The ANWA Founder & Friends Blog

It's been Eleven Years!

I refer to the ANWA Founder & Friends Blog, which has been running for that length of time.

I'm Marsha Ward, the Founder of ANWA and the host of this blog. The original purpose, to illuminate ANWA and its authors, has been met. The additional goal to help other writers is now served in other, better ways. Therefore, it's time to end the blog and move onward to new adventures.

We've had many members on our Blog Team through the years. I want to acknowledge all these women and their wonderful blog posts, as well as our current Team. Included are two current Team Members who have been blogging along with me for the entire time: Kari Pike and Terri Wagner. Susan Cady Allred, Deb Graham, and Cindy R. Williams fill out the team. Thank you! Thank you all!

Now we're all moving on. We all have a lot to do in our lives as well as our writing careers, so I'm pretty sure the prick of losing this opportunity will not last long.

I will leave the blog up so that you can return and read your favorite posts from years gone by.

May you all have a wonderful New Year, full of joy and good cheer.


~Marsha Ward

Time

by Marsha Ward

It seems like time is rushing by so fast I can barely keep track of the days.

I noticed two days ago that I had a calendar stuck on October. As I regretfully flipped past November, I wondered where all that time had gone.

Had I used it wisely?
Had the hours been spent doing something good and/or worthwhile?

I think so. Two weeks of October were spent traveling to and from and attending a week-long workshop on the coast of Oregon. The over-arching theme of the workshop was "Time," and how authors--especially indie authors--don't have enough of it to do everything they want to accomplish. I came away dazed, and with my head so full of information that I thought it would explode.

In November, I finished working on a piece of fiction that I wrote over the span of three years, mostly because the main character wasn't ready to move on. I can't force characters to reveal their secrets until they are ready. However, I managed to publish Mended by Moonlight on the last day of the month.

I also traveled to attend a family Thanksgiving celebration. That was very nice. I may spend Christmas Eve with that side of the family again.

Now I'm starting a new story. The challenge there is to break away from everything else I do and make time for writing it.

I have so many plans for things to do in the new year: cover re-dos for better branding, writing, marketing, learning. I have to focus hard and pick the most worthwhile projects and endeavors.

What do you do with your time?

Writers Conference

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard marshaward.com

I spent a few days a week ago down in Gilbert, Arizona, for the 25th Annual Writers Conference put on by American Night Writers Association (ANWA), which is a writers group I started back in 1986. I had a ton of fun, seeing long-time friends again, “meeting” face-to-face with long-time Facebook and email friends, and enjoying the energy of so many like-minded souls together.

The highlight of my trip was a class I gave for two hours on Saturday afternoon. There were several talented writers who attended and found themselves validated in their writing style. It was a joyful class, and I loved being the bringer of that joy.

Have you ever attended a writers conference? What did you take away from the experience?

*Photos by Deb Eaton

A Useful Podcast for Writers from Joanna Penn, with Dean Wesley Smith

by Marsha Ward

I don't listen to many podcasts, because, well, you know, time. But recently I listened to one from author Joanna Penn's series at https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/

The title is "Your Magic Bakery Of Intellectual Property Rights With Dean Wesley Smith" and it's found at
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/07/31/intellectual-property-rights-dean-wesley-smith/

If you know me at all, you know I count Dean Wesley Smith as a mentor, which is really why I listened to the program in the first place. I love Dean's view on many things, including keeping your intellectual property rights intact. I'm a control freak like he is, I guess.

The podcast lasts just over an hour, which includes an introductory discussion from Joanna, but if you can't bear to listen all that time, the site includes a transcript. DO read it. Go take a look here.

Marsha Ward is the Founder of American Night Writers Association. She is a writer and novelist who grew up with a love of American values that are reflected in her body of work. Her historical novels in "The Owen Family Saga" are Gone for a Soldier, The Man from Shenandoah, Spinster's Folly, Ride to Raton, and Trail of Storms, all available in print from her website, at WestWardBooks.com, from online booksellers such as BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com; and in ebook formats at Smashwords.com as well as the booksellers above. Her latest work is That Tender Light, the origin story novella for the Owen Family series.

ComiCon Report

by Marsha Ward  @MarshaWard

As I mentioned two weeks ago, I recently shared a booth at Phoenix ComiCon. I had an interesting four days.

I could tell you about the gunman who got in on Thursday, but I was unaware of the event until I read about it on Facebook. Fortunately, Phoenix police officers took the fellow into custody without incident.

That caused much discomfort for fans on Friday, though, as they had to wait in the sun for a couple of hours while staff and security searched all backpacks, large purses, etc., for any contraband. Prop weapons were banned, weapon sellers were obliged to put purchases into opaque bags (that is, black garbage bags), and one vendor created such a stink that he was told to pack up and leave.

But you probably want to know about my experience. I met two of my booth-mates for the first time. I learned that I probably want a table-front banner of some kind and/or book cover posters if I do something like this again. I did decide to emulate something another author did in our booth. You'll see what that plan is when you come to the Payson Book Festival on July 22.

But as I said above, I had an interesting four days. Costumes abounded, some incredibly detailed, some pretty basic, some outlandish, some lacking much substance. I was amazed, however, at how easily I let go of the need to judge all manner of people and their fascinations. That's not my job, anyway. I simply enjoyed the spectacle and the homemade ice cream.

I sold a handful of books. I didn't expect to sell loads of books. In fact, I scaled back my inventory from tons of books to five of each, because I knew I would not sell many books (plus, I didn't want to undergo the dock loading process).

For one thing, I'm not a well-known, super-star author.

For another, I was offering historical novels for sale at a convention more into sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, and popular TV shows and movies of those cultures. But I did give away my handouts, which have QR codes on the back for people curious about what I was doing there. That is a part of my brand awareness advertising plan.

I enjoyed looking at the costumes, but I could not tell you who about 90 percent of them represented.

I did get a Whovian thrill, though.

BBC America had a Dr. Who booth at which one could have free photos taken: outside with your own camera/phone,

and inside, with a photo emailed to you. By the way, the TARDIS really is bigger on the inside!

Will I do ComiCon as a vendor again? The verdict isn't in yet. If I ever write a book in a genre more in line with the spirit of the Con, perhaps yes. If I don't I can always go as an attendee. That will probably give me less stress and fewer hours of after-event decompressing.

Have you ever been to an event like a ComiCon? Were you an attendee or a vendor? What did you experience?

ComiCon and Me

by Marsha Ward  @MarshaWard

Several months ago, I was invited to share a booth with a friend at Phoenix ComiCon. I went back and forth before I decided to give it a go. Now there are four of us authors in the booth.

ComiCon begins Thursday, May 25, and runs through Sunday, May 28.

I'm not positive whether or not I'm a good fit for the event. I write Westerns. ComiCon celebrates popular culture, particularly in the fields of SciFi & Fantasy. But before Firefly, there were Westerns, right?

If nothing else, I can take the expenses off my income taxes in several categories, including Advertising and Fees.

Although ComiCon is not strictly a book event, authors do participate, in both booths and at "Artist Alley" tables. For me, this will be an adventure in marketing, putting my author brand out there, conquering fear and anxiety, and trying to be an extrovert for four days.

I've been working on what books to take, how many copies of each book, how to display the books, how to decorate the booth, and other details. I've sent a ton of questions to my friend, read the policies of the show innumerable times (and I'm sure I missed something!), and even had nightmares.

Yes, nightmares. Horrible, vivid nightmares of having my car stolen from downtown Phoenix, thus stranding me 150 miles from home. Once I got my parking secured, though, the nightmares went away.

The last couple of days, I've been working on handouts. One handout showcases my major series, "The Owen Family Saga," and the other has a headline of "WESTERNS, America's Timeless Fiction," with photos of nine of my works, plus fifteen QR code links to various sites on the reverse.

I also made a ring-bound set of cards with large QR codes for those who wish to go purchase ebooks on the spot. Or just look at one of the books at Amazon.

Why all the QR codes?

In view of the demographic of the attendees, I've decided to take a minimum amount of paperback books, because this crowd is more likely to buy and read ebooks. I'm attempting to make it easy for them to purchase books of mine that catch their interest!  

There are tons of apps for reading/scanning QR codes. I'm hoping many attendees will have such scanning apps.

So much goes on at ComiCon that I probably won't be sitting around watching my feet swell as I thought at first. I might get to go roam a little to take in a panel, or just wander around and see the sights. I'm sure there will be cringe-worthy costumes, but some are likely to be spectacular--even if I don't know what show or comic book character they represent.

My friends have advised me to have fun. By gum, I'm going to have fun. Really, truly.

I'll be in the Four Carat Press Booth in the Lower Level Exhibit Hall, Hall Six, Booth #1797, against the south wall. Come say hello!

Advice for Writers: Write the Book!

By Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

The first step to getting a book published is to write it. Here's an encouraging excerpt about that from my new book for writers, The Checklist: Indie Publishing My Way.

The essential step in publishing a book is writing it. Yeah. That. This step will take however long it does, but the sooner you develop habits that help you move forward—without an internal editor on your shoulder to make you write, rewrite, polish, and re-polish Chapter 1—the better. It doesn't matter whether or not you own the most popular writer's software out there, or if you write your 1st draft using Word, Open Office, Pages, or Notepad. The point is to push through and finish the draft, because you can't publish a book that isn't finished.

On my checklist, I allow two to three months for writing. Sometimes I hit it, and sometimes I don't, Because Life. Happens. Did I mention that I have a condition known as ADHD? That's Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. A great many creative people—or Creatives, for short—suffer from this malady in its various forms. The condition is difficult to deal with, but all challenges can be overcome (or so I keep telling myself).

Here's a Truth that you must remember: every writer writes differently. In other words, there is no One True Way to write. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that their method for writing is the only method of writing.

The corollary to the Truth is that every writer may write each book differently. Okay, I don't want to scare you or introduce unneeded stress into your life, so I won't say much more about that. Just realize that you may need to write a second book using a different method. No stressing about it, okay? Just get this book finished.

Writers write using methods that string along a spectrum that ranges from Plotter at one end to Pantser at the other. Where you may fall on this spectrum (and it probably will shift from time to time and book to book) depends on how your brain is wired. Plotters feel a compulsion to know everything that will happen in a book, so they plot it out, using outlines of varying degrees of exactitude and comprehensiveness. Pantsers (the name comes from the term "writing-by-the-seat-of-your-pants") are also called organic or discovery writers. They want to write the story and discover what happens as their fingers work on the keyboard. You'd be surprised how many top authors are Pantsers. Really surprised.

Pantsers often are stymied by complete outlines. For example, if I write so little as a synopsis of a book, my brain says, "Well, look there, you've written the story. You don't need me anymore," and it shuts down and refuses to cooperate with me in writing a first draft.

There is so much danger in this state of affairs that I cannot plot out a book. I can only figure out who the main character is, a vague estimate of where the book could end, and maybe a couple or three things I hope will happen along the way. I usually know when and where the story will be set, and maybe what the "inciting incident" or "change in the character's life" is. Beyond that, I have to let my mind direct my fingers when I write.

The process is really kind of cool.

That doesn't mean it's your process. It's mine. And it can change. Slightly.

Different books I've written have called for different degrees of foreknowledge, so I have ranged a bit from the Pantser end toward the Plotter end, but never so much that my brain turned off.

Go with what works for you in writing your book, but do go forward.

The Checklist: Indie Publishing My Way is now available for only $4.99 on the sites of all major ebook vendors:

Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Smashwords 

Coming soon in Print!

Business of Indie Publishing: Print Editions

by Marsha Ward

I’ve just finished taking a course on business for fiction writers. One of the things I’ve learned is that an Indie Publisher should have many streams of revenue. Here a few sales and there a few sales adds up.

One revenue stream often neglected by Indies is print editions. I’ve heard that I should rectify this situation.

It must be true. Many times I’ve heard one of my friends say, “Well, I’ll buy it when it comes out in print.” Make that two, no, three friends. There must be more who I haven’t heard from.

I’ve always thought, Well, it’s only a novella, and I don’t plan to do it in print. It’s too small.

Always Learning New Stuff

But I’ve learned that nothing is too small for print! Bundling several projects together can make a larger printed product, but it’s a valid idea to have ALL work in print.

So, I’ve taken a bit of time away from writing to do some business “housekeeping.” That is, I’ve been making print editions of a couple of pieces of my work. I will continue to do this in the future.

I also uploaded an updated print cover for The Man from Shenandoah with the correct Book Number, and will do the same with Spinster’s Folly after TMFS clears the process.

Besides that, I’m toiling over new print editions for the last two of the Owen Family Saga novels, Ride to Raton, and Trail of Storms. Once they are ready to go, I’ll rescind permission for iUniverse to print those books. My relationship with them will then be at an end.

FYI, prices of the print editions for Gone for a Soldier, The Man from Shenandoah, and Spinster’s Folly have gone up a dollar each, but Amazon is holding the line with sales at the lower prices. I don’t know how long that will last, however.

Now In Print:

Newly published is a print edition of Western Stories: Four Tales of the West, with a brand new cover! It’s currently available for $6.99 plus shipping and handling from CreateSpace, Amazon, and BarnesandNoble.com.

Work continues on a mega print edition of The Complete Owen Family Saga. That has been quite an undertaking. I’ve had to change the font and margins several times in order to keep the book within the page limit for the size. At first, I thought I might have to go up to 8 1/2- x 11-inches, but I figured out a way to keep it at the familiar 6-x 9-inches.

It will be a thick book. The minus is that it has over 400,000 words, so the font size is smaller than I would like. However, it’s going to have that stunning yellow cover. I might do it in the silky-feeling matte cover. The five novels within are in the best reading order. Those are big pluses.

I trust these moves will be good for business.

Life Is Out of Control!

by Marsha Ward

Okay, so I have to post-date this post because I'm posting it on a day on which I'm not scheduled to post, but life is like that recently. What I mean is, it's all messed up.

Not life, per se, but my scheduling thereof. I've been postponing working on finishing one nonfiction project so I could finish another one. Well, the recipe collection is now completed, and it's available in print as well as ebook formats. Here's a link to my website with details.

But have I resumed writing the last two chapters on the other nonfiction project?

Um, no.

Because I'm testing something out for that project, by formatting another of my books for print! That's a difficult project, due to the length of five-books-in-one. I'm trying to keep it under the limit of 840 pages. I might need to go to a bigger-size of book, like 8 1/2 x 11-inches, but I hope not.

Perhaps I should abandon the present test format until I have time for the large book, huh? Maybe do the testing on a shorter work, like a novella or a short-story collection? The formatting is taking a lot of time that should be spent in other ways, like getting the testing done so I can get back to the original task: finishing the nonfiction project!

Because I have other work to write. Sheesh!

It would help if my Internet were cooperating. We have a lot of wind today, and for some reason, wind affects my satellite connection in bad ways.

Whiny Wednesday, anyone? Oh, that's right. It's not Wednesday!

Will I Always Be a Step Behind Schedule?

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I'm running as fast as I can, but I feel like I'm always a step behind where I should be. Perhaps I'm judging myself harshly, but I lost precious writing days earlier in the year due to bad weather and power outages, which put me behind schedule for producing new work. That caused me to give in to anxiety, which of course put me further behind in my production schedule. I'm trying to catch back up, but the days have been lost, and putting more pressure on myself could cause another period of anxiety-driven down time, which can't be good. Unless I'm supposed to stop being so busy and be still.

Maybe I need to explore that concept?

I haven't worked out how being still will aid my publishing schedule, except in the realm of being still and knowing that God is, and that He loves me and is mindful of me. That is always a great comfort.

Two weeks ago I revealed the cover of my new book, From Julia's Kitchen: Owen Family Cookery, which was published last Friday. I'm now working to finish and format the manuscript of another book, a nonfiction Indie Publishing guide, so I can release it soon. I've been agonizing over a cover for that book. I just couldn't find anything that suited it. Then I decided to throw off fear and make the cover myself.

Perhaps that will work. I hope so! Yes, I'm fluffier than the chick on the cover, but that's how I'd like readers to think I look. I can dream, right?

I won't give you a date for the release, but if God be willing and the creek don't rise any higher (literally), it will be soon.

I have more story ideas than I have time to write them, so wish me luck, good weather, and lots of energy so I can get them all written and published.

Cover Reveal: From Julia's Kitchen: Owen Family Cookery

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard
 
Early next month I’ll publish an exciting new project: From Julia’s Kitchen: Owen Family Cookery. This ebook contains Julia Owen’s prized recipes, plus a note on each recipe telling about it.

Of course the idea that a fictional character has collected recipes, or “receipts,” as they were sometimes known in those days, is pure fiction, but the recipes are real. Sign up for my Readers mailing list below to get the first notice of the release of From Julia’s Kitchen, right in your inbox.
   

Subscribe to my Readers mailing list

February Romance Fix

by Marsha Ward

What better time than Valentines Day to tell you about a nice deal in FREE Clean Romance eBooks that I'm involved in?

In exchange for your email address (so you can get to know all us authors and other books we have written) you can choose among our FREE eBooks and pick one or several of those offered. You can have them all!
And as you enjoy our FREE eBooks, you can learn a little about us as people, as well as authors.

This promotion comes to you through My Book Cave, a service offering ratings, yes, RATINGS on books, just like you get ratings on television shows and movies. What an idea!

With FREE eBooks and collections from such stellar writers as Julie Wright, Elizabeth D. Michaels, Heather B. Moore, Laurie Lewis, Melanie Jacobson, Rebecca Talley, Joyce DiPastena, Lois D. Brown, Marsha Ward, and others, how can you go wrong?

Go now to My Book Cave, open your free account, and select a bunch of yummy Clean Romances.

Oh, did I tell you there's also a Gift Card Giveaway? Enter the sweepstakes to win a $10 Gift Card from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes. Tell all your friends! Click here to begin your February Romance Fix now.

BIC-HOK-TAM

By Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

BIC-HOK-TAM?*

What? Is she kidding? Isn’t that HoHoKam for “go to sleep right now or the evil raiders will get you”?

Not really. BIC-HOK-TAM stands for “Butt in chair-hands on keyboard-typing away madly”. It’s what every writer needs to learn to do—every writing day.

Notice I said every writing day. This also might be “every writing moment.” I know some of us can’t write seven days a week like some full-time novelists do. As a women writer, I do have other commitments. Some women writers have families who need some measure of care. However, I encourage all writers to write in what time you can make available for writing.

Writers find the time to write in a variety of ways. We cut out watching that favorite television program. We vacuum twice a week instead of five times (or teach our children to do that job). We stop going to every baby shower or lunch date. Maybe we use comforters on the beds instead of making tight hospital corners each morning (again, why aren’t the kiddos making their own beds?). Perhaps we eat Cheerios for dinner a few nights a week instead of cooking gourmet meals.

Whatever sacrifice we (and our families) make gains us a few more minutes to write. A few more minutes to practice BIC-HOK-TAM!

Okay, we have a few minutes before we have to pick up Tabitha from kindergarten. How do we do BIC-HOK-TAM?

We sit down (BIC), put our hands on the computer keyboard (HOK), and start typing whatever comes into our minds, if we don’t have anything already flowing (TAM). Okay, so it’s a letter to our Aunt Katie on how fun it was to play in the snow at her house on Thanksgiving Day, 1983, or a grocery list, or a journal entry that can touch our family members many years down the road.

Maybe it’s just pure hoop-di-doo and garbage, but we’re WRITING, and soon, our minds will open up and we’ll start to write something we need to share, maybe a poem, an essay, a short story, a character sketch or a novel chapter. Maybe we’ll write a magazine article entitled “10 Ways to Make Time for Writing,” or another chapter in our non-fiction book. The point is to begin, and that’s where BIC-HOK-TAM comes in handy.

Use BIC-HOK-TAM as often as you can, to write and get closer to your writing goal.
~~~

*This blog post first appeared on The Ink Ladies Blog on July 26, 2007.

Trying to Catch Up

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

Wow! I have to apologize. I've missed a bunch of blog dates. The last one I did was way back on November 8, when I announced that I was beginning an online workshop. Nope, I wasn't starting up a new project, I was commencing a course of study under the able oversight of someone who is a much more experienced writer than I am. And, well, I fell off the earth for a while, learning to write.

Then, Thanksgiving and Christmas happened. And planning for a new year for the kids' department at church. And ZooLights.

So here I am, back in the land of the living. To alert you beforehand, I've signed up for another workshop, which takes place in March and part of April. I suspect it will be even more brutal. I'm just sayin'.

And taxes.

I can't forget that the workshop will happen right in the Heart of Tax Season. I'm not a tax preparer or anything like that. I'm only a humble taxpayer, with a self-run business. Sometimes it gets complicated.

I've planned ahead for this writing and publishing year, too, and have high expectations that I will write and publish six works this year. Good luck to me!

I'm working on the first project now. It's a non-fiction guide to a certain aspect of indie writing that I hope will interest writers who look toward becoming independently publishing authors.

I likely won't make my first projected release date on the book, but I set the date before reality dawned big and bright and I realized that what should have been a small, simple project has expanded into a big, complex one. Why? Because I looove to explain things, and the topic demands some explanation to make things crystal clear.

I've got some fun fiction projects coming this year, too. I'm hoping to make one shorter than I at first envisioned, so readers can more quickly learn about the genesis of the Owen Family. We shall see what comes of that wish.

Enough about that. How was your day?

Going Back to School

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

It's one of those days when I don't know what to write about. I started the day with a brilliant idea for a blog post, but by the time I actually came to the blog to write it, I'd forgotten what I had in mind.

Sheesh!

It has been a crazy day. I have a list of things I must accomplish today. It started with seven entries, but now it's up to nine--ten, including one more thing I just thought of. I've only done three of them, but those were time-sensitive, so I guess that's a good start. I'm working on number four here. I have yet to renew my library books or pay my property taxes--which is a crazy story all its own about missing a deadline. Or do my school assignment, which, oh yeah, was what I was going to write about for my post!

Okay, having remembered the topic, I'll spill the beans:

I've gone back to school, sort of. I decided that I needed to learn some stuff about writing that I wasn't sure I had covered. Or mastered. So I'm taking a six-week online course called "Depth in Writing," aka "Writing with Depth," or just "Depth," for short.

It's a video course featuring Dean Wesley Smith, who is a hoot. I enjoy his style of teaching.

The course is one of many offered through WMG Publishing, which is a company out of Oregon run by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, two of my favorite writing mentors. Among Dean's non-fiction books on my shelf are Think Like a Publisher, How to Write Fiction Sales Copy, and my all-time favorite, Writing into the Dark: How to Write a Novel Without an Outline. I have several more of his books on my tablet as ebooks.

Kris Rusch just did a long and intense series on her popular blog about contracts, agents, publishers, and dealbreakers. That has resulted in her new book, Closing the Deal...On Your Terms: Agents, Contracts, and Other Considerations. It's currently available in Kindle. I hope it will come out in paperback soon, as well.

But back to school, so to speak. I'm a proponent of life-long learning, and have been for many years. The course I'm taking teaches how to take readers deep into the mind and life of a character. There are assignments, just like a regular class. I'd better get to this week's homework. See you in two weeks.

So Much Pain Going Around

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I woke up to the news that a writer acquaintance's missing hunter husband had taken a fall in desolate country and died.

We in the United States are going through the most bitterly contentious and divisive presidential election since 1860.

The daughter of "The Piano Guys'" Jon Schmidt is missing near the Columbia River Gorge in northern Oregon, and official search efforts have been called off, while family and friends soldier on.

So much sadness and despair. So many prayers being offered. What can we do?

I recently posted a meme with an image of Dr. Ben Carson, that tells us what we can do. In his words:

"When we have done our best, we also have to learn that we must rely on God. Our best - no matter how good - is incomplete if we leave God out of the picture."

Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence has asked us to pray to God to heal America.

That's profound, and echoed by many other wise men and women of our day. Many people will be participating in a "fast" on November 6, with accompanying prayers and with repentant hearts to ask God to do just that.

I agree. It's time for the people of the United States to fall on their knees daily, not just on one special day, to give our hearts to God in supplication, not only for optimal results in a pivotal election, but to ask for comfort and healing for those who mourn.

I know God works in our lives. He has a plan for each of us.

We sing a little song in my church's children's program, in which I am privileged to play the piano. It's called, "I Will Follow God's Plan," written by Vanja Y. Watkins.

My life is a gift; my life has a plan.
My life has a purpose; in heaven it began.
My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth
And seek for God's light to direct me from birth.
I will follow God's plan for me,
Holding fast to his word and his love.
I will work, and I will pray;
I will always walk in his way.
Then I will be happy on earth
And in my home above.

Here's a version from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:



What are your thoughts?

Ten Social Media "Marketing" NO-NOs for Authors

By Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been astounded at complaints I've seen in writer groups across Facebook on the bad manners of other "authors."

One published author mentioned that someone placed a post with all their books listed on her Facebook Author Page. Someone else said someone horned in on their Fan Group with a listing of their books. Another complained that someone hijacked her book launch event. Her own Book Launch EVENT! Again, this person posted a message listing all their own books. I didn't think to ask if it could be the same ill-mannered writer doing these unthinkable things.

Blogger and author Anne R. Allen posted about this problem eighteen months ago, and gave fair warning to new authors who sorely abuse Social Media in an attempt to sell books that their actions are undesirable. (It's possible some marketing "guru" is selling new authors really bad advice.) Anne came up with a countdown list of ten things not to do on social media, along with very good advice on why such actions are repellent, and that doing them are against the Ethical Author code.

I'll just give the ten no-nos headings. You must read the article to get the meat of Anne's excellent reasoning.

10. Forgetting that social media is social
9. Over-hashtagging and robo-posting
8. Emotional blackmail in demands for shares and RTs
7. Projecting a snarky, nasty online persona
6. Starting lots of blogs, webpages, and social media accounts
5. Pop-ups and other annoying gimmicks on your blog or website
4. Auto Direct Messages in reply to a follow—or advertising in a DM
3. Pitching your own book on somebody else's Facebook Page
2. Buying or trading reviews and trading "likes".
1. Putting somebody on your mailing list who has not signed up

~~~

Let me add this to number 1: "Adding someone to your product, party, or any Facebook Group without first asking for their permission."

If you know a new writer who is slipping up and annoying not only you, but your friends, please let them know about Anne Allen's advice.

Thanks!

A Bible?

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I have been taking time away from writing to put together a big project, a collection of the five books of The Owen Family Saga as a box set. It has been a huge job of work.

"What work?" you may ask. "Just slap all the books into one file and you're done!"

Not so.

I had to tinker with scenes that don't exactly play well with each other over the scope of the saga. Gotta be consistent.

"Is that kid named Ezra or Harry?" I picked Harry.

"Did Rod Owen meet Julia Helm's brother before they got married?" I thought they had in The Man from Shenandoah. As I write my current writing project, it appears that I was wrong, so I had to fix that in the existing work to jibe with the upcoming story.

Now that I've written Gone for a Soldier, that passage about Rulon and Mary's relationship in The Man from Shenandoah seems off. (Rewrite passage.)

Did he or didn't he during the Mexican War? Hmm. That question may remain forever unanswered.

How to explain the bit about the wedding ring? (Rewrite passage.)

Such fun!

I wish I had started a series "bible" when I wrote The Man from Shenandoah, to keep all the facts and characters straight, but I didn't know then that this tale about the Owen Family was going to expand into a series. Creating the "bible" now is going to be quite a task, but it's one I really need to do. When I'm done, perhaps it can become something new, maybe something called The Owen Family Companion.

After all, it's been done before: "Little did Louis L'Amour realize back in 1960 when he published The Daybreakers, a novel about two brothers who came west after the Civil War, that he had begun creating what would become perhaps North America's most widely followed literary family: the Sacketts." From The Sackett Companion: The Facts Behind the Fiction.

Every author should keep handy a notebook for facts (was the dog black or brown), characters (am I reusing too many names, or do all names begin with a single letter?), items (was that letter written in pen or pencil?), and the like, whether or not he or she is writing a series. Every little thing will come in handy for checking consistency within that story.

Can oxen run?  No, but they can perambulate pretty quickly if motivated. (I asked a large animal vet.)

Did people ride in wagons when on extended journeys? Not if they had a lot of belongings and/or foodstuffs to carry.

How many stories tall is the house? What does the general store look like inside? How far away from the house should the stable/barn/pigsty be? Is the bar/saloon/pub well lit, smoky, smelly, just a "belly-up-to-the" bar, or does it have gaming tables and sit-down tables, too?

You're the author. Make it easier on yourself with a "Book Bible."
 

Writing Book Descriptions AKA Book Blurbs

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I've seen a whole bunch of authors lately asking for help in writing their back cover copy, a.k.a. book descriptions, a.k.a. book blurbs.

As usual, writers panic when they get out of fiction-writing mode and into writing the bits of non-fiction that help them either sell a book to an editor or publisher (pitch, synopsis), or sell the work to readers (book blurb). They start to sweat, thinking of the overwhelming job of writing just the right words to do these jobs.

Author Dean Wesley Smith thinks it's not all that monstrous a task. One only needs to realize that the job calls for sales copy, not elaborate descriptions of the plot or even of the characters. Just sales copy.

Mr. Smith wrote a short book on this topic called How to Write Fiction Sales Copy. I have found it to be a must-have book on my Essentials Bookshelf.

He says that it is imperative to get rid of two deeply ingrained bad habits when we buckle down to write our sales copy for a book.

1. We can't see beyond the plot
2. We tend to write about our work in passive voice

How to Write Fiction Sales Copy gives many excellent blurb patterns. Here is just one, a very basic blurb of four paragraphs. Yes, only four paragraphs, and short ones, at that.

1. Summary of character or world. Make it interesting, Nail down the genre, if possible.
2. One very short paragraph with short sentences about the first page of the plot.
3. Plot kicker line.
4. Why readers will want to read the story, mostly using tags.

I know you're saying gaaaa, how do I do that?

Let's see how it works for Smith's A Bad Patch of Humanity: A Seeders Universe Story

Most of humanity died one ugly day four years before. Now the survivors wanted to rebuild.

Angie Park’s job consisted of telling survivors outside of Portland, Oregon, of the plans to rebuild. But some survivors wanted nothing to do with civilization.

And some thought killing worth the price to pay to stay alone.

In the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe, “A Bad Patch of Humanity” focuses down on an early event in Angie Park’s life, an event that starts her on her path to becoming a woman of legend in a hundred galaxies.

That's not so hard, right? You can do it, too! Resist any instances of "and then this happens." Use only action verbs.

To read more and quit having the vapors over book blurbs, go get this book, How to Write Fiction Sales Copy. It's well worth the price!