Another First For Me!

Woohoo! I've been invited to participate in an Author Panel/Book Signing.

Where:  At the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference at Cairn University (formerly Philadelphia Biblical University) in Langhorne, PA.

Date:     Thursday, August 1, 2013

Time:     7:30 P.M.

The night meetings at the Conference are open to the public. Check out the Conference website at: http://www.writehisanswer.com/Philadelphia

Writers and Readers: Have you ever participated in/attended a book signing? Do you have any tips for me?

My Travels Around the Net

I fired up my computer, grabbed my mouse, and took off for parts unknown on the Internet. Here are some of the gems I discovered:

1.  Edie Melson talks about working with photos. Graphics make blog posts more attractive to readers. She gives some great tips, as well as websites, to help you produce quality pictures.

2.  Marsha Hubler is doing a series on tips for the Fiction Genre. She will be teaching at both the Montrose Christian Writers Conference and The Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference. I'm looking forward to meeting her.

3.  Rhonda Schrock gives a word of encouragement to writers. She blogs about faith and family with humor and grace.

It's time to power down and continue my travels another day.

P.S. The link is embedded in each name. :)

Writers & Readers: How do you manage to visit blogs? Do you hit them all in one trip or do you spread your visits throughout the week?

Photo Credit:  Kolobsek

The Desires of My Heart

Photo: Courtesy of Helping Hands Press

For 8 years, the desire of my heart has been to see The Moses Conspiracy published. One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 37:4 (KJV): "Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

On March 16, 2013, it was published as an e-book. As of May 17, 2013, it became available in print. Earlier in the week, I received my proof copy. I could use all kinds of adjectives to describe my feelings, but the overall response was gratitude to my Heavenly Father, who gave me the desires of my heart.

To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Writers & Readers: What are the desires of your heart?

 

My Travels on the Internet

I admit it. The Internet fascinates me with its wide variety of information. As an author, it's an opportunity to learn more about my craft, what's going on in the industry, and how to get my book noticed.

Subscribing to various blogs, webzines, and websites brings these treasures to my email inbox. I click on a link, and I zoom through cyberspace to a distant location. Here are some of my fun picks for this week:

1) My first stop was at Carrie Fancett Pagels and friends' blog, Overcoming With God.Teresa Mathews did a 5-Star Review of my book, The Moses Conspiracy. They also did a giveaway, so I hung out with them quite a bit during the course of the week.

2)  Amber Schamel is writing a blog series on, "What Happened to the Apostles?"

It made me glad I live during this time in history in the United States!

3)  Yay! The new issue of Christian Fiction Online Magazine is live.  There are many great features, including an interview with Kathi Macias, a devotional by Nancy Mosher, and a guest post by Linda Glaz and Normandie Fischer.

Whew, time to head back to home base. What interesting places have you visited on the Net this week?

Photo Credit:  Kolobsek

Bumps in the Road

Photo Credit:  Mzacha

When we travel, many things have to be factored into our plans. How long will we be away? What days will we be traveling? We check weather forecasts, so we'll be better prepared for road conditions and pack the right clothes.

Unfortunately, our plans don't always work out. We decided to leave at 7:00 P.M. to avoid the rush hour at both the beginning and end of our journey. Well, we escaped the rush hour, but ran smack-dab into...THE CONSTRUCTION ZONE. Yes, folks, it's a sad tale. Our trip went from 3 1/2 stress-free hours to a 5-hour marathon.

The writing life is often likened to a journey. We can plan and make goals, but things can happen to derail them. How we respond to these challenges determines whether they'll become steppingstones to success or be our downfall.

After praying for safety, we stayed alert and rode out the challenges. As we hit bumps in the writing road, we can give up or make adjustments.

Setbacks are permanent only if we allow them to stop our forward movement.

Writers: How do you handle the disappointments of the writing life?

Readers: How do keep life's bumps from ruining your day?

Friday Round-Up - #240

Zoe McCarthy gives 5 steps to recharge your creativity. What are some of the methods that work for you?

Photo Credit:  tijmen

Second Chances

Photo Credit: chchiseOO

Recently, my mother received a gift card to a restaurant chain. Our previous visit left us disappointed, so we were not excited at the prospect of going again.

We were pleasantly surprised by the excellent meal and great service. It changed our attitude toward the restaurant, and we'll be going back again in the near future.

Books are like a good meal to a reader. Even when a novel disappoints me, I take into account several things:

1) Is this one of the author's early works? Perhaps they've improved in their craft since then.

2) If the writing is less than adequate, does the story make up for the deficit?

3) Perhaps the story doesn't resonate with me. I'll check the author's other titles to see if they're more to my liking.

If restaurants deserve a second chance, why not give an author another opportunity to grab your interest?

Writers: Do you find yourself editing other author's books as you read? Please tell us how you turn off the internal editor and just enjoy the story.

Readers: Does a dynamite storyline make up for less than stellar writing? Please share.

Friday Round-Up - #239

Back in the early 1990's, there were few resources for writers. An author had to attend a formal school or dig through the library for help. Today, we have the Internet and access not only to information, but also to a supportive writing community.

Here are some websites and groups I've discovered:

American Christian Fiction Writers - ACFW for short. http://www.acfw.com - This organization is devoted to providing educational opportunities, critique groups, and an annual conference. They also have a loop where writers can discuss all aspects of writing, a prayer request loop, and a fiction finder. The annual Genesis Contest for unpublished writers is one of the premier contests available to those in the fiction community.

Writing Blogs - I could write a post with just links to great blogs. Here are a few of my favorites:

Jean Fischer - http://jeanfischer.wordpress.com - Jean is a freelance writer, and formerly worked as an editor for Golden Books. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry.

Edie Melson - http://thewriteconversation.blogspot.com - I recently discovered Edie's blog. She has great tips on Social Media and other aspects of writing.

Jeff Goins - http://www.goinswriter.com - Jeff gives valuable information on how to expand your blogging platform. I always enjoy his posts.

Magazines -

Christian Fiction Online Magazine -  http://www.christianfictiononlinemagazine.com - Bonnie Calhoun is the editor. Numerous authors contribute to this topnotch magazine.

Writers: What are some of your favorite writing websites/blogs/magazines?

Readers/Bloggers:  What subjects do you like to see on blogs?

Photo Credit:  blary54

 

Neatnik or Organized Chaotic?

You've heard of personalities like sanguine, melancholy, and phlegmatic. You're about to enter the world of organization styles.

When I'm working on multiple projects, my desk becomes a nightmare. Unfortunately, that's become the norm around here. It's not that I don't try to organize. I make files, lists, lists for my lists, lots of piles, and I even have one of those multi-pocket plastic bins on the wall.

Of course, I must have those articles handy. Oh, and don't forget the CD player and a stack of CD's. Mail that needs attention sits in another pile. Items I need for a meeting or interview are listed separately from my daily to-do list and my things-I-must-do-but-not-today list. Yeah, you get the picture.

When I analyzed the problem, I discovered something. While my desk isn't visually pleasing, it functions. Deadlines are met, tasks get done, and I know where everything is located. So, why am I aiming for a magazine-like setting? All I'm doing is adding unnecessary stress to my life.

Writers:  Do you function better if you're a neatnik or an organized chaotic? Why?

Readers: Do you have stacks of books on your nightstand or are they catalogued and shelved in perfect order? Descriptions would be most enjoyed by all. :)

Photo Credit:  giselaroyo

Friday Round-Up - #238

Jean Fischer talks about regional dialects and how it affects our stories.

I recently read a series by Kristen Heitzmann that took place in my old hometown. It made me smile when she used familiar terms.

Writers: Do you research the words used in the geographic areas where your stories take place?

Readers: Does it jar your senses when an author or writer uses a word or phrase that doesn't match the setting? Please share.

Photo Credit: bouwm019

Transforming Your First Draft

Getting a story down on paper makes my heart sing. Alas, editing is equivalent to cleaning the basement. So, how do I wade through the dirty work? Here are the steps I took with my work in progress, The Scent of Fear:

1)  I read each chapter, correcting any spelling/grammar/punctuation issues. While these issues don't normally give me a problem, I've been known to reverse letters in dyslexic fashion. This occurs if I'm: A) tired or B) the creative side is flowing so fast that my brain gets confused.

2)  Tripping over a sentence while I'm reading alerts me to a trouble spot. I'll go back and read it out loud within the context of several other paragraphs. This may require substituting a word or re-writing an entire section.

3)  One problem I've identified is more of a memory thing. Have you ever forgotten the name or physical characteristic of a minor character and had to hunt it down? What a waste of time and effort! When I work on Book 3, Lost and Found, I'm going to start a spreadsheet with these pesky, but important, details.

4)  Like the old dresser I thought I'd refinish and use someday, extraneous phrases and scenes are difficult to cut. One of the rules of clutter control: If I haven't used it in a year throw it out, sell it, or give it away. If words don't pull their weight in the story, out they go.

5)  I re-read the chapter after I've made changes. Has it improved or did I make an even bigger mess? On occasion, I've had to retrieve some items from the trash.

Writers:  How do you transform your basement first draft into a livable, cozy book?

Readers: What are some of the techniques you use to control clutter?

Photo Credit: JR3

Friday Round-Up - #237

How Do I...?

Recently, I've seen a lot of Twitter links in blog posts. You can click on the link and tweet a sentence from a post. This is a valuable tool to draw people to your blog.

Here are a couple of articles on how to accomplish this task:

Susan Stilwell guest blogs at The Write Conversation.

Caitlin Muir also gives detailed instructions on Author Media.

Writers and Readers: Have you seen these click-to-tweet links? Have you used them? Please share your experience either with producing one of these links or clicking them.

Have a blessed weekend!


Photo Credit:  cieleke

Spread The Word

We're surrounded by advertisements. Many times we get so accustomed to visual clutter that we don't even notice them.

For years, I've been getting emails from the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) loop. Until recently, I paid little attention to the posts. What changed my habits? I discovered people offer promotional opportunities and guest posts on their blogs.

A fellow Helping Hands Press author, Carrie Fancett Pagels, alerted me to a Twitter promo. Book Fun Magazine promised to retweet the name of our book if we followed them. I never saw this on any of my connections and appreciated her pointing it out. I was able to have my book title tweeted to all of Book Fun's followers.

Whenever I see a link or article that I think will help fellow writers/authors, I will do one or all of the following:

1.  Do a post on my blog about the article.

2.  If it's time sensitive, I'll send out an email to specific individuals.

3.  Put a note on Facebook.

Writers:  What are some of the ways you "spread the good word" about promotional opportunities?

Readers:  Do you ever write to an author and let them know where you've seen their book or feedback from another reader?

Photo Credit:  jamie84

Friday Round-Up - #236

The Write Connection has some great tips on how to save time on Social Media. This entry talks about scheduling posts, using Permalinks.

Writers:  How do you keep Social Media from eating all your time?

Readers: How much time on average do you spend on Facebook, Twitter, etc.?

The winner of On The Threshhold by Christina Berry Tarabocchia and Sherrie Ashcraft is:

                                     NOELLE, THE DREAMER!

Congratulations!

Have a blessed weekend!


Photo Credit:  spekulator

Are You Visible?

During the winter, ice and snow make visibility an issue. Not only can't you see others, but they can't see you inside the car. So, we take time to scrape away the ice and clean off the snow before attempting travel.

As a newly-published author, I've discovered some interesting facts:

1. Just because I have 2600 friends on Facebook doesn't mean they can all see my status updates. Only a fraction of them are getting the word about The Moses Conspiracy.

2.  I send out a monthly email update to about 160 people. Most of them will delete it without opening the document. More than one expressed surprise about my book news, even though I've talked about it in the past three months.

3.  Blog followers often sign up for a giveaway or out of curiosity, but are they all faithful readers?

With great pressure on our time, we all sign up for things with the best of intentions. If you drop from the radar screen, all except your closest friends and relatives will forget about you. So, how do we maintain visibility?

1.  Maintain your Social Media connections. This includes taking an interest in others by reading their blogs, commenting on their Timeline posts, tweeting, etc. True connections/relationships take time and effort.

2.  We all have many responsibilities. I try to set aside between 1-3 hours a day. This is more than the average person can handle, but whatever you have, use it wisely.

3.  Take advantage of guest posts, promo opportunities, book clubs, and other venues that reach beyond your normal contacts.

Writers: What are some ways you maintain visibility?

Readers: Do you read author newsletters? What piques your interest in a communication?