Hi Everyone,

  I writing an article listing the pros and cons of self-pub vs traditional publishing through a legitimate publishing house. I'm asking for basic information. NO exact numbers but truthful insight on whether or not the professional author trying to make a living is actually making a living with their writing career.

Below are a list of questions. If you have a moment and don't mind answering, I'd be grateful.

Thanks

Tara

To all my self-pub author friends, I've got a few questions. If you've got the time please email me at tara@taranina.com with the answers to the following:

1. What is the average cost spent per book in editorial fees?

2. How much of your time is spent formatting the book, prepping it to publish as in minutes, hours?

3. What is the average cost spent per professional book cover?

4. What is the average cost spent promoting each new release?

5. In truth, how much of a return on your investment do you actually see? Do you simply break even or are you actually making money?

6. How many hours are spent from start to finish on the self-pub process, obtaining a proper editor, picking the perfect cover, formatting for every venue, etc?

I'd greatly appreciate anyone who has a moment to truthfully answer these questions by posting their comments below.

Writers need opportunities. We give feedback. 

WriterAdvice seeks flash fiction, memoir, and creative non-fiction running 750 words or less. Enlighten, dazzle, and delight us. Finalists receive responses from all judges. First prize is $200. Submit to the 10^th WriterAdvice Flash Prose Contest by April 21, 2015. Complete details at www.writeradvice.com. 

Questions? Please ask. 

How to market to multiple book review websites at once

The K-Instant Dashboard is a powerful online tool that every writer / publisher need to acquire for themselves. It is a do-it-yourself website application that can instantly promote your Amazon books to thousands of readers every time it is used. This web server was developed by Rachal Rofe, a U.C Berkeley graduate with degrees in English Literature and Software Engineering. The playing video above explains everything you need to know about this program.

Even though the K-Instant application is now closed to new buyers, writers who are still interested in this program can take of advantage of it through the Indie Writers Support initiative, which allows any author to apply for the mass promotion with a $10 payment. The I.W.S. staff member will handle the rest, including setting up your book details (the book cover, keywords, synopsis, sample reads, and even your contact email if you choose to) for submission to the associated book-review websites.

Your book(s) will be submitted to these 16 appealing websites immediately every time it is used:

• E-reader News to Day
• The E-reader Cafe
• Pixel of ink
• Indie Book of the day
• Frugal Free Bies
• Free Digital Reads
• Kindle book Promos
• Digital Books Today
• Get Free Books
• Book Deal Hunter
• Its Write Now
• E Reader Perks
• Book Goodies
• Free Book Dude
• Erotica Everyday
• E-Books Habit

Apply for the program at, http://j.mp/1o7wZuA

The video below was illustrated by the owner of the program herself, and it will show you how you can run your book promotions with this program..

That's not all. In addition to having your book added to these great websites, this application also let you promote your book to the twenty-two Facebook groups listed below with one push of button. That's right. All you'll have to do is compose a message about your book that you want posted to these Facebook groups (each with an average of 5,000 members or more) and press send. The book message will post on the Facebook groups' walls instantly.

These are the Facebook groups that you will be able to promotion to anytime and every time:

Some of the first things new writers are told is to write what you know, and to show, and not tell. Russian playwright and author Anton Checkhov is credited with having said “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass,” underscoring the latter. Showing can be a powerful tool when used with discretion, but all too often new authors forget to do this, preferring instead to paint their word pictures with broad strokes rather than choose a finer brush.

I’ve often written about how writing is a construct, something artificial made to seem real. Everything authors do, from creating and recreating setting, penning plot, and/or developing character and dialogue is not real. Everything about any given scene is there for a purpose; the trick is to add them subtly so they seem happenstance.

To read more, see http://eliseabram.com/glints-of-light-on-broken-glass-the-art-of-showing-in-writing/

Academy of American Poets

A price of $5,000 is given annually for a second book of poetry by a U.S. poet that will be published in the forthcoming year. The winner also receives an all-expense-paid weeklong residency at the Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Copies of the winning book are purchased and distributed to approximately 1,000 members of the Academy of American Poets. U.S. publishers may submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages that has come under contract and will be published in 2016 by May 15. There is no entry fee. Visit www.poets.org/awards for more details.

Arrowhead Regional Arts Council - Fellowships and Grants

Individual Artist Fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to Minnesota writers, and Career Development Grants of up to $3,000 each are given twice a year to Minnesota writers to persue a specific arts opportunity. Poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who are U.S. citizens, at least 18 years of age, and have lived in Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, or St. Louis counties in northeastern Minnesota for at least six months are eligible. Using the online submission system, submit up to 10 pages of poetry or 15 pages prose, a description of the work sample, an application, a project description and budget, and a resume of up to two pages by April 30. There is no entry fee. Visit www.aracouncil.info for more details.

Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge

A prize of $1,000 will be given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction published in the previous year that "illuminates the heritage of America's mid-continental prairies." Authors and publishers may submit two copies of a poetry collection, a short story or essay collection, a novel, or a memoir published in 2014 by April 30. There is no entry fee. Visit www.praireheritage.org for more details.

Loft Literary Center

Grants of up to $10,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in the state of Minnesota for at least one year. Writers who have published no more than two books in any genre are eligible to apply. Using the online submission system, submit 15 to 20 pages of poetry or 20 to 30 pages of prose, an artist proposal, a biographical statement, a preliminary budget, and a resume by April 3. There is no entry fee. Visit www.loft.org for more details.

Passaic County Community College - Paterson Fiction Prize

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a novel or short story collection published in the previous year. Publishers may submit books published in 2014 by April 1. There is no entry fee. Visit www.pccc.edu/poetry for more details. 

Ploughshares - Emerging Writer's Contest

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Ploughshares are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Writers who have not published a book or chapbook are eligible. Submit three to five pages of poetry or up to 6,000 words of prose by May 15. There is no entry fee FOR CURRENT PLOUGHSHARES SUBSCRIBERS. Visit www.pshares.org for more details.

Poetry Foundation

Five fellowships of $28,000 each are given annually to emerging poets. Writers who are U.S. citizens between the ages of 21 and 31 as of April 30 are eligible. Using the online submission system, submit 10 pages of poetry, a one-page writer's statement, and a list of publications by April 30. There is no entry fee. Visit www.poetryfoundation.org/foundation/prizes_fellowship for more details.

St. Francis College - Literary Prize

A prize of $50,000 is given biennially for a third, fourth, or fifth published book of fiction. Self-published books and English translations are eligible. Submit five copies of a short story collection or novel published between June 1, 2013, and May 31, 2015, by May 1. There is no entry fee. Visit www.sfc.edu/literaryprize for more details.

Visit us at www.indiewritersupport.com for more updated News.

Register to be a member of this lucrative Indie Writers Support Network at http://indiewritersupport.com/?xgi=5L8oWKMvg5p6f5

If you are already a member, Sign in from here, http://indiewritersupport.com/main/authorization/signIn?target=http://indiewritersupport.com

Invite your Friends and Colleagues to join us by using this link, http://indiewritersupport.com/main/invitation/new?xg_source=tab

Taking time out, especially when travelling, focuses the imagination upon the passing trivia, amongst other things, and the potential in that as well as the challenge of the less mundane when it presents itself. I refer to trains sometimes in my stories, because I like travelling in them I suppose. I love their sedate rhythm and pace, even high speed seems to relax one into silent reflection. A mini encampment of reticule and essential items within easy reach,I travel light, is a comforting reminder of self-sufficiency and the welcome prospect of an unencumbered continuation to the journey. Room to stretch imagination and limbs. These self-imposed limitations facilitate wider opportunities to observe and contemplate. Extracting a mood out of which to create the next sentence, or catch a new idea for a title and theme.  

 As the hours eat up the miles I think of the different accounts each fellow traveller might give, Chaucer like, on the move, to lessen the load of that potentially wearisome predicament.  Then I lapse into the luxury of closing my eyes and drifting into sleepy momentum where the thoughts tumble and retreat and images come to mind.  On opening them again, now rested, the view from the window has changed. It’s a long journey.

This is where the sight of the spontaneous juxtaposition is for me a thrill. A limping grey tabby, suddenly moving quite quickly, in spite of its disability, along the detritus and graffiti adorned walls of the back of a block of flats, as the train reaches the near edges of the next urban mass.Here we will interrupt the miles and make a connection underground. Another set of possibilities. At what point do we meet the characters in their day? They speed past inside the crowded, metallic containers, our eyes meeting and parting fleetingly, before the shapes disappear from view into the dark. Full of short stories and anecdotes, sometimes poetic gems, like small films, made in focussed frames and concentrated space. These players exit too soon and the moment is passed. But an expression and stance remains with me which I will hold on to.

Another screen appears to be deciphered anxiously, and the crowd, waiting to be connected, using time until the sign to join their chosen carrier appears, suddenly surges towards the point of imminent departure. Carriage, seat, high or low? The perspective and position start to work on the imagination again.   

I have an idea as I watch the woman, sitting underneath the image of a sleeping mobile phone, rushing to find her phone, which is ringing loudly, emphatically. She fumbles with embarrassment and is amused at the same time. What does this tell me about her and the menage she is part of, or apart from?

All is at peace once more and the reflection, on the ceiling, from the seat in front, gazes at me because I seemed to find something amusing. Our reflections meet, I turn away and imagine what someone else must make of my reactions.

Suddenly the landscape changes and the houses become familiar, standing rectangular and light in isolated groupings which will soon become larger settlements and eventually a reason to leave this temporary, scenic route.

Watching the exits and entrances as the train waits, the platform is wet,but the people seem at one and in quiet acceptance of it. The glass lift propels them heaven wards and we move out. Time to collect my thoughts and hope I remember what entertained and perplexed. I wrote some of it down, but held the rest at bay as I wanted to mull it over.

The air is cooler than usual as we step out and the mood calmly serious, unflustered and functional.

Three men walk ahead in automatic conversation, their accents different,their gait sympathetic with each other’s. They are in their own story which might have begun as ours had, earlier on in the day, but in another place with a different course to run. They are intent and edgy as they turn off the main drag and disappear, without turning. I have another idea to conjour with, new dynamics to explore and define, an entrance for that fleeting expression of fixed bewilderment which passed by as I stood, waiting for the right connection.      

Telling The Stories of Those Too Often Ignored

Throughout the past four years I have met many people, now friends, who for various reasons are, or were, homeless.

Antonio, slept on a park bench and was beaten, had his teeth kicked out, for no other reason than his choice to sleep outdoors. He is a small, gentle man who has a phobia about enclosed spaces.

Craig, slept on the sidewalk in the freezing cold. I saw him every morning,  was never sure if, when I lifted the corner of his sleeping bag, I would find him dead or alive. Sometimes, he confided, he would have preferred never to awake.

Joy,  fell on hard times. She slept behind a dumpster in back of Starbucks. I saw her with blackened eyes, bruised legs, cracked ribs, cut and swollen lips. I usually see her sitting on the sidewalk 'panning' for change.

I can't do much for these people except to show them love, compassion, an ear to listen, perhaps a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. I want to do more. To know them is to love them. What was seen cannot be unseen.

I am  writing an account of their daily lives. Identities and locations have been changed to protect the usual suspects. My book, Gotta Find a Home: Conversations with Street People, is published by Karenzo Media.  I thank publisher, Karen Silvestri for helping to realize my dream. Release date was June 4, 2014.  All profits will be used to support those forced onto the streets and the Ottawa Innercity Ministries, Street Outreach Program.

Purpose: OIM’s Street Outreach teams come to walk alongside the poor and homeless in the downtown core. Volunteer teams provide relief provisions, pastoral care, crisis intervention and referrals. Street Outreach is the main component of OIM’s work. Through Street Outreach our trained volunteers meet men and women living on the street, create trusting relationships, and can work to filling both physical and personal needs. Last year (2012) OIM connected with 7,672 individuals on the street in downtown Ottawa, 2,735 of whom were youth.

The Red Vests If you see two or more people walking down the street wearing a bright red vest with the OIM logo on it then you have run into one of our mobile outreach teams! OIM’s Street Outreach volunteers are out meeting with people and handing out snacks and toiletries six days a week. We have teams on the street Monday to Thursday nights (7pm – 9pm), including late Wednesday (9pm-Midnight). Additional teams are out during the day on Wednesdays & Saturdays (10am-1pm) and Thursdays & Fridays (1-3pm).

My readers often ask, “Are you Gus LeGarde?”

I laugh and tell them, “Hardly. Gus is a much better man than me.”

I genuinely mean it when I say it. But is it really true?

When I started writing the LeGarde Mystery series, I wanted to base Gus on my father – a wonderful Renaissance man and a talented pianist/music professor. At the time, he’d just passed away from cancer, and I was overwhelmed with grief. The idea of starting the series as a testimony to him was appealing, and it provided some great therapy.

Dad and I were a great deal alike. We both nurtured huge gardens, cooked, and loved kids and dogs. So, as I began to write, particularly in the first person POV, Gus ended up being a lot like me.

So, am I Gus LeGarde? And is he a better man that me?

Gus and I are very much alike. So much so that my friends always think it’s me in the stories, and I often get asked questions like, “What was the name of the book where you and Camille went to Europe with Siegfried?”

We do look alike. We have the same wavy dark hair with silver sprinkled at the temples. The same hazel eyes. The same shoe size. But he’s twenty pounds thinner and more fit than I am. Hey, I’m allowed to dream, right?

Gus and I grow expansive gardens, cook lush feasts for our families, adore our grandchildren, and dote on our dogs. We’re good husbands, and responsible citizens. We live in big old houses in the country, and are crazy about nature, particularly the Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes regions of upstate NY. We love to ride horses and love to swim. We devour mysteries and read in bed before going to sleep.

However, Gus can run for miles without getting out of breath. He can hold his own in a fistfight, lucky devil. I get winded if I jog for more than a half mile, and I’ve never been in a fistfight in my life. Call me a pacifist. I’ve always used words better than fists, I guess.

Gus can play a flawless Chopin etude without even looking at the music. His artistry is perfect, his skills precise. I struggle through the simplest Chopin waltz.

Gus is drawn to trouble, ferrets out the villains, and fights to uphold honor for the common good. I struggle to get through my day to day existence and only write about courage and upholding justice. I sure believe in it, but I don’t really participate, do I?

Let’s talk about church. Gus is a better parishioner than I ever was, even when I regularly attended our local Methodist church. He’s on all the committees; plays organ for church services when needed at local nursing homes and prisons, and is an outstanding parish leader. I used to do some of that, until the committees took up far too much of my writing time and we lost the best pastor we’d ever had. I became discouraged and let the organized religious part of my life go – especially when my grandchildren moved in and going to church meant losing precious hours with them. Right now, they’re foremost in my life. I know God understands. ;o) And I will go back to church when they’re older and life settles down a little. I miss it.

Wait just a minute, now. Gus has a lot more time than me, doesn’t he? Hmmm. There may be something to this line of reasoning. He lives five minutes away from his job where he teaches music at the local university. I drive 35 minutes each way to work, twice a day. That’s a lot of driving. After he teaches a few classes a day, he is free to hunt scoundrels and investigate evildoers to his heart’s content. I’m stuck at work at least eight hours a day.

Now I’m starting to get jealous. Which is really sick, since he’s my own invention.

Gus also has Siegfried, his gentle giant brother-in-law who chops his wood, mows the lawn, feeds the livestock, and cleans out the horse stalls. Wow. Gus really has it easy. No wonder he has time to chase down the villains!

I’m warming to this angle. Let’s see…

Gus has another advantage – Mrs. Adelaide Pierce! I’ll admit, I always wanted the “real” Mrs. Doubtfire, and I invented Adelaide because I longed for her in my own life. During the weekdays she shops, helps with the grandkids, does mountains of laundry, cooks meals, and cleans the house. Sigh. Those jobs fall to me most of the time, since my wife is disabled. And I do lovingly care for my sweetie pie, bringing her meals, monitoring her meds, and generally loving her a whole lot. We both weave chair seats on the side, to make extra money. Hey! There’s something Gus can’t do!

And I just thought of one more thing. I take photos. Some of them are nice. And Gus doesn’t have a clue about photography. He’s got a good eye for art, but he leaves the photography to his adopted father figure, Oscar Stone. But Oscar’s a better photographer than me. He’s published coffee table books galore. Wait a minute, let’s not get off on that tangent.

The next time a reader asks me if I’m Gus LeGarde, I might hesitate before spouting my usual answer.

We really are one and the same soul – with a few minor perturbations. His thoughts are my thoughts. When he mourns his first wife, I tap into the feelings of fear and grief I experienced when my wife almost died, when the threat of her demise hung over our family. When Gus mourns his father’s passing, it’s my grief he’s feeling. He cherishes his grandkids like I do mine, with the same fierce sense of adoration and protection I feel toward my little pals, Julian, Gordie, Isabella, and Christopher. And when he picks his sun-ripened tomatoes, or his juicy plums, or his aromatic basil, he’s raiding my garden. Each meal he cooks has been my real-life creation, and every book he reads I’ve read.

And there’s one important fact here we must address…I created Gus. He wouldn’t have “life” it it weren’t for me. Ha. So there!

It’s an interesting relationship, this author/character thing. Kind of crazy. And impossible to ignore. Now that I’ve analyzed it to death, though, I think I’ll get cracking and let Gus take me on another mission. ;o)

copyright 2015, Aaron Paul Lazar

***

To read more about Gus LeGarde, please visit http://www.lazarbooks.com.

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, thrillers, love stories, and writing guides, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming releases, THE SEACROFT: a love story and DEVIL’S CREEK.

One of our facebook group members has suggested that we could get to know each other face to face. I think it's a good idea. As we are all in various parts of the world, it would be a good idea if we know how many people are in the same location and have the same interest. As a first step, please check the box that you feel best explain you. Thank you all.

MUST BE A FACEBOOK USER TO PARTICIPATE.

Many self-published writers have to find ways to market themselves nowadays if they still want to remain in the game. Writing alone is a full-time job, but having to do the marketing by yourself, makes it an overtime job. In today's lesson, I will show you some helpful websites that can bring daily customers to your published book.

Book auctioning websites attract millions of debit card owners every hour, and most of them are looking for valuable items to buy / own. EBay is the largest auctioning website in the world right now, and its service is not restricted to authors who were willing to market their own autographed books to buyers.

Auctioning off your published books online is fairly easy to do, and may require that you (the author) have many copies of your own books handy and ready to ship out to buyers. Any published author may order copies of their own books directly from their published at a fairly cheap price, of at least 50% off. These self-marketing authors may then market their own books at the local venues and invites, thereby doubling their earnings on every book, and gaining experiences with their readers who may thereby become permanent fans.

Self- marketing is no longer shameful practice, and Author J.R.R. Tolkien had proven it since way back in the early-mid 1900's when he self-published and marketed what are now his world renowned books.

Before I give you the auctioning websites that may increase your daily book sales, I want to give you one last advice pertaining to the pricing of your book at the websites. For instance (and for safe practice), if your book's original price is $21.00, and you can get a copy from your publisher for only $6.00, then it will wise if you start your bidding for the sale of the book (autographed or not) between $15 to $20, this way, you will attract more buyers, your effort will still be profitable, and you'll receive instant incomes (mostly through PayPal). The final bidding price for your autographed book may even double if the buyers are very eager enough to have the treasure (book) in the hand.

List of free Book Auctioning Websites:

• WebStore.com
• SpreadmyAd.com
• Kijiji.com (as known as eBay Classified). Very effective.
• Auction-warehouse.com
• ePier.com
• vStoreAuction.com
• eBay.com
  
• Craigslist.com
  
• SpecialistAuctions.com
• Hoobly.com
  

To generate more buyers to your book-auction-sites after they are created, you may freely post the website URLs to I.W.S network, or published them as wall posts on Amazon Book Clubs. Every book adverts on Amazon Book Clubs instantly streams on Readersbooks.info and I.W.S to expand their views. Every twitter posts with #IndieWriterSupp also streams on I.W.S and Readersbooks.info for the free reading public.

Tellers of Tales

A traditional ballad singer sings within the framework of the ballad form, and an experienced and skilled performer uses techniques of improvisation, decoration and emphasis, where it is appropriate and which may emotionally transcend the boundaries of the form in the experience of the listener. The ballad often includes a repeated line, which is in itself a powerful technique and accentuates the accumulating drama of the piece.

The tune also can be sparse, yet its cadence is often emotionally expansive as the singer articulates and describes the action. Action that might be murderous, magical, funny, heroic, tragic or erotic. Long or short, spoken or sung, the telling of the tale is a skill which requires practice and imaginative integrity. Voices in the tale are not static and the writer’s, speaker’s or singer’s voice, at its best, orchestrates and brings them to life with a subtle empathy. Finding voices and bringing them to life is a vast subject and I will develop this theme at some other time.

Knowing one’s form, and the techniques within that form, intimately, whether as a singer of tales or as a writer of them, is something essential to the ease of telling the story and how comfortably it is received. One’s readers and listeners love to suspend disbelief, be moved and involved with the lives of the characters, care about them and carry the atmosphere beyond the ending. Think of that profound silence which exists at the end of a great performance, leaving the audience still attached to what has gone on and in mutual harmony with its components and their effect and weight. This is a palpable response and something a teller, or writer, of tales should seek to evoke.

Rigour and discipline within the form allows freedom of imagination if one recognises that possibility, however, over prescription, within rigour and discipline, produces weightless and lifeless pages and empty renditions. An over emphasis upon the obvious as opposed to a creative pathway towards one’s conclusion.

Imagination is a marvellous human attribute and we all have it. It marries well within form and content and at its best creates an elegant truth, communicating succinctly and with emotional integrity to the audience.

Jenny Dunbar               

What a pleasure it has been to interview and get to know Lisa Marie Redfern, author of the Haylee e-trilogy and Haylee and the Traveler’s Stone (print book soon to be released). Not only is she a wonderful writer, but her talent doesn’t stop there. As an accomplished artist, photographer, and business woman, Lisa stretches the boundaries of her art and her way with words/imagery, enticing followers to dip their toes into the rippling waters of imagination.

Q: Books, movies and even television shows these days are delivering a steady stream of plots that involve the undead, the unreal, and the wickedly supernatural. In your opinion, what accounts for society’s longstanding fascination with characters that are not completely human?

A: A cultural theme occurs when lots of people have similar ideas and begin exploring it in depth. We take our collective temperature with questions such as; What are we afraid of? What defines us as human? How far can we stretch our imagination? What does it mean to be ‘different? and How would it feel to be powerful and untouchable? I think the dark nefarious vampires, zombies, and wickedly supernatural characters that are popular today are reflections of our attitudes and worries about the cultural and economic conditions that we live in.

Q: Tell us how you came up with your title.

A: Hyale is a daughter of the Greek gods Oceanus and Tethys. The character Haylee, and the book title, is roughly based on this name…with a modern twist.

Q: Alfred Hitchcock was a master at making cameo appearances in all of his movies. Does Lisa Redfern employ any signature tricks or insider jokes that we should know about?

A: Absolutely! Although I won’t reveal them all—I will say that many of the animal names were family pets. The Rattler/Lovey storyline was based on a rescue dog named Bandit. He lived up to his name. Once it was changed to Happy, he was much easier to live with. Lovey was one of our pet cats.

Q: Tell us about your female protagonist, and the passions that drive her thoughts and actions.

A: Haylee has spent most of her childhood living with a wounded parent—she takes on responsibilities beyond most children her age. She attempts to stay out-of-sight and out-of-mind as much as possible, has an affinity for animals, and possesses a quick mind; she aspires to become a veterinarian. But things don’t go according to plan. When it becomes clear that her strange condition poses a threat to her loved ones, she drops everything to figure out how to stop it. Along her adventurous journey, we see a maturing inner resolve, self-direction, and a belief that something good can be born from facing a problem head-on.

Q: In Haylee and the Traveler’s Stone, Haylee is transported to the turbulent backdrop of the San Francisco Gold Rush in 1849. During this time in California history, the population was dominated by young male adventurers who came from all over the world. Why did this specific era personally resonate with you?

A: I feel connected to this time period because it is woven into the historical fabric of where I live—in the heart of Gold Country. I wanted to develop a deeper understanding about what life was really like by bringing alive the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of that time. In my research, I discovered fun and quirky facts that may not have made their way into commonly read history books.

Q: What do you hope this book will accomplish?

A: My goal is to suck the reader into a vortex of altered time where his/her own life fades out for a while as Haylee’s story takes center stage. Isn’t that the ultimate definition of a good book—to entertain? Along with entertainment, I included those quirky facts (mentioned in the question above), because I want the readers to have something memorable to keep. If Haylee readers (who visit San Francisco) are able to see the city in a new way, I will be thrilled!

Q: Have your characters ever done anything that surprised you?

A: I usually arrive at my keyboard with an outline and longish, handwritten essays that fill in sections of the outline. Days of thought and nights of dreams have gone by as I’ve worked out the complexities of what I plan to write. It is a surprise when I’m typing away and a character goes in another direction…or says something unexpected. They are usually right, but we have to argue about it for a little while before I relent. When I describe it that way, it sounds psychotic doesn’t it?

Q: The publishing industry continues to reinvent itself. The combined effects of downsizing at traditional publishers and the desire by authors to have more control over their intellectual property and pricing structure has led to an escalation in self-publishing endeavors. What are your thoughts on this issue, particularly the debate as to whether a self-published title is as “real” as one produced through traditional channels?

A: Every work published is real. It is meaningful to the person who wrote it, so it can’t be anything else. Prior to 2010, when iPads and e-readers hit the market en mass, publishing houses set the quality standards for reading material before it was released to the public. The flood of independent authors who are self-publishing has changed those standards.

As a consumer, I appreciate knowing that the book I am about to read has a reasonable chance of being good—in subject matter, clean page design, and very little grammatical or spelling errors. When you buy something that has been self-published, quality levels can be hit or miss.

As an artist and independent author, I love having the ability to self-publish. For the very first time in my work life I’m unencumbered and free to create my vision from start to finish. The creation process itself is highly satisfying. I place a great value on producing work that is ‘as good as’ anything that a publishing house would turn out. Fortunately, I have developed the skills to do most of it myself, but I also invest in areas where I need help—editing and some design assistance. There is something ironic about putting so much effort into a product that sells for .99¢, $3.00, or even $5.00. Like those adventuring pioneers who braved the treacherous seas and overland treks with the hope of finding gold, we authors are gambling that more than a few readers will push that shiny, rounded-rectangle button marked ‘buy.’

Q: In addition to being an author, you are also an artist and photographer with a busy home life. How do you find time to write?

A: Good organization is a must. I use a Google calendar synced with my smart phone. Sometimes other jobs have to go to the top of the ‘to do’ list. I get as much done as I can when my son is in school. I enter into my most efficient writing zone after everyone has gone to sleep and the phone isn’t ringing. I try very hard to remind myself to go to bed before it gets too late…

Q: Lisa, you are incredibly multi-talented, and your website, book trailer are amazing. What advice would you give to new writers/artists regarding building a social media or networking platform?

A: 1. Realize that platform building and gaining followers is something that takes time. It starts small and slowly increases over time.

2. Once you start participating in social media, know that you’ve created a ‘living’ thing that needs to be fed on a regular basis.

3. Start slow. Choose one or two sites that you think that you might enjoy. Stick with them until you are comfortable before moving on to more.

My social media ‘ah ha’ moment came with Pinterest. Because I am visual by nature and I enjoy organizing data, this was a perfect social site to start with.

Q: As an artist and writer, you are clearly an inspiration to others, but who inspires you? Have you benefited from the wisdom and/or counsel of a mentor? If so, who and why?

A: Inspiration comes from everywhere. To quote Christina Hamlet’s book Screenwriting for Teens, “Log into life. No password required.” Also, my artist friends inspire me when we spend time together setting up art shows, getting our hands dirty, or just sharing and talking about our work.

For authors, I follow the big guys—Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, Barbara Kingsolver, and Jean Auel for starters. I also follow some of the rising independent author stars—Hugh Howey, Guy Kawasaki, Rysa Walker, and Chuck Wendig. I like studying how they present themselves online, how they interact with their fans, what kinds of stories they are writing next, and what rights they are selling.

My son has a big imagination; he and I have many humorous, “What if …” conversations. Being out in nature, photographing interesting animals, random conversations, seeing something online that grabs my attention, or even just being alone and quiet, are all areas of inspiration.

Q: You’re obviously drawn to the metaphysical and otherworldly in many aspects of your creativity and writing, sometimes blurring the lines between the real and fantastical. What is it that draws you in, or inspires you?

A: Underlying everything is the hope and faith that we are much more than just our physical existence. I think all life is connected, and should be respected and honoured as the incredible gift it is. The real magic in this world is love and our relationships with the people, animals and living things around us. That is what I always attempt to express in both my art and in my words.

Q: A lot of new writers think all they have to do is write a good story and their job is done, but today’s writers are expected to do so much more, whether self or traditionally published. What advice would you give to new writers just starting out on this very long journey?

A: I think that is an urban myth. How did that one ever get started? When I worked as a book publicist, I dreaded the inevitable moment when the author bubble would burst. Once it popped, fairy dust and glitter never spewed out and sprinkled to the ground.

My advice to authors just starting out is similar to the advice you gave in your interview for In the Spirit of Love. Always conduct yourself professionally online. Stick to it - give writing a permanent place at your table - live your life - do what you need to do…and then go back and write some more. Once you have a few books out there for sale, add to your regular routine time to feed the marketing machine.

Q: Many writers and artists struggle with following their creative path vs making a (normal) living, and being accepted in a world that often can’t understand what drives the creative mind. Have you struggled with this, and if so, how do you attempt to overcome it?

A: Oh yes! More than a few times, I’ve wondered if I was adopted. Most everyone in my family is an engineer, accountant, scientist, lawyer, or a business person. Conventional social norms hold the greatest respect for professions with the highest pay scales. If pay scales were based on job satisfaction, artists and writers would be where the venture capitalists and technology moguls are now. I don’t worry about people accepting me. I am who I am, I do what I do, and I am very happy about that.

Q: Where can readers discover more about you and your books online?

Author reads sample chapter
Audible.com
Lisa’s art portfolio & online store
Art and Words Blog
Google+
Goodreads
Twitter
reddit
Redfern Writing Facebook Page
Join Lisa’s author e-mail list

Lisa: Thank you for the opportunity to participate in a You Read It Here First interview. I enjoyed responding to your thoughtful questions. Additionally, it was a pleasure to become acquainted with you and Christina and your work

Google, Bing, Ask and many other search engines are visited by millions of readers every day in search of reliable information, and in today's lesson, I am going to show you how to increase your keyword search results on these search engines with Pinging and Indexing. 

Pinging / Indexing is a method by which a website is distributed to a server, or loads of servers, to notify them that a website's content has been updated.

A Ping Server may notify multiple other services when pinged, including;

• Search Engines
• Website Directories
• News Websites
• Aggregators
• Feed Websites
• And Many Others

Pinging and Indexing are the best and fastest way of getting your published URLs and blogs listed online in the search engines. And in other for the Ping service to work, you would need a set of strong keywords to make the search engine results a manifesto.

If you are a published author, your best keywords would be your BOOK TITLES and AUTHOR'S FULL NAME.

Keywords are very important, especially to a non-fiction writer who may title their book something like 'The Re-enactment of the Civil Right Movement.' This book title on its own (not yet taken) is a powerful set of words, and would definitely get some hits online from curious readers online if the book's URL is properly distributed.

This is why naming your book title is the most important aspect of book publication, because it is the name and book title that your readers would have to remember forever, and share.

These examples below will show you how your book title and name could be used as your set of keyword websites. You will notice that all of these different URLs point to the same sales page on Amazon.

1. www.amazon.com/Fifty-Shades-Grey-Book-ebook/dp/B007J4T2G8. Fifty-Shades-Grey-Book-ebook are the keywords in the url, and B007J4T2G8 is the ISBN / ASIN publication number.
2. www.amzn.com/B007J4T2G8 Same as the website above, with no alphabetical keywords attached, but leads to the same site.
3. www.amazon.com/Fifty-Shades-Grey-E-James-ebook/dp/B007L3BMGA. Another format of the same website, with the keywords, author's name, and ASIN publication number attached.

There are few other formats, much longer ones, that I could paste here, but these three samples prove the point. If you ever wondered why 'Fifty-Shades-of-Grey' received so many views, apart from the great writing, it is because of this thing call SEO algorithm, used by amazon, BN, Apple, Google and every other aggregate websites..

• IMT Website Submitter submits your website/blog to 1,800+ different places. All these 1,800+ websites are mainly "who is", "about us", "website statistic", etc. type of services. This tool creates pages about your website/blog onto every one of these websites, resulting in about 1,800+ different pages in some cases with backlinks pointing back to your website. Yes some of those backlinks are no-follow and some of them are do-follow, but bottom line is that these are well-established websites regularly crawled by Google and other SE, so your pages and backlinks/URLs on those websites will be found and your website/blog will get backlinks/mentions and will be visited and indexed more frequently by Googlebot and many other search engine bots like Yahoo, Bing, Baidu, etc., which is the main purpose of this tool, backlinks are just nice bonus.

• Index Kings submits your URLs to various statistic sites. These sites give a value of your URLs and also provide a free link back to your site. This rapid indexer sends your URLs to over 15,000 sites that would promote the site link and get you instant backlinks and Rapidly gets your URLs indexed by Google! 

• Google Webmaster Tool adds new sites to google.com, and updates existing ones, every time the search engine crawls the web.

• Bing Webmaster Tool submit the URL of your site to Bing, Yahoo, and few other search engines.

Now, these are the three methods that we would recommend you practice if you are interested in indexing your websites. 

1. Copy your Indie Writers Support profile link (website URL) and submit it to the Indexing / Pinging websites above. The contents published on your profile would automatically become your keywords.
2. Submit your very own Author's website, if you have one, to the same Indexing / Pinging websites above.
3. Submit your Barnes&Noble's, Goodreads, and Amazon's keyword-attached URLs (like the three samples provided) to the same Indexing / Pinging websites above. 

Writers are terribly self-centered.

Now, don’t get offended. I’m not really talking about all of you. I’m pretty much talking about me.

Strangely enough, I don’t think anyone in my non-writer life would label me an egoist. Or an egotist, for that matter. I had to look up the difference, but there isn’t much of a distinction, as far as I could tell.* Anyway, I can’t picture someone calling me either one of those. At least not to my face.

With my family, colleagues at my day job, and with neighbors and friends, I try to be a good listener. I try to be generous. I take time to be there for them, to encourage them when they’re down, to support them when they’re mourning. I care about family and friends and frequently make sacrifices for them.

I sound pretty great, don’t I?

Ahem. Read on.

In my writerly world, I am horrified to admit that I have recently come to learn I’m a HUGE egoist.

Look at the first few paragraphs in this piece. How many times did I use the word “I?” TWELVE! It’s always all about what I think, or what I noticed, or what I wrote. Isn’t it? (Of course, I guess it might be hard to write about what you think or notice. LOL.)

I started to ponder this recently when I had a confrontation with a friend, and she pointed out to me how much I write about **me**. After a bit of soul searching, I realized she was right.

But it got me to thinking.

I try to be a good guy. I really do. This is in spite of all the stupid things I do, like dribbling my red herbal tea on the new carpet at work yesterday (I spent an hour cleaning it) and consistently forgetting to attach files to emails. If it can be screwed up, I’ll do it.

So, I’m an egoist and a klutz.

That’s not all. No. Not only am I all of the above, I’m mean.

REALLY mean.

I am merciless to my characters. I put them through the wringer time and time again, without care for their suffering. I torment them. I make them endure horrible losses. I hurt ANIMALS, for God’s sake. Okay, so I rescue them in the end, but what kind of a jerk does that to poor, defenseless animals?

Sigh.

I suppose we writers can always pretend to sit back and be the philosophical documenter, the great observer, the quintessential Hemmingway-esque witness of life. But however life presents itself - brutal or tender, seedy or majestic - all fiction comes from our inside our own minds. It’s all about how we see it. How we imagine. How we think our characters would feel.

Isn’t it?

So, how do we compensate for being such egoists?

It’s not as bad as it sounds. It certainly isn’t hopeless, and I’m pretty sure we can redeem ourselves.

Maybe we can find redemption by setting good examples through our characters' actions while they're in the midst of dashing here or there during the page turning suspense.  One thing I never intended to do with my three mystery series was to teach lessons about nurturing a family, tending to a disabled wife, dealing with trauma or loss, or being a good father or grandfather. Those things just found their way into my books, because my characters do that stuff in their everyday lives. To my surprise, my readers have come back and thanked me for doing just that. It humbles me to think that by including some amusing family scenes in the middle of the mayhem, I might have actually done some good. One fellow actually told me I made him a better dad. And another wrote to say I got him through his chemo. Like I said, it’s all pretty darned humbling.

Can examples like these make up for my weaknesses and faults? For that great big ego? For my incessant ranting about me???

Man. I sure hope so.

Aaron Paul Lazar

www.lazarbooks.com

Egoist, noun

1. self-centered or selfish person (opposed to altruist).

2. an arrogantly conceited person; egotist.

Egotist, noun

1. a conceited, boastful person.

2. a selfish person; egoist.

copyright 2015, Aaron Paul Lazar

Books by multi-award winning author, Aaron Lazar:

LEGARDE MYSTERIES

DOUBLE FORTÉ (print, eBook, audio book)

UPSTAGED (print, eBook, audio book)  

TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON (print, eBook, audio book)

MAZURKA (print, eBook, audio book)

FIRESONG (print, eBook, audio book)

DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (print, eBook, audio book)

THE LIARS’ GALLERY (print, eBook, audio book)

SPIRIT ME AWAY (print, eBook, audio book)

UNDER THE ICE (print, eBook)

LADY BLUES (print, eBook, and audio book) 

MOORE MYSTERIES

HEALEY'S CAVE (print, eBook, audio book)

TERROR COMES KNOCKING (print, eBook, audio book)

FOR KEEPS (print, eBook, audio book)

TALL PINES MYSTERIES

FOR THE BIRDS (print, eBook, audio book)

ESSENTIALLY YOURS (print, eBook, audio book)

SANCTUARY (print, eBook, audio book)

BETRAYAL (print, eBook, audio book)

LOVE STORIES

THE SEACREST (print, eBook, and audio book)

THE SEACROFT (coming soon)

ROMANTIC THRILLERS

DEVIL’S LAKE (print, eBook, and audio book)

DEVIL’S CREEK (coming soon)

WRITING ADVICE: 

WRITE LIKE THE WIND, volumes 1, 2, 3  (audio books)

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, thrillers, love stories, and writing guides, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming releases, THE SEACROFT: a love story and DEVIL’S CREEK.

AWARDS:
The Seacrest

2014 Best Beach Book Festival WINNER, Romance category

2013 ForeWord Book Awards, Romance, FINALIST
Double Forté 

• 2012 ForeWord BOTYA, Mystery, FINALIST

Tremolo: cry of the loon –

• 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Awards: Grand Prize Short List
• 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Awards: Honorable Mention, Eric Hoffer Legacy Fiction
• 2011 Global eBook Award Finalist in Historical Fiction Contemporary
• 2011 Preditors & Editors Readers Choice Award – 2nd place Mystery
• 2008 Yolanda Renée's Top Ten Books
• 2008 MYSHELF Top Ten Reads

For the Birds

• 2011 ForeWord Book Awards, FINALIST in Mystery
• 2012 Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Top 10 Reads

Essentially Yours

• 2013 EPIC Book Awards, FINALIST in Suspense

• 2013 Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award Finalist
  Healey’s Cave

• 2012 EPIC Book Awards WINNER Best Paranormal
• 2011 Eric Hoffer Book Award, WINNER Best Book in Commercial Fiction
• 2011 Finalist for Allbooks Review Editor's Choice
• 2011 Winner of Carolyn Howard Johnson's 9th Annual Noble (not Nobel!) Prize for Literature
• 2011 Finalists for Global EBook Awards

 Terror Comes Knocking

• 2013 Global Ebook Awards, Paranormal – Bronze

For Keeps

• 2013 Semi Finalist in Kindle Book Review Book Awards, Mystery Category

Spirit Me Away

• 2014 AuthorsdB book cover contest, Silver medal.

www.lazarbooks.com

www.murderby4.blogspot.com

www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com

As respite from writing I often take to the workshop, even in winter. Yesterday offered an opportunity to grasp an hour or two of sunshine and milder air. Making vessels out of the clay distracts and facilitates a space in my mind, so the next paragraph of the uncompleted novel can begin to emerge.  

The porcelain seems ready to become four simple forms and I leave them to reflect upon their position and resolution after the clay and I have joined forces, handling each other well in such a variable climate.   

Tomorrow is murk, wet, and the clay looks back at me with a glistening sheen as I open the door.

I do not linger, neither the forms nor I need to acknowledge more than a ‘salut’. I will take them into the kitchen on Sunday to dry a little; ready for the turning, firing and combining with the fine artist’s leather.

 A collection of vessels.

An installation of fused resonances based upon the ancient birch wood in the fen. A reminder that earth, form and decomposition are fundamental certainties and will remain so when we have disappeared and nature reclaims its place. Untrammelled. I am at that point in my story.

The ancient birch wood stands upon black peat as it has always done, the land around drained into manageable and navigable droves and dykes, tall reeds still in abundance. Old roads many have crossed and travelled. A palpable presence.

Parts of the wood are almost inaccessible unless one knows a way through and can sense the way out again. There is immense stillness always, so the smallest sound is an audible detail.

A day in late summer, warm and full of light, the path taken between the field and the inner sanctum of the cool interior. A red deer stared and I at it, both of us stopping for an instant, then it gone and I moving silently on. The image transformed into a dragon fly next to me in the bracken on its way to the water’s edge.

The fen wood can be seen from the train as it passes on its way to or from the cathedral city, set in its shallow saucer of land, flat for as far as the eye can trace. The horizon, just visible at the far end of an old ocean bed now fertile, dusty black and overworked. I have looked out at the wood, from the train, for as long as I can remember and have always felt that I am almost home. This is one place of belonging.

The birch wood gifts its secrets to the unassuming eye, soothing a too busy mind.

The clay clears the head and focusses perspective; I have the fragments of the next chapter.

Yeats’s hazel wood gives up a silver trout and a glimmering girl, the juxtaposition produces a faerie image of transformation, one might be in danger of stretching the point here, although it would fit the poet’s provenance.

Both birch and hazel wood are redolent of the natural process of things and of time passing.  Both are guardians of the silver apples of the moon, the golden apples of the sun.  

Jenny Dunbar

When I first started writing over a decade ago, I exulted in every new dialog tag I could think up. I preened over “he croaked” and purred over “she grumbled.” Finding new and inventive ways to say “he said” became my quest.

My early works were peppered with gloats, murmurs, and barks. I even started a most coveted (only by me) list.

How many words can you think of to say “he said” or “she said?” Here are some, in no particular order:

Got that part?

Now that I’ve encouraged you to use “said,” I’m going to retract it.

Forgive me, but that’s just the way it is. If you can avoid a tag altogether–through the clever use of action “beats”– then more power to you.

Here’s an example of changing a passage from lush useless tags, to he said/she said tags, to using beats instead of tags:

I maneuvered the van around the next pothole, and was about to congratulate myself for my superior driving skills when a series of washboard ruts nearly popped the fillings out of my teeth.

I maneuvered the van around the next pothole, and was about to congratulate myself for my superior driving skills when a series of washboard ruts nearly popped the fillings out of my teeth.

I maneuvered the van around the next pothole, and was about to congratulate myself for my superior driving skills when a series of washboard ruts nearly popped the fillings out of my teeth.

Add your own examples below, if you’d like. Let’s see some Case A, B, and C’s in the comments section!

-> DOWNLOAD THE FACEBOOK BLASTER SOFTWARE HERE <-

Imagine being able to add five thousand members of the Amazon Book Clubs to your Facebook's close circle (friend list). That's right, since every member (24,000+) of the Amazon Book Clubs are book enthusiast, where else would be the best place to invite/add other like-minded book-loving friends? These people are looking forward to meeting you, that's why they joined. 

Tedious, time consuming, boring, strange etc are words that could be associated with the task of inviting new friends on Facebook, hoping you'll get to know them or they would know you.  In fact, meeting and introducing yourself to new people use to be an old tactic way of book promotion, especially when a firm promise to raise your Facebook presence (friend's list) to 2,000+ fans.

Well. Today, we are now confident in telling you that you can now gain that five thousands book-like-minded new friends on Facebook in a matter of few days, with a task that will only take you 10 minutes to carry out. It is not a trick, it is a software, designed specifically for this purpose and others as well. It could extract the UIDs (user i.d's) of any Facebook group members, and give you the option to invite them as friends. If you are not a member of Amazon Book Clubs you would need join the group first before you can extract the members UIDs.

UIDs are a set of identification numbers assigned to every Facebook users. If you are a Facebook user, this software would show you what your UID is.

This tutorial video would show you how to carry out some of the functionalities of this software; http://indiewritersupport.com/video/how-to-use-facebook-blaster-software-tutorial.

• ✔  Auto Mass Friend Requests
• ✔  Auto Mass Friend Messages
• ✔  Auto Mass Friend Wall Poster
• ✔  Auto Mass Friend Poker
• ✔ Auto Mass Amber Alerts
• ✔  Auto Mass Captcha Bypass

To broadcast a message to all of your Facebook friends with this software, all you would have to do is extract and save your friends UIDs and use the Messenger tab in the software to send the message into their inbox all at once. For best measure, do not send more than 200 friend request or messages a day using this software. 

Upgraded members (PREMIUMS) of our network were supplied a copy of this software as part of their earned service. You can get yours too, and the many more to come, by joining this Exclusive Group. You may also download the software from this Restricted Page, accessible only with payment.

-> DOWNLOAD THE FACEBOOK BLASTER SOFTWARE HERE <-

But I didn’t stop. I worried about arriving late to work, and the sides of the road looked very slippery. So… another lost shot.