If You're Going To Do It, Do It Right!

 

If You're Going To Do It, Do It Right!

My dad would tell me all the time "If you're going to do it, do it right!" He also shared other pearls of wisdom about doing it right the first time, believing in myself, and so on. I share these ideals with my children quite often and could give a million examples of how it's important to do things right. I'm sure you can think of your own examples as well. For example, a book that is expertly written and edited but the cover was thrown together and isn't at all eye catching. A story that starts out strong but the end is rushed and feels incomplete, etc...

You're thinking of a scenario, right? Now doesn't it make you wonder why? Why did someone get just so far and leave out _______________, or in the case of my children - why did they wash the outside of the tractor window but no the inside? It wouldn't have taken much more time or effort to do it right. What stopped them? With my children, I can have those conversations and we can work together to do better next time or to rectify the situation. 

In the case of an author or a book, I don't always have the opportunity to have those conversations. Sometimes we can only guess as to why someone did something without doing it right. I believe every interaction is an opportunity for learning. What can we learn from another author who we feel could have done better? What can we learn from an author who does everything right?

Doing it right goes hand in hand with attention to detail. Attention to detail is often heightened/improved with help from others. For example, the tractor window in the picture above - I took this picture because the sunset was glorious, but I shared the photo with the daughter who washed the windows (on only one side). She hadn't really thought about washing the inside because in reality the outside gets so much dirtier. Sharing my perspective helped her see how she could improve to do it right the next time. 

In the case of our own writing - being part of a critique group or at least asking for the help of another author can help bring us similar insight. The other author isn't quite so close to the project and can see those details we might overlook. They can offer us their suggestions on cover artwork or dialogue. They can show us where maybe we rushed through the final few scenes and how that left them feeling. It's always valuable to look at our work through the eyes of another. They're going to catch those details and help us make sure we are doing it right. 

Another time, I'll write an article about accepting that feedback - because that can also be a daunting task from time to time - but for today... let's concentrate on doing things right. As my daddy would say:

"If You're Going To Do It, Do It Right!"

As our time together comes to an end, let me ask you:

*    What is something you've done recently you wish you had done better? 

            -Can you go back and right that wrong?

*    What's a favorite quote you heard as a child that you carry with you into your writing career?

            -Why is this quote important to you? 

 Share your answers as a comment on this post!

Hugs,

~Crystal

About Today's Author:

Crystal is a foodie, farmer, and friend! She has 6 children and lots of special young people who call her "mom" even if she isn't 'their' mom! She starts each day sipping coffee and milking cows with the love of her life and occasionally ends the day with a glass of wine.  Crystal is raising kids and cattle while juggling cleaning jobs, bartending shifts, music gigs, her job as office manager and she escapes reality a few hours each week riding horses, paddle boarding, kayaking, and/or reading books (not all simultaneously)! And who knows, she may start blogging again sometime soon: http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, you can find her posting pics of food, cattle, and more on Instagram and Facebook! 

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Leave a Comment author advice, crystal casavant, crystal otto, doing it right, raising kids and cattle, writing advice

Friday Speak Out!: Valuable Tips for Newly Published Authors

by Monique Roy

Congratulations, you're a published author! You have accomplished what many dream about...now what? Now, you need to become marketing savvy and let the world know about your book.

Find some valuable tips below on how you can gain more exposure for your work.

Create an online presence: Content is king! Authors need to create a unique online platform to generate buzz, show off their work, and gain new readers. Many ways exist to engage with the online community. Build a great website that showcases who you are, your writing and how it is unique, where your book is available, and any other cool or interesting things about you. Be sure to add social media share buttons to your website so fans can connect to you. Blogs are a great way to share your expertise and thoughts with the online world. Social media is where a lot of chit-chat/buzz is happening. You don't need to be on every site, just choose one or two, like Facebook and Twitter, to engage in conversations and get your work known.

Get solid book reviews: Book reviews, well, good book reviews, are like gold! Reviews are essential for growing book sales and expanding readership. Readers rely on reviews to select their next great read. Ask your friends and family to read your book and post a review. Reach out to bloggers and see if they would kindly and honestly review your book.

Enter writing contests: Be brave and showcase your mad writing skills by entering into writing contests. Once published, you can submit your book as a way to gain added exposure.

Promote your work: Contact bloggers for book reviews and to be hosted on their sites. For a not much money, you can buy online book promotions. Do a virtual online book tour to gain extra exposure and readers. Promote your book on social media channels. Sign up to do a Goodreads book giveaway. This is a great way to give free copies of your book to willing readers. Tell the world about your book – family, friends, and anyone you meet.

Keep writing and don't stop: Continue to hone your craft and set aside even 20 minutes a day to write blog posts or even your next book. Another great idea is to write a short story or just free write whatever is on your mind.

Keep up your writing, keep your dreams alive, and don’t ever give up!

* * *

Monique holds a degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and is the author of a middle-grade book Once Upon a Time in Venice, historical fiction novel Across Great Divides, and historical fiction novel A Savage Kultur. 

Monique was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and her grandparents were European Jews who fled their home as Hitler rose to power. It’s their story that inspired her to write Across Great Divides, her first historical novel.

Monique resides in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and son. She also works as a freelance writer.

Learn more at http://www.monique-roy.com.

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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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1 comment author advice, Friday Speak Out, marketing advice, marketing ideas for authors, Monique Roy, writing

Friday Speak Out!: Easy Book Marketing for Authors Who Hate Marketing

by Linda Strader

I haven’t met an author yet who loves the marketing aspect of book promotion. Certainly I don’t. I’ve never been particularly outgoing, nor social. Not that I’m a recluse, but I’ve never been one to talk (which in my world means brag) about my accomplishments. Simple compliments throw me, to the point that I often pretend I didn’t hear them.

However, I knew that if I wanted people to know about my book, which I did, I was going to have to get them interested long before it was published. How to do this? I had a Facebook account, but never used it. I didn’t have many friends, and certainly not on Facebook. I needed to meet people beyond the few friends I had. I mean, seriously, how much promotion could a few people help me with? I decided to explore further.

I discovered Facebook Groups. I’d no idea these existed. I decided to join a few that were focused on writing, as well as my other hobbies, including gardening and art. To my surprise, I found people quite sociable and friendly, to which I responded in kind. I never mentioned my book, but once in a while a post would come up that opened the door for me to talk about myself. And what do you know? People were interested to hear about me, my book, my life…which I reciprocated, because it was fun to share.

What I’ve discovered is this: if you want people to buy your book, you need to connect with them on a social level. Sending out a gazillion emails that essentially say “Buy my book!” will not work. Neither will the accumulation of hundreds of email addresses of people you don’t know in order to blast them with book release news. You wouldn’t stop a stranger on the street and whip out a copy of your book saying, “Hey, want to buy my book?” would you? That’s essentially what you are doing.

It took over a year, but I made not only new friends, but important connections that led to guest blog-posts, interviews: written, video, and audio, as well as speaking opportunities, and book signing events. All of these resulted in over 150 pre-orders for my book, and not just in the U.S. New friends and connections from all over the world wanted a copy—all by me simply connecting and being friendly with people I met online.

Never discount the importance of a connection. That one connection might not be interested in your book, but maybe they know of someone who would be. People “share” with others online, and your news is spread even farther. It’s all good. You can do this! I know you can.

* * *

Originally from Syracuse, New York, Ms. Strader moved to Prescott, Arizona with her family in 1972. In 1976, she became one of the first women on a U.S. Forest Service fire crew in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.

Summers of Fire: A Memoir of Adventure, Love and Courage is her first book, released on May 1st, 2018 by Bedazzled Ink Publishing. She is currently working on a prequel.

In addition to writing, Ms. Strader is a landscape architect, certified arborist, and watercolor artist. She currently lives in the same area where her Forest Service career began.

Blog address: https://summersoffirebook.blogspot.com/
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/LindaStraderauthor
Twitter: @desertplantlove
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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10 comments author advice, book marketing, book promotion, connecting with readers, facebook groups, Friday Speak Out, guest blog post, Linda Strader, marketing tips for authors

'Till the Cows Come Home

Growing up, my parents would say things like "that girl won't quit talking 'til the cows come home" or "she's a slow learner - those cows will be home before her knees are healed" and so much as I'd like to think they were talking about someone else, I'm an only child. An only child who never stopped talking, dreaming, climbing trees, and playing football. I can't say I've done much tree climbing or football as of late, but the talking and dreaming has served me well. However, let's go back to that colloquial phrase: 'Till the Cows Come Home. It'm not quite sure of the exact origin of the phrase, and some say claim John Fletcher's 1616 The Scornful Lady, I digress...in the here and now, I live on a dairy farm and our cows come to the barn twice a day to be milked, so I found myself perplexed since I thought the cows coming home was similar to pigs flying. Apparently in the Scottish Highlands, the cattle (they aren't actually cows, but steers) spend months grazing on the common grass until autumn when they come home to feed. All in all, it just means: for a very long time.

Now that we've completely over thought that entire thing, let's move onto the point. Here's where I say something completely profound:

WRITE 'TIL THE COWS COME HOME!

No matter how little you believe in yourself or how many naysayers there are, if it's in your heart to write, you just keep writing 'til those cows come home - then write some more! Use your journal, use social media, use your blog, start your novel, submit to those contests, etc... Just keep writing. I started writing as a child. A group of us put together a newspaper just for our block. We drew pictures, wrote short stories, jotted down poems, and made copies for our subscribers (who were mainly our own parents). I took great pride in writing essays and articles during school and university, and then as a professional I wrote training manuals and marketing materials. I never would have dreamed I'd be here - working on a book, writing blog posts, helping promote authors, etc...but those cows aren't home yet, so I'm just going to keep writing!

Now, back to you. How are you doing on your writing? I want to encourage you to keep writing, and if you don't have anything lengthy enough for a novel just yet, how about submitting to one of our dynamite contests? Write something short, submit it, get some feedback, win some prizes, get some encouragement from others! Sounds like a great idea all the way around!

What are you working on? What are your writing goals? Can you commit to writing 'til the cows come home?

While you ponder those questions - check out the winners of our recent Essay Contest! 

Crystal is a council secretary and musician at her church, birth mother, babywearing cloth diapering mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, five young children (Carmen 11, Andre 10, Breccan 4, Delphine 3, and baby Eudora), two dogs, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff here, and at her personal blog - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade!

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3 comments author advice, encouraging authors, keep writing, til the cows come home, writing, writing contests, writing daily

You May NOT Have Cake Right Now

I just got done chatting with a lovely friend. We had a great laugh because as you know, today is Monday and she's human and like the rest of us dreads Mondays. She and her husband were talking about how they would love to take Monday off and enjoy another family day. I said something I have a feeling I'll be using again:

" It's like dessert. 

If you don't eat the broccoli too, dessert isn't quite as sweet.

You need the contrast. The balance."

Isn't that good? As soon as I said it I thought I must write this down. Then I thought of how it applies to my writing life. I love reading and promoting the work of other authors. I also love writing, but it's more difficult with a house full of children, a job, responsibilities, etc... Reading has become my cake and writing has become my broccoli. They are both equally delicious, but one of them is going to get me to my goal much quicker than the other. In the case of food, broccoli is going to help me slim down and feel great. In the case of writing, I'm going to feel much better once I finish my novel. It's no longer going to be 'yet another project Crystal started'.

Who is going to help me stay on track? Who is going to help me by saying in a firm yet loving voice:

"You May NOT Have Cake Right NOW!"

Here's where you come in dear reader and writer friends. Share your wisdom with me. Several authors have already been gracious enough to help me by answering the question of how they balance their writing life with their real life, but I want to hear from you too - please leave a comment with what works for you. And while you're thinking about that, feel free to share in the wisdom from these amazing author friends of ours here at WOW!

David Berner was asked: How does real life fit into a writer's life? As part of his recent tour for his latest book "October Song", he responded:

David: I don’t see them as separate things. A writing life is a ‘real’ life. It is central to much of my everyday existence. Do I write each day? Not always. But if two-three days go by without writing, I get antsy. Like working out or walking the dog, I try to make it part of my daily life. Even if it is not on a specific project, I write. I put down words. Sometimes they are not worthy words, but they are essential to get me to that next level. That next project, that next story, the trick sometimes is “training” those you love, those in your life, that writing – going off on your own to think and write – is not some vacation or getaway. It’s your work, your calling, your inner peace. It’s important for me to write to be the best person I can be. I truly believe that, so, I write. And it’s not an off-shoot of my real life, It is my life.

Donald Dempsey was asked: What words of encouragement would you give someone trying to put together their memoir or story? As part of the book blog tour for his original memoir "Betty's Child". He responded: 

Donald: Don’t be afraid to let it rip. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Just let it out and read it later. You can always edit and tidy up the emotional content at some point, but most of what readers seem to like about my book wrote itself.

Judy Mandel was asked:What's the most useful piece of writing advice you've ever received? as part of her WOW! Women on Writing launch of "Replacement Child". She responded:

Judy: Not to expect your first draft of anything to be great. It takes editing and revising to create good writing.




All these great tidbits of advice for such lovely author friends. Thank YOU dear reader in advance for the tips and ideas you'll leave in the comments - your support and encouragement (as well as your readership) mean so much to all of us here at WOW!



Crystal is a council secretary and musician at her church, birth mother, babywearing cloth diapering
mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, Unicorn Mom Ambassador, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, four young children (Carmen 10, Andre 9, Breccan 3, Delphine 2, and baby Eudora due this fall), two dogs, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff here, and at her personal blog - Crystal is dedicated to turning life's lemons into lemonade!

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4 comments author advice, balanced life, balancing writing, balancing writing life, david berner, donald dempsey, Judy Mandel, writerly advice, writing, writing advice, writing tips