is. We all have things we can work on. This is not about whether you are liked or not.

3. Listen. Then find the truth. Okay, so we are all not perfect. We all have things we can work on. Somewhere in the criticism there will be a suggestion that will allow you to take your writing to the next level. The message might be filled with untruths, but somewhere, trust me, will be something that can be taken and used. So consider and evaluate the criticism. Then decide how to act.

4. Ask for help with your writing challenge. If you need it, ask. Trust me, there are people who want to help.

Finally, thank the person who have you a gift, the gift of believing you are worthy of feedback.

_____________________________________

D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a Young Adult Science Fiction series. Her latest book, Flight from the Water Planet, Book 1 of The Exodus Series was written with her coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.

D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole and, Perception. The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.

She has also compiled a collection of short inspirational material for writers in The Write Balance, Journaling the Writer's Life.

She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com

Her novels are available in electronic format here, or print format here.

You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook

Facebook Timeline Banner

My tip for July is short and sweet...

Want to spruce up your Facebook Timeline Banner? There is a FREE website where you can design your very own Facebook Timeline Banner - http://timelinecoverbanner.com and it's quite simple. They have step-by-step instructions including templates and the option to upload your own photos.

Samples of Facebook Timeline Banners I've created:

Donna McDine, Award-winning children's author: https://www.facebook.com/DonnaMcDine#

Guardian Angel Kids Ezine: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Guardian-Angel-Kids-Ezine/163785080346247

Carol Fraser Hagen, Literacy Specialist: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003533171478

Be creative and have fun!

BIO: Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author. Her stories, articles, and book reviews have been published in over 100 print and online publications. Her interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing The Golden Pathway. Donna has four more books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, Hockey Agony, Powder Monkey, A Sandy Grave, and Dee and Deb, Off They Go. She writes, moms and is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel Kids and owner of Author PR Services www.authorprservices.com from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the SCBWI. Visit www.donnamcdine.com.

The Power of Less

I love words. Because I was so enamored with words, before I could read, I would memorize each page in a book. Then if my parents weren't available, I could "read" to myself. Words were my friends. The more, the merrier. When I became a writer I learned that less is more.

I don't naturally do well with the writer's scissors. I'm wordy. Most of my edits involve simplifying phrases and cutting unnecessary words . For instance, my opening sentence initially was "I love words, be they written or spoken." Although I liked that last half, the sentence only required the first three words. I have four tools tips that help me make perform surgery on my words.

Create your own cut list. Make a list of common words you can cut. Some examples are: that, who, there (there is, there are), and, very, really, just, quite, perhaps, but, however, well, also. Using a word search I find each instance of a word. If I can rewrite the sentence or it holds it's essence without that word, it hits the cutting floor.

Replace or cut repetitive words and phrases. In each piece, we all have words or phrases we overuse. Highlight those words or phrases, then either replace or cut it. In one short story I was able to reduce my word count by fifteen by removing the word apparently.

Cut by 25%. I write devotions so this is a bit easier for me. If my devotion is 400 words, I cut it down to 300 words. I repeat the process until it is tight but with soul. For novels, you can do this by chapter.

Read it aloud. You can find word flow issues when you read aloud. I've cut words by rearranging and removing sentences that broke up the flow of the piece. This is not always a quick process. But it's worth the effort.

After applying these tips, you'll find that you didn't need the words that met the scissors. Writing for clarity means determining what's dead wood and removing it. It's not always easy, but definitely necessary.

About the Author:

Marietta "Mari" Taylor is the the author of Surviving Unemployment Devotions To Go. Find out more about Mari at her blog or her website, www.mariettataylor.net.

If It Ain't Broke

Whatever happened to the adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."? It seems these days everyone is trying to fix things or improve them only to the detriment of the users of said things.

Take for example Google and Gmail, earlier this year Google and Gmail (part of the Google family) revamped everything. The new look on Gmail was very stark and difficult to read; one had to change backgrounds or themes in order to tell where the email box started and ended. If that wasn't enough, blogger dashboards changed, again making it difficult to navigate and really read. Our eyes deteriorate over time and with all this starkness and inability to see where one line ends or begins it makes life a little more difficult. The idea behind any of these updates or improvements is to make life easier, or at least that is my understanding.

I've adapted to a couple of those changes but then Yahoo has to jump on board making changes and making things more difficult. If you belong to any of the Yahoo forums and have signed up for the daily digest as opposed to individual emails to be kept updated on what is happening in the group, you may be aware of the change in the look of the digest. Again, this change has not made things easier but more difficult. My generation has enough difficulties without adding more to the mix. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I wonder who will be the next on board to make changes that supposed to make things easier but only complicate or worsen things. If you don't like the changes Yahoo has made to their digest, let them know. Maybe they will go back to the old version. Not much can be done to change Google's blogger dashboard or email back to the old version but it never hurts to try. Let them know that everything was fine the old way and you want it kept that way.

In writing, it is the same. If you have ways that work for you and someone suggests a new and improved way that is supposed to make it easier for you but doesn't, then you don't have to fix what you are already doing to appease someone else. If whatever you are doing is working for you and it's not broken and doesn't need fixing, then don't fix it. If on the other hand, the suggested change really does make a difference, makes things easier on you or fixes the problem areas you are having, then by all means, definitely embrace the change and make the most of it. Only make changes that are really fixes to broken ways or that will really make things easier on you.

SPECIAL DEALS: I've got some specials running through the month of July, all of which can be found over on my blog - ebooks, afghans and crocheted kindle or nook sleeves and/or tablet sleeves, pluse I've decided to reduce the cost of the chances for the red, white and blue afghan drawing to $1 each. This will be a permanent change and will be posted on both my main website and the JGDS blog soon.

See you all in the postings - E :)

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Elysabeth Eldering
Author of FINALLY HOME, a middle grade/YA paranormal mystery (written like a Nancy Drew mystery)
http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com
http://eeldering.weebly.com

Guest Post with Sands Hetherington: How Kids Inspire Us as Writers

I am an old man and live on the edge of town with my two Saint Bernards Dudley and Maggie. Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Sacre is my first children’s book and another is coming out in the fall. And now let me cut to the chase and tell you how Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare came about.

I raised my son John as a single parent from the time he was six. I can't remember exactly: Maybe one night John wanted more story and I was tired of reading and suggested he invent a buddy to go off to sleep with. Or maybe he did it spontaneously. He was six, I think. Anyway, before I knew it, John came up with this red crocodile named Crosley. I was duly charmed, and we started batting Crosley ideas around at night and making up episodes. Crosley got to be a real member of the family.

In many ways the thing was ready-made for me, but I did need to figure out why on earth Crosley was red. I couldn't just dump something like that into a story without explaining. (I was determined not to leave the red part out; this was Crosley's trademark feature!)

It finally occurred to me: Crosley was red because he was allergic to water! In a roundabout way, that is. If he got any water on him, he broke out doing the Black Bottom dance and had to go on for hours and hours. Unless he took his antidote pills. These stopped the Black Bottom well enough but did have a side-effect, and you surely know what this was: they turned him red! This was fine with Crosley, though: "Not that I mind that part a bit. Cause when people see me now, they know not t' get me wet."

I give John most of the credit. He invented Crosley the red crocodile and all I did was figure out why he was red and drop the two new Night Buddies into a situation. I like to think of John as the writer and myself as the editor and rewrite man. John is thirty-two now and Crosley is obviously still a member of the family.

The second book in the series (the one coming out this fall) is called Night Buddies, Imposters, and One Far-Out Flying Machine. It features John and Crosley, is much longer, and introduces a bunch of new characters. My favorite part is the fantastic flying machine that I really can't talk about here. I hope you'll check it out, though, and thanks again for inviting me in.

Sands Hetherington

About the Book:

Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare is the first in a series featuring John, a young city kid who isn't ready for bed yet, and Crosley, a bright-red crocodile who shows up in his room to rescue him and take him on an adventure.

Night Buddies is an astonishing and inventive adventure with unforgettable cast of characters that will make you laugh and win over your heart. The book has lots of thoughtful, multi-layered twists, giggles, and perils -- things kids can relate to and enjoy.

Publisher: Dune Buggy Press; One edition (June 1, 2012)

ISBN-10: 0984741712

ISBN-13: 978-0984741717

Get a sneak peek of the book at http://tinyurl.com/7xxl8qw

About the Author:

Sands Hetherington credits his son John for being his principal motivator. Sands raised his son as a single parent from the time John was six. He read to him every night during those formative years. He and young John developed the Crosley crocodile character in the series during months of bedtime story give-and-take. Sands majored in history at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and has an M.F.A. in creative writing and an M.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro. He lives in Greensboro.

The World of Ink Network will be touring author Sands Hetherington’s nighttime adventure for kids, Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare published by Dune Buggy Press all through July and August 2012.

You can find out more about Sands Hetherington’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/6vgevbh

To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit http://worldofinknetwork.com