Running Out of Steam

Have you ever felt as if you were running out of steam on a writing project?

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a writing friend. It went something like this, 

"A while ago I started this blog post series because I really thought it was a great idea. I had much to say and and it seemed easy enough to say it. But now that I've completed a good number of posts, I seem to be running out of steam. I still believe in the idea, but I have lost my sense of excitement. I wonder if I should bring it to a halt or how I should handle this problem." 
She went on to ask, 

"1. Have you ever started a series of posts and then lost the "flavor of it"...?
2. What did you do? Did you abandon them, cut them short or did you persevere for the sake of practice and experience?"

I had a good chuckle. At that point I was busy with a series on my own blog that had grown stale (for me), and I was having to work to regain my enthusiasm! The interesting thing was, when I pushed myself to WRITE, and get the words down, what came out was okay. I'd read it again the next day and realize although I knew I'd battled, my readers wouldn't. 

Those who have done NaNoWriMo will recognize what I'm saying. The first week is exciting, your story flows, and your characters come alive. The second week is a bit tougher. But then comes the dreaded third week where you wonder what on earth possessed you to get involved in such a project. The leaders start saying, 'Don't give up! You can do this." We are urged to keep our eyes on the finishing line and keep writing.

So what's the answer?

Here is part of my reply to my friend. Think of it this way. If you were working in an office, would you stop work when you lost interest in your task? If your boss gave you a letter to type and you didn't feel in the mood, would you say, "Nah. Maybe tomorrow!" or would you plonk yourself down in your seat and type, whether you felt like it or not? 

If you were a nurse, would you ignore the patients you didn't feel like working with? If you were a teacher, would you look at your room full of ADD kids and decide to take the day off and maybe come back tomorrow? You may feel that way. But would you?

Writing is work - and we write because we are writers, not because we always feel like it. I think this is probably when you grow the most as a writer—when you have to discipline yourself to write even when you don't feel like it. 

Right now I have a deadline looming, two books to review, two blog posts due in the next few days, and a book I'm busy writing—and guess what? None of them appeal to me. I'd like to curl up on my bed with a good book (that I don't need to review.) But I'm a writer, and writers write. 

Can you imagine the frustration of reading a book, and then half way through the story peters out? Instead you read a note from the author: "I got fed up with this story so I've decided to write something else." If you're writing a series, that's what you're threatening to do to your readers. My guess is they'll never follow another series you write if you do that. So go sit down, take a deep breath, and write!

Having said all that, we're not meant to torture ourselves (or our readers) with badly written prose. So here are some techniques that can help.

1. Have more than one project on the go so that if you really dry up on one topic, you can skip it for the day, and work on another one.

2. Work in advance. Don't aim to meet your deadline. Beat your deadline. The deadline I mentioned to my friend is actually the end of January, but my own goal is to submit it before Christmas so I can relax and wait for the edits in the new year.

3. Take a day off writing and catch up on marketing or on promotional work. Take a look at your website. If it's anything like mine, there is always work to be done there. Then make sure you get back to the problem work the next day.

4. Take a look at 420 Fables.com. There is a paid version, but I've found the free one works just fine for me. You set yourself a time limit, although I've found the default time works well. I think of my topic, possibly the one that I'm battling with, and hit start. For 4 minutes and 20 seconds I type. I try not to stop and think. I don't check spelling or research facts. I just type. I have been amazed at some of the "fables" I've come up with. It helps to clear the cobwebs and gets me writing without listening to my internal editor. 

5. If all else fails, go and buy an ice-cream and walk along the beach. Get away from your computer for an hour or two, and when you come back discipline yourself to tackle your problem child and you may be surprised the new thoughts that come into your fresh brain. Okay, that's something the nurse, secretary and teacher can't do. But hey! That's one of the perks of being a writer. 

6.  If you find you are becoming truly overwhelmed with all your projects, maybe the time has come to "step away from the task" and see if there's something that needs to go. And no, I definitely don't mean stop half way through a series, or drop a contract, or fail to submit an assignment. But sometimes we need to look at our priorities. Are we trying to do too much?

I have been feeling that way myself for quite a while, and so I've come to a couple of decisions. I'm juggling too many balls in the air, and as is always the case, something begins to suffer. In my case, it's my writing. I've got so many projects going, I don't have time to write . . . actually write. I feel as if I'm running out of steam. 

I do blog posts, marketing, social media, emails, etc . . . I work for hours every day, but I have a book in progress that I don't get to. Of course this hasn't been helped by a year spiced with knee surgery, two websites being hacked and having to be rebuilt from scratch, my husband's broken shoulder and me scalding both hands. (See selfie I put up on Facebook at the time) . . . I could go on.

However, for the past few months I've been looking for ways to wind down, and unfortunately this blog is going to be one thing that needs to go. 

I've completed the series on blogging which we've been doing for some months, and this is my last post for the year. So this seems like the right time to step back. I've been writing for Writers on the Move for four years, and it's been fun. I've learned a lot and enjoyed being a part of this talented group of authors. But time has come for me to step down and hopefully give my space up to another writer.

I will definitely visit from time to time and try to keep up with the posts. Keep up the good work girls! I'll miss you. 

SHIRLEY CORDER lives on the coast in South Africa with her husband, Rob. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer, has brought encouragement and inspiration to a multitude of friends and contacts across the world.

Visit Shirley through ShirleyCorder.com where she encourages writers, or at RiseAndSoar.com where she encourages those in the cancer valley. You can also meet with her on Twitter or Facebook.

Sign up to receive a short devotional message from Shirley in your inbox once a week. 

What It Takes to Promote a Book

Today's post is part 5 of a 5-day virtual tour for Raiders and Horse Thieves, a new memoir from Jackie Ellis Stewart. This tour is sponsored by bestauthorinterviews.com.

Here, Jackie offers some insight into what it takes to promote a book and build a writer's platform.

Book Promotion 101 - One Author's Journey

It took time to write Raiders and Horse Thieves and was emotionally painful to relive all the events as I recorded them for posterity. The first publisher refused it and then changed their minds seven months later and published it a little less than a month ago. The hardest part of this project has been promoting the finished product. It’s entirely beyond my area of expertise.

My first impulse was to do what I always do: reach out to family and friends. I arranged for half a dozen friends in various far flung parts of the country to receive the book. Before sending them a copy, I asked if they would be willing to read the book, and if they liked it, to post a review on Amazon. We are Southern. If they hadn’t liked the book, they would simply have said nothing. I now have seven five star reviews on Amazon.

Two copies of the book have been delivered to the library in my community. The librarians have expressed an interest in sponsoring a memoir workshop in the near future. I will follow up on my offer in a month or so after Christmas.

A web site has been set up with easy access to my blog and information regarding my book. Snapshots have been posted in a slide show of pictures of my surroundings that changes with the season.

I post on the blog at least once a week and usually twice within a ten day period. The posting is always followed by an announcement of the posting title on Facebook.

An application has been sent to one of the major book stores in my home town for a book signing. My friends at church as well as all the people who play duplicate bridge with me are eagerly awaiting an opportunity to buy my book and have me sign it. Several have offered to hold private parties for me. Although this is incredibly flattering, I have refused and explained I need all book signings to be held in public places where the local press will free to attend.

Amazon ran out of copies of my book within hours of announcing its availability. When the book continued to be out of stock for more than ten days, I contacted the publisher and Amazon to track down the problem. I learned how many copies of the book were printed and how many had left the warehouse.

A half dozen copies of my book will be donated to the nearby larger municipal library. I will also inquire about the possibility of having someone interview me over their television channel.

There is a book store in Austin, Texas, that specializes in book signings for local authors. An inquiry will be sent them regarding the possibility of arranging an event there for me.

The public radio stations in my current home town as well as in Austin will receive copies of Raiders and Horse Thieves, Memoir of a Central Texas Baby Boomer along with a letter requesting a possible author interview.

Book marks and post cards have been made from photographs in the book along with the title of the book and the web site address. A number of these post cards have been mailed to friends living far away to inform them of the publication.

A dozen book marks along with a dozen post cards have been mailed to my friends who reviewed the book for them to share with anyone they know who might enjoy my book. Word of mouth is one of the greatest means of publicity.

A book signing event will be scheduled in a local restaurant in the town where I was born. All the people who attended grammar school with me as well as everyone who finished high school with that class will be invited.

My daughters will join me in Texas for the book signing events there. We will hold a special event in my sister’s antique shop for childhood friends and family.

This is only the beginning. I’m sure there will be more promotional avenues to be pursued, and I look forward to finding them. Good promotion is the only way to build a writing platform.

# To follow all 5 days of this virtual tour, start the tour at www.bestauthorinterviews.com.

Taking Stock

The end of the year is upon us. Where did our time go? What happened to our goals? Our dreams?

All too often our ability to procrastinate has a way of getting us off track. All too soon the new year will be here, so now is a great time to review 2015 - and prepare for 2016.

If you had established goals last January, dig them out. If your goals were specific, you should have no difficulty determining how well you did. If they are more general, the answer may be more unclear, but it will provide guidance for next year's goal setting.

Review each goal and give your self a grade, then grade your work overall.

If you did not set goals last year, you can still review 2015. How did you do specifically in the following categories:

1. Writing:
     a. New work: Did you start at least one new long project? Many short projects each month?
     b. Editing: Did you work on editing your latest novel? Did you spend significant time editing your short pieces?
     c. Submitting/Publishing: Did you submit to magazines, agents, publishers your finished work(s)?

2. Marketing:
     a. Social Media: Did you work to keep your fans updated on your work on a regular basis? Posting to a variety of social media sites?
     b. Did you explore and develop places to share your writing in person? Local bookstores, libraries, or coffee shops?
     c. Did you keep your author's portfolio updated?

December is a great time to complete some of your unfinished projects and clear away the old to get ready for January and the new. Happy Holidays to all of you,

____________________________________

D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, House of Glass, Book 2 of The Exodus Serieswas written with 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 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

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

Writers - Start the Day Off Right!

I often tell my coaching clients that the most important thing in life is that they are happy.

After all, it doesn't really matter how much money you make, how many books you write, or how many clients you have if you're miserable.

The good news is, it's probably easier to be happy than you might think.

In fact, you simply need to decide to be happy, then train yourself to be happy, no matter what.

To do this, set up little rituals that help you start the day right.

Create a gratitude journal, and every morning, first thing, list at least a dozen things you're grateful for. You may not think you'll have 12 things to be grateful for every morning, but you will. For example, if you slept well the night before and woke up feeling good, that is something to be grateful for.

Besides your gratitude journal, look for other morning rituals to help you begin your day in a happy, grateful, productive state of mind.

Take your morning coffee outside (weather permitting) and enjoy the sunrise.

Go for a walk with your pet, your spouse, or by yourself.

Something else you might start doing is making a habit of watching The Morning Nudge on youtube each morning.

The upbeat music, beautiful scenes of the sea, and the words of encouragement should help you get in the right frame of mind as you start your work day. Here's a sample Nudge to watch:



Once you train yourself to start the day in a happy state of mind, you'll probably find that your entire day goes much better and your writing seems to flow.

Try it!

Suzanne Lieurance is a fulltime freelance writer, writing coach, certified life coach, and the author of over 30 published books. Visit her website at www.suzannelieurance-author.com.

10 Goals for Your Blog

The beginning of the year means a clean slate. Even if you fell off the blog-wagon sometime this year, you will be able to start anew in just a few short weeks. Here are 10 goals to set your blog up for success in 2016.

1. Stay on Theme. Most people use blogging to illustrate their expertise. However it’s easy to get off topic and sway from your focus. This year, make a goal to always blog in tune to your mission statement, theme or tag line. Don’t have a tag line? Write one. What short phrase describes your blog? Come up with about 20 ideas and pick the best one. Then, whenever you start to write a blog post, you can ask yourself if it fits your tag. If it does, perfect. If it doesn’t, figure out a way so it’s in-line with your blog or save it for a later writing project.

2. Blog Consistently. Decide on how often you want to post a new blog, and then stay on schedule. Pick one or two days a week. (Note they should be the same day or days.) Then stick to your schedule. Set up an expectation for your audience, so they know what days to come to your blog to read a new post. And don’t let them down.

3. Write Complete Content. All blog posts should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Make sure you adhere to some sort of structure and that your thoughts are complete, so the content you create is valuable and easy to understand. Don’t forget to add a call to action to comment or share at the end of each post.

4. Edit Posts. Nothing gives a hit to your credibility quite like spelling and grammatical errors. Before hitting publish, take a little time to review your posts. Run spell check, read it out loud, read it backwards (that’s a fun trick for finding errors). Or do all of the above. Properly edited posts look professional and are an awesome reflection on you!

5. Add Images. You probably already know that every post should have an image to illustrate your point and draw in readers. If you want, use a site like Canva or PicMonkey to create a custom image with your blog post title. You can use this at the top of your articles and to promote it on social media sites.

6. Categorize and Tag Content. Whenever you create content, put it in the relevant category on your blog – it’s an excellent way to keep your posts organized. Also, add tags (keywords) to make your article easy to find when people search.

7. Keep Ahead of Schedule. Notice I said “ahead of” not “on” schedule, though that’s important too. If you find you have some extra time, write a few blog posts in advance. Try to have articles that are due, ready to go a week in advance. That way you are not constantly struggling to make deadline. Plus, it will help with goal #2: Blog Consistently.

8. Share. Share each post on all your social networks. People can’t read your posts if they do not know about them.

9. Step It Up. You know that big interview you’ve been wanting to purse? Or that article you keep meaning to write, but put off because it’s “so much work”? How about your decision to start a podcast or do video interviews? Well, stop talking about it and start doing it. This is your year. Do what you can to add extra value, multimedia and/or oomph to your blog. You’ve reached goals 1 – 8. You’ve got this. Now, step it up!

10. Enjoy Your Blog. This is something I find myself saying regularly: Everything you work on should be at least a little bit (if not a lot) fun for you. If you are not enjoying the content you write, write something else. You can’t expect your audience to become invested in it … or in you as a writer … if you are not enthusiastic about your material. It’s your blog, you created it for a reason. Have fun with it!

Post your blog link in the comments, so we can all enjoy your writing too! Happy Blogging!

Note: I employed nearly all of these tactics in writing this post. Still working on #7: once a writer on deadline, always a writer on deadline ...

* * *

Debra Eckerling is a writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of Guided Goals and Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. 

She is the host of the Guided Goals Podcast and author of Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages. 

She is an editor at Social Media Examiner and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Secrets to Getting Your Book into University Libraries, Bookstores and More

Q&A A La Ann Landers

Getting Your Book into Campus Libraries and More!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

QUESTION

Re university bookstores:
 I know that Random House had my book in their catalog targeting educational sellers. Is there more than that I can do? How would I 

1. identify them and

2. approach them?

             

ANSWER

I'm going to use my husband's experience with his What Foreigners Need to Know About America from A to Z as an example because he was so successful with it. 

He put together a form letter (which he tweaks) depending on who he is sending it to. He goes online and finds areas on campus that could use his book. That includes 

1. Libraries

2. International Student Programs 

3. International Student Course Teachers 

4. Campus Bookstore Buyers

5. ESL classes through extension

He spends about 30 minutes a day sending the letter to the correct person when possible. Sometimes that's only one contact. Some days, when research goes well, it's three or four.  He's had some amazing successes like having his book chosen as gifts/recommendations by the university that hosts the Fulbright Scholars in the US each summer. There is a cost to it beyond time. He offers a free book to those influencers who show an interest, but these most often don't result in single book sales, either. The top sale we could trace to his letters (it's sometimes easier for self-published authors to trace sales to a specific effort) was 59 copies. 

Be aware, that if you find an instructor who recommends your book or uses is at class reading, the bookstore often stocks the book automatically. But not always. It doesn’t hurt to mention in a separate query or phone call that your book was ordered for a specific class or that Professor X showed an interest in your book.  

One more secret. He keeps at it. 

Here’s an alternative that isn't as frugal and not as effective because the contact is not personal (but it’s a lot less time-consuming!):

 IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) had a catalog that they send out to libraries, a separate one to university libraries and one to reviewers.  I've used that program. It can be good...or not. Depending on the title. 

-----

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. All her books for writers are multi award winners including the first edition of The Frugal Book Promoter published in 2003. Her The Frugal Editor, now in its second edition, won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts. 

The author loves to travel. She has visited eighty-nine countries and has studied writing at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University, Prague. She admits to carrying a pen and journal wherever she goes. Her Web site is www.howtodoitfrugally.com.

The Magic of Word-Count Graphs

I am not generally a particularly fast writer.  But in November, which is National (or International) Novel Writing Month, I can consistently pump out 50,000-60,000 words in 30 days.  This is my sixth year accomplishing this feat, and despite the high word count, it's always been good-quality draft.  I have never been able to write so much in any other month at any other time of my life.  So I got to thinking about why.

Part of it's the togetherness of it, the belonging to a group of people with like goals, the support from the organization and friends who are doing the same thing. 

But another big factor, for me, is one simple thing:  the word-count graph.  On Nanowrimo's website, you can update your word count as often as you want (and I often do it more than once a day).  It shows your progress on a nice little bar graph and calculates how far behind or ahead you are.  It's magic for me, this visual representation of concrete progress on a concrete goal.  So I thought:  why not try to apply the same thing when it's not November? 

I did an internet search and found an application I'm going to try:  pacemaker.press.  It lets you set goals by word count, by scene count, and various other measurements.  You can also set different pace styles:  steady, front-loaded, increasing, random, etc.  You can set it for higher workload on weekends or other days.  It tracks your progress with graphs.  It seems like it might be a great tool for me.

So I'm going to test it this month and report next month.  In Nanowrimo, the goal is words.  I got my words in November:  58,000 of them.  But I didn't quite finish the novel.  I calculate there are about 15 more scenes I need to write.  So I'm going to try pacemaker by scene count, and finish by Christmas.  We'll see how it works. 

If any of you know of similar word count trackers you've used and like, please add them in the comments below.  Happy writing!

Update, 1-3-16:  See my report here:  Pacemaker Press--A Word Count Graph

Melinda Brasher currently teaches English as a second language in the beautiful Czech Republic.  She loves the sound of glaciers calving and the smell of old books.  Her travel articles and short fiction appear in Go Nomad, International Living, Electric Spec, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and others.  For an e-book collection of some of her favorite published pieces, check out Leaving Home.  For something a little more medieval, read her YA fantasy novel, Far-Knowing. Visit her online at http://www.melindabrasher.com.