If you've ever self-published over Amazon's KDP and set up an ad, you know that the struggle is real for finding keywords for these ads! The following video addresses finding the best keyword tools. I hope you enjoy this video. As always, if there's any subject you would like to see me tackle, please tell me through the contact page! In the meantime, enjoy!
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If you've ever self-published over Amazon's KDP and set up an ad, you know that the struggle is real for finding keywords for these ads! The following video addresses finding the best keyword tools. I hope you enjoy this video. As always, if there's any subject you would like to see me tackle, please tell me through the contact page! In the meantime, enjoy!
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 I'm so excited! I was checking my email the other day and found a letter from The Highlights Foundation. They have several courses for writing for children of different ages and I really want to share this with you. I think I'm going to invest in one of these myself! Check these links out! *FILLING THE WRITER'S TOOLBOX WITH EDITOR EMMA DRYDEN, ONLINE WORKSHOP 2020 *FIND YOUR POETRY MUSE: A SEVEN WEEK CREATIVE JOURNEY, ONLINE COURSE 2020 PICTURE BOOK REVISION-MINI ONLINE COURSE: A TWO-PACK BUNDLE 2020 *CREATING AN IMAGE SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR YOUR VERSE NOVEL ONLINE COURSE 2020 *LATINX WRITERS: A VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM 2020 *SO YOU WANT TO BE AN AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR? ONLINE COURSE SEPT-NOV 2020 *GETTING YOUR MIDDLE GRADE OR YOUNG ADULT *NOVEL UNSTUCK: AN ON DEMAND ONLINE WORKSHOP *MEDITATIONS FOR WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS: AN ON DEMAND COURSE  How have you been faring through the quarantine? Has much changed for you? Have your writing habits changed? For me, my writing came to a screeching halt. I developed writer's block.
This was the perfect chance to give myself more outlets for my writing but I couldn't think of anything creative to write at all. I should have kept a journal but did I? Nope. I should blogged about it. Did I? HA! I guess you've noticed that I haven't posted anything at all lately. That's why. I just didn't hit a brick wall, like you do with a regular case of writer's block. I lost my desire to write. As of today, my writing is s-l-o-w-y coming back, but I'm not 100% yet. My friend, Marilyn L. Rice, from England, developed a great way to deal with the quarantine. She posts a weekly diary of exactly what she does during each day. I really should've followed her lead. As I said, I'm far from being 100% yet. This raised a question that I posed to myself. Do I treat this as an ordinary case of writer's block? I don't think so since it wasn't caused by an ordinary situation. I think my writing was a victim of Covid-19. But it's not going to be a victim that stays down. Oh, no! I will regain what I lost! Would you believe it? Facebook has helped me. Yes, Facebook! I found out on Facebook that other authors lost the desire to write, although they've since gotten it back. A few of them have even published unfinished manuscripts. Good for them! I got my determination going and thought, "If they can do it, I can do it." Others, like myself, are still on the mend. I remembered today that years ago I'd written an article on writer's block. I think this is the perfect time to re-visit that article. I hope it'll help some of you as well as myself. So, I'll go find that article, brush it off, and post it here. ---------------------------------------------------------- WHAT TO DO ABOUT WRITERS BLOCK What is writer's block? Wikipedia defines writer's block as a condition primarily associated with writing, where an author loses the ability to produce more work or experiences creative slowdown. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer%27s_block. You never know how long your block is going to last. It's been known to clear up in a few hours and last a few months. Could this also be called the writer's struggle since it happens to everyone who has chosen the writing path? Yes. A writer's struggle sounds much more realistic since when it strikes, it really is a real struggle to get something written or get a work-in-progress just right. We put our butt-in-chair, turn on the computer, and try to write. As hard as we try, and nothing happens. It's like hitting your head against a brick wall. Who among us, who has experienced this, and has instead gone to Facebook to play a game, go outside to garden, or whatever else interests you? I admit it, I'm guilty of this, myself. Believe it or not Facebook games and gardening are just two ways to banish this demon. Here are some other ways:
Take a good look at the list above. I realize some of these things on the list might seem are silly, but they have something in common: focus on something else for a while. It does wonders. It might be that it might take a week or more to get your muse back again. That's fine if it does. Take that time off to do other activities you enjoy. Concentrate on YOU during this time. ------------------------------------------------- I see that I've tried a couple of these ideas since our quarantine started. I do yoga and attend a weekly yoga class. I've also developed a new hobby. Sewing. I've started making masks for people in the area. I'm focusing on something other than writing. How has all this affected you and your writing? Is your writing a victim of Covid-19? I truly hope not, but if it is I do hope that my little article about writer's block helps you!  So you were reading a book of fairy tales and had a fantastic idea for a story! You'd like to take the basic premise of the story but what then? Would you like to change the POV? Would you like to make it silly? Would you like to change the character/setting/time? All of these are great ideas, but how do you do this? Fear no more, T.P. Jagger has kindly granted his permission to show his videos. Here's one that shows exactly how to write your fractured fairytale. Hi Everyone, How're you doing with your self isolation and social distancing? Speaking for myself, I seem to be having a bit of a problem. I've been blocked by this Covid situation. Not only blocked but I feel absolutley stopped! Well, this is a blog for another time. I really have a treat for you today! This is shared with permission. I'm handing the reins over to Jon and Laura Bard again today. They will share a video with you about "How Children's Book Publishers Work." Keep on writing! https://writeforkids.org/blog/2019/11/how-to-publish-a-childrens-book-part-2-learn-how-childrens-book-publishers-work/  Shared with permission from Jon and Laura Bard of the CBI Clubhouse
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I've got something really special for you - a free webinar hosted by the inimitable Alice Kuipers, author of Polly Diamond and The Magic Book and Life on the Refrigerator Door. It happens tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, and it will really help you right now. It's called Connecting With Your Creativity. During these unsettling times, figuring out how to make time to write, what to write, and how to focus as a writer is difficult. Join Alice for this free webinar just for you: we'll talk about ways to make slivers of time for storytelling, even as we're maybe working while caring for children or loved ones, or just trying to figure out our new normals. We'll share how to get words onto the page, and how to write through this strange, uncertain period of our collective history. This isn't a sales webinar - it's a gift from Alice and all of us here at Children's Book Insider to help you take a deep breath, settle in and reconnect with your creative muse. Because that's where the joy is. It's totally free, but you will need to register to reserve a space (and to assure you get the replay link if you can't make it live). Here's where to register: https://writeforkids.org/get-creative If you can't make it live, go ahead and register and we'll send you the replay link on Thursday. And by the way - we're having another Kidlit Distancing Social on Thursday evening. This week, we'll piggyback off of Alice's class and talk about finding the inspiration to develop memorable story ideas. Stay tune for more on that.... All the best, Jon Bard .This week, I thought I'd hand 'KidLit and More' over to Jon and Laura Bard from the Children's Book Insider. This is a fantastic resource for writing for children and you won't regret signing up for this at all. It's an ongoing complete writing for children's course! Check it out!
Okay. Now that you know who Jon and Laura are, I'll explain what they've brought you. Today is part I of a three part video series explaining how children's publishing works. Part I of this series is titled 'How to Publish a Children's Book, Part I - Understanding Children's Book Categories. You'll find it here. TITLE: Step Into Your Power: Lessons for Life (© 2019) AUTHOR: Laura Lynn Doyle PUBLISHER: Desire For Higher FORMATS: Paperback, Kindle PRICE: Paperback - $12.95, Kindle Unlimited – Free ISBN: 9781733384667 ASIN: B083XJN7X5 LCCN: 2019919078 Step Into Your Power: Lessons for Life is the latest self-help book from Laura Lynn Boyle. I'm this 50-page book for young adults you'll find several ways to help yourself. It teaches you that you can boost your self-esteem by doing affirmations and keeping a gratitude journal. Also, it shows you how meditation will help you. The author’s website shows you more information about helping yourself! That information is listed in the book. Where can I get this book, you ask? You can get it in several places. It's on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. ________________________________ TITLE: My Child, As you Grow Older (© 2018) AUTHOR: Laura Doyle ILLUSTRATOR: Toby Mikle PUBLISHER: Desire For Higher FORMAT: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle FORMATS: Hardback, paperback, Kindle PRICES: Hardback-$24.95, Paperback-13.18, Kindle-$5.99, Kindle Unlimited-Free ISBN: 9781944733620 ASIN: B079VXK41Y My Child, As You Grow Older, is a wonderful picture book for your younger children. The illustrator by Toby Mikle enhances the text with his brilliant watercolor paintings. This is a must have for your home library. In this book, Laura Doyle points out in gentle rhyming sentences how a child will face many challenges during their life. She gives several different examples and shows that what's right for a friend might not be right for them. All the while, the author encourages the child to keep following their own path in life. If you'd like a copy of My Child, As You Grow Older, just go to her website. You can also find the hardback and paperback here on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble. The Kindle version can be found on Amazon here. Hi everybody, Well, I've had a setback that every writer dreads. I don't care if the author writes for children or adults, it's dreaded. That's the setback. Yep! It hit me this year. I had my second Hungle Bungle Jungle book finished, polished and even was sent off to the editor! Then life got in the way. It snuck in there and did it's thing to me big time! I was hoping to have my second HBJ story published through KDP last October. But noooo. It didn't happen. No way, nada. What did happen was that I wound up contacting my illustrator saying that we have to put it off for a year. Luckily, she was very understanding about it. Life, huh? I promised you info on a brand spankin' new contest? It’s the LaViness short story contest. For more information go to the contest owners page at http://www.jespiddlin.com/writingcontest/index.html GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND KEEP ON WRITING! Welcome back to read my second installment of On Marketing. I hope this series helps you on your writing journey. If you haven’t read Part I, you can read it here.
First, I have to say that I apologize for not posting this the week after part I, as promised. I have no excuse except that life got in the way. Thanks for understanding! This week I’m bringing you low-cost book promotion sites that will help. First of all, you should start a newsletter. I’m in the process of creating one myself! I’m using Mailchimp because it’s free and reliable. Here is my list of other sites to promote your book. LOW-COST PROMOTION SITES Reedsy (sign up for the newsletter while you’re there) BMI Books WordLikes Olto Books Books WiFi Writers Support Boescify Creative Designers and Writers Best Reads Best Reads is the only free book marketing Android and IOS app. You can download the app at the previous link. Like last week, this list is probably incomplete. If you know of other sites that will help promote your book, please share them in the comments! See you next time and don't forget to keep on writing! |
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