1 Do, 1 Don’t and 1 Why Not? for Writers

by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt

Oh, how we writers love to give each other advice, don’t we?

Why, yes, yes, we do.
Between all of our mistakes and all of our successes – and please, no one ask the ratio between the two – we have a wealth of advice to share.

Keeping it simple today, here’s a Do, a Don’t and a Why Not?:Do something new.

Most writers want to improve their craft. They join professional organizations. They attend conferences or local writers groups. They read blogs – like this one – and magazines. If a conference speaker offers practical ways to improve your writing or if an article suggests steps to strengthen your social media presence – do it. Simple, right? But how often do we hear good advice and then never implement it? Last May, my agent spoke at the local ACFW Colorado Springs meeting on how to use Facebook to build your platform. One of her suggestions was to do FB Live. To be honest, I didn’t want to go live on my Author FB page. But I forced myself to do this one new thing because she said readers respond to FB Live. Since my first hesitant attempt, I’ve done FB Live two more times. And you know what? My agent was right! These posts have gotten great interactions. Next time you attend a conference or workshop or read a blog post or article ask: Based on this advice, what one new thing can I do? Hint: Accountability is a great motivator. Tell someone what you’re going try and ask them to check back for an update.

Don’t believe everything you think.We all struggle with doubt and face fears. But we can’t buy into to those doubts and fears so that they stop us from pursuing our dreams. As I was writing my second novel I thought, “Who am I to think I can write a book?”What a ridiculous thought since I’d already published a novel.Learn to monitor your thoughts. Evaluate if the doubt undermining your efforts is realistic or if you’re listening to a lie. When you are afraid, remember what author Mark Twain said: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

Why not celebrate someone else’s success?
Progress. Accomplishment. Win. There are all types of success along the writing road:

• Finishing a rough draft
• Surviving that first editor’s appointment at a conference
• Landing an agent
• Signing a contract
• Holding your “real” book in your hands
• Earning out an advance
• Winning an award

It’s fantastic when success is yours – worthy of a HaPpYdAnCe in your living room or dinner out with family or an online celebration with friends.
But when someone else writes that first book … signs a contract … or is handed an award, sometimes we don’t want to celebrate. We wrestle with the blues … and the green-eyed monster. The best way to beat the blues and to conquer envy? Be the first one to celebrate someone else’s success!Shout it out on Facebook. Send them an email or a handwritten note or text. Before you know it, celebrating will be your first response, not a forced response.

TWEETABLES

1 Do, 1 Don’t and 1 Why Not? for Writers @bethvogt @NovelRocket #writing http://bit.ly/2xLu5g2

Based on this advice, what one new thing can I do?  @bethvogt @NovelRocket #writing http://bit.ly/2xLu5g2

Progress. Accomplishment. Win. There are all types of success along the writing road @bethvogt @NovelRocket http://bit.ly/2xLu5g2
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Almost Like Being in Love

She’s won a luxurious dream wedding—now all she needs is the groom!

Winning an all-expenses paid Colorado destination wedding might seem like a dream come true for some people—but Caron Hollister and her boyfriend Alex Madison aren’t even engaged. How is she supposed to tell him that she’s won their wedding and honeymoon when he hasn’t asked her to marry him? And while everyone says they’re perfect for each other, how strong is a relationship when it’s built around protecting secrets?

Realtor Kade Webster’s business savvy just secured his company’s participation in the Springs Tour of Homes. He never imagined he would run into Caron Hollister—the woman who broke his heart—right when Webster Select Realty is taking off. When Kade learns his home stager won’t be able to help with the Tour of Homes, he vaults past all the reasons he should avoid Caron, and offers her a temporary job helping him on the project. This time, their relationship is purely business—Realtor to Realtor.

Spending time with Kade again has Caron questioning who she is and what she wants. The man intrigues her—at times infuriates her—and reminds her of what she walked away from. Has she been settling for what everyone expects of her? How can Caron say “I do” to one man when she’s wondering “what if?” about another?

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Beth’s first women's fiction novel for Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, releases May 2018. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Novel Rocket and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.

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10 Tips for a 1st-Time Conferee

by Ane Mulligan, @AneMulligan

Someone recently said they were about to go to their first ACFW conference and they asked for advice. As a conference veteran—I've attended close to two dozen—I offer the following:

1. Don't be terrified. I promise you'll love it. Look for names you recognize. Don't be embarrassed to look at name tags. ACFW gives you Zone (regional) stickers to add to your name tag to help recognize other zone members. If you've been active on their e-loop, you'll likely recognize names. Look for your favorite authors.

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A Bit of Advice On Taking Advice

by James L. Rubart, @jameslrubart

In ninth grade, I wanted to be a rock star. (Yeah, me and every other kid who had a modicum of talent on the guitar, bass or drums.)

That meant buying an electric guitar. I’d played an acoustic for a few years, but I needed something I could plug into an amp that would go to eleven. More than that, I needed a guitar that I could play lead guitar on. I wanted to play those screaming solos that would make girls like me and guys want to be me.

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Advice to New Authors

by Rachel Hauck

In this ever changing world of publishing, e-books on the rise, the popularity of electronically self publishing, it seems the author has to be writer, promoter and marketer. When I was first published seven years ago, there were twitterings of an author spending half of their advance on promotion, but I thought those were just rumors. Heresay. What “one” author had to do.

But it’s true. Then and now. When you get your first contract, plan on setting aside a third or a half for promotion. Consider it seed money for your career. Get it out of your head now that you’re writing to earn income for the family. You’ll be disappointed if you do. You’re writing to tell great stories. You’re writing because it’s your heart and what you love. You’re writing to eventually make some money.

A novelist career is a slow build of readership and dollars. In fact, the two are tightly correlated.

What do you do with those marketing dollars you set aside? Giveaways. Subscribe to a newsletter service. Pay for a good web site design. Hire companies like LitFuse to host a blog tour for your book or run a contest for you. Give away a Nook or a Kindle. Buy business cards. Bookmarks.

You want to start touting your book about two months before the release date. Post on your Facebook and Twitter. FB and Twitter are free and a GREAT way to build relationships with readers. And I do mean relationships. Social media is a conversation not a super cyber market where you only talk about your and your books. Or try to get people to buy something from you.

If you write have a category book that has a shelf life of one month, run a blog tour that month. If you’re book is a trade and has a longer shelf life, you might consider running a blog tour the month of your release and maybe a few months later. I always run my blog tours three months after the release date. Whatever promo or marketing publisher might have done would be fading by then as they moved on to their next quarter releases so I jump in and boost my books with a blog tour.

Spend about fifteen minutes a day on social media. Twitter a few times throughout the day. Look at others tweets and retweet them. Post on your Facebook. Answer comments others might have posted. Don’t stress over it, but try to stay engaged.

Managing your time is key to success. Whether writing a book or not. Your number one job as a writer, besides carrying for your family, is to write a great book. Before promo and social media, write a great book. Don’t get distracted with other things. If your writing suffers it’s hard to pull together again and get focused. Since we all work differently and have different responsibilities, it’s hard for me to say, “This is how YOU must mange your time.”

I have no children. I can write all day. I can goof around all day. I can do pretty much what I want. So if I were to say, “write every day from noon to five,” that might not work for you.

Here’s what I can tell you. Get a hold of your time. Schedule your days. Some people can schedule down to every 15 minutes! Yowza! Not me. I schedule in blocks. Morning. Afternoon. Evening. But I know what needs to be done and about how long it will take me to do it — more or less.

Talk to your husband and kids. Figure a way to involve the family in your success as a writer. Some authors have office days. Those are the days they work on the business, answer interview questions, email, do promo or marketing. I’m not that popular of an author to really need a day to get in touch with all the throngs who want to talk to me, soooo, I answer interview questions and email as they come in.

I have a program called Concentrate that shuts off my internet for whatever time I specify. When I’m on a deadline or need to get focused and finish a project, I launch Concentrate. I have it set for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes, this computer lady comes on and says, “You are brilliant, keep working.” LOL. It’s great. When I get the twitch to goof off on the internet for a few seconds, I realize I can’t because of Concentrate, and I keep working. Yeah, I could turn it off but somehow that feels like cheating to me.

It’s important for writers to stay involved in life, in our families, in our churches and communities. Don’t say yes to everything that comes your way. No is a good word. But pray and ask the Lord to show you what He’s called you to do.

Cut off the noise like TV. Really. Amuse is the opposite of muse which is what we must do to write. I love movies and a good TV show. I learn from them. But in my house we only watch DVDs or Netflix instant. There is no nightly TV watching or channel surfing. When I had that option, it was a huge distraction. Five o’clock? Rerun of Gilmore Girls and I’ll be if I just didn’t quit working to watch.

Stop the excuses. If you’re a soft, giving personality, learn to toughen up and say no. If you have an addiction to TV, cut the cable for awhile. If you’re doing too much, let go of a few things. Don’t feel guilty or condemned. If God’s called you to be a writer, He’ll give you time to write. He’s not called you to do all and be all to everyone else so you don’t have time to write. Or so you have to sit in a corner of the house at midnight with your laptop on your knees writing while everyone else sleeps so you can get your word count. No, He’ll give you the time. Don’t fill it up with other things.

Writing is a job. Do it with excellence. Manage your time. Pray hard.

And whatever you do, don’t quit.

TWEETABLES

Advice to New Authors by Rachel Hauck (Click to Tweet)

Get a hold of your time~ Rachel Hauck (Click to Tweet)

And whatever you do, don’t quit~ Rachel Hauck (Click to Tweet)

New York Times, USA Today ​and Wall Street Journal best-selling, award-winning author Rachel Hauck loves a great story. She serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a past ACFW mentor of the year. A worship leader and Buckeye football fan, Rachel lives in Florida with her husband and ornery cat, Hepzibah. Read more about Rachel atwww.rachelhauck.com.

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Never Kick A Sleeping Skunk

By Michael Ehret

 

Would you kick this sleeping skunk?

"Never kick a sleeping skunk."

-- Kelly Long's Mom

 

Here on Novel Rocket, we give a lot of advice, much of it writing related. Makes sense, right?

Sometimes we may even sound like a "Mom," telling you the things you already know but are, ahem, choosing to ignore. 

And Mom's have a lot of great advice. I'm sure we've all heard:

• Money does not grow on trees.
• Don't make that face or it'll freeze in that position.
• Always change your underwear; you never know when you'll be in a car accident.
• Be careful or you'll put your eye out.
• If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
• Be careful what you wish for, it might come true.

We could go on — obviously.

But, I was intrigued by this bit of advice when Kelly shared it with me some time ago. Is there a writing application? What do you think?

What is your "sleeping skunk" in writing that you're afraid to kick? What do you fear will happen if you do kick it? 

What is a sleeping skunk?

It's that thing in your life that is holding you back. You're afraid of what might happen if you kick it—if you wake it up. 

 For me, it's "You're not really good enough." I'm afraid if I kick that skunk, it'll jump up and spray me—and that fear keeps me paralyzed. For a person who deals in "What Ifs," why am I so afraid of my own unknown?

You know, I could kick that skunk and it gets so startled that it stands up and runs away. It could happen. After all, it's sleeping, not actively menacing me.

My foot's getting itchy.

Enter your writing related advice about kicking sleeping skunks below.

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Michael Ehret has accepted God's invitation and is a freelance editor at WritingOnTheFineLine.com. In addition, he's worked as editor-in-chief of the ACFW Journal at American Christian Fiction Writers. He pays the bills as a marketing communications writer and sharpened his writing and editing skills as a reporter for The Indianapolis News and The Indianapolis Star.

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Why Can’t I Go To A Conference?

By Michael Ehret

After a solid decade (almost) of regularly attending writer’s conferences, this year I’m not able to. Let me correct that: I’m probably able to, but the door to attend one has not opened for me this year.

My conference of choice, American Christian Fiction Writers, is even meeting within driving distance of my home and the keynoter is one of my favorite authors: Ted Dekker. But it’s not happening this year and I vacillate between being OK about it and being pretty ticked off, truth be known. Can you relate?

At last year’s conference, I got what I considered a pretty clear message from God about my writing. (See the details here and here.) “I’m inviting you into a new season of writing.”

Surely that would include attending my favorite writing conference? Seeing my favorite writing friends? Surely? Apparently not—and don’t call me Shirley.

Feel like this guy because you can't attend
a writer's conference?

Despite my efforts to pry that door open—or to find that ‘promised’ open window God provides when He closes a door (you know that’s not biblical, right?)—there’s no conference in my year.

Are you there too? Are you feeling left out? On the outside looking in? Not one of the cool kids? Bring your pocket-protector self over and have a seat. OK, you’ve got three minutes to cry and fuss and whine. I’m setting a timer. 3-2-1 Go!

Feeling better? No? Well, me either, but here are three things you can do if you’re not attending a writer’s conference:

1. Buy yourself a much-needed or long-desired writing resource.

One of my favorite
fiction craft books

One of my reasons for not being able to go this year is monetary. That may be a reason for you, too. And it’s a valid reason. Even though we’re writers, we still have responsibilities that we can’t just toss away. Am I right?

So, instead of buying a conference (easily upwards of $1,500 with registration, hotel, plane ticket, etc.), treat yourself to some resource you’ve been wanting and putting off. Maybe that’s a craft book. Maybe that’s a writing assist program like Grammarly or Scrivener. Maybe it’s a framed inspirational quote to display in your writing corner.

Just buy it. Feel guilty later if you must, but console yourself that (whatever it is) it’s far less than the cost of the conference you’re not going to.

2. Consider, oh, I don’t know, writing?

Wilma Rudolph, an American Olympic track and field sprinter who won three gold medals in 1960, once said: “Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.”

You get that, right? The struggle is what makes the reward, when it comes, so sweet. So persevere in your writing. Take the time you’re not going to spend at your preferred writing conference, put your butt in your chair, and write.

Honor your gift and your calling—and, for your own sake, get lost in your fictional world. Bring life where there is no life. And if your sadness is overwhelming, choose to write the scenes where your hero and heroine face their Black Moments—and all seems lost.

All is not lost for them. You know it, as the creator, but they don’t. They are just living the day-to-day lives you, their creator, wrote for them … You’re getting the point right? You don’t need a hammer on the head, right?

3. If you can’t write, then pray for your writer friends who are attending conferences.

No, I’m not kidding. When you’re locked in a pity party, the best way to break free is to do something nice for someone else. So, if you can’t be there…then be there for your friends who are there.

Hold them up before the Lord. Pray for encouragement. Bravery. Their emotions. The editors and agents they’ll meet with.

Pray for the casual, unplanned for meetings around meal tables. The overwhelming feeling of the introvert writer who just can’t face another class or another “thank you, but this isn’t right for our house” appointment.

Be Aaron to their Moses.

If you do these three things, you’ll find the time goes much quicker, you’ll feel more productive, and you’ll be a blessing. And isn’t that better for everyone, including you?

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Michael Ehret has accepted God's invitation and is a freelance editor at WritingOnTheFineLine.com. In addition, he's worked as editor-in-chief of the ACFW Journal at American Christian Fiction Writers. He pays the bills as a marketing communications writer and sharpened his writing and editing skills as a reporter for The Indianapolis News and The Indianapolis Star.

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The Generation Gap Boogie/Rap

Peter Leavell, a 2007 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing's Best award for First-Time Author. Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. www.peterleavell.com.

‘No complaints from the peanut gallery,’ my wife told my daughter.

My daughter, Kade, 12 years old, stared at my wife. Finally, she gave a long, drawn out, ‘okayyyy.’

'She doesn’t know what you mean,' I said, looking up from my computer as I was writing a blog for Novel Rocket. ‘Kade, tell mommy what you think a peanut gallery is.’

'A long, white hall.' She held her hands wide. 'Sterile, like a hospital. But white floors, white walls, white ceilings. Every so often is a glass case on a pedestal. Light shines like a spotlight on the exhibits.'

She paused, then said in a whisper, 'A peanut.' She closed her hand, making a fist. 'A peanut gallery where people view…peanuts. In the shell.'

The generational gap happens every generation. Tocqueville commented that ‘Among democratic nations, each generation is a new people.’ If democracy creates an entirely new people, then surely one generation that grew up listening to vinyl recordings of four English-accented teens named after a bug, and another generation watching SpongeBob anywhere on the planet with a smartphone means there may be a slight language gap.

Four generations are currently reading and writing. Four different sets of values. Four sets of technological breakthroughs.

What can be done to bridge the gap between generations? Especially when writing?

The key is to learn about the other generations. And what we learn naturally shows up in our work.

A few tips:

—One generation seeks to escape reality, while another seeks to cope with reality. Still another believes they create their reality. All generations need books with these themes. Embrace them instead of ridiculing them.

—Understand why they do what they do. Is texting important—or do they feel it's nonsense? One group feels in close contact with friends by punching words with thumbs, while the other still thinks talking on the phone is a brilliant invention. Both styles of keeping in contact with friends are pretty amazing.

—People really are eager to show off their technology. Watch and learn!

—Don’t define a person by their age. Start off by defining them by their interests. Get to know them.

—Mentor. For example, I have a few ‘disciples’ of other generations I work with. They are eager for instant feedback, and as they ask questions, their questions help me shape what’s important to them. For example ‘Did you wear bellbottoms?’ means they’re interested in fashion.

—Our generation’s taboos are another generation’s entertainment. Generations fight different battles.

—One generation ago, a family might get by on a single income, so stay-at-home moms were more common. Now, it’s almost impossible to feed a family on a single income. Both generations’ values will be different. Is either wrong? No.

—Christian values never go out of style. The golden rule always works, no matter the generation! Embrace them!

Why limit your audience? Rock the generation gap! Stop commenting from the peanut gallery about the other generations and take them out to eat! You never know, you may learn something.

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Feeling passive?

By Michael Ehret
Go to any writing conference or eavesdrop on any writer’s critique group (both great things for the practicing writer, by the way) and if you hang around long enough, the subject of passive writing will be discussed—and usually with the same conclusion: 

It’s bad. To-be-avoided-at-almost-any-cost bad. 

Well, you won’t get any argument from me that writing in passive voice is best avoided. But how do you avoid it if you’re not sure what it is? 

Active voice

In an active sentence, the subject performs the action.

• Example 1: Linda dances the samba.
• Example 2: Bill Withers sings Lean On Me.

In the first example, Linda is the subject and she is dancing the samba, the object of the sentence. In the second, soul singer Bill Withers is the subject and he is singing the song Lean On Me, the object.

Passive voice

Passive voice gets it backward, making the object of the sentence into the subject.

• Example 1: The samba is danced by Linda.
• Example 2: Lean On Me is sung by Bill Withers.

Here, the subject has become “the samba” (or the song Lean On Me) and the focus of the sentence has shifted from Linda to the dance (or from Bill Withers to the song).

Prefer the active

Most times, active voice is better. Why? Several reasons:

1. Active voice sentences use fewer words. “Linda dances the samba” is four words. “The samba is danced by Linda” is six.
2. Who wants to use weak words? Words like is/am/are/was/were/being/been, etc., are dull. Strong writing includes concrete nouns, powerful verbs, and vivid adjectives.
3. No one likes confusion. Passive voice is often confusing or unclear.

 Is passive always bad?

You know how it is. Nothing in the English language is always—not even the long-revered serial comma. (Don’t get me started.) But it is good to remember that passive sentences aren’t incorrect. What is true, however, is that passive sentence construction is often not the best way to express your thoughts since it is vague, awkward, and wordy. For examples where passive voice is preferred, visit this page on Grammar Girl’s site.



Michael Ehret loves to play with words as a Marketing Communications Writer for CHEFS Catalog and as a freelance editor at WritingOnTheFineLine.com. Ehret is the former editor of the ACFW Journal and has edited several nonfiction books, proofedited for Abingdon Press, and reported for The Indianapolis Star.

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