Cyn

Sometimes, you do it all right, follow all the submission guidelines, take the classes, practice your craft and still nothing happens.  It happened to Robin.  She’d been writing for eight years, following the advice of those who’d gone before, and wasn’t getting anywhere.  Then, six years ago, she finally got “the call”.

During the intervening years she developed strategies to help her survive the wait, strategies that helped her continue to write and hone her story telling.  The first strategy she created was to define herself as a writer.  Make this definition a part of your core identity; come out of the closet with your writing.  This enables you to gain support from people who care about you.

Second, get goals.  Make these goals things that are in your control.  You can’t control who buys your book, but you can control how many pages/words you write.  Have easy, moderate, and difficult goals.  When you achieve an easy goal you can press toward another goal, eventually stretching.  Write them down.  The act of putting them in writing makes them more “real”.  Achieving a goal makes you feel good.

Third, eliminate the negative.  Check your physical state and environment.  Is your work station too neat, too messy?  Is the light right?  Are you in a good ergonomic position?  Do you work at a computer for your day job?  Can you change your screen to something that doesn’t resemble work?

How is your mental state?  What deters you from writing?  Bills?  Correspondence?  E-mail?  Are you procrastinating?  Why?  What are you doing instead?  If you really must play that game, set a timer and use it to either limit your activity or use it for a minimum writing time and then reward yourself with the game.

Rejections also impact our mental state.  It hurts and our inner self is like a child.  Allow yourself to deal with the rejection, then move on.  Some writers have rejection rituals where they write letters to the person who rejected them and then burn the negative energy in the sink.  Perhaps it isn’t you or your writing, but circumstances totally out of your control.  Rename your rejection letter to a “declination” letter.  It doesn’t sound as harsh.

Muzzle your inner critic.  Find out what s/he is yammering about by writing an affirmation ten times and being aware of the negative thoughts that surface.  Deal with this thought by determining what happened in your life that planted that negative seed and then create a positive affirmation that you repeat when the negative blurt makes its presence known.

Forth, accentuate the positive.  Save the good reviews, comments from critique partners and other complements you receive.  Free write and get your whining out of your head and onto paper.  Find affirmations, statements that encourage you.  A book like Walking on Alligators will help you find some.  Keep pretty things around you. 

Validate your best efforts remembering that you are growing in your abilities.  What you wrote five years ago won’t be as good as what you write in five years.  Rely on yourself for validation with statements like “I wrote the best book of my heart with the skills I had at the time.”  Don’t rely on others for validation.  Doing so is an addiction that never satisfies. 

Find some Never Quit cards. Practice your own unique writing ritual whether it be lighting candles, listening to music, stretching, taking cleansing breaths, moving to another room.  Practice your craft every day.  Find support from other writers in writing groups, critique groups, contests.  Write, write write.  The act of the work will get you through even when you are depressed and wondering if you’ll ever receive “the call”.

The bottom line?  Ask yourself some basic questions.  Are you happier when you write?  If someone gave you ten million dollars to never write a creative word again, and promised to exact a dire punishment on you should you break that promise…could you take the money?  If you knew you’d never be published (or published again) would you still write?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you Survive to Write and Write to Survive.

 

I'm tired.  You know those sort of days.  You want nothing more on your responsibility plate than to take care of basic needs like eating and sleeping and if you had your druthers, you'd sleep because eating is too much work.

So, what do you do?  I usually end up taking a mini-nap or crawl beneath a blanket on my bed and read.  Right now I'm reading The Finishing School by Dick Couch.  One thing struck me.  Some military special operations schools are meant to force people out, to see who will quit and who will give the unit more than 100%. 

On these sleepy days, I think about people I respect, people who don't quit.  They encourage me to keep slugging uphill, to steal my thirty winks and then get back at it...the business of writing and editing and entertaining readers.  Nothing I do can touch what the men in special ops do.  Makes my whining insignificant.  So, I'll take my tiny nap and despite how tired I believe I am, I'll get back to my job at hand and work at making a little difference in someone's life.

 

This is supposed to be a picture of Air Force Sgt John Gebhardt in Iraq.  He's holding a little girl whose family was executed.  In fact, she was shot too and survived.  The nursing staff at the hospital say he is the only one she's able to be calm with and that he's held her during the night, for several nights, while they both slept. 

I hope this is a true story.  I haven't run Snopes on it yet as some of you might (and I encourage you to do so).  Still there is something special in seeing a military, tough man hold and comfort a child.  I hope my sons turn into the sort of men who can offer similar comfort to children wherever they are.

Be thankful for the people in your life, the people who've been there and the people who will be brought to you in the future.

Save The Quiet Kitty Contest and Celebrity Auction

Want to get some really cool stuff?

Read on to find out how!

Natural disasters like floods, fires, and disability often hit without warning, leaving chaos in their wake. When a crisis hits our friends, we all want to help. The Save The Quiet Kitty Fund is here to help authors in crisis.

From time to time, many of us have organized a short-term pool to help an author in crisis -- short-term crises that called for short-term solutions. The Save The Quiet Kitty Fund is designed to be a longer-term solution.

Our friend Camille Anthony was diagnosed in 1989 with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, caused by exposure to asbestos while an employee of the State of California. (There is a pending class action lawsuit against the State of California which has been in Pre-Trial hearings for almost a decade.) Camille is now a full time author with no health insurance. She's in stage four of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis and can't get health insurance because of this pre-existing condition.

Oxygen and hospital bills, as well as other medical expenses, are long-term needs. The irony is, Camille makes just enough residual income from her writing to keep her from being eligible for Medicaid. Since Medicaid turned her down, ongoing medical tests will run as hi as $1800 each – all out of pocket.

We hope to raise enough money, with your support, to not only cover Camille's current medical expenses, but to help other authors in crisis.

To help in this quest, various authors around the world are donating items for a Celebrity Auction. All proceeds will go into the Save the Quiet Kitty fund to be used for authors in need. Details of how to enter the auction will be published in a few days. Check out some of the things that will be offered!

Celebrity Auction Items:

Bath & Body works Gift Certificate from Alecia Monaco

Victorian Choker from Alexis Fleming

Autographed Print copy of Agency of Extraordinary Mates 1,2, and 3,

hardbound Secrets Volumes 7 and 8, a collection of favorite recipes from Alice Gaines

Avon Gift Set worth $86 from Amelia Elias

A Gift Basket with books from Berkley Sensation to include Captive Dreams, Master of Swords, Master of Wolves, Master of the Moon, and Master of the Night from Angela Knight

Print books from Ellora’s Cave to include Lawyers in Love series: The Defenders, The Prosecutors AND The Enchained Anthology which includes Mastered, also a beautiful silk makeup case from Ann Jacobs

Signed Print Copy of Calabi Chronicles: Blood Stone, and banner services to include an animated banners, at 468x60 pixels, up to 6 frames per banner, 3 banners total from Ann Vremont

Victoria’s Secret gift certificate from Dakota Cassidy

An Autographed set of the Devil Trilogy from Brava to inclued The Irish Devil, The River Devil and The Southern Devil from Diane Whiteside

Amethyst Necklace and one book download from Elayne S. Venton

Downloads of the complete Heaven and Hell Series by Emma Ray Garrett

Print copy of Midnight, Magic, and Naughty Things from Isabella Jordan

Print copy of A Touch of Heat and A Breath of Heat from Judy Mays

Print copy of Wolf Tales, Sexy Beast, Wolf Tales 2, and Kate’s newest Wolf Tales release, Wild Nights from Kensington Press and a Stuffed wolf from Kate Douglas

Tarot Card Reading from Kira Stone

Personalized pen/key ring/fridge magnet/bookmarks from Kyla Logan

Bright Blue Suede Mini Flogger Key Chain from Lena Austin

Three months free advertising for authors and three months free advertising for publishers from Literary Nymphs

Print set of the three book EC Pantasia series to include Hook, Wine & Tinker, For Pete’s Sake, and Forever on the Isle of Never from Mardi Ballou

Print copy of Chocolate Flava from Marilyn Lee

A “Wings For Your Mind” Coffee Mug, and a free banner service to include an animated or static banner from Marteeka Karland

Autographed print copies of I’m the Vampire, That’s Why, and Cupid, Inc. from Michele Bardsley

Two Out of Print Ellora’s Cave print books from Shelby Morgan

A personalized short story – you supply the characters from Sierra Dafoe

Print copy of Magic in the Blood from Samhain

and a Magic in the Blood magnet from Silvia Violet

Autographed copy of To Serve and Submit of Roc (Penguin Group) by Susan Wright

3 one year memberships to, and 3 twelve week static ads for authors from The Romance Studio

Set of Three autographed CD’s from Willa Okati

Print Copies of A Changeling For All Seasons, Agency of Extraordinary Mates volumes 1, 2, and 3, and All Wrapped Up from Changeling Press, LLC

You're an author! Announce it to the world!

 

Leave your card at restaurants, in those little luncheon jars (put your card here for a free drawing), everywhere you go, give one out.

 

This is really a great opportunity if you travel outside your community to spread the word about you and Aspen Mountain.

 

When people ask what you do, tell them you are an author, then hand them your card. Be friendly. Smile! According to a marketing book I read, well over 80% of customers don't return because of indifference on the part of the company (you).

 

If you have an eBook reader, a palm pilot, a pda...load books onto them...show people what eBooks are. Be ready to counter their arguments. Believe it or not, our best market is those that are 25-45 because they embrace new technology. Many just don't realize they can put books on these devices. If you don't have one, seriously consider such an investment. Why? Its hard to sell other people on the value of eBooks if you don't value it yourself.

 

You can get eBookwise readers on Amazon. I got mine for a little over $100, and its worth the investment. When people tell me they like the "feel" of a "real" book, I hand them my reader. It "feels" like a real book. Then when I show them the bookshelf and tell them I can easily carry 25 books around, can read without a light (the eBook reader has a lovely backlight), and that the battery life is incredible...I've done my job. I've made them aware, and gotten them interested in me as an author.

 

Couple that with the information I sent last night about selling better than three quarters of the print books that are available and you have another compelling argument for eBooks.

 

EBooks are the wave of the future. How do I know? Go to Fictionwise and see the "famous" authors whose books are available. NY print contracts are now asking for electronic rights (and still only paying 8-10%).

 

Your business card is a marketing opportunity for you. Use it generously. Think of your card as a mini-brochure-a small investment that holds the potential of a great return.

 

All selling of books, whether E or print, rely on the author and how they present themselves in real life to real people. I recently watched my friend, Lizzie T. Leaf in action at a book signing for her print book. She didn't sit behind a table, she was in front of it, approaching people with a smile, asking if they enjoyed romances and if they'd heard of hers. It was a beautiful thing to behold because Lizzie took a genuine interest in the people coming to the store. Lizzie later told me that at book signings a lot of managers are happy if the author sells 4-6 copies. They consider that a success...Lizzie more than doubled that and was asked to return.

 

That's how we have to be. If you don't want to say you write "erotica" you can say, I write historicals, mysteries, paranormal romance...and if you feel the need once they're interested add on ... they're hot. You'd be surprised at how many people say "that's okay"...amazing really.

 

Some of you write without the heat. That makes it all the much easier for you, imho. But even if you can't go into detail about your work, you can hand them your card ... try it, you may like it...and it will go on your pda. :)

 

• Nielsen Bookscan tracked 1.2 million print titles in 2004
• Only 250,000 sold more than 99 copies
• Only 200,000 sold lmore than 1,000 copies

I just finished reading an essay by Amway founer Rich DeVos.  The main theme of the essay was how we condition ourselves to either fail or succeed.  Rich and his friend, Jay decided they would start a flying school in Grand Rapids, MI.   Even though neither held a pilot's license at the time, they found pilots and students.  They had a can-do attitude.  When the lack of a runway would surely have stopped most people from opening their business, they added pontoons to the aircraft and used a river as their runway.

Next, they decided to open a restuarant.  On opening day, they didn't have the electricity hooked up.  Did that stop them?  No!  They rented a generator and opened when they said they would.

What does this have to tell us?  It tells me to believe in myself.  If I want to do something, I should go do it and not let circumstances get in my way.    If you shoot for the moon  and miss, a well known quote says, you still fall among the stars.  But what do you get if you don't shoot for the moon?  Stuck here on planet earth, none the wiser for missing out on an opportunity to forge ahead.

What do you tell yourself?  I can? or I can't?

People sometimes laugh at affirmations, but what if you got up everyday and sincerely told yourself "I can_______."  Fill in the blank.  What is it you wish to do?  Have dreamed of doing since you were a child?  Fly an airplane?  Write a novel?  Lose weight?  If you believe you can, you will.  Just don't let self-doubt stop you from achieving what is important to you.

Wow! 2006! Can you believe it? The new year is already off to a good start. One of my publishers is very interested in a completed novel, and is taking a serious look at a proposed sequel to another. I can see the next few months being very busy writing wise!

Like many of you, I've also made a couple of resolutions. For me, a resolution is a new opportunity to make a positive change in my life.  My biggest resolution  is increasing my daily word count, followed closely by moving my body more. I do not intend to be ill the way I was last year!

But, how do you go about fulfilling a resolution? Experts say one of the first things to do is make the resolution positive, specific, and graduated. Not, "I will lose weight." Something more along the lines of "I will weigh 130 pounds by June 1st, 120 pounds by October 1st.."

The second thing I've determined over the past few years is that for me, I need to chart my progress somehow. My specific resolution regarding my body is this: I will become more physically active by walking ten minutes a day between now and April 1st, twenty minutes a day from April through June 30th, and thirty minutes from July 1st for the remainder of the year. Every day I complete this goal, I put a tiny heart sticker on my wall calendar. It's encouraging to see those stickers.

In my writing, I want to be able to accomplish the completion of five books this year. In order to do that, I did some math. I also took into account there are some months I just don't accomplish much in, like November and December. When you know you are going to have difficulty with your schedule in getting certain things accomplished, don't add more pressure ... take the time to include the "off" time in your calculations.

That means a book done in approximately eight weeks in order to meet the goal. At a minimum of 40,000 words that means I need to write at least 2,000 words a day, five days a week or for me about 50 pages per week.. On my desk, I have a chart labeled Monday - Saturday with a week total column, and a year to date column. I love seeing those numbers climb.

There is an old adage that says a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Nowhere does it say what sort of first step is taken. It might be a baby step, it might be a stumble, it might be a leap, all that matters is the first step. Even when that first step falters be it an hour, a day, a month ... the first step is always right there waiting for you.

Dieting? Have a day when you go off and really binge? Fine. Accept that, then take your next first step. It may take longer than you planned, but if you keep adding up those first steps, eventually you'll hit your goal.

Happy New Year everyone. May you be more blessed than you hoped for.

Recently, I had an experience that made me really think about myself and my inner strengths.  At a busy intersection I had been stopped in the right turn lane at a red light.  Next to me was a rather large sign that explicitly stated, "Right turn on GREEN arrow ONLY."  On the far side of the intersection stood another sign stating the exact same thing.

 

A large truck pulled up behind me.  A moment later, it started honking.  I double-checked to see if the red arrow had changed to green.  It had not.  The male driver honked again (I'd checked in my rear view mirror).  I sat resolutely waiting for the light to change and give the appropriate signal to make my turn. 

 

Imagine my surprise when the man honked once more and then pulled around me to make an illegal turn (he was no longer in the designated turning lane).  Not only that, two more vehicles followed.

 

It started me thinking about all the ways we are tempted to capitulate to peer pressure.  So many times we think it is just the young people who have to deal with the mental arm-bending that exists.  But they aren't the only ones.  To this day, I feel like I made the right decision to obey the traffic laws.  But, how many other areas of my life do I cave in? 

 

That incident has heightened my awareness of what are truly my core values.

Lucynda

I'm reading a terrific book right now entitled, Do It! Let's Get Off Our Butts by Peter McWilliams.  In it he shares his thoughts on Fear, Guilt, Unworthiness, Hurt Feelings, Anger and Discouragement, emotions nearly every author experiences at some stage in their career.

Fear is the energy to do our best in a new situation.

Guilt is the energy for personal change.

Unworthiness keeps us on track.

Hurt Feelings remind us how much we care

Anger is the energy for change.

Discouragement reveals our courage.

Wow, powerful stuff, but what an awesome way to reframe our emotions into something powerful we can use to be better people and writers.

Anyway, just a little food for thought.

Lucynda