Must Do - Want To Do in 2013

Happy New Year! Today is the first day of 2013. I told a friend at church that my hair is still blowing because of how fast 2012 flew by.  

I accomplished a few things that have kept me motivated and feeling like a real writer: interviewed authors Christa Allan, Terri Blackstock, Robin Carroll for Southern Writers Magazine. Even had the cover story with my interview with thriller writer Steven James; wrote a Christmas short story as part of an anthology, wrote a novella, sold and signed a contract with The Wild Rose Press for the novella. And, most fun and lucrative of all—I spoke at the Bayou Writers’Conference.

I have to add that we moved to Oklahoma in March. That plays a large part in my accomplishments. I think getting out of my ordinary world, being plopped down in an area where I had no friends, forced me to write. I joined OKRWA, and I do have one Louisiana pal who lives in Norman and meets me at a library every other Tuesday for a day of writing. We encourage each other by listening to our pounding keys.

Those few achievements happened in quick succession and I wish I could have kept up the momentum, but I couldn’t—or didn’t. The holidays hit. My mother fell and broke her hip and is in rehab. Her mood has fluctuated tremendously, as has mine. One moment I think she might bounce back and at other times I wonder if she even wants to bounce back. My thoughts are continuously yanked from writing.

I don’t like the phrase New Year’s Resolutions so instead of making them, I think I’ll just have a Want To  Do List and a Must Do List.

I MUST finish the first revision of my novella. My editor pointed out a few places where the characters need more motivation, explanation, etc before she actually does line edits. I’ve completed it but need to do another pass or two, reading carefully. Editor wasn’t 100% happy with the title and I wasn’t either. Peace of Heart fit the story but it sounded more inspirational than romantic suspense. After brainstorming with my daughter and her reading friends, we’ve chosen The Last Daughter. I love it! The new title has been approved by the editor.

I MUST finish the paperwork for marketing for TWRP and get a handle on promotion. I’ve never been so overwhelmed in all my life. I was under the misconception that I knew all about promoting myself and my work. How difficult can it be? Well, believe me, I don’t have a clue. There’s a lot to learn and much to do.  I’ll be expected to blog with the Scrimshaw Doll authors. My turn comes up Wednesday. I’m a little nervous about ‘mandatory’ blogging even though it will be all about my story and my characters.

I’m sure there are other things I MUST do but let’s get on to the Wants—more fun.  And certainly easier to WANT something than actually DO it. Right?

I WANT to start my nonfiction book. I keep making notes but I can't get a handle on how I want to do it. I should probably just start writing instead of having fun with all the research.

I WANT to continue writing for Southern Writers Magazine in 2013.

I WANT to attend two conferences:  the OWFI in late May (to meet Jane Friedman). Check out this interesting post. And the Killer Nashville in August if I have a new romantic mystery to market.

I WANT to finish editing my published book, The Groom Wore Blue Suede Shoes. I got discouraged because it seemed outdated to me, but other authors have backlists that were published waaaaay before Groom was, and they’re not updating their books. What do you think of putting a disclaimer in the front letting the reader know it was published by Silhouette Romance in 1996. Is that done?  And then I have to actually learn how to publish it. Sometimes my brain hurts!

I WANT to make another couple of passes through my novel, A Bad Guy Forever. I think there are still scenes that need fleshing out.  It doesn't feel quite right yet. Then I want to submit it to a traditional publisher, if I can find one that doesn’t require an agent. I’m not sure I want another agent. And if I got one, would they submit to small presses and epubs? I can do that myself.  Publishing has become tricky. Sometimes I like the new direction; sometimes I think everything is all screwed up.

I WANT to write another novella. Maybe two.

I WANT to participate in the A to Z Challenge again this year. And continue to blog once a month for the Insecure Writers Support Group. Both of these groups are ‘heart-groups.’ I love them!

I WANT to get more active about reading other blogs and visiting/posting to my yahoo groups. I’m a member of several wonderful writing loops and they don’t know I exist--or have forgotten. Should I visit them twice a week, every day or what?  The Wild Rose Press author's loop is overwhelming! I can’t believe how much other writers accomplish. How do they do it? I move at a snail’s pace.

I WANT to revise Reinventing Rita. I've retitled it and can't remember the new title. Guess that means it doesn't work, huh?

I WANT to write some more romantic short stories for various epublishers and anthologies.

I WANT a career plan.  This week I'll locate my new 2013 calendar (where did I put it?) and assign firm deadlines to some of these tasks. There are specific things I want to accomplish while here in Oklahoma and we'll be moving out in June. I have six months to . . .

I WANT to accomplish much more in 2013!

And I want you to, too!

Share your 2013 dreams.

 

Wise Words from Jane Friedman

Oh, the down-down days of summer. Too hot for much of anything. And to top off the oppressive heat, I fell leaving the church a week ago Sunday and twisted my right ankle. When my daughter was born, I was in labor for three hours so the pain definitely didn't last this long! I hate pain. I also hate being unable to focus. X-rays proved nothing was broken but the constant ache/throb has me shifting/twitching/wiggling, searching for comfort. I'm not even able to enjoy my web surfing.  Ah, well ... this too, shall pass. Hurry, hurry, pass already!

A few weeks ago, I popped onto twitter and found one of my writer heros about to give an interview on the radio. Ya'll probably know her: Jane Friedman. She has a terrific blog, however, she's turned it over to Porter Anderson while she concentrates on a new project.  Now Jane is web editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review.

Anyway, I tuned in to Jane on the radio. Yep, I took notes!

Jane said if we're using emedia as entrepreneurs we need to know our audience, the people who will buy our books or our products. We need to know what social media sites we're comfortable using. She said: There's a triangle at work here: Reader & their tools, Self & what you prefer, the work itself & what compliments that work. Think about all points of that triangle, and satisfy each point. Where is the sweet spot? This entails market research on the part of the author. If you don't enjoy it, you won't continue to do it. Consistency is necessary -- every day-- because things tend to snowball. Small actions every day add up. Consistency translates into a growing audience.

Jane also said if there's one quality we need to instill in ourselves, it's patience because success takes time. Small actions every day during a long period of time is what will get us where we want to be.

She also gave a few tips on blogging among other things and after the interview, I tweeted 'well done' and told her I needed to take a hard look at my blog. Here's what she said:

10 Jul

Jane Friedman‏@JaneFriedman

@jessyferguson Thanks for listening! As far as your blog, perhaps it just needs to be strengthened & taken to the next level. ;-)

So my question is: how do I strengthen and take it to the next level? Any suggestions?

For Your Info

A to Z Challenge takes a break on Sunday. I hope I'm correct about this. :)

I just ran to Hastings in Yukon, OK to pick up the latest Writer's Digest. It's fantastic and you all need to trek over to your nearest bookstore and get the May-June issue if you don't subscribe. Because we were moving, I didn't renew so I'll have to make sure I don't miss an issue.

This issue gives some valuable information about epublishing and how it works by Jane Friedman. Jane is a former WD publisher and honestly, I think every word that comes out of her mouth (or from her fingertips) is valuable and brilliant. If you aren't familiar with her, you should be; make a point to follow her blog. Check her out here. After reading her article, you need to flip the page to Joel Friedlander's piece on Best Strategies for Savvy Self-Publishers. He gives you a list of resources to help you on your way to indie publishing. You can also follow him HERE. To top it off, the icing on the WD cake is that it lists 101 Best Websites for Writers and they are G-R-E-A-T.

Don't let this issue sell out before you get your hot little writer-hands on it.

999 Ways to Write A Book

Here I am talking about back story again. I know you're sick of it. I am too, but I'm still alittle confused. I'm reading two books and both of them are so sparse that I'm having a difficult time staying interested. There's an art to dropping tidbits of info into our stories. These two authors aren't dropping anything anywhere and I'm finding it annoying.

I don't require a lot of back story to stay interested in a good book, but geeze-louise, give me enough that the chapters make sense!

It's suddenly dawned on me that these days--this modern world of publishing technology, the ebooks/POD publishers/self-pubbing/short story apps, etc ... anything goes.

ANYTHING!

There must be 999 ways to write a book. With back story or without. With one character or twenty-one. All dialogue or ... all narrative. Or graphics only.

The most important thing we have to do is find an editor that likes our writing. That's the key. That's the answer. Put that on a little yellow sticky note and slap it on your computer. Write your book the way you want to write it then find an editor who loves it. They'll tell you what's wrong and if there's too much back story. Ultimately, the editor is the last word.

Next month I'm going to NaNoWrMo with the rest of the world. My novel is outlined and I plan to sit down and follow that outline. I'll get my usual 100 pages before I experience the Thanksgiving Crash. I'd love to make the 50,000 words goal but it hasn't happened yet. Turkey day always gets in the way. At least I'll have 100 pages of something new.

So, just out of curiosity, are you planning to Nano this year? If so, I'm registered as Jessy. Look me up and let's encourage each other.

BTW, do you know Jane Friedman? She's a columnist for Writer's Digest. Now go HERE and read the dirty secret behind writing advice.