First Word

  Today’s topic is about using the point of view and the feelings of the character to apply it in how your descriptions unfold. In writing One Little Lie , I am writing in the first person. I chose the first-person narrative so I could convey the depth of the character’s feelings, but also to allow the prose to unfold from that person’s perspective. You have to remember that if you decide to use the first person narrative, you will be restricted to the knowledge of that person. You’re up in the narrator’s head, and the narrator only observes and hears from the other characters.   I’ve used several types of techniques. I decided to use first person in One Little Lie , because it’s a deeply personal and emotional tale. The story revolves around one character’s story of transformation, from open naivete and hopeful trust to the rude awakening of a narcissistic liar’s duplicity. You go through the experience of her transformation with her and see it unfold throu...

SURVIVING 90 DAYS IN A PANDEMIC DOESN’T INCLUDE OVER-BUYING TOILET PAPER The book Stop Buying Toilet Paper – Your Guide to Surviving 90 Days advocates effective strategies to get through a pandemic or disaster. SACRAMENTO, California —In March 2020, our world and way of life literally changed overnight. The spread of the deadly COVID-19 made national and international headlines. People got sick by the millions and thousands began dying. The way the virus spread (from person to person) seemed like a story straight out of Hollywood and movies like I am Legend or 27 Days .             However, people had the strangest reaction—they panicked and started buying in bulk not nonperishable food, dairy products, or meat and produce; they started buying toilet paper. Yes, stores can’t keep toilet paper stocked on the shelves. Walk into any grocery store and the toilet paper and even the paper towels and tiss...

Lately I’ve noticed some “publishers” offering these “crash courses” on publishing. They are teaching people to write a book in a DAY. The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” applies to this scenario. Any business professional knows that trying to take what is a complex, skilled process and distill it into a day’s work is akin to building a house of cards and expecting it not to collapse when the breeze blows. You cannot write and publish a quality book in a day. You can watch all of those online and video programs suggesting it’s easy, but it’s not. When it comes to publishing the idea that you can churn out a book in 24 hours will only lead to a bad book. Some people believe that grammar and spelling really don’t matter. Content is king. Who cares if there are 10 errors on a single page? It’s my message, right? Wrong. Professionals care if something looks like it was sloppily put together with very little thought to professionalism and excellence. Th...

An interesting discussion came up the other day with one of my new clients. We were talking about public relations for this new product line. He was saying he wanted to send a press release out a week to promote the product launch. I looked at him and said, “Public relations isn’t about press releases and how many you can send out to get attention.” I’ve noticed sometimes people mistake advertising and marketing with public relations. I thought I would take a moment to clarify it. Public relations is designed to raise awareness about your company, product or service . It puts your name out in the public domain and promotes your message. Problem is that some people confuse “message” with product promotion. Media doesn’t want to receive weekly notices about your product launch. Media wants headlines and news. When it comes to book promotion they want human interest and material that will spark discussions. Remember, media is in the business of “information” not ad...

Now onto other topics ... today's topic is what I'm going to call "Traditional Publishing Snobbery" AKA as TPS. I've run into it my entire career and I wanted to refute why it's nothing more than elitist misconceptions driven by old school ideas.   Listening to TPS from unpublished authors who think they know everything is akin to listening to your 12-year-old lecture you about relationships and marriage LOL (yes, my daughter recently shared her "insights" on marriage). Many TPSnobs (not snobbery) hold the ancient reader misconception that traditional publishing act as a gateway to production of "great" literature. If you're not traditionally published then your book must not be any good. This fallacy is just that - a false truth.   Let me explain. Foremost, the top six traditional publishers are businesses, well, actually corporations. What are corporation designed to do? Make money. Traditional publishers like ...

I am on a number of groups on Linked-In and I receive all sorts of newsletters from Kindle/Amazon and Amazon U among others. I read the topic always looking for something to share with you or remark about. A recent topic that caught my attention was called "What to do if your book isn't selling". This topic made me think about it. I wanted to share my own opinions and insights.   The first question to ask is: Did my book ever pick up any sales momentum in the first place? One of three things typically happens when it comes to book sales. 1) The book never picked up any sales momentum and only enjoyed a handful of sales or 2) It picked up sketchy sales momentum or 3) It did pick up momentum and then when promotion died it enjoyed only a trickle of sales. I'm going to address each of these scenarios one at a time.   No. 1: No sales. Some books never catch on, period . I know for the authors this can be a disappointment. No matter what the author...

When promoting a new product or book there are typical mistakes that can be made, especially when it comes to how much money to spend and where. I thought for this issue I would discuss what I'm going to call "promotional money-wasters". I always try to guide authors and clients with information I've gleaned from experience and observation.   Drive up a decent amount of book sales before you start over-spending . Here is why. Some books no matter how much money you invest just may never pick up that precious market momentum. I always try to encourage authors to spend conservatively before they start throwing money at the book's promotion. Sometimes the results are the results. You need to measure and gage the market. Don't just throw money at the wall and see if it sticks. You will be unhappy if the money disappears into the marketing abyss. So test the waters. See how initial sales go and overall reaction. If you've got a strong start o...

Today’s blog we’re going to discuss doing things for the sake of business. I recently ran into a moral and ethical crossroads. Do I do a project that a writer owes me when I don’t feel comfortable with this writer’s moral and ethical behavior? Well, to give you some important information, the project has been long paid for and is beyond overdue. My personal feeling was instantly no. I didn’t want to help someone whose behavior was reprehensible. Problem is the money had been spent. If I did the project I would have the chance to recoup the losses. A moral and ethical question for sure. In business we will run across these dilemmas. Actually in life we will run across these issues, too. I felt the question was a test for me to approach as a businesswoman and from a strictly financial point of view. Letting my personal feelings run my business only works so far. Sometimes you need to look at your business as a business and what’s best for it. Of course what is...

In publishing land the summer heats up since most people want to sell their books, products or services for the holiday season. We just go the Harris Estate up on press and next up "Tails" from the Trail goes on press, too. Smile Power is wrapping up too. I've been encouraging author Ramin Bahram to get Smile Power printed in time for World Smile Day , which is Oct. 7 .   Since we're on the subject of smiling, I wanted to share how much I learned in working on Smile Power about the "power" of a smile. You have absolutely no idea (or maybe you do) how the mere act of smiling can impact so many aspects of your life, from your health to your wealth, and from your relationships to your career. I never thought about the power of a smile. I just smiled, as I'm certain most of you do as well. It was fascinating to find out that while disparate research has been done on smiling there are really no books out there on the subject. So, Ramin...

My company 3L Publishing releases a weekly newsletter designed to provide information, intelligence and insight to both entrepreneurs and authors. Below is a sample of the current issue. It's cheeky, fun and insightful. To be added to the mailing list, send your email address to info@3LPublishing.com. Hello First Word Friend-Os. I bet you’re thinking, “What is she doing now?” As I’ve mentioned these last few months, I keep playing with my newsletter release day. My open rates dropped so I’m trying to spark some new readership by not doing the same old, same old. So, here I am on a Thursday just typing away and releasing it today to see what happens. The market is a fickle place. You know sometimes Friend-Os are busy. Sometimes Friend-Os just think this Friend-O maybe isn’t relevant anymore. Who me? Not relevant? Ah, no … I’m always trying to stay abreast of what’s going on in the real world vs. the bubble I’ll call my office. Speaking of keeping up with ...

I coach writers as part of the services we offer. During my coaching sessions I discuss titles for books. The title and cover are very important to your sales potential. Writers ask me, how to come up with a stellar title? The answer: Inspiration ! Where does inspiration come from? Creativity ! Can you force creativity? I don't know. Creativity exists in every profession, including science. It's the ability to look at something entirely different.  What came first, the creativity or the inspiration? I think in some ways they bubble up together. An inspired thought is often a creative thought. A creative thought is an inspired thought. The proverbial all-time chicken or the egg question.  For me when I come up with titles it's often the title creates the story. When I came up with the idea to do the California Girl Chronicles series, I thought of the title first. I thought that sounded like a great title. The next question I asked myself: what wou...

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 n...

1. Create the Table of Contents -- the table of contents is your book's road map (this mostly applies to nonfiction). Creating your table of contents will give you an idea of how to start. In all nonfiction books the structure should make sense in a kind of "unfolding" way. Each chapter should relate somehow to the chapter before it. For example, your introduction to your topic obviously should be in the front of the book. It's a standard approach. Now I am always for break the rules, but know the rules before you break them. 2. Chapter by Chapter -- You can work a chapter at a time finish and go onto the next one. Don't worry about editing until you have a first draft. 3. Outline the Structure of Each Chapter -- You will want the same road-map approach for each chapter, too. Once you have an acceptable outline back fill the content.

Some of the great innovators (think Steve Jobs) or even great creatives (think Meryl Streep) have made a pointed effort to create their own visions. They are driven by their own ideas. They aren't following the sheep, they are leading the herd. Its easy to get sucked into the belief that you have to please the world. Other people's beliefs about you are important. Don't get me wrong, some people's opinions do have relevance. But if you're going to be a leader and not a follower, an innovator not a copier then you have to go to your own beat. You're going to face naysayers. You might even face an eye roll or two or a chuckle or giggle. But if you firmly believe in your vision and believe in yourself (most importantly) then you should see these people as unimportant. They're only there to remind you to stay the course of your own direction. So have confidence. Don't let others define you. You define you. And if you have a dream and a vision, pursue i...

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...

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...