Tag: self publish

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 9/26/14

OLD SCHOOL ANTICS

Have you been accused of that lately? Writing old school concepts or using old school style?  The first time I heard that (directed at someone else) I bristled.  The reading I’d just listened to—from the writings of a fellow student—had engaged and inspired me.  But the professor wanted to make a point and so he did. “Although your facts are most likely accurate,” he pronounced, “your sentence structures and concept development is old school, using too much emotionalism.”  And bah-humbug to you, too, I mumbled under my breath.  The instructor’s comments that day pushed my own writing goals in the opposite direction of his “modern-path-of-writing,” and led me to study (and enjoy) many of the old school authors.

By the time I became a teacher myself, I selected semester reading lists including authors Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott. Everyone groaned upon hearing Charles Dickens’ name and the specific book title: Hard Times.  However, there was a method to my madness.  My hope rested in my students’ abilities to discover the beautifully developed writing styles and logical thinking techniques presented by these old school authors.  You see, writers (in every existing genre) are “teachers of ideas.”  It is the readers who decipher the words and place the concepts in the most appropriate resource files, whether they do so consciously or not.

The three following points help us begin to think logically about the books we read—and write, of course—but especially the books we keep and/or use as resources.

  • WHAT DO YOU KNOW about the author? Are your opinions based on someone else’s quick review of the writer’s works in-part or as a whole? Did you quickly form an opinion from one book you read by that author, then sealed that judgment for all future reference? The closed-door can become a wall and then a fortress unless one opens it. So, research the lives—the histories—of the authors you read. If you’re one who enjoys creating outlines, build a timeline (from birth to death), adding the personal and historic events that occurred within their sphere of existence—what they would have been exposed to.
  • DO YOU HAVE AN OLD LIST of word-labels that have been attached to that author and his writings? Fold a piece of paper in half (lengthwise) and write those words on one side. After you’ve completed your personal research about this author, take a little time and consider those words and their multiple meanings. Do they really (accurately) fit him—as a person and writer? Turn your empathy ON and walk through his life beside him. Keep an open mind so that you can observe the truth about the circumstances he experienced and his human reaction—the imprints that were set in place—which, in turn, developed his writing style and the perspectives that birthed the plots, settings and characters in his books. Then write your own “labels” opposite those on that sheet of paper and compare them. You’ll find interesting differences.
  • NOW ALLOW YOURSELF to move beyond empathy to insights. Can you see the logical progression of actions and events, people connections and environmental/cultural surroundings that are sown into the writings of this author? Tapping into your personal ability to discover these aspects will develop your writing skills to a whole new level. HOW EXCITING IS THAT!
Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: Memories Made and Lessons Learned

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:

 memories made and lessons learned

Memories Made and Lessons Learned

David Van Lear

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432781927

Fishing leads to many an adventure in life. “Memories Made and Lessons Learned” is a delve into the fishing stories of David Van Lear, who has fished all over North America and has seen much. With a bit of fishing know how and a focus on the experience of it all, Lear’s stories are sure to appeal to lovers of fishing and those who enjoy the many slices of life. “Memories Made and Lessons Learned” is a frank and choice read for fishing collections.

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 9/19/14

INSPIRED…BY WOUNDED WARRIORS

This phrase has become synonymous with our military personnel who have returned from “wars or rumors of wars” since 9/11. Many have suffered extreme physical injuries; others carry invisible scars of nightmare events that no one should have to experience.  And yet, when they come home again they inspire us!  They’d deny that, of course, but it’s true.  It’s the average, ordinary, writer who hears their story and begins tapping the keyboard, stringing words together and getting it published that shows them the truth of it.

Just this afternoon, my husband handed me an article he’d torn out of a newspaper insert. There is a small photo in the second column of a soldier holding a gray tabby cat—the feline who was “rescued” by the young soldier in the midst of an active battle zone—the stray cat whose insistent attention rescued the soldier from suicidal depression and gave him the courage to come home and help others.  Both soldier and cat are in the U.S. now.

You see, it’s all about connection.  The soldier’s faith and loyalty connection to the military mission and the positive things being accomplished—the good they were doing.  The internal, inspirational connection he saw in that one kitten expressed through the soldier as “the representations of the innocence” in that country.  Then there was the connection with other soldiers and organizations that brought both soldier and cat home because “it was the right thing to do.”  AND…the “cat experience connection” that was part of the readiness preparation for the soldier to accept a service dog, continuing the process of healing.  So many people heard this story—identified with it—connected to the hope.  And then came the writer who has used his skills and sent this story into millions of homes, creating more connections.

ARE YOU the next writer to hear an inspiring “wounded warrior” true-story and WRITE IT?  There are as many inspiring tales to tell as there are “sands on the ocean floor.”  The soldiers of today and yesterday and centuries past certainly have our respect and motivate us.  However, there are other wounded warriors in our sphere of acquaintances who also have inspiring stories to tell: the small business owner who “goes above and beyond” supporting his employees; the mothers and fathers who (in spite of extreme physical and economic challenges) dedicate their lives to lovingly raise their children with integrity, honesty and faith; the first responders in emergencies who place themselves in harm’s way to save lives; and you, the bloggers, tweeters and journalists who are willing to dig until you find the truth—and write it—even at great risk to your career and/or reputation.

This September season of 9/11 memories has (as you can see) inspired me. I’ve read newspaper commentaries and online quotes from shoppers and cab drivers, waiters and maintenance workers who stepped into the New York streets that day “to help.”  And yet, for me, it is the books by authors such as Susan Van Volkenburgh that continue to inspire me the most.  Her September 11th journey is told in Silent Resolve and the God Who Let Me Down: (A 9/11 Story).  It relates the events of Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, taking the life of her father and 183 others.  It also expresses her “odyssey” through grief and loss.

There is something about holding and reading a book that makes the contents very personal and intimate. IF you have an “overcoming” story to tell, please write it! We all need the reminder—like that cat nudging the soldier—that tragedies are not only survivable but can inspire us and others.

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: The Ultimate Job Directory

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:

 job dictionary

The Ultimate Job Directory

Amber Scanlon

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432741846

Working from home is a dream of many, but it is a path littered with scam. “The Ultimate Job Directory: Comprehensive Guide to Legitimate Work at Home” is a guide to finding legitimate telecommuting careers, as Amber Scanlon shares a directory of major companies that offer the option and how readers can take advantage of it. “The Ultimate Job Directory” is a useful reference that may prove useful for some chasing their dream career.

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 9/12/14

INSPIRED…BY NEIGHBORS

It doesn’t seem possible that it’s been two years since my friend Avanti and I embarked on the adventure of telling the story of his wife—Selma’s—immigration to the United States of America.  If Selma’s father had not sought safety in the U.S. from the tyranny of Mussolini, his wife and children would not have followed him and Selma, and Avanti would have never met—and fallen in love—or been “in position” to bless the lives of so many others.  Oh, there are thousands of stories out there like that, you say?  I beg to differ.  Truly, there are NO two stories alike—no two people whose lives touch ours the same.  The facts, fears and fantasies that drive each person to reach the multiple shores of their life-adventures are unique and made up of valuable lessons—for us all.

Marketing specialists have latched on to this truth and are using it in more media genres than ever before.  Have you heard the voice of famous comedian Robin Williams (recently lost to us) reading a poetry segment from the movie Dead Poet’s Society?  The quote is from a Walt Whitman poem:

“O me, O life of the questions of these recurring.

Of the endless trains of the faithless.

Of cities filled with the foolish.

What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer: that you are here.

That life exists and identity.

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”

Then Robin repeats the last line followed by a provocative question meant to nudge the listener toward the unspoken question.

‘That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.’

What will your verse be?”

And the unspoken question:  What will your legacy be?

Robin Williams has certainly left an amazing legacy behind.  He has touched the lives of millions of people around the world who remember him as “magical,” his performances “unlike anything seen before as if they came from some spiritual and otherworldly place.”

My thought for you today is: …and so it is with each individual person on this planet.  My memoir writing friend Avanti may not have personally touched the lives of millions.  However, his life-legacy and the legacy of his wife Selma are sown into us—all of us—just the same.  I am blessed to have helped him produce that memoir and self-publish it, as with every page I learned something of value for my own life.

Whether you are currently thinking of writing a memoir or are in the midst of writing a great adventure novel, the life-lessons learned from our inspiring neighbors will help you develop your own life-dreams—and build super-hero-characters to enrich the world of books-in-print.  STEP UP, my friends!  Get the writing done!  And publish!

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.