We've written a manuscript that we're proud of ........................................................... Check!

We've created an online presence with a website/blog/Facebook & Twitter Account........Check!                  

Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for our audience to come to us.....................Right?

Yep, if we live on an imaginary planet in a parallel universe where writers snap their fingers and suddenly their phone is ringing because Dreamworks is calling to beg that their fantastic manuscript be made into a movie (actually, it could happen, you never know)!

However, assuming that none of us actually live outside of the earthly realms, we'll pause to consider the fact that the artist typically needs to make some sort of spectacle out of themselves for the purpose of gaining an audience.

We've already drawn attention to ourselves via the internet and now we must move to the next step in the process of building our fan base by:

                                                              Making Good Use Of Local Platforms

If I was a young actor and my dream was to one day be a part of the Hollywood scene, before packing up and leaving for L.A. or New York the first thing I'd do is find a couple of jobs with local theater and film companies.

Why?

Local work offers not only good experience, but it also gives an artist the opportunity to make connections with colleagues and potential fans. 

As a writer builds their platform, they can make good use of opportunities offered in their local community by applying any (or all) of the four suggestions below:

1.     Find a cause that is close to your heart and has a platform in your local community. Use a couple of posts on your blog to promote this cause. Be sure to contact the local organization that deals with this cause and let them know about your blog. Offer to post a link to their website on yours and ask if they will also post a link to your blog.

2.     Write a few articles about an interesting local current event and submit these articles to several local magazines.  

3.     Most communities have a local television show whose producers are often interested in booking locals with  interesting topics to discuss. Prepare notes on your plans to self-publish your upcoming book. Request an interview. You just might find yourself on television!

4.     Teach a free "writing workshop". While it's true that you may consider yourself a "writing newbie", every writer has a unique point of view and your perspective may be just what another writer is lacking and needs to hear.  Or, your community may have a few locals who've always wanted to write but have no idea where to start. So, look into free Community Classes sponsored by your local town/state department and offer to teach a couple of writing classes for a few weeks. Your students will be potential fans and colleagues! 

Those are four suggestions on how to use your local community to build your platform.

Are there other ways in which you've been successful in growing your fan base via local avenues?

I'd love to hear from you!

Decisions...decisions. Lately I've come to the realization that I know where I want to be in my writing career but I'm not quite sure how to get there. The basic WBEA path is simple: Write your book, Build your platform, Edit your manuscript, and then Advertise your book. Clean, easy, and doable.
However, it's the "sneaky" little decisions in between the big steps that leave me staring into space wishing I had some sort of a Life Coach or a Literary Agent...or just a giant piece of cheesecake on which to nibble whilst I attempt to make a decision.

For example, what I want to do right now is create a website specifically for YA readers, a website that will appeal to girls and young women who will want to read my books. I'm a fairly creative person, I mean I daydream constantly and come up with fantastic knock-knock jokes that make three year olds laugh...so that's plenty creative in my opinion. (Yeah, I know...) So, creating a website that would attract the attention of someone like me should be a cinch, right? Nope. It is not. I need to think of a site that will attract the attention of potential readers and will be easy for me to maintain.

The idea of Your Verve, a site that's chalk full of stories (both YA and regular Chick Lit) as well as a few short films and maybe even a series is fun and I really like it- but lately I've had trouble posting one to two stories weekly. And as far as the films, film takes so much time to create/edit and perfect.

Hmmm, wait a sec...in writing this, I realize that my issue boils down to Time Management. In order to successfully accomplish Step 2: Build a Platform, what I personally need to work on is my Time Management. I do know what kind of website I want- I want this one. But, I need to figure out a schedule that will allow me more time to work on using it to it's potential. Wow, that was a nice epiphany! Building A Platform/Fan-Base requires patience and good Time Management. As soon as I'm done with this post, I'm going to work on a Writing Schedule to help me post stories/short films more frequently! But enough about me, what have you found helpful in managing to successfully build your platform?

Having an overactive imagination is sort of like having big, curly hair.

While it’s fun to play with and nice when other people comment about how unique it is …it’s still really hard to subdue!

As mentioned in other posts, I can literally spend a few days staring into space daydreaming. That’s nice and what not but this becomes a problem when I’m trying to write.

Sometimes, I will get so excited about a story I’m working on that I’ll pause to think about a few possible subplots or what’s going to happen next and before you know it I’ve played out the entire story in my head. Once the story’s been completed (completed in my head that is) I’m done with it and I can’t convince myself to write it because…it’s old news, I’m done!

Even as I’m typing this, I realize that what I’ve just said sounds a little crazy. But for some reason, that’s the way my short attention span and I function.  So, what is the solution? It is this: I simply cannot sit around thinking about my story (or even sit down to outline a plot because just outlining somehow becomes a two-three hour session of me staring into my computer screen as I fantasize about all of the fun characters and plots taking shape in my head) ...I simply need to write.

So the key to getting the first draft of my manuscript done is to... WRITE!

Even if this involves me turning off my phone and locking myself in a room for a few days, skipping a meal or two here and there (which, believe me, is not going to kill me) and writing until it’s done.

It sounds drastic, but I love this whole crazy process of writing...and the end result (a story to share with others) isn't so bad either : )

Any thoughts, ideas or comments?

Do any other writers out there have this same "problem" with daydreaming instead of writing?

Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate your reading this!

Writing is a HUGE lesson in endurance as well as  in learning to trust yourself.

How so?

Here goes...




The first step in the self-publishing process is to Write Your Story.

But, for the temporarily uninspired writer, this first "step" can seem more like a large and intimidating wall.

For a while, I was at a standstill, staring up at one such wall as I wondered, “Where did this thing come from? Why can’t I write?!”

It wasn’t that I ran out of ideas. The stories were there but to sit down and write them was an entirely different ballgame.

 
T his frustrating phase of starting stories without being able to finish them lasted for a few years…and then something awesome happened.

I’ve had a lot of part-time day jobs over the years and one of my jobs involved working as an interpreter/captionist for Deaf and hard of hearing university students.

One semester I found that I'd been assigned to a student who was scheduled to take a class called “ Professional Development for Plant Scientists (PLHL)”.

I’ll admit, the title of the course made me cringe- it sounded like the kind of class I’d need to take with a few extra shots of espresso.

Boy was I wrong!  

That semester, I learned very little about plants, but I learned a valuable lesson about writing.

The Professor, an adorable and quirky sixty-something year old New Yorker with a jazz musician’s shuffle in his step, loved to season his lectures with delicious tidbits about how he learned to write well and his love of music.

I’ll never forget the day that Professor taught his class one very simple, yet profound, lesson on writing.

He said, ‘When you want to write, just write. Don't edit your work while you're writing. Writing and editing are two DIFFERENT steps. First write and then later you can return to your finished paper for editing.'

Pretty simple, right?

Yeah, laughably simple! Even so, it was huge deal for me!

I think I actually stopped captioning for a moment when he said that and just stared in shock.

This one statement was the bulldozer to my “wall”, the daunting blockade I’d been banging my head against for far too many years!

Despite being extremely goal oriented, an innate lack of confidence in my own abilities had been stunting my endurance as a writer.  

With an amazing story unfolding in my head, I’d put on my Itzhak Perlman music and begin to type. As my fingers  rhythmically fell across the keyboard I’d fall into the daydream that was so vividly alive in my imagination. But an hour or so into it, I’d feel the need to pause and reassess what I’d written. Going back over my words was like a vicious slap in the face, pulling me out of my daydream and forcing me to face a few pages of writing in which every flaw stood out.

Reviewing what I’d written and hating every word, it wasn’t long before I’d talk myself out of finishing the story.

I didn’t have endurance as a writer because I didn’t trust my own abilities.

But in that science class about plants, I learned that you’ve got to push aside your negativity, hush the perfectionist lurking within and simply write your story.

Editing comes later, writing comes first.

I can honestly say, I’ve never been so thankful for a science class!

What tips have helped you move past writer’s block? 

The teary-eyed contestant can barely speak,  he just can't believe he's been kicked off so early in the game!
Staring into the camera, he hears himself stammer, 
"You know, I've always believed ... everything happens for a reason."

On reality television, this line is repeated almost  as often as the phrase "They threw me under the bus!!" is excitedly shouted by an outraged contestant. 

The fact that it's repeated so often leads me to believe that most must people feel similarly.

But does everything happen for a reason?

Well, there's the obvious answer that every action is the product of cause and effect.  So, in that sense, yes everything has to happen for the reason that made it happen. 

But, I think when people say "everything happens for a reason" they're not referring to the logical rule of "cause and effect", instead they seem to be alluding to the belief that everything they do and every decision they make is the result of an unseen force that's looking out for the good of their well being. 

This concept is interesting, but it reminds me of the ancient belief in a geocentric universe. A long time ago, people incorrectly believed earth was the center of the solar system, universe, everything. In other words, everything revolved around humanity.

I don't think everything that happens in life revolves around me, my happiness, or even around the pushing of me towards some kind of "Ah ha moment" ( yeah, I did just cringe as I typed that). 

I think we were created to decide who we want to be and what we want to do with our lives, the ability to decide is a gift.  Sometimes we misuse this gift and chalk it up to "life" or "fate". I've definitely been guilty of misusing my "gift" and at times I've blamed it on my circumstances. 

In conclusion, we may not live in a universe that revolves around our need for fulfillment, but we are certainly masters of our own decisions. No matter what set of circumstances we come from,  we have the power to set goals and reach them, we have the ability to search for beauty in what seems like chaos, and we have the power to make decisions that have a positive effect on the people around us.

In case you're wondering, yes I did just watch The Bachelor on ABC, and yep, that's why I'm typing this.
I still can't believe I wasted an hour watching that.... oh well. It was my decision   : )

Ever been making your way through a particularly horrid day when suddenly, in the midst of your misery, you see a puppy?

I don't mean an imaginary puppy that no one else sees, because then this blog would be headed in a more "When It's Time To See A Doctor" direction.  But seriously, a real puppy.

Puppies have this great way of making life more like life and less like a tiring battle for survival.
Being around animals somehow makes us more human.

Its true that just about every living thing on our planet is involved in a daily struggle for survival. Birds go through all sorts of rigamarole to find enough food to feed their young.  Insects ferociously fend off other insects, fly swatters, and territorial humans just for the twenty-four to forty-eight hours of existence they've been granted.  So, life is a fight. But what makes life worth fighting for?

The person who has ever spent a significant amount of time playing with a puppy, petting a kitten, or even  staring into a golden sunset (while their pet fish stares at them wondering when on earth they're going to be fed) is not a sappy person, but they're someone who knows exactly what makes life worth fighting for.

Let's all adopt a puppy now. http://www.aspca.org/adoption/

Ever watched The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?

If so, you've undoubtedly seen these women enjoy what they call a "spa day".
Massages, facials, soothing music, it looks like heaven ....

Some of us may not be able to afford such an expense, so we concoct our own versions of the "spa day".

Here's my version:

I borrow my friend's car and I take it through Benny's $3 car wash.

That's right.

Stop laughing.

Please.

This wasn't meant to be a joke.I'm serious.

I may not be able to fork over the bucks for a great massage (or my own car), but I will happily part with $3  in exchange for a car wash. 

Once that vehicle is under those soapy suds of water, I turn whatever Coldplay  song I'm listening to up, take a deep breath, and relax as I watch the water rhythmically move across the windshield. 

This car wash,  a short thirty seconds to one minute, is my little piece of heaven.

Kind of sad?

No!

OK, maybe it is a little sad.

But one good thing about not having much (in the way of finances) is that it gives you the opportunity to appreciate the little things in life that you might otherwise take for granted.

Of course, it's probably more convenient to be super rich and still appreciate the little things...but whatever!  You get my point.

So, what's your version of a "spa day"?

The quirkier the better!