WRITERS - DON'T GET SPOOKED!

 Hello from Crippled Beagle Publishing and Happy Rainy (East Tennessee) Friday,

The word spooky just came to mind. Obviously, Sunday is Halloween, so the concept is timely. On top of that, I had a conversation with a fellow creative today that rang true. As I coached her, I wished I could go back in time, find a writing and publishing mentor, and ask her to coach ME. I published my first book in 2013. Since then, I've made every marketing mistake possible. The first was NOT building an email list. There were plenty of mistakes after that, which, in many ways, makes me an expert these days! Pay attention to what I share with you, because I can save you a load of time, heartache, and money.

Writers panic. We get spooked. That is N.O.R.M.A.L. My client is a superb storyteller with a beautiful message to share. While her target audience is young and specific, the lessons have broad appeal and her book has enormous potential. She's a gifted, hard-working artist, and a GOOD writer. She simply needs to keep moving forward. And she will. She's done much harder things.

Often, writers (you know the type) have enormous goals, unclear pathways, and personal concerns. The trick is to WRITE, EDIT, PUBLISH, AND MARKET! Drop the doubts and persevere. (And ask for help when you need it.)

Often, clients and prospects ask the following questions (in bold). My answers are below each question:)

Will anyone want to read my book?

YES.

Will people thing I'm an egomaniac?

YES. WHO CARES? MAYBE NOT. WHO CARES?

Am I a decent writer?

YES! I don't work with bad writers.

How many copies can I actually sell?

As many as you like. Marketing is imperative, but you can do it on your schedule and budget.

Here's the good news. Those are big questions, but they can all be answered in time. I can help you. You can do research. Most importantly, you can ACT, WRITE, PUBLISH, BEGIN marketing, and learn on the job. DON'T GET SPOOKED and stop. KEEP WRITING and learning.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, TOO!

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Paper or Plastic (Computer)?

 Hello creatives,

I hope the week is going well and you are finding joyful pursuits every day. Am I old, stubborn, or just low-tech? I wonder, because it feels like I'm CONSTANTLY being sent to an "app." I remember when a teaching colleague whipped out a USB thumb drive, and I thought he was about to light a cigarette on school property. I thought he had a lighter, and I was light years behind.

I'm heading to New York City tomorrow to visit my cousin Annie. She's quite the world traveler and tech-whiz, so she TEXTED me an APP to use to CHECK IN ONLINE and BUY a ticket for rail passage from Newark, New Jersey, to Penn Station in Manhattan. Geez, that plus the whole Allegiant app check-in process on my phone's tiny screen took an hour. I do believe all these convenient tools take longer than a plain old paper ticket. Right? I think I'm one of those old-fashioned ladies who needs a younger traveling companion.

Speaking of paper, I often joke that I'm a tree killer. Meh. I plant trees and water plants. I'm good. I do use a whole heck of a lot of paper, though. Sometimes, being outside or in a different room, holding a pen and not tapping a keyboard, and physically writing can be freeing! Try it. When I brainstorm and work on projects, each one has it's own stack of paper. REAL paper. When school supplies rear their neon heads at department stores in early August, I snatch up 100 or more 15 cent spiral bound notebooks. They serve me well.

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If you are weary of the screen and need a new outlook on your project, try paper and pen. Try using paper and pen OUTSIDE. Take your writing on the road. You can always type whatever you create on paper into Word. I'm all packed for New York with walking shoes, cash, a mugger whistle (my mother insisted), and, you guessed it, a notebook and pen.

Happy writing!

Jody