We're pleased to have another guest post from Sheila Olson who wrote some months ago about the importance of getting enough "beauty" sleep. Today her post is about the steps to take to become a successful writer. Writing Success Means Promoting Yourself by Sheila Olson As an up-and-coming author, whether you write short stories, poetry, or something else, your success depends on your exposure. Fortunately, there are many inexpensive ways to promote your writings that might just thrust you into the spotlight you desire. Today, I share tips for new writers on how to get discovered doing what you love. Launch a website. The first and ostensibly most important thing you can do as a new writer is to create a website. You can do this yourself with the website builder; the Website Planet blog explains that you may be able to find a free trial until you narrow down what you like. Having a website gives you somewhere to share your words and collect the email addresses of … [Read more...]
What’s your blind spot?
Let's welcome Rob Hoffman on his first WOW! Women on Writing virtual book tour to promote his latest book, Blind Spot. We are very excited to read his guest post, "Man Plans and God Laughs," a common expression heard throughout many of our lives. Man Plans and God Laughs by Rob Hoffman Humans are guilty of so much. Really, we are a sinful tribe when you cut right down to it. Forget the seven deadly sins, that barely scratches the surface. Ten Commandments, geez, that wouldn’t even cover a night in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Oh I know what you’re thinking, we’re not all bad, not all of the time. We are capable of so much good, you say. Yes I know, and that might be humanity’s greatest sin of all, wasted potential. No blog could ever capture all of our flaws, so it beguiles us to try and narrow the vast and practically endless ocean of faults and sinful behavior that inhabit humanity down at its core. While we can debate which of our transgressions are worse … [Read more...]
Company is coming
Ever since my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On, has been in print I’ve been a huge advocate of WOW! Women On Writing – a global magazine that promotes the communication between women writers, authors, editors, agents, publishers and readers. WOW organized my memoir book tour in 2011 and my historical novel, Papa's Shoes', tour in June 2019. In exchange I host on my website Choices many of the other writers that WOW! organizes tours for. Hosting is a great way for my blog to welcome new voices and new books – other than my own. And in keeping with that, in the next two months I’ll welcome five authors while on their WOW! Women On Writing virtual book tours. Each of them has written a guest post related to the substance of their book and writing. On February 10, Jackie Rodriquez, author of Georgia Stories on My Mind, an anthology of heartwarming stories shaped by local traditions and legends. In her guest post she’ll give us advice on how to market our writing on social … [Read more...]
My website is back on the air
After five days of being off-line, my website, Choices, is back on the air. And with the promise that it will never go down again. Thank you to my server and maintenance managers, Francisco Artes and Tom McGuire! These guys have my back. Starting tomorrow, I will resume my normal posts. Hopefully, you my devoted readers, will give let me know what kinds of things you'd like me to write about. Until then, please remember I'm the author of these great books - a historical fiction novel and a memoir, and I'm always looking for more people to read them: and … [Read more...]
Writing work check-up
On January 5, 2015, I wrote a short writing to-do list for the coming few months. Today, since it's almost the end of January, is a good time to take stock. I'm pleased to report that I'm moving right along on my novel revisions. I've incorporated my red lines and yellow highlights into my online Revision 4 chapter files up to page 124. That means I have only 54 single-spaced hard-copy pages to go. Of course that doesn't mean that I'm finished finished. As I've revised I've tagged many many pages that I need to go back to. Like yesterday for instance. I was working on Chapter Seventeen which required that I add a new subsection at the chapter's end. I wrote it. I stepped back from it, I thought about how John Updike writes incredibly detailed descriptions, and I realized I wrote only the bare bones so far. I need to go back to that little subsection and add and add and add more. Remember the old adage - show don't tell? Well my bare bones only tell. I haven't written the … [Read more...]
Writing work resolutions for 2015
I'm finally back to real work after a nice long new year's holiday rest. And it's about time. Of course I didn't stay exactly idle. I've thought long and hard about how to proceed with my writing life this year, and I've made a preliminary list. I'm sure I'll add more things in the weeks and months to come. Keep slugging away at my novel revisions. I'm about to start Chapter Six only Twenty-one chapters to go. In other words I'm on page forty-one of one hundred and seventy-nine single-spaces pages. It's going to be a long haul. Write blog pieces for Choices that are more about my writing work and writing advice for others. Write for other websites: Naturally Savvy, Aging Bodies, and Cate Russell-Cole's CommuniCATE Resources for Writers website. I feel so honored that she asked me help her out while she works on her own memoir. Write more poetry. In the last few months I've let my poetry writing go by the wayside in favor of working on my novel that's not good for my … [Read more...]
Keeping Paul’s music alive
After Paul died on the morning of September 23, 1999 we found a rectangular-shaped black canvas bag that contained cassette tapes of all his recorded music. We picked out a few and played them during his memorial service four days later. One of his long time friends, Martin Borsanyi, who used to compose and play jazz music with Paul during their high school days, came over to our house many times in the next year or so. He made an inventory of Paul's musical instruments (except his piano, which we still have) and other electronic sound and recording equipment that we gave away to the Crossroads High School jazz ensemble where he and Martin played. Martin also transferred the music from cassette onto CDs, working in our home because I was afraid to let the tapes out of my sight for fear of losing them. Once I got into the age of iTunes, I also transferred all of Paul's music there as well. I also created a memorial page on my blog here at Choices where people can stop by to … [Read more...]
I’m querying again
Well, I've already sent out mini query letters to a couple of recommended prospective publishers. I've included information about my book and links to sample chapters of my memoir Leaving the Hall Light On, and I've told them I'll have all the files in native QuarkXpress and pdf. So if they want to add my book to their portfolios it should be a slam-dunk. Plus I'm not interested in another hardback run. I would prefer a paperback and/or e-book. I've also made a little pitch about my current writing work with links to my blogs Choices and Red Room, and to the PsychAlive and Naturally Savvy websites, where I blog every month. And now the waiting begins. I hate this part. The querying and waiting. I thought I wouldn't have to do it again until I'm ready to market my novel. And, now I wonder if it is even worth it. Readers, I need your advice on this one. Should I even try to find a new publisher or should I just go ahead and self-publish? What do you … [Read more...]
The eve of New Year’s Eve
I think this is a perfect day for looking back. Usually we go to an eve, eve party where we always share about our events of the year. Since it was cancelled this year, I'll share our major happenings of 2011 here. Major Happenings of 2011: 1. My husband, Bob, and I traveled to Amador County and Sutter Creek, CA with Manhattan Beach friends to taste some native zinfandel wines in January. On our first night there Bob fell and broke the three metatarsal bones in his right foot. Bob had foot surgery to repair and pin his broken bones together in February and had to be off his foot for eight weeks. He got around on a knee scooter (Rolleraid) or crutches. I was his driver. Bob on his knee scooter (Rolleraid) 2. On May 8 (Mother's Day) my memoir Leaving the Hall Light On was released by Lucky Press. My successful book launch reading and signing at our local independent bookstore, Pages, was held on May 12. A couple of weeks later we celebrated my birthday in Lake … [Read more...]
Midweek Work Progress Report
This week has been very productive. I've sent off my second piece for the PsychAlive website, and I got word from the editor that it's ready to go live. The piece is called Comforting Those Who Grieve. I'm still awaiting word from my Savvy Over 60 editor about when my November piece for them will be up. I also started working on a piece for a new blog I'm interested in called, Heartache to Healing, founded by grief coach, author, and speaker, JoAnne Funch. Hopefully, the piece will be good enough that I'll be allowed to contribute there once in a while as well. And I started working on my speech that I'm scheduled to make on November 19 for our local chapter of the American Association of University Women. It was suggested I talk about the mental health and suicide prevention services available in our area. I'll do that and expand the speech to tell my story of healing after my son's suicide that I describe in my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On. And surprise, surprise, I … [Read more...]
Recap of 2010 Events
Before I move on to 2011, I thought I'd recap some of our family's 2010. We sent this list along with our holiday cards. January: Bob recovers from knee surgery Bob publishes Volume 1 of Family History Bob's family story Bob's brother Richard's dies; Madeline and Bob travel to New York February: Ben and Marissa announce intention to marry Madeline takes novel writing workshop at UCLA and begins first novel March: Madeline begins blogging on Red Room, a writers website -http://www.redroom.com/member/madeline40 April: Madeline retires from Northrop Grumman on April 30 May: Madeline has several poems published at Survivor Chronicles, unFold, and Poetsespresso Bob ends 14 years of consulting for TRW/Northrop Grumman on May 7 Madeline and Bob begin five-week vacation with trip to Chicago, Washington, and New York City to see family and friend June: Our five week vacation continues to London, cruise from South Hampton to Scandinavia and … [Read more...]
