Friday, September 28, 2018

Residencies and Retreats--How They Help You Start and Finish Your Book

As summer winds down, at least in this part of the U.S., I'm starting a new book.  Although I’m sad to say goodbye to the warm weather, our annual hibernation here in New England always brings me more time for writing and a chance to retreat.  

I love to retreat, either at home or for a planned get-away.  It's hard to imagine such dedicated time, but retreats can happen in small increments, and with planning, you can gift yourself with one during the next months.

Editor Beth Wright on How She Helps Indie Authors Win Awards

A few weeks ago, a former student, memoir-writer Mary Knutson, sent me an exciting email: "I can now put 'award winner' in my bio!" 

On publication of her indie release, Mary's editor had suggested four book awards to consider and the first announced its winners August 2.  As Mary scrolled down to see who had been chosen, there was her book!  She'd entered in three categories and won a Gold Winner Award in the Inspirational Human Relations category for the 2018 Human Relations Indie Book Awards.  She also won Silver Awards in the two other categories.  "So now I have three beautiful certificates to frame," she told me.

Friday, September 14, 2018

What's the Primary Environment of Your Book--Physically, Emotionally, Intellectually, Spiritually?

A new author wrote me this week.  She'd read my writing-craft book, Your Book Starts Here, and it helped her realize which book project she needed to focus on first:  a self-help/memoir hybrid.  But she was confused by my chapter on finding the primary environment of your story.  How did this apply to her book?

Every book has an environment that it lives in.  I think of it like a lab where the experiment lives in a beaker or container.  Everything happens within that container. 

Friday, September 7, 2018

Beta Readers--Who Are They, How Do They Help Your Book, How to Find Them

Linda is closing in on the finish line with her memoir and sent a great question this week:  "I'd like to hear what you have to say about beta readers, particularly if it's a good idea to find complete strangers or folks I've already worked with (such as from online classes).  Who makes good beta readers?"

I first heard the term "beta readers" at a writing conference many years ago.  Just like beta testers for software, beta readers are an important part of the book writing process before you "release" your product into the world, either through indie or traditional (agented or small press) publishing.