Christmas of 2018, I introduced a guest writer, Forest Riggs, with his Christmas short story.Forest isn’t a novice writer like myself, but a skilled writer who has written for several Texas magazines and newspapers in and around the Houston, Texas area. Recently, Forest released his new book Galveston – Memories & Related Stories. The book, published by Outskirts Press, is available on Amazon as a paperback or ebook. You also may purchase a copy through Barnes and Nobles, Ingram, Abe Books, eBay, and several local books stores in the Galveston and Houston area.
Here is a quote from the manuscript:
“The sand-covered oasis in the Gulf of Mexico represents an almost mythical and magical place, where man, nature, and Providence have come to the crossroads many times since its earliest beginnings.”
Over the last week, I’ve fought the typical holiday blues. I recall the previous year, my first Christmas without my late husband. I’m dreading the upcoming holidays, knowing it will be a repeat of the previous. Compound the anxiety to include our fighting of the Covid pandemic, and to be safe, we need to shelter-in-place.
It would be so easy to succumb to depression. I very well could, and some would say I would have justification. Perhaps, but when I watch the news or look on the internet, I witness thousands of families suffering this year because of losing a family member or close friend to the Covid. Even as devastating this pandemic has been throughout the world, I can find a ray of hope and optimism that we can and will get through it together. I will do my part by staying home. I will thank God the virus has affected none of my family and friends. I will also pray for those that are victims.
I also remember many previous adverse holidays I have experienced. One of those Christmas came to mind, and I will share it with this post. The following I extracted from my book, One Month, Twenty Days, and a Wake-Up. After reading it, please leave me your comments. Please tell me how you are coping with the holiday blues.
If you are an Indie author or novice author like I am, having your writing and name promoted is a boost we don’t want to overlook. There are many ways to gain personal exposure. Having a blog website and posting regularly is one way. Reading and commenting on peer blog sites gains recognition and reader following. Promoting another Indie author on your website often leads to reciprocation. The professionals have a ton of suggestions, advice, and techniques to meet our objectives.
I have often seen promotions for a writing contest. There seems to be a proliferation of them covering every genre of writing. Daily, when I’m scanning the many blog post that I follow, I see their announcements. I frequently wish I had the time needed to write something original or unique to submit. But I’ve learned if you will invest the time in a contest that fits your style, you can get the recognition you seek. The ones that catch my attention aren’t the ones that offer only cash prizes; although, I wouldn’t refuse the money. I notice the ones that provide their anthology to include my writing.
If you win a cash prize only contest, after they make the announcement on the host site, and you spend the cash prize, that ends the acclamation. What does an anthology offer? An anthology doesn’t stop at the communique. Every time a reader sees and hopefully purchases the book, you get the desired effect.
Whether you’ve been following my recent post or not, you don’t want to make the same mistake I made. I didn’t know if I should update the original One Month, 20 Days, and a Wake Up book with the files of the 2nd edition or publish the 2nd as a separate book. I went on Amazon’s KDP Help pages for advice. Here’s what I found:
Under the subject title “Upload your book content,” it states, “… if your changes are significant, you must publish your book as a new edition…”
Under the subject title “Update your Manuscript,” it states, “… if it’s considered a new edition, you must publish it as a new book…”·
I’m proud to announce that my 2nd Edition of One Month, 20 Days, and a Wake Up is now available on Amazon. I released it simultaneously in eBook and paperback format. I followed KDP’s recommendation of publishing it as a new book. Their advice, if the book has significantly changed, don’t update the older version, but release it separately.
My question now is, do the two books link somehow? The title didn’t change, just the cover and a good portion of the storyline. What is also obviously updated, the quality of the writing. What I will eventually do is delete the original book. But I don’t want to lose the complimentary reviews. I need to find out how you can move the reviews to the recent release.
The process of the rewrite began in April 2019. A friend invited me to go to the writer’s critique group he attended. They met twice monthly and asked their members to bring in original work to read and reviewed by the group. When I told them I had self-published three books, they invited me to return. My reply, “If you will help me rewrite my book on Vietnam, I will.”
Now, after fifteen months of hard work, I’m thrilled I have completed the project. Included in this post is the final version of the book blurb and the acknowledgment section from the book.
I am one step closer now in releasing the 2nd edition of One Month, 20 Days, and a Wake Up.If you’re a writer, you know the editing, and we never complete the changes. We’re never satisfied, but we have to stop at some point, or we would never publish or post our writing
Since I’m self-publishing this book, I’m required to format the manuscript for eBook and paperback formats. Each has its unique nuances. If the ultimate product has presentation errors, it is just as bad as being poorly written. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to state; it is a painstaking and timely process.
I thought it might entertain you to share another section of the book. Instead of me copying a part and you reading it, I recorded it in hopes it might grab your attention. This is my first attempt at dabbling with a different medium.
I selected the introduction this time because it sets the temperament of the manuscript. I didn’t write this book to make any political statement, although I believe I did for the Vietnam Veteran. I wrote it to share a portion of my life that influenced and changed me. I wanted the reader to have an insight from my viewpoint into what it meant to be a PJ. I wanted people to know the sacrifices and risks my fellow PJs did to rescue and save lives. I wanted you to know that we risked all to fulfill our motto: “We do these things so that others may live.”
If you have followed my recent post, I’ve been discussing the release of the second edition of One Month, 20 Days, and a Wake Up. Each week I get closer to the release date, but the final steps include the process of formatting the manuscript for an e-book and paperback. For those like me that self-publish, we know that this is time-consuming and often a frustrating process.
In my last post, we discussed the importance of a book blurb. WRITING THE BOOK BLURB. I offered three examples of blurbs I wrote and asked for your opinion. I appreciate the advice of those that responded, and I agree with the majority. I’ve decided to use it with a minor modification.
This post, I’m using a pre-release marketing technique by revealing a section of the manuscript. Please click on the continue link and enjoy an area from the book. When done, leave me comments. Does it entice you to read more?
If we have or we are considering self-publishing a book, we know there’s more than writing the manuscript. With self-publishing, we do everything that a publishing company would do to market our book. With thousands of titles just on Amazon alone, it’s all about catching the reader’s attention.
If we are lucky to have our book placed in a prominent page within its genre, we still need that something special to shout at the reader, Read Me! A book cover can be synonymous with the retailer’s signs or logos. It is the first and perhaps the only thing a reader sees when they are selecting their next read. If our cover doesn’t grab them, the reader moves on. Experts tell us we have less than five seconds to gain the initial recognition.
If our covers catch their attention, the next essential criterion is our book blurb. We have a few more seconds or our first sentence of the blurb to tell the reader again, Read Me! If we have their interest raised, we need to hold it and continue to convince them they should read our book.
There are many do’s, and don’ts and I’ve found many blogs explaining the successful blurb. I’m not an expert, and I’m not writing this post to advise or instruct. I’m sharing my experience that a book blurb can make or break the marketability of our book. We spend our sweat, blood, and tears, getting the manuscript written. Potentially we can lose all those efforts if we write a weak blurb.
Those that follow me have heard me state I’m a novice writer but strive to improve my work. Recently, my editor returned the second edition of One Month, 20 Days, and a Wake Upmanuscript. Along with his actual editing markups on the document, he also provides a separate report devoted to comments. Along with giving compliments to those areas he feels are strong, he provides statements of those areas that need strengthening.
I’m a storyteller and all three of my memoirs I wrote in first person POV. I write as if I was telling a friend my life story. In my efforts to have the reader experience the episode, often the detail not the story becomes central. Chris, my editor, pointed out I often overuse “Travel Verbs.” As he points out, excessive travel verbs weaken the writing and fatigues the reader.
“… Example 1: Bob pulled into his driveway, shut off his car, and opened the car door. He walked up to his front door, checked the mailbox mounted next to the door, and then unlocked the door and walked in. He trudged up the stairs to the second floor. He entered his bedroom, dropped his briefcase on the floor and fell into bed….”
This is an excessive example, but it gives you the idea. Since this post is about sharing a writing weakness, it is also about promoting the release of my second edition book. What better way than to show you some examples Chris found and the corrections I made. When it’s released, perhaps you might even want to read it.
I want to continue the discussion on the importance of having your manuscript edited by a professional. Reviewers of your work, especially those who have no invested friendship, can and will be brutally honest. You should value their input even when you don’t agree with their opinion.
In my case, some of the reviewers took issue with the accuracy of the events I depicted. Even when the book was classified as fiction based on actual events, the individuals felt it should be factual.
Example:
“A lot of inaccuracies aside from what … pointed out. There are many Special Forces guys who would take issue with classifying PJ’s as Special Forces. SF is technically reserved for counter insurgents known as Green Berets. A more apt term for PJ’s would be Special Operations where they were assigned specifically to in Vietnam…”
I agree with this reviewer the Air Force classified PJs as “Special Operations” Combat Controllers were part of the Air Force’s Special Operations. They trained at some of the same Special Forces training schools as Pararescue. During Vietnam, Combat Controllers were identified by the blue beret they wore. The 37th ARRS depicted was a squadron assigned under Air Combat Command 23rd Air Force Headquarters.
