Authoring Onward

In today’s tips episode, I finally share my thoughts on Kindle Vella, the forthcoming serial fiction platform, and what we know so far about the program. (Spoiler alert: not much!)

I waited so long to do an episode on Vella, because I wanted to sort through my own decision first. It wasn’t easy! I worried about getting distracted by the latest, shiny thing, but I also worried about missing out on a great opportunity. I hope that hearing some of the factors in my decision will help you decide (if you’re pondering whether to jump in) what’s right for you. In the end, I’ve decided to go for it! I’ll keep y’all posted as things develop, sometime over the summer.

Looking for an editor or cover designer? I’ve got openings for editing later this month and through June! I’ve also got a shiny new premade book cover store, especially for cozy mystery covers. Custom covers also available.

How do you make your imaginary worlds or your poetry come to life for your readers? Imagery!

I got to chat with Kim B. Miller, the poet laureate of Prince William County Virginia, about how to create imagery in our work and she had some great advice for writers–plus a little homework for you all!

Have a listen and then get to writing!

About Kim:

Kim is a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn, New York. Kim is the Poet Laureate for Prince William County, Virginia 2020-2022. She is the first African American Poet Laureate for PWC, VA.

She has been the featured poet/speaker/facilitator at events in several states: NY, MD, DC, VA, SC, PA, CA, CO, NC. She also performed at The National Black Theater in New York and she was the featured poet at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, in DC. She facilitated a haiku class in Denver Colorado (a National Poetry event). She is the 2019 Southern Fried Poetry Haiku Champion and 2018 Black Poetry Café Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is slam champion.

Find more on her website.

P.S. Be sure to pop by last week’s episode as well and enter the custom ebook cover giveaway while it’s still going!

I’ve finally made it. 100 episodes! Probably close to 70 author interviews. That’s a lot of chatting!

And so today’s episode is about the rookie author mistakes I’ve learned about from talking to so many authors both on and off the podcast… and from making a few of these myself!

Finally, I’ve got a big announcement and and a giveaway to celebrate!

Drumroll, please.

(Just imagine one here.)

BOOK COVERS!!! The Book Echoes Media Premade Cover Shop is now open! Here’s just a taste of what you’ll see within. (And I can also do custom covers as well.)

The shop is small and basic now, but I’ll be making it smoother and nicer as I go along and I’ll be adding new covers every week.

I specialize in vector-based covers, so if you write a genre that goes well with illustrated covers–like cozy mystery, romantic comedy, or even some nonfiction–I’ll get you covered!

And you can even get A CUSTOM COVER for free this week by entering the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for sticking with me this long. Please enjoy today’s show, and if you’d like to spread the word about the podcast and/or the cover shop, it would be much appreciated.

The first quarter (and a little bit more) of 2021 has passed, and maybe you’re doing some reflection and revaluation of your author career plans for the year–or long term!

In today’s short tips episode, I go over 5 questions to ask yourself to gain clarity on where you’re going, what you’re doing, and what you’re not going to do anymore.

Don’t miss next week: The 100th episode! I’ll have giveaways and a big announcement!

Millions of people write about their lives for the therapeutic benefits or to pass along stories to their children, but it’s a whole new world when you start to shape the story of your life into something for a wider audience.

This week on the show, Carl Buccallato talks about the writing of his latest book and the narrative choices you make when writing prose inspired by your real life. Have a listen!

About Carl:

To Every Page A Turning: One Life’s Journey is Buccellato’s first book. From humble beginnings in Brooklyn, Buccellato became the CEO of a publicly traded company and inked a multimillion-dollar deal in the board room of AIG, then the largest insurance company in America. In 1984, he was invited to become a member of the Presidential Council of 100. He served three different presidents during his time on the council: presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. Today, Carl has four children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He resides in Coral Springs, Florida, with his wife, Mary Ellen.

Carl’s Website

It’s another listener wish episode today! This listener’s wish was for an app or service for agents to evaluate ideas before the books were written. The listener wanted to avoid the heartache of spending months or years writing a book only to find it wasn’t suited to the current market.

Well, there’s no service like that, but there are some resources to get to know the market better. For traditionally publishing authors, I recommend checking out Manuscript Wish List. Indie publishing authors can try tools like Publisher Rocket or the KLytics genre reports.

Have a listen for more tools and tips to know what’s selling before you write it.

Finally, as we approach the 100th episode, I’d really appreciate if you’d share the podcast with just one other writer!

Today’s episode features returning guest Katharine Grubb of 10 Minute Novelists! She shares her top tips for writing when you’re short on time and exciting news about the group’s upcoming conference.

Bonus! In addition to the audio, I’ve got video of the interview portion below.

While you’re here today, the 100th episode of this podcast is coming up. If you’ve enjoyed the show, I’d love it if you’d tell just one other writer about it.

Katharine Grubb was born in northeastern Oklahoma. She was raised in the Tulsa suburbs, attended the University of Oklahoma, taught school, wrote stories and then shocked everyone by moving to Boston, Massachusetts to be with a man she had been e-mailing for nine months. She married that man, and with him had five boisterous children. Nowadays, she still lives in Massachusetts, homeschools her children, bakes bread, does a ridiculous amounts of laundry and sets her timer to write stories in ten minute increments. She believes in this so much she created a Facebook group for it (10 Minute Novelists) and she runs a website for the group: http://www.10minutenovelists.com. Her favorite type of books to read and write are quirky, imaginative tales of romance, faith and humor.

Today’s episode was q&a, sort of… though I only had time for one q! A few weeks ago, I asked folks on Facebook and Twitter this question: If a fairy could wave her magic wand and fix one thing about writing, publishing, or book promotion, what would would you like fixed?

One responder said she’d like the people who would enjoy her book to magically know about it. Alas, I have no magic wand, but there are some important first steps you can take to reduce the overwhelm that comes when you first start trying to get your books visible. It all comes back to a solid foundation and a plan. Have a listen!

And if you’d like to join the conversation, come on over to the group: Author Goal Rockstars.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! Today, I’ve got returning guest Rinda Beach chatting about her newest book and the lessons learned from producing three books. We also have a great chat about marketing and some outside-of-the-box marketing techniques.

I hope you all enjoy the interview and maybe take some time to reflect on lessons you’ve learned as we approach the end of Quarter 1.

P.S. Today, I’ve got a special gift for the first to claim it in my author Facebook group. It’s a free premade cozy mystery cover. Hop on over and grab it before it’s gone.

About Rinda:

Rinda was a second-grade teacher who read and told stories, until she met a bat in Germany. She learned to edit, thanks to SCBWI classes and critique partners. Rinda substitutes to stay connected to the kids she wants to write for. She established Beach Girl Press to publish NEIL ARMSTRONG’S WIND TUNNEL DREAM and LAKE FUN FOR YOU AND ME

BiblioKid Publishing is publishing her third book, ZOE’S SCAVENGER HUNT FUN on March 9th. You can preorder it now from Rinda’s website.  Please stop over and take a look at her blog and book reviews at www.rindabeach.com

Social Media

Web- http://www.rindabeach.com/

Business Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/BeachGirlPress

Twitter- https://twitter.com/BeachRinda

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/rindajbeach/

Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/rindabeach/

Not every book or idea you have will be worthy of publication. (Yep, even if you self publish and CAN publish everything you come up with, you probably shouldn’t!)

So how do you make that decision to self publish or, if you’re going the traditional route, to query?

Well, nobody can make the decision for you, but there are a handful of questions you can ask yourself to make the decision easier. Have a listen!

And if you decide it’s time to jump in, great! But if you decide your current project isn’t ready now… or ever, that’s okay too. You can write more.

You have MANY books inside you.

Ready to take that next step? Check out the editing and coaching services page. Between Danielle and I, we can help you navigate what’s to come.