Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Business of Writing for #MFRWauthors #amwriting


I’ve said several times that when it comes to marketing I feel like a toddler trying to teach a baby how to walk. That was why I joined MFRW, I wanted to learn how to market myself better. Oh I know the basics. I have a facebook page, a twitter account, a pinterest account, a blog my and website. I try to promote myself when I have a new release by visiting blogs and doing chats. I try to get reviews on my books. But I don’t know it all.

My forte is writing. I’ve been at it for years. I was a president for two of RWA’s chapters, the newsletter editor for the same two chapters plus I was the editor for the WRW’s magazine (it was a short lived magazine but it was beautiful). I’ve done programs and workshops on writing. I worked with critique groups. Now, I’m a senior editor for a small press. I still don’t know everything but as an editor I have seen things that let me know some writers could use a little help.

So that is what I’m going to post for the MFRW. Writing tips, editing tips, and formatting tips. Here’s one of my favorites...

** TODAY'S TIP **
I was attending a panel on editing and a new writer asked, “How many times should I edit my book?”
One of the authors on the panel paused for just a moment and then said, “Until you’re so sick of it you want to throw it against the wall.”
There is no set in stone amount of times. It depends on your manuscript. Do you feel it shines like a diamond? As you read through are there still parts that snag at you? Make you wonder if there is more you need to add? Only you can be the judge of that.

Let's Talk About It.
How would you have answered that new writer's question? How many times should you edit a book?

Barb :)
Barb will be posting a monthly blog feature "The Business of Writing".

Friday, July 18, 2014

MFRW Monthly Quote - July 2014 #MFRWauthor

"An artist must have downtime, time to do nothing. Defending our right to such time takes courage, conviction, and resiliency. Such time, space, and quiet will strike our family as a withdrawal from them. It is…. An artist requires the upkeep of creative solitude. An artist requires the time of healing alone. Without this period of recharging, our artist becomes depleted."
-Juila Cameron



Emerald
Emerald is an erotic fiction author whose short stories have been featured in anthologies published by Cleis Press, Mischief, and Logical-Lust. She serves as an assistant newsletter editor and Facebook group moderator for Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW), and she selects and posts the monthly inspirational quote on the MFRW Marketing Blog. Find out more about her at her website, The Green Light District.