Queensland Baby! Goodreads Giveaway, New Books Available, and My Last Chance Prayer

Hello from beautifully sunny Queensland!
Yes, that's right, I've left the (not so cold now) weather of Melbourne, and flown the two hours up to Brisbane for the annual Caleb Christian writers conference!
Have been working my little backside off trying to get ready for this conference for the last few weeks, as I'm actually getting a table and selling books! My first physical event as a bookseller. Pretty exciting, no?

I have a lot of little things I want to cover just to keep you all updated, so I'm just going to lay it out.

GoodReads Giveaway:

First of all, big thank you to everyone that entered the Goodreads giveaway for the hardcopies of The Five Day Writer's Retreat. Over 1,000 people entered! It was really amazing.
I've sent out the five copies, but apologise to the winners in the UK, as it won't arrive until early December. 

I am sorry that only 5 people could win the hardcopies. However, to make it up to the rest of you, I'm offering 50% off the Smashwords' electronic copy of the book. This can be used by absolutely anyone until the 10th November, 2013. All you need to do is go to Smashwords and use this coupon code:

WD79W

 

You are more than welcome to share that around. I appreciate the support, and want to share the fun.

 

Colostrum - A Handbook of Spiritual Antibodies for New Christians.

 

I've finally published my father's first book! It's available as an ebook at Amazon, and soon will be coming as a hardcopy (I'm testing out Lightning Source rather than Createspace for it, and will give you a full report on the two once I get the proofs and hardcopies of Dad's book). 

Dad's been an Anglican minister for over 30 years, and has put together a handbook of the worst heresies that tend to shipwreck new believers. From experience he passes on the spiritual antibodies needed to fight these diseases. 

It was so much fun editing this book for Dad, largely because it was just so... Dad! Reading it is just like listening to him speak. I could even imagine his gestures and facial expressions. It is colloquial, and excited, theologically sound, and sensible. Highly recommended for all new believers, and would make a perfect baptism present. 

If anyone would like a review copy, sign up for my reviewers' list just on the left hand sidebar of this blog to always be offered free review copies, or send me an email at b.greentr@gmail.com.

Prayers, Please!

Finally, tomorrow night is the Caleb Dinner, where the winners of the Caleb Awards will be announced. My Christian Young Adult Supernatural, Sally Hunt Vs. God is a finalist in the unpublished manuscript section. To be honest, if I don't win I don't mind in that I get control of my manuscript and can publish it myself. However, at some stage I do want to be a Hybrid Author, with a combination of traditionally and self-published works. Largely, I want to see the difference and how well traditional publishing now compares. This would be a great opportunity. 

Also, just knowing my writing is of winning standards would be nice.

In a similar vein, I've entered the first chapter of After The Winter, the 1920's historical romance I did as my first draft for NaNoWriMo last year, into the Harlequin 'So You Think You Can Write' competition a few days ago. Little did I realise that if I get through to the next round, I need to submit a full manuscript by mid October! I have 50,000 words, but I never actually completed the first draft. So, pray that I do get into the next round, and then that I can get the manuscript written to a high enough standard in just a week! 

 

If you want to read the first chapter, check it out at: http://www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com/manuscripts-sytycw-2013/after-the-winter/

If you were wondering what my ROW80 goals for the next week... well, you can probably guess now. Intensive romance writing!

 

Anyone that will be free in a week or two to do some quick beta reading, I would love you long time!

 

Stay tuned for updates!

Guest Post: Philip Craig Robotham on Writing Audio-Dramas (With Giveaway)

Hello all! Well, it will be a week tomorrow since I packed up everything, moved all but a suitcase (and a bit)'s worth into storage, and started my freelance life. Still trying to sort everything out but am carrying on.  So thank you all for your patience and support as I upend my life... again. 

Today, to fill in my very conspicuous gap, I have the wonderful Philip Craig Robotham doing a guest interview.

Philip has started up his own company, weirdworldstudios.com, producing audio drama scripts in the style of old time radio plays packaged as a fun dinner party idea. While still holding down his day job, Philip has created radio plays for three serials; Pulp Adventure, Gaslamp Mystery and Fantasy Noir. Today we talk about why radio plays, how he writes, and the challenges associated with starting a writing career.

What inspires you to write?

For me writing is enormous fun. I do it because I love the thrill of creating and allowing my imagination to run wild. I'm also an old-time radio fan. I enjoy everything from adventures like "Gunsmoke", "the Green Hornet", "the Saint", and "Yours Truly Johnny Dollar", through comedies such as "the Goon Show" and "Fibber McGee and Molly", through science fiction like "X Minus 1" and "ProjectXx", through to horror and suspense like "the Inner Sanctum". 

It's typical of me that the genre of writing that gets me excited the most is one which died out more than forty years ago. All the same, it's what I love and seems to be having something of a resurgence lately via the internet. There have been some great examples of audio drama made available recently from podcasters online. These include the fabulous "Adventures of the Red Panda", the haunting and creepy "Wormwood", the extremely professional "Leviathan Chronicles", and far too many others to list. 

I'm not a particularly florid writer. I like plain speech and simple exposition. I'm also not overly fond of having to write lengthy descriptions of people and places. As a result radio writing seems to have been made for me. 

The first of the Pulp Adventure Series

How does writing an audio drama differ from other genres?

Writing for the ear is very different to any other kind of writing that I have ever done. For one thing everything is exposition. In real life no-one ever says "look out Claire, he's holding a gun!", but in an audio drama it's essential to spell out what is happening for the listener. It's also very hard to write an audio drama with a lone character in it. If you do then you'll find yourself forced to have the character talking to him or herself constantly. The old Sam Spade voice-over was probably invented for radio shows relying on a single main character:

"I walked the last 18 steps to the battered old front door. The lock had been jimmied and swung creaking on its hinges in the evening breeze." 

There’s great atmosphere in these monologues but, personally, I like my characters to have company and it lets me indulge my taste for banter:

"What are we doing here, boss?" 

"Old man Cranston invited us to come visit him up at the house." 

"Yeah? Battered looking old place isn't it? Give me a second and I'll try the door... Hey, the lock's broken! This door's been jimmied open." 

"What gave it away, genius? The fact that it was swinging back and forth on its hinges or the crowbar lying in the dirt beside it?" 

I also like conflict and a bit of "sass". It’s harder to have that with a lone character. 

One thing you really develop when writing an audio script is your ability to do dialog and characterisation (especially dialog). That's simply because dialog is all you have to work with most of the time. You don't have to spend a lot of time labouring over descriptions of people and places when you write for radio - the listener will supply all the detail with their own imaginations - but you do have to manage dialog. In fact a judicious lack of physical description engages the listener’s imagination more effectively and helps them to identify themselves more fully with the characters. 

The other thing that is surprisingly hard to do in audio is action. A fight scene needs to be over really quickly because otherwise the listener is being treated to a whole series of bangs and whaps that don't provide anything much for the listener's imagination to grab onto... and a blow by blow description (while in keeping with many of the conventions of the genre) starts to sound like a commentary at a prize fight. When it comes to descriptions of what the characters see, hear and experience, you want just enough to tell the audience what they need to know about the environment without it sounding so unrealistic that it jettisons them out of the story. 

Another thing that's easy to forget is that the listener will not know who is speaking unless someone among the characters refers to that character by name. My very first (and thankfully long buried) attempt at script writing suffered from this problem but I still have to go through my completed scripts and make sure all the characters have been properly identified out loud before I send them off to my editor. 

BTW - finding a skilled editor to whip my work into shape is an absolute must as a self-publisher. I can't begin to say how much embarrassment I have been saved by the sharp eye of my editor. That isn’t to say that there isn't plenty more embarrassment to be had for which I am solely responsible.

Pulp Adventure - Episode 2

How do you structure your work?

I write in episodic format. That is, I write as if I'm writing episodes in a radio serial. Most of the old radio stories of the past were limited to around twenty to forty minutes or so. I find that twenty minutes is too short for telling the kind of stories I want to tell (though the discipline of paring back a story until it can be told in twenty minutes is a good one). I write what I call "feature length" plays to be read over an hour and a half to two hours and while I am writing self-contained episodes they do each contribute to a larger story. 

When it comes to the structure of my writing I find the good old three act story structure really helpful. I know lots of writers hate it, find it confining and formulaic, and in some cases even deny that it exists, but I find it helpful as a way of keeping momentum in my writing and stopping me from becoming dull. It also gives me a bridging structure for the wider story arc of each serial I write. Personally I'm not a high-concept kind of writer. Don't get me wrong, I wish I had the talent for that and envy those that do. Instead I write the kind of stories I enjoy; adventures, usually with a deal of mystery and supernatural suspense thrown in for good measure. I also write to entertain. While I like to have good-guys who are good and bad-guys who are bad, I'm not writing to instruct or make any deep moral statements about the world. I leave that kind of thing to better writers than I am. I'm simply having fun and hoping my readers do as well.

Gaslamp Mystery - Episode 1

Do you have a specific process or schedule?

I have two small children and a day job so writing is something I do in my spare time. I try to write something every day but I don't always get the chance. I don't beat myself up over this. Life happens and if I get to spend some time writing four days out of seven, I call it a win and move on. I begin with a fairly detailed outline, breaking down the acts, plot points, and character points in the story. I don't bother breaking down the scenes at this stage but I do build a pretty clear outline of all the events in the story before I sit down to write the first draft. For me an outline is essential – it gives me confidence that most of the plot problems have been solved before the writing begins. 

I write the first draft straight through. Not necessarily in one sitting but usually without going back over the text until it is all complete. I have found that if I start polishing before the first draft is complete I waste a huge amount of time writing and re-writing the same material over and over and eventually abandon the whole thing. 

Once the first draft is written I go back to the beginning and start revising. I look for plot holes, stuff that doesn't make sense, redundancy, places where my pace is either too slow or too quick (still working on this one), and points at which I can punch up the character interaction. I also check to see that I've been able to maintain the voices of my characters authentically. Finally, I revise for spelling, grammar, and punctuation problems. 

Technically I guess that's just three drafts, but my second and third drafts are a form of death by a thousand cuts where I go over and over the text until I feel that I can stand to look at it without complete embarrassment. I'm not the kind of writer who will spend forever perfecting every turn of phrase. I like telling stories and am too impatient to connect with an audience for that kind of perfectionism. Besides I've ruined more than one story by overworking it. They say that no work of art is ever finished, merely abandoned, and I guess that's true of my writing (though whether it qualifies as art is something I'll leave to the reader).

 

Fantasy Noir - Episode 1

What's the most unique thing about your writing?

Probably the most unique thing about my writing is its packaging. The plays I write, while fun to read in their own right, are designed to be performed as part of a dinner party by a group of from 6 to 8 participants. The six episodes I've published so far include everything you need to host a fun dinner party and script reading; costume ideas, period recipes, instructions for a "build it yourself" sound effects kit, and, of course, an original script. I came up with the idea as I puzzled over how I might take part in the apparent revival that audio drama online has been enjoying in recent years. Unfortunately I don’t have the technical expertise to create a podcast, nor access to the acting talent necessary to create an audio drama. 

In light of this I spent some time thinking about what I really enjoyed about the radio dramas of yore and I was suddenly struck by something. For me, the fond memories are all tied up with the time spent listening with family. It was about the fun we had together living the experience in our imaginations. I would laugh myself hoarse listening to the Goon Show and other programs. They were great times of fun, family, food and community. 

As I thought about this it occurred to me that, as much as I love professionally produced audio drama, there might be a way to recapture some of that sense of fun and community without necessarily having to invest heavily in technology and good actors. Earlier this year we held our first dinner party/script reading with an original script that I wrote to celebrate my forty third birthday. We had a blast. Food, friends, fun, and one thing more that I don't think you get by merely listening; a sense of being inside and part of the story.

What's the biggest challenge you face?

The biggest challenge I face as I enter the world of self-publishing is that of marketing my own work. Frankly... marketing is not what I'm best at. Like most people who enjoy writing (a fairly solitary task by its very nature) I don't actually know that many people. The big challenge for me, then, is spreading the word that these stories exist.

Thanks Philip!

So, with Christmas just 13 weeks away, why not take a look at hosting your own party, or giving a radio as a unique and interesting gift from as little as 5.99? 

 

Philip Craig Robotham’s “Host your own Old-Time Audio Drama” scripts are available in pdf, e-book, and print on demand versions. Check out the facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/weirdworldstudioscom) and website (http://www.weirdworldstudios.com/) for more information or to place an order

To convince you of how much fun these can be, I'm giving away 5 copies of any of these scripts. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment saying which radio play you want, and you'll go into the random draw to win one. Entries close in a week, Tuesday 1st October. 

Trim'n'Taut Writing Challenge with a Prize and ROW 80 Check In

Courtesy of Glen Pebley, at stock.xchng

Trim'n'Taut Writing Challenge:

Last check in I gave you the transformer writing challenge: to take a tweet or Facebook status update and like a transformer, keep unfolding it until you had a story outline. 

Well, today we are going the opposite way. The challenge is to take a full story and trim it  down into the length of a tweet. 

Why?

Well, first of all it helps you really focus in on the key elements of a story.

Second, it is a great skill for pitching. If you can think of the snappiest way to present your whole story, rather than rambling on for 3 hours trying to describe everything, you just might be able to pick up a publisher while in an elevator. 

Third, we all like to tweet about our books, don't we? 

To make it more interesting, I'm offering a prize to the best attempt in the comments. I'm going to offer a copy of Anne Lamott's fantastic book on writing 'Bird By Bird' because I believe every writer should read it at some stage. 

There are three categories, but the overall winner will be from any of them.

The beginner level challenge is to take a short story or a TV episode and try to condense it all down into one sentence. 

(I will just say that my best friend is very good at this, harsh and cruelly so. When I won a creative writing award at college she came up and said 'I hope it wasn't for that story where he ran, ran, ran and then fell off a cliff.' Of course it was, and unfortunately that was a pretty accurate description of the piece, but hey they still gave me the award!) 

The advanced level is to take a novel or movie and try trimming it down. 

Finally, the expert level is to take an entire series and strip away everything until you have the key element. 

The result should be identifiable as the original story, and extra points if you can make it sound interesting and engaging as well. 

This is open for a week until I sit down to write my post next Wednesday 24th April. Anyone in the world can enter, you just have to be prepared to give me your address so I can get Amazon to ship you out the book.

ROW 80 Check In:

So my goal was to write a blog post or article each working day. 

My ROW 80 check in for Sunday was a bit late and got posted on Monday instead, so that sort of counts as I did a post for Personal Fitness Base Camp on Sunday reviewing my first week of training for a half marathon. 

Tuesday I did my Killer Online Platform post here on 100FD about how to build your own website. I had already put together a lot of this and saved it as a draft. However, I spent my lunchtime adding more, and then int he evening had to do further research to respond to a question in the comments (which was a great question).

I wanted to do another post for Personal Fitness Base Camp, but just couldn't think of anything to say other than that our prayers are with those affected by the Boston Marathon attacks. It was such a shock to me, as I start my training for my first half marathon, to imagine what it would be like getting to the end of a marathon and have your world crumble down like that. 

The newspapers today reported about the 9 year old boy who was waiting to give his dad a hug at the finish line and was killed by the explosion. My heart went out to the father, who had just pushed himself through the wall, pushed himself to the finish line, used up all his reserves, about to celebrate, and instead is now facing the worst emotional marathon of his life. 

All I could do was prayer.

Strangely it has made me take my training a bit more seriously. 

Then today I spent my lunch break checking out other blog posts by ROWers. When I got home I tried to record a new video blog (sort of difficult all by yourself, but I'm getting the hang of it, and have finally managed to connect up my DSLR with my Mac, so I can control it via my laptop, which makes things a lot easier.)

And now I'm writing this post. So, overall, I'm counting that as a win! 

So, let's see how I go for the rest of the week.

Don't forget to add a trim'n'taut story tweet in the comments for your change to win a copy of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott! 

Sometime You Just Need To Have Faith and ROW 80

Believe In Yourself, Before It Seems Possible

Whenever you send off a new lot of agent queries, there are a series of stages you go through, a bit like grief.

1. Usually within a day you get a bunch of immediate 'no's. Hopefully this will be because they are no longer taking submissions, or haven't even bothered to open your file (sad, but better than they read it and thought you were .... not so good.) It can be traumatic, but at least you got a response, which is slightly cheering. 

2. A few days later you start getting the 'no's which have taken a bit more time about it. At first this was exciting to me, because I thought the messages were personalised. I then realised that no, it just sounded that way, and they were all stock standard.

3. If you are lucky, you then get a few messages a few weeks later saying they are 'reviewing'. 

4. If you are very, very lucky, you will get a email asking for a proposal or partial manuscript. 

5. Then you start getting a new round of rejections from these.

6. Finally, after about three months, so a quarter of a year later, you realise that the other half of the agents you queries are just never going to get back to you. 

So you start all over again. 

And with every new beginning, you get the same excitement, that this might be the time, and the same slow, drawn out, drip-fed rejection. 

Having just sent off a new bunch of agent queries last Saturday (Sunday?) I have already got two rejections, and 5 I haven't heard from (which, in a week isn't too bad. Hopefully it means the 5 might actually be reading the query). 

I still have that outstanding 'We are reviewing' which I haven't heard back from, so there is a bit of hope there.

But on Wednesday was feeling a bit down about it all. 

So, I decided it was time to have faith in myself. Time to show the world that I believe in my book, no matter what!

As a result, I have bought a bottle of Rose Sparkling Wine (Zibbibo by Brown Brothers, a favourite with a long story behind it for my sister and I, which might have involved running around London on Christmas Eve trying to find a bottle shop that sold Australian wines...) and it's in my fridge, waiting to be popped. Because it will happen! I will get an agent and then a publisher for Sally Hunt, my Young Adult Christian series!

Also, I found this website through a post on Nathan Bransford blog, and I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a bit of procrastination:

http://thrilling-tales.webomator.com/derange-o-lab/pulp-o-mizer/pulp-o-mizer.html

The results of 5 minutes of playing around on it:

 

How awesome is that? So many things you could do with it! 

Totally made my day. (Along with the thought of sparkling Rose.)

So ROW80 Goals:

This week hasn't gone as planned, but it never does. I didn't check in on Wednesday, for the first time this round (which is my first round ever). I was just exhausted, and that sort of continued. 

I did get an article written and submitted to Unique Article Wizard (aff). 

I got only 1 good post per blog, and only spent 1 strong session working on the theology book, so a bit behind there. But at least I'm further ahead than I was this time last week. Forward is always a good direction to be going in.

I also finished editing The Five Day Writer's Retreat, worked quite a bit on editing the webpage, and preparing for the launch in a week's time. 

I just want to say, it will feel so fantastic to have something out there. My book, for sale, on Amazon (and my website, and Smashwords, and through affiliates, etc.). 

So This week's Goals:

It's all about the launch. 

I want to create Buzz. 

I want to get people excited.

I want to get the word out there!

Practically, how am I going to do that?

- mock up a full version for advance release for people to review and promote (anyone interested?)

- beg other kind bloggers to let me do a guest blog, to review it, or even run giveaways with the book (happy to provide free books, if you are prepared to run the giveaway.) 

- write more articles linking back to The Five Day Writer website. 

- Keep promoting my promotion: buy the book and receive a personal proposal or sample chapter appraisal.

Also, in there I'll be organising my 30th birthday which will be a combined book launch/birthday party. 

Exciting times, no?

And after the launch, when it is all running smoothly and the book is out there, then I'll be focusing on my two blogs and breathing life back into them. Just you watch.

So, anyone interested in reviewing The Five Day Writer's Retreat, acting as an affiliate selling it (am offering 50% commission), or happy to run a giveaway on their blog about it? 

Just let me know!

Exciting News, ROW 80 Check In 3, Update on My Online Dating Adventures, and a Giveaway!

As indicated by the title, I just decided to chuck absolutely everything into this post, so here goes!

My Exciting News:

First of all, I'm excited so I'm going to share it all with you, so hopefully you can be excited for me:

I'm officially a company!

Yup, as of the 11th of Jan (didn't receive the certificate until the 15th) Australia has a new company:

The Buffy Group Pty. Ltd.

Yah! Expect more from The Buffy Group.

Anyway, back to the writing:

Am going to keep it brief and to the point.

5,000 words a day? - Monday yes, Tuesday close, Wednesday yes. Go me!

Of course, I also did a lot of cutting, so the current total is still only 25,890 but it is much, much better. Also did some work on other books in the series as my mind kept bring up ideas.

Blog posts: did an epic blog post here on Monday, which I'm pretty proud of (check it out if you haven't already: How to Create A Killer Online Platform. ) and posted on Fitbuster on Monday. Both of which are pretty amazing as I stacked my bike on my way home on Monday and was feeling sorry for myself.

Tuesday didn't post on either, but today I'm going to make up for that and do both again.

So win overall.

Had set the goal of getting the new fitness website up and running this week, but due to circumstances out of my control it is still in the process. (No internet, getting the domain name then realising I needed to get my company registration first before I could have a .com.au website, hosting it through a company that only hosts American sites, etc...)

Articles: have produced one article this week, so only two more to go by Sunday.

Yah to just sitting down and getting work done. Also, writing a book on how to write is very helpful for the writing process, I'm just saying :D

Want an update on my online dating?

People keep asking me, so I thought I would share my continuing adventures online and off.

Still chatting with a lot of nice guys, but also one or two not so nice guys. (One told me I shouldn't be on an online dating site if I didn't want to have a threesome. Very rude. And I was contacted by ANOTHER person with a foot fetish! Is that a thing now?)

Also noticed that since joining up I've been hit on more in real life as well. Got a very nice discount on my new Mac (didn't think they were supposed to give discounts on Apples, turns out they aren't, but if they are trying to pick you up, guys can become quite inventive). Also one of the guys trying to help me fix my internet told me to call him if there were any more problems... or even if there weren't! Might have been more successful if he had actually managed to fix my internet. Sorry dude.

Have now gone out with a total of 4 guys (one guy twice) since I joined up at the beginning of December (which is an amazing record for me, as any of you who know me will attest).

However, it is not all rosy and golden. Having slight trouble with the whole 'not really offering sex before marriage' which appears to be a total deal breaker for absolutely every half decent guy in the universe. Seriously? Having no one is better than going out with me but not getting laid?

So, still dealing with that.

Though it's strange. Some get very defensive (one said he really liked me but couldn't enter into a relationship with constrictions being forced upon him. Um, I think all relationships have some constrictions, but I do get his point, sort of). However, some get totally fascinated with the idea, like they had never heard of it before and I was an alien being. They start asking all these questions, like is it just because I haven't had the opportunity? (Um, a) that's super insulting but b) you are prepared to sleep with me, so do you think that really is the answer?) But so far no one has said 'wow, a girl into purity, that's amazing and just what I've been looking for!' (Okay, maybe the guy from Kuwait was a bit more interested, but I wasn't interested in him.)

100 years ago, I would have been a goddess! Well, maybe not a goddess, but at least normal.

Went out for a great brunch with a nice guy today, so still planning in my head how to have 'the talk' because it's better to get it out before I get too attached. Sad but true. But at least I'm getting a lot of really nice first dates, which is not to be sneezed at.

Overall, I may have no proper internet or love life, but I'm officially a company and my writing is going well. You win some, you lose some.

And Finally...Giveaway!

Over two weeks ago I announced the winner of the Christmas Giveaway (A beautiful Kikki.K Goals Journal), which went to Ral. I posted it on the site and sent him an email through Blogger. However, I've never heard back from him! Since I don't know him in person, I can't chase him up.

So, I'm re-contesting the journal. Ral, if you are reading this and you want your journal, you'll just have to enter again!

So, comment below with why you think a goal journal would help you in 2013. The best/most amusing comment posted by Sunday night 27th Jan 2013 will win the journal! Open to absolutely anyone who will actually respond and tells me where to send it when they win.

Anyway, that's all for now!

Yours,

Buffy.

Why You Need To Build An Online Platform

Everyone nowadays needs an online platform. Especially if you want to be a writer. Where else do you think you are going to get your readers of the future?

For those not clear, an online platform is a way for people to find you, find out about you, and follow you. Blogs and websites are one of the best ways for a writer to get know.
 
And yes, this blog is part of my online platform, so me writing about how to create an online platform sounds like I think I have it all worked out. But actually I see it more as that I'm about 6 months ahead of you and passing down all the cheat notes I'm writing for exams!

I should admit, though, that I'm pretty proud of this blog. I think it looks shmicko, and I've worked hard to have some great content on here. I also have some great followers and commentators, and try to do my bit by giving back to all those who support me through fundraising and giveaways (which will never stop! The bigger I get, the more opportunity I have to give things away :D).

I have been building this blog, my first born, my favourite (shsh, don't tell the others!) for 6 months now. And to be honest, despite posting almost five days a week, trying to write interesting content, getting out there, facebooking a bit, etc., it is only now that I'm starting to see some rewards. My pageview count is slowly increasing, my followers and email subscribers have started to multiple (yeah, lots of my friends are having babies, what can I say?) and I'm even starting to get some of you to comment!

And from what I'm learning, this is pretty common for most people. It takes at least six months for a blog/website to start taking off and usually a year before it is really getting somewhere. And in between there is a lot of hard work. (So, pretty much, it's really like writing a novel. You spend hours and hours and hours working on it with absolutely nothing but a word count to show for it. But the more you put into it at this early stage, the more likely it is that it will be picked up by a publisher, and be a hit on the book stands.)

Why am I telling you this? You don't want to hear this just yet, you are struggling to write your first draft!

Well, basically you already want your platform skyrocketing by the time you are approaching literary agents and publishers, so you need to start it at least a year before you finish your novel.  That is to say, you need to start now. Whenever 'now' is in your process, it is the right time to start. As they say, the internet is pretty forgiving, it doesn't mind you playing around on it to work things out. However, ignore it at your peril.

So, to help you out with this next stage of development as a writer (and you do need to think of this as all essential parts of being a writer) I'm going to do a series every Monday on different aspects of building your own online platform. I've been reading a lot about it, listening to great podcasts, testing things out myself in different ways and am actually super excited. I want to share with you all that I've been learning, and let you see as I test things out on this site.

Also, for all I know, this might be the most people will ever see of my writing. This blog and the other online writing I'm doing might be my publishing platform. So, I want to do it as well as I can, just in case.

In future posts I'll start with the basics of keyword research and why you need to do it, look at starting your blog/website, how to get yourself out there, and how to be everywhere. There is a lot I want to cover, but I'm just going to do it section by section and be applying it to some of my own blogs etc. so I can give authentic feedback on whether it is working.

These are exciting times my friends, exciting times.

For a good explanation of why a writer needs a platform, and to get ideas of what sort of things you can do, Folio Literary Agency have put together a video with one of their best selling authors. It's quite long, but definitely worth a look. Have a look at the 'thank you for submitting your manuscript' page from FolioLit

Finally, if there are things you are dying to know right now, ask away and if I don't know, I'll do some research!

(Don't forget: ROW 80 starts today!)

And The Winner of The Goal Journal Is...

Christmas has finally ended all over the world, and so the competition for the Kikki-K Goal Journal has also closed its doors. 

A big thank you to everyone who signed up to be a follower, and if you like the blog, please don't think you can't join up now! There will always be special deals and giveaways for my followers.

Using a highly scientific method, I went to a random number generator, putting in my minimum as 1 and maximum as 38 (just in case 37 wouldn't be included otherwise) and let it give me the winner.

And the winner is...

Really feel I should have an adsense advert right here, but I don't, so just sing a little jingle to yourself as a note from the sponsors.

The winner is: Number 2!

Okay, so that doesn't mean much to you, but I then looked at my pre-opened list of followers, and the person listed second was:

Ral!

And to be completely honest, the only thing I know about Ral is his handle, his photo and:

About me

Consultant, Author, Publisher

 

But from that he sounds pretty cool. Oh, also, he likes my blog, which in itself is a great recommendation.

 

So Ral, if you can email me your home address, I will get the journal sent right out to you.

(email at b.greentr (at) gmail (dot) com). If you also want to comment and tell us a bit about yourself, that would be great too.

 

Thanks again to everyone, and even thought you didn't get the goal journal, you can still write out your goals in a blank journal to much the same effect. 

 

Love, 

Buffy.

A Big Thank You!

In just two days I've gone from 3 followers to 29 and counting (still a few more days to sign up if you want to be in the running for the Goal Journal)!

I am just overwhelmed by people's readiness to respond, and really appreciate the support. So want to send a big Thank You out into the Universe and Cloud for all of you. 

Further, don't feel this is just a one-sided relationship: let me know if you have your own blogs, or would be interested in doing a guest post or just want to put in your opinion on something discussed. 

As I want to make this blog as useful and practical as possible to anyone and everyone who reads it, I am always open to suggestions. 

What do you want to know about writing? 

I might not know the answer but probably want to, so will be more than happy to use my expert research skills to find out and report back. 

I would love to start a q&a post every few weeks and maybe even rope some more experienced writers in to answer. 

This blog will always be developing and growing as I find out more things that work for people. So leave a comment or send me an email at b.greentr@gmail.com, even if it's just a suggestion for a better font. 

In the next few posts up until the new year I'm going to start a series on goal setting and preparing for a year of writing, don't miss it!

Yours,

Buffy. 

Christmas Giveaway!

It is almost Christmas. Yah. Time to start thinking about the end of this year and the start of the next.
So, to encourage you to do this, I'm giving away a copy of Kikki.K's goal journal.

All you need to do is be one of my followers (right had sidebar below the official count) before the new year and I will randomly select a winner from the list of smiling faces. 

If you have any problems, just let me know and I will get my super tech team (me and google, with a phone a friend option to my brother) to sort it out for you.   

The End of NaNoWriMo - Did You Make It?

November 30th, the D-Day for all of us doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Was the month everything everyone expected? I'm guessing not.

My journey: not a smooth as I had planned. Yes, it was meant to be a breeze, work a bit longer, write just in the evenings... ah, so pleasant. Did not count on getting sick, family overload, and break down of my writing system.

Were they still some of the best things that could have happened to my writing?

Actually, probably.

Well, not the getting sick, or the family overload, but having my writing system break down on me for no discernible reason (at the time), and struggling with my purpose in life and place in the universe helped me to identify the issues and get back on track.

On November the 25th I hit 25,000 words, the halfway mark. Not really a good sign.

But since then I've been opening up a blank document everyday and just letting my subconscious go for it with as little interference from me as possible. My word speed has increased dramatically (back up around 2,000 words per hour), my enjoyment at writing is rebounding, and some new characters and events that I had never imagined have appeared and become much loved.

I'm particularly interested in the fact that my joy and excitement at writing has returned. Two days ago I even woke up and was reading a non-fiction book (Career Management for Creative People, reasonably interesting. When I've finished, will do a proper review). But then I got the feeling, that little prompting that said 'I don't want to be reading this, I want to be reading that other book I'm in at the moment.' And I was like 'what other book?' And my subconscious said 'you know, the one that feels like this...', 'and I was like, 'but I'm not reading any other book...' And then I realised: My subconscious wanted to keep reading the book I was writing! It wanted to find out what happened to my characters (even though I've actually written the last page, I think, but still)!

I had developed an emotional connection to my book that made me want to keep going. (Well, keep reading, but that involved writing, which is slightly harder).

And all that was because I let my subconscious write the story, rather than trying to wrestle it away and make it a more conscious creation. Of course, the conscious creation will come about when I have to edit it, but I will ahve a full manuscript by then.

And now it is the 30th of November, and I'm to 48,309!

I just have to go home and do 2,000 words more and I will have completed my first ever NaNoWriMo. So unless the world falls apart or something serious unlucky happens to me, I'm actually going to make it, and get a good night's sleep.

How did you go?

If you even managed to start, I'm counting that as a win. You have a story idea and an introduction. Now keep going!

To encourage you to keep going, whether you finished or not, I'm giving away a writing journal to anyone who lists below the word count (be it 100 or 100,000) they achieved during NaNoWriMo.

This is open until the end of the year (2012), so even if you are reading this a bit late, put your name down.

Book Launch: The Ephesus Scroll - By Ben Chenoweth (With A Giveaway!)

If you have been following this blog for a bit and have read through the comments, you will have seen Ben around giving great advice about writing. Ben has been living as a missionary in Russia for the last 9 years with his wife and two adorable daughters, after doing his Masters in New Testament studies. During this time he has been working on a novel concerned with the book of Revelations, set in ancient Asia Minor and modern day Russia. I know of no one who would be better qualified to write such an interesting book.

I am excited to announce that The Ephesus Scroll is now available on Smashwords and Amazon for download (e-book version only). 

 

In 93 AD, Loukas, the son of a wealthy Christian trader, is entrusted with a scroll to read in seven churches in Asia Minor. However, the scroll sparks rebellion wherever he goes and the Roman authorities attempt to track him down. But all Loukas wants to do is complete his mission and get back to Ephesus and his fiancée, Iounia.

In 2005 AD, Dima and Natasha, a young Russian couple from St. Petersburg, come across a stone box with a scroll inside, apparently found in Ephesus by Dima’s great-great-grandfather. The scroll is a complete – and early – copy of the book of Revelation. How did this scroll come to be found in Russia? And has it come to light at this very time for a reason?

The Ephesus Scroll is a novel that attempts to answer two questions. What did the book of Revelation mean to the people who first heard it? And what does it mean for us today?

In light of this exciting achievement, I asked him if he would like to answer a few questions about how this book was written and his writing process in general, to which he very kindly agreed. 

(To find out more, check out the book's blog which also has cool features such as an alternate beginning.)

1. What made you decide to dedicate hours and hours of your life to sitting behind a screen and touching little buttons?

As a computer programmer and computer support technician I was doing that already!  With writing, though, it's nice to tap into the creative part of my brain and generate something that non-computer programmers can enjoy.

I come to writing for two reasons.  The first is to entertain.  When I was at university my friend and I edited a youth magazine for our church.  We commissioned various people to write articles for the magazine but we probably wrote more than half of every issue.  We even wrote our own letters to the editor!  While some of what we wrote was to educate, most was to entertain.  My favourite thing we did for this magazine was a regular column entitled "The Diary of an Anonymous Christian Teenager", done very much in the style of Adrian Plass.  Incidentally, I wrote my first novel, Meeting of Minds as a birthday present for that other editor, although anyone who likes Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series should enjoy it.

The second reason I write is to teach.  After the novel, I wrote a play, Saul: First King of Israel, based on the Biblical book of 1 Samuel, although seen from King Saul's perspective.  This was an attempt to put some brilliant scholarly materials I had read as part of a Bachelor of Theology into a more popular form.  But for some strange reason I chose a play!  It has never been performed, by the way, and one of my long-term dreams is to see it on stage one day...

2. Describe your writing history until this point in 25 words or less.

 I appear to have covered this already.  Right now I am excited about the recent release of my second novel, The Ephesus Scroll.

3. What is your writing style: plot it all out or discovery writing? one draft or many? Little bits everyday or mammoth writing sessions?

I like to plot things out fairly generally so that I know where I am going.  But I don't usually include much detail which means there is still the occasional surprise along the way.  I usually only have one draft but that draft is constantly being revised.  I find myself going back over what I have already written and tweaking it before adding more new material.  This means that progress can be slow!  And I have very rarely had the time to write everyday, so it tends to be one-off writing sessions possibly once every one or two weeks.  The Ephesus Scroll took me more than six years to write!

4. Best piece of writing advice you have ever received or given.

I have been enjoying reading your writing blog and have learned more about writing from that than anything else. [See why I love this guy? Such a flatterer!]  In particular, I was challenged to stop revising as I go and concentrate on just getting words down.  I will definitely give that a try in the future!

5. Inspiration behind this novel?

Three things inspired me to write The Ephesus Scroll.  The first was a trip I made back in 2004 to Ephesus, in Turkey.  Walking around the ruins of this ancient city was an amazing experience.  To think that the Apostle Paul may have walked on the very flagstones I was now walking on!  To think that I was sitting in the Great Amphitheatre that once resounded to the cry "Artemis of the Ephesians" as the crowd called for Paul to be executed.  It really brought home to me the fact that the books of the Bible were written by real people to real people.

The second source of inspiration was a student in a high-school Bible class I was teaching who couldn't understand how someone who did not follow the teachings of the Left Behind series could be allowed to teach in a Christian school.  To him, there was only one possible way to interpret the book of Revelation and if you didn't follow that interpretation then you couldn't be a Christian.  That experience made me want to do what Tim La Haye had done: write a disguised commentary of the book of Revelation, but from a very different interpretational standpoint.

The third inspiration was living in St. Petersburg, Russia.  This beautiful city, with its stunning churches, spectacular museums and intricate Metro system, is the backdrop for half of my novel.

6. Do you have a favourite part of this novel?

A couple of amusing incidents come to mind, one involving some bad dates and another involving throwing a book out of a moving train.  You'll have to read the novel for more details!  There was also what I thought was a funny scene involving a Turkish coin seller which was based on an actual experience I had in Ephesus.  But this scene was in the opening of the first draft which got significantly changed later on and so it ended up on the cutting room floor.  However, when I was putting together a blog to promote the novel I included the original opening as a comparison of the final version, but also to rescue this one scene.  Check it out here: http://ephesusscroll.blogspot.com.au/p/original-opening.html

There are also a couple of interesting theological discussions.  Actually, there are a lot of theological discussions, most of which - I hope - are interesting.  But there are two in particular that I really like, one critiquing the jigsaw approach to Biblical prophecy and the other discussing how fundamentals of Paul's theology might be applied in different contexts.

7. While you were writing this novel, you were working full time with a wife and two daughters and living in a foreign country: did you develop any good techniques for finding time, or is it always hard?

It is always hard.  Most of the novel was written on Sunday evenings when I would usually have a couple of hours to myself.

8. What are the top tips you have learned about self-publishing?

Self-publishing is the way of the future!  You will have seen the links to my books on Smashwords and I have been very impressed with this site.  Apparently, some of their authors are even making enough money to live off their writing!  (However, it helps to be in some very specific genres: paranormal, romance, erotica, paranormal romance, paranormal erotica, I think you get the picture...)  However, the reason I like Smashwords is that it solves the distribution problem.  True, they only distribute ebooks, but ebooks are only going to become more and more accessible as everyone and their dog ends up with a tablet or an e-reader.  I had been seeking a publisher for The Ephesus Scroll but after waiting more than a year for two publishers to make up their mind, I decided not to bother.  I want people to read the novel!  Now they can.

What Smashwords doesn't help with, however, is marketing.  My books are discoverable on the Nook, Sony readers and Apple devices.  But that doesn't mean people will automatically find them.  It certainly helps to make a book free.  My first novel is and always has been free and I have had nearly 800 downloads.  The play, on the other hand, costs money.  I think I have sold maybe 10 copies.  At one point, though, I made it free for some reason.  During that brief time is was downloaded more than 200 times.  The point is, people will try something for free.  If they like it, they will come back for more, even if it costs them money.  And this is how the authors who are making it on Smashwords operate.  Of course, it helps to have a series of books, something I don't currently have.

9. Any new projects on the horizons?

Funny you should ask!  I am planning on writing a three volume cyberpunk, thriller series.  I have plot overviews for the first two and a plot idea for the third.  I just need to find time to actually do the writing.  But having recently moved back to Australia, we are finding settling in more difficult than expected so it is taking longer than I had anticipated.  However, I would still like to have book one finished before I start my new job early in 2013.

10. Mystery questions: answer any question you feel I should have asked :D

Here's my mystery question: "Since marketing is the big problem with self-publishing, how can people help a struggling author out?"  In this day and age of social media just a little promotion may actually go a long way.  If you read one of my books, please take the time to rate it and maybe write a review.  I only have one review on Smashwords.  It's for my first novel and it says "A wonderful book. Very well written, entertaining and fun" and the reviewer gave it 5 stars.  I was really touched by that!  [It wasn't me if you were wondering...sorry.] And if more people left a rating and a comment then it might help other people to decide if they want to download the book and give it a try.  I would absolutely love it if The Ephesus Scroll went viral!  Not for the money (really!) but because then people would be reading it and hopefully learning something about the book of Revelation and what it means for us today.

Thanks Ben!

Giveaway:

Think it sounds interesting? Thinking of giving it ago?

Well, today's your lucky day!

I'm giving away copies to readers that promise to write a review of it either on Amazon or Smashwords or both!

Just comment below with your name and/or email me (b_greentr (at) yahoo.com) your email address (necessary so I can send you the gift copy from Smashwords) and I'll send it right out.

Enjoy!

Ben with his wonderful wife Kylie and two daughters Kate (red sweater) and Eleanor outside Catherine the Great's Palace in Russia.

Me with Elly and Katie.