It's All About Networking

Writing has always been a lonely occupation. I learned a lot in the past reading books written by accomplished teachers. In fact, over the years I amassed an impressive library dedicated to the craft of writing. In recent years there's been a deluge of informative stuff available, mostly free, on the world wide web.

But, the act of writing is a lonely occupation. There comes a time when you just need another friendly face to talk over your gains and losses. I've come to the conclusion that networking should be a necessary part of the writing lifestyle.

For example, here are just a few nuggets I acquired this past week through networking. I learned of a free workshop in my area as a result of a friend's Facebook posting. (https://www.wordwriters.org/events/)

A writers' group I belong to presented a program, with live demonstrations, on fight jargon. (You never know when one of your characters will need to express themselves in Tai Kwon Do jargon.)

Another writer friend shared the advise she received considering the future of her book published by the now-defunct Tate Publishing. When she queried them their response was, “... to go ahead and republish through Createspace. When ready for it to go live, send Author Central the old ISBN number and the new one, and they would phase the old one out.”

None of this information would have been available to me if I'd confined myself to camping out in my little house and ignoring the rest of the world.

So, break out of your shell; join a writers' group, find a Facebook group page and become a member, go to that conference or workshop, meet other writers, and continue to grow your craft by sharing with other lonely writers.

The Other Side of Writing

So a copy of my latest efforts is in the mail from my publisher. Now comes the more demanding part which I dread but have learned is a very necessary activity - the promoting and marketing.

I have no reluctance when it comes to plunking myself in a chair, fingers on keyboard, and letting the words flow. Its this other half of what makes a book a success that twists my stomach into knots.

For now I need to spend my time creating a concentrated blitz of email announcements and press releases, flood twitter and deluge my Facebook friends - all for the purpose of calling everyone's attention to the new book. 

Promoting and marketing a book means calling attention to yourself. It means speaking out in every situation, announcing who you are and what you've done. All this self-promoting is to get people interested enough in you and your latest work so they'll shell out some dough and buy a copy or two.

So, what's an author to do? If we want our new book to be read, we do everything necessary to get this latest production noticed. And isn't that part of the reason I continue to write? To share my thoughts, my imaginations with others?

Considering What Keeps Me Writing

What is it that keeps me plunking down words, fingers tapping keys, clenched hand pushing a pen across a page? 

Certainly my accumulation of rejections -- especially the ones resembling nothing more than a mass produced product – do more to feed my disappointment than inspire me to keep on writing.

Success in getting published may come along, sometimes with months of famine in between. Yet, even as I savor a sense of accomplishment and brandish the flag of recognition, those instances aren’t what drives me to my writing pad.

The magic happens each time I set aside time to create words; each time the tip of my pen, or fingertips pounding a keyboard, produces squiggles and curves that morph into understandable language. That’s when I find myself connected to a force beyond myself.

As I witness words accumulate on paper or my computer screen, it’s a reminder that I am connecting to the Source of creativity. It is this awareness of being part of something beyond my ken that keeps me going. 

Every time something newly created flows out of the deep center of my being, feeding my flickering flame of inspiration into life, I'm filled with a sense of fulfillment for being alive.

One Lovely Blog Award

What a lovely tribute from a long-time author friend, Patty Wiseman. She writes The Velvet Shoe Collection, An Unlikely Arrangement, An Unlikely Beginning, A Unlikely Conclusion, and An Unlikely Deception, set in 1920's Detroit. Here's her link address so you can go learn more about her and her series https://www.facebook.com/Patty-Wiseman-Fan-Page-122326897827176/

Want to be nominated? All is takes is being a blogger. Here are the rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
• Add the One Lovely Blog Award emblem to your post.
• Share seven things about yourself not found in your bio.
• Pass this award on to as many people as you like, up to 15.
• Include these rules
• Inform your nominees.

Now, on to those seven never-been-disclosed-before tidbits about me.

1.  I'm the mother of a terrific son, a grandmother of two awesome young ladies, and the great-grandmother of two precious cuties. We lost an older son, David, a few years back when he died in his sleep at the young age of fifty.

2.  I wish I were as physically active as I was twenty years ago. (Well,who doesn't?) Back then I cared for huge gardens--growing food and herbs--helped maintain our acreage by trimming shrubs and helped my husband cut, split, and haul the mountains of firewood needed to keep our home warm.

3.  Continuing to look back, I raised chickens, ducks, turkeys and rabbits at one time or another. And yes, I did the butchering and cleaning of all as well as the preserving and cooking.

4.  I still consider myself a transplanted Yankee even though I've lived in Texas for almost sixty years. 

5.  I met my husband-to-be at a Saturday night dance sponsored by the VFW. Dallas-born and in the Coast Guard at the time, he was attending Engineering school in Connecticut. Believe it or not, it was love at first sight for the both of us.

6. I recently picked up my paint brushes and began dabbling with oil paints after a hiatus of over forty years. If interested, you can see results of my efforts on my Pinterest page (https://www.pinterest.com/gayingram/my-creative-efforts/.)

7. I've never been much interested in sports although I do enjoy watching the Olympic competition in swimming and gymnastics. In fact, my recent novel, Not Bound By Blood, was inspired by the first American woman to win gold in track. 

Nominees:
Author Jim Callan (http://www.jamesrcallan.com/blog/) A terrific mystery writer

To Describe Or Not To Describe

In reading newsletters this week, I came across a couple that addressed the same topic...but each expressing the opposite point of view. So, I'll share it with you, my readers, as see if a consensus can be reached.

Do you think your reader needs a detailed description of your characters? Now, I'm not talking about an information dump...or the obvious self-description as a character views him/herself in a mirror kind-of-writing. I'm referring to telling the reader what color hair, the color of the eyes, the shape of the body, etc.

I found lots of great sites on the subject when I went googling. Here are a few quotes to tease and links to read for yourself.

"Description doesn’t have to be direct to be effective." Rachel Scheller
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/11-secrets-to-writing-effective-character-description

Writers Stack Exchange - "I think that you should define your main characters, and especially the love interest, only as much as absolutely necessary."
http://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/12717/is-it-better-to-describe-the-main-characters-physical-appearance-early-on-in-th

Jami Gold -  "As with many elements of writing, we need to decide what impression we want readers to have." http://jamigold.com/2014/10/ask-jami-how-do-we-describe-characters/

My personal choice? I grew up listening to radio, a great imagination stimulator. Rather than a description of physical attributes, I rely more on mannerisms and emotional reactions to define my characters. My motto? Let the reader envision their own concept of the character.

Now I'd like to hear your opinion.

What's A One Sheet?

  How many of you have completed your one-sheet? A one-sheet is a quick way to introduce your novel (and yourself) to interested parties. It's a visual and concrete selling tool to give an agent or editor that contains the vital information about the novel you're wanting to get published. A one-sheet will make a lasting impression weeks after the meeting.

It can be two-sided, but keep all the information to one sheet of paper. Don't get fancy with the text, color or images and leave lots of white space. You want something that will allow the reader to capture the information in a glance.

Start with a catchy title. Add a brief (100-150 words) blurb about your story. Be sure to include genre, length, and degree of completion. If you're pitching a series, include a brief capsule of each book in the series.

A photo of yourself, name, and a bio will help the agent/publisher make the connection at a later date. Be sure to include all contact information, including any website they can go to that will share more about you and your body of work.

If you have a publishing history, include that information. Include anything that will help you and your work stand out  from the crowd. One final note - keep a .pdf of your one-sheet    handy on your computer. It's a great way to transmit asked-for information.      

Here are a couple sites to check out if you have unanswered questions:
http://communicateskills.com/2013/01/07/how-to-create-a-strong-one-sheet-for-yourself-or-your-business/
http://towriteastory.com/whats-in-a-one-sheet/

A Blog About Blogging

Thought I'd do a bit about blogs and blogging. Hope you find the posting helpful and thought-provoking.

BLOG:  a piece of software which allows you to write an online diary on a website. A blog is used to communicate with the billions of web users throughout the world. The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives.  A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic.Readers can access the archives, previous posts, leave comments, and even message each other.

If you’re serious about blogging,  purchase a domain name and hosting account. A few places to check out are: WordPress.com
      Wix.Com

      Weebly.com

      Blogspot.com

The Blogger's Code of Conduct is a proposal by Tim O'Reilly (http://www.oreilly.com/tim/bio.html) for bloggers to enforce civility on their blogs .

1. Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.
2. Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.
3. Consider eliminating anonymous comments.
4. Don't feed the trolls.
5. Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.
6. If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.
7. Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person.

Maintaining a blog has proved to be a profitable venture for some folks. Every published or soon-to-be-published is encouraged to create a blog and update it frequently. It's a great way to give your prospective readers teasers or background information about your book. 

Here are a couple blogs that have made it big time. Julie Powell's blog, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen together with Julia Child's autobiography, My Life in France, eventually evolved into the hugely successful movie, Julia & Julie.
Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/), founded on May 9, 2005, has an active community, with over one million comments made on the site each month.