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Showing posts from 2014

Simple Marketing Ideas

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I think authors get hung up on their marketing because they don't devote as much time to learn about the industry and their genre as they do on the craft of writing. For some reason, marketing is relegated to the back burner in such a way that when the book is done, there's a "sitting idle" time. When I speak at conferences, I often remind authors that when they transition from being writers to authors, they transition from artists to business people. A writer, writes. An author sells her writing and a successful author does both well. The book is paramount to the success, so make sure it's edited, polished, set aside for a week, then edited again after several beta readers, and critique partners have made it bleed. But once the book is in submission, your marketing platform needs to be strong in order to help your agent, editor sell the book to the publishers they are courting with your manuscript. The old adage, "It's not what you kno

Diabetic

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It's just a little prick You know it’s coming. You know the diagnosis before you hear the words and you know it’s not going to be easy to hear but you know. How could you not? You’ve seen the signs for years now, you just didn’t want to have those fears acknowledged. You knew it the moment you finally went in for your physical (at the end of the calendar year, as if postponing it to the latter part of the year would make the diagnosis easier to hear). You knew it the moment the blood tests were ordered and you knew it as you watched your sugary blood fill the vials. Sure, it’s easy to say to yourself that it’s not going to be difficult and it’s probably going to be easier to finally shed some of the weight you’ve added on since starting one of the many “lifestyle” food changes you’ve started and stopped in the past 2 years. You’ve watched countless of celebrities, friends and family members shed the weight after their diagnoses so this is a good thing, right? You know the

11 Things I’ve learned about being an agent in 2014

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So, I was looking through my old blog posts for ideas to repurpose or update on my blog for this month and found my 10 Things I’ve learned about being the ePub Agent in 2012 . It’s interesting but those 10 things are still important now and I will likely include them when I train our junior staff but I’m learning new things every year and I fall in love with my profession more with each new tidbit I learn. If I were to write a letter to my 2014 ePub Agent self here’s what I would add (with gifs of course because it's 2014 and gifs just make everything better): Your instincts are sharper with time and experience. You trust your gut now more than you did in 2012 especially when it comes to market trends and the commerciality of projects. Authors will continue to need support and uplifting pep talks but understand that insecurities may paralyze some of them. It’s more important to help them out of that fear than it is to get another book from them. The book will eventually

Shihanisms with my Dad

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I make this kick look pretty My father's upcoming 64th birthday will include a surprise reunion for his martial arts students. We're expecting 60-75 people in attendance with 10-15 joining us via Skype from their various military locations. Many of my dad's students went on to join the military in the 90s during Desert Storm and were (some still are) part of the Navy Seals, Green Berets or Special Forces. My dad, as the senior instruction and 10th degree Black Belt, has always been referred to as Shihan  in the dojo. He's also a Shuseki Shihan but I won't go into that now. Anyway, we have put together a Facebook Page for his dojo, American Open Karate and asked his students to post their favorite Shihanisms: the phrases he would use to motivate them in his drill sergeant ways and remembering them has been a great blast. The student becomes the master So here are a few: "Don't look at me! I know I'm good-looking!" - usually said while

In Memoriam: Robin Williams (1951 - 2014)

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I'm staring at the blinking cursor willing the words the come. Willing the thoughts to stop swirling in my head so I can properly explain what Robin Williams has meant to me. But I just keep staring at the cursor and my eyes continue to water with every second that goes by. I need to put my thoughts down, you see. I don't know why it's such a fervent need but it is. I can't concentrate on work. Can't redirect my focus to the tasks on my to-do list. Can't even look at social media without gravitating to the thousands of memorial posts, pictures, videos of a man who was a part of so many lives, he was family and MADE us family through our shared love for him. For me, his death is a reminder that even the greats suffer but most of all, he's a link my father and I share. He's a year younger than my dad and when he first appeared on the scene, he was one of my father's favorite comedians. I grew up listening to my dad retell the jokes Robin told on stag

Blog Challenge #20: Down time is critical

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In her Mashable article: 7 Reasons You Should Unplug This Summer , Kyli Singh includes things like improved health, career and sleep among her reasons for giving your brain a tech break. In my house, we have had to implement a daily "no-tech" hour for our son who suffers from seizures. It wasn't until he pointed out how many hours I work in front of a screen that I realized how much I needed a break from the screen as well. This weekend, I vowed to spend less screen time reading and more paper time reading. Reading for pleasure is such a rarity these days for me that when I can do so without guilt, I savor every second of it. This weekend, I did a full unplug and only read on my iPad if I was in a non-wifi area. Yes, I can just turn off the WiFi on my iPad and read without distractions but I like to play Frozen Free Fall and The Sims FreePlay  on my downtime too so I tend to leave the WiFi turned on. But because I also edit manuscripts on my iPad when I really want

Blog Challenge #19: What do you mean you're bored?

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My teenagers are home for the summer so that means my house is a mess, my fridge is empty and the piles of laundry are threatening to consume us. It also means I get to hear things like, "there's nothing to do" and "I'm bored, Mom!" Really? You're bored? Well, if you didn't stay up playing video games until 2 AM then woke at 2 PM to stare at the ceiling (which could use some dusting, just sayin') and actually did your chores on time, picked up a book, went outside (and take out the garbage while you're at it), you wouldn't be bored, son! In the course of one day, I get more done than any of my teenagers (or husband) and I don't know if it's because I'm just a can't-sit-on-my-ass-all-day kind of person or if it's because they are! Either way, I know I've shared my workday with you before but today was all kinds of special in its ability to pack a whole lot of work in a short period of time. Behold, my day

Blog Challenge #18: I did something today I haven't done in a long time...

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My dog-eared copy I dog-eared a paperback. Let me explain why this is a big deal (at least for me). I don't buy paperbacks much anymore. Ever since I got my first iPad a few years ago, I haven't really felt the need to spend $8.99 on a paperback when the ebook is available for $2.99 and I can read it or a dozen others on my iPad without having to carry them all. But, for Christmas, my daughter gave me The Perks of Being a Wallflower to read since she knows I loved the movie and wanted to read the book. I don't' have a lot of time to read for pleasure like I used to but today, I decided to pick it up and keep it as bathroom literature. Don't look at me like that! It's a place of honor for me as I spend the most quiet of times on the can these days and the previous book to hold such an esteemed honor was Michio Kaku's The Physics of the Future . I didn't dog-ear that one. I just kept a bookmark in it but I also co-read it on my Kindle app