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Row80 Check-In: From celebration to determination

I’m visiting my parents this weekend while Grace is on spring break, so I haven’t gotten a lot done since Thursday. But I did make some progress this week.

Still basking in the glow of signing my first book contract for INTO THE DARK, but I’ve been plotting away on the new suspense project, THE PROPHET. No matter how much I plotted ahead for this book, I’m still running into issues I need to fix before I write further. But thanks to the help of Catie Rhodes, I’m getting through the worst of it and hope to dig into writing in the next week.

Reading K.M. Weiland’s Outlining Your Novel has been a big help, and I’d rec it for anyone. She allows for all types of writing styles, and she has several different types of outlines in the book. She talks at length about developing characters as well as the plot, and her approach makes for easy reading.

Last Thursday, I took Melissa Foster’s marketing class through World Literary Cafe and learned some good strategies for Twitter, Facebook, and blog tours. If you haven’t joined WLC, I’d highly  recommend as a way to network and learn.

Pinterest. I know Marcy Kennedy has some valid concerns regarding copyright and we will all have to tread carefully, but I do feel this is a way to reach people OUTSIDE OF THIS WRITING BLOGOSPHERE. I put that in all caps because that’s my key frustration – no matter what social media forum I go to, I still run into other writers. That’s great, but there are millions of potential readers who are nowhere the places we hang out. How do we reach them? I don’t have the answers yet, but I think Pinterest might help. It’s a broad spectrum of people, and in the last two days, by just making boards of things I love (that have nothing to do with writing), I’ve met more than thirty new people. Will they check out my boards for INTO THE DARK and THE PROPHET? I don’t know, but at least I’m making the connection.

What are your thoughts on Pinterest? If you’ve got an account, please leave the link in the comments–I’d love to follow. Do you know the best place to reach the readers who are submerged in our writing world? How was your week?

P.S. If you want to follow me on Pinterest, feel free. And don’t forget, I’ve got an author page on FB. Give it a “like” if you want🙂

38 comments on… “Row80 Check-In: From celebration to determination”

  1. I love the outlining book! A great way to meet readers and forge connections–subscribe to and comment on popular book blogs. I’ve found a great many new books this way. Also be sure to follow readers on Twitter, not just authors. 🙂

    • Yes, I’m really enjoying K.M.’s book. Save the Cat is next on my list. Where do you find the readers on Twitter? I’ll have to stalk your following list;)
      Thanks!

  2. Congrats Stacy on signing your book contract! That’s amazing, just sayin’! You must be besides yourself with excitement! Glad you have the help you need to move forward with you new book. That’s what it’s all about. It sounds like you had a good week and hope this week is even better! 🙂

    • Thanks so much. I’m still giddy from it, lol. Yes, I’m very lucky to have a great crit partner and belong to a strong online writing community. Row80 has been wonderful.

  3. Great job with your goals. Signing your first contract, I’m surprised your feet have even touched ground 🙂 Pinterest…well, I love the idea of it but the whole lawsuit/copyright issue makes me glad I never got around to doing it.

    Ref: finding readers
    Everything I’ve read indicates going where your readers are. For example, romance = married women with kids: scrapbook sites, recipe sites, parenting sites, etc. But it’s hard to be active.

    I’d be curious about the finding reader on Twitter too.

    All the best for the upcoming week.

    • thanks so much, Raelyn. It’s definitely been a crazy couple of weeks. Yes on Pinterest. Will be interested to see how it plays out.

      Good point on the readers. Being active where they are and staying up with social media is tough.

      Thanks!

  4. Awesome on the book contract! 🙂 I am so very very happy for you. 😀 Good luck to you in the coming week.. My Pinterest account is http://pinterest.com/darleneas/ – – I deleted al my boards that had anything belonging to anyone else.. so all that is up there is my stuff for now.
    I still don’t get the whole copyright thing.. I mean, I get it… but come on.. we’re all just having fun.

    • Yes, the copyright thing is concerning and confusing. Will be interested to see how it all plays out.

      Thanks for the congrats and the link!

  5. For people who want to go the traditional route, signing a contract must be one of the greatest feelings in the world! I know you’re still on cloud nine. 🙂

    I’ve wondered a lot about reaching readers. It’s hard to figure out exactly how to do that. I just wonder if they even care if we have a blog or are on social media. Maybe they just want to read our books but not necessarily interact with us. I’m not sure. Do they care who we are or do they just care if we write a good book? Something to think about.

    • Thanks, Lauralynn. I chose to go with a small press, because with the industry as it is, an agent wasn’t something I wanted to wait for. I’m hoping to learn a lot from this experience with pro editors, and I’m definitely keeping self-publishing as an option for the next book.

      All good points about readers. The key is, how the heck do we tell them about our book if we don’t get out of our circle?

  6. Love your pic. Determination is my word of the year. Congrats on your book contract! May many successes come your way! 🙂

    • Pinterest is fun, that’s for sure. It’s just a another way for people to connect that has nothing to do with writing.

  7. I just ordered K.M. Weiland’s book this morning along with the new Chris Vogler one (and Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris). Can’t wait to read them all. I’ve stayed away from Pinterest but my wife has been toying around with it – I’ll be sure to pass the warning on. I know that Marcia Richards closed out her account as a result of the copyright issues. Can never be too careful on the net.

    Have a fantastic week, Stacy and keep pressing on. You are going great 🙂

    • Yay! Can’t wait to hear what you think of KM’s. A fair amount of it I knew, but she has a lot of great tips and suggestions. Yes, copyright issue on Pinterest is the only downfall. I wish we could talk to a copyright lawyer.

      Thanks so much, and you, too.

  8. Keep on celebrating, Stacy! You deserve it. I haven’t gotten to Pinterest yet and am toying with if I should or not. I like your take on the further reach though. I just need to make sure I find a way to do it without getting into any of the sticky copyright stuff. Have a great week!

    • Thank you. I’m still on cloud 9, lol. That’s the appeal for Pinterest to me. That’s only place I’ve gone to so far that isn’t full of other writers.

      Thanks, and you, too.

  9. GREAT week Stacy! Luv it and congrats again on your amazing success.
    Honestly, I think you are doing everything you can to find those readers. Just stick with it and your perseverance will pay off big time.
    I haven’t tried Pinterest yet but my BFF just sent me an invite and it’s on my list of things to check-out so you’ll see me there soon.
    Happy week!

    • Thank you. I’m hoping to get some actual writing done this next week. I’m going to fall short of my goals on The Prophet, but overall it’s been a good round.

      Fortunately I have a while to find readers, but I think it’s something I really want to focus on. I’d like to have a better understanding of “where they are” when the book releases.

      That still sounds unreal, lol. Thanks! Hope you enjoy Pinterest!

  10. Hi, Stacy!

    I have to admit to being scared of Pinterest. I worry about getting into legal trouble from pinning pics I see that are fabulous or funny! I don’t know what “tread carefully” entails, really. So I have an account, but no boards, because I took them down. What would you suggest? BTW, congrats on the contract, girlie! Woo-hoo!

    • Yes, I worry too. I should probably take it more seriously. I think the original owner would have to file suit, but there is probably a lot of gray area. Would like to hear from a copyright layer on it.

      Honestly, I don’t know. I’m going to do some more research and see what I can find out.

      Thanks so much!

  11. Hello… and major gratz on your book!

    I started a Pinterest account recently, but after becoming aware of all the potential problems, I believe I’ll be closing it down. From what I understood, they claim rights to anything posted, so I would not feel comfortable putting my own stuff on the site. And with all the copyright issues o top of that, I’m leaning toward the idea of closing my account. If things get resolved in the future, I can always start another.

    I see what you mean about crossing social media paths with mostly writers. Of course, most writers are readers, but you still have to reach the rest of the world if you want to find true success. I am beginning to look for ways to overcome that problem as well. I wish you the very best!

    • I’ve read that about their claiming rights to anything posted. I definitely wouldn’t put anything of my own on there, but I don’t have anything all that great to share, lol. I’ going to have to do some more research into the copyright issue. It’s a shame we can’t find a legal way to work it out, because it’s a great site.

      That’s true, most writers are readers, but while social media is huge, there are still a lot of readers out there who have no interest in Twitter, FB, etc. Hopefully we can figure out a way to reach them.

      Thanks, and you, too!

  12. Congratulations on the book deal. I also have concerns about Pinterest (which I love and use profusely) but don’t have any answers.

    • Thank you so much. Very excited it. I feel the same way about Pinterest. It’s just hard to know the right answer.

  13. Stacy, I’ve been avoiding Pinterest as oh no, not another social media outlet! But I too am looking for ways to reach readers, not just writers, and have become involved more in GoodReads. You have convinced me to check it out, and also K.M.’s book – there is always room for another resource on he shelf! So excited for you on the way to publication and cant wait to hear more of The Prophet!

    • You’ll have to let me know how Goodreads is going. I don’t like the interface, and I’ve heard some people say it’s not the friendliest place to authors. Hope you like K.M.;s book, and thank you so much!

  14. Going to check out your book recommendation. Can’t wait for your book to come out. Not my usual genre, so I just might have to read it in the summer during daylight hours, when somebody’s home…just in case I get scared. 🙂

    • Thank you. I really liked K.M.’s book, and I’m hoping to read Save the Cat in the next weak. LOL. Thank you for be willing to read the book. I hope you’ll love it.

  15. For some reason, I’m still not into Pinterest … let’s see how long I can stay away from it lol Honestly, I’m tired of trying to stay on top of so many social media … twitter and facebook are too much already … plus Goodreads, linkedin, pinterest, tumblr, triberr … oh, gosh!
    Anyway, seems like things are going smoothly on your side 😉
    Have a great week!

    • How are you using Goodreads? What’s the best way to network there without being a nagging author?

      And I completely understand what you mean by staying on top of social media. It’s a full time job.

      Thank you so much, you too!

  16. I love my Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/writerbeverly). As far as copyright issues… I will cross that bridge when we come to it, same as we stopped using Napster, back in the day.

    Although this is specifically about romance readers, the charts & graphs are interesting re: how
    readers acquire books, how readers connect with authors, etc. http://www.rwa.org/cs/readership_stats

    • I’m kind of thinking the same thing. I just wonder how far it will be taken, and if it’s really hurting those copyright owners. I just don’t know.

      Thank you so much for the link. I’m getting ready to join RWA, so this will be a good intro.

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