First Word

Hello First Word Friend-Os! We are on the "eve" of New Year's Eve. Can you believe another year has passed? I'm not sure if time is speeding up or slowing down. At the end of the year I always like to do a roundup of things that have happened that amuse me. This year though I think I'm going to end the year by helping you get prepared to conquer 2016 Friend-O style.   Here are some tips and tricks to get your new year off to an effective start. Since my newsletter readership is a mix of authors and business people, these tips apply to your business and your efforts to promote and help your book succeed in a competitive marketplace.   Strategic planning - time to do what most executives and managers do, which is plan for the New Year. Most managers though will do the strategic plan and start the year off with gusto and quickly abandon the document in favor of "wing-it" management. The idea of planning is to plan and execute not fa...

Smudges on my glasses ... don't you just hate it when you smudge your glasses and they don't seem to come clean. Smudges on my contact lenses are annoying too. Phone calls before 8 a.m. ... that one is just obvious. Unless you're from the East Coast (I'm on the West Coast) you have no excuse. Phone calls after 9 p.m . ... unless your lover or best friend that is simply too late at night for me. Running out of coffee in the morning ... that one is just scream-worthy. I must have my coffee. And it always seems like the moment I realize I am out of it, it's while wearing a purple bathrobe and socks. So no way a trip to the local Starbuck's is on the agenda. Running out of Half-n-Half ... that one is synonymous to running out of coffee. Either problem holds the same "annoyance value".  People who keep calling and not leaving a voice message ... how hard is it to just leave a message? Quit calling and not leaving me a message; it's pointl...

I've coached and worked with writers for years. All facets of talent have come across my desk. So today what I want to share are the top three things I see writers do to sabotage their own success. Giving up -- yes, giving up is no. #1. At the first sign of low sales or reviews not kicking off enough sales (in the author's mind), some author will give up. They won't feel the project is either successful or successful enough . And to discuss the "enough" word. What is your idea of success anyway? Becoming a no. 1 best-seller? Or is it possible that your book touched and changed one life. Your book made someone's vacation perfect. Your prose made someone happy. We have this view of success in society based on monetary rewards, and don't get me wrong money is important. I just hate to see an author feel like a failure because they only sold 500 copies, which is actually a lot. Speaking of quantity of copies ... here is the next thing authors do get in th...

You may wonder what is the difference between a writing coach and an editor. A writing coach is an editor, but his/her process is different than just editing. Why would you use a writing coach? Accountability -- some writers (and people for that matter) benefit from the accountability of having someone to answer to about their projects. An effective writing coach is there to ask, "Hey, when do I see the next chapter?" Many people achieve goals more effectively when they have someone to push the process. Professional and Personal Guidance -- a writing coach will analyze and critique your work. It's different than attending a class. Your coach is exclusively focused on your work. An involved coach will sit down and explain the changes or suggestions made for your manuscript. They will go over it with you. You get the benefit of that one-on-one attention to help create a publishable piece of work. Editing -- your coach is really an editor packaged differently. An e...

After meeting with a new writer about her work of fiction, I had some comments to help her develop her book and its characters. Since her story is a romance I thought I would pick out some of the tips I gave her to help others. Building sexual tension between characters requires patience . This young writer had her lovers roll in the proverbial hay too fast. Their aggressive pursuit of each other sparked and happened within pages. Instant gratification either needs to be a part of the story somehow or it should be delayed to keep readers turning pages to find out and discover. The "hurry-up-and-get-there" weakness . I see writers do this all of the time. They want to finish their stories and they want to get to the "hot" stuff way too fast. It's like being a reader who can't wait and flips to the end. Problem is when the author rushes to write the story all of those in-between pages suddenly don't exist. Writing takes patience in the author too. Deve...

My partner Scott D. Roberts and I do book coaching as part of our services at 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com). An interesting weakness we often see in writers is the inability or skill to pace their books. Here are three tips about pacing: #1 -- Using Too Much Exposition . A big no-no is too much exposition in the narrative that bogs down the writing. You have to keep your eye on what you're trying to accomplish on each page. Each scene, each moment needs to move the story forward or have a purpose in the story. We often see new writers who mistake a great description as building a colorful setting. Your description should only feature that which does the following: #2 . Helps define the scene so the reader understands the place . For example, if you have a scene in an office you need just enough exposition to convey the nature of the office and that's all. This gives the reader an idea of it so they can picture it in their minds. For example, a lawyer's office ...

When I do manuscript coaching and editing for new and emerging writers, I get a front-row seat on common new-writer mistakes. Here are some of those common errors that can bog down what otherwise would be a perfectly good story. Redundancy -- the repeating of words or phrases within the same paragraph or even page. Keeping your writing fresh and interesting means you need to abandon your own commonly used words. It can be challenging. Even when we speak we have certain expressions we use a lot. I was working on a book the other day in which the writer used the word "okay" no less than 10 times on a single page of copy. If you can't think of a new way to say something use a Thesaurus, which is my opinion is an irreplaceable tool when your mind is getting tired. Useless details that bog down the pace of the story . What I try to teach writers is to use the setting as part of the storytelling process. For example, if you've got a character's hometown don't s...

Similar to such recent hits as Gone Girl, Body in the Trunk takes readers backward and forward in time as true crime writer Tess teams up with Detective Phil Harris to solve the murder of a young woman whose body winds up in the trunk of a Toyota Camry. As the team unravels the story behind the murder, the reader discovers through a parallel back story the real crime that involves a passionate affair and love-gone-wrong between neglected wife Mia and a stranger who shows up in her life named Evan. On Sale for $10.99 at http://3lpublishing.flyingcart.com/?p=detail&pid=65&cat_id= . 

Best USA Book Awards FINALIST: BEST COVER DESIGN FINALIST: BEST MULTICULTURAL FICTION Purchase an eBook or print copy at Amazon ( click here ) Another 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com) book is an award-winner. Joining the ranks of our other award-winning books, Passenger from Greece is yet another example of why authors should work with 3L Publishing. We focus on quality not quantity. For more information, contact 916-300-8012, send email to info@3LPublishing.com or log onto the website at 3LPublishing.com.

1. Hire a publicist, which is the "no-fair" tip, but the most obvious . Make sure your publicist specializes in book promotion. You want him/her to have the right connections to the journalists and media contacts who interview or feature author and book reviews. A publicist sets you way ahead of the emerging self-published crowd and earns you credibility as a serious professional. 2. Sign up and attend book festivals . Book festivals put you as an author right in front of the consumer. It's targeted toward readers since it's a book festival, and people love to meet the author and have him/her sign their books. It also gives you an opportunity to see the public's reaction to your book cover and content (what they browse). And doing regional festivals throughout the country gives you a chance to build a national following by introducing those parts of the country to your work. Book reviewers are often at these festivals too, and it will give your book direct expos...

When business starts to wane, jump in and use the adage "outflow gets inflow". Many motivational books suggest you focus on gaining business vs. losing business. Whenever I face the slippery slope of decreased sales, I do the following: 1. Promote to my existing mailing lists some kind of special deal. Run a special seasonal deal or sale of some kind and promote it to your lists. This often has the results of spurring people to remember to think about your business and gives you exposure. 2. Follow-up on existing opportunities . I want to comment on this action in particular. Business people tend to leave opportunities on the table due to lack of follow-up or any kind of follow-up program. My rule is simple: follow-up with a handful of people per day. Set a goal such as following up with 5 people per day. I know it can be uncomfortable if you've been persisting with the same 5 people. but what do you really have to lose? What do you have to gain? I like to follow-up ...

I always tell business people that writing a book and the value it brings your business isn't measured by individual book sales. It's measured by opportunities. Here are three "opportunities" having a professionally published book can do for your business. 1. Subject Matter Expert. Whether you feel like an expert or not is beside the point. A book in people's minds means you know enough about a particular subject to write about it. Subject Matter Experts get asked to do the following, which provide more opportunities ... 2. Speaking Engagements. Speaking to a group makes you the center of attention. The aforementioned expertise creates credibility. Credibility impresses people. And speaking to a room gives your company exposure to the audience members. And what does exposure do? 3. Attracts Business. Now you've gained credibility and had an "opportunity" to share your expertise and business acumen to a group (audience). Exposure to your busines...

Chapter 3 I attended an annual multimedia trade show in New York City at the Convention Center every year. My company M Marketing and Graphics bought a 10 x 10 booth, and we always seemed to sit across from this Japanese electronics company where the diminutive Asian sales girls wore five-inch heels presumably to make up for their lack of height. I marveled at any woman, short or not, who would dare to wear platform shoes for more than an hour much less 10 hours on a cement trade-show floor. I, on the other hand, wore my comfortable, flat Mary Janes to match my slim black skirt and lavender silk blouse with silver buttons on the two breast pockets that gave it sparkle. I tucked it in with a wide belt with silver infinity clasps in the center to give it a modern, chic flair. I loved trade shows – the energy and meeting potential clients face-to-face. Most of my life was spent in my home office at my computer working on graphics and illustrations for marketi...

When I open my presentations, I ask two questions: “How many of you throw away books in the trashcan?” I follow up that question with the next one, “How many of you throw away brochures in the nearest garbage can?” The second question provides the audience’s a-ha moment. Most people feel value when they buy or are given a book. A book has weight. It has pages. It has merit. It conveys the perception of knowledge and expertise and time and money to publish. A feeling of guilt or at least a sense of environmental responsibility overcomes the desire to toss all that time, money, expertise, and most importantly “paper” into the garbage can. On the other hand, how many flyers, tri-fold brochures or one-sheets create such a moral or ethical dilemma that you actually feel guilty to throw it away? I’ll be honest. I’ve thrown away countless brochures. I even curse when someone shoves a flyer under my car windshield wiper because now I have to find a garbage can so I’m no...

1. Every writer needs an editor including the publisher who uses three editors on her own book, Body in the Trunk . The day you think you can see all the mistakes is the day you get awarded "God-Spell" ;) LOL. 2. Selling a book bundle takes the same amount of time as selling a single book, so bundles are great and net more income. I always say it takes 10 minutes to sell $14.95 or $30.95. You might as well offer a bundle and make some real money. 3. The cover matters more than the content . Yes, no riots, please. People are drawn to your book by the cover. We're a visual society. Always make the cover draw them in.

SACRAMENTO-BASED 3L PUBLISHING GOES GLOBAL 3L Publishing, publisher of award-winning fiction and nonfiction, signed its first international Foreign Rights Deal Sacramento, California —3L Publishing ( www.3LPublishing.com ) signed its first international Foreign Rights deal. The first deal signed with India-based publisher Manjul Publishing procured the Foreign Rights to the book The Power and Light that is You by Linda Lee. With this first deal signed 3L Publishing officially offers international Foreign Rights deals for all its author to reach out to the world. The book actually was so good that two India-based publishers bid on it, and Manjul Publishing won the bid. It will thus be available in English and Hindi. The Power and Light that is You is a book designed to guide readers to become more aware in their lives and begin to understand the value and importance of their choices. It teaches readers how to shed old belief systems and mindsets, as w...

Chapter 6             I sat at the small, black desk with the white bucket chair in my hotel room. I kept looking at Evan’s card as I sat in front of my laptop computer now online. I kept wondering about him. How did he know I was in this hotel? Did he see me earlier? My phone rang: Paul’s name appeared again. It was a three-hour time difference. He never called me on the road. One time I went on a three-week vacation to see my cousins in Wisconsin, and he hadn’t called me the entire time. My cousins had never asked about it, but I could tell they had thought it was strange. Paul just didn’t seem to care anymore – out of sight as they say.             “Hi, what’s up?”             “Lulu is crying all day. She has a cold and doesn’t feel good. You need to come home!” he flatly demanded.  ...

Buy it for $5.99 on Kindle ( click here ) Buy the print version ( click here ) Chapter 5 The first time Phil sat and sized up Tess was at the Starbuck’s across the street from the station house. He found her cute, energetic and maybe a little ditzy; he wasn’t sure yet. Her strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes sucked him in. Some guys loved women’s eyes, and Phil was no exception. You had ass men, tit men, and eyes guys – he loved eyes. His ex-girlfriend Diane had the most brilliant hazel eyes imaginable with curled, thick eyelashes. It also didn’t hurt that she had one of those amazing, hot bodies with big tits and a perfect, tight ass, but undoubtedly her eyes won. She could seduce him with one look. “Those were the days,” he chuckled to himself as he sat and waited for Tess to bring the tea and coffee to the table. Tess ambled over to him. She was holding each cup in her hands. She carefully placed Phil’s “Tall” tea in front of him, pulled ou...

As a publisher, the no. #1 comment I hear continually is ... "Everybody has a book in them." While it's true we all have a story to tell, that comment doesn't address the professionalism required to make a book a reality. Using the various methods available to others to get their books out of them, it's true everybody can, in fact, have a book published. But that requires the realization that to get a book into the popular culture, it needs to be treated like any business endeavor -- and any business endeavor requires professionalism to do it right. If you can't necessarily write, but do have a story to tell, you can do the following: Hire a ghost writer -- Did you know many books aren't written the author whose name is shown on the front. A ghost writer is a professional writer who can make your story not only structurally make sense, but also grammatically work. A ghost writer knows how a book is supposed to be written, and there is no guesswork...

Purchase the eBook versions on Kindle ( click here ) Chapter 4 Evan returned to his clean, white and sterile-smelling hotel room decorated in black, gray and white colors. He hadn’t been able to think of anything but Mia since he laid eyes on her. It was unusual for him to give any woman (even the most beautiful) much more than 10-minutes thought. Mia though was different. “Why?” he wondered to himself. What made this blonde woman any more special than the hundreds of others he had fucked and left? He didn’t really know to be honest. She was definitely gorgeous, but again, he had fucked world-class beauties in his time. A wealthy father and three handsome and older brothers guaranteed that bonus. Models, A-list actresses with fake tits, puffy pink lips, and white, shining teeth with bodies so hot most men would get hard with just one glance at them. He licked, tasted, fondled, caressed, and banged them all. So to him, beautiful looks were almost mundane. ...