Jennifer Gets Bloggy

Moving day!

2011-03-07T16:28:00.001-08:00

Jennifer Gets Bloggy is moving! You can now find it on my newly redesigned website at http://www.authorjennwalker.com/blog.

Elements of the Soul on tour!

2011-02-08T00:37:00.000-08:00

Two of my short stories, The Fire and The Assignment, were published in the anthology Elements of the Soul from Twin Trinity Media. Now, the book is going on tour with Walker Author Tours! Check out the tour page for dates so you can read reviews and author interviews.Purchase a copy today--it's a great collection!

Bubba to the Rescue on Pre-order!

2011-01-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

The sequel to Bubba Goes National and second in the Green Meadow Riders series, Bubba to the Rescue, is now available for pre-order from Twin Trinity Media!

What starts out as a leisurely trail ride turns into a terrifying afternoon when Alex and Leslie see a plume of smoke rising in the trees. After saving the neighbor's horses from a horrible fate, the two teens must run through the burning woods and get back to Green Meadow before it's too late. On the way, they encounter a strange horse wandering through the woods by itself, and it follows them home. Leslie soon becomes attached to "Spark" when she can't find his owner...but will she get to keep him, or will someone come forward to claim the horse she has come to love?

Order your copy today at a special price!

Taking another look at Shared Reviews

2011-01-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

I joined Shared Reviews back in 2007 when it started, when we got paid $2 per review on a limited basis. When they stopped that, I stopped writing there, but my reviews stayed. I have concentrated my energies elsewhere since then, but they have made a lot of changes lately that made me decide to give it another shot.

Although they still do not have the $2 up front model, there are a bunch of ways to earn money. I just started back and I only have 15 articles as of this writing, so I can't say how well this is working. I do know that Joan Young is happy with what she has earned there. There is a lot of information in the Knowledge Center on the site, but Joan gave a good breakdown on Accentuate.

I found it fun to go on the sige and complete some simple challenges (like updating my profile) to earn experience points and author credits. The review raters I have come across so far have done a really good job of providing helpful comments to get my reviews up to the site's standards, style and expectations. I was able to edit my reviews to incorporate their comments and up my score. The reviews are super easy to write, because there's little research reqiured. Use a product, snap a picture of it, write 300 words about what your experience was. Sprinkle in some SEO so people can find it, and you're good to go. They must be 100% original.

My goal is to post one review per day for the next month. I'm three-for-three so far, and at the moment that ranks me 14th in the most currently active list, which is on the Community Activity page. That gives me a little exposure, although I don't know how helpful that is, since I assume only the site's writers look at that, and their views don't count. It's fun, though. If you decide to try it, please put me down as your referral--my user name is twnkltoz. Or, just stop by and read my stuff!

How full is your plate?

2011-01-11T01:29:00.000-08:00

I am a full-time freelance writer and editor. This means that I make my living by working on different writing and editing projects for a variety of people, and it also means that I have several projects on my plate at any given time. These projects range in their difficulty, length and deadline. Most of them are not one-day projects if they are for other people. Therefore, when I get a new project, I am often not able to complete it that same day, but I am always up front about how long I think it will take, and I ask when the person needs it by...if at all possible, I try to accomodate their deadlines.

What gets me, however, are the people who don't seem to think I should have anything else to do. They have an assignment, and it seems easy enough to them (event though they aren't capable of doing it themselves), so why can't I do it by tomorrow? Honestly, wouldn't you be a little concerned about a contractor (assuming it's a one-person or one-team type business like mine) that was available to start immediately? If they are, maybe they don't have any other work...and why don't they? If you hire someone to put in your pool, and he's ready to come over immediately, wouldn't you worry that he isn't good enough to have other customers? Think about that.

On the same note, these people are often not willing to pay much for said project. I have a skill many people don't. Why, then, shouldn't I be paid a decent wage for it? I have bills to pay, yet there are people who think American writers are lazy and demand too much money for their services. My rent on my apartment alone is $925. If I were to pay that strictly on $5 articles, I would have to write 185 articles in a month just for that. That's six articles per day just to pay my rent. To pay all my other expenses, I would have to double that. How can you expect any kind of quality at that rate?

You get what you pay for. If you want cheap labor and don't care about the quality, there are writers outside of the US who have lower living expenses who can write in English for less. The grammar is generally bad, but, like I said, you get what you pay for. If you want a quality product in good English, be willing to pay a decent rate for it, and be patient. It shouldn't take months to get a project with a few thousand words for someone, but give them more than a couple days!

Are you LAFFN?

2011-01-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

It's January 4th already, four days into January 2011 Let's All Finally Finish a Novel (LAFFN). Have you started working toward your goal yet? I've worked on mine a little, but haven't gotten very far. My goal is to finish the first rewrite of my novel Flying Leaps, and I'm on Chapter 4. I had started it in December to give myself a head start, but I have a ways to go! Come over to the forum and post your progress!

LAFFN is just around the corner!

2010-12-15T15:53:00.000-08:00

http://accentuatewriters.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=89Whether you're just catching your breath from NaNoWriMo, have always wanted to write a novel (or self help book or whatever!) but haven't gotten around to it, or have a have a half finished novel on your hard drive you really need to get to, Let's All Finally Finish a Novel (LAFFN) is the time to get it done! Heck, even if you have the book done, but need to rewrite it and polish it so you can submit it. You can do that, too. At LAFFN, we don't care what your goal is, as long as it gets you at least one step closer to getting your book published.

Sometimes, all we need is a little push and some support to finally get around to it. That's why I started LAFFN, to push me to finish my own projects. I run it in January and July (although that may change when we get our real, official website. For now, Accentuate Writers Forum graciously hosts us. Please stop by, declare your goal, and let's all finish something together!

Interview with literary agent Marsha Cook

2010-12-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to promote myself and my books on Children's Author Discussion with Fran Lewis on blogtalk radio. I shared the air with several great authors, including Marsha Cook. She is a literary agent in addition to her writing career, so I brazenly asked for and she graciously agreed to an interview. In addition, she has agreed to field your questions, if you put them in the comments on this post today! Be sure to read the interview all the way through, then if there is anything left unasked, feel free to ask it. All I ask is that, if you disagree with something she says, you treat her with courtesy.

Jennifer Walker: Let's start by learning a little about Marsh Cook as a person. You are an author yourself--tell us about your work.

Marsha Cook: I love writing and I must admit I have spent more of my time promoting others more than myself. I am now promoting my work but I would much rather write all day. It is so much easier for authors to do different promotional projects to get there work out there than years ago and that is what I try to help authors do.

I have written three children's books, THE BUSY BUS, THE MAGICAL LEAPING LIZARD POTION and SNACK ATTACK. I have also written SALA, MORE THAN A SURVIVOR, a Memoir of a Holocaust Survivor and LOVE CHANGES, a mainstream novel. I have also written twelve screenplays and have had two of them optioned for movies.

Jennifer Walker: What made you want to be a literary agent, and what makes you a good one?

Marsha Cook: I became a Literary Agent basically because there were very few agents that were willing to help writers in the way I could. Most agents don't really understand how hard it is to write a book, even one that isn't a best seller. I always believed, and still do, with someone believing in you as a writer success can happen. Dreams do come true but most of the time not without help.

Jennifer Walker: Tell us a little about your agency. Do you have a company philosophy on how you represent authors and what sort of work you like to take on? How many queries do you receive, and how many new writers do you take on per year?

Marsha Cook: My philosophy has always been to keep writers writing and not have them give up. Most writers give up when they realize they will be rejected by most of the publishers and for screenwriters they will be rejected by many production companies. Rejection letters that I receive usually make me work harder to prove them wrong.

I receive thousands of queries a year. I don't take as many clients as I did in the past because I really believe authors need management and an agency that helps them get where they need to go. One of the problems that exists is authors have always heard don't pay an agent because when you sell they will get a commission, however most writers don't stay in the game that long and the agent never makes any money.

Years ago I paid an agent and I didn't mind because it does cost quite a bit to send projects out to production companies and publishers. I think if they changed the rules back to where that can happen more authors would be taken by Literary Agents. Life is different to most people these days, which means sometimes things need change. I don't feel anyone should work for free; however, that is what I have done for years. Don't think if an agent charges money that means they are taking advantage of you.

A good agent will help a self- published author market their work and that does mean authors should pay for these services and not feel that they are being taken advantage of.

Jennifer Walker: Can you share some of your agency's success stories?

Marsha Cook: We have been very successful at getting our clients work read , by producers and publishers. We also have had several optioned book for movies. Most importantly many of our clients have self - published their books and they are doing very well with their sales. They are happy and that makes us feel great.

Jennifer Walker: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see when people seek you out for representation? What sort of mistakes are deal breakers that will cause you to throw out a submission?

Marsha Cook: W e have never just thrown out a submission. One mistake is to say this is the greatest story ever…right there I know this is a person that will not be in this business for a long time.

Jennifer Walker: What are the most important things a writer can do to get you to want to learn more about their book?

Marsha Cook: Also talk about their credentials and how long they have been writing. That really does matter.

Jennifer Walker: I've been taught to make sure I have every i dotted, every t crossed and every duck in its row before submitting to an agent or editor. Have you ever received a submission that was all wrong, but something in it caused you to look past all that and take the author on anyway?

Marsha Cook: I am not like other agents. I first look at the work. The story and the characters matter to me. They can always have an editor fix their grammatical mistakes but if the story isn’t there that would be a problem. I’m not big on bringing out the red pen and finding fault with everything.

Jennifer Walker: How important is it to you as an agent for a manuscript to be well edited, by a professional if necessary, before you see it? Isn't the publisher responsible for editing?

Marsha Cook: The manuscript should be in pretty good shape and we would never send a script or book out that is not edited. I need an editor and so does everyone else, if not before we read it after. Every writer needs an editor and that the writer has to pay for. If a publisher does take it they will edit it however they want but when we send it out it has to be the best it can be.

Jennifer Walker: How do you feel about the huge surge in recent years of self-published authors and what this means to the industry? How do you feel about these authors querying you--do you want their book to have made a certain threshold of sales before you will consider them for future projects? Do you ever take on self-published books to try to sell to publishers (I'm wording that weird, so I hope you understand what I'm asking)?

Marsha Cook: I think most publishers are so used to rejecting books they sometimes miss great stories. I actually think self-publishing is a great way to start a career when the writer can’t get published traditionally. Taking on self published books is what we do. These books can be sent out to producers, because producers are always looking for a good story they can develop into a movie.

Jennifer Walker: Does the author having a book published with a small press give them any better or worse chance of getting representation with you?

Marsha Cook: It doesn’t matter because we look at the content. If the story is there we will take them.

Jennifer Walker: Jonathan Franzen stated in a recent issue of the New York Times Book Review that novels are going the way of newspapers, only faster. Do you feel that novels are still relevant, important and salable?

Marsha Cook: I think there will always be books, but there is a big shift in the market because of kindle, nook and all the e-readers. I think novels are always going to be revalant.

Jennifer WalkerYou represent a lot of screenplays. Do you think any book can be a movie? If not, what should an author look for in their book to decide whether they should try writing a screenplay for it?

Marsha Cook: Not every book can be a screenplay but there are so many that can make great movies. In a screenplay there has to be some degree of speaking and action. If there isn’t enough dialogue or action in a book it may not translate into a good movie.

Jennifer Walker: Now that we've gotten to know you, some of my readers might want you to represent them. Are you currently accepting queries, and are there certain types of projects you are looking for--or not? Where can writers find submission guidelines?

Marsha Cook: We are taking clients after the first of the year. They can submit by query letter. They can check out http://www.michiganavenuemedia.com/

Have some questions for Marsha? Post it in the comments section, and she'll come on and answer them!

NaNoWriMo over for another year

2010-12-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

Well, my fourth NaNoWriMo is over, and as most of you already know, I wrote my 50,000th word yesterday afternoon--in plenty of time to meet the deadline. While I am always happy to finish, this year's victory seemed just a little sweeter because it was just so hard this year.

The first year I did NaNo was 2007. I had never heard of it before, and I started nearly a week late. However, I had no problem writing a little extra every day and finiahed with 63k words and finished the book (which, by the way, I REALLY need to revise and edit and start shopping around). The next year, I wrote Bubba to the Rescue, book two in the Green Meadow Series, which is due out January 10th (yeah, sorry, we thought we'd have it out in time for Christmas, but it looks like it's getting pushed back). Anyway, that year I got a case of tendonitis in my elbows and lost a good week because I couldn't type...and it was hard to catch up, because I was still hurting and didn't want it to completely flair up and incapacitate me again. Yet, I still managed to finish. Last year, I wasn't even going to do it because I was working 12 hours a day between my exhausting day job and my writing. Michy made me do it anyway, and I finished. This year should have been cake!

However, it wasn't cake. It wasn't even muffin, or cookies, or pie. It just sucked. It was hard. I hated it. I was way busy with my various jobs and tasks and travel. of the 30 days in November, there were 8 days I didn't write at all, 10 days I wrote some amount that was less than the daily goal of 1,667, and only 12 days where I met or exceeded the daily goal. I didn't meet the halfway point until the 24th, with less than a week to go. I put in two 6k days, a 5, day and two 4k days to do it. That is a lot of writing in one day, when you consider I also had work to do.

I don't know if I will ever have a perfect, easy NaNo where everything is going my way, unless you count the first year where I only missed 5 days because I started late, but the rest went smoothly. What that tells me is that if I can write 50k words in a month despite all of the challenges that I face every year, I can accomplish anything I really want to. That sounds trite, but it's so true. We can always make excuses to explain why we can't do something. However, when we stop with the excuses and just DO it, look what we can accomplish!

If you haven't tried NaNo yet, I heartily encourage you to give it a shot next year. Why not? Sure, it's crazy. Sure, you have a lot going on. But, you've always wanted to write a novel, right? What a great excuse to get started on it.

In January, I will run LAFFN (Let's All Finally Finish a Novel) so you can finish your NaNo, revise a rough draft, or whatever you need to do in order to get a novel one step closer to publication. I'll post more when the time comes.

NaNoWriMo day twenty-nine: I'm gonna make it!

2010-11-29T23:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a flurry of writing activity over here, I am within sight of my goal of 50k words written on my novel in the month of November. I have just 5k words left to write, and considering I wrote 6k today and yesterday, that should be no problem tomorrow. I just have to make sure I do it in the morning and get it over with so I don't get caught writing at midnight and miss the official deadline! I drank so many cups of decaf coffee at the write-in that I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep any time soon! I'm just so relieved to be at this point...a couple days ago, and even at some points yesterday, I was't sure I was going to be able to pull it off. Now, it's a certainty! See you tomorrow.

Show vs Tell: What does it mean, and how do you do it?

2010-11-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

"Show, don't tell" is a common mantra among editors, would-be editors, writing experts of both the genuine and self-proclaimed type (I don't claim to be either, by the way. I just like to share what I've learned and what works for me!). However, I think sometimes these people don't quite know what it really means...and I think a lot of beginning writers struggle with it. So, let's talk about it a little.

When you think of showing vs telling, think about the reader experience. Do you want them to know something because you told them straight out, or because they envisioned it through your imagery? Readers aren't stupid. If you describe Harold as weighing 10,000 pounds and having big, floppy ears and a trunk, they'll probably guess that Harold is an elephant. That's a pretty silly example, but you get the idea.

Some people mistakenly think that showing is the same thing as describing. That is not so. Nothing turns me off faster than pages (or even paragraphs) of description with no action or dialogue or anything else to keep my interest. I usually skip past it, and I know other readers who have the same view. Oh, sure, there are some master writers who can spend an entire chapter describing a tree, and you just sit there in awe of how amazing this tree is. However, most of us are not able to do that. I think I'll talk more about description in a different post, because that's a whole 'nother discussion...for now, I want to concentrate on what is showing vs. telling.

Here is telling:

Randall drove a compact car. It was too small for him. (snore)

Here is showing:

Randall shoe-horned himself behind the wheel of his car and felt the shocks sink a little. He often wondered if he looked like one of those clowns at the circus or in cartoons--the ones where they drive into the ring in a tiny car, and they get out and they're a huge clown. He reached back and pulled up the lock on the rear passenger door so Kelly could get in. He smiled as he watched her open the door and climb into her car seat. She had inherited her pride from him, and the minute she was able to fasten her own safety harness and close the door by herself, she insisted that no one help her. He feared the day her independence would get her into trouble.

Did you get that the car was small? I also got inspired and kept going (fun how writing prompts can do that for you, eh?), and how much more did you learn about Randall and Kelly? I coudl have told you the same facts in 2-3 sentences, but this way you can really see the scene and it's much more interesting. Plus, it helps pad out your word count, if you're worried about that sort of thing. :)

When you write, think about how you're telling your readers about a scene or person. Are you looking through their eyes and showing them the scene as though they were watching a movie? Or are you listing facts, like they would get in a business report?

I've put a little exercise to help you practice this concept on the Accentuate Writers Forum here: http://accentuatewriters.com/viewthread.php?tid=13654. Come on over and try your hand!

NaNoWriMo day twenty-four: Halfway point, a little late

2010-11-24T23:50:00.000-08:00

There are six days left, and I am halfway through my nano. I am "only" 15k words behind now, which is an improvement from being 16k behind. I have to write 4148 words per day for the next six days if I'm going to finish. There are worse things. The good thing is, the holiday weekend is her, and although my business never really stops, I can take the excuse to slow down my other projects just a tiny bit so I can do this. I can do this!

NaNoWriMo day twenty-three: SO BEHINDER

2010-11-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

Well, my busy schedule has continued to be ridiculously busy (making money, which is good for the whole paying rent and bills and buying food thing), which means I've had little time to write. I thought I'd get some done while travelling, but got maybe 2k done. Last night, I was going to go to the all-nighter write-in and get some done, but a migraine knocked me out for a good part of the day...and of course, I had deadlines, so work takes priority. Sooo....I'm now 16k behind. That's a lot to make up in one week! Oh well, I did it last year, I can do it again this year. I'll get a bit done tonight, and I'm caught up on a lot of stuff, so I'll try to get a bunch done tomorrow. Then, Thursday is Thanksgiving, darn it, and I am taking the day OFF from work. I will use the day to nano!!

NaNoWriMo day sixteen: SO BEHIND

2010-11-16T22:02:00.000-08:00

I have been super busy the past week, between getting a bunch of work in and having a bunch of events that took me out of the house for hours upon hours. Therefore, I missed four or five days of writing. I went to an all-nighter write-in last night in hopes of catching up, but we had left our dog home alone for an awfully long time and decided to call it a night there at midnight. I did write some more when I got home and put in a total of 2600 and something words, but I am still at 19,311...WAY behind today's goal of 26,667. I have a lot of catching up to do, but it won't be today. I am getting caught up on some of my work, but then I got some new assignments...I should be able to do some writing tomorrow. Maybe not enough to catch up at ALL, but maybe at least my daily quota. For now, I need to get back to work.

Hang in there, wrimos...we're halfway through! I hope you're doing better than I am!

NaNoWriMo day eleven: tip of the day

2010-11-11T23:33:00.000-08:00

I am now a whole day behind. I guess this is the rhythm for this year's nano for me...get caught up, fall behind. Get caught up, fall behind. Alas, what are you gonna do? I'll just keep pressing on. Also, have I mentioned I am just not feeling this book? It's slow and booooooring. I can't wait for something interesting to happen, but I have to slog through all this boring stuff first. That's Ok...I know it will get interesting eventually! I'll keep writing and and then when I have a decent book, I'll edit out the crap. Embrace the suck!

NaNoWriMo tip of the day: Have a word war with a friend. Word wars are a super fun way to get a bunch of words written. What you do is agree on a time frame--10 minutes is good, but it can be whatever you want. The goal is to write as much as you possibly can during that time, and whoever writes the most wins. This means you have to apply the nano principles of embracing the suck and turning off your internal editor--just write, write, write, as fast as you can!

NaNoWriMo day ten: tip of the day

2010-11-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

I didn't get much done on NaNo today...too much work, a riding lesson and dinner at Mom's...I didn't think I'd get any done, but I made myself sit down and write a few hundred words so I'm only 1000 behind...I don't know how much I'll do tomorrow, but hopefully at least 1667 so it won't be hard to catch up again.

NaNoWriMo tip for today: Embrace the suck! By this point, you're probalby thinking that your novel sucks, you can't write, you never should have started this stupid nano thing, and you should just give up. Something along those lines, anyway. I'm thinking, "oh my GAWD this is boring. There is nothing good happening in this story. No one is going to get through this." What you have to do is just get OVER it and keep writing. Let it suck..it's Ok. get the words on the paper...er, document. Just write. Don't worry about bad grammar, confusing sentence structure or coming up with just the right words to describe your character's alarmingly blue eyes. Just get it out....you can edit it during LAFFN when we dust off our manuscripts and clean them up! Keep writing, and eventually a story is going to come out that you can live with.

NaNoWriMo day nine: tip of the day

2010-11-10T00:30:00.000-08:00

Well, the NaNoWriMo site thinks it's tomorrow already, but as far as I'm concerned, it's still today. I didn't think I was going to meet my goal today, and I didn't--haha! Surprise ending...Ok, it's 12:24 and I'm a little tired, so I'm amusing myself. Anyway....I didn't write 1667 words today, but I did pass the 15k mark by a whopping 34 words, which is where I'm supposed to be. Whee...good thing I got ahead this weekend. I got 1297 in today. I had some other work, an appointment and then went dancing tonight. I have a lot going on tomorrow, too, so we'll see how much I get done. Hopefully I can at least do the minimum.

What is my nano tip for today....Ok, here's a counterpoint to yesterday's (guess you'll have to go read it to find out what it was! Aren't I clever? Oh, a link? Sorry, no. it's past midnight. Anyway...) Offer yourself a good reward if you finish the book. Offer yourself smaller rewards for meeting smaller goals along the way, even every day for meeting your daily goal. These can be simple little things. I'm not supposed to encourage you to reward yourself with food, but you could let yourself eat that last piece of cheesecake IF you meet your minimum word count. Or, you can let yourself go to the movies, or go for a walk, or watch a trashy chick film, or whatever it is you want to do but didn't think you should.

NaNoWriMo day eight: tip of the day

2010-11-08T23:12:00.000-08:00

It's monday, and the third day in a row of being on track! I did just a tiny bit over my daily goal and ended the day at 13,737 words. Did you know nanowrimo.org has a stats tab on your profile where you can see how you're doing in relation to your goal? It tells me I'm averaging 1718 words per day and at this rate I will finish on time. In fact, I only need to write 1649 words per day here on out to finish on time. Yay me. Now I have some work I'd better get done before bed. But first, my NaNoWriMo tip of the day!

Are you easily distracted by the Internet, email, snacks, hot baths, etc.? The obvious answer to all these distractions and temptations is to ignore them, but that doesn't work very well for me. When I say, "OK, no more backgammon until you've written 1,000 words," I answer, "Screw you. I'm going to play ten games of backgammon." It's kind of like dieting...if you say you'll never eat candy again, it can be really hard to stop thinking about candy, especially if you really like candy. So, allow yourself a little indulgence now and then, but make yourself work for it. Make yourself write 500 words or get to the next round number before you can go get a snack, play that game of backgammon, or even go to the bathroom. Then, have your little distraction, but get back to work!

NaNoWriMo day seven: tip of the day

2010-11-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

The first week of NaNo is over, and at this point we should be at 11,669 words. I am at...drumroll...12,000! Yippee, ahead of schedule! Ever so slightly, but ahead nonetheless. I would love it if I could actually finish the whole book by November 30. It's one thing to get to 50k words, but then if the book isn't finished, you still have to, yanno, FINISH it. I'd rather do the whole thing in one big push, and then all I have to worry about is editing. If I can keep up this pace, it should be no problem! Since it's a middle grade fiction, it only needs to be between 55k and 60k words. My first year in NaNo, I wrote 63k and finished the book. That was my chick lit...I have to edit it some day and work on getting it out there. So many projects, so little time!

Anywho, here's my NaNoWriMo tip for the day: Go to a write-in with other wrimos in your area. You can find out about them by going to your region on the nano website. For me, there is something about A. leaving my house to write somewhere else and B. the camaraderie of physically being with other writers who are writing like crazy to hit 50k just like I am that inspires me to write, write, write! I usually get a lot done, and it's a lot of fun. If there aren't any in your area, try to arrange one. If you can't, just try uprooting and going somewhere special to write, like a cafe, so you feel you have to write a lot to justify going there! Plus, you get away from the yammering family. If you're really smart, you'll go somewhere that doesn't have wifi so you won't be distracted by the internet! I'm not that smart. ;)

I do hope my readers will comment and tell me how you're doing. I know you're out there--don't be shy! Where are you at today? What are you struggling with?

NaNoWriMo day six: tip of the day

2010-11-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

Huzzah, I put in some extra time today and wrote a bit over 3300 words and am now caught up! I'll do a bit extra tomorrow, too, and aim for 2k a day to stay on track if I miss another day. The story is coming along well, although for a while I was a little worried. I think later I might want to go in and cut a little to move things faster, but we'll see. I was working during the write-in last night and tonight's was too far, so Greg and I went to the cafe and had our own little write-in all by ourselves. Something about leaving the house inspires me to work instead of get distracted...well, at least I get distracted less and inspired more. :)

Here's today's tip of the day: If you don't know where your story is going, that's OK. While you're writing, just try to do the next scene, whatever that might be. Use your non-writing time to think about the general plot line and what you want to happen in the story, and if you need to, brainstorm with a friend to figure out what you should do. You'd be surprised how much that helps. But, in the meantime, right now, when you're supposed to be writing...just worry about that one scene. You'll get that much more done, and who knows...maybe it'll inspire another scene, and another.

Good luck! Keep writing....only 23 days left!

NaNoWriMo day five: tip of the day

2010-11-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

Today is day five of nano, and I had a lot going on today. An assignment I had to finish, an interview to conduct, an appointment, a nap and the dance tonight. So, I fully expected to fall even further behind on my novel. However, I woke up early this morning (hence the nap) and got my other stuff done, so I splurged a little and spent time on nano and got my daily quota of words in after all. Sweet! It partly happened because I spread it out throughout the day--I did 500 this morning when I got up, another 500 or so when I needed a break from other stuff, then the rest of it when I finished my other tasks. I might go do a little more after posting this, but I'm pretty sleepy.

Here's my tip for the day: if you find you don't feel like writing, or you don't know what to write about, make yourself sit down and write just 100 words. 100 words is nothing! However, what happens to me is, I'll do my 100, but then I want to finish the sentence or even the paragraph and it become maybe 167. Then, I want to get to the next round number, so I decide to do a little more to hit 200. The next thing I know, I have 275, so I might as well go for 300. I did some of that today, and it got me through 1670 words when I wasn't sure I'd get more than 500. Even if you do stop at the 100, it's still more than you had before you sat down.

NaNoWriMo day four: tip of the day

2010-11-05T00:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I got in my daily quota of words today, and I am just under a day behind. I have 5348 words and should have 6667. That's OK...that's still not that far to be behind! I have a feeling I won't get much done tomorrow, but I'll try to catch up this weekend. The story is coming along pretty well, although I have a little more research I need to do. I have an appointment in that regard next Thursday, so I might have to skip over some details and add them in later.

Here is my tip for today: Don't let yourself get stalled because you're not sure how to handle a scene or you need to research something to add the appropriate level of detail. Sketch in a skeleton for the scene, or even skip it all together, and move on. The difficult part of this is that you have to remember to go back in later and add the stuff you missed, and you might end up adding something that changes details that come after in the story. However, it'll take less time to fix any problems than the amount of time you could lose spinning your wheels. Why lose a whole day just because you're not sure how you want Billy and Jeannie to break up, or how Johnny's death scene should go?

NaNoWriMo day three: tip of the day

2010-11-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Well, nanoers, it's day three of our crazy quest to write a 50k word novel in one month. By this time some people have already dropped out, thinking they were crazy to want to try this in the first place. Others realized it was harder to write 1,667+ words per day than they thought. Others came up with myriad excuses or had life crises or who knows what.

The rest of us are still here, typing away, having barely begun our novels. Some of us, like myself, are already behind. I JUST caught up to where I should have finished yesterday, because I didn't have a lot of time to write yesterday. That's all right, because there's plenty of time to catch up. I'll get a bit more done tonight, then try to make up a bit a day until I'm caught up and even a little ahead for the next day I don't have time for nano.

So, here's my tip for the day: no matter how busy you are, try to write just a little every day. Even if it's just 100 words, that's more than you had if you did nothing, and you can toss that off in about 5 minutes. Maybe you want to invest a few more minutes, try to knock out 500. Even if you're tired, it won't take that long, and you'll thank yourself later!

NaNoWriMo is in full force!

2010-11-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post some "nano is coming" posts, and time just got away from me. Well, it's here! It's National Novel Writing Month, where we write a whole novel of 50,000 words or more during the month of November. It's not too late to get in on the fun...I started a week late my first year (2007) and I wrote 63k that year. The next year I struggled with tendonitis, and last year I was working about 12 hours a day. I still finished. So, you can do it! All you need is an idea....get going!

I have 2059 words so far. One thing I like to do is write a little in the morning, then more later that night to kind of break it up. If you write every single day, you only need to get in 1,667 words each day. I shoot for 2,000 to give myself some leeway, but if I get more in, great.

I'll try to post some more with different tips, etc., for success. If you have any questions or problems, feel free to post! We're all in this together!

Author Interview: Aggie Villanueva

2010-10-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Today, we'll learn a little about Aggie Villanueva, author of Chase the Wind, Rightfully Mine (God's Equal Rights Amendment), and, most recently, The Rewritten Word: How to Sculpt Literary Art, No Matter the Genre. Be sure to read my review of The Rewritten Word and Aggie's guest post on writing for the web, and read all the way to the end of this post to learn how one lucky person will win a free digital version of The Rewritten Word!

Jennifer Walker: Tell us a little about Aggie the professional writer. Why are you qualified to write this book (That's not accusatory, just to direct you :)), your published works, etc.

Aggie Villanueva: Hi Jennifer. Thanks so much for having me. I love how you qualify that this question is "not accusatory." Don't worry, in my opinion it's a perfect question.

And the answer is simple. I wrote The Rewritten Word: How to Sculpt Literary Art No Matter The Genre because I'm a horrible writer who had to learn to perfect the work in the rewrite. I had to discover exactly what rewriting even means. And If I can learn it, anyone can.

I'm not an English major, and I actually know very little about sentence structure and grammar rules. An editor once told me that I have an ear for language, like those who who have an ear for music, i.e. don't know how to read music but can play anyway.

But that doesn't go far when trying to consistently do it right. You need an understanding you can apply to everything you write, and successfully recreate the outcome -- like a science experiment. That's what I share in the The Rewritten Word, as simply and briefly as possible.

Jennifer Walker: Tell us about your next writing project.

Aggie Villanueva: Most likely it will be about the craft of marketing your writing. That's what I write about for my blog Visual Arts Junction, and the two marketing blogs I write for regularly, Orange Soda Blog and the BookBuzzr blog. This fits well with my business as an author publicist at Promotion a la Carte. Some authors would rather do their own promotional work, at least for the most part, and I love sharing with them what I've learned along the way.

Jennifer Walker: Tell us about Aggie the person. What hobbies you enjoy, your family, etc.

Aggie Villanueva: I guess even in my hobbies, it's the real Aggie who takes over. I love my photographic art and often pack up 60 lbs of camera equipment, my dogs, a few days food and bedding and head for my beloved mountains.

I am blessed this carried over into family -- in September I was so honored to be the photographer for my daughter's wedding. As a landscapist I don't even own indoor lighting equipment. Talk about one nervous wedding photographer! But hopefully I didn't botch it too much.

Jennifer Walker: Why did you decide to write a book about rewriting?

Aggie Villanueva: When first beginning writing I had to translate those how-to-write books by scholars and editors. Literally. At first read they made no sense at all to an average drop out like me. And in the process of translating what they wrote into everyday language, I taught myself how to write with clarity and brevity without even realizing it. Kind of like backwards technology.

Now I finally had some understanding of the process to apply to all my writing. It takes more than just an ear for language to produce quality work. I just wanted to share that simplicity with other writers. There's no reason for how-to books to be complicated or lengthy.

Not to imply that I don't make mistakes. I certainly do. But, you don't have to be a scholar to write well. I have a sixth grade education and have worked hard all my life learning what I need to know for my chosen careers. It's not hard, you just have to work hard at it. And simplify, simplify, simplify.

If you're having a hard time understanding the how-tos of anything, try what I did -- translate their words into understandable ones. You'll be amazed at the advanced understanding you come away with.

As I say repeatedly, if I can learn it, anyone can. I just wanted to share what I've learned, not to imply that it is the be-all and end-all of rewriting.

Jennifer Walker: Tell us about how you first got published with your very first book, and how things have changed since then.

Aggie Villanueva: I co-authored my first novel, Chase the Wind, with Deborah Lawrence when I was 28. After we compiled the first three chapters and an outline of the rest we asked an author friend to critique it. She gave us excellent advice that we eagerly took, then sent it to Thomas Nelson, who accepted it. They also accepted my next book, a solo historical/Biblical fiction, Rightfully Mine. When it went out of print, I self-published a second edition of it in the summer of 2009.

Things have changed drastically since my first book, and all for the benefit of the author. Back then there were only two choices: traditional publishing and vanity publishing (not to be confused with modern-day self-publishing).

I wouldn't consider submitting my books to a traditional publisher of any kind now. The access to self publishing (not vanity or subsidiary publishing) is nothing but good for authors on every level, and I hope to take full advantage of the benefits.

Jennifer Walker: Tell us a little about Promotion A la Carte and why you decided to start it.

Aggie Villanueva: When I self-published my novel Rightfully Mine (God's Equal Rights Amendment) in 2009, I was also still promoting my photographic art. Promotion never ends. At my blog, Visual Arts Junction, I wrote what I learned about marketing as I went.

I guess people learned from it, because 10 months after I founded Visual Arts Junction, we were voted #5 at Predators and Editors in the "Writers' Resource, Information & News Source" category for 2009.

One day, about nine months after publishing and continually promoting Rightfully Mine, a marketing friend, Denise Cassino, checked Amazon and told me it had reached top ten sales in three categories. I was so excited I took screen shots to prove it!

My work was finally bearing some fruit.I founded Promotion a la Carte to offer author promotion for those who need a little help of the basic kind I learned while marketing and promoting for myself.

Though I'm a publicist now, I never stop writing about how authors can do all this for themselves. In fact, I recommend they do. There's so much we can all do on our own. And until you've worked it yourself, you don't appreciate what an author publicist does, especially if you don't see immediate sales.

Marketing has nothing to do with sales. Promotion is an area that you can't judge by return on investment (ROI), because the return may not happen for a few years. But it's a sure bet you'll never see any ROI unless you do the continual work of publicizing.

But we all need a little help from our our friends. I'd love to invite readers to consider a few of our services when that time comes for them. We've had some great comments from our clients and some of the top professional writers and reviewers in the business.. See our Clients Testimonials page: http://promotionalacarte.com/clients-testimonials/

Jennifer Walker: What are your favorite genres to read? To write? What draws you to them?

Aggie Villanueva: I like writing just about anything. I love reading fiction of any kind, but have been drawn to the supernatural since I saw my first horror movie at four. I'm sure what draws me is the similarities to the supernatural nature of my Christian faith.

My favorite is vampire stories. But I read very few of them because few are truly excellent. I fell in love with Anne Rice's intellectually and emotionally tortured vampire Louie. I never tire of their debate whether there is salvation for the undead.

For me, fiction must take me to another world and make me THINK and RETHINK.

Jennifer Walker: Do you have any interesting writing habits or quirks? Do you have to have silence, the TV on, your cat by your side, etc?

Aggie Villanueva: I don't know how interesting they are, but probably most would say everything about me is a quirk! I always love my dogs by my side, but who would keep them inside when the mountains call to them outside!

Yes, I like silence, and not just for my writing. But that means so much more than just no TV, music etc. I lived for years in the wilderness with no electricity or water. I learned there is no such thing as silence, but unless you turn off all the noise of civilization, you'll never hear the wondrous sounds of it.

Jennifer Walker: Where is your favorite place in the world to visit...or where would you like to visit most?

Aggie Villanueva: Nothing restores my soul like running to my beloved mountains. As I said above, I live to pack up my photography equipment, dogs, food and supplies and head for the wilderness. And I do it as often as possible. That's where all my photo art originates, and spiritual inspiration and probably most of my creativity.

Jennifer Walker: What is your favorite dessert?

Aggie Villanueva: Wow, that's a hard one. Probably a chocolate root beer float. Thanks, Jennifer, for this time. It was great fun answering these questions. And I look forward to answering or just talking with your readers. Please allow me to offer one of them a free ebook of The Rewritten Word in their choice of 10 electronic formats at Smashwords. You chose the winner, I'll supply it.

And thank YOU, Aggie, for stopping by! It was so much fun getting to know you. You heard her, readers...leave a comment on this post, and you'll automatically be entered in the drawing to get a free download of The Rewritten Word! I'll give you a few days to get in on the fun...make your comment by Monday at midnight, and I'll choose a winner and announce it on Tuesday!

Windswept Destiny Publishing Announces Book Signing for Bubba Goes National

2010-10-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Folsom Author Jennifer Walker Signs her Debut Novel, Bubba Goes National

Folsom, CA - Windswept Destiny Publishing, an imprint of Twin Trinity Media, announced today that Folsom resident Jennifer Walker will sign her debut novel, Bubba Goes National, at the Christensen's Saddlery annual sale, 3690 Taylor Road in Loomis, November 12th to the 14th, 2010, from 12:00 to 4:00pm. She will also offer two anthologies that contain her stories, Elements of the Soul and The Ultimate Horse Lover.

Bubba Goes National is about thirteen-year-old Leslie Clark, who lives with her widowed father. She loves horses, but he can’t afford to buy her one. She works for a horse trainer to earn lessons and a little extra money, which she saves up in hope of one day owning her own horse. When she goes on a shopping trip with her father and trainer, she finds an Arabian gelding at a livestock auction and buys him. She names him Lucky, but her teasing father insists on calling him Bubba, much to her chagrin. As Leslie soon discovers, Lucky had been cast off and sold inexpensively at auction because he didn't meet his breeder's standards. However, he is a dream come true for Leslie. Together, they work their way to the Arabian horse National Championships.

Although Bubba Goes National was written for the ten to fourteen-year-old market, it has appeal for horse lovers of all ages. Readers will learn a little about horse care and showing while reading a delightful story about working hard to make one’s dreams come true.

Michelle L. Devon, author and owner of Accentuate Services, says, “Bubba Goes National is a sweet story, but it also tackles some of the more difficult issues teens have to deal with these days, such as: death of a parent, competitive rivalry, overcoming tough obstacles, and working hard to earn something. It’s a story any teen girl who has ever dreamed of having her own horse will want to read, and horse-loving grownup girls will too!”

Bubba Goes National is available at a cover price of $12.95; however, a discount will be offered for books purchased at the signing. Books can also be purchased at Colton Books in Folsom and at Christensen’s Saddlery in Loomis. Additionally, autographed copies can be purchased at http://www.authorjennwalker.com/bubba.html. It is also available through online retailers, like http://www.barnesandnoble.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, and http://www.twintrinitymedia.com/. Wholesale orders can be placed through the major distributors Ingrams, Coutt’s, Baker & Taylor, Blackwell Book Services and Holt Jackson.

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner

2010-10-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

It's October already, and you know what that means..it's almost National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! It starts November 1st, so now is a great time to start thinking about what your novel will be about this year. While you can't get started writing yet, you can figure out your storyline, do an outline if that's your thing, maybe do a character sketch or two. You don't want to sit down at 12:01 on November 1st with no clue what you should write, do you? Unless, of course, you're one of those disgusting people who can sit down with a blank Word document and no forethought and bang out a 50,000 word novel without blinking an eye. If you are, I think I might hate you.

For those of you who don't know what the heck NaNoWriMo is, it's just about the craziest thing a writer (experienced or would-be) can do. During the month of November, you will write an entire novel of at least 50,000 words. It's an awesome way to get your creative juices flowing and get in the habit of writing regularly, even if what you write turns out to be utter crap. It's OK! Embrace the crap and just get it written...that's what NaNo is all about. All you have to do to "win" is write 50,000 words. There's no competition except with yourself, and there's lots of support both online and in many local communities. It's crazy, but it's a lot of fun, so I heartily encourage everyone to give it a shot.

Who's with me?

I'M DONE!!!

2010-07-31T19:36:00.001-07:00

With just hours to spare, I finished Bubba to the Rescue and won my LAFFN Challenge! whoo hoo!!! On to the editing stage...

Only two more days for LAFFN

2010-07-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well, despite all my pep talks, I haven't had a lot of time for working on Bubba to the Rescue and meet my own LAFFN goal of finishing the first draft. Last night, I lamented to Michy that it wasn't looking good for me to finish. She pointed out that I have worked on it much more than I have for the past year and a half, and I'm definitely farther than I would have been without setting the goal to finish it this month. Good point! She also said that if I put my mind to it, I could probably get it done, and I think she's right. I finished my NaNo last year by writing thousands and thousands of words per day, so maybe I can do this. I have two more days--today and tomorrow--to get done. I don't have a specific word count to get to, I just need to finish these two plot elements, and I think I have it all figured out. I have enough written that the length will be fine however much I do to finish the book. I just need to go do it, so here I go! I think I've wrapped up all my time-sensitive projects for the moment, and everything else can wait until Sunday, except for a couple of quick things. So, what am I waiting for? Why am I still talking to you? Why are you reading this when you should be LAFFN?

Ever forget to write part of your book?

2010-07-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

So, I mentioned in my last update that I wrote the end of Bubba to the Rescue, but that I had a bit in the middle I had to do before I'd be done. I finally got around to doing that tonight, and while catching up on where I'd left off, I realized there was a whole other sub plot I had to deal with that I forgot about. Dang it! Both pieces happen around the same time, but I need to go back in time a little to lay some ground work for one of them. Ugh. This is the problem with skipping around in the plot! OK, I have 9 days left of LAFFN to get this done...it shouldn't be too hard, right? Just a few thousand words will do it. Back to work.

LAFFN checking in

2010-07-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today I accomplished something big and difficult on my work in progress: I wrote the ending! yay! This is really hard for me, because I'm so afraid of screwing it up. I always struggle with endings. I had been hemming and hawing on how this book should end ever since I started it (which I HATE. I prefer knowing how a book is going to end before I even start it), but I came up with an idea a couple of weeks ago, consulted a couple of people and decided it was a good one. I've been slowly working toward it for the past couple of weeks, and I finally got there today. Phew! One hard roadblock out of the way. Now, I just need to finish the middle...there's an icky plot element I need to write, and decide how that's going to affect the rest of the story as far as one character is concerned. Then, I need to write him back in, since he's been out of most of the book pending my decision! I'm not so much looking forward to this, but it'll be easier than the ending, I think. Twelve days left to finish, and I think I'll make it. Are you LAFFN?

Halfway through LAFFN!

2010-07-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

We're halfway through the month--are you halfway to your LAFFN goal? I'm not. I've written 1106 words, although I'm going to do a bit more after I finish this post. The good thing is, I don't have a set word count. I basically have two scenes to write, the end and a bit in the middle I'm not looking forward to writing. I'm going to wrap up a couple of work things this week, so maybe I'll have more time to write in the next two weeks. OK, back to work with me...get LAFFN!

Bubba Goes on Tour!

2010-07-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Pump Up Your Book! will be hosting Bubba Goes National (and me) on a virtual tour in August! Click here to learn more.

Help a couple of worthy projects get completed!

2010-07-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

Kickstarter.com is a way to help raise funds to complete creative projects. Here are two that are near and dear to my heart!

LAFFN is here! Get to writing!

2010-07-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

July LAFFN has begun! Now is the time to finish that novel that's been languishing on your hard drive, or get it edited, or whatever your goal is for the month (we're really easy going here). It's go time...no excuses! If you haven't already, visit the LAFFN forum and get to know some other LAFFers. Declare your goal, get your participant graphic, and get going.

Set a daily or weekly goal to chart your progress and check in with us...we want to help you succeed! You'll never get that baby published if you don't at least finish it. My goal is to finish Bubba to the Rescue, which is the sequel to my first novel, Bubba Goes National, which I released earlier this year. I want to get #2 done this month so I can get it edited and printed by October. I think another 10,000 words will do it, which is cake--323 words per day.

What's your goal? Let's get LAFFN!

Countdown: One week to get LAFFN!

2010-06-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

July LAFFN is just one week away! You have one week left to set yourself up for success. I'm going to start working on some graphics you can post on your blogs, websites, forum signatures, etc. Sooo...if you want one of these nifty things, stop by http://accentuatewriters.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=89 and proclaim your intent to participate and what your goal is. We'll have a participant graphic and a winner graphic...whee!

Just two more weeks until we get LAFFN!

2010-06-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this yesterday, but didn't instead...we have just two weeks until LAFFN (Let's All Finally Finish a Novel), where we pledge to finish our works in progress during the month of July! Remember, the rules are simple: make LAFFN about whatever is most beneficial to you, as long as you're writing. You can finish a NaNoWriMo novel, or that treatise on the effect of the Vietnam War on the local economy, or that book of essays. Maybe your plan is to write a 200,000 word book, so you just want to get 50,000 done in July. Heck, you could even write an entire book during the month if you don't have a WIP to finish. Whatever floats your boat, man, it's all good. Just write! Time to stop sitting around and saying how you OUGHT to finish that book...time to DO it!

Get involved with other LAFFers at http://accentuatewriters.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=89

What can you do right now to ensure your success, you ask? Here are some suggestions:

1. Reread your WIP to refresh yourself on what it's about, timelines, important details, etc.

2. Brainstorm on plot elements, story lines, the ending, and so on. Outline it, if that helps you.

3. Unlike NaNo, you're allowed to work on your book before LAFFN actually starts. If throwing a few words on the page now will help you cross the finish line by July 31, go for it.

4. Warn your family and friends that you will be busy in July and to be prepared not to bother you. You have important stuff going on!

5. Recruit your family and friends to join you, so you're not the only one going through this madness. See if you can set up some write-ins, where you all set up shop at someone's house, a cafe, etc. and all write together. You can do word wars, etc., to egg everyone on.

Any other suggestions?

Blog Talk Radio shows for writers and readers

2010-06-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered some Blog Talk Radio shows that I thought my writer friends might want to look into for promotional opportunities, and my reader friends might enjoy to find new authors and books. It's called Red River Radio, and they have several shows every month. These are generally talk show format type of shows where there is a guest author or two and on some of them book club members join in a discussion with the guests to ask about their books, their writing process, etc.

I have been asked to be an assistant for one of the hosts, Fran Lewis, in her book club discussions the third Wednesday of every month at 10AM Pacific. My job will be to answer the phone and monitor the chat room for questions. My first show is next Wednesday, the 16th, and I'm very excited! I hope you all will listen in...and check out the other Red River Radio shows. You just might find your new favorite author or get the opportunity to talk about your own book live on the air.

Suite101 Spring into Summer Challenge

2010-06-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

Suite101 is having a challenge this month to write 20 articles in 30 days. Everyone who does it will be entered in a drawing for one of 30 prizes of $101! Complete details are at http://www.suite101.com/pages/contests.cfm. I'm going to do it...even if I don't win, it'll be good incentive to get me writing. Oh, and then there will be the added revenue from having more articles! I only have to post five more before I get a 10% income bonus on my revenue share, so this will put me over the edge. It's a win-win. Who's with me?

Are you ready to get LAFFN?

2010-06-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

My plan was to have LAFFN (Let's All Finally Finish a Novel) twice per year: January and July. July is just around the corner, so it's time to start gearing up! I didn't get very far in January, but now that I don't have a day job anymore, I'm ready to finish the first sequel to Bubba Goes National. It's called Bubba to the Rescue, and I have 51,104 words in it so far. I think another 20k or so will do it. I'm still working on reading everything I'd already written since I'd forgotten since the previous NaNo and editing/adding as I go. My goal for June is to finish that, decide where the story is going and maybe add a couple more chapters so I'm well set to finish this sucker in July. I would like to get it published by November 1st, so I'll need to get right on editing, rewriting and formatting and all the rest of it.

As an extra incentive, I'm going to give all participants a prize: a graphic you can post on your blog, facebook, writer's forums, etc. "Winners" will get a second, equally special, winner graphic! How can you pass this up? And all for free, folks. Magical.

OK, LAFFers, what's your goal? Are you with me?

Don't know what the heck I'm talking about? Read my blog post about it to get the scoop.

Book signing number two

2010-05-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Last night, a friend hosted me for a book signing at her barn at a horse show. The show had a fun progressive barn party (each barn served something different like pulled pork sandwiches, hamburgers, barbecued corn, wine, cupcakes, etc., and you wander around and just stuff yourself. There's a scene in Bubba Goes National where they do one!), so I set up my table during the barn party when a lot of people were wandering around. A lot of people stopped by to see what I was doing, and I sold several copies of Bubba, Elements of the Soul and The Ultimate Horse Lover. People were really excited to see the books, which was nice. Some didn't have money on them and promised to come back during the weekend, so I may sell a couple more. It was really fun! Greg had made fliers for me to post around the show ground so people would know about it and come look for me, but I didn't get them up until the afternoon...and probably not enough of them. That was a bummer. However, I'm happy with how it went!

My first book signing in the books!

2010-04-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

My poor neglected blog...I haven't posted much here, despite so many exciting things happening! Here's a whirlwind catch-up: published Bubba Goes National in January. Got it into two brick-and-mortar stores in my area, on Amazon, barnesandnoble.com and booksamillion.com. Not a blockbuster quite yet, but I am selling them. Sold out my first order and had to order more. Almost sold out of those and there are more on the way. Set up my first signing at a used bookstore here in Folsom. That's what I'll talk about today!

Before going to my signing, I read a lot about what I should do, particularly at AbsoluteWrite and Accentuate. I tried to be prepared...I didn't have everything suggested, like a name tag or a big poster, but I did have a sign with my name and the prices of the books, business cards, fliers and of course books. I didn't do nearly enough promotion due to being tied up at work and then getting sick, so fliers didn't go up around town until yesterday. I did do some promotion online. One person came because of that, but just to say hi, not to make a purchase. I sent press releases to 9 media outlets, none of whom did anything with it except myfolsom.com (thanks, John!).

I'll run through my day in roughly chronological order with my thoughts:

Since the signing was scheduled to start at 1:00, I had all morning to gather my things, shower, put on makeup (those of you who know me well know that's a big deal), etc. Greg helped me decide what to wear. I left around the time I wanted to, since I had to stop at Office Max for a couple things. I also decided to go to Starbucks and get a traveler pack of coffee to offer passers-by in hopes of luring them in. I got to the store in plenty of time and was set up and ready to go by 12:55, and the shop owner was quite gracious...she said I was better prepared than most authors she hosted. Win!

One of the suggestions I was given was to have some sort of give-away. My bookmarks didn't arrive in time, so I had candy. I only gave out a few pieces, but I was glad to have it since I got a dry throat a couple times and needed to suck on something. I also autographed a bunch of the business cards I brought so I could hand them out, and it gave me something to do. I did give out a few, and I put one with each book I sold.

It turns out, no one wants coffee in the afternoon when it's 70 degrees out. No one. After finishing off my caramel frappuccino I got for free because they were practicing, I had a cup of the coffee I brought. That was all that got used. I brought the rest home and will drink it iced over the next few days! Maybe that's a better idea for morning signings, or cold day signings.

The advice I was given was to not sit behind my table, but to walk around and basically grab people and pitch them. Well, I'm shy. I didn't manage that...I sat behind my table. However, I did force myself to smile brightly and say hello to everyone who passed. If they slowed down and looked interested, I launched into a little pitch about what I was doing there. In most cases, they weren't interested in making a purchase but took a flier or business card. In one case, I sold a book to a perfect stranger. Win! I was totally exhilarated. Also, two people I know who knew I was there today stopped by to buy books and have them signed, so that was nice.

Sooo....I sold a total of three books. The shop owner said that was actually good! LOL! There wasn't a lot of traffic, and it being a used book store, most people going in wanted bargains. So, I did feel good about myself for doing it and I learned some lessons, and I'll be better prepared for next time. I made sales I didn't expect to make, so I'm calling it a success.

Lessons learned:

1. Don't bother trying to give away hot coffee on a warm day.
2. Bring something for myself to drink other than coffee. I'll be buzzed until next week!
3. Bring snacks. Candy doesn't count. I'm starved...and wired!
4. Next time, get up and be more forward and outgoing. Everyone was nice, and one is rarely mortally wounded by a rejection.
5. Test pens before using them. The ones I bought on the way over sucked.

I think that's about it!

Windswept Destiny Publishing Announces Book Signing for Bubba Goes National

2010-04-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

Folaom Author Jennifer Walker Signs her debut novel, Bubba Goes National

Folsom, CA April 4, 2010 - Windswept Destiny Publishing, an imprint of Twin Trinity Media, announced today that Folsom resident Jennifer Walker will be signing her debut novel, Bubba Goes National, at Colton Books, 651 East Bidwell Street in Folsom on April 17th, 2010 from 1:00 to 4:00pm. She will also offer two anthologies that contain her stories, Elements of the Soul and The Ultimate Horse Lover.

Bubba Goes National is about 13-year-old Leslie Clark, who lives with her widowed father. She loves horses but he can’t afford them, so she works for a horse trainer to earn lessons. She saves up her money to buy her own horse and finds an Arabian gelding at a livestock auction, which she buys. Lucky, nicknamed Bubba by Leslie’s teasing father, had been cast off by his breeders but is a dream come true for Leslie. Together, they work their way to the Arabian horse National Championships.

Although Bubba Goes National was written for the 10 to 14-year-old market, it has appeal for horse lovers of all ages. Readers will learn a little about horse care and showing while reading a delightful story about working hard to make one’s dreams come true.

Michelle L. Devon, author and owner of Accentuate Services, says, “Bubba Goes National is a sweet story, but it also tackles some of the more difficult issues teens have to deal with these days, such as: death of a parent, competitive rivalry, overcoming tough obstacles, and working hard to earn something. It’s a story any teen girl who has ever dreamed of having her own horse will want to read, and horse-loving grownup girls will too!”

Bubba Goes National is available at a cover price of $12.95. Books can be purchased at the signing, at Colton Books in Folsom and at Christensen’s Saddlery in Loomis. Additionally, autographed copies can be purchased at http://www.authorjennwalker.com/bubba.html. It is also available through online retailers and major distributors, such as Ingrams, Coutt’s, Baker & Taylor, Blackwell Book Services and Holt Jackson.

Halfway through LAFFN

2010-01-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

Today is January 16th, and we are halfway through LAFFN. How are you doing? Are you halfway done? I'm not. I haven't had much time to work on it, although I try to do just a little every day. I'm still reading through my first draft and editing/adding to it as I go. I'm on page 46 of 112. Lots of stuff going on in my life this month, but I'll keep making a little time for it every day!

If you're feeling like you should just give up because it's halfway through the month and you've hardly accomplished anything, or haven't even started, DON'T GIVE UP. Pick up your manuscript right now and get something done on it. Even if you only spend ten minutes on it every day, you'll be making progress. Maybe tomorrow you can spend a couple of hours and get caught up. Even one page or one paragraph is better than where you were yesterday!

Get LAFFN!

Tragic barn fire in Northeast--donations needed

2010-01-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

Passing this along. Please help if you can:

Dear Friends,

As many in the northeast may have already heard, longtime Arabian trainer and breeder Randy Stoneback suffered a devastating loss after a barn fire at his Pennsylvania facility claimed the lives of eight training horses, two of whom had just recently won National Championships at Sport Horse Nationals, and virtually all of the farm equipment, including trailer, tractors, spreaders, tack and hay. The fire, believed to have been electrical in nature, started at approximately 4:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, and so quickly engulfed the building that the Stonebacks were able to get to only a few horses in that barn. The facility is comprised of several different barns, so over fifty stalls, and many more horses, still remain at the farm, but virtually all of their equipment and hay perished in the fire.

Randy and his family have been breeding Arabian horses for over fifty years, and Randy has been a professional trainer in Pennsylvania his whole life. Randy’s parents, Dr. Stoneback and his wife, Marge, are long-time fixtures on the East Coast Arabian horse scene, and had just recently moved back in with Randy due to health problems. Both the doctor and his wife are currently hospitalized, and have not yet been informed of the accident.

Obviously, there are many items needed immediately to continue the operations at the farm while they recover from this accident, as well as to replace much of the equipment. Friends who would like to help are welcome to send a tax deductible contribution to The Arabian Horsemen’s Distress Fund, with a notation on the check that the funds are to be earmarked for the Stonebacks. The fund is a separate, restricted fund with 501c3 charitable status, managed by a five person board, and the family will be sent notification of all who have donated.

The address to send donations, with a note earmarking that they be directed towards Stonebacks, is

The Arabian Horsemen’s Distress Fund
236 Henry Sanford Road
Bridgewater, CT 06752

If you would prefer to donate by credit card on line, simply go to http://www.horsemens...help/index.html , where you will find a button that says Make A Donation, which will take you to a secure Paypal site where you can make your donation, after which you can send an e-mail to mary@horsemensdistressfund.com to note that you would like to earmark it for Stonebacks.

During these times when the worst happens, the best and saving grace is to experience the strong sense of community that surrounds our Arabian horse world. If you would like to send a personal message, the address is Randy Stoneback, 127 Tripps Lane, Strattanville, PA 15258.

Sincerely,
Mary Trowbridge
The Arabian Horsemen’s Distress Fund

Elements of Time available for pre-sale!

2010-01-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

If you enjoyed Elements of the Soul (and who wouldn't?), you might also enjoy Elements of Time, another short story and poem anthology. Although I am not in this one, I heartily encourage you to purchase a copy and support the contributing authors! The pre-sale price is only $9.99.

If you haven't ordered Elements of the Soul yet (in which I have TWO stories), you can order both books and their coordinating bookmarks together, as a bundle, for just $20! Click here to order the bundle.

I'm LAFFN

2010-01-06T09:30:00.001-08:00

All right, I'm still sick, but I've started reading my 2008 nano, editing as I go. When I get to a scene that needs to be written/finished, I'll do that as it comes, and then I'll continue working on it until it's done! I hope everyone is doing well!

LAFFN has officially begun!

2010-01-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, I had meant to start posting a couple of days ago, but I've been down for the count with a kidney infection and not spending much time on the computer! LAFFN has officially begun. Have you? I have to admit I haven't, what with not being on the computer at all. Since I'll be finishing my nano from 2008, I need to read it to re-familiarize myself with it and get back into the groove of it. Then, I can start writing...I should have started that days ago, but oh well! No time like the present. Once I get going, I'll have to write about 1,000 words a day, but that's cake after nano!

The last day of the year!

2009-12-31T04:40:00.000-08:00

Today is January 31st, and that means several things. Of course, it's the end of the year and a chance to make a new beginning. It's also the last day before LAFFN begins! If you haven't already set your goal, now is the time to do it!

Also, it's the last day to pre-order your copy of Bubba Goes National! Up until midnight tonight, the price is $13 including shipping and a bookmark. Starting tomorrow, shipping will be $2.50 per book (discounts for multiple books ordered) and $1.99 for the bookmark.

Happy New Year to all, and best of luck in keeping your New Years Resolutions!

First advance review of Bubba Goes National

2009-12-27T10:31:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I didn't post this here the day it went up, but I've received my first review of Bubba Goes National! Please visit Linda Ann Nickerson's blog--lots of interesting stuff for horse lovers, but she has several blogs on different subjects. She is a very prolific writer all over the web.

http://themanepoint.blogspot.com/2009/12/bubbas-book-is-coming-soon.html

It's official: Let's All Finally Finish a Novel!

2009-12-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

After talking it over with a couple of people, I've decided to go ahead with a special month for finishing a novel. I don't want to steal Chris Baty's deal, so we'll call it Let's All Finally Finish a Novel...or LAFFN. Clever, eh?

We'll do it a couple times per year, but let's gear up for the first one in January. Remember, the idea here is not to write a whole novel from scratch (like NaNoWriMo), but rather, take a novel you've already started and commit to FINISHING it by the end of January.

This can mean one of three things:

1) Pick up a novel you've started writing and actually finish writing the rough draft to the conclusion of the story.
2) Take a rough draft and rewrite it and prepare it for editing.
3) Take a prepared second draft and perfect it and edit it to being ready for submission (I realize it's not the same as writing one, but some people might need this, and the whole point is get get people moving forward, right?)

So... find a way to measure your successes... a goal meter, percentage of project, etc.

It's not about things being 'equal' for everyone, or to be a competition. It's about a personal goal and challenge to ourselves. It's about finishing something you started, and for some of us, that's really hard. It's about taking that next step toward being a published author. As with any challenge, it will be easier and harder for different folks. YOU decide!

All right, here we go...five days 'til LAFFN. What's your goal? Post it here! We also have a forum for it on the Accentuate Writers forum so we can all cheer each other on. Let's go!

My goal: finish the sequel to Bubba Goes National. I wrote 50k words of it during NaNo last year, so I probably have about 20k to go. Thats 646 words per day. Cake!

The year is winding down...

2009-12-26T09:33:00.000-08:00

Just Six days left in 2009! I'd love to get one more Bubba Goes National fan and sell one more book for each day until midnight on New Year's Eve, when the pre-sale ends. Can I do it?

How About National Finish a Novel Month?

2009-12-26T09:22:00.001-08:00

I've said I was going to do this ever since I started NaNoWriMo. Since a lot of us don't finish our novels during the actual month, and it's so common to start a book and never finish it, I thought it would be fun to have a month where we pick a manuscript that we've started somewhere along the way (doesn't have to be a nano) and finish the sucker. My vision for this is to work on a MS that actually needs writing to be done on it rather than just editing, and maybe have a National Novel Editing Month later.

Chris Baty is having a drive to finish your novel this year, taking the whole year to do it, but for me that's too long. I need the pressure of doing it in a month, and it's helpful to have people doing it with me. I'm thinking January or March, giving us time to recover from NaNo and the holidays, but giving us 31 days.

Thoughts?

It's OK to say Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T14:49:00.001-08:00

I'm going to take a little tangent from my writing musings to talk about something that really sticks in my craw. Someone told my mom, who works at a grocery store, that she shouldn't tell people Merry Christmas, because it might offend people (I love the fact that she refused to comply and said Merry Christmas to all of her customers).

This is not the first time I've heard this: people are so afraid of offending people that they are ashamed to say Merry Christmas. They say Happy Holidays instead...not that there's anything wrong with saying Happy Holidays, but if you're saying it because you're afraid of offending someone with Merry Christmas, that's just silly.

How is it offensive to wish someone a happy, joyous, merry whatever? What is wrong with inviting someone to enjoy a day, even if it isn't one that is celebrated by their religion? Perhaps it's easy for us Christians, because our holidays are celebrated widely. However, if I walked into a store, school, government building, restaurant, etc and it was decorated for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any other holiday I don't celebrate, I would think it's neat. If someone wished me a Happy [insert holiday I don't celebrate], I wouldn't be offended--I would say thank you and return the greeting. I think it's sweet that someone wants to share the joy of their holiday with me.

If you are offended by this, you seriously need to think about why. Is it because it's not politically incorrect? Is it because someone told you you should be offended? Perhaps no one is really offended at all, but so many politically correct do-gooders thinking someone MIGHT be offended has created a problem that doesn't really exist.

I implore you, gentle readers: don't be afraid to be religious in public, no matter what that religion is, as long as you aren't harming anyone or anything (including not mocking or being derogatory toward other groups). Don't be afraid of offending someone with something that isn't offensive.

On the flip side, don't be offended because you think someone should be offended, but don't really have a good reason as to why. Don't be offended by someone else's religion, whether they're wishing it on you or not...just say thank you for the blessing or whatever it is and go on your way. Consider the intent behind the greeting and what it's all about.

OK? Can we do that?

Elements of the Soul book trailer

2009-12-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a trailer for the anthology in which I have two stories, Elements of the Soul.

http://www.youtube.com/user/michylynnj#p/a/u/2/pPBd1-hxL-A

Elements of the Soul bookmarks!

2009-12-15T19:34:00.001-08:00

Bookmarks that coordinate with Elements of the Soul (the anthology in which I have two stories) are now available for order! Place your order today and get a copy of the book! http://twintrinitybooks.com/Elements-of-the-Soul-Bookmark-bm1.htm

Press Release for Bubba Goes National

2009-12-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

WINDSWEPT DESTINY PUBLISHING ANNOUNCES UPCOMING RELEASE OF BUBBA GOES NATIONAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jennifer Walker/Windswept Destiny Publishing Jennifer@authorjennwalker.com

Folsom, CA December 6, 2009 - Windswept Destiny Publishing, an imprint of Twin Trinity Media, announced today that the novel Bubba Goes National, by Jennifer Walker is due to be released in early January 2010. This is the debut novel by Walker, who has worked as a freelance writer and editor for several years.

Bubba Goes National is about 13-year-old Leslie Clark, who lives with her widowed father. She loves horses but he can’t afford them, so she works for a horse trainer to earn lessons. She saves up her money to buy her own horse and finds an Arabian gelding at a livestock auction, which she buys. Lucky, nicknamed Bubba by Leslie’s teasing father, had been cast off by his breeders but is a dream come true for Leslie. Together, they work their way to the Arabian horse National Championships.

Although Bubba Goes National was written for the 10 to 14-year-old market, it has appeal for horse lovers of all ages. Readers will learn a little about horse care and showing while reading a delightful story about working hard to make one’s dreams come true.

Michelle L. Devon, author and owner of Accentuate Services, says, “Bubba Goes National is a sweet story, but it also tackles some of the more difficult issues teens have to deal with these days, such as: death of a parent, competitive rivalry, overcoming tough obstacles, and working hard to earn something. It’s a story any teen girl who has ever dreamed of having her own horse will want to read, and horse-loving grownup girls will too!”

Bubba Goes National is available at a special pre-order price of $13.00 through December 2009, which includes shipping, handling and taxes. Orders can be placed at http://www.authorjennwalker.com/bubba.html.

NaNo final stretch!

2009-11-28T16:20:00.001-08:00

There are only 2.5 days left of NaNoWriMo 2009! At this point, you should have 46,676 words (by the time you go to bed tonight, that is). I am currently at 37k, so I am "only" 9,000 words behind! I want to get to 43k tonight. Remember, no matter how far behind you are, if you can invest some time over the next couple of days, you can still win! If you can't write quite that fast, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Even if you only get to 25k, that's a great start!

Here are some final-days-of-NaNoWriMo tips for success:

1. Coffee. The good stuff.
2. Enlist a couple of family members to cheer you on and bring you drinks and snacks.
3. Wear something comfortable. I like pj's.
4. Word sprints! NaNo top banana Chris Baty is running word sprints at http://twitter.com/NaNoWordSprints. I don't know where he's at right now, but last night he was behind even me. A word sprint is a period of time, say 15 or 30 minutes, where all you do is write as fast as you can. Don't allow yourself ANY distractions! No getting up, no surfing the internet, just write. Last night I got 1,455 words in one 30-minute sprint!
5. Give yourself milestones to shoot for. I like to go for round numbers, so before I allow myself to get up and go to the bathroom, or check facebook or whatever, I make myself get to the next round hundred or some other goal. Usually, I'm in the middle of a sentence or thought when I reach that point, so I ended up overshooting. Then, I often decide to do "just a little more" until I get to the next round hundred, and so on. I often get quite a bit done this way.

Anyone else have tips for success to share?

Now taking pre-orders for Bubba Goes National!

2009-11-24T20:24:00.001-08:00

At long last, I am ready to take pre-orders for my first novel, Bubba Goes National! The books should be available by early January. Cover price is $12.95 plus shipping ($2.50 for one book, $3.97 for two, $4.97 for three, 6.50, for four, $13 for five or more). The special pre-order price, available only until December 31st, is a flat rate of $13 per book--including shipping!

To order, click:

Thirteen-year-old Leslie Clark has loved horses for as long as she can remember and has been riding since she was six. Although her widowed father cannot afford to give her everything she desires, she works hard to get what she wants. When what she wants, a great horse to show, is taken right out from under her by her rival, Kate Wellesley, Leslie thinks her whole world has been turned upside down--until she finds Lucky (nicknamed Bubba by her father, who thinks he is funny). Then, everything changes.

Readers of Bubba Goes National will be touched by an inspiring story, but they will also learn about the care and showing of horses while they read about Leslie's adventures. Sandwiched in is a lesson that if one is willing to work hard, they can make their dreams come true. Bubba Goes National is the first of the Riders of Green Meadow series, which will showcase horses that are unwanted by one person but are another's dream come true.

How's your NaNo?

2009-11-21T14:30:00.001-08:00

Including today, we have 10 days left to finish our National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) books. I had intended to do all kinds of post about NaNo, but I've just been too busy! So busy, in fact, that I've hardly written at all...I just broke 16k a few minutes ago, and I should be at 33k already! This means I have to write 3400 words per day, every single day until the 30th if I want to finish. I'm hoping to write a ton today, maybe even 10k, and maybe 5k tomorrow, and that will help catch me up a bit. I will also have some time on Thanksgiving.

I thought NaNo would be hard last year when I was freelancing full time. Then I got an attack of tendonitis and really didn't think I'd finish, but I did. This year, I have taken a day job again--working with horses, which I love, but between work and driving to work, about 11-12 hours of my day is gone. Then, I often have writing assignments (for actual money), plus I have to bathe and eat and sleep and stuff. Sometimes, I just can't bear the thought of doing anything, so I just veg out. However, I just can't stand to lose, so I'm going to do everything in my power to get this stupid book WRITTEN!

If I can do it, you can too! Stop making excuses...just go write. Start with one sentence, or try to write just 100 words. Before you know it, you'll be screaming along, and you'll be so much further along on that book you've been wanting to write than if you just sat there and made excuses. Now, stop distracting yourself with my blog and get back to work!

Last ten days of NaNoWriMO....GO!!

Elements of the Soul has shipped!

2009-11-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

For those of you who pre-purchased a copy of Elements of the Soul, thank you so much for your support! There was a series of snafus with the printer, but the books are now available and in the mail (regular ole USPS) to each of you. Thank you so much for your patience for this long wait!

If you have not yet purchased a copy, I will have several copies for sale, or you can purchase them here. If you would like to purchase a copy from me, email me at jennifer AT authorjennwalker DOT com.

Check out my blogs about Arabian Sport Horse Nationals!

2009-09-27T17:39:00.001-07:00

I was invited to blog about Sport Horse Nationals on clubequestrian.com--check out my daily musings at www.clubequestrian.com/blogs. I recommend starting from the beginning, so scroll down until you get to the one called "When it rains, it pours..."

It's almost NaNoWriMo time!

2009-09-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

I know, it's only September, but NaNoWriMo is just over a month away and it's time to start thinking about it! What is NaNoWriMo, you ask? It is National Novel Writing Month, a time when thousands of people across the globe are focused on one task: writing at least 50,000 words of their novel during the month. The idea is to finish it, but you "win" the challenge if you get at least 50,000 words.

There is a lot of support from other writers and it can be a lot of fun...but crazy! In order to complete the challenge, you need to write 1,667 words every day of the month--a bit more if you take a day off here and there. I can generally write about 1,000 words per hour if I'm going at a comfortable pace, 1,500 if I really push it. There are groups who get together all over the country to write together, such as at cafes, libraries, their houses, etc., which makes the writing process just a little less lonely.

So, if you think you're up to the challenge (oh, believe me, you are!), go to the site and register. You can't start writing until 12:01 on November 1st, so don't cheat! What you can do now, however, is figure out what your story will be about and even do an outline if that is your style. You can do some character sketches, setting sketches, anything that will get the story cemented in your head so all you have to do is write come November.

Are you ready? Let's go! Come visit my NaNoWriMo page and add me as a buddy. We can do it together!

Associated Content vs Helium vs Suite101 vs Examiner vs Ehow July

2009-08-01T08:51:00.001-07:00

Once again, I tracked my earnings on each of my online contents sites: Associated Content, Helium, Suite101, Examiner and Ehow. I can't show you the actual numbers for the earnings, but I can tell you how things shook out.

As a reminder, this data is gathered rather unscientifically, and I know that.

Suite 101

Suite101, once again, came out on top for earnings per article. The revenue share there is about four times the performance pay on AC, despite the fact that I have just over a quarter of the articles there than I do on Associated Content (and just under half of what I have on Helium). Suite and AC are the only two I have page view data for, and Suite garnered me 2,540 MORE views than AC did. In fact, despite adding six articles to Associated Content, my views there went down in July. Suite page views went up about 500 with the addition of only four articles.

For total earnings, Suite is not yet up to where Helium and AC are, because they give up front payments. I suspect that once I get my article inventory up a bit at Suite, that will no longer be the case. There is a bonus once you reach 50 articles and I'm only 12 away from that, so that is my goal for August.

Helium

Helium came in second this month for earnings per article, after coming in a dismal fourth last month. This is due to a variety of reasons: adding more articles than I did anywhere else (by recycling stuff from AC, so it didn't take much time), the sale of an article to one of Helium's partners, and a dramatic drop in earnings at other sites. When I get 19 more articles up there, I will get another writing star and therefore earn a little more in up fronts per article. That is my goal for August, but given that I just started a day job and have other things to do, that's a pretty aggressive goal. I'll be happy if it happens in September.

Helium came in second for total earnings, behind AC where the up-fronts are higher and where I earned more in performance pay. However, my AC performance pay was less than a dollar more than Helium with 50 more articles--not counting the $5 sale at Helium. The gap in performance pay in June was about $3, so that is closing. I suspect that Helium will pass AC next month in that department.

Associated Content

Associated Content came in third for earnings per article, with a significant drop from last month thanks to the addition of several articles and a plummet in page views. The forums there and elsewhere are teeming with people complaining about page view accounting that does not seem right. There were many cases like mine, where a writer didn't contribute anything for a while and their views held steady, then added a bunch of articles and that's when their views dropped. It doesn't make any sense that you can add 30 articles and have fewer page views, but AC still claims there is no problem. I was hanging in there to get the little stream of up-front payments, but I think I'm done now that I have a day job and better-performing sites to write for. I'll rethink that if they fix the page view reporting problem.

eHow

eHow came in fourth for earnings per article this month, not far behind AC. I didn't add any articles this month and actually earned a little less than last month. However, you can't really draw any kind of conclusions about performance there right now because I only have seven articles. eHow came in last for total earnings, which is fair since I have the fewest articles there.

Examiner

Examiner came in last for earnings per article this month. I didn't add many articles in July and my page views stink. I seem to get the most views right after I publish something and promote it, then they die off. I still think that could be my fault because of topic selection and keywording. I'm supposed to be writing 3-5 articles per week there and I haven't been. I'm going to keep working on it there and see if I can turn it into something good--I know other people are doing well there, so I could too if I worked on it. Examiner earned more in total earnings than eHow thanks to having more articles, but less than everywhere else.

Conclusion

In August, I want to get Suite and Helium article volume up to the point where I get a little more per article there with the bonuses, and I want to meet my obligation at Examiner. However, with the volume of other work I have in addition to the job, we'll have to see how that goes. See you next month!

What is so hard??

2009-07-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

My husband and I like coffee. We like the actual taste of it, not the taste of the sugar or whatever you put in it. Coffee and cream...hot or iced. That's what we like. This doesn't seem like it would be that hard to get, but the good folks who work at McDonald's can't seem to get that...and I don't get that they don't get it.

McDonald's came out with iced coffee a year or two ago, which comes in regular (sweet), vanilla or caramel. Greg and I would go, whether inside or the drive through and order thusly: "Two large iced coffees, no flavor, no sweetener, no syrup. Just coffee and cream."

Without fail, there would be a pause, and the order taker would read it back to us in an incredulous tone of voice. "You don't want sweetener?"

"No," we would say, trying desperately to keep control of our composure. "Just regular coffee, regular cream and ice. Nothing else. No syrup, no sweetener, no flavor."

"OK," they'd say, like they thought we were nuts and we would surely be sorry. When we got to the window (or stepped aside to wait for our order, without fail, somebody would come over to ask us again. "So, you don't want sweetener?"

"No," we would say a little more firmly. "Just regular coffee, regular cream and ice. Nothing else. No syrup, no sweetener, no flavor."

After they handed us our drinks, we would start to drive or walk away, confident that our request, given in triplicate, had been honored. Almost without fail, we would taste the coffee and find it was sweet. Given that regular coffee and regular cream do not come sweet, that meant that sweetener was added. Sweetener we specifically said THREE TIMES that we didn't want.

I'm not sure how to change this. I don't think you can be any clearer than, "Just regular coffee, regular cream and ice. Nothing else. No syrup, no sweetener, no flavor." The only conclusion I can come to is that America is getting dumber, and that makes me sad. On the other hand, it makes me feel smarter, so yay me.

Michy sent me this video, which had Greg and me rolling on the floor, laughing, tears streaming from our eyes...because it's just so true. Warning: harsh language! Don't play this in the presence of young children or anyone with sensitive sensibilities!

Current Associated Content Review Time

2009-07-28T10:46:00.001-07:00

I've heard of long waits for some people, but my Associated Content review time has been quite reasonable for the sparse pieces I've submitted lately...I submitted one on July 24th and got an offer today, the 28th--just four days later, including a weekend. I submitted one on the 15th and got an offer on the 17th...submitted one on the 3rd and got an offer on the 8th. All less than a week.

Everything you do is an article

2009-07-25T11:37:00.001-07:00

The other day I was talking to Michy, and I said I needed software that would extract pictures from a PDF. She helped me find one, and it worked great. I was raving to her about how easy it was to use and did exactly what I wanted in seconds.

"Sounds like an article," she said.

"Oh. duh." I replied.

"And a blog post," she added.

"Good idea!" I answered. So I did...I wrote a review of the product (Nitro PDF Professional)for Suite101, and how I'm going to write a blog post about it. Oh...I'm already writing it.

Every day, you do something that can be turned into an article. See a movie, read a book or use a new product? Write a review! Do something that someone might not know how to do? Write a how-to! Hear about or plan to attend an event? Write about it...there are so many things in our day-to-day lives that slip right by us and we don't think about them, but surely someone wants to know about them. Then, each of these articles can spring into others, like I can do an article or two about how to use Nitro PDF Professional, etc.

So, here's your writing prompt for today: find one aspect of your day-to-day life and write an article about it. Then, find one way to take a different angle on the same subject matter (review, how-to, history, profile, etc.).

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2009-07-22T11:00:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2009-07-22T10:56:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Apple Encourages Copyright Infringement

2009-07-19T06:44:00.001-07:00

Michy recently brought to my attention that there is an Apple iphone commercial that demonstrates its copy-and-paste functionality by showing a user copying a whole article from the web and pasting it into an email. This is ILLEGAL. For more information on why this is illegal, why you as a writer should be mad as heck about it and what you should do, please read her blog post on the subject.

No I'm not and no I don't!

2009-07-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

You're reading an article on the Internet, and you suddenly find yourself starring in a hypothetical situation you could never imagine thinking to yourself. You think, "What in the name of Pete?" And then you think, "Wait a minute. I'd never do that, and I never say 'What in the name of Pete!'"

Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught a completely useless and annoying literary device: putting the reader into a hypothetical situation in a clumsy attempt to "draw them in." I see an exhausting number of articles online that start this way, particularly when I'm rating Helium articles.

"You're sitting in a restaurant, and you see..."

Uh, no I'm not, and no I don't. This sort of thing doesn't pull me in and engage me; it just annoys me and puts me on the defensive. In fact, if anything, I'm less likely to want to keep reading to see what the article has to say. Even if it's prefaced with "Picture it..." it's still hackneyed and a little insulting. I don't like being given directives before I've even read the story.

Don't do it. Don't try to force your reader into being the star of a hypothetical situation. It's not clever, and it's not engaging. Find another way to open your article.

Why write for online content sites?

2009-07-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry to those of you who commented on my last post that I haven't responded--I've been out of town and didn't have internet (*gasp* the torture!). A couple of the commenters questioned the usefulness of writing for online content sites, so I thought I'd use it as an excuse to make a new post.

Why write for online sites instead of magazines? Well, I would never, ever recommend these sites INSTEAD of magazines, but as a supplement. The print publishing world is agonizingly slow, between the query process and waiting for payment. I have published articles in about 10 different magazines, but I'm having a hard time keeping a high and steady income that way. That is mostly my fault for not sending enough queries, but the print world is struggling in today's economy...magazines are going under or downsizing. I don't mean to sound negative about the industry or anyone's ability to make a living that way--many people do. I'm just saying, it's frustrating and slow.

Online content sites, like Helium, Associated Content, Suite101, etc, offer quick gratification--your article is posted either immediately or within a few days. With Associated Content, you often get a small up-front payment in addition to the performance pay they all give. It is a paltry, paltry amount, but it's something, and with some effort you can keep a steady stream of these paltry payments coming in. I know of one person who makes a decent income doing just Associated Content. The other perk to these sites is they offer residual income...the right pieces can potentially earn more than print work. It's also nice to get that extra money every month--money you can earn without doing any extra effort. The above-mentioned lady makes several hundred dollars a month just in residuals, and I think she breaks $1,000 during the holiday season thanks to her seasonal articles.

No, online content sites are not a good way to make a great living. However, they are a good supplement to the more lucrative print publishing.

Associated Content vs Helium vs Suite101 vs Examiner vs Ehow

2009-07-01T09:30:00.001-07:00

While I did not do any kind of official challenge to compare the various content sites I wrote for, I thought it would be valuable to compare the results of each one. I did not set out this month with the intention of doing this; I just tried to increase my production so I can eventually have a decent level of residual income. A week or so ago, I thought it would be interesting to see a comparison at the end of each month, so I am going to start doing that. This is pretty unscientific, because there are a lot of variables. Topic selection could have a big influence on the outcome.

[actual results removed due to a couple of the sites' policies that payments not be disclosed. Sorry!]

From the results, it is clear that Suite101 is the biggest earner per article this month, despite the lack of up-front payments.

However, I should note that Associated Content has had some indexing issues--articles are either not getting to the search engines or they are getting there but getting delisted. Associated Content claims there is no problem, but MANY content producers insist there is. Some have technical ways to show it that are over my head, but everyone is seeing a decrease in performance. For April and May, my performance pay was over $9, and it dropped by $3 in June--with 15 additional articles. There is clearly something rotten in the state of...Associated Content! However, even with an additional $3 in performance pay, AC would still be behind Suite101 in per-article earnings.

Examiner.com came in third. They pay .01 per page view, which is not bad. I think my topic selection and keywording there need work, because my views are pretty poor. I get the most views on days I post an article, probably because I post the link everywhere.

Helium and eHow are neck and neck. Helium at least has up-fronts, but I can't deny that eHow articles perform pretty well. Lots of views and decent revenue share, it seems. I don't know how much effort I want to put in there, but it would be nice to build up enough articles to meet pay-out ($10) every month. However, is it worth putting effort into a site that has the same structure as Suite101? Why not just put my how-to articles there? I may end up doing that.

I should also point out that the sample size is pretty small, so that adds to the unscientificness of this.

I also write for Demand Studios, but not very often so I didn't bother including them. I'm probably spending too much time on online content and not enough querying magazines!

TWIN TRINITY MEDIA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ELEMENTS OF THE SOUL

2009-06-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Twin Trinity Media / Accentuate Services
michy@twintrinitymedia.com
TWIN TRINITY MEDIA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ELEMENTS OF THE SOUL

TEXAS, USA - July 3, 2009 Twin Trinity Media, part of the Accentuate FAMILY of Author
Services, announces the Accentuate Writers Anthology Elements of the Soul has gone to print and will be released late this summer. The collection of short stories and poems is a compilation of the winners of the Accentuate Writers Short Story Anthology and Poetry Contest that took place in 2008. Writers braved tough competition to vie for a place in the anthology, a royalty contract, cash and merchandise prizes.

The stories and poems in Elements of the Soul were written on four themes: Fire & Ice, Winds of Change, April Showers and Summer Heat. Contestants' submissions were judged on use of theme, adherence to submission guidelines and quality of the story and writing. In addition to the contest winners' stories, two authors were included in the anthology as Editor's Picks and received royalty contracts.

The Accentuate Writers Short Story Anthology and Poetry Contest, now in its second year, gives writers an opportunity to obtain critiques, a chance to win cash and merchandise prizes, and a publishing contract. Anyone is eligible to enter the contests for a small fee, but only the best work rises to the top and is included in the Accentuate Writers Anthology.

The managing editor for Twin Trinity Media and owner of Accentuate Services, Michelle L Devon, says, "I have been honored to watch the contests grow and the writers grow along with them. The stories are getting better and the competition is fierce. I'm proud to play a small part in helping make writing dreams come true with these contests and anthologies. It's very exciting and humbling."

Authors for Elements of the Soul include: Steven Thor Gunnin, Jennifer Walker, Rissa Watkins, Lindsay Maddox, George Kramer, Lucinda Gunnin, Jo Brielyn, M. Lori Motley, Susan Sosbe and Laurie Darroch-Meekis. The anthology also features talented poets to fill in the pages between stories with wonderful imagery and substance. Michelle L Devon, author of In a Perfect World and The Path: A Series on Redemption and Sensual Awakening, who is a contributing author to other anthologies herself,
edited the book and contributed to the foreword.

Elements of the Soul is currently available at a special pre-order price of $13.00, which includes shipping and handling, taxes and a specially made bookmark. Orders can be placed at http://anthologies.accentuatewritersforum.com/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/47-preorder-elements.

Accentuate Services has been in business for over fourteen years and is dedicated to providing services to authors, from publishing consulting to editing and writing coaching. Other ventures that are part of the Accentuate FAMILY of Author Services include Unsent Letters, Recipes & Recovery, Erotic Anthologies, and the Accentuate Writers Forum, with other projects in the works. Visit the website at www.AccentuateServices.com.

###
Twin Trinity Media / Accentuate Services
c/o: Michelle L Devon
1305 E. 36th Street
Odessa, TX 79762
Toll-Free: 866.641.8130
Michy@twintrinitymedia.com
http://www.accentuateservices.com
This press release may be copied, shared, distributed and/or posted on any electronic or print source provided the content is not altered in any way. Live links on electronic versions is appreciated.

Accentuate Writers Anthology is finally going to print!

2009-06-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

I posted last year when first I came in second and then first place in the Accentuate Writers short story contests. The anthology of winners is finally going to print, and they are taking pre-orders now! Please support these very talented writers and the great lady who gave them this publishing contract by ordering your copy today! You will get to read some GREAT stories.

My new venture!

2009-06-17T22:26:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Beth Sandland, one of my heroes and mentors, I am now the new owner of PacNWHorse.com! If you are a horse lover, please check it out and help me fill up the site with great content and great people...register for free, post a blog post or two about your life with horses, post on the forum, post an ad. I want to make this an awesome resource that everyone in the Pacific Northwest will turn to!

Pleased with Suite101

2009-06-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

I am really glad I went back to writing for Suite101. While some of their style guidelines irritate me (like only being able to write in third person), they are not hard to work around. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Summer Sizzles writer's challenge gave me a lot of good ideas--those articles are getting between 10 and 40 hits per day. Even though the challenge is over, I'm still writing summer articles just because they perform so well.

Suite101 vs Associated Content

With 30 articles on Suite101, I am getting more hits and more revenue per day, on average, than I get on Associated Content with 117 articles. It was the summer articles that put me over the top on Suite101. For the month of June, I have earned more in revenue share on Suite101 than on Associated Content (with a bit over a quarter of the articles).

The big difference is that Associated Content gives up-front payment, and Suite101 does not. Now, AC does not always give up-fronts, and when they do it's only a few dollars. Most of mine are $4.xx with a few that are $3.xx. I rarely get less than $3, but I sometimes do.

Associated Content only requires $1.50 in revenue to get a pay-out each month. Suite101 requires $10. It took me about six months to hit it the first time with just seven articles. I almost reached the second one in three months with the addition of a few more, but I will get it this month with plenty left over--and if my revenue keeps up, I should reach it every month from now on.

Another nice thing about Suite101 is that they have higher standards--Associated Content has very low standards. Not everyone is approved to write for Suite101, and they have to adhere to the style guidelines. Suite101 also provides a lot of education on titling, keywording, adding photos, etc., to enhance your articles.

At this point, I am still writing for both. I would like to reach the point where each of my content sites gives me a nice little paycheck every month. The thought of getting an extra $100 or $200 per month without putting out additional work is very enticing!

PS...Visit my Suite101 and Associated Content pages to read my articles!

Have you sent an Unsent Letter?

2009-06-12T10:53:00.001-07:00

Unsent Letters is growing by leaps and bounds. Almost everyone has a letter they wish they had sent, and now you can...even if it's just anonymously. AND, you can get paid for it. AND, you can get it published in a book! Of course, not every letter is accepted, but as of right now the editor (Michelle L. Devon)is reading and responding to all submissions.

Even if you do not have a letter idea, read the blog with the accepted submissions. Some of them are incredibly powerful and heartfelt, and today's is controversial as well--check out the comments and weigh in!

I sent in a submission, but she has so many to go through that it will probably be a while before I hear back. If mine is accepted, I'll post, but it will be posted as anonymous so you won't know which one is mine. :)

Bubba Goes National will finally see print!

2009-06-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

An exciting announcement!

Windswept Destiny Publishing, an imprint of Twin Trinity Media, is pleased to announce the release this summer of Jennifer Walker's first book, Bubba Goes National!

We don't have a firm date yet, but will definitely announce it when we do. For more information, visit http://www.authorjennwalker.com/bubba.html

Associated Content Review Time

2009-06-10T12:23:00.001-07:00

As of June 10th, Associated Content's review time is about a week. I just got an offer on an article from June 3rd.

Article Ideas are Everywhere

2009-06-09T11:51:00.001-07:00

When I first started freelance writing, I was always at a loss for article ideas. I struggled with thinking of things to write about and the ideas were few and far between. From time to time, I would think of something, then forget it before I got the chance to go home and write about it. At one point, Greg bought me a notebook for my purse so I could write things down, and that helped quite a bit. At the encouragement of a couple of friends, I started brainstorming on specific topics, and that seemed to get the juices flowing.

Lately, I've found that ideas are constantly coming to me. I go to the store, drive down the street, go to the dance, go to a horse show, ride my horse...no matter what I do, an idea seems to pop in my head. Sometimes I remember to write it down, and sometimes I don't, but with the abundance of ideas, some of them are bound to stick! The other day, I ran out of summer topics for the Suite101 Summer Sizzles contest. I asked Michy for some ideas, and she gave me some...and through the course of my research came up with several ways to dissect each one or thought of tangents that will keep me going for a while.

I mentioned the contests the other day...having something like that to narrow my focus also helps generate ideas. Now eHow is having a summer home & garden contest--you get $75 if your article is featured on the front page! Now, that's some motivation...I have been pleased with the number of page views and revenue share I've gotten on the piddly number of articles I have there.

So, today's challenge: through the course of your day today, find one thing that inspires an article, whether for a print magazine or an online content site, it doesn't matter as long as it gets you writing. Once you find that one topic, either dissect it into three parts or find two tangents/related topics you can then cover.

Contests are great writing prompts

2009-06-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Two of my online content sites are currently running contests: "Summer Sizzles" (write five articles about summer and get a chance at $101) on Suite101 and a local content contest on Associated Content.

These contests are great for writers for a couple of reasons:

1. They motivate you to write a lot, because hey, you might win something!

2. They give you a prompt to get you started brainstorming.

These are both big factors in my writing for these sites. The pay is low, so it's hard to be motivated to write for them, but I know that if I could just get a big library on them, I could have a very decent stream of residual income.

For the latter, I often struggle with coming up with ideas. Having just the smallest prompt, like "summer", at least sets me in a specific direction. I've already posted four articles to Suite101 for this contest, and two are doing quite well by my standards. In fact, two were Twittered (or is it Tweeted?) by people I don't even know with huge followings! I had my biggest day ever there yesterday. I've submitted two articles to AC so far for their local content drive and they have not been processed yet.

There are many, many writing contests out there for both fiction and non-fiction. Winning one is not only good for your ego and gets you prizes (sometimes cash), but it's good for your resume, too. Plus, they get you writing, which is what is hard for many of us.

My challenge to you, dear reader, is to find a contest and enter it. A couple of places to find them are at Accentuate Writers Forum and the Writer's Market. Enter, then post here so I and others can cheer you on!

Examiner.com

2009-06-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

I have several friends on Examiner.com but had not really thought about signing up until recently. They do not give up-front payments, but they do give revenue share. They do not tell you exactly how much, just that it's based on a variety of factors. When you sign up, you have to submit a writing sample and explain why you are a good fit for the position, just like applying for a job...and you may or may not be selected. If you are, they perform a brief and simple background check on you (mostly, where you've lived recently and if you have any convictions).

I signed up and was accepted as the Sacramento Equestrian Examiner last week. It took them just under a week to send my acceptance, but I've heard of other people taking longer or shorter so it probably depends on the channel you choose. They expect you to post 3-5 articles per week so you can build a readership, but I have not found any guidelines that say how long the article has to be. They do want a picture with every article, as well as hyperlinks within it to relevant websites. It's kind of a pain, but if I'm honest about it, those things probably do enhance the article and make it more appealing. The channel managers are very good about providing helpful information to make your article appear professional and draw traffic.

I have only posted two articles so far, and one of them was late last night. Sacramento Equestrian is probably not the most popular subject to search for, so I'm thinking of getting something more mainstream as a second topic(will post on that later if I do). I have about 30 views so far and $.27, so about a penny a view. Like any content site, this is not a place to get rich, nor should anyone quit their day job to work for Examiner.com. however, it'll be a little side income, and they do not ask for exclusivity on anything you publish there.

The thing that really prompted me to sign up was that a lot of people have gotten some good connections through their Examiner.com articles...invitations to events, requests for reviews, etc. I haven't heard nearly as many stories of this type from other online content sites. I also like that Examiner.com is somewhat exclusive--unlike Associated Content or Helium, where anyone can write anything, Examiner.com, like Suite101, has standards. Like my blatant self-promotion there? :)

I'll report back in a couple of months when I have a good base of articles going.

Arabian Horse World!

2009-05-05T15:55:00.001-07:00

I mentioned a while back that I had an article accepted by Arabian Horse Times, one of the two big national magazines for the Arabian horse industry. I am please to report that I will be in the May issue of the other biggie, Arabian Horse World! If you subscribe or are able to pick up a copy, the article is "National Champion Turns to Law Enforcement" and it is about my friend, Aimee Pahl. May issue, page 242. Whoopee!!! I am very excited!

Associated Content Review

2009-05-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've talked about Associated Content. I go in and out with how much I post there, but I really think it's worth giving it some attention. If you are unfamiliar with it, it is an online content site, kind of like an article warehouse. Anyone can sign up for an account and post articles there (that they wrote, not that they found somewhere). In many cases, you can get paid $3-$5 up front for these articles, and in all cases you get paid $1.50 or more (depending on your "clout level", which is based on how many articles and page views you have) per 1,000 page views. Up-front payments are made via paypal several times per week, and the performance payments are made once per month.

I currently have 102 articles on the site, which have varying levels of success--I don't concentrate nearly enough on SEO or finding hot topics to write about. My performance payment last month was a little over $9, and this month it'll be just over $10. Whoopee, right? Well, if I worked a little harder at it, I could make some decent money. There are AC "sources" (as the writers are called) who make a full-on living at it. It's not the highest paid living, but they do it.

I know of at least one woman who got her performance payments up to four figures during the holiday season...wow. $1,000 just in residual income! That starts to make the $5 up-front a little easier to bear. My buddy and mentor, Michy, regularly makes over $100 per month in residual income...and the more sites you earn residuals on, the more it adds up. The more articles you have out there, the more you will earn.

Michy did month-long challenges for both Helium and Associated Content. You can read a Q&A with her here on AC's blog, and you can read her whole challenge here. She gives some great advice in the Q&A.

Most important things, IMO, for succeeding on AC:

1. Learn Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is where you will get most of your traffic, from people searching on search engines. You will get some from promotional efforts as well, but SEO is vital.

2. Pick good topics, ones that a lot of people are interested in. Hot topics, like recent news events, celebrities, and things that are popular with kids, often bring in a lot of page views in a short period of time. Evergreen topics are ones that people search for over and over again. Holiday articles do great around that time of year every single year, then fizzle out the rest of the year.

3. Write a lot. The more articles you get out there, the more you can earn and the more you can draw attention to yourself.

4. There is a ton of information on the AC forums (careful, though, they can get a little snarky there, but they're really good people who mostly want to help. Read as much as you can before you post questions) and on AC sources' blogs.

If I followed my own advice better, I'd be more successful! Ha!

Interview with me posted

2009-04-20T19:25:00.001-07:00

Karina Fabian, whose book I copy edited a few months ago, interviewed me about my job as a copy editor at Swimming Kangaroo Books. Please check it out!

Do you HARO?

2009-04-02T08:48:00.001-07:00

Sometimes a big challenge in freelance writing is finding sources (heck, even fiction writers can benefit--you might need some research). Well, Peter Shankman had a great idea...people kept asking him for sources, so he started a group on Facebook where writers and sources could find each other. It grew so big that it exceeded the 5,000 member limit on Facebook and he had to start his own site, Help A Reporter Out.

The process is simple. If you're a writer and need a source, you fill out an online form. Your request goes out in one of two group emails each day, and chances are, there is someone in the thousands of people on the list who can serve as a source for you.

If you are interested in giving back and being a source yourself (of course, you must agree to only answer questions you are truly qualified to answer), you can sign up and you will start receiving three emails per day. You may get the chance to be quoted in an article and help someone else out--and you might find some inspiration in what other people are writing about (not that you should copy them, but something might inspire you).

Give it a try!

Why you shouldn't give out free samples

2009-03-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

I have posted before about my annoyance at people who ask me to create free samples for them, when I have many samples available on the Internet. It's a rude and unreasonable thing to ask. On Elance (and I think oDesk but I haven't checked), it's against the TOS to require or offer free work, even a mock-up, to be considered in hiring decisions. I recently reported someone for requiring free work (he had a book that needed editing and it seemed he was having every candidate edit a separate chapter...hmmmm) and his job listing was removed from the site.

Recently, someone on AbsoluteWrite posted this link, which gives another excellent reason to not give free samples to anyone. A legitimate publisher, whether in print or on the web, should be satisfied with your existing, already published samples.

Literary Showcase: I don't think so!

2009-03-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

I received a friend request on facebook from Literary Showcase (literaryshowcase.com). It's a place to upload samples in one place, where only registered publishers can see them.

On the surface, this seems like a good idea because uploading your sample supposedly allows many publishers to see it instead of sending out multiple queries, and you're only posting a portion of it so the whole thing isn't out there.

However, I have my reservations. First of all, they charge you $30 per sample you upload. Email queries are free and mail queries only cost, what $.42 I think a stamp is now? Secondly, why would publishers go on this site looking for material when their inboxes are flooded? Sure, it SAYS it has publishers signed up, but it's pretty easy to say that.

I ignored the friend request, and I don't see any reason to sign up or try this place out.

A Mini Outline

2009-03-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

Some people like to do a complete outline of whatever they're going to write before they actually start writing. I don't like to do that--I like to just get down to business, although I usually have an informal outline in my head. However, sometimes I sit down to write a 1200-2000 word article and stress that I don't have enough material to fill it. What I have started doing recently is doing a quick brainstorm on the different section headings I want to cover and putting them in. Once I have that, I can see that I only need a couple hundred words (or whatever) per topic...which makes the whole thing much more palatable to approach. Give it a try!

YouPublish: share and sell what you write

2009-03-18T10:48:00.001-07:00

Michy referred me to a site this morning that I think has a lot of potential. It's called YouPublish, and it is a site that allows you to post your work, either for free or for a charge. They keep 50% of the proceeds...but hey, that's a lot less than traditional publishers!

This is pretty cool, because you can post things here you don't have another outlet for. I have some humorous first-person essays that don't really fit into what most magazines want, so this will be a good place for them. I may not make much on them, but if I sell even one copy, that's more than it made sitting on my hard drive!

I decided to try it out with one of my books, Budget Horse-keeping. I'll post each chapter for $1 for those who only want parts of it, then the whole thing will be available for a discounted price. Here's hoping it works for me...and you!

If you are interested in signing up to sell your work, please use my referral link. I'll receive a commission from your sales (out of YouPublish's half, not yours), and you will get the same if you refer your friends.

Please visit my profile there, and Michy's too!

Save Garbeau's!

2009-03-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

If you live in the Sacramento, California area, you are probably familiar with Garbeau's Dinner Theatre. Sadly, they are in danger of closing! Here is a note from one of the owners:

Urgent and amazing news on Garbeau's!!

We have a final deadline and a final goal!! If we make $8,000 by Monday, March 16th, we stay alive and the landlord says he will renegotiate the rent in a way that will help us sustain Garbeau's through this recession!

If we do not raise $8k by Monday, Garbeau's is closed.

This is the final stretch and it's soooo close to being in our grasp! If you've been considering it, please attend Thursday's karaoke or the weekend's dinner theatre or family theatre.

This is it! Let's keep Garbeau's open! Please tell everyone and repost this on every Facebook, MySpace, online blog--everywhere!

Thank you all for all the support you've offered throughout this campaign!

-Mark

Visit Garbeau's today at www.garbeaus.com to see how you can help.

Helium Review

2009-03-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

I mentioned some time ago that I decided to start writing for Helium. I didn't do a lot there until they started paying small up-front payments and empty title bonuses in December--at which point I started writing a lot more. I decided to write enough to earn $25 per month, which is the minimum payout. Of course, having more articles there means that I make a little more in trails, which is nice, but mostly for the ego because it's still not very much! Another nice thing about Helium is they sell articles in their "stock content" program, which has happened to me twice--two different articles have earned an extra $5 because someone read it and liked it and bought it. I retain the rights and the articles stay on Helium to earn more pennies and maybe even get sold again.

Is Helium a good place to earn money?

Well, Helium is a place to earn some money. Don't quit your day job purely to write for Helium, unless you live where the cost of living is very, very low and you have very, very low standards for living. Even if you have five writing stars, and it takes a long time to get there, you only get $2.50 in up-front payments plus $1 for empty titles. The performance pay is paltry, but it all does add up to a little bit of cash at the end of the month.

The best chance at making money is to do the Marketplace, where publishers are looking for articles for a bit better money. The competition is fierce--I've only sold one article there so far. However, you get a kill fee if your article is not selected and you have at least one writing star, and then you earn pennies on it. Everything I put on Helium I rework and put on Associated Content. I also take non-exclusives from Associated Content and put them up on Helium. Between the two, I end up making a somewhat less paltry rate per article.

What I like about Helium:

*No waiting for someone to review your work. It goes up immediately.
*Guaranteed payment, although it's small.
*Stock content sales
*Marketplace
*Good place to get ideas for articles

What I do not like about Helium:

*Very low pay
*The rating system sucks
*No formatting, so it doesn't look as professional as other sites
*There's a lot of crap content

Check out Michelle L. Devon's thoughts on Helium in her
Month-Long Helium Challenge

Arabian Horse Times

2009-02-20T09:11:00.001-08:00

I think I mentioned when my query was accepted by Arabian Horse Times a few months ago, but I just wanted to update that the piece finally appeared and is in the February issue. I haven't seen it yet, but at least one of my friends has (thanks, G). I'm looking forward to seeing it! Although I'm in several other magazines, this is a big deal for me and I hope to write more for them! I don't know what the circulation is, but they are one of the premier magazines for Arabian horse owners and enthusiasts. As they say:

The premier monthly, international magazine devoted to Arabian horses and the people that love them. With a circulation that reaches around the globe (over 66 countries), the Arabian Horse Times brings to its readers the most complete coverage of the Arabian horse in the world today.

Onward and upward! I love adding new magazines to my list!

Editor Interview: Jenn Talley, Managing Editor of Sierra Style Publishing

2009-02-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

Sierra Style is a group of magazines in the Sierra Foothills. Last summer, I sent a letter of introduction (hi, my husband and I are freelance writers, here's a sample, we're available for freelance assignments, etc) to Jenn's predecessor, Desiree Patterson, who is now the publisher. Desiree said she would keep us in mind, gave us our first assignment a month or so later, and now we are in nearly every issue.

Jenn took over as managing editor a few months ago and does a great job. I asked her a few questions about her job and about the query process from her perspective.

Jennifer Walker: Tell us a little about your background--education and experience before you became the editor at Style.

Jenn Talley: I graduated from the University of Florida, where I double-majored in English and Communication and minored in Advertising. Out of college in Jacksonville, Florida, I was a copy editor at an advertising agency, an amazing and fast-paced industry in which the businesses are much more like fraternities than corporations-I loved it tremendously! From there, I reluctantly moved on to working for the foundation of a large five hospital system to gain more writing opportunities. There, I wrote the foundation newsletter, along with the children's hospital newsletter and various collateral material. I moved to Sacramento from Florida in July of 2008 when my husband accepted a transfer with the Oracle Corporation. I sent an email to Style, asking if their editorial department had opportunities available, and one month after sending that initial e-mail, I was contacted regarding the managing editor position. I interviewed and accepted the position, and I have loved every day of work. My goal has always been to work in publishing and I'm so thankful that I am where I am now.

Jennifer Walker: How did you get your job? Did you have an edge over other people looking for the same job?

Jenn Talley: I simply took the initiative to send an e-mail and follow up. My former experience in the advertising industry gave me an edge because it is very deadline-driven and you are forced to balance multiple projects at once.

Jennifer Walker: Do you do any writing outside of Style?

Jenn Talley: I currently freelance write, proofread and copy edit manuscripts and will be completing my Web site soon. I can be reached by e-mail at mrsjenntalley@gmail.com.

Jennifer Walker: How many queries do you receive for Style every week, and how many of these pieces actually end up in the magazine?

Jenn Talley: We receive between 5 and 20 queries per week with article suggestions and new freelance writers, and we consider all of them. Many of them are already in queue to be placed in the magazine, and others are new. The number that end up in the magazine varies, as the editorial department as a whole plans each issue and decides content.

Jennifer Walker: What is your typical day like?

Jenn Talley:There really is no such thing as a typical day for me. Each day is literally different. I have several publications, projects and issues that I balance each day. I very much enjoy that aspect of my job.

Jennifer Walker: When reading queries from freelancers, what compels you to want to learn more about the piece or writer?

Jenn Talley: When freelancers show their personalities in their initial inquiries-whether in their e-mails or clips, I am compelled to get to know them better. When every freelance inquiry looks the same, it's sometimes difficult to differentiate between the average and exceptional.

Jennifer Walker: When reading submitted manuscripts, do you have any deal breakers that will always cause you to reject the piece (i.e., grammar, lack of sources, etc.)? Or do you tend to be flexible and work with the writer to improve it?

Jenn Talley: Grammar and writing style are extremely important for all writers. As a trained proofreader and copyeditor I am a stickler for grammar, but it will not be a complete deal breaker. Writing style, however, is key. If a writer's style does not match that of our publication, they may not be the best fit.

Jennifer Walker: Is there something a writer can do to make their query or submission stand out from the rest for you?

Jenn Talley: You get one shot to make a first impression, so show your personality as much as possible without being overbearing, so that whomever you are contacting gets a real sense of who you are as a person and writer.

Jennifer Walker: What other advice, from an editor's standpoint, can you offer to new freelancers?

Jenn Talley: Never submit a piece that is not your best work, details are important, and plagiarism is never okay.

Are you making some things happen, or waiting for something to happen?

2009-02-05T08:46:00.001-08:00

My brother and his girlfriend took me out to dinner last night to Chinese food. At the end of the meal, we each opened our fortune cookie. One of them was one of the best I'd ever read...I may misremember the exact phrasing, but essentially it said: Make some things happen, instead of waiting for something to happen.

This is a philosophy that I have always tried to live by. I've never been one to sit around and moan that nothing good ever happens to me--I'm the one that decides something needs to happen and I try to figure out how to bring it about. However, we're all human and slip from time to time. I get busy with projects and forget to seek more, and soon I'm out of work (and money).

This is a little bit of a stretch on the original intent of the message, but it's a good lesson anyway: as a freelance writer, you have to constantly make things happen for you. It's easy to get complacent when you have ongoing relationships with an editor or two who give you work every month, but is that enough to pay your bills? What if they have to cut back? Keep sending out queries, posting on bid sites, online content sites, etc. You have to constantly push. I let things slack last fall, and I am just now really recovering and getting to the point where I have enough work.

Every writer is hoping for that phone call or email from Big Time Magazine Editor saying, "I read your piece in XX and I want you to write for me", but that just doesn't happen...or it's exceedingly rare if it does. (Pause to chuckle, because I saw an episode of Family Guy last night, where the New Yorker called Brian and asked him to write for them because he'd written something in some podunk paper. They fired him because he didn't have a college degree.) You have to keep sending those queries out.

Publisher Interview: Dindy Robinson of Swimming Kangaroo Books

2009-01-28T17:23:00.001-08:00

I am a copy editor at Swimming Kangaroo Books, a small, independent publishing company. I asked the owner/publisher, Dindy Robinson if she would mind answering a few questions about her life as a publisher and advice for authors, and she was kind enough to give me a few minutes of her time.

If you are considering submitting to Swimming Kangaroo Books, I can tell you that Dindy is very nice, and the authors and editors all get along quite well. It's just like having an extended family! And now for the interview...

Jennifer Walker: What was your experience in the publishing world before you started Swimming Kangaroo Books?

Dindy Robinson: Not as much as it probably should have been. I had written a teacher’s resource book that was published by Teacher Idea Press, and written and published numerous short stories and articles. I’d written and not published several novels, some in partnership with my husband and some on my own. I actually hadn’t written seriously for several years because I was working full time at a very demanding job, attending graduate school and raising two kids. Writing fell by the wayside.

Jennifer Walker: Can you give us a brief history of how Swimming Kangaroo Books was born?

Dindy Robinson: Through a rather uninteresting series of events I found myself unemployed in late 2005. By that time my kids were out of the house, I had my masters degree and since I no longer had a job where I could put in 50-60 hours a week, I needed something to do. I took out the books I had written and not touched for years with the intent of polishing them up and trying again to get them published. I discovered that in the ten or so years I’d been out of the business, the internet and digital technology had revolutionized the world of publishing. I’ve never been good at following rules, and following the unwritten rules for genre fiction was no different so I decided to publish my books myself. I started researching how to do so and realized that if I was going to publish my own books I might as well publish other people’s as well. Since my daughter, Jaala, is a whiz at web design, I tapped her to be my partner and in February 2006 we launched www.swimmingkangaroo.com

Jennifer Walker: What is your job like as a publisher?

Dindy Robinson: I love being a publisher. I spend probably about a third of my time communicating with people via email. I also spend a lot of time dealing with editors—answering questions for editors, making decisions as to style or settling disputes between the author and the editor. I also deal with cover artists—soliciting bids for cover art, selecting an artist, working with the artist and the author to make sure the cover properly reflects the author’s vision. I have to format manuscripts for print, and then reformat them as many as four different ways for the various eBook formats (that’s the part of publishing I hate, by the way!) I have to interface with the various vendors who sell our books, work with the wholesalers to ensure the books are listed, solicit book reviews and send out review copies, and handle the various listings with the Library of Congress and other registration agencies. I also have to find time to market the books—I don’t spend as much time on that as I should because there are only so many hours in a day and I need to get at least 6 hours of sleep each night.

Jennifer Walker: What is your favorite part about your job?

Dindy Robinson: I love working with first time authors. They are so excited at each phase of the process and when they get their first book in their hands, it’s like holding their first baby. I love being a part of making people’s dreams come true.

Jennifer Walker: How many submissions do you receive?

Dindy Robinson: Depends on the month. There’s kind of a rhythm to it. During Spring Break and summer we get a lot of submissions from teenagers who are out of school and have nothing better to do. After NaNoWriMo, in November and December we receive a lot of submissions from the NaNoWriMo writers. We also generally receive a lot of submissions after the Muse Online conference, or if we attend some other convention or conference we’ll receive a rush. However, in the general course of events, we’ll receive about ten to fifteen submissions a month. While we are always open for submissions, we don’t actively solicit them. People seem to find us without that and we are happy with the quantity and quality of submissions we receive. (By actively soliciting submissions I mean we don’t post notices inviting people to send things in.)

Jennifer Walker What makes a query stand out to you and make you want to read the whole manuscript?

Dindy Robinson: I- um- don’t actually read the queries, for several reasons. First, I don’t have time. Second, many of the queries come from people I’ve come to know through various on line events, and it’s hard for me to be objective. Third, I trust my acquisitions staff completely. They read all the queries and they are the ones who decide if they want the whole manuscript. If I were to ask them this question, they would growl at me and say, “Tell them not to write stupid stuff.” What they mean is, show your story and don’t tell it; write realistic dialogue, and check your grammar and spelling.

Jennifer Walker: Other than the subject matter you explicitly say you do not want (listed very clearly on the website), is there something the author can do or say that would be a definite deal breaker? Or do you tend to be flexible and work with authors on weak submissions?

Dindy Robinson: We like working with new writers. I don’t like to say we will take something that’s weak—I’d prefer to say that we will take something that shows potential even if it’s not quite there yet. Many times a writer has a good plot and good writing skills, but just needs a little help with execution. We have excellent editors who will work with the writers on strengthening their manuscripts to make the book even better.

Definite deal breakers? I think we’re pretty upfront about what we don’t want to see.

Jennifer Walker: What advice can you offer to aspiring authors who want to send you a query?

Dindy Robinson: Check your spelling and grammar. Have someone else read it and check it for you. Don’t tell us that your mother or your father or your best friend or your English teacher read it and liked it, therefore we should too. Don’t send me an email after we reject your manuscript telling me that we’ll be sorry. Honestly, who you know or who referred you to us isn’t really that important (I’m not the one who reads the queries, remember.)

Do your research about us ahead of time. I read a blog last week that was written by a guy whose novel we rejected. He stated that we probably wouldn’t have gotten along anyway because in looking at our website, we seemed to mainly be interested in making sarcastic remarks, and he didn’t care about how we got our name or what our kids were named and he didn’t see what difference it made that we were atheists anyway or why we felt we needed to state it on our website. So I have to ask, why did he even bother submitting to us in the first place? If all these things bothered him BEFORE he submitted his manuscript to us, then why didn’t he send it somewhere else to begin with?

I like the queries I get from people who comment about something on the website, and I like the queries from people who make me laugh. Since I’m not the one who reads the queries, it may not necessarily do the author any good because the acquisitions people don’t see those comments. However, it makes me feel good and making a publisher feel good is NEVER a bad thing.

Jennifer Walker: What's a personal fact about you that many people do not know?

Dindy: Oh jeez. Anyone who reads our website or my blogs knows a great deal about me. I’m a fairly open book. But here’s something that people in my publishing life may not know. I collect pelicans. I’ve been fascinated by them ever since the girls and I went through Florida many, many years ago and I saw them sitting on the piers out on the water. Although I don’t believe in spirit guides, if I did, mine would be a pelican. On the ground, they seem very gawky and graceless, but when they fly, they soar beautifully, heedless of the bounds of earth. I can so relate to that.

How often do you count your blessings?

2009-01-20T22:37:00.001-08:00

One of my philosophies of life that has always stayed with me through the hardest and the best of times is to be thankful. If I'm having a hard time, reminding myself of the good things in my life lifts my spirits. If things are going well, it is good to remember why that is.

Today I have been thinking about how thankful I am for the good friends I have who want the best for me, and who do what they can to help me reach my goals and constantly encourage me to keep striving for them. Michelle L. Devon, who is responsible for me having a freelance writing, editing and noveling career. Sandra Ketcham, who coached me on SEO and gave me work. Beth Sandland, who gives me work and advice and is going to fly me to her home so she can teach me how to build web pages. All the editors and other clients who decided to take a chance on me and pay me for doing what I love to do. The dance clubs and studios who think enough of my teaching to ask me back again and again.

On the horsey front, Ashley and Allyssa for helping me with halter training, finding me an amazing gelding at an even more amazing price, and giving me a great deal on a place to keep him and my darling mare. Patience, who has given me worlds of help in dressage and coaches me daily on my weight loss journey.

On a family front, I am grateful for my wonderful husband, whom I love more every say. My mom for taking care of us and my daughter for...well, just being her.

Wow, uncharacteristically mushy post. It's like an academy awards speech or something, but it's so true. I am so thankful to have these people in my life...and I can't help thinking maybe God might have a little to do with it.

A different kind of freelancing opportunity: Elastic Lab

2009-01-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, I was contacted by a woman named Marina, who read this blog and thought I would be interested, to tell me about her company, Elastic Lab. Elastic Lab hires filmmakers of all skill levels (literally--complete beginners to professionals) to complete freelance filming assignments. They call this "crowd sourcing". They take the filmed bits,which are often interviews, edit them and put them together into films or commercials or whatever they were hired to produce.

Every single person who signs up as a freelance filmmaker gets a trial $100 project, and the company claims subsequent assignments pay anywhere from $300 to $1000 depending on what is required ($1000 is in the professional realm). Once you receive your assignment, you complete it, burn the footage onto DVDs (they take care of all the editing) and mail it in. After the first project, they pay for shipping and DVDs. As long as you complete the assignment as directed and on time, you get paid whether they use your footage or not.

Greg and I did not have a video camera at the time Marina contacted me, but we made the decision to start shopping for one because we wanted one anyway. Marina recommended purchasing one that will film straight to DVD (or mini DV), but we found those were too expensive so we chose one that records to memory. It really was not hard to upload the videos to the computer and burn them, but it does add a little extra time.

Once we received the camera, we both signed up for the site and were each given a $100 project as promised just a few days later. The project was such that we were able to interview each other--the subject was creating digital content, which we do every day, so it was easy. We were also encouraged to film "b-roll", which is personality footage with your hobbies, pets, etc. It was a lot of fun to do! We had some blips along the way, but overall it went pretty well.

We sent in our footage on Christmas Eve so I did not expect an immediate response--I think it was maybe a week and a half later, which I felt was reasonable. They gave some tips to look out for next time and said they enjoyed our footage. We received our checks by the end of that week.

That was last week, so we have not received any new assignments yet. I don't know when we will or what they will be like, but I will report when I do! As of right now, I definitely recommend Elastic Lab. I have no filmmaking experience and Greg just had a little in college (which was *ahem* years ago), and yet we were able to make some decent money doing something fun.

Check it out! If you have any questions about our experience, please comment. Perhaps Marina will stop by again and give her input on anything I left out!

New Blog!

2009-01-06T12:27:00.001-08:00

I have decided to start a book review blog! Have a book you need to publicize? Send me a copy, I'll read and review it and post my review along with an interview with you. All I ask is that you send me a copy of the book (which I will keep) and link to my page from your blog or website if you have one.

Need a book to read? Check out my reviews! A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book...