6 Ways to Make 2014 the Best Yet!

January is a month filled with obscure celebrations and events, such as: Someday We'll Laugh About This week (2-8); or the No Name Calling week (20-24). January 2nd is I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore day; the 24th is Belly Laugh day; and the 29th is Free Thinkers day. January is also Book Buzz and National Mentoring month.

But the biggie for January is, drum roll please . . . making (breaking) resolutions. I have to be honest with you, I've never fully supported the idea. Personally, I believe denial only leads to craving and failure. If I want to be successful in a resolution, it must be something positive that I can add to my life. Something that will make me more productive, more nurturing, more loving. With that thought in mind, I've written a list of 6 suggestions. I asked two of my author mentor/friends for their input with this question: "What's the best resolution you ever made that helped your writing career?" You'll find those answers in items 2 and 6. It may surprise you.

Have you made any resolutions for this year? If not, maybe one of these ideas will help:
1.  VOLUNTEER - Share your talent with others. Offer to write whatever the organization/school/company needs (it keeps your skills sharp). Host a book fair. Help your library. Mentor a child. Most of us acquired a love for books because someone shared their love of the written word with us. Pass it on!

2.    MAKE A DECISION - Writers are used to facing hurdles and rejection slips. It comes with the territory. Harder still is making choices after you've experienced a modicum of success especially when one path is stability and the other uncertainty.

"I don't make New Year's resolutions," said #Alan_Brennert, award-winning author, producer and screenwriter. "But I made a kind of resolution back in 2000 when I committed myself to finishing my novel "MOLOKA'I" rather than pursue a staff job as a writer on Law & Order, with whose producers I had met while I was still partway into writing "#MOLOKA'I." The latter turned out to be my first, bestselling book and a major turning point in my career;  had I taken the former, all I would have had to show for it (other than money) would have been just another bunch of episodic television scripts based on other people's characters."

A major decision like the one Brennert made is one only you and your family or support team can make. Do you take the road less traveled or do you merge with traffic? Nobody can answer for you, however, as the legendary Yogi Bera once said, "when you see a fork in the road, take it."

3.     MENTOR - Seek the counsel of those you respect, those who are better established in the field of publishing than you. You'll be amazed at their generosity and wisdom. I firmly believe we provide a better product to the reader when we collaborate rather than compete. There's a wonderful nursing adage that is applicable to writers as well: "See one, do one, teach one."

4.      LIMIT YOUR TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA - Everyone has their own style of browsing. Focus on priorities. It's so easy to get caught up in chit-chat. During the day, I set time aside to add updates to my Facebook fan page or write a quick tweet. It's important to keep readers informed and to build an author's platform.

If you're struggling with a personal style, look at the fan pages of authors you admire. I also looked at the pages for sports teams, other celebrities, and food pages (the last may have been because I was hungry). After noting what I found attractive, I began to see my own style emerge.

I don't read the "news feed" until evening. That's my time with friends; a chance to relax and find out what's happening in the eSocial 'hood.  

5.     ORGANIZE

• Your thoughts - Prioritize your needs and follow through. If you're serious about your craft, make sure you have the tools needed to ply it. If you prefer writing on a typewriter (like mythical author Hayden Konig in #Mark_Schweizer's Liturgical Mystery series) because it brings you into character, that's one thing but if you're still pounding away on a Commodore 64 . . . it's time to upgrade.
• A place for everything - Next time you misplace something, look at the clock and measure how much time's been wasted on the search (Yikes! I just found my resolution for 2014).
• 24/7 is all any of us ever have - Observe how successful people use it. Set a schedule; one that's reasonable. Balance is a  key component to productivity.

6.     JUST WRITE - "My best resolution was to write 10,000 words a day for 2013 and I reached my goal!" said #Melissa_Foster, New York Times Bestselling and Award-winning Author of #The_Love_in_Bloom series (Snow sisters & Bradens).  She graciously asked if I would like her to elaborate on this but I was stunned senseless at what she had accomplished!

In answer to your question, Melissa, I would love to hear more.

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                                                            /_\
Alan Brennert is from New Jersey and now living with his family in Los Angeles. To learn more about him and his work, click on his name.

Melissa Foster, a mother of six, lives with her family in Maryland. Click on her name to learn more about her books and the foundations she's created.

Mark Schweizer lives in Tryon, North Carolina and is author of an hilarious Liturgical Mystery series.

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40-year veteran of freelance writing and author of BEGOTTEN: With Love (available in eBook the beginning of 2014).

Follow/LIKE on Facebook Jo Ann V. Glim, author

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING

May this year's celebration be filled with wonder and joy.
May love surround the family table and nourish the heart as well as the belly.
May cherished memories of Christmases past bring comfort and laughter.
And may we experience the gifts of the Christ Child tonight and always.

Merry Christmas!
From my family to yours . . .
Jo Ann V. Glim

                                

Writing a Family History

Let's face it, we baby boomers are aging! We're entering a new decade, our seventh, to be exact. This new mantle of age means only this:

1. Our careers are winding down and
2. We now have the time and flexibility to pursue our passions

Many have chosen writing. The increase in Indie Authors bears this theory out. However, not all writers are interested in publishing for the general public. According to #Ancestry.com 128,000 baby boomers are researching family genealogy. Many are compiling their findings into books, along with personal stories and pictures, and giving them away as family keepsakes. What better gift to give than that of legacy?

Earlier this year, Stemma Books LLC, the publisher for "BEGOTTEN: With Love" (my book), polled 1,000 readers who had indicated an interest in memoirs. The results were surprising. We expected to capture a female audience between fifty-five and sixty years of age; had hoped for a younger group of twenty to thirty year-olds (the number of interested young adults surpassed our expectations); and were delighted to include men sixty-five and older.

There is a definite interest in all things family. Here are five suggestions for those new to writing memoirs to make your  story more appealing:

1. Include traits and talents when describing your characters (sorry for calling grandpa a character). The younger generation wants to identify with family whether its by hair/eye color, a gift for music/art, or a fun-loving spirit, to name a few of the many characteristics from which to choose.
2. Talk about the passion the people you're describing had for: God, country and each other. What were the values they held dear? What was their reason for coming to America? How did they make their living? 
3. Include details about the time period in which they lived. What were the latest inventions? What type of entertainment did they have? What type of transportation did they use? Make the story come alive. Allow the reader to be in the moment.
4. Location, location. location is the first lesson in any business book. It should also be included in writing a memoir. For example, did the family live in rural America during the horrendous dust storms of the 1930s that sandblasted paint right off the buildings? Were they living in Chicago in the late 1800s when it was so bitterly cold that they were ripping the wooden roofs off the outhouses to stay warm because of a shortage of wood? Whatever your family's story, share it in detail.
5. Share the history of  heirlooms. Take pictures and include them in the book. Something as simple as grandma's knitting needles passed on to a great-granddaughter may spark an interest in the craft or at least give the young woman an appreciation for the sweaters, scarves and mittens those needles made all those years ago.

If you are overwhelmed by the idea of writing a family history, there are many companies willing to assist. My personal recommendation goes to Nancy and Biff Barnes from #Stories_To_Tell_Books who offered sage advice when BEGOTTEN was still in development. Their passion is working with family historians from inception to completion. I suggest visiting their web site at www.StoriesToTellBooks.com to see what they've done for others and feel free to call 888-577-9342 for further information.

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Jo Ann V. Glim is a forty-year veteran of freelance writing and author of "BEGOTTEN:With Love."  
Visit:  www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com
LIKE/Follow on FaceBook.com/JVGlim.author

Writer's Block

Have you ever muddled through "Writer's Block"? Yeah, me, too. That cursed bane of writers everywhere!

Why, oh why does it happen when the deadline clock is ticking? Tick, Tick, TICK! A walk to the kitchen for a glass of water doesn't help. The radio is definitely an incessant dribble of white noise.  Do you ask yourself, "where in the world did I lose my mind?" I know I do . . . at least I wonder about the portion where thoughts float freely on the wings of imagination.

Scouring the house for that elusive spark of genius, may produce spectacles, notebooks, or at least the patience lost earlier in the day (and I'm beginning to believe, there's a symbiotic relationship between patience and writer's block) which leads me to wonder if the author of "The Man In The Moon," from the beloved Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme may have suffered a bout before writing the line, "...and the cup ran away with the spoon." Hmm, there's hope in that thought:  imagination and creativity are everywhere. We just need to look beyond ourselves, maybe over the moon to find the portal of free thought.

How to Chip Away at #Writer's Block

1 - BELIEVE IN YOUR TALENTS - Negative thoughts are pure static to the voice of imagination. If we surround ourselves with a positive support team of authors and readers (those with similar talents who are interested in helping us reach our goals) then we open a channel for writing. Words soar in the right atmosphere.

2 - DEPRIVATION - In every day reality, it's to our advantage to follow the adage "H-A-L-T (never do anything when too Hungry, too Angry, too Lonely or too Tired)." As a writer, however, these moments may produce some of the best dialogue, descriptions or scenes we've ever written. Think of the poet with the broken heart, the songwriter filled with angst, a novelist reminiscing his/her childhood.

If it's a journalistic piece, it must take a neutral, objective position. If emotions are clouding the process, better to walk away and regroup. Bounce ideas off a trusted colleague. Write . . . edit . . . rewrite. . . or sleep on it. As an indie author, you may or may not have more flexibility in deadlines.

3 - WHEN "To-Do" STEALS YOUR "Ta-Dah" - Indie authors are discovering the post publishing to-dos: publicity packets, bios, press releases, query letters, public speaking addresses, social media, and blogs, to name a few. It's an often overlooked, yet, necessary part of publishing and marketing but the stress of wearing so many hats runs the risk of cutting off circulation to the brain.

What? You're not supposed to wear them all at once?  Huh. Well, that explains a lot!


Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40-year veteran of freelance writing and author of "BEGOTTEN: With Love."
Visit www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com
LIKE/FOLLOW on Facebook.com/JVGlim.author

Quality Counts!

I patiently listened as a few newly-published Indie Authors bragged about finishing their books in less than ninety days. Many of these enthusiastic newbies encouraged the small pod of listeners gathered 'round by saying, '...if I can do it, so can you!'  Some in the crowd were smitten with the idea, fortunately, most were not.

This encounter made me realize that a look at the practical side of producing a book and the repercussions of rushing to print might make for a helpful blog.

COMPETITION and MARKET

• Over 700,000 self-published authors are in the market place today. It's a large enough contingent to make the New York six and other established publishing houses sit up and take notice.
• In a piece written by blogger @Marianaela Camacho Alfaro for @GoodReader.com (Nov 23, 2013) 41% of adults and 27% of teens identify themselves as regular @eBook readers.  This number is continuing to grow.
• According to Amazon.Com (Nov. 2013 Newsletter) eBook prices for bestsellers continue to drop.

Never has the future looked brighter for Indie Authors nor more cluttered with self-inflicted literary wounds.  The point of this article is not to discourage anyone from writing, quite the contrary.  We all have a story to tell and from the looks of it, we have an interested audience, one that has enthusiastically embraced us for the past few years.  However, there are rumblings from readers who are becoming wary of Indie Authors and Self-Published books because of the quality of the product.

If we are going to earn a reputation for excellence, then we must make a commitment to the reader, ourselves, and our fellow writers to raise the standard of the work we produce. If we don't, we will all go down in history as a footnote of a publishing experiment that failed.  As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a good impression.

WE CAN MAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY COUNT IF WE:

• Produce our best work and remind ourselves; speed is not a priority, quality is.
• Take the time and spend the money to have our work professionally designed and edited.
• Sign up for classes to familiarize ourselves with the tools available to authors.
• Distribute Author Review Copies and ask for critiques from those who can offer an objective, professional point of view.  If there is a negative, common thread noted, correct it before publishing.  
• Reach out to authors who are successfully published and ask them to mentor.
• Join a writer's workshop for the feedback and friendship.

For those of you who are successfully self-published, what advice would you add to this list?  ________________________________________________________

Writing is a tedious process, a solitary calling so when you receive good news?  CELEBRATE!

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40-year veteran of freelance writing and author of BEGOTTEN: With Love.  You're invited to visit www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com, and come LIKE/FOLLOW us on Facebook.com/JVGlim.author

The Benefits of Research

"Look it up," sounds like such a given when writing a story but how many times have we all glossed past something because of a vague working knowledge of the topic?   In a hurry? Under deadline? Don't think it matters one whit to the rest of the story? You may be right.  But are you willing to risk losing readers or credibility over it?

There's a wonderful book, "Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders: A Writer's (and Editors) Guide to Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms, Errors and Myths," by +Susanne Alleyn that was brought to my attention by +Boyd Lemon, Author of "Digging Deep." According to the book's reviews, it's a great resource as well as an entertaining read (available on Amazon.com).

Even if a writer doesn't plan on going back to the Middle Ages to tell the story, a plot from the 1800s (or even current times) follows the same mantra, "look it up."  When writing a western, detective, or murder mystery the writer has to ponder, what do I know about a gun. . . or is it referred to as a weapon? A revolver. . . is that what Colt invented? It may seem like a venial mea culpa to us but to the reader, if your goal is to cultivate a large following from law enforcement, those facts, the language, the procedures must all be believable or the writer risks losing reader loyalty.

One of my personal research treasures is an out-of-print biography from 1904 about "The Honorable Daniel Pratt," by Mrs. S. F. H. Tarrant. Pratt, founder of Prattville, Alabama and the Cotton Gin Factory that employed most of the men in town. He was a fascinating man and his memoir exposed threads of knowledge on several levels:

• It gave me a clear idea of living conditions in the south in the mid 1800s,
• It brought to the fore what a visionary this remarkable man was for his community and our country,
• It made it quite clear that an entrepreneurial spirit and a generous heart are the driving force behind the American Dream and,
• the cherry on top for me (blush) was to see my great-great grandfather's name in print as manager of the machine shop!

Having a great plot and the imagination to spin it into an epic novel is the underlying motivation for most writers. So I say, let your talents soar! That is writing in its rawest form. It's the rewrites: the plot line, research, character development, and edits, edits, edits that separate the newbies and wannabes from the published. 

#Mark_Twain understood how important research is. His words of wisdom, "Get your facts straight. Then, you can distort them as you please."

Not sure where to turn for research assistance?  Here are a few suggestions: attics, historical societies, Internet, libraries, museums, newspaper archives, out-of-print books, professional organizations, and universities. Enjoy your research hunt. You never know where a gem of info may be buried.

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Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40-year veteran of freelance writing and author of "BEGOTTEN: With Love" (coming out in eBook format the beginning of 2014). 
Visit www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com and 
LIKE/Follow on FaceBook

What's In A Name?

Thank you for stopping by! I've been sitting in front of this computer screen for the last 6 hours trying to come up with a clever BLOG name. I thought I had it but here I am, 2 days later. . . revising! I wanted something reflective of who I am and why I write in the first place. So, the new name came down to this: I write for the love and passion of the topic and for the ability to tell the truth as I see it based on research and observation. To sum it up, there's "Only One Way to Write."

Seeing as this is the first blog, it seemed appropriate to introduce myself.  I'm a published, freelance writer. My writing skills have brushed a vast landscape of styles from commercials and one-liners to in-depth articles and two award-winning, columns: one weekly, one monthly.

I've also worked in  business management: human resources to be exact. It was my job to hire staff for temporary employment and coordinate a "lunch and learn" educational series for non-management employees interested in advancing their careers at a company where the division I was attached to employed over 11,000 employees worldwide.

Now, after thirty years of research that took me all over our nation and to Sweden, Author Review Copies of my book, "BEGOTTEN With Love" rolled off the presses in February.  This was a lifetime dream and a gift for my children and grandchildren who knew so little about their ancestry.

Many of the people I had asked to review "BWL," encouraged me to publish it for the general public. It took a lot of thought and deliberation and prayer, and with my hubby's blessing (yes, we work as a team), we decided to go for it.

Two exciting things have happened to date: "BEGOTTEN: With Love" is receiving 5-Star reviews on Goodreads.com; and a Judge from Writer's Digest, after I submitted the book for the 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards, sent me a commentary I am going to frame!  Did I win? No. . . but you've gotta read this:

"Begotten: With Love takes a creative premise for telling a family's story and succeeds beautifully. The fictionalization of ancestral history works well and makes this family history read more like an interesting novel. It also makes it a universal story - readers who had grandparents or great-grandparents who came to America through Ellis Island, or immigrated from other countries, can see themselves and their families in this narrative.

The author does a great job of capturing time, place and character, with enough history thrown in to help readers place themselves in time.  The book is nicely written, and the hard work the author did both with her research and getting the book just right shows.

The cover is professional and eye-catching, making a reader want to pick the book up and find out more about these interesting people. While she should deservedly be proud of her achievement, the book can stand on its own and readers only need to know what a good job she did with it.  It's about what the author says in the end, after all, not about who she is."

The one critique the Judge had was that the book could stand a professional edit because of punctuation. Editors are our best friends and I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the feedback. I want to make sure I offer readers the best product possible. The edits are being done right now so the finished book (both print and eBook format) will be available in December.

Well, 'nuf about me. I'm glad you stopped by to visit.  Please feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to get to know you too. Hope to see you next Tuesday.


Jo Ann V. Glim, Author
"BEGOTTEN: With Love"
WEB:  www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com
LIKE/FOLLOW on www.facebook.com/JVGlim.author
BLOG:  only1way2write.blogspot.com
JGlim@tampabay.rr.com
P.O. Box 174
Bradenton, FL 34206