Today is the start of a new series, Publish Don’t Perish — 65 Tips, in honor of my parents’ 65th wedding anniversary. Sixty-five years ago today, my parents were married. But wait, isn’t today Halloween? Well, yes, but 65 years ago Halloween was not celebrated on Sundays, the day my parents said, “I do.”
Happy 65th Wedding Anniversary — Love you!
Sixty-five years…WOW! With almost 50% of marriages ending in divorce or separation, there is much to learn from this incredible couple after 65 years of marriage. Fortunately, I am blessed in more ways than I can count because they are my parents. For purposes of this series, we’ll focus on what they provided me and continue to provide me in Tip #1: Support.
Types of Support
There are many types of support, including financial, emotional, and personal assistance to name a few. Our family has been blessed by my parents who have supported each and every one of their children and grandchildren throughout all of their lives in more ways than I can count.
Our Family
I have a passion for writing, and a writer’s life can be a lonely life. It’s critical to surround yourself with those who will come along side and support you in your endeavors with encouragement, laughter, shared tears, a break… . We all need cheerleaders in the ups and downs along the journey to publication — success doesn’t come over night in the life of a writer, and life itself is usually not a bed of roses.
My parents supported me throughout each stage of my life with every type of support and encouraged me to keep writing. Thank you, Mom and Dad! You continue to be my biggest fans!
Support throughout each stage of my life. Thank you Mom and Dad!
Other Writers
What better group to obtain support than other writers who understand and have experienced similar ups and downs. It’s one of the reasons I started Thyme for Writers in 2017. Over these past couple of years, I’ve had the opportunity to share the experiences and helpful hints provided by this remarkable group. After all, it’s not healthy to write in a vacuum.
Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer
Many of the tips gleaned in this series, will come from what I have learned from my incredible parents and other writers. In the meantime, rally your support team — family, friends and fellow writers who keep us pumped up and moving on.
When your goal is “Getting to the
End,” it doesn’t matter how much analysis, prioritization, and organization
you’ve done if you’re not willing to take the next step and discipline yourself
to write.
I know, I know. No one likes the word “discipline,” so let’s call this the “Just DO It!” step. It’s not necessarily easy, but this is a case of practice making perfect.
8 Suggestions
Here are eight suggestions I’ve found useful when trying to get to “The End.”
Thyme for Writers
Schedule a time to write every day and then WRITE during that time. It may seem difficult at first, but like exercise, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
Remember that five minutes of writing is better than none. No matter how busy we are, every one of us can find five minutes each day. I challenge you to find those five minutes and use them. Chances are, you’ll write far longer than five minutes, but even if five minutes of writing is all you accomplish, you’ll have taken the first steps toward making daily writing a habit. And that’s a habit we all need.
Remind yourself that writing is your #1 priority. Now’s the time to dust off those signs that you developed during the prioritization step and post them everywhere you’re likely to be distracted. It may seem juvenile, but visual reminders are powerful.
Do whatever it takes to meet your weekly goals. Again, this sounds difficult, and it may be at first, but the more often you meet your goals, the more energized you’ll be and the closer you’ll be to reaching “The End.”
Optimize your research time. Writers tend to fall into two camps: those who love research and those who hate it. It doesn’t matter where you are on that spectrum. The key is to spend the minimum amount of time gathering the information you need. One technique I use is to avoid doing detailed research during the first draft of a book. Instead, I keep a list of the questions I have – things like “how long does it take to ride a horse from San Antonio to Austin?” When I finish the first draft, I have a better idea of whether I really, really, really need to know that. And, if I do, I can look for the answer to that question at the same time that I’m researching all the other points I listed during the first draft. That’s more efficient than stopping to investigate each point and possibly heading down the proverbial rabbit holes.
Remind friends that you are working. I doubt your friends would stop in for a visit or want to have a lengthy chat during the workday if you were at an office, but the fact that many writers work at home makes us more vulnerable to friendly distractions. Now is the time to politely but firmly tell friends and neighbors that you’re working and can’t be disturbed.
Use voice mail. This is a corollary to the previous point. I consider answering machines and caller ID among the essentials of life and answer calls during my working hours only if they’re from my publisher. Sorry, robo calls. You don’t get answered EVER, but you do get reported to the Do Not Call Registry.
Consider email, texting, and internet surfing a reward. Again, the goal is to keep your focus on the manuscript and avoid everything that prevents you from writing. A number of my writer friends have discovered the same thing I have, namely that if we check email before we begin to write, we’re much less productive. The reason is simple: whatever was in those email messages, no matter how trivial, is competing for space in your brain and lessening your focus. Don’t lose your focus on what’s important: your manuscript.
I won’t sugarcoat it. Discipline is hard, but the rewards are worth the effort. Just DO it!
(c) 2019 Amanda Cabot
Amanda Cabot
Amanda Cabot is no stranger to getting to “The End.” She juggled a
sixty-hour a week job with nonnegotiable deadlines and building a house
long-distance at the same time that she wrote two books a year. Whether
or not she kept her sanity during that time is debatable. Amanda is
the best-selling author of over thirty novels, eight novellas, four
non-fiction books, and what she describes as enough technical articles
to cure insomnia in a medium-sized city.
Her most recent release is A Tender Hope, the third in the Cimarron Creek trilogy.
A general challenge of publishers (which definitely applies to Indy publishers) originates from the changing boundaries of the laws of publicity, libel, and privacy. Contracts typically contain indemnification clauses protecting the publisher’s interests in this regard.
Mourning Candle
If you publish statements that are false and defamatory, or even private facts that are embarrassing to someone, you can be sued. In this litigious and highly proprietary time, more and more references to individuals (deceased or living) are bringing claims of breach of privacy, defamation, or violation of publicity rights.
These issues primarily face nonfiction publishers, but that doesn’t prevent those publishing fiction to be affected. Let’s take a look at each of these areas.
Please use this article as an educational resource only, it is not meant to provide legal advice.
Defamation
Scorned or Ridiculed
Generally “defamation” is a false statement of fact about a living individual (though in certain jurisdictions it may apply to deceased individuals and, periodically, to corporate entities) that holds the person up to scorn or ridicule. Note that the law allows more leeway when discussing public figures.
Privacy Rights
An individuals’ privacy rights is a related issue. Typically, this area is more of a challenge to magazine and newspaper publishers because of the nature of the fast paced reporting which may cause the re lease of facts that should not be made public, including financial, medical, or other highly personal information.
Fast Paced Reporting
The reality is that all publishers of nonfiction must be wary of disclosing personal information of a sensitive or embarrassing nature. (And this is in the United States, where the rules are relatively liberal; beware of disclosing personal information about foreigners or about Americans in works published outside the United States.) Where any such information is about to be published, consult with your lawyers to be sure you aren’t at risk of violating a criminal or civil statute here or abroad.
Publicity Rights
Mona Lisa
Publicity is closely related to the right of privacy. (This is technically a subset of the “right of privacy” which, in legal terms, incorporates four related rights: publicity, intrusion, privacy, and false light.) Generally, the right of publicity prevents the commercial exploitation of the value of an individual’s likeness and name. Not only are celebrities protected by this right, but it protects others whose appearances and names have real commercial value. It also prevents the use of anyone’s likeness or name in trade or advertising without their permission.
Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer
Are you with a traditional publisher or are you Indy? If you’re with a traditional publisher, check your contract. If you are an Indy publisher, what steps do you take to protect yourself?
Next month we’ll take a look at negligent publication.
In our last article, we looked at ways to increase your hits and thereby increase your ranking. In addition to article length, updating frequently, and search terms in additional places, this article will look at the importance of mechanics.
The Importance of Mechanics
Mechanics
Good mechanics increases readability which then increases your ranking because your readers will typically stay longer. For example:
Don’t start consecutive sentences with the same word.
Write in active tense, not passive. No more than 10% of the sentences should be written in passive voice.
30% of the sentences should contain transition words.
The number of words following each subheading should not exceed 300 words.
Make sure your paragraphs are not too long.
No more than 25% of the sentences should contain more than 20 words.
Paragraphs should start with the most important sentence first.
Order your topic. There are different types of ordering: thematic (ordered on topic, aspect, theme), chronological (old-new), problem-solution(s) (first you introduce the problem and follow it with possible solutions), or didactic (easy-hard).
We’ve looked at what search engine’s love, but we need to be wary of what they don’t.
Search engines hate
Search engines hate:
Graphics that do not include descriptions
Frames – Search engines can’t necessarily see everything inside of a frame.
Flash animations – These files cannot be indexed by most search engines. Google can read it, but Macs and mobile phones detest them.
Duplicate contents at different URLs – Delete old versions of replaced pages. Even though they may be archived, search engines may just try to index these replaced pages and decrease your ranking because of duplicates pages.
Avoid splash pages – usually a website loses its readers whenever a click is required. Although splash pages typically have beautiful animations or images, there is no navigation or content. If you want to use rich media on a splash page, you will want to include a regular HTML link to a page that’s text based for searches. The easiest way to go is to avoid splash pages altogether.
Next month we’ll end this series with a discussion of website topics.
In this last part of Jane Choate’s interview with Roulf Burrell, we will get a glimpse into the writing life of an amazing otherworldly writer and the reasons behind certain choices.
What is your writing schedule like?
Coffee Shops
Ouch! It’s getting personal. I write in spurts and have a hard time beginning. It helps to go to libraries or coffee shops where I have nothing else to do. I also write at my church, as my wife works in the children’s ministry.
Sometimes, new ideas pop into my head, and as I jot them down, I slip into expanding them rather than finishing my prior work. Or some bad news regarding the beginner’s chances in the publishing industry claws its way out of this month’s media “click-bait” graveyard, and I’m left wondering, “Why bother? I have the same chance of success as having lightning strike me.” But like a dry cleaner pulling an all-nighter, I press on.
What do you do for promotion?
I have a website—www.RoulfBurrell.com. WordPress (my website management system) has been an educational challenge technically and fun artistically, though I find it awkward placing myself out there as an interesting topic.
Websites and media platforms are all part of the marketing arm for authors today. Marketing and science fiction blend well, as both relate an aggressive form of a gravity well commonly known as a black hole.
What compels you to write?
After trying my hand at many things, I finally met my match – in a good way. I get the same kick out of painting and constructing with words I imagine Michelangelo got out of the hammer, a chisel and a rock.
Michelangelo
What can you share regarding self publishing?
One of the first decisions any author faces today is whether to try and publish with a traditional publisher, or self-publish. And the pros and cons to each could fill another article. But for me, the issue boiled down to rejection and control.
Dr. Seuss’s first book was rejected 27 times. He became so disillusioned he had decided to take his manuscript home and burn it, when he ran into an old school acquaintance – a children’s book editor. I don’t believe I would ever survive such a process, so I’ll take another alternative, if offered.
A BOOK IS MORE THAN A STORY
Control is my other issue. With self-publishing, I control all the factors. But that means I’m responsible for any and all failures, as well as successes. I must edit for internal consistency. Edit again for grammar. Find my own beta-readers. I have to design a cover, or pay for an artist to do it. A table of contents must be made, chapters separated, the text formatted and converted, images added.
I’m sure you have enjoyed this journey with author, Roulf Burrell, as much as I have. If you’re a writer, what compels you to write? If your goal is publication, which avenue would you choose to take and why?
This week I’m please to share Part 2 of Roulf Burrell’s interview with Jane Choate — More Through the Eyes of An Otherworldly Writer. If you enjoyed Part 1 (and I’m sure you did), you will no doubt enjoy Part 2 with this amazing fantasy/scifi writer.
How do you imbue out of this world characters with human characteristics we can relate to?
By staying with the universals. Life of all types needs to consume energy, wants to reproduce, faces the end of its existence. Most creatures and aliens still take in the world around them, interpret the data, think and feel about it, then act correspondingly. Fiction changes these elements in fun and educational ways.
Do you see plot or characterization as more important? Or are they fairly equal in your writing?
Is the front wheel or the back wheel of a bike more important? Without both, I’m not going anywhere. I love good characters, but I’d rather watch a James Bond film where action abounds, than My Dinner with Andre–boring talk. Besides, the sci-fi/fantasy genre tends to be plot driven. Plot moves the action; it’s the back tire to which we chain the pedals. Think of the old Twilight Zone episodes. You had characters, but they weren’t that deep. A man with a gambling problem. We don’t know why. A boxer who doesn’t want to take a dive. Episodes didn’t feature their past histories but a surprise plot twist that cast events in a different, sometimes bizarre perspective. I lean in that direction.
Which is more important — the front wheel or the back wheel?
What role does humor play in your books? (I know there has to be a lot of humor!)
Webster defines humor, in part, as, “appealing to the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous.” Humor provides entertainment, a needed laugh. Practically, humor assists story tension by granting a needed pause. A smile breaks up dramatic events that would lose their tension if held too long.
What do you see as your biggest strength in writing?
The ability to say a common thing in an uncommon way. From Saint Augustine to Groucho Marx, I’ve spent years collecting picturesque or unique phrases. I practice crafting my own phrases by varying their components slightly. I once became so dissatisfied with my boring description of the sunrise, I forced myself to create 100 different ways of describing the sun coming up, even a couple from the Sun’s point of view.
A New Start
You belong to a Christian writers group. What role does your faith play in your writing?
My faith is as central to my personality as the fact I am a male or was raised in the Midwest of America. It’s foundational to my thinking and feeling; my humor, my creativity, my word choice or my plots. It shaped who I have become, so it’s reflected in what I say and do, or don’t do. So I don’t try to add my faith to my writing in a conscious way. As C. S. Lewis said, “The world doesn’t need more Christian authors. It needs more authors who are Christians.” I content myself to tell stories and trust my faith will show through.
What are your favorite otherworldly characters? Next week we’ll take a closer look at the writing life of Roulf Burrell. Stay tuned… .
Today is the start of author, Jane Choate’s three part interview of Roulf Burrell, a self-described otherworldly writer who gives zombies life and other creatures life. Roulf Burrell is one of the most creative writers I’ve had the pleasure to read. I know you will enjoy this interview as much as I did!
How did you start writing?
As a young puddle-stomper, I enjoyed reading fantasy and science fiction. In my room, I escaped an unhappy childhood through books. In college, I tried fantasy role-playing games and discovered my creativity and plotting ability created a fun experience for those who delved into my dungeon. Later, it seemed natural to produce the fiction that I had enjoyed so much. All I had to do was buy a pen, some paper and dash out a story. I did. And the result was… so embarrassing; I spent the next 25 years learning to write fiction.
Fantasy and Fiction
Why write zombie or “otherworldly” stories?
They’re fun. For example, do vampires need their teeth cleaned? How do they find a dentist? If witches are melted by water, why do they fly on broomsticks in the sky?
Advanced Science
Be it magic or advanced science, it’s fun to imagine being able to do the incredible: fly, lift cars, see through walls, etc. And people enjoy seeing themselves as an empowered hero. It’s also a chance to remind us that our abilities, great or small, do not change our basic nature. Greater ability leads to greater responsibility. Conversely, unrestrained power will make its own monster out of us.
Otherworldly stories allow people to see preconceptions and biases in a different light. Why can we mistreat machines but not people? Could mistreating robots (or aliens) lead to a hardened conscience? Could our own scientific knowledge overwhelm us? If we presuppose certain creatures are evil, do we ever really give them a fair chance, or are we condemning them for “who they are” rather than “what they do”? These questions all have “today relevance.”
How would you answer these questions? Next week, we’ll discover how Roulf imbues out of this work characters with human characteristics we can relate to.
We’re going to wrap up our discussion of Organization this month with advice from two experts as well as my own suggestions for how to keep yourself organized.
We’ll start with Steven Covey, whose
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a classic. When talking about
organization, Covey has one simple suggestion:
Substitute weekly organization for daily planning.
This may sound counterintuitive.
After all, don’t we need to know what we’re doing each day? Yes, of course, but
Covey’s advice allows life to happen. By establishing goals for what you want
to accomplish each week, you’re setting yourself up for success, not failure. Why
risk the frustration of telling yourself that you absolutely, positively have
to finish Task A on Monday and Task B on Tuesday when it’s possible that one of
those will take longer than you expected or that what was supposed to be a
half-hour trip to the supermarket took far longer, putting you behind schedule?
Weekly Organization
Organizing for the week, assuming
that that organization includes the transition and unscheduled time that
Marilyn Paul recommends, gives you a higher probability of actually meeting
your goals.
The advice from our second expert of the month, Brian Tracy, is a corollary to Covey’s. Tracy, who’s the author of Time Power, urges you to:
Work from a prioritized task list.
This may sound like a part of our
earlier discussion of priorities, but it never hurts to repeat it. Prioritizing
your tasks for the day and the week helps you avoid detours and time-wasters.
While it may be tempting to work on a low priority task simply because it’s
easy to finish, it’s important – I’d go so far as to say critical – to tackle
high priority tasks first.
Prioritized Task List
Listen to the experts. They’ve “been
there, done that,” and lived to tell the rest of us what they learned.
I’m not claiming to be an expert,
but here are three ways I’ve found to keep myself organized.
Find your own writing space.
Organize
Whether it’s a separate room or a corner in the basement that you’ve delineated with duct tape on the floor, if you have a specific place to write, you’ll be more productive. It’s also important that family members respect that space and recognize that you’re at work when you’re there.
2. Prepare to write.
There are two aspects to this.
First, have all your raw materials ready before you begin. Remember Marilyn Paul’s “have a place for everything and everything in its place”? That’s a quintessential part of organization and a proven way to increase productivity.
Second, reread the last scene you wrote or remind yourself of the problem you want to resolve before commuting, exercising, or going to sleep. This allows your subconscious mind to work on it while you’re doing other things and will often result in a solution popping into your brain seemingly unbidden.
3.Don’t leave home without it.
This was the slogan for a major credit card several decades ago, but it also applies to your writing. Take your work with you, literally. Whether it’s a pad and paper or an electronic device, if you’re always prepared to write, you won’t waste time when you’re caught in a traffic jam, when you’re sitting in an airport lounge, or when your lunch date is late. Instead of being frustrated by the delays, you can be productive and work on your book while you wait.
Take your work with you.
These are all part of being
organized. They may not be easy initially, but once they become habits, you’ll
find that you’re more productive, and that’s an essential part of reaching “The
End.”
We’ve reached the end of Organization,
but before I end this post, I have one last piece of advice:
Don’t forget that writing is your number one priority.
All the organizational techniques in the world won’t help you finish your book if you don’t believe that and if your day-to-day actions don’t reflect that principle.
(C) 2019 Amanda Cabot
Amanda Cabot
Amanda Cabot is no stranger to getting to “The End.” She juggled a
sixty-hour a week job with nonnegotiable deadlines and building a house
long-distance at the same time that she wrote two books a year. Whether
or not she kept her sanity during that time is debatable. Amanda is
the best-selling author of over thirty novels, eight novellas, four
non-fiction books, and what she describes as enough technical articles
to cure insomnia in a medium-sized city.
Her most recent release is A Tender Hope, the third in the Cimarron Creek trilogy.
Do you have a website? Blog? If you do, you may have a particular interest in this month’s article on Writers Beware of the Legal Pitfalls — Disclosures.
In March, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its revised staff guidance publication, “Dot Com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising.” This document gives us an idea of what the FTC considers unfair or deceptive acts under the law and sets forth certain best practices that online advertisers, which include bloggers, should follow.
Blogger Disclosures
I’m going to touch on some of the points that bloggers need to disclose when you publish a sponsored post or spread sponsored content over your social network, but you may want to check out www.ftc.gov since disclosures in advertising has had quite a bit of activity, especially with the new creative advertising techniques that keep emerging. The purpose of this series is for general educational purposes only and NOT to provide legal advice.
The FTC
Enforces consumer protection laws and regulates commercial conduct in the online and offline marketplace, including online advertising, marketing, & promotional activities.
Writers Beware the Legal Pitfalls
Disclosures are how you tell a follower, reader, or a fan about the relationship you have with a company, brand, or corporate sponsor. It’s not only the law, but your transparency builds trust with your audience
How, When, and where do you make them?
Let’s look at how:
Blog posts: Include a paragraph that spells out clearly your affiliation and/or compensation.
Tweets, Pins & Status Updates: Use understandable hashtags, like #sponsored.
When:
Immediately, and every time. Every single post that you publish that’s sponsored by a brand, a company or obtained through an affiliation with a media network must include a disclosure paragraph. If you use an affiliate link in a post or on your web site, you are required to disclose them as an affiliate link, not just a regular link to a product or company website. You are required to make appropriate disclosures every time your post is sent out into the social network, and the same goes for status updates and tweets that do not specifically mention your post, but mentions the brand or product.
Where:
Upfront, not buried. You want to make sure that your audience can understand the hashtag or language you use.
Why should I disclose?
You may ask, “Why should I disclose if I don’t blog that much?”
Online advertising that’s deceptive or unfair is against the law.
By merely appearing deceptive, you could lose your readers as well as their trust.
The FTC could investigate and/or fine you or the brand.
The brand could pull your direct contracts or sponsorships.
Disclosures are most likely already required by your media networks.
Affiliates
Speaking of affiliates, make sure you carefully read the terms of the program before you add them to your site. Also, periodically check afterward to see if there were any updates to their program to ensure you still comply. Also, some states prohibit affiliate relationships. Check the law in your state.
Next month we’ll delve into defamation, privacy, and publicity. There’s more than meets the eye there.
The last article in the SEO Series focused on the importance of making your content stand out to increase your hits. The more hits your site gets where the visitor stays a while, the higher your ranking. This article takes a look at more ways to increase your hits.
Stay A While
Article Length:
Blog length articles should be between 300 and 500 words. There’s a reason for that. You don’t want to overwhelm a reader, but by the same token, statistics show that readers typically only read half of an article. That means, for a 300 word blog, they’ll read 150 words. I was asked to write an informational article with a minimum of 1000 words for The Attorney General of another state (not Colorado) by the SEO firm hired by the Attorney General. They wanted to increase awareness of a new bill and the implications both for and against, and make sure they stayed on the site without bouncing off. The keywords and length were critical to increasing their SEO presence – this was the way the Attorney General was monitoring the effectiveness of the SEO firm he hired. He wanted confirmation that his constituency was informed and had the facts they needed to make an informed decision.
SEO – Article Length Matters
The problem with short blogs is that even if their target audience read the entire blog, they would not be on it long enough to register as “liking it.” Scary.
Update frequently:
At least one time each month, update your content, even if it’s only a paragraph. Google and the other search engines love updated content.
Search terms in additional places:
If you include search terms in places other than your title and page description metatag, you’ll optimize your site even more. But don’t force them if you can’t naturally make it work.
Search Terms In Additional Places
Links: The words from your search terms should be used as text links or anchor text (these are words forming a link to an external site or another internal page). Keep in mind that linking to words like “click here” or “learn more” won’t increase your ranking. Also, make sure that external links open in a new window while internal opens in the same window. With an external link in a new window, if they check it out, Google reads them as still on your site as well — they like it.
Headings: Not only do headings and subheadings assist in the organization of your text, but they help readers find what they’re looking for. If you include search terms in the headers, it’ll help your ranking. Search engines can’t read words within a picture, so make sure it appears in regular text.
Text within body: Use the search terms wisely. Don’t overload a page just to try to increase your ranking, not only will it bother your readers, but Google won’t like it.
Images & tags: Images can help with your search engine results. They not only appear in search results, but they can increase your ranking when search terms appear in the filename, caption, title, nearby text, and tag (when you over over an image on a pc, this is the text that appears.)
Next month we’ll look at the importance of mechanics, what search engines “hate” and a great free tool.
