First Word

If you're struggling with getting your novel out of your head or even finishing it, here are some tips to get your fingers tapping on that keyboard again. Just do it - sounds like a Nike commercial. Just do this... well, just putting something into action helps create what? A verb called doing! Even if you don't know what you're going to write, grab your cup of Joe, plant your bum in the chair, prepare your hands, and start typing. Just write whatever comes to mind. Let your imagination run wild. You will be surprised if all of a sudden all of that so-called random rambling turns into a real story! Eight pages a day keeps your novel on its way - yes! Give yourself a page count goal. Stephen King has one - eight pages. He writes eight whole pages and then goes to do what he wants for the day. I'm sure he writes more if he's so inclined, but setting a goal is always good. So, set up your daily page count and make the goal before you move on. I personally write an en...

No. 1 -- We started as a marketing and public relations firm. Yes, I have a BA in public relations. I began my career working in a public information office. I was the editor of an internal and external magazine, which gave me the experience in publishing. Ten years ago when I became an independent consultant, I focused on marketing and public relations campaigns. I am a marketing specialist who understands the various sales channels. No. 2 -- I am a technical writer and can provide technical writing for white papers in the information technology market. Most people think I am creative, which I am. What most people don't know is that I spent 20 years in the IT marketplace. I was an early innovator in web content when the web wasn't much more than a bunch of hyperlinks. I've authored dozens of white papers for IT marketing support, including papers for UPnP, HPNA, enOcean, 2Wire, and others. I also was publisher of California Computer News for almost 10 years....

Date: March 26, 2016 Time: 10am to 4pm Place: 267 Spoonbill Lane, Galt, CA 95632 This intensive 6-hour workshop is designed to take your novel idea from beginning to end. Michelle Gamble, CEO of 3L Publishing and author of 7 books and numerous publications and magazine articles, will be teaching the class. In the workshop you will walk away with the following: 1. a booklet designed to fill information as she walks you through the steps. 2. An overall critiqued discussion on the theme of your book. 3. A breakdown discussion about each elements of your book, including plot, subplots and characters. 4. Review and guidance of your first chapter (if you don't have one she will make suggestions on how to create one). This is an intensive, exclusive workshop. She will only be accepting five students. Once the number is filled, the workshop will be closed. The cost is $175 for an intensive afternoon of work. It includes: 1. Work book 2. 6 hours of intensive personalized a...

Find out from screenwriter, director, producer and publisher how to transform a story from page screen. RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif .—Have you ever thought, “My book would make a great movie, but I have no idea where to start?” Join Scott D. Roberts, novelist, screenwriter, producer, actor and director, as he teaches the elements of taking a story from page to screen. Roberts is presenting June 20, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. as part of the CaliforniaWriters Club (Sacramento Branch) at Cattlemen’s Restaurant in Rancho Cordova (located near I-50 and Hazel Ave.). Join Roberts as he discusses: How to sell your book for acquisition Methodologies to adapt a book for screen Unique ways to write captivating and winning “log lines” that attract agents and producers Where and how to find an agent by overcoming the Catch-22 Understanding the buying process and knowing the difference between an option or a purchase Insider tips and tricks to gettin...

It's one thing to want to do something, it's another thing to actually do it. They can teach theory in the classroom, but until you've dug deep, gotten your hands sublimely dirty, and really entrenched yourself in the experience, you can't learn the most important lessons and realities. So, to help anyone else (and these are life lessons) here are some general tips. Do not beat yourself up if you're an editor and there's a mistake or even two . All those meticulous copy editors out there who are single minded about not making one mistake in a 50,000 to 75,000 or 100,000 word book have truly put too much pressure on themselves into a never-good-enough reality. If I have learned nothing else in editing ... there is going to be a mistake ... somewhere. It requires minimally two sets or preferably three sets of eyes to clean up a manuscript. If you're sense of "perfection" (which there is no such thing) is about the erroneous belief you will see ever...

I love the new year it's good for goal-setting and creating visions. No one has mentioned a vision board in a long time, but I like vision boards and I like to look ahead. Here is what I like the most: I enjoy fresh starts. It's the time of year when if you've had hard times you think, "It will get better." If you've had good times, "It's will be spectacular" ... or maybe some of both! I have some major announcements and changes and goals set coming in 2015. I will be releasing some exciting new titles, revealing new alignments and partnerships, and doing focusing more on book-related events and activities. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today's question from an author is a common mistake and misnomer. If you want the new rules of style in terms of word processing and digital printing, invest in the book The Mac is Not a Typewriter . Today's question: do you still put the double space after the period?  Old rules of business writing and even academic writing suggested we use the double space. Today the computer does it for us, and there is no need. Word processors put the right spacing in for the user. Older writers unfamiliar with the change in the rules still add the double space, which is unnecessary and removed during editing. The double space was used in typesetting methods where typesetters physically put the "plates" together with the words and used the spacing to distinguish between the end of the sentence and the start of the new one. Since the computer can now automatically do it, and the new digital printing methods don't require plates, it's gone away. Underlining titles now ...

The work smarter not harder formula is a tough one to figure out. I think it's a balance between a few key areas: team work, responsibility, delegation of the right tasks, and (this is a bonus) passive revenue. The last item (passive revenue) is the entrepreneur's ultimate dream goal: make your product sell itself and bring in constant revenue based on previous work. I am a fan of passive revenue. One of the key things it provides is unexpected income (my kind of bonus). Breaking down the other areas it works like this: Team work -- you need a competent team of professionals who know their jobs. They don't need direct supervision that can suck up your management time. The more time you spend managing people resources the less time you have to work as a CEO. The CEO should never be bogged in minutia (what I call small details). The minute you spend too much time on the grains of sands, the less time you have on the beach :) (and that's a semi metaphor), but the beac...

It's not easy at a table full of authors to have to state the most unpleasant reality of self-publishing tools like Lulu or Lightspeed or even Smashwords or Createspace. No one wants to hear it. They especially don't want to hear it with their self-published, print-on-demand book in their hands. Now you might construe my points as self-promoting, but I'm being honest and blunt, it is what is ... First and foremost, those "tools" ARE NOT publishers. They do not provide professional editing, proofing (yes, proofing is a whole other process), graphic design, or even truly "publish" your book. Second (and people especially don't want to hear this one), I can tell a self-published book just at a glance. I don't have to scrutinize or even analyze. Lulu looks a certain way as do all of the others. Third, unpleasant truth: if I can tell it's a self-published, print-on-demand book within seconds, the critics (who have equally critical and experi...

Getting a nasty head cold after being four years of cold-free, I am quickly reminded why coughing is painful. You know when you wake up and don't feel well, and the day beckons anyway. Yes, I feel this way. The day is crying to be lived, and I feel like (excuse the profanity) shit. I am missing all the holiday festivities. I haven't left the house all week. Tissues all over my desk. I'm a sick sad sack. I am apparently a productive one though because I finished the first draft of my new book Body in the Trunk . I am working with my book coach novelist and screenwriter Scott D. Roberts to perfect it. He's been sending me notes, and per his instructions I am on revisions. I love the book coaching process -- it's collaborative on your own project. I used to enjoy working with a writing partner to bounce ideas around, but I also prefer to develop my own projects solo, too. A book coach gives you an opportunity to have someone dedicated to your project who can give yo...

Like any business environment you have those who run nothing more than a racket as publishers. I have more authors show up to meetings to discuss their attempts at self-publishing that were abysmal failures. The common complaint goes like this: "I spent $10,000 at XXX publisher and never received a thin dime in royalties." Now there are some common self-publishers whose famous names could easily be used in place of the XXX's (and if you want to know their names, call me at 916-300-8012). It is sickening to see authors spend that kind of money to have not nothing financially to show for it, but also have some unattractive products. Now I would, of course, love to prevent authors from throwing money literally down the drain, but then these same authors think I have an agenda and may feel my warnings are dubious. Well, of course I'm trying to earn a living as a publisher, and 3L Publishing is doing great; but it really does bother me to hear these shameful stories of ...

I run into writers who are also professional editors. I'm sure they're all very good at their jobs. These same writers often get it into their heads that they don't need an editor -- they're editors. Most of the time I can talk them out of the "I-know-how" tree and back down to the ground and their best interests. These writers are often skeptical of my intentions since they falsely believe, "Well, she's just trying to make money." I am naturally in business to make money; but I'm not telling people they need an editor because I'm trying to make money. I'm telling them what I'll just call a "flat fact," which goes like this: even the editor needs an editor . Here are the reasons why even if you're the queen or king of editing, you, too, need an editor: Snow blind AKA computer screen blindness -- I think of it as snow blindness since the screen background is white. Time and time again our minds insert words wh...

I have had what can only be described as the toughest week of my life. My boyfriend came close to dying on Monday! Not exaggerating, and I've never had anybody that close to me come so close to death -- and RIGHT in front of me. I am going to say one word: STRESS ! I have spent the entire week at his hospital bedside, and yesterday he turned back toward the positive. He was sitting up again, and he had some color in his face. I brought him a drawing from my 9-year-old daughter and that cheered him up immensely. I know that post-traumatic stress will set in soon, as it typically does with me. I'm one of these people who react appropriately during trials and then tend to lose it afterward ... the aftermath is coming soon, but that's okay as long as he's recovering and doing better. Next week I should return to my normal work hours. If you're a 3L client, please know it has been really challenging, but everything will be moving forward upon my return to full-time work....

Okay, so that headline is a little strong ... masses LOL. Makes me think of Music for the Masses or wait! Was that Music for the People ... or perhaps Ghost in the Machine or Kiss for the Rose ... LMAO ... I am in a weird, little mood today. All right so yesterday I was reading the mass of junk mail I receive in my in-box, and one newsletter stood out. It had some great public relations information. I saw an article on proofreading, and it gave some great tips for the layperson to use. I have my own, so I thought I would share and help the "masses" or better yet the average businessperson. Tip #1 -- Take a piece of paper and cover up everything but the sentence you are reading . I like to call this the "non-green" method because unless you do this on a flat-screen like an iPad, you have to print up what you're proofing. This method works because your eye is not somehow wandering ahead of the sentence. The "wandering" eye isn't really controll...

Want to know what is the hardest job in publishing? It's what on the surface looks like the easiest -- the final proof. Ask any author who has gone through the process to get a completely cleaned-up book. The overall editing (big picture editing to ensure the copy flows and the story makes sense) is small compared to the even smaller -- copy editing every last word in the book.  A fantastic copy editor not only must know grammar, usage and style backwards and forwards, but also he or she must have an amazing attention to fine details. Why is this so delicate and arduous a task? I try to distill it down to what is like math: imagine having to ensure 75,000 words are all absolutely correct. Just think of it like a jar of 75,000 jelly beans all spilled on the floor. Now I'm going to tell you to sort through each jelly bean one at a time and look for the ones with the blemishes. Are you wrapping your head around this incredible task?  Why does it matter? Because many cri...

I'm still tinkering with whether or not I should do my memoir or not. So, I thought I would publish a chapter and see if anyone actually reads it. (Warning: there are minor errors in this as it's a raw copy.) 1 The Intrepid Writer on the Road and Vomiting on Airplanes OK, so onward to my next job at the California Department of Water Resources. I have a lot of really fun and funny memories of my 2.5 years spent roaming up and down the State Water Project with my now long-time friend and photographer Dale Kolke. But before I tell you the most memorable moments of that job, I will give you a little bit of insight into what it’s truly like to work for state government and some of the less-than-satisfying moments working with what I would call today either crazy or inept. Me posing for photographer Dale Kolke for Earthquake Preparedness month. As I mentioned in the last chapter, state workers are an odd breed of laziness and often craziness. How the state breeds such oddit...