Tips & Tricks for New Authors

  Newsletter Importance, Part I There are several positives and negatives that come from putting ourselves out there through monthly and weekly Newsletters (NL). We, as authors, have heard from day one that we need to start a NL and grow our subscribers but we procrastinate. Like me, perhaps you feel shy about posting something that your followers will read, well, something that is not crafted into a book. I admit that Newsletter (NL) and blog posts can feel a bit intimidating for even the most experienced writer. There are several reasons for that: 1) Access to the Internet, a positive The world-wide-web (www.) is awesome. It connects so many people around the world to social settings, meetings, events, collaboration, ZOOM, YouTube. The list is endless and we would all agree that during the Pandemic, this has been very useful in keeping us connected to family and friends. However, it allows almost everyone to connect. That means that friendlies, like-minded compadres, and well-wishers

 Let's talk about getting started, you know, the stuff you need to do before you actually publish your book. My suggestions: 1) Write about the things you know and know well. Although it is true that you can research anything on the internet the best topics come from your own knowledge. You cannot fake knowing about things. If you are a great cook, then write about cooking. Perhaps a fiction book about a woman or man who cooks or perhaps a recipe book. Stick to what you know. For example, I write about metaphysical topics, those things that cannot easily be explained or measured such as spirituality, prayer, love, visions, dreams, and so on, because it is my area of study and I have over 30 years of experience in the field. Using that experience, I wrote a series of books about a sweet, young woman named Becky as a medium. The setting for that story was Asheville, North Carolina because it is where I lived when writing the series. I wrote her into scenes I had personally visited su

 My blog is a work-in-progress. For months, possibly years, I have intended to write a blog... not every day, not every week, but certainly once a month. Sadly, I have not done that. You might wonder why I don't since so many people are writing blogs and seem to have so much to say. I guess it boils down to the fact that I am shy, even a recluse. Pamela, an author friend, recently told me that I should share tips I have learned about being an author. After all, I have been many things for many years and my most recent job experience has been navigating the world of being a new author to becoming a seasoned author. At least, I would hope that I have learned something to benefit others after nearly 15 years of struggling as an Indie Author. And, as I said earlier, I fully intended to make this a regular blog occurrence, but I really can't promise that I will. When you are both writer and promoter of your own business/books/authorship, there just doesn't seem to be enough time