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Does Book Promo Really Work?

November 19, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , , , ,

Monica Stoner/Member at Large
We’ve all heard the quote “50% of advertising is effective, but no one knows which 50%.”  I’d say for books it’s more like 25% and we really don’t know which 75% is just spinning our wheels.  In an ideal world we would be able to write the best books ever created, and the world would beat a path to our door. Of course in that same ideal world I could have a bagel smothered in butter every morning and lose five pounds a week.
Yeah, that’s not happening either.
So we blog and Facebook, we Tweet and we join Triberr to help ourselves by helping others.  And we sigh in wonder at the success of other writers who don’t seem to be doing anything yet doggonit their Facebook page has 1258 followers.
Some people are a whiz at promotion. I hope you took advantage of Tara Lain when she was there earlier this month.  She’s amazing at promo. And the rest of us stagger along.
In an attempt to come a bit closer to mainstream I took advantage of a current blog hop/tag, The Next Big Thing blog, which turned out to be a lot of fun, since it’s about our WIP instead of the ones already in print, and aren’t we generally far more enthusiastic about what we’re writing than what we’ve written?
Even better, this hop/tag lets us help promote our fellow writers, so I was able to give a shout out to Lex Valentine, as well as several other exciting authors.  You can check it out here: Mona’s Next Big Thing
Yeah, I don’t use Monica when I write, funny story about that.  Then again my name has been a funny family story for most of my life and I ended up sharing that on the Black Opal Blog But Who Am I?
And of all things, Skhye Moncrieff invited me to blog about the inspiration for my first book, and it ended up publishing today.
So it looks like I’ve managed to be in four places at one time. Maybe one of these will be the tipping point for my fabulous success at promotion.  Just in case I’m going to keep on with my NaNo book.
Miss you all

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In Memorium: Janet Quinn Cornelow

November 16, 2012 by in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as , , ,

All of us here at OCC were shocked and saddened by the sudden death of our friend Janet Quinn Cornelow, and I want to dedicate today’s post to her memory.

Janet joined OCC in 1988 and quickly volunteered to take on the newsletter, a board position. Computers weren’t as sophisticated in those days, so the newsletter was still printed at a local print shop and snail mailed to the membership. Janet would collect the information and compose each story or column on her computer and print it out. Then a bunch of us would gather at her house once a month to literally cut and paste the final proof. Afterwards, we’d have lunch at a local coffee shop and talk writing. Later, Janet did other volunteer jobs like Lunch Coordinator, in addition to judging in the Orange Rose, manuscript critiques and hosting Ask-An-Author. 

For those who didn’t know Janet as well as I did, here are some additional details about her.

Janet was a native Californian who grew up in the Riverside area. She attended Call State Fullerton and earned a B.A. and a Master’s Degree in Journalism. In addition to her writing career, she taught for many years and worked as office manager to a Sylvan Learning Center. In recent years, she taught online classes for two private universities.

Janet and I joined the chapter the same year, we sold our first books to New York around the same time, 1997-98, and when the 21st century came along, we went on a crazy e-book journey together. Last year she plunged into the Brave New World of self-publishing. No one can ever say Janet was afraid to take a chance or try a new idea. She had just finished another book, and I hope her family will be able to see it published.

The photo above, from a signing at Bearly Used Books, shows Janet as I like to remember: surrounded by books and with a big smile on her face.

Author bio from her website:

Janet Quinn has always been a story teller. She has put her love of stories into her writing. While honing her craft, she earned a B.A. and an M.A. in journalism. Then she took up teaching high school English and writing. She has also taught novel writing classes at the Learning Tree University in California.

Her first novel, Yesteryear’s Love, was published by Berkley/Jove under their Time Passages imprint. It placed in the finals of the Romance Writers of America/Orange County Chapter’s Orange Award Contest for published writers for best historical.

Wild Honey placed in the finals of the Romance Writers of America/Orange County Chapter Orange Rose Contest for unpublished authors. Also, her manuscript, The River’s Treasure, placed in the finals for best historical in the PASIC Book of Your Heart Contest. The Irish Countess, a historical romance, was a finalist in the 2007 EPPIEs.

At her memorial service, Janet’s family handed out cards in her honor that said:

Janet Marie Quinn
August 14, 1949 – October 26, 2012

Janet was the mother to three exceptional boys, Nana to two wonderful grandchildren and an accomplished author.

There are no words to properly sum up such an amazing woman or such a life well lived. She played many roles: mother, teacher, author, friend…

She left far too soon and far too suddenly. There was so much that she still had to give to the world. We will mourn and miss her–but in the same moments that we find ourselves with heartache, we must celebrate her life. We must remember the laughter and humor that she brought and the love and warmth that she always offered.

No writer could have expressed it better.  Janet was a good friend and I will miss her, as we all will.

Please feel free to share your memories of Janet in the Comments below.

Linda McLaughlin

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PRO-Motion

November 12, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , ,

Sunday, September 23rd was the fall equinox, and a harvest moon graced the skies at 13:59 Greenwich time the following Saturday. A full moon always disturbs my sleep, wakes me in the middle of the night and insists I stare at its garden. In September, I was drawn to that moon for all six nights. I dismissed the first night as normal when I woke at three in the morning, but by the third night, I swore at the light shining through my window. I got up and turned on the TV. I clicked past Mexican soccer and landed on Password Plus. Even at this hour, my wordsmith heart wanted to watch. It wasn’t terribly exciting to see dead people playing the game, but at the end of the program, the host, Allen Ludden (late husband of the incomparable Betty White), left the audience with a question, “Are you moving the stool when you should be moving the piano?”
The next morning, I woke with the question on my lips. I thought of our OCC writers and my own writing. How would I answer that question? Have I been rolling that stool around and ignoring the piano? Have I been wrapped up in the little things and forgetting the big things?
I want to ask about your piano. Is your writing moving forward or are you rolling that stool around in circles?
By the time you read this column, I guarantee my piano will have moved. Join me. Happy writing! 
Ottilia Scherschel
OCCRWA PRO Liaison

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Gazelle Intensity

November 9, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as ,

I almost can’t believe it, but I met four deadlines last month! I don’t think I’ve ever done that in my writing life. Maybe the only time I’ve accomplished so much in such a short space of time is for school/college. But the point is – I did it.
What I learned from that experience is that I can do more than I think I can. Past experience may tell me that I can’t – until I make an experience that tells me I can. What I have to be careful of is thinking I can always get this much work done. It would be foolish of me to think I can work 10-16 hours a day, six days a week, for an infinite amount of time. For one thing, there is no time for friends or family, little time for exercise or healthy habits, and almost no time for fun.
However, last month I reminded myself that I can work very intensely and accomplish a lot in short bursts. Life is a marathon, and the writing life is a marathon, but sprints are useful and appropriate. (In my half marathon training, I use short sprints in training.)
John and I are participating in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, a money management course designed to get you out of debt and keep you out forever. In one of the lessons, Dave shows a video of a leopard chasing a gazelle. Even though the leopard can run faster than the gazelle, the gazelle got away! Why? Because the gazelle could make quick leaps out of the leopard’s path faster than he could move to intercept. The gazelle only has to keep this up for a short intense period until the leopard gives up and looks for easier prey.
Dave suggests we use this method to get out of debt. A short, intense burst of effort to pay off everything from credit cards to student loans to the balance on your mortgage. I listen to his radio podcast and people call in saying they’ve just paid off their last debt. Dave asks them how much they paid off and how long it took, then they give their debt free scream. It’s very inspiring! People are getting out of debt to the tune of $20,000 to $158,000 (that I’ve heard) in 12-48 months. John and I will be right in that range, and it’s exciting to know it can be done.
That’s what I learned last month with my writing deadlines. I focused like I have rarely focused before on one project, then another, then another, then another. And I got them all done, on time. I had hoped that on November 2, I would be able to sleep in, read a little, take a deep breath, and go back to a more relaxed lifestyle. But I still have four more time-sensitive projects to finish. At first, that made me feel super tired just thinking about it. Then I remembered the gazelle intensity speech.
I can’t keep up this pace forever, but I can do it for four more weeks. As one friend reminded me on November 2 when I was trying to figure out if I could do all this, I can’t “catch up” on everything that didn’t get done over the last year. But I can pick the most important things to finish now, and re-schedule my other goals for 2013.
National Novel Writing Month is about gazelle intensity. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are finding it can work for their writing life. But it works in every area of life. What do you really need to get done? Not just urgent things, but important things. Piles of paperwork? Haphazard, overcrowded home? Behind in something you could finish if you just really applied yourself for a few weeks?
Think about it and decide what you’re going to do about it. In the end, you’ll not only have accomplished something wonderful, and maybe done something about those monkeys on your back, but you’ll find pleasure in your own personal growth as self-discipline blooms in your life.
I’m nervous about failure, about exhaustion, about missing out on fun things other people are doing, but last month I proved that it can be done! So I’m going to keep it up for another month. See you at the finish line!
[Note: If you want more encouragement and direction in planning your goals for 2013, join me for my online class Going the Distance: Goal Setting and Time Management for the Writer. Here’s to a fabulous and productive new year!]

Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her first novel, Little Miss Lovesick, was released in September 2011 as an ebook and will be available soon in print format. Kitty has also written magazine articles, devotionals, and worked as a magazine editor. She is the co-founder of Routines for Writers where she blogs every Monday. Her next novel, Love at the Fluff N Fold, will be released in late 2012.
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Writing Camaraderie

November 3, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , ,

“How’s the Writing Going?”
It’s one of those questions that writers love and hate. If the writing is going well, we love to talk about the process. If it’s not? Well, it can be a little painful to answer.
No one quite understands the writing process like another writer. Earlier this year, while working on the third book in my The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolfseries, A Threesome Wedding Adventure, the “writing” actually wasn’t going all that great at times. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I didn’t care for one secondary character much. He was a disappointment to my main character, and not very pleasant. Unlike some villains who are just so fun to write, this one wasn’t.
At home, the writing exists in a sort of vacuum. If I’m on deadline, my husband tends to ignore the overabundance of mess in the household, and will take our daughters to birthday parties, etc. in order to give me time. That said, he never, ever asks those magic words.
Every now and then, my mom does. She’s an artist, and understands the creative process. When I hadn’t talked about my writing a lot, she ventured forth to test the waters.
More than anything, you know what helped? Coming to OCC/RWA meetings. Believe it. Every single Saturday, Brenna Aubrey would look at me and ask, “How’s the writing going?” and we’d talk. She knew to ask, and even that little push helped. Member Nikki Prince has mentioned that knowing she’ll get a rose for a sale also acts as an incentive. We understand.
Coming off the OCC 31st Birthday Bash and the Pajama Parties, and heading into 2013 and our very first Book-in-a-Year push, headed up by Beth Yarnall, who did wonders for the EVA chapter, and the SoCalRWA Conference in March 2013, I’m feeling the love of the writing camaraderie.
November 1 also kicked off NaNoWriMo – a month of insanity where writers all around the world push to crank out 50,000 words in a month. They don’t have to be the best words ever … just a working draft. We have many members of our chapter taking part. Check out Twitter and Facebook, and share in those high word count days, and those that were a bit harder to get through.
And come Saturday, Nov. 10, when we gather together to listen to the magic of Tara Lain and Darynda Jones, remember to turn to the person sitting next to you and ask, “How’s the writing going?” 

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