Tag: Publishing

Writing in Sections

As a writer I’m constantly trying new ways to organize me thoughts for books. Some days my mind is riddled with different scenes and it’s hard to concentrate on just one part. So I’m trying a new way to do things that I’ve read other authors do.

Since my mind seems to want to go ahead of itself, I’m letting it. When I start a book now I also start another word document that I name Segments of “book name”. In this document I write the scenes that are later down the road, that way I don’t lose the thought process and also it helps with the current parts. I know where they’re headed and can keep everything flowing in the right direction.

I’ve noticed that my mind seems less tangled when I do this process. I guess getting the parts that are screaming at me on paper helps the words flow better without obstacles. Try this process out and see how it works for you. But don’t forget to label each section so that you can copy and paste it in when your writing gets to that point. It really helps!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What if…

How many times have you asked yourself or someone else the famous question, What if…? Since I’m a writer and a dreamer I’m constantly saying What if… It’s part of my make up. The dreamer in me always has another way to do things and the writer in me says what if this character does this or goes there.

What if… I turn a book into a big publisher and they accept it, signing this big contract and a nice advance.

What if… My newest book goes viral.

What if… The book on domestic violence that I’m working on makes a difference in someone’s life. (That’s the goal)

What if… What if… What if… We’re full of lots of them, even if we don’t think we are. Think about it. How many times do you say this one simple phrase in a day, whether out loud or in your mind? You might be surprised. It only means you’re a dreamer. Think about it.

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Discover the real you!

Do you know who you are? Do you really? Sometimes events in our lives shape the person we are. Maybe something happens that causes you to think about what you’re doing with your life. There are so many aspects of my life that have been shaped by fate. 

I sat Saturday afternoon writing and thinking. I was caught up in the storyline and suddenly I was in deep thought. The character was having a personal battle and it hit me. We’re all in a battle of wills. We wake up with a plan for the day, well sometimes we have a plan, but life steps in and those plans can change.

We go through life making plans, changing plans and seeing them through as best we can. We have a life plan, but do we really expect all of it to happen. Life changes constantly, whether it’s a death, marriage, birth, career change or just something as simple as traffic. We all have life changes that send our plans in a different direction.

For me things have changed many times. As a child I had it all planned out. I’d be a horse owner and have a huge ranch. Then as I became a teenager and was introduced to romance novels I wanted to be a writer. But then I went to college and changed my major from business to Accounting and became an Accountant. After losing my son’s twin before he was born my life changed drastically. I realized how fragile life is and my want for more children were dashed with one word from the doctors. So I became a Children’s Minister to help children find their destiny in life. 

Well, some of the aspects I mentioned above have come to life. I’m now a romance author with many published books and I realized my dream this weekend of appearing on the bestseller list at Amazon. I work with children two days a week by helping to shape them into good Christian adults and showing them how to live a positive life. But no, I’ve not yet achieved the goal of becoming a horse ranch owner, but I have written many novels about that and lived my dream through my work. For now that’s good for me.

So, have you discovered the real you or are you still searching?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Changes make all the difference…

Yep, I’m doing a happy dance this morning. With All My Heart (Revised Edition) Is doing really well on Amazon. 

You may be wondering what I did as far as changes. Well, I did a couple of things to change this book from the original edition.

Here are the changes I made:

1: I updated the cover. The original cover was awesome, but as one author explained to me, if you change the manuscript and republish you have to change the cover.

2: I went in and changed the voice slightly in this edition. I also added a couple of elements that made the story flow better.

3: I changed the categories that the book was put into. Amazingly enough, as the numbers above tell the tale, it worked.

I’m in the process of revisiting a couple of my older published books. As my writing becomes more refined and I learn new techniques it causes me to think of my earlier works. Now when I go back over them I smile. Things have changed with my writing voice and I have to make sure that all my work changes with me.

So if you have older works that maybe need a facelift, then go for it. It’s been an awesome thing for With All My Heart. Of course this book has done well in the past, but the numbers from just the last two days have been, let’s just say, awesome!

I also want to thank my Twitter friends that took over the post from the other day regarding the republishing. They spread it like wildfire over the Twittersphere and I’m humbled by their wonderful comments and promotions. It’s amazing the support I’ve received from so many, so thanks to you from the bottom of heart 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You… 

 

With All My Heart republished!

Image

Yep, I threw one in on you this weekend. It’s amazing when the inspiration hits and you just go with it. I’ve been wanting to revise With All My Heart and it just hit me Friday and bam there it was. So I started reading and revising.

If you’re a fan of the Lean On Him series then you’ll enjoy this revision. I changed the writing some and added a couple of new lines to change some of the scenes. As you notice in the above picture, the cover changed also. I’m excited about the changes and can’t wait to finish the revision of Ghost Lover and Tender Flame. I think these are the only two that will be revised in the near future.

For those waiting on Emma Rose, yes she’s coming along really well and will be out soon. Also Safe In The Pirate’s Arms will also be out this summer. Writing historical romance is really fun since I love history. But don’t worry, I’ll be back to my cowboys really soon. You know me and my cowboys, I have to slip them in.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

How’s your editing?

One of the hardest things for most authors is the editing process. It’s a very important part of the writing process. Some authors hire editors and leave it all up to them, but is that enough? 

I recently read an article in a writer’s magazine and it opened my eyes to several things concerning editing. A bestselling author was talking about editing and she was astonished at what readers caught in her latest work that was missed by both her editors. Do we only skim over the work while editing? 

One author said that she read the work again after the editor finished, but she found about 20 errors that were completely missed. So, when has your book been edited enough? If professional editors are missing the errors what do we do as writers? For me I read and then read again. It’s amazing the errors you find on the second read through. 

When writing usually I’m so into the story that I don’t even realize the english that I use. But what if the story needs the bad english to make the point at that place in the book. Will the editor catch that or will they change it and in that one change make the paragraph lose it’s meaning? This happens so many times to writers. Sometimes the way you state something to make a point might not be the best english, but in the situation it makes perfect sense.

So, how’s your editing skills? Do you need help? If you’re not sure about your editing skills, check out having your book looked at by more eyes before you publish. My company, Horseshoe Publishing helps authors get their books publish ready, including intense editing.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

 

What are you waiting for?

Lately I’ve received several messages from writers that talked about not publishing their work. My question is always, ‘Why not?’ It’s so easy nowadays. Of course I was skeptical when I hit the publish button the first time, but over 10 books later I haven’t looked back. 

It’s such a rewarding feeling when you sell the first book. But the feeling of accomplishment far out weighs any of the nerves I had. It’s funny how the nerves always hit before I publish my books, even several books in. I always get anxious and wonder if anyone will like my work, then I hear from some of my dedicated fans and I smile.

If you put your heart into your writing, why not put it out there? Don’t let those manuscripts just collect dust. I did that for so many years. Take the leap and put it out there. Whether you self publish or go with a traditional publisher, do it. It’s worth the try and you won’t regret it. Don’t let the years go by and the books fade away.

If you need any help with covers, editing, social media setup for your books or anything with the publishing, check out the tab at the top of my blog. I own Horseshoe Publishing along with my editor. We help take the pain out of publishing. Just sit back and write.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

The Winner Takes All

One of my earlier books was “The Winner Is Love”. It was my first Christmas Romance published. I got into this book way deeper than I thought I would. Funny thing is, it started out as a stand alone, but a I neared the end, I just knew it couldn’t stop there. The story needed to go on and some of the leading characters needed to have a voice too. Did I just give away something? Oh well.

The 2nd book is “The Winner Takes All”. It continues the love story of Stacy and Slade. But this one takes an interesting twist that will make you wonder up until the ending. I’m really excited about the turns this story is taking. This is one reason this book has been a long time coming. 

When you have a story pop into your head you never know how many turns it might take before publication. This story was so obvious in my mind, but guess what, the characters decided to take over and make it their own. If you’re not a writer you probably think that last statement was a little nutsy, but as a writer you’d know exactly where I’m headed with it. Characters have a tendancy to want to speak up and tell their story too. 

Let’s just say, I’m hoping the many fans I gained with the first installment will follow with this one. Many of my devoted Cowboy Romance fans were surprised that no cowboys showed up during this series. Believe me when I say it’s hard not to put a cowboy, ranch or horse in my work. This book has a different feel from my normal writing. Check out book one before book two comes out.

It’s looking like it will be a May release. The first book is available in several formats including ebook, paperback and audiobook. By the way it’s my bestselling audiobook to date. My audiobooks have been such a refreshing surprise. 

Here’s a little unedited sneek peek of “The Winner Is Love”:

This had to be the most romantic proposal ever. He’d really outdone himself. She was still in awe of everything he’d done.

Then all of a sudden the door burst open and Andrew came in with the crew. “Great, are you two ready for this?” He asked as he came around to where they were standing in front of the tree.

“Let’s get this over with Andrew.” Slade walked over and put a log on the fire.

Suddenly the floor seemed to fall out from under Stacy. Wait a minute, was this done for publicity? Did he ask her to marry him just to get a story? She turned to look at Slade. He was suddenly being aloof.

Andrew came over and reached out for her hand. “Now that’s a beautiful ring. Congratulations by the way.” He then walked over and shook Slade’s hand. “Great job man.”

Slade smiled and winked at her. “Well when I see something I want I go after it.”

Her mouth dropped open and all she could do was stare at them. “Was this whole thing a publicity stunt for you two?”

Slade paled and walked quickly over to her. He put his hand on her arm and pulled her away from the crew. “No Stacy. I meant every word.” He could see she was getting upset. “I told Andrew to keep the crew away until after I proposed. I thought that part should be just us and not the whole world.”

Her heart told her he was being truthful, but something wasn’t right. She turned back and saw Andrew waiting for them. “Let me guess, we’re on a time schedule.”

Andrew walked over and put his arm around her shoulders. “Stacy, I know how this must look, but Slade’s telling you the truth.”

She turned to Slade. “I’m sorry. It just threw me when the crew came in.”

They took their places in front of the tree. The news anchor came in to do the interview. It went fairly fast. When it was over everyone started packing up the equipment. She sat down on the hearth and stared into the fire. Her heart was racing. Everything was happening really fast.

Slade walked over and sat down beside her. He knew she was not used to this kind of life. He put his arms around her and kissed her shoulder. “What’s on that beautiful mind of yours?”

“I was just thinking how fast everything is going with us. We’ve only known each other for a little over a month.” She looked up from the fire and met his blue eyes. He was devastatingly handsome. She was a lucky woman. Two months ago she would never have imagined that she’d be engaged to Slade Collins.

When the crew left they all said their congratulations and shut the door. Andrew turned to them and grinned. “Ok, we’re leaving you two alone. Have a great Christmas Eve?”

I will be posting a sneek peek of the cover really soon. By the way it’s already in the works and almost complete. I love it and it really  makes a statement. I do hope you guys have a wonderful Friday.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S.: Here’s a couple of links to “The Winner Is Love”

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-winner-is-love-stephanie-payne-hurt/1113881708

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260085

http://www.amazon.com/Winner-Love-Stephanie-Payne-Hurt/dp/1481133772  (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Winner-Is-Love/dp/B00EECEEWK  (Audiobook)

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-winner-is-love

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-winner-is-love/id585945263?mt=11

Free to the best home…

No, I’m not giving away puppies. I’m talking about book pricing today. When I started publishing it was one of those many decisions that I had to make. You’d think that would be easy, but let me tell you this, it’s not. Other writers talk about the ‘sweet spot’ and then others tell about making the first book in all their series free. Well here goes some things I’ve found out during my publishing process. 

By the way, this is not in anyway a rant, but the things I’ve figured out through my writing.

1: Do your homework? By this I mean go on a book site and check other books in your genre. Check the pricing of those that are the same length and same genre. Let me also remind you, those on bestseller lists can price a little higher and sell, if you’re not on the bestseller list you might want to aim your pricing arrow slightly lower, but don’t undersell yourself.

2: Beware of the freebie backlash. You might be wondering what I mean. Well as soon as you start offering your book for free you open up yourself to the ‘freebie reviewers’. For some reason as soon as your book goes free, the slashing starts. I’ve actually looked at several bestselling authors that put up some free books and they see the same kind of reviews after offering their books for free. This doesn’t mean don’t put them up for free, I’m just warning you first. Offering your first in a series is a great way to drive readers to your others in the series. Also offering other stand alones free for a time is a great promotional advantage.

3: The Even amount myth. I read an article about this over a year ago. The author said that everytime they post a even number price such as $1, $2, or even $3 their sells went down, but if they added .99 to said price sells went back up. Not sure why, but I’ve tried it and it does seem to work. Odd but true.

4: Don’t undersell yourself. I did this for so long, but have finally decided to stop doing it. Yes the numbers can be good when you sell your book for .99, but think about this, you may sell several at the lower price, but bump it up a couple of dollars and even though you may sell less, you will still see a higher profit. You’re worth it so go ahead and try it out.

5: Look at the length of your book. If you price your 5000 word book at 5.99, more than likely you’re not going to sell it. As I said in number 1, do your homework. Don’t over price your shorter books.

This is just some of the observations that I’ve made. You can try it or not, it’s entirely up to you. Just keep writing and put more out there.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…