Freelance Writer and Social Worker

How to Get Your Novel Off on the WRONG Foot

The good news for writers is that Amazon Kindle and similar platforms allow them to get their books directly to readers. No longer does a writer have to search frantically for an agent and wait to get the nod from one of a handful of major publishing houses.

The bad news is that many self-published novels are not edited, proofread, or scrutinized in any critical way before being offered to the general population. And believe me, some of the novels that show up on Kindle can be described in one word: horrible.

Many others, however, fall into a gray area. They're not really that bad. The characters are solid. The plot has possibilities. The writing is okay. They just contain a few too many rookie mistakes. Most of these mistakes become obvious in the first few pages. Readers who encounter them usually move on to something else. A few of the cranky ones may leave bad reviews. 

If you've published a novel that isn't doing as well as you'd hoped, give it another look to make sure it doesn't contain any of the following mistakes.

7 Writing Books I Can't Do Without

I've been writing professionally for almost 15 years now. During that time, I've done many things right...and just about as many things wrong.

I've learned a lot of lessons. Some I've picked up the hard way by making mistakes and losing money or business. Others lessons, I've been fortunate enough to learn from other writers who were generous enough to share their experiences. 

I'm sure there are literally hundreds of books I've turned to over the years, but the following are my current top seven picks. Check them out. You may find that they help you as well.

1. Write. Publish. Repeat.: The No-Luck Guide to Self-Publishing Success by Johnny B. Truant and Sean Platt. Finally, a book about self-publishing for fiction writers! As the authors themselves say, this is not the right book for "pure artists," but if you're ready to work like hell and delve deeply into the business side of writing, you'll find spot-on advice that can help you increase your chances of a long, successful fiction writing career.

2. How to Work for Yourself: 100 Ways to Make the Time, Energy, and Priorities to Start a Business, Book, or Blog by Bryan Cohen. Cohen has written many helpful books for writers, but this one happens to be my current favorite. By turns practical (learn how to take care of your body and set useful goals), philosophical (find things you like and respect about your adversaries), and creative (let yourself daydream, brainstorm new ways to market your product), Cohen offers all the tools you need to help make your writing and authoring dreams come true.

Book Review: Blogger's Block: How to Get Rid of It Now! by Mick Michaels

I really enjoy blogging. In fact, I've been known to spend too much time on it when I should have been working on other projects.

Last November, though, something unusual began to happen when I sat down to work on my blog. My flow of ideas slowed to a trickle. I couldn't think of a thing to say about writing, usually my favorite topic in the entire world. 

My blog started to gather dust as I missed days and then weeks of posts. My small but loyal following started to fade away. Not good.

I had almost given up on myself when I was browsing on Amazon and found a book entitled Blogger's Block: How to Get Rid of it Now! by Mick Michaels. It is available only in Kindle.

The book is short, direct, and has you answering questions about your blog and making lists of topics from the first page on.

Michaels starts by encouraging you to develop a clear, over-arching "core" idea of what your blog is about. Just as importantly, he asks you to describe what you want to accomplish with it (entertainment, instruction, breaking news, and so forth).

Once you have your core idea in mind, Michaels takes you through the process of narrowing your core idea to a series of categories. For instance, my core idea, writing, could spawn categories like freelance writing, fiction writing, writing bloopers, writer's block, reviews of books about writing, nonfiction and...well, the list could go on forever.

You can then review each category and come up with a list of specific blog topics that fall under the umbrella of the category. If you can come up with ten categories and ten blog post ideas for each category, you'll have a hundred new posts to keep you occupied.

Michaels also suggests using online aids such as the Google AdWords Keyword Tool to help you out if you get stuck.

Blogger's Block is available for just 99 cents, a more than fair price for the material offered.

Less than two weeks after I purchased it and read it, I was back on my regular blogging schedule and enjoying each and every post. I guess you could say I'm a very satisfied customer.

Where do you turn when you get stuck for ideas?  

Book Review: The Lifespan of a Fact

The Lifespan of a Fact records the interactions between Jim Fingal, a bloodhound fact-checker and John D'Agata, a never-let-the-truth-get-in-the-way-of-a-good-story essayist. Their battleground is the last day in the life of Levi Presley, a 16-year-old who committed suicide by leaping from the observation deck of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.

John has a story he wants to tell about that fateful day; Jim just wants to make sure he gets the facts right. Some of their disagreements border on the ridiculous. (Did Levi's plummet to the ground take eight seconds or nine seconds?)

Others, like John's habit of massaging quotes and statistics to prove a point, have implications that reach much further.

At the heart of the story lies the question: Is "truth" simply a conglomeration of facts or is it something more?

This short book (122 pages) is chock full of thought provoking and sometimes even amusing interactions between fact checker and essayist. For instance, when fact-checker Jim asks John to provide his mother's contact information so he can confirm a conversation that took place between them, John fires back, "Tread very carefully, asshole."

The men also exchange several emails about the use of brackets to signify implied information in a quote.

Jim: John, that's what brackets are for.

John: I know that's what they're for. I went to high school, too. I just think brackets are ugly.

5 Things Stephen King's "Misery" Taught Me about Writing

Stephen King's book On Writing has helped a generation of writers find ways to express their ideas. I loved it, and it's always one of the first books I recommend to newbies.

I have to confess, though, that I learned even more about writing from another book of King's. A novel. Misery.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, it's about a writer, Paul Sheldon, and his biggest fan. Paul's historical romance series about an empty-headed character named Misery has made him a fortune but shredded his self-respect.

Finally, in self-defense, Paul decides he must kill Misery. She will die in childbirth. Unfortunately for him, just as Paul's final Misery novel is released, Paul is involved in a horrible car accident in middle-of-nowhere Colorado.

Annie Wilkes, the nurse who saves his life and brings him to her home to heal just happens to be his number one fan who is so looking forward to reading the new Misery book. She just loves Misery.

And when she finds out that Paul has murdered her favorite character, her vengeance is swift and brutal. She buys an old, manual typewriter, slams the still-critically-injured Paul in front of it, and orders him to write Misery back to life.

Or else.

Here's what I learned from this nail-biter of a book.

1. You can write under any circumstances. Paul writes with two shattered legs and while he is under the addictive influence of pain killers. He writes when he's scared, thirsty, hungry, tired. He even writes after certain parts of his anatomy have been removed during Annie's rages. And I was complaining the other day about having to write with a migraine? Wow.

Dear Debra - A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self

A few days ago, I read the book, "Dear Me: A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self," edited by Joseph Galliano. Celebrities from Alan Rickman (Snape, Harry Potter movies) to financial guru Suze Orman weighed in with what they wanted their younger selves to know.

That book literally crackled with ideas and hope. In fact, I thought the concept was such a good idea that I decided to look back across time and write a letter to myself, a letter that I would have been thrilled to receive when I was that age.

I've taken out some of the embarrassingly personal parts, but I've left in the advice for me as a young writer. Maybe it will help someone else out there who's struggling to make a living from words. If not, at least writing it was very cathartic. Here goes...

Dear 16-year-old Debra,

You're smiling in this picture, but I can still see the sadness in your eyes and the hurt in your heart. I know you are being horribly, methodically bullied. I also know that the next 24 months will leave you broken, exhausted, and wondering if there is any point to going on.

Don't give into those feelings of despair, child. I'm living proof that you make it through the hard tmes and come out on the other side...

...And you will live your lifelong dream of becoming a self-supporting writer. No, not writing lurid novels like the ones you like to read now--though never forget, a pseudonym is a wonderful thing--but you will be best known for your nonfiction. Your work will appear on the Internet (you'll find out what that is later) and in print.

And because I feel like I'm supposed to be the voice of wisdom here, or something, I've put together a few tips to help you along the way. I don't expect you to listen to me. Most of this shit (yeah, we curse now) is stuff you'll have to figure out as you make your own way. Then you can slap a hand to your forehead and say, "You know what? That crazy lady was right!" Anyway, here goes.

You've Got Mail! Why Freelance Writers SHOULD Check Email Frequently

If I've read the advice in one time management book, I've read it in a dozen: Never check email first thing in the morning. Only check email once or twice during the day. That little "ding" that lets you know when new mail arrives in your inbox is the enemy.

Rubbish. If you're a freelance writer, not checking email regularly is a habit that can cause you to lose both time and money.

Take what happened to me last Monday. On Sunday, I'd accepted a wordy, high-research, quick-turnaround job from a client. I woke up before sunrise on Monday morning, staggered my computer, and--just like all the time-management books advise--I put in two full hours of work before I checked my email. That turned out to be a big mistake, because if I'd checked first, I would have known that the client sent me an email late Sunday night canceling the project I'd just spent two hours researching.

As if that wasn't annoying enough--and it was plenty damned annoying--later that day, I missed out on an opportunity to bid on another well-paying rush job because, just like the books suggest, my email notification as turned off and I didn't get the message in time.

Hospice Tails Is Going on a Blog Tour

Over the next four weeks, my newest book, Hospice Tails, which describes my experiences as a hospice social worker with clients and their pets, will be featured on a dozen popular blogs.

If you have a moment, stop by to visit the blogs hosting Hospice Tails. You can read reviews, interviews with me, and guest posts that I have written. I will also be responding to readers' questions and comments. Better yet, many of the blogs are giving away free copies of Hospice Tails to a few lucky winners.

So, be sure to follow along as Hospice Tails tours the Internet.

Hospice Tails Blog Tour Schedule:

November 21 - WOW! Women on Writing Blog, The Muffin 

November 22 - Writers Inspired

November 23 - Sugar Peach

November 28 - My Reading Room

November 29 - Lisa Is a Bookworm

November 30 - Kritter's Ramblings

December 6 - Mom-E-Centric (listen to my very first podcast)

December 7 & 8 - Crazy for Books

December 13 - Selling Books

December 14 - Me and Reading

December 15 - The Caregiver's Voice

December 23 - Reviews by Molly

Who Are Your Favorite Harry Potter Characters and Why?

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope your day is full of treats rather than tricks. First, let me apologize to non-Harry Potter fans. Today's blog probably won't hold much appeal for you.

Now, for all those who did--and do--enjoy the Harry Potter series, let me ask you a question. Besides Harry, who are your two favorite characters, and why? What techniques does author J.K. Rowling use to make these characters stand out in your mind.

There are many characters that I enjoy in the Harry Potter series. I like the no-nonsense Professor McGonagall, the werewolf-with-a-heart Lupin, and the ever-conniving Fred and George. I even have a soft spot for Peeves the Poltergeist.

But I would have to say that, aside from the obvious choice, Harry, my two favorites are Hermione Granger and Severus Snape.

Book Review: Goal Setting for Writers by Regan Black

As I've expanded my writing and editing business from part-time to full-time, I've read everything I can get my hands on about goal setting, time management, small businesses in general, and the freelance writing business in particular.

I was skimming through the offerings on Kindle one day when I came across Regan Black's Goal Setting for Writers: Making Revisions Work in Life and Art. The ebook only cost $2.99 - the book is not available in print - and I had read some of Black's fiction which I enjoyed very much, so I decided it was worth the price.

I'm glad I did, because Black has a lot of experience and wisdom to offer writers.