All posts by NewEngland_Muse

I'm a traditionally and self published author. I write in the genre of children and YA at the moment but working my way up to adults. I'm a sports loving, photo taking gal who loves to sing/dance to my own enjoyment. I love to laugh even at myself. I am also owned by 8 birds and 2 hamsters, and yes they know it. :)
Books, Writing, Writing groups

Writing Groups

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Writing groups are essential if you are a writer. I am a member of quite a few in my area. It is not easy bringing forth a piece of your writing to any group as they dissect what you present to them. A main theme from most of my group is simple. The comments are just that, comments. You can take them, use part of them or use none at all. This is your story bottom line and only you can decide what comments will work for you.

Easier said then done. Any comment that is not in line with how you see your story can be hard to hear. You have to decide with a clear mind what works for you. When I submit I will wait two to three days before I look at the comments. If I look sooner I tend to get upset from what has been written. Giving it a few days gives me a clearer mind on what I want to keep or ignore.

For the group that I formed I have requested the ladies to not use the color red when they critique my works. Something about red brings me back to school and the memories that come with it.

But without writing groups to help you see your story from an unbias viewpoint is something I couldn’t do without. Would my first book have been picked up if I had not sent it through my writers group? I am not sure.

We have to have tough skins. Being a writer is not easy, it comes with a lot of ups and down. We are placing our work for the world to see. Not everyone is going to love it but I have a better chance of people liking it if I run it through my groups. They see our books in ways we don’t see it. They could see it in the ways that potential buyers would see it. And that alone is why I will continue to attend the meetings.

If you are not involved in a writing group, I strongly suggest you look into it

"Squirel Mafia", A true story, Sharon C. Williams

Squirrel Mafia cover

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Squirrel Mafia is about to be release. It took a little longer due to the fact I changed the pictures that will be placed in the book. My amazing editor worked up a new cover for me to check out. Here’s the thing though. I need people to tell me which one they like better. So if you have a moment can you leave in the comments which one you like, the first or second? Also if there are any suggestions feel free to include those as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

Author, Author's showcase, Sharon C. Williams

Authors showcase

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Two days after I arrived back from Maine was an authors showcase at the headquarters library in my area. It was something you had to apply for however the librarians asked me to join and so they kept me a spot. Nice to know people, right?

I made sure my items were ready prior to leaving on my trip so that way I wouldn’t be in such a rush when I got back. There were 37 authors that showed up with the thunderstorm that made its way for this event. Consider it was pouring heavily, the amount of people who showed up to support us was impressive. Readers rock, we really do.

With my last name starting with a W, I was the last in the row. Fortunately, my table mate was a sweet retired history teacher and we talked during the event. I did sell a couple of actual books. But what I really enjoyed was being able to talk about my book, Jasper and how it came about.

When I told a particular lady about how half of my birds are rescued she grasped my hands firmly and said thank you and said again thank you with tears in her eyes. She gets it. There were so many bird lovers in the crowd that I got lost in the moment and forgot that I was there to showcase my works.

For a free event I received the following:

-I made a new friend

-Sold some of my books in print and digital

-Hung out with bird lovers

-Practicing being out to show my works( Something I need practice in)

-Added some people to my newsletter

-I am sure I am leaving some stuff out

This is a yearly event, my first one, and it went very well. I had a great time and I believe my husband did as well as he talked to most of the writers and took loads of pictures. In fact someone said to him, “You look like someone who has stories to tell.” After which the man said he would like to collaborate with him on a book. I thought that was awesome.

Next year I see me doing this again, perhaps with a better understanding of what I should do. I suspect I will still be at the end, Steve will still be my table mate and we will have two hours talking about writing.

What a great win.