When the Stars are Right
by William Meikle
Rating: 3 stars
A short story in email format
When I began reading, I was worried I’d have to remember the times and dates for each entry because they were important to the plot. Once I realised they weren’t, I skimmed over them, which left me to concentrate on the story.
I recently read an article about waiting for the muse to inspire a writer before they sat down to write. The jest of it was that one shouldn’t force the writing.
While this might work for some writers, I fear it doesn’t work for most writers. Writing only when inspiration hits creates a few problems.
Inspiration hits at inconvenient times: while driving from Nova Scotia to Fredericton at 3 o’clock in the morning; eating watermelon on a horse; paddling in the middle of the harbour; sitting at a writers’ meeting; waiting in the pouring rain because someone is late…you get the picture.
In many instances, you can’t even scribble a sentence on a napkin let alone write out a complete paragraph or half a short story.
Have Bags, Will Travel
by D. G. Kaye
Rating: 4 stars
Quick, Light Read of Travel Memories
The opening sections had me nodding my head and smiling. Germs. While I’m not as obsessive about them as D. G. Kaye, I am a faithful hand-washer. Years ago, I began using my shirt, jacket or the paper towel I dried my hands with to open public washroom doors. I thought I was the only one who did this until I read Johnny Depp also did. And now I read Kaye does the same.
Kaye explains how air travel has changed over the years with new regulations, restrictions and lack of comfort. It’s not for the better but if you’re like Kaye, you keep travelling and apply humour to the wounds.
“After I clicked “publish” on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program, I sat back and waited for my life to change.
“It was as if I thought self-publishing my teen vampire novel, What Kills Me, would be transformative: kind of like when Prince Adam raises his sword and becomes He-Man. Following six months of writing and spending about $2,000 preparing my ebook for publication, by the power of Amazon, I was now an author.
“Except that putting your book for sale on Amazon feels like dropping a single grain into a bag of rice — you need to paint it green or point it out, or else how will anyone distinguish it from the rest? So nothing happened. And I felt no different.”
Many of us have held the He-Man sword, hoping for instant transformation. We learn quickly it doesn’t happen like that. This article was published in The National Post on December 14, 2012, but I feel it still provides inspiration to those thinking about self-publishing or those who are already on the path. To read the rest of the article, go here Self-publishers Can’t Afford Humility: How my self-published book became a Canadian bestseller in six months.
Eleven Reasons to Love Outlines
I write free style. I tried to be a writer who outlines stories, but I failed miserably even though I know there are many benefits to outlining. My brain is simply not wired that way.
A few weeks ago, I noticed something strange when I checked the stats for my blog. In the Referrer Section was a referral from me, or at least it appeared to be from me until I revealed the complete address. It began as dianetibert.com.cdn.ampproject.org followed by about 50 more letters and numbers.
The Referrer Section reveals the paths visitors take to get to my website. The majority are usually through search engines, WordPress.com reader, Facebook and Twitter, but I often get visitors from other sites too.
The names are familiar and if a new one pops up, I check it out. Knowing where traffic comes from helps in many ways, including informing me of new websites that may have information that will help me in my publishing / writing journey.
Wren in the Mist: An Orphan, a Thief, Magic, and a Search for Home
by Beth Hammond
Rating: 3 stars
A short story, not a novel.
The first three scenes of the story were a little disjointed for me. The short opening scene is one far into the future. The next scene delivered me to a time when the main character, Thomas, was twelve. Tragedy strikes. After that short scene, we are thrust into the future again, but not as far as the first scene. Since the time-shift is not made obvious, I read as if Thomas was still 12. Once I realised it was in the future, I had to rethink the first few paragraphs.
“As marketers, it’s a big part of our job to get more readers, but as you probably have discovered, that’s often a challenge. With so many books and so many titles competing for the same attention, setting yours apart from the pack can be hard.
“On the flip side, what if you have a book with limited attention, because your topic isn’t wildly known? How do you drive attention to a book about something that doesn’t have top of mind awareness? The good news is, it’s totally possible. And I’m going to tell you how!”
To continue, read Amazon Keywords: The Secret to Doubling Your Sales and Pulling in New Readers! by Penny Sansevieri.
