In Tip #13 of my Publish Don’t Perish Series, I shared resources writers might find valuable. This article provides another great resource I wish to add to that Publish Don’t Perish resource list. One of my favorite authors, L.A. Sartor, started a YouTube channel for writers. Trust me, she is a wealth of information.
The Channel
Her channel is devoted to all things writers need to create better work (techniques). It also encompasses marketing their work, including mailing lists and how to make them work for the author; the ability to learn tips and tricks from other authors; and how to publish independently. She wants to challenge the viewer, praise them, and offer solutions.
L.A. Sartor as a Teacher
L.A. Sartor
I personally know how L.A. works and how she teaches. She works patiently, with enough detail in each lesson to make it palatable and heart felt. No harsh rules, just suggestions. Her preference is for people to try and see if they make a difference. L.A. thinks they will, which is why she is so excited about moving this channel forward.
Check It Out
If you are a writer, and are interested in a valuable resource, please subscribe to L.A. Sartor’s YouTube Channel. Since it is a new channel, she needs 100 subscribers to obtain her personal link. Until then, you can check out her subscription link at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeYEx2Ad2qSluFFbSgzuerw . Clearly, a personalized link would be easiest.
Search beyond lies update
A photo of Mount Meeker & Longs Peak by Jim Franckum
As for the promised update on my novel, Search Beyond Lies (inspired by Brian Perri and his friends who searched for him without giving up), I am just about ready to send it to my professional content editor, Candee Fick. Although my previous two books were traditionally published, my goal is to be in a position to donate a percentage of the profits of this book to the Humane Society and/or search and rescue training for dogs. The traditional route does not give me this option.
Last week, I republished the article, An Inspiring Rare Friendship in anticipation of Publish Don’t Perish Tip #11 – Be Accountable. It’s so easy to be pulled away from your writing when “life” interferes. Sometimes you need a break, as I discussed in Tip #10 , however, sometimes while the break is helpful, it may extend longer than intended, and you can move farther and farther away from your goals. This slippery slope is especially easy for the writer, an often lonely profession. However, when you set yourself up to be accountable, important goals are likely reached. Today’s article will share ways in which you can make yourself accountable.
Accountability Partner
The Best Partner — Joni & Karen
Find yourself an accountability partner. This is someone you can share your daily or weekly writing goals with and who will check in with you to see if you’ve met them. This doesn’t necessarily have to be another writer, it can be anyone willing to see you succeed.
Writers’ Group
.Join a writers’ group. I have been blessed by one of the most incredible, supportive groups imaginable. We meet monthly, although during these times of social distancing, we missed a few until we found our rhythm with a new venue — Google Meet. It’s not quite the same as being together in person, but it’s almost as good and still provides motivation to write. These amazing people have the ability to fill my soul.
At the start of each meeting we pray together and provide a 90 second update on where we are with our writing. It’s amazing what that 90 seconds can inspire us to accomplish during the month.
Writing Retreat – Donna Wichelman, L.A. Sartor, Sandi Rog, Karen Fischer, Audra Harders, Candi Fick
Critique Group
Join a critique group where like minded
writers set writing goals and provide regular drafts to other members for
critique. Each group will have its own set of “rules” and “guidelines” the
members need to follow. But each member is held accountable to participate and
write.
Go Public
When you go public with your readership, family, and friends, you don’t want to let them down. Search Beyond Lies is a very important project for me, and by going public with An Inspiring Rare Friendship, I want you to hold me accountable. My goal is to have Search Beyond Lies ready for my professional content editor (Candee Fick) by December 1, and ready for my copy editor (Elizabeth Fenton) by Christmas. I will check in with you regularly.
An Inspiring Rare Friendship
What suggestions do you have to help us be accountable?
Writing is both a solitary and community activity.
On the one hand, as a Christian romance author, I
spend countless hours inside my head and staring at a computer screen as me,
myself, and I brainstorm plots, characters, and themes before pouring rough
words onto a page and then rewriting them into some sort of logical order.
On the other hand, what good is a story if there’s no
one to read it? But before sharing my words with the book-loving community of
readers, I also work with my critique partner and editor, not to mention
multiple other people-run businesses for graphics, cover design, marketing,
advertising, and my amazing review team. What started as a solo project soon
includes a much bigger group all connected through the power of the internet.
A BOOK IS MORE THAN A STORY
My introvert-perfect work process took on a unique
element when I was invited to be a part of a multi-author boxed set releasing
on Mother’s Day.
For those unfamiliar with boxed sets, they are
essentially a collection of ebooks by various authors packaged together and
sold as a single unit. Readers get multiple stories for one low price and can
discover new-to-them authors in the process. While authors can multiply their
marketing budget and social media reach by pooling their resources.
It’s a win-win situation for both authors and readers.
But, working with other authors to create a boxed set is not without its
challenges. So, if you’re considering working with someone else in a co-author
or collection opportunity, here are a few logistical items to consider.
Communication
Like most things in life, communication is key. For
us, we created a secret group in Facebook where we could hold discussions, document
our decisions, add to shared files, and hold each other accountable. We also
set up a shared Dropbox folder to collect the stories and graphics images. As
we grew closer to the launch, weekly updates were posted with short lists of
things to do.
Another thing we did very early was create a
comprehensive list of tasks and internal deadlines for each step in the
process. Then, team leadership naturally emerged as we discussed our prior
experience and thankfully nobody had to learn a brand-new skill in order to
pull this off. Some were familiar with blurb writing, formatting, and uploading
to publishing platforms. Others were good at editing, regularly shared in
multiple other Facebook groups, or had leads to marketing outlets. A few already
had paid access to graphics programs and were able to create our cover, 3D
image, and other promotional images. Every task on our list was given a “point”
person.
Deadlines Met!
Even with plenty of advance notice, as those internal
deadlines approached, a few of the authors in the group had to bow out for
various reasons leaving us with five that were ready to move forward. So, if
you’re creating new stories for a set instead of recycling previous work,
either have a flexible release date, build in time for “life” delays, or bring
more authors onboard early to leave you with a solid group in the end.
Last—and this will make Karen’s lawyer brain
squirm—were the legal and financial agreements. By bundling our stories, we
were creating a single unique product and splitting the profits. The same
person who uploaded the files for publication would also be the one responsible
for receiving, splitting, and paying out our earnings with full transparency.
In addition, by publishing “wide” to a variety of international retailers
beyond Amazon, we all had to agree to restrictions about when and where we
could publish our individual stories later. And while we didn’t draw up a
formal contract, all of these decisions are documented within our group.
Love is in the Air
Our collection releases on Mother’s Day 2020 so while it’s
too soon to know how effective our marketing efforts have been, early reviews
have been very positive. And I’m sure there will be plenty of lessons to apply
to the next time I participate in a collection.
Because collaborating with other authors has been an invaluable experience both personally and professionally.
(c) 2020 Candee Fick
———-
Love is in the Air: 5 Contemporary Christian Romances
This collection of five brand new romances is
sure to send your heart soaring. Journey from Canada to Georgia and Colorado to
Paris by way of Michigan as these couples find love is in the air. All they had
to do was look up.
Author Candee Fick
Candee Fick is a multipublished, award-winning author. She is also the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy writing, editing, or coaching other authors, she can be found cheering on the home team at sporting events, exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.
It’s Independence Day and we have so much to be thankful for! What better day to talk about an author’s reasons to use a pseudonym. The first article, Why Authors Use Pseudonyms, listed 3 reasons (the first two of which are my reasons) — the name is too long and too difficult to spell, followed by gender. This article provides even more great reasons for writers to use pseudonyms.
Safety
Staying safe is important and there are many instances where your writing may make you a target. If your political views are contrary to those of your neighbors, friends, or your workplace, a pseudonym may be your answer. But your views/position may not be the only reason your safety may be jeopardized. An author I know who writes Christian romance was targeted by a prisoner. As his release date approached, and his obsession continued, she decided a pseudonym would be in her best interest.
Genre
You may be an author who wrote in one genre, but wanted to venture out into another. Your following would be very unhappy if they bought a book they thought was in their favorite genre, only to find this book didn’t even come close to their expectations. Disappointment is an understatement. If an author plans on venturing into another genre, a pseudonym may be right for you.
Writers
Family
A writer may write in a genre that they don’t want their family to know about. When I was a speaker for a nationwide conference, I was invited to a pre-conference gathering which I attended. An author’s shoes prompted me to approach the wearer/author. I had injured my foot and could not wear heals. Yes, I know this is a strange way to meet someone, but sometimes it brings amazing results. This author was sweet, conservative, and very shy. After we discussed where she bought the shoes and their benefits, I asked what she wrote. Needless to say, I was quite surprised to find that she wrote erotica, was the wife of a surgeon, and mother of 4 children. Obviously, she could not write under her legal name or it would seriously hurt her family, income, and way of life, so she wrote under a pseudonym. She’s not the only one to choose a pseudonym for this reason.
Family
work
Depending on who you work for or what you do for a living, a pseudonym might be just what the doctor ordered. If you are a government employee and disagree with their political perspective, no doubt you do not want them to know your political views unless you don’t mind risking the loss of your job. If it’s not politics, it might be something else associated with your position.
Work
In my last article, I asked what your thoughts were on my use of Karen Vann as my new pseudonym. Based on an overwhelming majority of my readers, it looks like this name is the winner. Thank you for your input!
Can you think of any other reasons a writer may want to use a pseudonym?
Have you ever wondered why authors use pseudonyms? There are a wide variety of very good reasons that we’ll explore in this two part series, starting with the first two which affect me.
The Name Is:
Too Common
When your name is too common, it not only gets lost in the crowd, but chances are that there are other authors with the same name. Hence, the reason I chose not to write as Karen Fischer. There is another. I chose to write under my maiden name, Karen Van Den Heuvel, which is a pseudonym since it is no longer my legal name. It is unique, I could find no other author with the same name, and I actually like my given name. But alas, this brings us to the second reason.
Too Long and Difficult to Spell
What I did not consider was the fact that not only is Karen Van Den Heuvel a long name, but it is difficult to pronounce and spell — the reason I chose another name for my website (I had one too many people being taken to someone else’s website by mistake when trying to come to mine). Although you can still find me at www.KarenVanDenHeuvel.com, it redirects to something everyone can spell, www.LoveBooksandBling.com. I recently made the decision, to continue to write my romantic suspense under a new pseudonym. As my readers, I’d love your input, so I’ll share my thoughts at the end of this article.
Gender
Unfortunately, sexist views on gender still exist. There are men who write romance, but in order to sell their books, they need to write under a female pseudonym. The same goes for women who venture into an area typically controlled by men. They need to either write under a pseudonym or use initials to mask their gender.
L.A. Sartor
A writer I personally know, won the contract to write, Cry of the Dove. ABC studios thought that she shouldn’t be immediately identifiable as a woman writer due to the intense scenes of prison and war. They felt as a woman, she would be dismissed. She used her initials to mask the fact that she was a woman. Fortunately her initials worked well with her last name, L.A. Sartor. If you haven’t read one of her books, I highly recommend you check her out at https://lesliesartor.com. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop.
In closing, I will bring you back to the use of a new pseudonym for my fiction. I need a pseudonym I can:
relate to
answer to (in public signings, author gatherings, etc.)
won’t get lost in the crowd,
is easy to spell,
short in length, and
bold to attract my readers.
For me, this was a struggle, so I brought my predicament to my writers group. Leslie Sartor made the initial suggestion, followed by the buy-in of others, but as my readers, I would love your thoughts on this potential pseudonym: Karen Vann
Hooding of Victoria by Her Grandfather
It is an abbreviated part of my name used by my father’s patients for decades so I can relate to it and will answer to it, and there are no other authors with that name.
A few years ago, an SEO firm contacted
me to write nutrition, business, and law related articles for its clients. The
owner knew I was a Registered Dietitian and an attorney and he needed help.
This opened a new door and I realized that one of the most important areas of
expertise that SEO firms handle, is not just the behind the scene software
pieces, but even more important is the content.
And ladies and gentlemen, as writers,
content is what we do best.
It used to be that if you wanted people to find you and your business, you picked names for your business that would place you at the front of the phone book rather than toward the back. The days of the phone book are gone. What matters most is whether your name or business comes up in the first pages of a key word search. Instead of your fingers doing the walking, Google does the hunting.
Google/Yahoo, is like a battery
operated toy — it is programed to find certain things, to like certain things,
and to reject other things. The more it likes, the higher your ranking which
increases the chance that your web presence will appear at the top of people’s
search results — the top 10 is best.
Let’s take a look at some of those things:
Unique. If your content is unique, Google likes it. But how does
Google define unique? The information itself doesn’t have to be new, but the
way it’s expressed does. You can say the same thing many different ways and it
can still be considered unique by Google. This is because search engines like
Google use mathematical equations (algorithms) that take words literally. The
rule of thumb is 3 words. Don’t use more than 3 of the same words in a row from
something else that’s been published whether it was your own, or something you
have permission to use. One of the SEO’s clients was an orthodontist who had
different pages for 15 different locations. Each of the pages expressed the
same type of content, who he was, the services he offered, and the outcome his
patients could expect. I took his one page that expressed the information he
wanted to present to the public and rewrote it 15 different ways. Google saw
each page as unique and his ranking rose.
Unique
Hits. The number of visitors who visit your site and stay awhile. It’s not just how many visit, because if they visit and immediately bounce off, Google registers that they must not have liked what they saw since they made a quick exit. This decreases your ranking. Next, we’ll look at what draws people to your site and how do you increase those hits in a positive way.
SEO firms charge big dollars to enhance your web presence through search engine optimization. But what does that mean? How can technically-challenged writers benefit from SEO without breaking the bank? This article is the first in a series. Learn what the SEO firms don’t tell you and enhance your web presence.
SEO
But you may ask, with social media, is a web presence all that important? Everybody is on social media, aren’t they? It’s certainly easier to start a Facebook page than it is to create a web presence, so why bother? The fact is that actual numbers of social media usage are far less than its publicity. According to comScore’s Unique Visitor Table for Feb 2016, Facebook with 206,480 million unique visitors actually fell behind Google Sites (243,601 million), Yahoo Sites (204,421 million) and Microsoft Sites (194,845 million).
Marketing
Although there is a fluctuation in numbers, always remember that reality and press accounts do not necessarily jive.
Additionally, most people don’t use Facebook to research information that could direct them to you or your book. Forrester Research in their June 2013 study (How Consumers Found Websites in 2012, July 2013, Forrester Research, Inc.) found a majority of the United States adults prefer search engines over social media networks or alternate sources. The technique of choice is still SEO. As a technically challenged writer, if I can create a web presence, anyone can and make SEO work for them
Let me tell you a little about my background. First, I was (thanks to Candee Fick, I no longer am) the definition of what it means to be technically challenged. I’m good with the keyboard — I learned to type on a typewriter, at the time typing 120 wpm without mistakes. I was a senior attorney with a national company responsible for contracts, intellectual property, the document retention program, and was the in-house contact for the anti-trust law suits we were involved with as the repository of documents.
The Author Toolbox
I had a secretary and I dictated my contracts, letters, and other documents. When my husband and I came out to Colorado for a 1 week vacation, I returned to discover my secretary did a major faux pas for the General Counsel and she was fired on the spot. Someone got the brilliant idea that instead of replacing her, they would use her salary to purchase a computer for every lawyer (there were 9 of us) and spread the duties of the remaining secretaries out over all 9 of us.
I was like a deer in the headlights.
I averaged between 110 and 150 contracts/month, 30-50 copyright registrations, not to mention all the fires I had to put out and everything else I was responsible for and I didn’t even know how to turn the “machine” on — yes, it was “the machine.” I couldn’t even imagine how I could function in my job. Needless to say, it was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. They put me in a Word Perfect class and taught me how to turn on the “machine.” I was good to go.
Then came the World Wide Web, and another dragon reared its ugly head. I was always comfortable using the computer as a glorified typewriter, but … times change.
My Dad: Christian Van Den Heuvel – Exercise is Key: A Tribute to Our Military
Did you have a memorable Independence Day? I did. One critical fact I couldn’t help but think about is that FREEDOM ISN’T FREE — it comes at a great cost. I want to thank all of those military men and women who have served our country, who now serve our country, and who will serve our country. I also want to thank those who train our military service dogs who play such a key role in securing our freedom. Without all of you … the thought makes me shudder.
God bless America!
Silent Heroes – Military Service Dogs
Freedom of Speech
One of the greatest freedoms granted to writers is the freedom of speech. Without that right, we could not express our views, write those stories we have a passion to share, and help those who could not receive help without the written word.
A Beacon for Life
A Beacon for Life
I had 3 children — 2 surviving who I am incredibly proud of and one who came between them. Mary Kathryn was Trisomy 18 and stillborn. It was a very difficult time and I wrote a book, A Beacon for Life. For me, it was cathartic, and I wrote it with the intention to only help others. The thought of making anything off of it wasn’t even in the picture. A traditional publisher picked it up, but as with all new authors, the contract clauses were grey, non-negotiable, and standard. At the time, I traveled the country doing speaking engagements and my goal was to buy books to donate. The publisher set my retail price at the high end for a book that size and my mere 30% author discount didn’t make my book affordable for me to purchase and donate.
One evening I got a call… . This was the beginning of print on demand and that is how my publisher operated. Someone ordered 3 books and 303 books were printed. They had no way to store them and wanted me to buy them. Needless to say, I negotiated them down to $3 per book and donated them. I have letters from those my book helped that I keep as a reminder of the importance of the written word. My book helped more than I could have ever imagined.
Make A Difference
As a writer, we all have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of others. Does that mean we need to be published to make that impact? Most of us think the answer to that question is a resounding YES. However, I am here to tell you that the answer is NO. Yes, you have the opportunity to reach more people if you are published (but that does not mean you will); the more important goal is to reach those you are intended to reach.
Taking a hike
My son recently told me how thankful he is of my writing. I am an older mom (almost 37 when I had my son). He told me it was comforting to know that all he had to do was read something I wrote to hear my “voice.” You do not need to be published to hear the voice of the author and gain encouragement and help from their written word. I know a “young” man whose mom was never published, but whose written word provides comfort and inspiration to this day. Who do you want to reach?
Christine Henderson Why Storyboards Are Great Tools for Picture Book Writers
I’d like to welcome Christine Henderson to Thyme for Writers. Christine enjoys writing about family life. Her writings have been featured in numerous anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul and Heaven Touching Earth as well as The Secret Place Devotional guide.
Why Storyboards Are Great Tools for Picture Book Writers
by Christine A. Henderson
Why Storyboards Are Great Tools for Picture Book Writers
I brought a new picture book story to my children’s writers’ group meeting and asked for their assistance in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the story. They all liked the unique plot and the characters but they thought the story was too long. For those of you who write novels, it’s probably hard to imagine that 900 words is too long to tell a story. However, these days 800 words tends to be the max length that publishers want to see.
Being inquisitive and stubborn, I really didn’t think I needed to shorten my story. Surely, new books had at least that many words or more. To test my theory, I went to my local Barnes & Nobles and picked up an assortment of new books that I thought fit my story idea concepts. Sad to say, that word count rang true. Most pages had an average of two to five lines of text with an upper end of nine words per line. The books were 24 or 32 pages with at least two of those pages either being blank or showing the publishing details and acknowledgements.
So it was back to the drawing board – literally. I had imagined a storyboard in my head with the images previously, but now I wanted to put it on paper. Not being a great artist, I drew my stick figures with a bracketed scene description below each drawing. Now I started adding the text. Once I did that, I could see what words weren’t needed because the picture showed that part of the story. It was easy to chop 100 or more words. The story hasn’t lost its plotline, but now it flows better with the images.
Another reason to do a storyboard for a picture book is to see if you have a short story, rather than a picture book. If your storyline takes place in just one or two scenes, it may not be a picture book because there aren’t enough options for illustrations. If that is the case, perhaps you could incorporate that story in a book of stories or submit it to one of the many children’s magazines who accept short stories.
I am so happy to have Candee Fick as my guest today on Thyme for Writers! Candee Fick is a multi-published author in both fiction and non-fiction. She is also the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at sporting events, exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.
So Little Time to Conquer This Mountain
by Candee Fick
Most writers fall into the “I wish I had more time to write” camp while those lucky few who seem to have plenty of writing time are still members of the “My To-Do list never ends” club. The pursuit of publication or a writing career can seem as daunting and exhausting as scaling Everest, but every year thousands put their fingers on a keyboard…only to discover—or rather remember—that everyone has the same limited amount of time in which to get it all done.
And by all, I mean life. Take me for example. As a wife and mother, my days get filled with cleaning, cooking, laundry, homework, carpools, and sports. Relationships with family and friends require regular interactions and if I’m not taking care of myself with enough rest, exercise, and mental growth, I can fall apart quickly. Add in a day job and my calendar is stuffed to overflowing.
Except I’m also a writer with a coaching business. I dream up adventures and arrange words on a page in order to bring characters and settings to life. Once those polished stories are in the capable hands of my publisher, I do it all again. It might be easy to squeeze in an hour or two per day before the kids get up or in lieu of television in the evenings, but crafting stories is only one side of this mountain.
So Little Time to Conquer This Mountain
The other side of writing’s Everest is marketing. It’s the side that beginning writers don’t see in the excitement of starting a book, but soon the rumors swirl as old-timers drop words like social media, platform, website, tax deductions, book launches, and blog tours. The faint of heart stick their fingers in their ears, yell “Lalalalala,” and revise their first chapters again or jump from idea to idea, never finishing anything. Those who are serious about writing perk up and listen for tips about how to navigate the trail ahead.
The Author Toolbox
There are two main reasons that I wrote The Author Toolbox. First was to share what I’ve learned the hard way so newer authors can work smarter as they build their books, platforms, businesses, and careers. But mostly, I wrote it all down in order to give writers hope. It’s a long climb, but there is a way to get there and you are not alone in the journey.
If you know what the next steps of your personal journey involve, then you can deliberately and strategically focus your limited time on the activities that will move you closer to your goals. Your writing goal this week might be hitting a first draft word count or editing another chapter. You might even block out an hour to pre-schedule the week’s social media posts or organize office paperwork.
We have so little time available to conquer the mountains in our lives, but my hope is that you find your next steps…then take them. Because the view from the top is worth every moment of work.
You may reach Candee or obtain her works at the following links:
The Author Toolbox is filled with over 100 practical tools to help today’s author build a book, a platform, a business, and a career. Why? So we can get it all done while freeing up both time and mental energy to do the one thing we really desire…write.
