We are what we eat…

A Diary of Writing Wisdom (and other nonsense)

#THREE

We are what we eat…

The Latin proverb simulac hoc, ergo propter hoc, which may be translated, “everything is the product of its environment,” is the basis for this writing theory.

According to this idea authors are like rivers. Rivers do not create water; they receive it from springs and streams. In the same way authors receive their ideas from the streams of thought that are flowing in the corner of the world in which they live. A middle-class Eastern author will receive middle-class Eastern ideas. A working-class Western author will receive working-class Western ideas.

To say it another way, authors “are what they eat.” This idea applies to minds as well as to bodies. It assumes that, just as my body is the product of red curry or pulled-pork BBQ (depending on my background), so also my mind is the product of French ideas or American ideas, liberal ideas or conservative ideas (depending on my background).

Growing authors, however, will realize this about themselves and seek out ways to “alternate” what they eat (every once in a while).

As a step toward becoming more aware of the kind of writer you now are. As a step toward becoming the kind of writer you someday wish to be—take time to consider not only how what you eat may be contributing to your writing, but how what you only eat may also be limiting your writing.

Variety adds spice . . . to writing life.

Authors, be what authors need to be.

You’ll find hundreds of sites with advice about book promotion. We even have that advice here on Lit World Interviews. But what do you not find?

Ever heard of an actor named Haley Joel Osment? He saw dead people and was Murphy Brown’s and Forrest Gump’s. He was in a movie where Kevin Spacey played his teacher and had his Osment’s class come up with an idea to change the world. Osment took it seriously and went for it.

Ideas for publicity come from some strange places. I’ve tried here on LWI to get a ball rolling with no luck. It’s almost like having to write a query letter and getting the hook just right. Or making certain your first paragraph of the greatest novel ever written you spent ten years working on will pull in the reader and make them buy your book.

The hook, the bait, the paragraph wasn’t good enough, I suppose.

Big publishing companies have tons of authors. How much time do you think they put in for publicity for each author? Can you image how large a publicity department they would need? A great many of those authors end up doing their own publicity. They have as much clue as the average person when they start. And that book that took ten long years of love and sweat and divorce and celibacy to write ends up going nowhere.

Why? Because all those sites out there don’t tell you something. Don’t provide you something.

Do book blog tours. Have people review your book. Get online presence. Do this, do that. Great advice. Where do you start? How? How do you find these people?

Indie Authors, most Authors are broke, or closet to living check to check. We don’t even have the publicity person of a publishing house telling us we need to do something.

Authors Supporting Authors is what I call a Pay it Forward entity. The idea is hundreds of authors and author supporters end up involved. We become the publishing company publicity machine. How much does it take to click something, or post a prepared post by an author, or even at times read a free book given for a review?

But there is more to it than that. With authors actively being involved we can do things. We can build up lists of blogs with themes that are best for certain types of books. List what sites to go to for types of publicity ranging from free to OMOhNo-I-Ain’t-Paying-That. We can rate services. Put out warnings of scams.

A centralized hub for authors to go to and find what they need without the headache of having to search the internet for it all. Let’s put it all in one place.

I started the site last week. But I am not going to be the only one doing anything. You are as well. You will be providing the information more so than I will. You find something, comment about it. There will be threads to do things like that. You want to be an Author on the site? Email me at ronovanwrites@gmail.com. It doesn’t mean you will be given author access but you probably will if I know you or one of my friends does. Why the hesitancy? I have to trust because this is important.

I would like to have people who keep an eye on each type of promotional piece to make sure things are being found, comments are being taken care of and people requesting help with promotions are not overlooked.

That’s right. The most important part of ASA is you the author tells the community what you need and the idea is the community responds and helps with the idea of Paying it Forward. We all need help. Indie Authors and Authors in total are one of the largest companies out there. We need to start acting like it and doing something about it. There is room for all of us to have success.

By having one place to go to, we can organize and not conflict with each other if possible.

Will it take time to grow this? Only as much time as it takes each of you to get involved. Will it be perfect to begin with? No. But as soon as possible we will have something great in place we can ALL use. That includes me.

https://authorssupportingauthors.wordpress.com/

There’s the link. Click it. Follow. I’ll create a Suggestion Box Page where you can leave suggestions for promotion ideas, publicity, page ideas for the site.

There will be a Newsletter created.

Didn’t click the link yet?

Then click the image and get to work.

Let’s connect.

https://twitter.com/RonovanWrites

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ronovan-Writes/630347477034132

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RonovanWrites/about

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9 Sites to promote for free your book and boost your sales From @bestbookstoread

Best Books to Read has a great post you should all read.

We all need every bit of exposure we can get. Even signing with an agent and having a big publisher doesn’t guarantee everything. You have to watch out for yourself as well. Best Books to Read has put the sites together for us.

9 Sites to promote for free your book and boost your sales

One of our Team, at least one, is checking out the sites and we hope to give you an opinion on them.

Ronovan

Q&A Sandi K Whipple Dancing with a Cowboy @whipsan

Reviews of previous work Loving Adonis

The happy ending is full of twists and surprises that I couldn’t foresee, and it made up for all the frustration.-Trish Jackson (Author) 4 out of 5 stars

I’ll tell you this was a very sweet but frustrating read but that is not a bad thing it this case. You have this amazing couple that fall in love with each other the minute they meet and yet they spend the entire book confusing each other because they are to stubborn to talk….Keep the tissues handy and enjoy a GREAT READ!-DD Gott 5 out of 5 stars

My guest today just kind of ended up being one of those finds. I liked what I saw so I asked her for an interview. It’s pretty much that simple. Okay, so I had to send the information and then received an okay. But now we have her and that’s what counts. So now it’s time to meet . . .

Sandi K. Whipple

@whipsan

RW:Where are you from?

SANDI: I was born in Waukegan, Illinois (Home of Jack Benny) but moved to California’s San Francisco Bay area as a teen. With the exception of time spent in the Military as an Air Traffic Controller, I spent most of my adult life there. I moved to North Dakota in June of 2000.

RW: Who are your favorite authors?

SANDI: Bari Wood, who wrote the Killing gift and Mrs. John R. Marsh, also known as Margaret Mitchell, author of one of the greatest love stories ever written, “Gone With the Wind”. A little trivia about her, the fame disrupted her way of living to a point that one day, in a fit of exasperation she said she was determined never to write another word as long as she lived.

RW:What is your favorite beverage to drink, any kind?

SANDI: I drink Vodka martinis or have a few beers when I go out (which is seldom), otherwise I like Cran-Rasberry juice or ice water.

RW: What is your favorite word?

SANDI: Are the honesty police nearby? I’m ashamed to admit it, “crap”.

RW: What is your background in writing, what makes you a writer?

SANDI: I guess I really don’t have a background in writing. In 2007, after major surgery, I was in a wheelchair for eleven weeks, and I was bored! I was reading two and sometimes three Romance novels a day. I shared my disappointment with a friend regarding a novel I read, and she suggested I write my own. So I did. And it kind of stuck.

RW: What is your escape from writing when you are at that about to explode point?

SANID: I watch one of my favorite movies on DVD. I have close to 1000, as well as 15 complete older TV series. (Kojak, Streets of San Francisco, FBI, Mannix, and more.)

RW: What is the title of your book and why did you choose that name?

SANDI: My current book is titled “Dancing With A Cowboy”. I was perusing stock book covers on the Internet one day, and I saw a cover that caught my attention. It had a make believe title on it, as most stock covers do, and I thought a book with that title would be great.

RW: What genre does your book fall into?

SANDI: Romance

RW: Why do you write in the genre that you do?

SANDI: I’ve been reading Romance stories and books since I was ten years old. (A very long time ago!) I’d steal my mother’s True Confession magazines, now owned since 2012 by True Renditions LLC. (After being sold several times since it started in 1922.)

RW: Tell us a little about your book.

SANDI: Lucy Baumgardner, working partner in a law firm in Philadelphia, works too hard. So says the senior partner, who just happens to be her father. When she’s forced to take a two week hiatus, she assumes two weeks of pedicures, massages, and poolside relaxation with a glass of wine won’t kill her. But things aren’t always what one expects.

To her horror, city girl Lucy ends up stuck on a working ranch with no phones, cell service, or WiFi. Her acute shock dictates she will NOT play cowgirl for two weeks.

Lucy’s a well educated, quick witted, observant young woman who, for the first time as an adult, finds herself in a position that she isn’t in control of. Stace, the ranch owner, whose carrying some heavy baggage after being hurt in the past, finds Lucy comical, and oh yeah, beautiful!

As a relationship develops, it comes to light that a few guests aren’t on the ranch to play wanna-be cowboys. Trouble is brewing, and they’re behind it.

As an attorney, Lucy jumps right in to find out what’s going on, and Stace let’s her take charge of the situation. When the problem is solved, for fear of getting hurt again, he foolishly shows his gratitude by sending her away!

I wrote this book, and I laughed out loud while writing some of the comical things Lucy does and says, and I even found myself looking for the Kleenex box.

RW: What inspired the book?

SANDI: A mixture of 2 pictures I saw on the Internet.

RW: Tell us about your main character(s) and what you think will them connect to readers.

SANDI: Lucy’s an educated and independent woman who above all is no quitter! No matter what! I think since the late sixties, and even still today, women who are strong and independent, yet still sweet and feminine, are the survivors of romance.

RW: Who would play your main character(s) in a movie?

SANDI: That’s a ‘tuff’ question. I’m thinking maybe a Sandra Bullock type?

RW: What message do you think your book delivers to the reader?

SANDI: If you truly love someone, a sad romance, doesn’t necessarily have to end sadly.

RW: What did you learn about yourself from writing this book?

SANDI: That I have a sense of humor. Or so a friend told me.

RW: Describe your book in one word.

SANDI: Entertaining!

RW: Where can we get your book now?

SANDI: After October 15th Smashwords for eBook, and Amazon, Createspace, and Barnes and Noble for paperback.

RW: What other books have you written?

SANDI: Loving Adonis and Twisted Engagement

RW: How do people connect with you through all forms of social media?

SANDI:

RW: Do you currently have representation? If so who, and if not describe what qualities you would like in an agent and what you would bring to the relationship.

SANDI: NO! At this point, after so many depressing rejection letters, I’m not sure. I even received a response from an agent telling me, successful, willing agents, are few and far between, and unless I’m a Nora Roberts, not to hold my breath. But even if I could find and agent with tremendous connections, I might question what they would do for me that I can’t. I arranged an appearance on the local CBS affiliate for a live interview, and plugged two, not one book. I arranged and advertised a surprisingly successful book signing. I made certain both local newspapers ran articles about my books. Am I getting rich? No. Am I selling books? Yes, and more than I anticipated.

RW: What are you working on right now?

SANDI: A romantic suspense that takes place in Maine.

RW: What book are you reading at this time?

SANDI: The River Maiden by Meredith R. Stoddard.

RW: What is your biggest tip for someone to getting published?

SANDI: Do your homework. Unless you can afford to get ripped off for a lot of money, let the website “Preditors & Editors” become your bible. I speak from experience! And learn whatever you can about MARKETING! It’s a never ending process. Even if you’re fortunate enough to land an agent, you’ll still be expected to market, publicize, advertise, and sell your own books! It’s a never ending process.

RW: If you could have written any book that exists, other than your own, what would it be and why?

SANDI: Gone With The Wind, because it’s a real heartwarming love story that has you hating, loving, and pitying the hero! The romance and love stories of today are expected to have the HEA! (Happily Ever After)

Military Air Traffic Controller to romance writer. That one kind of blows my mind just a little. But in an awesome way. Who would think that I would ever write romance myself? (Hopefully no ex-girlfriends are reading this.) I want to thank Sandi for joining us for an interview. And I want encourage all of you to guy her books, follow her where you can online.

And one last thing: Whenever you read a book, write a review.

Much Respect

Ronovan

Q&A Lisa Mason of The Garden of Abracadabra, Volume 1 of the Abracadabra Series @lisaSmason

The Garden of Abracadabra

Lisa Mason

“This is a very entertaining novel- sort of a down-to-earth Harry Potter with a modern adult woman in the lead. Even as Abby has to deal with mundane concerns like college and running the apartment complex she works at, she is surrounded by supernatural elements and mysteries that she is more than capable of taking on. Although this book is just the first in a series, it ties up the first “episode” while still leaving some story threads for upcoming books. I’m looking forward to finding out more. “-D. Pflaster about The Garden of Abracadabra

Author of numerous books spanning over a surprising amount of time, I was very excited to have our guest today. She accepted with such sincerity and kindness I was encouraged about the literary world. Meet . . .

Lisa Mason

@lisaSmason

RW: Where are you from?