New Book Trailer! The Essential Guide for New Writers, From Idea to Finished Manuscript

Announcing!  The Essential Guide for New Writers, From Idea to Finished Manuscript now has its own book trailer:

I'm excited to have this new development for the book, especially as it's been one of my best sellers over the years, and it's been quite a few years! Some of my favorite memories from the early days of writing the book:

• The idea came to me while I was teaching my first workshop at West Georgia College, now the University of West Georgia.
• I was still in the middle of building my house in the middle of 5 acres of woods and farmland.
• My initial idea was to simply make photocopies of my workshop notes and staple them together. (Whew. Would've been a lot of stapling. Glad I didn't choose that option!)
• And then I realized I could have a complete trade paperback. A revelation in publishing.
• Chapter 3 on "Creative Conflict" was reprinted in a textbook for the Atlanta College of Art. Prior to this I never knew you could sell and get royalties for just a part of your book. The textbook was for the college's class on making videos.
• International sales have been as far away as New Zealand and Singapore.
• I'm proud to say the book has been used in both male and female prison writing programs throughout the country.
• It's also been a featured textbook in several university masters' programs, including the Masters in Professional Writing at Kennesaw State.
• I wrote the entire book in longhand first--still my preferred method!

To celebrate the release of my new trailer, The Essential Guide for New Writers is on super-sale at my website.

Instead of the usual price of $10.95, the price is now only $5.95, and all USA orders include Free Shipping! What are you waiting for? Get on over and get your copy today!

Tip of the Day: I wrote The Essential Guide as a way to express my love of writing. When I sat down to type out my handwritten notes, writing was, and continues to be, my passion. I just love to write--and I wanted to share that joy with other writers. Whatever you feel passionate about is always a good indicator of what you should be working on.

Highlights of 2012

Merry Christmas, everyone! With just one week left 'til New Year's Eve ... can you believe it? 

So what did 2012 bring for you? For me it was a mixture of creativity, big changes, and a whole lot of fun, starting with:

1. Publishing my Gothic romance novel, Overtaken in both paperback and Kindle editions.
2. Creating the book trailer for Overtaken.
3. I sold my house (a miracle in this current market).
4. Moved into a rental condo--and I love it. No maintenance. No gardening. No "what if I want to sell it?"
5. My day job moved into spacious new premises.
6. Although I had a great little studio at my old house, I now have a new space three times bigger.
7. I participated in National Novel Writing Month, and reached my 50K goal!
8. Took a fantastic 3-day screenwriting seminar aka "screenwriting boot camp" and learned that writing a screenplay is just as difficult as I thought it was, LOL.
9. I also took a 6-week oil pastel class and found my true north. I absolutely adore oil pastels now--especially Sennelier brand.
10. Went camping in an RV for the very first time--and found out I love RVs. Will have to do this one again very soon.
11. Prepared two manuscripts for 2013 submission: my nonfiction book, A Pet Owner's Book of Days, and a new novel, The Abyssal Plain.
12. Kept up with this blog and had two fantastic giveaways. Big congratulations to my winners!

That's a lot--more than enough, I think--for one year's worth of memories. 2012 has been a fantastic year for me, and I hope the same is true for you. Drop me a line and let me know some of your favorite moments!

Tip of the Day: As a journaling exercise for next year, make a practice every evening of writing down 12 things that made the day special for you in some way: for instance, accomplishments both large and small; important insights that arrived unexpectedly; a line from a book that caught your imagination. Remember to not judge, just write.

Published! Overtaken

At last!  It's here!  I'm happy to finally announce that Overtaken is now in print, with a Kindle version soon to follow.  At the same time, I want to thank everyone of you for reading my blog, buying my books, and supporting me along the way with your helpful comments, Tweets, Facebook "Hello's" and all the other great social network sites we share.  You are as much a part of my writing journey as my Alphasmart and favorite fountain pens!  What would I do without you?

Although the book is for sale at Amazon.com, my "Look Inside the Book" feature isn't activated yet, but if you'd like to read the quick book description, it is: 

"Marry in haste, repent at leisure." Portrait painter Sara Elliott has never been afraid of risk. Moving to London, pawning her jewelry, taking difficult commissions, Sara lives life on the edge. But when she agrees to marry a stranger days before he is scheduled to leave the country, even Sara wonders if she has gone too far. Over the coming months, alone and uncertain of her future, Sara drifts into an uneasy routine waiting for her husband, Miles, to return. When an unexpected letter suddenly threatens her plans for a settled existence, Sara is forced to question everything she thought she once knew about Miles, her present situation, and her own mysterious past. Caught between her imagination and her desire for the truth, Sara worries she is losing her mind, or worse: has she been OVERTAKEN by a power beyond her control?

And here's the trailer--popcorn time!

Whew.  Looking back over the past year and more, Overtaken seems like one of the longest writing journeys I've ever traveled.  Some days I felt not only "overtaken" myself, but I also feared that I would never, ever reach the finishing line.  When I did get there, though, it was more than a relief, it was an epiphany.  I realized how very much I loved writing and all the many steps that go into making a book--even the frustrating, discouraging potholes and seeming deadends.  Sometimes I think those "bad days" have the most to offer as the best and most genuine learning-the-craft moments.  And it's still not over--the next and biggest step it to get the word out about the book so readers can start reading it.  So tell a friend!  Thanks again for being there for me--I appreciate it.

Tip of the Day:  The best way to stay on course with a WIP and see it through from idea to published manuscript is to absolutely love your characters, believe in your theme and core story, and most of all, believe in yourself.  And stay in touch with your writing buddies--they're some of the best friends you'll ever have.

The Great Scarab Scam Book Trailer

Happy February! And Happy Book Trailer Day! Well, I don’t know if it’s officially “Book Trailer Day” for anyone other than me, but I’m delighted to present the new trailer for The Great Scarab Scam, my Egyptian mystery for young readers. I hope you’ll enjoy it and will want to share it with your friends and family.

At the same time, though, I must tell you that I had some questions about releasing the trailer. With Egypt currently undergoing political unrest and facing an uncertain future, I was torn—was this a good time to talk about a children’s mystery set in the Land of the Pharaohs? With perfect irony, the day the trailer was ready to upload was the day the protests began. For all of last week I dithered—should I release the trailer, store it away until Egypt stabilized, or maybe never show it at all? I asked some good friends for their advice and over and over I kept getting the same answer: Life is never stable—share your trailer! Kids still want to read mysteries and they want to read about Egypt. Go for it! 

I don’t think there was ever a time in my life I wasn’t fascinated by ancient Egypt: the tombs, the treasures, the mythology, and of course the enigmatic lives of both the royal and more ordinary families. Traveling in Egypt to research my book seemed like a dream to me. When I actually visited the pyramids it was difficult for me to believe that I was there—right there—as in, really there. I was also very sick, and something I remember most vividly is the friendliness and concern of the Egyptian people during my ordeals. Thinking of the young driver who insisted on buying me an ice-cold Coke when I knew he couldn’t really afford it, or the women who suddenly appeared and encircled me, spreading out their skirts to make a tent and rubbing my back when I was sick on the street, still brings tears to my eyes. The widespread poverty I saw was terrible, especially for the children, and I tried to portray some of that in my book. 

So I do understand why Egypt is in crisis, and it is my sincere hope that the country will find a way to improve the lives of all its citizens. And that’s why I think it’s important for me to talk about The Great Scarab Scam, especially now. If I can bring some of the culture, history, and excitement of being in a foreign land to young readers, then I will have done my job as a writer for children. 

Tip of the Day: What ancient era and culture has always called to you? For your next freewriting session, go on an archaeological dig through your childhood interests. With any luck there’s gold in them ‘thar hills—gold you can turn into a short story or nonfiction piece, if not a full-length book, for young readers.

Make Your Book Trailer Today--Even Before You Write Your Book

It’s been a whole two weeks since I released my book trailer for Better Than Perfect and I have to say it’s been a blast. Thank you so much to everyone who’s viewed and commented. Besides appearing on Youtube.com, the trailer is now also on JacketFlap.com, Blazingtrailers.com, and thenybookjournal.com.
Producing the trailer has definitely opened a brand new world for me, one I’ve enjoyed so much than I’m now making trailers for three more of my existing books, with more trailers lined up for next year based on my current WIPs. Sites I want to thank in particular include:  The Savvy Book Marketer for “how-to” info, Dreamstime.com for their great image library, and Musicbakery.com for not only providing an excellent selection of music, but also for being so ultra-helpful when I had trouble downloading the piece I chose (my fault entirely).

I waited a long time to make my trailer, mainly because I was worried I could never master Windows Movie Maker and I thought I’d be wasting my time trying to learn. Now I’m so enthused about the whole process that I think it’s a waste of time to not start on your trailer as soon as possible—maybe even before you write your book. Here’s why:

-  Editors are always telling us to “show, don’t tell.” Making a trailer is about the best way I can think of to “show” your story with a minimum of images and words. Having those images/words clear in your mind will keep your plot—and your pitch—on track.

-  Making multiple trailers will keep your creativity flowing. For final production purposes you want to keep your “real” trailer under two minutes in length; but there’s no law that says you can’t make draft trailers just for fun and for as long as you want them to be. Create a new trailer draft for every chapter or important scene you write.

-  While I was looking for pictures of my characters, I often found collections of other, unrelated pictures using the same models. To really know your characters and their body language, try creating individual trailers showing just your story people in a variety of poses. 

- Your music choices can become “theme songs” for your books, giving you a unique way to express your theme when both writing and/or discussing your books. 

- While you’re writing your drafts, you can use your trailer(s) to design and build your synopsis: simply write your outline image by image and the whole thing will be finished before you know it.

-  Same thing for your query letter paragraphs. Ask yourself what “feeling” you want to convey to an editor or agent. Having the right pictures and music in your mind can help you describe that feeling.

-  Making your trailer before you start submitting or selling your book means you can begin your marketing before your book is on the shelves. Having something readers can actually see—and become excited about—can create an instant buzz.

-  Digital publications and e-book readers are creating a reading revolution. I have a strong suspicion it’s going to become commonplace for all books to be illustrated with videos and other graphics—and you don’t want to be left behind. Even if your trailer is eventually professionally produced by your publishing company, having a ready-made example of the direction you want can hasten the way to a successful production.

Tip of the day: Regardless of whether you know how to use Movie Maker or any other program, start your image library before you do anything else. Brainstorm a list of pictures you think could illustrate your story, e.g., images of your characters, settings, and scenes, as well as a list of emotions: "confused," "angry," "excited." Then visit a site such as Dreamstime.com and start digging.

Added tip: While you’re searching, be open to happy accidents; key words tagging the photos can lead you to search areas you might not have considered but which turn out to be absolutely perfect—better than perfect! (Sorry—couldn’t resist that one!) Don’t forget to bookmark or save links to your favorite images; you don't want to lose what might turn out to be your very best shots.

My First Book Trailer!

Ta-dah! It's here at last, my first book trailer featuring my Young Adult novel, Better Than Perfect. Set in New Zealand, the story follows a crucial turning point in the lives of two young women, Elizabeth Haddon and her cousin, Ravenna St. James.  

Making the trailer was an absolute blast, something I've been working on in every spare minute I could find both day and night. It was also, I have to admit, much more fun than writing the book. (Uh-oh, don't tell my writing clients/students...) Of course there were some difficult moments too, for instance when I could not, could not figure out how to get my text onto the still photos and wanted to smash my computer screen with a shoe, a hammer, anything handy. But perseverance paid off and now I think I've got Windows Movie Maker pretty well figured out--and I love it. In fact, I'm so excited by book trailers and the fun of creating them that I'm making three more. 

My original intention for this post was to share some of the things I had learned along the way, but I think I will have to make that a post for next week; all this excitement has worn me out. So for now, I'd just like to invite you to enjoy my first foray into the world of video production. Thanks for watching! 

Tip of the Day: There are many, many places where you can watch book trailers. A good place to start is at Jacketflap.com where you can see a wide variety of videos on the JF home page. As you watch, start thinking about making your own book trailer(s). You don't have to have a published manuscript to begin producing. In fact, next week I'm going to discuss how and why a trailer could actually help you tighten and complete your current WIP. Don't forget the popcorn!