Filled to the Brim

Okay. Have you ever had those weeks where you’ve thought just one more thing would tip the pot? This is exactly a ‘Calgon take me away’ type of day.

Sigh. Sure I had back issues last week but those are dissipating and life is getting back on a more even keel. What isn’t is the constant tug on my time. I know, I know.

I am just like my fellow bloggers here, too committed with too little time. Here was my calendar for just today:

Wednesday, August 26

1. Write Blog
2. Senior Pictures (17 yo)
3. Answer emails
4. Contest Coordinating and Judging
5. Writing
6. Pick up DH at airport

Geez. Any one of those items can take a couple of hours and there are just so many in a day.

And then I remember a discussion I had with a NYC best-selling author, I can’t remember just who but it was at an RWA National Conference, years ago. She told me each of us have the same amount of time every day. No one gets more, no one gets less. Each of us has exactly the same framework in which to work our magic. Some of us excel, some of us fade. But all of us have to fit in what we want every day. The problem is just how we do it.

For me, I get days like today where I feel like a chicken with my head cut off because there are so many things pulling at me. The key here is actually take a big, deep cleansing breath and put things into perspective. There are things I can slide a little, there are things I can’t and there are other items which are dependent upon other people. Those I have to wait for.

So I made my list but didn’t follow the order today and that got me screwed up from the get go. I plan well but sometimes get off task and run around like a chicken. But all it took was writing this blog to bring it all back into focus. This is important to me. Writing is important to me. Life will always come at me and I’ll met each challenge head-on and work within my parameters.

What challenges do each of you have to meet within your lives to get your writing time in? Your family time? Your personal time? Give me your answer and get entered into the August giveaway for a huge basket of goodies which includes an iPod. Yeah!

I am also extending my book giveaway. If you purchase a copy of Giselle’s Elf before September 15, I will give you a FREE ebook copy of any my other elf books. Just send me a copy of your receipt to lynncrain@cox.net and I’ll email you for your preference.

And, one last exciting thing: today is the day I’m giving away a copy of AutoCrit, the program for writers! The winner is....drum roll please....the Chicks of Characterization. Come on down and claim your prize!!!

You all have a great week and I’ll see you next Wednesday with the winner of the August giveaway and another great blog!

Lynn

My Achey-Breaky Back

Yeah, I know, that does sounds ominous and I suppose it is. But as I got up today, I felt the right side of my back tweak for lack of a better word. My 17 yo heard me as well since the only reason I was awake at this god-forsaken hour (5 am) was to get him up for soccer practice. I must have moaned or something because he was immediately at my side with a “You okay, Mom? You seem to be in pain.”

As I slid to the side of the bed and try to sit up, all I could think is 'What the heck did I do?' I just looked at him and replied, “It would seem that way, wouldn’t it?” One good thing I found was the more I moved, the better it felt. So I have two days to go through before my regularly scheduled chiropractic appointment and my therapeutic massage. Right.

For years, people thought I was crazy because I am religious about those appointments. I was religious about them before they became a fad and the reason why is because they keep one healthy and moving and pain free. Matter of fact, this is the first time in about five years I’ve even had back problems at all and if my memory serves me correctly, it is basically the same thing except on the opposite side.

At that time, I slept wrong. Somehow I scrunched myself up in such a manner that I had the whole left side of my back spasming. This time, I know it is a combination of sleeping on a crappy bed at my Dad’s house , traveling in the car for long hours and more than likely, little to no exercise because my butt has been planted in this chair since I got home as I’m on an editing and writing jag not to mention deadlines.

And I know better. I thought I’d have time and I wouldn’t get nailed until the day before my appointment. But I was wrong as I felt this back ache slowly come on during this past week. If I’d have taken all those little aches and pains I’d felt earlier in the week seriously, I would have realized I need to do more walking, stretch every day and get another chiropractic appointment in this week. Dummy me. This is almost the same things as last time as I waited until it was too late and then had to have a series of appointments before I was fixed.

I’ve learned my lesson, or should have as I just dialed my doctor hoping to get in today. LOL!

This whole thing brings up the thought of manuscript health. In May, when I knew I was going on vacation, I realized I wouldn’t be close to my critique partners or anyone who’d really be able to give me good feedback on my work, I went out to look for something that could. And just like expected I was pretty internet deprived. I even blogged about it at the time as I had found the fantastic AutoCrit program. Since then, I have grown to love the program because it is so much like my crit partners and a few of my editors. I am really pleased with the program and while it will never replace the real people in my life, it will give them the occasional run for their money.

Imagine my surprise when I get home I find an email from the owner of the company, Nina Davies, in my inbox. She wrote me about what I had said in this blog at the end of May. She was so pleased and grateful for my blog that as a result, today I am giving away a free Platinum Membership to one lucky author. This is a $77 value and is good for a full year of services. If you have never seen this program in action, go check out the free trial as it will be well worth your time.

So far, I have run about 200,000 of my written words through the process. One such book is the very first book I ever wrote. I want it to see the light of day BUT realize Midnight Run needs work. Lots of work. LOL!. The first round is a chapter by chapter edit. Next time I run the 72K book through, it will be the whole thing and believe me when I say, the program will look at the pacing, redundancies and more. I wholeheartedly support this program as it has helped me to become a better writer overall.

My August giveaway is still underway. One lucky winner will be chosen at the end of the month to receive a basket full of goodies including an iPod. And this prize just keeps getting better and better. The basket I purchased is a handmade version I picked up at the Idaho Falls Farmer’s Market. It is deep and the colors matched what I saw as the perfect giveaway. This person will be so happy with this I just can’t wait to give it away!

As always, all you need to do is to comment here and be entered for my drawings. The winner of the copy of AutoCrit will be announced here next week as I want to give everyone the chance to be in the drawing which means I’ll pick a winner at 12:01 am next Wednesday. At the same time, you will be entered in the August End-of-Summer giveaway.

Hope you all have a great week. Until next time...

Lynn

Interesting Author Tools

I'm on my new machine and don't have any pictures except cover art...and isn't it a wonderful cover? Yeah, I'm on the elf track again. I'll talk more about this is July...

This week when trying to decide what I would write, I ran across some interesting things for writers. Some of these you all may know and some you might not.

The first is a place called Tiny Url. The website for this is http://www.blogger.com/www.tinyurl.com and it does something miraculous. It takes a large url, like the purchase link for one of your books, and makes it small. So basically, you go from this

http://www.extasybooks.net/ebjmsite/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=ebook_flypage&product_id=5045&category_id=31&manufacturer_id=65&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=44

to this

http://tinyurl.com/AnElfsMagic

with very little effort. The page is self explanatory and these tiny urls can be book specific. This looks more polished and professional in my opinion. I use these in all my promo now and it does look much better.

Last week I had talked about promotion and given you a yahoogroup to join, so you would get pinged every day about promoting. This week, I'm going to give you a list of links where promotion is welcome. On these lists, you can promote anything. You should check them out.

An Alternative Read http://groups.yahoo.com/group/An_Alternative_Read/

Cupids Library Reviews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cupidslibraryreviews/

ebook Chatters http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebookChatters/

Hot Romance Readers http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HotRomanceReaders/

Infinite Possibilities http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Infinite_Possibilities/

Moonlight Fantasy http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Moonlight_Fantasy/

Don't forget to check to see if they have any posting rules. Most groups have but they are easy to follow. These are but a few on my list which ranges between 80-300 groups. Do I belong to them all? No, I don't but I go regularly to check them out and see if they are offering author days. It never hurts to just join then change the email to special notices only. That way you're there and will only have to make a minor change to become a regular again. And there are always giveaways on these groups. Nothing wrong with some free books for any of us.

Another thing you all may have run across are book trailers. I have been asked many times whether you need one or not. I'm not sure if an author does but I can tell you it does generate interest. Take a look at one of my trailers and see what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMsz9fmy9ls

Now what is amazing about this video is two things. One is that it has been viewed 2,136 times. To this day, I get people emailing me and asking about this video. It's a little long but nicely put together even if there is an error in it that no one caught. LOL! Oh, well, it didn't distract anyone at all since no one pointed it out.

The reason the error was never changed is that making a video is time intensive and I had moved on by the time I noticed it. Still, videos are a great way to get the word out about your books.

That's all on the promo front this week. I wish you all luck in getting the word out about your books. Drop me a line and let me know.

More on epublishing and RWA: the epublishing dilemma has been heating up over at RWAchange. The group is renaming itself in order to not violate any RWA edict on use of the name as well as to better define what they are about. The new name will be Romance Writers for Change with a completely new website and yahoogroups. There is still a lot of misinformation floating around out there, so I suggest that all of you read everything carefully before you decide which side of the fence you'll end up on.

One of the best articles I've read this week really hits the nail on the head, so to speak and I think you'll see the truth of this blog. The link is http://www.blogger.com/www.theresameyers.com/blog/ and the author, Theresa Myers, is a long time RWA member. Very interesting to see another's perspective. And look under June 25th if the blog doesn't come up correctly as the software is new and while it's the same, there are some new features which I'm not sure I quite have down yet. LOL!

Next week I'll be gone to Idaho but plan to have something up. I'm not sure if it will be pictures or a travel log but it will be something. Then I'm off to visit a friend in Canada. She lives north of Vancouver and I can't wait to go. I'll keep you all posted.

One final thing...the winner of my summer pack is...drumroll please: Debby Creager (cleo@hbeark.com). Debby, I will be emailing you this weekend for your snail mail addy. And I want to thank all of you for participating. I'll be having another contest in late August for the release of my next elf book, Giselle's Elf, coming out August 1.

Until next time...hope you have a great week!

Lynn

RWA, Reviews and More

Don't you just love this picture? It's of the Eilean Donan castle in Scotland and is very calming which is always needed before discussing a controversial topic.

Okay, I really thought that I was done with the RWA thing and then on another loop someone posted that ESPAN, a special interest chapter in RWA for electronic and small press authors, posts a kick-ass expose from one of the best agents in the industry, Deidre Knight. Here’s the link below and I think you all should read it.

http://espan-rwa.com/the-digital-age-and-rwa-a-call-for-change/

What is so very vindicating is the fact she basically says the same thing about the industry as a whole I have over and over again. Since she has a lot of clout, I’m hoping the industry will sit up and notice, especially RWA. So I thought I would Google the whole RWA and epublishing thing. OMG! There are 6300, count them, posts regarding this very thing. And believe me, this is one thing I will really, really get the word out on. RWA…are you listening now?

Here are a few of the more of the most interestng links: (NOTE: I went 10 pages in before I stopped…6300 references are a lot to look through…LOL!)

http://charleneteglia.com/blog/rwa-epublishing-and-money-bring-your-torch-and-pitchforks

http://www.jackiebarbosa.com/2009/06/03/wtf-wednesday-rwa-vs-epublishers-take-one-millionty/

http://www.thegalaxyexpress.net/2009/05/rwa-rejects-digital-publishing-workshop.html

http://www.erecsite.com/2009/06/rwa-and-epublishing.html

Now the last link has is a whole list to other blogs and things which looks at what the RWA president, Diane Pershing, said in her last column.

Now you all might think I hate RWA and I have to tell you I don’t. I love RWA. I’ve served on its board, founded chapters and used to go to every conference until my mother got sick. Then my focus had to change and it’s only been in the last four years or so that I’ve come back to the fold so to speak.

What I hate is the shortsightedness of this stance. One of the above blogs directs the focus of the problem by comparing what RWA is doing to the record business who got too big for their britches when they tried to control everything about the recording business including how CDs were produced and sold. Hello…notice there are really no record stores anymore? Except of the collector variety? Most cars have a jack for an iPod and I know I wish mine did because I buy everything off iTunes put it on the iPod and move it around as I need it. And I’m no spring chicken. I have kids over 30 and I wasn’t a baby when I had my oldest either. If I can adapt RWA can too.

Okay…off my soapbox…LOL! Maybe I’ll just get a petition going or something. I’m sure there are RWA members out there who would really want to sign it.

One of the other items I want to talk about is reviews. Most of the reviews now days are done online which makes it easier for all those involved as they are very accessible. At least, in my mind, that’s what it’s all about. I have received lots of reviews over the years from many different places. Some are good and some are not so good as expected. But come on now, almost five years after the release date? To give the reviewer some credit, she did give me a good review and she probably didn’t receive the book until recently. It’s been known to happen but is still a surprise.

Now, my question to all you authors out there, what is the longest time you’ve had to wait for a review? I’ll give anyone their choice of eBooks if they are past the five year mark. Just let me know through blog comments and I'll email you privately offline.

One final bit of news is in the form of some music. All right, all right, I’ll admit, I’m a music slut. I will listen to almost anything and I like something from every genre imaginable except maybe the polka. LOL! Here’s a new group I ran across via another blog, The Divine Madness, and I thought you all might like their music. Someone had used it in a book trailer and the music was just so perfect. Check them out and I think you’ll see what intrigues me so much. Here’s there link:

http://www.myspace.com/thedivinemadness

Remember you must comment to be entered into my drawing for a basket at the end of the month. I plan to put in a lot of goodies including an iPod and all sort of sexy toys. Sorry there isn't a picture but I forgot to take one this week. :-(

Hope you enjoyed this week’s blog and see you next time!

Lynn