Starting Over~Fingers on the Keyboard

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Linda Barrett

HELP ME, I’M DROWNING. SEND IN THE LIFEBOATS!!

There are many times I feel like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Remember how he checked his pocket watch over and over again and sang, “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date…No time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late…” (Man, I pulled that out of my old memory cells).

I often feel the same way White Rabbit did. In the world of indie publishing, literally every single minute of every single day can be taken up by work. Not just the writing, but the marketing and sales effort that needs to be addressed. The noise on the Internet is overwhelming and can drown out the most brilliant of new books if your voice can’t be heard. We want to give our readers the best reads and the best prices we can. And that takes a lot of figuring out.

I have referred from time to time to a very special group of authors, very special to me, that is–called On Fire Fiction. I am one of twelve writers in this Lifeboat. I’m using a capital L on purpose because this group is of MAJOR importance in my life and in the life of the other authors.

You’ve heard from me before about this group. So now, I’m happy to introduce you to multi-published, award winning author, Karen Sandler, one of my buddies in the Lifeboat. I’ve known Karen for a long time, but we’ve been together for only about six months as official Lifeboat members. I asked her how or if On Fire Fiction has benefited her. This is what she said–In her own words:

“I’ve known for a long time that having a support group, even of one, is a great benefit for an author. After all, our profession is a solitary one. So it’s wonderful to have as a sounding board someone who thoroughly understands what writer faces each day.

“If you multiply that sounding board by eleven authors, you have an unstoppable powerhouse. Within this one group, I have a huge store of knowledge I can tap, not only about the writing profession but about life experience. Every one of the women involved will hold my hand (virtually) when I’m feeling down, will support my promotional endeavors, will join with me in mutually beneficial projects, and will often put a smile on my face. They’ve all been around the block, know the writing business inside and out, and aren’t shy about cheering every success.

“It’s astounding what we’ve accomplished since January: two box sets of books published, a Facebook page up and running, a holiday anthology (CELEBRATE!) scheduled for October 1st and a third boxed set of books planned. We’ve educated ourselves about effective promotion and the ins and outs of social media. Along the way, we’ve also had a lot of fun. I’m lucky, indeed, to be part of On Fire Fiction.”

Linda again – Our group is not the only lifeboat out there. Industry changes and the growth of independent publishing brought about a collective idea, almost like author cooperatives to help each other get noticed by readers. Our buyers. Although On Fire Fiction doesn’t have a group blog, we do have a Facebook page. Please check in with us to see what twelve multi-published, award winning authors are up to.

Here’s the latest from Karen Sandler who writes in several genres:

Till The Stars Fade is a futuristic romance set in 2123 when humanity has pushed beyond earth into the solar system and unlocked the secrets of life with genetic engineering. Some consider this an abomination. Others laud the progress in lifesaving medical cures. Krys and Ian are on opposite sides, until she discovers the truth about ian. And nothing will ever be the same for either of them again.

Question for my readers: Have you noted the existence of writers groups? Lifeboats? Have you bought boxed sets of books from these groups?

MAKE A COMMENT and you might win two books and a $25 gift certificate to the etailer of your choice. See below for the book choices. I’m including this one by Karen as well.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by. I hope to see you for the next edition of Starting Over.

Best,

Starting Over ~ Life in the Day Camp–The Book Club

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Linda Barrett

READING AND WRITING AND BOOK CLUBS, OH MY!

About a dozen women usually show up at the monthly book club meeting in my community. These women, who are becoming friends, are totally engaged in story. They are NOT shy about expressing their opinions on what they’ve read.Or on what the author was doing. Or on figuring out the answer to: What could the author have possibly been thinking? I so enjoy these discussions. After writing professionally for fifteen years, I’m finally eavesdropping on enthusiastic readers. What a treat for me! I hope, too, that I contribute something a little bit extra to the discussions.

Maggie and her Kindle

This month, we read The Ninth Wife by Amy Stolls. I’d call it a complex romance, search for love and roots. The group enjoyed the story and discussion was brisk. In our new world of publishing, I’m always curious about how people read their books–electronic vs. paper. So, for fun, I took a user-friendly survey of reading preferences. Of the ten women who showed up this week, four brought their eReaders with them. Two brought library copies of the book. One came with a trade paperback copy she bought on Amazon for $6.00–new, not used. Not sure about the others. But I glommed onto the 40% statistic of eReader users.

Here’s what happened next: We noted the book for next month (Wild Swans) and right there, my friend, Maggie and I downloaded it to our Kindle and Nook. I looked at the others and said, “You just watched me spend $12.38.” To which Maggie replied, “And why not? It’s just like spending on a concert ticket. It’s entertainment, whether a singer or an author. And I enjoy books.”

As an author, I adore her attitude. I adore her. She spoke spontaneously and with conviction as though saying, how could you think otherwise?

I also discovered that the county library has changed its inventory. There were only two paper copies of Wild Swans – next month’s choice – in the entire system. More and more books are to be accessed electronically. Many of the women are not happy. They want to hold a book in their hands. Frankly, there are times I want to do the same, particularly at a book club discussion. However, I love reading on my Nook and wouldn’t give it up.

I glanced down the list of forthcoming books for the club:

July – Wild Swans by Jung Chang

August – The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball

September – Family Interrupted by Linda Barrett

October – The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Whoa…whoa….back up there. Did you notice that September selection? That will be a new experience for me. I insisted that someone else is leading the discussion while I hang around quietly, like the proverbial fly on the wall. I’ll keep my mouth shut no matter what they say…unless of course, they turn to me and ask, “Linda, whatever were you thinking?”.

WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW? Let us know if you think it’s a good choice for a club discussion.

Leave a comment and your name will be entered into a great drawing for the month of June. Prizes are your choice of two books out of the six shown below, all written by members of On Fire Fiction. Plus a $25 gift certificate to your favorite eTailer.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by. I hope to see you for the next edition of Starting Over!

LInda

Starting Over~~Fingers on the Keyboard

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Linda Barrett

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS ARE NOT ENOUGH…

Yes, that’s moi. My fingers at my messy desk.

I’m trying to organize my writing life so I can be as efficient as possible. I make lists. I use a calendar. I bought a tablet so I can connect to the Internet in any room of the house. And I’ve just started a new book. I think I’ve made my environment as user friendly as possible. But so far, it’s not working. My brain is frazzled. My thoughts jump around faster than my three year old grandson on a trampoline.

Every morning I wonder what to do first. My friend, author Kathryn Shay, advised me NOT to go on Facebook before I’d written my new pages for the day. Her words made sense. A new book will only get written if I sit down and write! I’m talking about new material. But you know…? Diving into an unfinished work, writing a new scene, figuring out motivation…is so much harder than checking out what’s doing on Facebook. I tell myself that five minutes is all I need. But as anyone who uses FB regularly will tell you—it’s a timesuck. It’s fun to catch up with readers, writers and friends. And I certainly want to have a presence and gently remind folks about my latest book, Family Interrupted. But an hour can fly by and suddenly, it’s mid-morning.

Perhaps I should start my day with email. I check my email accounts ~~several~~ many times (trying to be honest here) during the working day. And in the evening, it’s a choice between email and Spider Solitaire before I close down for the night. Email includes business and pleasure; my writing life and personal life. I’m part of On Fire Fiction, a writing group that supports each other’s promotional efforts, and we correspond via email. So keeping in touch is essential. Sometimes, we do projects together such as the holiday anthology which will be released in October. So, email is not a waste of time. But it’s NOT writing new material–except new emails. And the day is flying by.

Kathryn told me that it takes discipline to ignore all things Internet in the morning. She has it. She’s trained herself to write first, then do everything else. I think her advice is sound. Intellectually, I KNOW it’s sound. Without publishing a new book on a regular basis, all the social media in the world won’t matter. In the end, the work has to come first. As proof, here comes another book in Kathy’s firefighter series. It’s being released on August 12th as an exclusive from Amazon.

Kathy Shay’s latest book to be released August 12th exclusively on Amazon.

So my new resolution is to ignore the Internet in the morning. Starting tomorrow, I will write first. I couldn’t start today because I had to get this blog up. So Tuesdays are out. But from now on, no Internet in the morning for me. Starting tomorrow and every day thereafter, I will work on the new book first. Except, of course, for Thursdays because I post my blogs on Thursdays, too. But definitely starting tomorrow, I will have a new routine. If it works for Kathy, it should work for me. Right? Hmm…I have to ask her if Saturdays and Sundays count…

So, I’ve taken care of business. And as far as my personal connections go, I’d much rather call my sister on the phone. Yes, the phone. The one in the house, not in my purse. The one we use for talking, not texting. The phone is more important to us than you can imagine because…my sister has never been on Facebook in her life!

POST A COMMENT: How are you managing to combine business with social media and still produce your work? Do you have a schedule you can stick to? Make a comment and you’ll be entered into the June drawing for two fabulous prizes. First up – your choice of two books by authors of On Fire Fiction. See below for choices. Second, a $25 gift certificate to the eTailer of your choice – Amazon, BN, iTunes…whatever.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope to see you for the next edition of Starting Over.

Linda