Publishing Update

by Cindy R. Williams

I have been posting about my publishing journey. There has been a sad change. I have two children's books ready to rock and roll but, my artist/illustrator bailed on me. Sad days. She gave my storyboard and supplies I had given her to another person to give back to me. Needless to say, I am disappointed.

So . . . these two wonderful children books are on hold. They will find a home, when it is their time.

In the meantime, I have a clean romance novella into Heidi Taylor of Shadow Mountain. It is part of a four part sister/anthology. Three of my writing friends wrote the three other sisters, Melinda Sanchez, Jeanie Davis and Joyce Horstmann. We call ourselves the DIP's--Diva's in Progress. Great fun!

I also have a proof of another book into Kathy Gordon at Covenant and will send her the edited file soon.

My dragon book is getting ready to fly out of my hands and computer.

This writing journey is fun. Someday my books will be out there. It's going to happen someway, somehow.

Watch for more updates.

October

by Cindy R. Williams

Can't believe we are finally in October. Here in Arizona that means fall . . . though to see Fall colors you need to go into the White Mountain areas in the  north of the state. Here in the greater Phoenix area/desert it is still hot. Note, not as hot as HOT. HOT is summer. Fall is just hot. Near the end of the month, we do drop to the low nineties in the daytime, so that's something!  The best thing about Fall is that instead of remaining almost as hot during the night, we now drop down to the sixties and seventies.

Why all of this about the weather?

Because . . . by now, most Arizonans are a bit testy from all the summer heat. We all seem to do a collective sigh of relief that we have lived through another summer!

Celebrate! Fall is Great!

INDIE/HYBRID PUBLISHING

by Cindy R. Williams

One of the best ANWA Conference is now complete. I can honestly say it was extremely illuminating for my personal growth as a writer and a person.

One of the incredible things about ANWA Conferences is the attendees. This was my 10th ANWA Conference and each time it's like coming home to my family of writers. To see so many people I know and love is wonderful. The fact that they are all writers--all of us are a little ummm . . . extra creative--is wonderful. Non-writers just don't get it. And what "it" is, is not definable. You just have to be a writer, and you know what I mean.

I came into the conference looking for some publishing answers. The publishing world seems to be changing rapidly. I wanted to know where the best place for me and my stories was in this world.

Here is what I have decided. I am going to be an "Indie/Hybrid Author." You know, a person that publishes some books independently, (formerly known as self-publishing), and one that has a number of books published traditionally by some well accepted publishing houses through a "real" agent.

Let me share with you why I have chosen to be an Indie/Hybrid Author.

• Traditional publishing gives a writer more credibility. Even though indie publishing is becoming more accepted, there is still a bit of "thumbing the nose" at it. Traditionally publishing a book or two will establish me as a serious/professional writer who can play with the big boys.
• Indie publishing will give me COMPLETE CONTROL, from concept to book cover. I LOVE the possibilities here. Plus, if I do my marketing, the 70% return is a potential for some actual money. Maybe even enough to buy a trip to Hawaii for my hubby and I in a few years maybe, although my hopes are much higher.
• I hope to be able to bring in enough money so that I have only one job. I currently have FOUR; my writing career, part time newspaper reporter, my own company where I run PR campaigns for an engineering firm and others, and finally, I own a music studio. I teach; harp, guitar, 12 string guitar, bass guitar, banjo, ukulele, and piano. I must digress and add that my music is a source of great blessings to both my students and me. I LOVE to teach music. It's a gift to each student to open the magic world of music for them. Music is truly the voice of angels. 
• As James Owen pointed out at the conference, He has books published by several big publishing houses and his own indie books selling side by side. Each sells for the same price, but he makes three to four times more on his indie books than his traditionally published books. This is extremely attractive. 
• One of my favorite authors, Janette Rallison, also on the Indie/Hybrid panel at the ANWA Conference, stated that her agent died, yes, died, so she is agent-less at this time and is going to try more indie books. I admire Janette. She is a successful and smart lady.
• Indie writer, Kelly Oram, made six figures with  her ebooks and print books on Amazon and from her fan base in Hungary, during 2014. WOW! I loved how open and honest she is. My favorite quote from her is: "I'm a hot-mess-Mom, and my fans know it." She tells it like it is and has worked hard to have a fan base of over 5,000 readers.
• C. J Anaya began indie publishing in February of this year. Her first royalty check was around $2,500. She makes more than that now and it's only been seven months. She shared that she spent many hours researching how to optimize her sales on the internet. So there is much work for me to do.

Back to my decision. My goal is to be an Indie/Hybrid Author for the above reasons. I plan on blogging every two weeks about my journey. Come along for the ride.

Indie Publishing Experiment: - Part 2: Printed Book Though Create Space on Amazon

by Cindy R. Williams

My last blog posting on June 18, was about my experiment with Indie publishing through Amazon. I walked you through a bit of how I formatted my book WELCOME TO THE MOTHERHOOD, as an ebook and have now had some success with it, even though I have NOT done any marketing yet. If you missed it, it is still in the archives.

Here is where I'm at now with my experiment.

I decided to wait to host a book launch party, bog bash, email blast, etc until the printed version is available.

I happened across the name of Lyndzee Armstrong, on one of my writing facebook groups. She is an multi-published writer from Utah. She also formats ebooks for Amazon KDP, and for print on CreateSpace.

Since I already did the work myself to format my book as an ebook on Amazon, I didn't need her for that, but . . . I loved the idea of saving about a 30-hour learning curve for how to format my file for print with Createspace.

I sent Lyndzee my file, and she had it ready in several days and even downloaded it on CreateSpace for me. Plus, she only charged $75. Well worth every penny.

SHE WAS AMAZING! She even inserted an image of key below each chapter heading and then a small key in the place of bullet points at the end of each chapter. Like I said, she saved me least 30 hours to go through all the tutorials to get the file ready for print.

The next step is to review it all, one final time before it prints. Exciting for sure. CreateSpace has an option where you can purchase as many proofs as you want. They ship them to you. You have the opportunity to hold your book in your hand and can give it a final edit. I ordered five. One for me, my daughter with the keen eye in catching typos, my editor, and another writer friend that is genius at catching repeats and other issues. The fifth one? Just because. It only cost me about $18 and this included shipping.

My books arrived this week. I know they're just proofs, but what  rush to hold them in my hand.
So . . . now what. I passed out the proofs, and will collect them by this Tuesday. I plan to add these final edits to the file by next weekend and do another drum roll as I push "GO".

Oh, one fun side-bar. The picture on the front cover I used is of my three-year-old, grand-daughter. She is peeking around the tree she is climbing and has a huge, absolutely delighted grin with happiness exploding from her lovely little face, the look and image that only little children can do. When I dropped the proof off to her mother, I showed her the book. She screamed and jumped up and down. Again, this writing journey is such a blast. (By the way, I gave her parents some money for her college fund for allowing me to use this picture on my cover.)

The next few blogs will keep you up to date on where the book is, when the print version is available, the total cost on my end so far, and how to create your own cover.

Stay tuned. This is a SUPER FUN EXPERIMENT!

Indie Publishing Experiment - Part 1: Ebook Through Amazon, KDP

by Cindy R. Williams

My writing career is bizarre. Isn't yours?

I have at least 30 WIPS, anywhere from 2,000 words to 65,000 words.

Even better, I have seven books complete and in various stages of making it out to the world. All forward movement and good stuff, but . . . what I want to visit with you about right now is the book I am experimenting with in the Indie Publishing world.

I completed a book I call, WELCOME TO THE MOTHERHOOD. I submitted it to Deseret Book and it made the cut up to the marketing meeting. They didn't know quite how to market it so . . . alas, earwax--back in my hands. I decided to try my hand at Amazon; KDP for ebooks and CreateSpace for the printed version.

What a fun journey it has been. A big help was attending the ANWA Workshop in February. Jennifer Griffin taught about how to do this exact thing. I took copious notes and rolled up my sleeves and gave it a go.

It was quite a learning curve, and took me around 30 hours to get WELCOME TO THE MOTHERHOOD available for sell on Amazon. Don't grown, or shy away from trying it yourself. It really has been worth it.

I jumped through the hoops on formatting and found that it wasn't hard, it just took time to figure it all out, but was doable. About six of those hours was spent on creating my own cover. I experiment with tons of covers and pictures and colors and finally created one that made total sense and popped! I did my own drum roll and pushed the button to upload and voila . . . readers are purchasing it even though I chose not to market it yet, nor do a book launch party for it until it is available in print.

In May, our family made the annual trek to Disneyland. Back at the hotel one evening, my middle son, Hunter, received a text from a former sister-missionary from his mission in Dallas. She asked if the author, Cindy Williams, was his Mom. He texted her back that, "Yes, she is indeed my mother." She then told him that she bought WELCOME TO THE MOTHERHOOD for her mother for Mother's Day, and they read it together. They loved it and wandered when the printed version would be available. They wanted to buy some for other family members and friends.

It has started, Indie publishing is selling books while I sleep.

So, what next? CreateSpace and the printed version of the book.

Stick with me and check my next blog on July 2nd, for what happens next.

A Straw-Debate With a Writer - Writing: Is It Good or Bad For You?

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing, is it good or bad for you?

This is a straw-debate, which means it is an unofficial debate or sample debate of the good's and the bad's of writing according to one writer . . . me.

Good:  You get to tell your story in your own words.

Bad:  Many may not like your story and criticize it.

Good:  You have the opportunity to share good values with the world.

Bad:  You will not sell many books if you avoid the worldly view of things.

Good:  You sleep well for sharing things of worth.

Bad:  You lose sleep worrying that you will never reach the audience that your works could help.

Good:  You have dreams of being rich and famous some day.

Bad:  Being rich and famous some day is like lightning striking.

Good:  No one breathing over your shoulder when you write.

Bad:  You write alone, and it is sometimes a long lonely journey.

Good:  You have been given a gift and it is a great thing to hone and develop it.

Bad:  Nothing bad about the prior comment.

Add your two cents to the straw-debate via your comments.

Writing Tip #9 by the WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #9 by the WWD

Stop comparing yourself with other writers around you. Write your heart and then roll up your sleeves and find a home for your work. 

Do you find that others around you in your writing world are having success with their books? You are happy for them, but now, doubt yourself and what you write. Maybe it won't appeal to others, maybe it's not good enough, maybe, maybe, maybe. We maybe ourselves into a corner. Let's not give up on ourselves. Let's write what are passionate about and then GO FOR IT!

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm . . . I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #8 by the WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #8

Always keep a notebook with you. Jot down names you come across for future characters and plot ideas.

When you are having a plot or character issue, often the answer will come when you are doing other things. Don't let it drift away, thinking you will remember it. You may have super powers of "Elephant-like memory", but most of us have more of the "water down the drain memory."

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm . . . I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #7 by the WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

(The boss of the blog said we need to put our picture up on each blog--I think I have this right, so here it is. Happy and sassy!)

Writing Tip #7 by the WWD

DON'T BE LAZY!

How rude you say? Not if being lazy is used as an excuse to not write. I know an author who is a Stake President in his spare time and his daytime job is as a judge in Arizona. He had an idea for a book he wanted to write, but had NO TIME. Do you know what he did? He got up at four in the morning instead of six, for a year in order to crank it out. Now that is what I call NOT LAZY! 

I sure don't want to get up at four to write, however, I do want to take my own writing more seriously and follow a good daily schedule to write more. What do you do to get your writing done?

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm . . . I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #6 By The WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #6 By The WWD

If you choose to write a book with another human, make good and sure you have a rock solid relationship allowing give and take because you are in for a wild ride.

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #5 ~ By The WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #4 By The WWD

Don't live your life caught up in your stories. Get them out of your head by writing them. Remember their are real live people around you that need you to pay attention to them once in awhile.

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #4 ~ By The WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #4 By The WWD

Don't be afraid when your characters talk to you. It just means they want their story told. You are not any crazier than the next person.

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #3 ~ By The WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #3 By The WWD

Writers with grown kids still don't sleep well at night. Their pesky characters wake them at all hours.

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tip #2 ~ By The WWD

by Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #2 By The WWD

Make no mistake, if you see someone walking around talking to herself, she is not crazy, she is a writer. Writers often have conversations with their characters.

Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

Writing Tips # 1 ~ By The WWD

By Cindy R. Williams

Writing Tip #1 By The WWD

"Get your phobias out of the way and write. Or put your phobias to use in your writing."


Someone asked me to give them some writing tips. This sure got me thinking. Hmmm, . .  I could go online and find some for them. I could peruse my many books on writing and share. Then I realized that I have a few things that have come to me through the school of hard knocks. So I dug deep and came up with these. I call myself  the "WWD--Writer With Desire".  I will post them throughout the year.

The New Year Equals a New Chance

by Cindy R. Williams

The New Year equals a new chance. Everyone knows that. In fact most people make new goals for the new year. You know a chance to start over. According to many lists on Google, the most common goal we make is to lose weight. Okay, been there, done that, gained it back.

I like the idea that a new chance gives me a fresh year to accomplish my writing goals.

How about you? What does the New Year mean to you?

Writing in December

By Cindy R. Williams

Christmas and writing. Tough when you put these two together for several different reasons.
How can a writer write when it is difficult to find the time to write:

1.  Christmas is a busy time for decorating, baking, buying gifts, making gifts, addressing cards, mailing, visiting friends . . .
2.  Then, there is the real reason for Christmas, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. The only difficult thing about that, is making sure you keep the focus where it should be.

Answer:  Write a book about Christmas. Choose a POV and go. Just run with where ever it takes you.

Time to Step Up!

by Cindy R. Williams

   

      Life is changing fast, and I'm going to change too. I have watched many of my writing friends indie publish both ebooks and hard-copies. I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I have been writing for some years now and stacking up the stories, with ten now complete. I will send a few out to agents but some I want to experiment with and see what this new writing world is about.
 
 I own my own LLC already that I use to run my music studio, and sell my two books (CHASE MCKAY DIDN'T GET UP TODAY,www.cindyRwilliams.com

and an anthology which includes a few of my short stories titled, VALUE STORIES FOR A YOUNG WOMAN.)
With my LLC, I purchased a packet of 10 ISBN numbers, and have an account set up with Lightning Source-Ingram. I have CHASE MCKAY for sell on Amazon, Barnes Noble.com, and my website,
   
      So . . . I have a start. My platform is out there and moving forward.
 
     This year though, I want to learn how to format books on Create Space and Kindle. I have two great books I am studying called:

MAKE A KILLING ON KINDLE by Michael Alvear,


and HOW I SOLD 1 MILLION eBOOKS IN 5 MONTHS  by John Locke.
   
 

      I have been doing research by gleaning "how to" information from my ANWA friends whom have successfully indie published.
 
      I will continue to post what I am learning on this journey. Maybe it will help you take the plunge and get your completed and polished WIP out to the world.
 
      Fast changes are a comin'.  This is exciting!

Books That Help Me Write

by Cindy R. Williams

If your a writer, you have books on your shelf about writing. Some may be crisp and almost new, covered with a light layer of dust, others may be dog-eared and marked with tons of post-its.

Here are some books, just some--or this blog would be tooooooooo long--that I have on my shelf for reference.

Beginning Writer's Answer Book, edited by Jane Friedman.  The entire book is a list of questions about writing, followed by answers. Good stuff, here.

Thanks, But This Isn't For Us, A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected, by Jessica Page Morrell  To quote the book, "This book . . . written by a Demon of Harsh Reality and meant as a hefty dose of reality along with encouragement to keep trying, to keep learning. Because writing is a craft and it can be learned." It is just that. It tells it like it is, and sometimes a bit crudely.

Writing Tools--50 Essential Strategies For Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark. This book has sections like NUTS AND BOLTS, with chapters like;  Begin sentences with subjects and verbs, Order words for emphasis, Activate your verbs, Be passive-aggressive, Watch those adverbs. Take it easy on the -ings, Feat not the long sentence, Cut big, then small.  It is a great study.

I saved my favorite, well worn book on writing, for last.  Stephen King On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft. Whether your a Stephen King fan or not, he knows how to tell a compelling story on paper that translates to the big screen. I had heard about the book from a number of accomplished writers so decided I better buy it. It lives up to its reputation. He shares his writing journey and knowledge with forthright honesty. Yes, he has a bit of challenge thinking of words to replace swear words, but the book is a goldmine in what works. Even the picture on the front cover gives me hope. You see Stephen King, writing by hand, rocking back in a rolling chair, feet on his desk, dog under his legs, papers, reference books, notebooks and memorabilia scattered all around. A wall with various clippings and pictures etc. The picture alone tells so much. He has a dedicated writing space. He must spend a great amount of time there if his dog likes to lay there. You can tell he has is deep in thought, and working hard in-spite of his lounging position. For an author as famous as he is, his writing place is normal. For an author as successful as he is, he still puts in the long hours.

Birthdays

by Cindy R. Williams

Yesterday was my birthday. Here's what I thought about it.

• Old, but feel not so old, yet sometimes I feel like a hundred.
• Looking in the mirror. Who is that grandma looking lady? She sure looks tired. Then later, Wow, I don't see any wrinkles. Looking good for in your fifties now. 
• Glad that fifties are the new twenties . . . okay forties. 
• How weird that I received more birthday wishes from people on Facebook--some I don't even know--than from birthday cards, calls or from live bodies in first person. 
• Nice day not to worry about too much sugar, fat, carbs, red meat or too little exercise.
• Day to ponder who I have become. Do I want to stay that person, or create a new and improved version?
• How did I get that tummy?  (Like just this day I woke up and there it was. Yes, I am in denial here.)
• Thankful that this tough year is over and having faith that this next year will be full of reached goals. 
• Counting on one hand how many people are not speaking to me on this birthday, and realizing I am actually relieved that I don't have to speak to them. (Okay, too much info here, but three of them are crazy, one has few boundaries and is close being a stalker and the other one scares the living daylights out of me.)
• Don't care about presents. Do care that my children remember my birthday and have at least a few fond memories of forgiving kindness to direct my way. 
• Gift to self. A nap on my pretend cloud bed. A long story for another blog.
• Next year I am going to rest when I'm tired. Not feel guilty to say no when needed. Scale down on the supermom stuff. Let my creativity go sky high. Act on inspiration and promptings. Smile tons more and find more humor and humanity in situations. Move into a castle.