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. :)
Amazon Parrot, Author, Social Media

Social Media: An Author’s Best Friend

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IMG_6346Even though my book got picked up by a traditional publisher, it doesn’t mean I don’t have to spread the word and do some marketing of my own. This is tough for I am by all accounts a shy person. Times are tough for books. They are competing with ebooks, tablets and people giving away their books for free for reviews. So a year before I started actively submitting “Jasper, Amazon Parrot:A Rainforest Adventure” I hit the social media scene.

 

You can find me here:

-Facebook

-Google +

-Twitter

-Linkedin

-Pinterest

-Goodreads

-Shelfari

 

I am on a few others but these are the big ones. I started to network, meeting various people in various stages of their book. Along the way I met some awesome friends. I came across people who helped me in so many different ways. Ami who worked on my query letter that got my book into a few editor’s hands. I met my editor, Nancy, who is just amazing with her talents. I have met writers who have helped me with questions and problems when it came to social media. This is a market every author, whether self published or traditional, needs to tap into. It is pure gold for the taking, you just have to reach for it. And by the way it is how I met my publisher.

 

It is time-consuming when you first start. This was the main reason a year prior to submitting I became pro active with my book and the means to promote it. It has been a few years since then and now my social media format just need checking on now and then.

 

Being shy won’t cut it in this market. You have to take a deep breath and step forward. Your book needs you to be there for it. It can’t do it alone. And why should it? It has been with you for so long why abandon it now?

 

 

 

 

 

Author, My characters, Writing

Author: A Solitary Life

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2013-07-27 09.19.12

The life of a writer is solitary for the most part. Even if you have an office it serves one. You don’t get to have lunch with the office crew. You don’t get Christmas parties or birthday cupcakes. It is just you and your chosen method of writing whether that be by pen and paper or computer.

The social aspect that comes with working in a job with fellow coworkers can’t be reproduced in your office at home. If I had my way, all the writers I know would live in a 25 mile radius of me. They could come visit and write without us saying a single word to each other. It wouldn’t be required. Just the sheer presence of someone else would be worth it. The distractions are there. Within my reach is my fridge, TV, the internet and a host of other things that can preoccupy my mind as I work on any present WIP. One has to stay focus and prioritize when you work in an office of one. Things that might not get in my way if I had regular hours and an office space outside the home.

The solitude can be hard when humans are deemed social creatures. It does not always hit me as I tend to stay busy so my mind does not have time to think. Though there are those days, few thankfully, that I sit back in my chair and wish my office had a larger staff. Someone I could go talk to for thoughts, ideas and just general chit-chat.

Thankfully my characters draw me in as they beg for me to come play with them. How they want me to come and explore what is on the next page. They are always there for me during the good and bad times. I guess in their own right they are my coworkers sitting right there next to me waiting to talk.

Amazon Parrot, Publisher, Revisions

Revisions From The Publisher

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IMG_0148Last Friday my publisher sent me a file with the suggested edits for the book. I didn’t open it until Saturday for I didn’t want to freak out. That was good thinking. When I finally opened it I went through the pages and agreed with just about all her edits if not all of them. That was not the problem. The comments she left in the side made me realize oh boy this will take some time. Something that is in short supply here at the Williams household. With the book coming out in August it is truly crunch time.

Some of her comments will be easy fix. Some will involve some serious wizardry of words. I can do it I know I can. But it comes down to the deadline. One of the most important deadlines I have ever had. I am trying to remain calm but chaos is hitting me with the book cover release, the book being released, the book signings I am trying to set up and the marketing that is involved in any venture that you want to make successful.

I will just work on it one page at a time with a Pepsi by my side and just remind myself how far I have come and this is all part of the process. Okay that is a long as heck mantra I need a shorter one. I will go back to my mantra I used a while ago. Dream big. But to dream big one has to take what comes along with it the ups and downs. It will be worth it, I just have to get pass this mountain in front of me. I am sure there will be another one after wards but that is okay. Every step is a learning block for me for the next go round.

I can do this.