Two opposites illustrate how love can conquer hearts of lust, revenge, and deception. Kali Mathias possesses an appetite of lust, and Glen Monroe has a raging spirit for vengeance. And together, Glen and Kali both have deceit souls within. But, love turns one date among two total conflicting hearts into one which requires each other to be alive in the midst of any storm. Through a new-found love, God taught Kali to know that not everything has a price tag; at least, not real love! God taught Glen to realize even love can conquer the grips of a sought-after heart’s revenge!
Since starting Thayer Literary Services, a book editing business, in 1997 and after reading what seems like a gazillion first novels, I have seen the same mistakes over and over again. After a while I started calling them “the usual suspects.” I have considered collecting them into a book, but I thought that seeing so many of them all in one place would drive me to drink.
So I decided to create this blog as a way to discuss grammar and punctuation problems one at a time, along with many other writing issues, all of which I think will be helpful to budding writers. Follow this blog, and I’m sure you will find some information that will help you become a better writer.
Welcome aboard!
Paul Thayer Thayer Literary Services paulthayerbookeditor.com
Paul Thayer is a full-time professional book editor with more than 35 years of experience. During that time he worked in the trenches of the real world of writers, editors, and publishers. He uses his extensive knowledge to help writers who still have a lot to learn, offering them critiques and line editing of their work.
Jumpstarting Your Inner Novelist is a concise manual that provides inspiration, motivation and practical tools for crafting award-winning novels.
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Jump Starting Your Inner Novelist is published!
The paperback version can be purchased for $6.99 at Amazon.com.
Please click at bottom of article to purchase paperback version. The Ebook version will be available soon for $3.99.
After teaching Creative Writing and Publishing at Evening at Emory University Writer’s Studio for nine years and writing four published novels, including a national gold medal winner in the fiction genre, I decided to record my thoughts and ideas about creating successful novels and weave them into a practical guide for writers.
During my years at Evening at Emory, I helped students fine-tune their skills concerning all stages of the writing process: from first draft to day of publication. This guide, co-authored by my friend and editor, Dennis De Rose, will provide you with a set of tools to help you address issues such as developing captivating scenes, creating vivid descriptive specific details, living in the setting, editing and
My latest manual, Jump-Starting Your Inner Novelist , harnesses nearly a decade of the teaching, writing and editing techniques my most successful students used in getting their books to publication. The manual presents a set of tools for issues such as developing captivating scenes, vivid descriptive details, living in a believable setting and other crucial elements of a successful novel.
I’ve enclosed testimonials from my students who are published authors, testimonials from writers I have tutored, valuable writing tips from my teaching, writing and publishing experiences. These tried and true nuggets of wisdom and advice will be valuable for the twenty-first century author.
Price: Paperback, $6.99 and Ebook, $3.99 (Coming Soon)
This Raising Money to Publish Books pdf document will show you where the money is and how to get it. There are grants, government programs, creative ways to borrow and lots of good financing advice. If you need money to publish your next book, this report will help you get it. 6 pages.
Download here, RaiseMoney.pdf. This document was provided to our Premium Members. Upgrade your account now to receive this document and the hundreds more to come, for as low as thirty-dollars a year.
If you choose to buy this document, it will be available for you to download electronically after your payment has been processed. Just wait 10 seconds for the paypal page to reload and the download will proceed, or the page will appear.
EMSA Publishing is an independent online publisher whose goal it is to facilitate new and established authors in having their novels published. We strive to publish page-turning works of fiction for up-and-coming authors to give them a stepping stone toward meeting their goal of becoming published and best-selling authors. Authors should either have an established online platform or be willing to create one and use it to promote their books.
EMSA Publishing offers eBook distribution and print-on-demand services. Authors who sign with us will receive editing services, a professionally designed cover, and marketing support for building and maintaining an on online presence including blog tours and reviews, web page creation, press releases and social media. The author pays nothing up front and receives a competitive royalty percentage payment.
Interested authors should send a cover letter with a brief synopsis and the first 20 pages of their manuscript in the body of an email to query @ emsapublishing.com Most genres are welcome. Please refer to our submission guidelines at http://emsapublishing.com/submissions/ for further details.
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.
What was life like for black people living in the Old Edgefield District, South Carolina during the time leading up and following the Civil War? Our book–Our Ancestors, Our Stories–chronicles the history of blacks in Edgefield and the journey of one historian and four individuals and their families who lived in this community. They were our ancestors, our flesh and blood. Obviously, the life and circumstances of African Americans during these times were difficult beyond our imagination today. Yet, our ancestors, like so many others in the community, found ways to survive the hardship of slavery, Reconstruction and Jim Crow to raise their families.
As African American authors (The Memory Keepers), we share the journey to honor our ancestors and tell their stories. The lives of individuals who lived in Edgefield, South Carolina will come to life as each chapter in the book evolves into a story for the reader. The authors discovered Edgefield as their ancestral home through researching their genealogy. Through these stories, the rich value of using primary and secondary sources become evident as each discovery examines relationships in the home, the neighborhood, and the community.
The Memory Keepers Harris Bailey, Bernice Alexander Bennett, Ellen LeVonne Butler, Ethel Dailey, Vincent Sheppard
Announcing EMSA Publishing’s very first ever Fabulous First Lines Competition!
The first line of a novel is incredibly important in that it sets the tone of a novel, establishes point of view, and hooks the reader. Here’s your chance to see how your novel’s first line stacks up.
The Rules:
The Fabulous First Lines Competition will be open to thirty (30) self-published and indie-published authors.
The competition will run throughout the month of August 2015 as follows:
August 2 – 8 => voting will take place for the first group of 10 authors
August 9 – 15 => voting will take place for the second group of 10 authors
August 16 – 22 => voting will take place for the third group of 10 authors
August 21 – 29 => voting will take place for the top three winners from each week, with a winner being declared on 30 August 2015
The prizes:
bragging rights
a badge you can proudly display on your website
your book featured on EMSA Publishing’s homepage slider for the month of September 2015
posts to social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Storify) directing readers to a blog post featuring your novel’s cover, book blurb, and author bio
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 10thWriterAdvice Flash Prose Contest by April 21, 2015. Complete details at www.writeradvice.com.
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:
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:
BOOKS, READERS and AUTHORS
FREE Ebooks -- Reviews & Promotion
Authors
Amazon Book Clubs
BOOK PLACE
Awesome Free Kindle Books Here!
The Literary Lounge authors, writers, publishers, and illustrators
Book Club
Writers' Group
Aspiring Authors
Books
Authors for change
Kindle Freebies, New Authors, and other eBook info
Celebrating Authors
Free E Books
Authors Promoting Authors
I'd Rather Be Writing
Free E-Books
Rick Frishman Author101 Alumni
Kindle Wealth Formula Authors Club
The Literary Lounge authors, writers, publishers, and illustrators
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.
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.
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.
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).
Well, here I am about a month before the launch of THE XERCES FACTOR. I’ve been through the drill before but never get used to the ‘hurry-up-and-wait’ madness.
I’ve dutifully implemented the action items from my project management spreadsheet; they seem to come in bunches…a day or two of frenetic activity and then days of waiting until the next bunch comes along.
And there’s the frustration of waiting for someone else to do something…but no one’s fault. It’s the nature of the process. Oh how I would like to have the cover art and ISBN number now; I could update websites, put together promos and get ahead of the game.
And, how nice it would be to have the proof for line editing a little early. Although I’ve tried to mentally ‘put the book to bed’, ideas keep popping into my mind…not major revisions, but little things to make the book better. I dare not open the manuscript file and tinker…a sure path to disaster.
But, nooooooo…the process proceeds at its glacial pace, not designed with the author’s mental health in mind…perhaps the opposite?!
With this tirade complete I check the calendar. Less than a month till launch. It will come, but through a quirk of physics the passage of time slows.
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)
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.
Add one hundred (100) members / friends to the Amazon Book Clubs and we will enroll you as a Premium Member of the Indie Writers Support network. Benefits of being a premium member includes one-on-one tutorial coaching, free pdf downloads, resourceful articles, conferencing, free book promotions and formatting, free publishing/editing&marketing software's, book reviewing service, exclusive inside tips etc.. Best of all, we will even produce a thrilling website like this one 'Against Their Will' for you, if you can add 200 or more friends.
Go ahead and invite your friends to the Amazon Book Clubs and lets make this book-loving group the largest and most intellectual traffic on the social media.
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.
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 onAmazon 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.
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.
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 visitSan 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 withPinterest. 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 bookScreenwriting 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 inyour 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?
