Category Archives: Writing tips and ideas

A blog about the topics of writing, Writing tips and ideas

Support for being a writer: Do you get any?

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What kind of support do you get from those around you and in your circle about your writing?

When I started on this path, my first encounter was with a new group out of a local library. There were seven of us, six being librarians. I even kid if I needed to be a librarian to be in the group.

But from that group came so much information, support, and help in a way I didn’t have before and didn’t know I needed until I met the ladies. It was eye-opening and amazing at the same time.

How many of us have such support? Do we get it from our friends who aren’t writers? Do we get it from our family members?

If we get any support apart from other writers, that is huge and just welcoming. Some of us get most of our support, if not all, from other authors.

But when our relatives and friends purchase our books and support us in any way, our mental and writing state is lifted.

There are so many ways to support a writer that you know apart from purchasing their books. You can share their website and their social platform. One can mention your books if a conversation arises that the topic is fitting. You can share when they are giving a speech or if they have a table at a conference.

Every bit helps to propel the writer you know or writers you enjoy reading. It might take a village, or it might just take five minutes out of your day.

As I have said repeatedly on this site, writing is a solitary profession. One has to have discipline and motivation, to name a few, to write when it is up to you to get it done. So, when one has support, regardless of where it comes from, that helps. In ways, you and the author might never know.

A blog about the topics of writing, Writing tips and ideas

Branding yourself as an author

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Years ago, I was reading an issue of Writer’s Digest and came across this topic. The writer left her Twitter handle at the end of the article. I decided to follow her in hopes of learning more. Since then, I have expanded my brand through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, and a website.

It takes time to cultivate a brand, but it is, in my opinion, vital to each author out there. Once you type the end and the revisions and edits are complete, what then? No matter how you publish, how will you shout to the world about your book? Besides family and friends, how else can you tell people about it?

I started on my brand when I finished the first draft of my book, “Jasper, Amazon Parrot: A Rainforest Adventure.” I started sending query letters, and the publishers wanted to know where I was online. Thankfully I was able to provide that information.

As I mentioned, it will take some time but start somewhere, anywhere, and grow from there. Trying to be all over the place will exhaust you. The sites that work for you will suffer by you trying to do it all. That was how I learned my lesson, trying to be everywhere. I was not giving each site enough love and attention it needed.

New platforms are popping up regularly. It is up to us to learn about them and if those will work for us. Just remember, not everything will work for you. And while not all will work for you, there could be a time that your platform needs a go-over. What worked for you may have stalled and stopped working. 

Go over your platform. See if the links are working, the pages created are viewable, and your contact information is active. It is good practice to make the hub of your brand functional. It takes little time for a person to visit a site, see it is having issues and move on quickly to another website in under a couple of minutes, if not less.

Your platform is to make you and your brand sparkle.

In due time it will get easier to update the sites to go and make a post or send out a relevant tweet to your followers. But start somewhere, no matter how small, start. You want your book to shine. It deserves to shine.

 

A blog about the topics of writing, Writing tips and ideas

Do you stand outside the fire as an author?

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Standing outside the fire is one of my favorite songs from Garth Brooks. After I heard the lyrics for the first time, they spoke to me. But then I had a different take on it.

Do we stand outside the fire when it comes to our writing? Do we only peak now and then when we have a free moment or when the mood hits us? Do you let it sit in front of you? Can it churn itself alone while you stand outside waiting for the next step to appear? If we fail to make an effort, will the fire grow or burn to ashes?

Sitting outside is safe, and if that is all you want from your book, awesome. But if you want more, you have to tend to it repeatedly, letting it grow in its flame growing and growing until it has a life of its own.

It is hard to write a book. Many parts will include dialogue, plotting, character development, research, and more. These are all things I was naive about before writing. Those who don’t write can be clueless like I was. Perhaps more so.

Many steps can make you slow down or quit. Standing outside the fire of your writing, wanting to continue but letting things stop you. I get that life, health issues, and family issues in some ways. But do you let it get in your head, and you are putting yourself outside the circle?

And even if you finish and get it published, however, the route you go, you have to promote and market.

While I have a publisher that markets my work, I still need to do my part.

Promotion is not easy or very fun, and it takes a lot of time and effort from each of us. And any little thing can derail us from doing it while we logic it away. But where we end up with our book depends on where we are on this journey.

We can get railed in so many ways, some of them produced by us. After writing this post, I can see why some of us stand outside the fire.