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June 12, 2013

Pinterest: The Ultimate Writing Resource

Be honest…

How much time do you spend on Pinterest every day?

pinterest infographicDon’t tell me minutes — I said be honest.

We’re talking hours here, right?

I confess to spending an obnoxious amount of time on my phone, computer, Kindle — any internet-connected device really — cruising my favorite categories and boards.

So much so, in fact, that sometimes…I feel guilty.

Pinterest is like the ultimate tool for turning a little bit of boredom into a very prolonged period of procrastination.

I waste SO much time I could spend on productive things like working on my next novel, finding new fans, or meeting some other indie authors.

You’ve felt the same way, right?

Well…

What if I said you could get in your fun time on Pinterest every day *while* also improving your current work-in-progress *and* growing your fanbase?

It can happen.

Let’s start with your writing process.

How do you brainstorm your characters?

I’m not talking about the basics (name, age, birthplace, job, etc.) — I’m talking about all the little details that turn a character sketch into a living, breathing person.

You *could* fill out a detailed character profile with a long list of likes/dislikes, goals, hopes, fears, and so on…

…OR you could create a board with pins for everything about your character on Pinterest.

Which one of those sounds like more fun?

Let me tell you a quick story.

Last month, just days before my final deadline to finish my second novel, my grandfather passed away.

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but it was heartbreaking nonetheless. After a week-long trip to Alabama to join my family in saying our goodbyes, I returned home and found I was completely disconnected from my work-in-progress.

My concentration was shot, my characters’ voices disappeared from my head — in short, I was lost.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Author & Book Branding, Writing
December 10, 2012

Don’t Let the Overwhelm Keep You From Your Best Book

The following is a guest post by Brenda Errichiello.

For an indie author, the editing process can be wholly overwhelming. Do you need a content editor? A line editor? A copy editor? What do these things even mean? How many times should someone look at your book? How do you know the person you’re working with is good?Continue Reading

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Writing Tagged With:
October 29, 2012

9 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block [Guest Post]

We have a special guest post today from one of our Indie Ninjas, Wren Deloro. She’s participating in NaNoWriMo this year (as is Shannon!). If you’re taking the 50,000 word, 30 day challenge let us know on Facebook!

Whether you are in the midst of a project or planning to take on NaNoWriMo, writer’s block is a dreaded possibility for any author.

Don’t let normal snags and stops hold back the completion of your project. 

Try a few of the following techniques, and get back on track.

1. Take a Break

photo by spring dewDo something completely unrelated.

This break could be a treat for all your hard work, or some good ol’ mundane activity. Think about it: how many ah ha moments have come to you while driving, washing the dishes, or in the shower?

Earn bonus points by completing household chores you have to do anyway. Make frozen food for your next intense write in.

Then, when you are done, sit your butt back in the chair!Continue Reading

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Writing
August 31, 2012

How Do You Know When It’s Time to Make Writing Your Full-Time Job? [Guest Post]

The following is a guest post by Amanda DeSilvio.

Many first time authors begin writing in addition to having a full-time job. It can be tough to make ends meet, so dropping everything to pursue your dreams of becoming a published author isn’t always a realistic choice.

However, any published author will tell you that finally publishing your work is a full-time job, even if you don’t get paid during the process.

The whole idea then seems like a catch 22, leaving many authors asking that inevitable question: How do you know when it’s time to making writing your full-time job?Continue Reading

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Writing
August 8, 2012

6 Laws for Becoming a Career Author

Being an adult has its perks.

We don’t have to go to school, eat all our vegetables or do what anybody says just because they say so. We can buy all the sugary cereals we want (so says the giant box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch in my pantry), stay up way past our bedtime  and watch R-rated movies.

But being an adult also has its downfalls.

All the things we dreamed of as children — careers, houses, cars, etc. — come with hefty price tags.

As a kid I had this board game called “Payday” that I absolutely loved. Players moved their pieces through a calendar month, trying to make money with risky investments while also paying for bills, groceries, and other incidentals depending on what spaces you landed on during the course of the game.

The goal was to get to the end of the month without going broke so you could get your “Payday” and start the month all over again.

I couldn’t figure out why my parents hated playing that game with me until a few years ago when my pal Toni hunted down a copy for my birthday so we could relive our glory days.

Five minutes in, I realized some sick individual had made a game out of every adult’s struggles to earn money while covering our financial responsibilities. That’s not a game, that’s just called being a responsible grown-up and it blows.

What weirdo would make that into a fun activity for kids?

How do you pay your bills, bills, bills?

Are you working nine to five (what a way to make a living), at a full-time job outside of writing? A lot of us author folks have no choice but to work at a real job so we can find a way to pay for the roofs over our heads, clothes on our backs and food on our tables.

But what if things were different?

What if we could all achieve that golden dream of actually doing what we love for a living?Continue Reading

Filed Under: Marketing & Promotion, Publishing, Writing