As an author building my brand, I know I shouldn’t post some of the things I do, even though I keep it on my personal page. And I’ve certainly gone against much of my family in my posts, although that is probably par for the course at this point in my life. Posting my opinion and fears made me feel better, despite possible ramifications.

Here’s why. A lot of writers (or anyone in a creative field) are highly emotional people. We live on a rollercoaster of ups and downs, and that’s sometimes DOUBLED because if we’re doing it right, we’re suffering through our character’s woes as well. My mind never stops, and it’s full of about 900 different threads. Some are work related, many are family: my parents; issues between myself and others that have me baffled and hurt; Grace’s daily stuff. At any given time, there’s a conversation going on in my head. It might be something I want to say to a family member but never can, or maybe how I’ll deal with the attorney for my parents tomorrow, or even how to help Grace work through an issue. My point is, it’s all fueled by emotion. And often fear of the unknown is right on its heels. So add in something as volatile as politics and the future of our country, and things become a powder keg.

We see so many terrible things going on, and we read way too much on FB, and we just keep absorbing and absorbing, and then we’ve got to speak.

I probably spoke too much. To all of the family members and friends I offended: I never meant to target you in anger. I never meant to say you personally are racist, anti-semitic, anti-everything but straight, white male. When I wrote those posts, I wrote them with a vary specific subset of Trump supporters in mind, but I probably generalized the posts too much. I’m sad for the divide it’s probably caused with some family members, although the gap was already very established. I’m sad for anyone I made feel badly or targeted by my posts because that’s just another form of hate and fear that so many of us are afraid of for the next four years.

I do stand by the things I said. Putting them on Facebook isn’t the answer, however, because all it does is incite arguments and push-back. Clearly, no Facebook or Twitter status ever swayed a vote. But when you run on emotion like I do, and your life is so full of personal and business responsibilities, you feel like social media is the only way you can make a difference and get your voice heard. And how can we stay silent when we see terrible things happening, and we have so much fear for our future?

Social media isn’t the answer. It’s full of targeted hate and threats. Trying to make any point on whatever platform you choose is probably going to be ignored at best.

So what can I do?  I can donate to the various groups who are willing and able to protect civil rights and the environment. I can keep my eyes open in my community for hate crimes or threats, and I can educate my child that we must be tolerant of others’ opinions even if we don’t agree, but intolerant of bigotry and cruelty. I can teach her that skin color and religious preference don’t matter, and that we stand up to bullying in any form. I can set the best example I can for her and encourage her to do the same for her peers. I can tell her that even though times are scary, we are all going to be okay.

Because I have to believe that’s true.

If you want to donate time and/or money to groups fighting to protecting civil and human rights, click here.

#Hashtag 101

If you don’t know what a #hashtag is, it’s simply the # sign in front of whatever topic you want people to see. Example: #suspense, #kindle, #mywana. This way, people who search for these specific topics are much more likely to see your tweets, and even better, you can organize your Twitter columns accordingly.

But what about hashtags for writers? And more importantly, for readers to FIND our books?

I’ve been researching, and I’ve found some VERY cool things.

Twubs.com

Twubs.com looks really interesting. I’m stealing this description from SproutSocial.com:

Twubs is a unique site that lets Twitter users form groups around popular hashtags. Since the information is user-generated, you can see what hashtags are popular under categories such as books, conferences, the Internet, movies, news, politics, and much more.

Since Twubs is one of the few sites where you can find hashtags grouped into categories, it’s an excellent place to find other Twitter users with similar interests to connect with. Once you start interacting with other people on the site and through Twitter, you can expand your own network with like-minded individuals.

What does that mean? Means we can easily what groups of people are talking about now. Twubs also has a hashtag directory. For instance, the hashtag #reading only has one member in its group, but it shows the live #hashtag feed of #reading, and who’s talking about what, much like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. Of course, the big groups are entertainment related – #breakingbad, #dexter, etc. Just about any show, movie or artist has a group on there – it’s a great place to find new friends to chat with.

It works a lot like a tribe, and anyone can register a #hashtag into a group. So if I wanted to start a #hashtag group called #SuspenseLoversRock, I could do that and get people to join. I’ve only just skimmed the surface of Twubs and will be checking it out more. I highly encourage you guys to do the same to figure out the best way to use for your needs.

WhatTheTrend is another really fun one. It simply shows what’s trending for the day and for location. A good opportunity to chat and get to know like minded people.

Tagdef is another one that shows hashtag trends including popular, top this week, and all time high.

Hashtags.org

Hashtags.Org is my current favorite. I think Marcy Kennedy mentioned this one a while back, and it’s VERY easy to use. You enter a hashtag, and it will give you the peak trending time IN THE PAST 24 HOURS from a 1% sample of all tweets. Now, that’s just a snippet, but it’s probably indicative of daily trends. And it would be really easy to simply chart it for a week.

Again from SproutSocial.com:

Hashtags.org also lists a number of topics along with their related hashtags. So, instead of using the #business hashtag in your tweets, you might consider the alternatives suggested by the site, such as #networking, #consumer or #marketing. Hashtags.org will help get you thinking about other possible keywords, topics, and hashtags that you can use in your Twitter updates.

I spent some time tonight checking the #hashtags I tend to use and was really surprised by some of the results. This is a long list, but I wanted to share with you. The one downside is that (unless I’m just not seeing it), it didn’t give a time zone on these. But I do think the stats are very useful.

Peak Count and Times for the last 24 Hours:

#ebook – peak of 400 between 10am and 2pm

#amreading – peak of 160, fairly steady between 10am and 6pm

#suspense – peak of 280 between 6 and 8pm

#kindle – peak of 600+ and steady between 8am and 5pm

#nook – peak around 120 between 8 and 10am

#paranormal – peak of 120 between 12 and 2pm

#mywana – peak of 70 around 3pm

#romance – peak of 300 between 2 and 3pm

#fantasy – peak of 350 between 10 last night and 12 am; 250 between 12pm and 2pm

#romanticsuspense – ZERO

#truecrime – ZERO

#thriller – peak of 230 at 6pm

#Amazon – peak of 1400 at 10am; second peak of 1300 between 6 and 7pm
*I’m assuming this one is increased by the holiday season, but it’s something to watch.

#giveaway – peak of 4000 at 8am and again at 12pm

#mustread – peak of 120 at 10pm last night and 10am this morning

#goodreads – peak of 120 at 10am

#amwriting – peak of 150 at 8am; 160 at 4pm

#read – peak of 150+ at 10am

So what does all this tell us? First off, remember Twitter isn’t just about “buy my book” or “follow me” – you’ve got to connect on some level. If you like to chat, these sites give you a good idea of where your favorite topics are. And I think that by following the trends on hashtags.org, we can have a better idea of when to tweet promotional stuff and how to tag them.

And don’t forget to use bit.ly for your sales links! You can copy your Amazon link into bit.ly, which will give you a shortened version, making Twitter’s 140 character count more manageable. As long as you have an account (free), you can then track how many clicks come from that particular bit.ly link. That is another great way to figure out when your tweets are most used-and if you’re getting click throughs at all.

What do you guys think? Do you have anything to add? How do you use your #hashtags? Have you noticed some hashtags working better for connecting then others? What about time of day?

Into The Dark is available NOW!

Grab your copy from Amazon and all other digital formats at MuseItUp Publishing. And if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter and want exclusive information on upcoming contests, giveaways, and my new Delta Crossroads series, you can join the list here!

This was one of the most suspenseful books I’ve read in a long time. I couldn’t keep track of how many times I held my breath, or how many times I tried to figure out who the bad guy was. Green kept the momentum, excitement, thrills, and chills going throughout the book, with just the right touch of romance added. – Review written by author Andrea Buginsky

First off, I’m sorry for the lack of check-ins lately. Last week, I visited my best friend in the Twin Cities, and this past weekend I was at my parents. I’ve been so focused on writing in my spare time I haven’t been good with checking.

And that brings me to my blogging decision. I know it’s important to keep ourselves out there and to continue to build community, but I’ve also got to have the time to write. Since Thriller Thursday is key to my brand, I’m going to focus on it and cut down on the rest of my blogging time. I’ll continue to check in once a week for Row80, but Mondays will only be author interviews, and if I don’t have one for the week, I won’t be posting.

I know some will say I need all the exposure I can get, but if I don’t have books to promote there isn’t much point in blogging. In this stage of my career, writing has got to be the key. If you guys haven’t already, check out this great article by Jane Friedman at Writer Unboxed on how writers in various stages of their careers need to approach building their platform.

As for the writing, the WIP is actually going well. I’ve gotten about 5000 words in the last ten days or so, and I’ve made all the changes I needed to for the first half of the book. I’m hoping to knock out several scenes in act 2 these weeks.

I can’t encourage you guys enough to try an outline if you’re a panster and having trouble with your plot. This new WIP is very complex, and taking the time to plan scene by scene has made a huge difference for me. I actually know what I’m going to write when I sit down at my computer.

I hope you’re all having a good Sunday – or Monday, depending on where you are. Check back tomorrow to hear author Reggie Ridgeway’s thoughts on publishing with a small press.

You started out in Business Education and spent many years helping people develop various marketing skills. What made you decide to become a writer? Was it something you always dabbled in, or did you one day just decide to pursue your dream?

I was sitting on the shores of Owasco Lake watching my children frolic in the water. They were at the ages that they still needed a constant eye, but I could sit and read a book while they played. This one summer I read a lot. I think I read and re-read every book that Sandra Brown and Nora Roberts ever wrote and I thought I could write a book. We didn’t have a laptop or computer at the cottage, so I pulled out pen and paper and wrote In Two Weeks. When I had it all typed into my computer at home, I started looking up how to get published. I joined the Central NY Romance chapter of RWA and began to learn publishing. A few short years later I signed my first contract.

What was your path to publication? Did you pursue traditional publishing at all before partnering with Bob Mayer to create Who Dares Win Publishing?

I pursued traditional publishing, but got my start with an ePublisher. Unfortunately, they went bankrupt. My second contract was with The Wild Rose Press, another ePublisher. I published 4 novels and 2 short stories with them. I also have worked with two agents. I have a stack of rejection letters a mile high.

I met Bob at a conference many years ago. I took a few of his workshops and struck up a friendship after I took one of his day-long retreats. He was interested in my experience with ePublishing and I was still looking to break into traditional publishing. He had just gotten the rights back to some of his books and wasn’t sure what, if anything, he could do. The partnership developed when I made a mock-cover for one of his Atlantis books and told him how he could get an eBook edition on Amazon. At the time, our plan was to re-release his backlist while we both pursued contracts in New York. Things changed very quickly when we realized where digital was heading and what that meant for our individual careers as well as our business partnership.

You grew up in Rochester, New York, a city with a very high murder rate. What stories inspired your fascination with crime and suspense?

The first story that caught my attention was that of Arthur Shawcross, better known as the Genesee River Killer. Shawcross was in prison twice. First for arson and burglary. He was paroled in 1971. He was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years, but was paroled in 1987 after serving 14 years. I did not know this until much later, but he lived only a block away from one of my first apartments off of Alexander Street. He started murdering prostitutes in 1988. He was caught in Spencerport (another place I lived) on January 3, 1990.

I remember the reports on the news about the murders and I remember the day they captured him. I never thought anything like that could happen in my town…then someone told me about the Alphabet Murders. There was a movie called The Alphabet Killer that came out in 2008 that was loosely based on the Alphabet Murders.

The most disturbing to me was the murder of Kali Ann Poulton. Kali disappeared on May 23, 1994 and she was just 4 years old. It struck so deep because my little girl was about the same age. Kali had been missing for 27 months before they found her body submerged in a 30,000 gallon water tank. Mark Christie was eventually convicted of murdering Kali.

These stories, in many ways, broke my heart. The last one made me want to make sure all killers got what they deserved. In my books they usually are punished pretty badly. A little sweet revenge is always justified when loved ones are taken from us.

However, these stories and others like them lead me to ask one simple question: why would any human being kill another? Which lead to: what would it take for a seemingly normal person to be pushed to such an extreme? They started my fascination in crime stories and understanding characters. It is important to understand the antagonist of your story, even if you never show his point of view. In order to have him/her be real in the readers mind, they have to be real to you, so I dug pretty deep to try to understand something that is uncomprehendable to the “normal” person.

There is one story that led me to write a book (not published yet) called the Harvester. This book is based on a story that broke out a few years ago about local funeral homes harvesting body parts (such as bones for marrow) and replacing them with PVC piping. I’m hoping to release this story by the end of the year.

My books are romances, or at the very least, have a romance subplot, but my bad guys are about as bad as they can be, but the good guys always win.

How do you come up with your ideas? Do you write about experiences based on someone you know/news, or about events in your own life?

Mark Twain said, “write what you know.” Bob Mayer said, “write what you want to know or feel passionate about.” 

There is a little bit of my life in every book. For example, the hero Jared Blake in my novel In Two Weeks is a controlling freak. My husband is a controlling freak. In my book Jane Doe’s Return the heroine is terrified to fly. I’m terrified to fly. My current work in progress, I hate to admit, the hero has a couple of Bob’s traits and mannerisms and another character is based on someone I used know in high school that drove me absolutely bonkers. Are these characters based on the people in my life, but they aren’t these people at all. I use their language, their hobbies and their idiosyncrasies to develop rich three-dimensional characters, but they are far from “real”.

As far as ideas its usually breed from books, movies or things I see. I love the ‘what if’ concept for ideas. For my book, Jane Doe’s Return the idea was: What if the one person who could unlock the mystery of who killed your sister showed up in the most unlikely of places; in your office as your knew partner but you had no idea she was Jane Doe. My current work in progress the idea is: What if, while searching for the daughter you gave up, your patients were being killed one by one and your daughter is next? Once I have an idea, I have to really dig for characters. Character is key. There are times I wish I could start with character, but the plot idea always comes first for me.

Tell us about your latest book, IN TWO WEEKS.  What’s your favorite thing about the book? Is it based on a true story or incident?

In Two Weeks is the first book I ever wrote, so that right there makes it special. My favorite part is the setting: Lake George, NY. I spent all my summers there as little girl and to me, its the most peaceful place on earth. There is nothing factual about the story, but the imagery is real. The house and carriage house that Jared owns in the story is the house my family rented when I was a child. We rented what I describe as the carriage house. The opening scene at the bar is a bar that was right down the road. The hotel that the heroine works at is a very famous hotel on Lake George, although I changed the names of all these places.

Is this ever-changing publishing world, what advice can you offer a new author about marketing?

An author has to have a marketing plan, but the key to that marketing plan is CONTENT. More books. I have three books out right now and I have not done a lot of marketing for myself until now because what does a reader do when they like your book? They buy everything you’ve ever written. But if you have nothing, they have nothing to go buy.

Another thing to consider with marketing is that it’s not always about “sales”. It’s more about building community and finding your readership. The hard part is making the connections. It’s easy to convers with other writers, but where do the readers hang out? I believe the best thing a writer can do is be consistent in their efforts. Bob and found that once we fully committed to what we were doing AND we were consistent in all our efforts (social media and other forms of marketing and advertising) things began to happen. I call it having an internet presence and that is part of the Write It Forward Author Branding Plan, which in a nut shell develops over time as you figure out who you are as a writer and how you interact best with the world.

Learn from those who are succeeding. Watch what they do and figure out what works for you. No need to reinvent the wheel.

There are so many options out there for marketing. I always recommend building a foundation based on what you do well and expand outward. For example, Bob is great on Twitter, Kindleboards and all the blogging he does. If he is consistent in those areas, he can then expand it out simply by posting information on Facebook and Pinterest, but those two things are not his strong suit, so its simply an extension. I’m good at Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. I use Timbre, Pinterest and LinkedIn as an extension of what I’m good at by simply putting the information out there. Once I get more comfortable, I can expand and create more real social circles, but remember, you can’t be everywhere all the time. Pick and choose and whatever you decide to do, do it well.

With so many social media forums out there, which ones do you feel are the most effective?

I sort of touched on that above. The first thing to consider is where you as a writer feel comfortable. Start there and then expand. Most social media sites don’t “sell”, but most have an effect in the long run.

I’d say pick 3 to really work and explore others when you have time. I use Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. Bob uses Twitter, Kindleboards and Blogging. I’ve expanded to Pinterest (love it!), Digg, Timbre and Google+ while Bob has expanded to Pinterest, other forums and trying to work Facebook.

What do you think the best strategy is for writers to reach READERS, meaning the ones outside our writing blogosphere?

This is the hardest question to answer. In any of the social media sites I participate in, most of the conversations are with other writers. The interaction I have with readers are through those that take the time to write reviews or email me. We make a connection with our readers through our books. This is one reason why I caution writers about spending too much time blogging etc before the book comes out. Content is king and it is the first interaction we have with our readers.

I’d say the best way to engage is to offer free books when possible. Do an author Q&A at Goodreads. Do blog tours, this gives you exposure to other authors’ fans.

The biggest thing you can do is write more books.

You’re offering several workshops through Write It Forward – what’s one you recommend everyone take?

I recommend them all, but it depends on what your goals are and what you need currently. If you want to work on craft, take the Conflict workshop. If you want to learn about ePublishing, take our workshop on Digital Publishing. If you want work on you Internet Presence, we have a workshop for that. We also offer workshops on Time Management and Historical Research.

Let’s get a little personal now. You’re a hockey mom, right? What’s that like?

INSANE! You know you’re a hockey mom when someone asks how old your children are and you say, “I have a 91, a 93 and a 97.” I think at one point when all were still at home we were averaging about 170 hockey games in five states and two countries. My daughter now plays D3 college hockey and we don’t get to see her often since she is 7 hours from home. My middle boy is graduating HS and going on to play D3 Golf, so his hockey days are officially over (unless he joins his dad in men’s league) and the baby boy is a freshman in HS. We still have 3 years left of watching and traveling with him. He wants to try and play college hockey.

I have written many scenes sitting at an ice rink waiting for practice be over and if you ask any of the hockey dads on the team, they will tell you that they are the hero’s in my books! LOL.

What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not writing or attending one of the kids games?

I love to read and watch movies or TV shows. I just finished reading a fabulous horrorish book by Laura Benedict called The Devil’s Oven. I loved it. I also went and saw the movie Hunger Games. Very good. My guilty pleasures this season for TV are Dance Moms, Revenge and reruns of Friends. I also am addicted to Southland, Californication, Dexter and Nurse Jackie. I could go on and on. But that is what I do for fun.

Do you have any pet causes? Any charities you support?

I have two nephews with Muscular Dystrophy. Matt Klapp passed away December 29, 2008. His younger brother, Jordan suffers from the same disease. My niece, Shea Holbrook is a racecar driver and she races for a cure. We support her racing because it helps support many children and their families who are touched by this horrible disease. For information on SheaRacing and how Shea helps raise money to find a cure please go to shearacing.com.

What’s the best way for readers to contact you?

Email me at jen@jentalty.com

Thanks so much for speaking with me today, Jen! I’ve learned so much from your blog, and the success you and Bob have had is fantastic. Good luck with IN TWO WEEKS!

Thanks for having me!

Please take a minute to leave Jen some love. She works hard to help other authors, and I’m really excited she took the time to give us such great answers.

Jen’s Books on Amazon:
Rekindled
In Two Weeks
Jane Doe’s Return

Jen’s Books on Barnes and Noble:
In Two Weeks
Jane Doe’s Return

Jen’s Books on Kobo:
In Two Weeks
Jane Doe’s Return

Who Dares Win Publishing:
In Two Weeks
Jane Does Return

We all know social media is vital for today’s writers. We’ve been told by various social media experts that we must have a brand, a network, a footprint. I’m working on it, but most days it feels like a big muddy smear.

We need to reach out and be active on Twitter, Facebook, etc. It’s about connecting, not promoting. And I get that. That’s the easy part. I can jump onto Twitter and visit various #hashtags (#wewrite, #amwriting #row80 #pubwrite, #mywana) to find new and interesting authors to meet at any given time.

But the social media mountain is still slippery for me. Facebook, for instance. I have a Facebook page that combines friends/family/writing stuff. I’m slowly building my friend count and trying to connect. But then I was told to have the author page as well. So I have it. Out of 300-something friends, only 37 follow the author page. And really, what’s the difference between the two? Is it really necessary to have both? What are the benefits? And how do I get more people to “like” the author page, other than just asking? I HATE asking, unless it’s someone I know well.

And Goodreads. It’s a great place to connect with readers. Have lots of friends on there, too. But again, how do I use it effectively? I belong to some groups, but most of the discussions are the daily “how are you” type thing. Those are great, but we’re all pressed for writing time. There’s got to be a better way to socialize on Goodreads. I suppose I just haven’t found the right group yet–or haven’t paid enough attention.

Google+…haven’t even tried it. Worth the time? With a presence on Twitter, FB, and the blog, do I need to continue to stretch myself?

I’d also like to find a way to reach READERS. You know, people who aren’t writers but read the genre I write. Is Goodreads the only place for that? Are there other online groups dedicated to suspense novels? I confess, I haven’t looked for those yet. I’m still stuck on trying to figure out everything else.

Finally, there’s the blog. It’s doing well, and I’m grateful for all the great feedback I receive. And yet, I need to find a way to really put Thriller Thursday out there, to draw in more readers outside our blogosphere. I know the way to do that most likely lies with Goodreads and the outside groups I just rambled about, but I’m not sure of the best way to reach out, so to speak.

How do we promote without PROMOTING? You know, constantly telling people to read this and comment? The only way I know how is to join groups and just chat, connect, as Kristen Lamb says. But I still feel I’m not doing enough. I’m just not sure what the other ingredients are.

What do you guys think? For those of you already published, self 0r traditional, what have been your best strategies for effective social media?

Welcome everyone from the SheWrites Blog Hop! Enjoy Donna’s wonderful post and say hello!

The wonderful Donna Galanti is guest blogging for me today, and her topic is something every writer needs to be familiar with: 9 ways to get your novel ready to market. Donna’s shared some valuable links as well. Enjoy!

Hi Stacy, thanks for having me on! In my quest to polish my first novel to be the-best-it-can-be here is feedback (and resources) I received along the way from the experts—agents, authors and editors.

It’s been driven into us writers over and over that before you query, you must have your novel as polished and professional as possible. In these revolutionary publishing times, it’s especially important for a debut author to have a top edited MS to send that agent or publisher. Here are some areas to address to make your novel shine.

1. Is it in the proper manuscript format?

Check out the Agent’s MS standards or Google. Here are some basics:

Double spaced. Minimum one inch margins all around. If sending a hard copy make sure it’s printed single sided, unstapled. Your name, title, page # should be in a header on each page.

A good resource list:

http://thewritingplace.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/formatting-a-novel-manuscript/

2. Is it too long?

Know the accepted word count for your genre. Look at another round of editing to shorten if need be. You don’t want this to be a reason you get rejected. An agentor publisher may wonder, as a debut author, if you have performed the necessary edits to make it a professional submission if it’s too long. Look at shortening your MS. Publishers think in dollars. Higher word counts = higher publishing cost.

Check out:http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2008/03/on-word-counts-and-novel-length.html

3. Perform a butterfly edit. Do a search for these nasty guys to replace or remove

I eliminated 4,000 words just by doing this!

*Look to remove adverbs. Those nasty (–ly) words and unnecessary words like just, even, very.

*Consider removing annoying POV filterslike: realized, thought, saw,noticed, glanced. For example: “She realized he moved closer”. If we are in your character’s POV the action is coming direct from her, so all we need to say is “He moved closer”.

*Where possible use past tense (–ed) vs. (–ing).

*One space after periods is now the standard. Can do a search with a period and two spaces after (.) and replace with a period and one space after. (. )

*Reconsider passive language: is, are, was, were, has been, will have been, have been, etc.

*Remove exclamation points! If your MC “screamed” we don’t need the (!) to tell us so.

*Make sure you use the em dash (“No way–I can’t!”) with no space before and after.

*Do not use a dialogue tag with a sentence that ends with ? or ! (but you removed that ! – right?).

4. Do you know what genre your MS really is? Do you have a sub-list?

Make sure. Check out (library site)

www.librarything.com

Mine is a paranormal suspense and here is what I found, for example.

http://www.librarything.com/tag/paranormal+suspense

Then create a submission list (sub-list) of the top ten books your novel is most like. The agent or publisher will want to know that you know where your book will be placed on the bookshelf (online or brick-and-mortar).

5. Does your book start with the true inciting incident?

Know where your book should start. What is the event that propels the premise in your book? Do you start with the true inciting incident or does it just seem like the true one? Sometimes it can be deceptive. The inciting incident must set the premise and the dramatic imperative for the reader to keep reading.

6. Does your book start with your main character? It should. If not, perhaps the character it starts with instead is your true MC. Then of course this changes your query letter, your synopsis…..This happened to me with one project. I was made aware of it by two author mentors.

7. Point of view (POV)

Rule of thumb. One POV per scene. Watch for head hopping. Very few authors can pull this off well. In reviewing my MS I found a few head-hopping scenes. I went back through each scene and checked off who had the most POV in it. I also decided who needed to tell the story best in that scene and changed it to that one character’s POV.

TIP:Make sure you are telling the scene through your character’s eyes. For example, if Laura is showing us the scene then we can’t “see the tears shining in her eyes”.

8. Does your book start with your protagonist sitting around thinking and not doing?

Don’t start your novel with the character sitting around alone in exposition.If your MC is doing nothing, skip it and start at Chapter 2 or 3, or wherever the action starts. For a good example read Accidental Tourist intro scene. You need to grab reader (and agent) on first page. This is the only chance you have.

9. Is your MS in the right voice for its genre?

Check out other authors in your genre. Do you have a consistent voice throughout scenes in the book? If it’s a Thriller make sure your MC doesn’t have a YA voice or your YA book doesn’t sound like it’s written from an adult’s POV.

QUIZ: Just for fun. How many things are wrong with this sentence below?

“Don’t even do that!”She screamed loudly, running away, as she realized what the writer could have done.

Good luck polishing your book so you can market it well!

Hook up with me here:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/DonnaGalanti

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1480550457

Website: http://www.donnagalanti.com/

I ran across Laura Pauling’s blog a couple of months ago and instantly became a fan. Her posts are fun, and Laura is extremely considerate of other writers. After one of my first comments, she emailed me personally to further answer my question. For a busy mom, blogger, and writer, I thought that was pretty impressive. Laura writes Middle Grade and YA, and is in the middle of the querying process. She’s also learning all she can about self-publishing, which she shares on her blog every Wednesday.

I’m very grateful Laura took the time to answer my questions, so enough of me. Here’s Laura!

Q: Tell me about what got you started writing. Have you always wanted to be a writer? Did you write in school?
I was a stay-at-home mom in need of a creative outlet. Need I say more? Quilting got tedious (and I kinda sucked at it). Scrapbooking was too expensive (and I always fell behind). I think that after loving to read my whole life, creating stories was the obvious next step.

Why Middle Grade and Young Adult? What is it about those genres that draw you?
Powerful Middle Grade stories like Where The Red Fern Grows and Bridge to Terabithia affected me and stayed with me much longer than any adult books I’d read. And I love the fast paced plots and the more powerful literary YA.

You were a teacher – how did that influence your writing?
I can’t say it influenced my writing other than choosing to write MG and YA. I had to read children’s literature books in college and teach them and recommend them so…

You’ve gained quite a following on your blog. What’s your social media secret?
Ha ha! Thanks for the compliment. But I’m still a mini-blogger in the world of social media. I don’t have any secrets except see what posts bring more hits and steer in that direction. I try and keep my blog unique, useful, and updated. I help promote others. And I work hard but don’t let it take away from my writing.

Have you attended any writing workshops or conferences? If so, how have they helped?
The main conference I attend is the New England SCBWI, invaluable for networking, talking shop, and leaving inspired. But most of my growth in craft comes from reading books on writing, studying published books, and practicing.

One of your recent Wednesday posts was on the constant changes in publishing, which I loved. Since you’re in the query process, are you to the point of considering self-publishing?
I am seriously considering self-publishing but not with the MG book I’m querying. My series of blog posts on the changes in the publishing industry are a result of my research. The changes happening are fascinating. And as writers, we all need to be informed and make the decision best for our career goals.

How has the query process been? In my opinion, one of the pros about querying is the potential for feedback from agents. Have you received any?
The query process? Exhilarating. Exhausting. Time-consuming. Exciting. Discouraging. Encouraging. It’s all those things combined. I receive more quality feedback from agents/editors at NESCBWI. But a form rejection is powerful feedback. Of course, not the kind we want.

How do you juggle writing time with family time?
I write during the day when my kids are at school, and I read/write at night after they are in bed. When they were younger, I wrote during naptimes and Barney. (Yay for Barney!) (Now my kids sing gory spin-offs of the Barney song.)

What’s your favorite thing to do with the family?
We love to have cook-outs during the summer at the lake, cross country ski in the winter, or just hang out and play Apples to Apples. Of course, there are many times when we are all reading. (And my husband sleeps with a book in his lap.)

Is writing your escape, or do you view it as a job?
I totally view it as a job. One hundred percent.

E-reader or Paperback?
I prefer paperback but I have an e-reader. I buy the format that is the least expensive. If I know I’m going to love a book, I buy the print copy.

What are you reading right now?
I am gobbling up self published books as research. Addison Moore’s Ethereal and Tremble, Megg Jensen’s Anathema, and I have several others on my Kindle. I also can’t wait to read Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma. This list could go on forever. Seriously.

If you could only have one book to read for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Impossible to answer. Instead I’ll tell you that if I could only have one flavor of ice cream for the rest of my life it would be chocolate peanut butter.

And finally, what advice can you give to new writers?
I used to dislike the advice read, read, read, and write, write, write. But in hindsight, it really is the best. But, for something more concrete, I’d say read Save the Cat by Blake Snyder and start breaking down published books for structure. If you’re struggling with first chapters, find openings you love, break them down, and apply to your own writing.

Hey, thanks for having me!

Thank you so much, Laura! Good luck on your query process, and I look forward to your Wednesday posts. Like many of us, I’m trying to decide whether to self-publish or query, and your posts are a great way to gain a better understanding of how things are changing.

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