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highway with fall trees in full colour

Photos: Facts and Frustrations

 

highway with fall trees in full colour
Fall on the 401

Last week my husband and I headed east on the 401, past Toronto via the 407 and further on to the turnoff for Prince Edward County where I was doing a talk for a small book club. We took our time, happy to leave our computers–the only tech I took was my phone–and bask in the beauty all around us.

You might think from the photo above that the sun was shining and the skies were blue. Look closer. That sky was actually cloudy but the trees were stunning. Vast swaths of multi-coloured forest and fields lined the road for our whole trip. We never tired of pointing out yet another amazing view to each other.

But back to the photo. When I searched for pics to include in this post I was disappointed. Here is the best one I had.

highway lined with fall coloured trees
Fall on the 401, unedited

Yes. It’s the same picture but it does not show how delightful the panorama was, even in the rain. I opened it in Preview on my Mac and chose Tools/Adjust Colour. Up came this box beside the photo.

Of course I immediately started moving the sliders. It was so easy! When I found the Tint one, the sky turned blue. I had already brightened the trees by playing with the sliders. In no time at all I had the photo I used at the top of this article.

I am sure on a PC you can do the same type of thing. Seems to me I remember Paint being pretty useful. Anyhow, try it out.

Another thing I’ve had to learn regarding photos and other images has to do with the software you are using them in. My twice monthly newsletter goes out to about 1700 people through Mailerlite. (This type of program keeps your large newsletter mailout from being tagged spam as you have people sign up so that it’s all legal.) With this program I have to put my photos into Google Drive and adjust the size to be less than 1 megabyte. I do this through Preview on my Mac. Preview/Tools/Adjust Size and then fiddle with the number in the width box until the resulting size is less than 1 MB. Pretty easy. Then I save it into Google Drive because Mailerlite likes my uploads to come from Google Drive.

A little aside: When you are putting the images into your blog post or whatever, make sure you fill in the Alternative Text box. That helps your post be noticed when people are searching for certain things. (SEO)

Another thing I’ve learned about images is that they can be real biters and make your files too huge to manage. For presentation slides (I use Powerpoint) I try to use smaller files. Then my slides load faster. I usually take my own equipment because I never know what the venue where I’m speaking might be using. Whether I use my equipment or theirs, having files that load quickly and easily is important.

For images that I create through Canva I use the same ideas and keep them small but mighty. Here is one I created announcing my Call for Submissions to my current project, Canada: Brave New World.

image calling for submissions

The deadline is coming up soon for this and I’m pleased to say many amazing and heart-wrenching stories have come in already. Hurry and get yours in, too!

These are just a few of the tricks I’ve learned to make my computer life easier. Speaking of easy, remember to keep everything as easy as possible and still do what you want to do. It’s just like buying a microwave. I looked for the one with the fewest gadgets that would still do what I needed–warm my milk for my hot chocolate in the morning. Remember the KISS thing? Keep it simple, stupid.

Finally, I hope you’ll sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t done so already. It’s on the left near the top of any page on my website. It’s full of book talk, photos, fun facts and places I go.

6 books, author images

herd of mustangs

6 Great Tips for Writers Today

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Research on my iPad. 1774: The Long Year of Revolution by Mary Beth Norton

In these new and different times, most of us have needed to use our imagination for things besides dreaming up intriguing characters and compelling plot lines. When I started my prequel to my Loyalist books, no libraries were open. No historic sites were open and no bookstores were open. My speaking gigs were all cancelled with no more being booked.

My life had drastically changed.

Here are some of the decisions that have kept me sane and able to write:

  1. The first and best decision was to put aside the new book about the one-room schoolhouse I attended as a little girl. This was a new genre for me and I waffled between writing a children’s book, a young adult book or an adult memoir book. When COVID-19 came along I realized my need to write what I know and not to reinvent myself; hence, my as yet unnamed prequel to the Loyalist trilogy. To date I have over 45,000 words written and the book is coming along well. And so am I.
  2. I soon realized that as much as I wanted to be informed about what was happening during this world pandemic, I had to spend 99% of my day NOT steeping my brain in the non-stop facts and factoids being spewed my way by various media. I thought about the influenza disaster during WWI and realized we have much more information coming at us today than they did. In some ways this is good. We can learn about the pandemic, the disease, and the ways to protect ourselves very quickly. The trouble comes when we allow the negative stories to take up all of our time. Our peace of mind disappears. That happened to me. Until I stopped watching the news, started working on jigsaw puzzles, spent the mornings in my office writing and started calling people I knew were alone and helping them in their loneliness.

    I finished 8 puzzles of an artist’s beautiful paintings.
  3. Rather than focusing on the things I couldn’t do, I began to look for alternate ways to fill the rest of my day (after my writing mornings). Prior to COVID-19, I had just finished recording my fourth book as an audio book. With my technician I got the files ready to send to ACX. This turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. With my previous 3 books, all on Audible, the process was quite speedy and only slowed down when I had not done something just right. With this book I thought I had straightened out the learning curve and I guess I have but I am still waiting to have my files approved  and it is about 3 months since I started this. Part of this was my fault in the beginning. My file was finally ready for them to review 3 weeks ago but I do not expect that to happen soon. Another writer friend of mine says it took 2-3 months for several of his books. These days, I log in and check but, so far, I keep seeing Pending Audio Review.  Feel free to check out my first three books in audio format!

  4. Though I love doing library research, I found that online research could work well. One thing needed was to always cite the source on any material I printed out as I know the day will come when I write that Sources I Have Used section at the end of this book. Giving credit for others’ ideas is important, especially in this world where shysters, thieves and others try to use writers’ works. I spend part of every month sending Cease and Desist notices to people who try to steal my books and sell them on their sites. There is also a case pending in Canada where certain credible institutions are using writers’ work for nothing. This is stealing and I sincerely hope that the higher courts stop this practice.

    Pages of research (and sources) that I’ve been excited to find on the Internet.
  5. Finally, I’ve been doing more reading of other authors. My bedside table pile has shrunk considerably, to the point where I will soon have to replenish it. A lot of my books I get from my daughter who shares my love of reading. I take her books and she brings me books. That practice is difficult just now as she lives on the other side of the country and we cannot visit. Thank goodness for FaceTime! I just wish I could send her books by using that platform or a similar one.
  6. The final thing that is helping both me as a person and in my writing is that my husband and I get out in the car whenever we can. We are careful about self-distancing–I even had to hold up my hand in traffic cop mode to stop a young lady from invading my space in a busy store one day. She just had not been thinking. She did stop immediately and I was able to leave the store without feeling compromised. I take pictures with my iPhone–thank goodness for phone cameras!–and concentrate on our beautiful world. Spring came late this year where I live but has been so much more appreciated because of it.

    A lovely herd of mustangs a few miles from where we live. Gorgeous!

Keep reading and writing or doing whatever is your special thing!

 

 

 

Elaine Cougler recording her book

Let’s Be Positive!

Never has there been in my lifetime a point when Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking idea has resonated so much. Every TV channel pounds away at Covid-19 stories, most of them negative. All the news stations are giving the statistics of how many cases there are, how many have died, and how many nursing homes are in dire straits.

Yes, we are part of a larger community and we need to know what is happening. As John Donne said, “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee” as he talked about our being part of a whole and not just individuals with no thought to our neighbours. And I believe that.

What I don’t believe in is hammering away at negativity 24/7.

Human beings are meant to be happy (my takeaway from a book I read years ago) and I work hard to stay that way. I’ve had my share of bad things happen, the worst of which was suffering a number of strokes in my forties. How I recovered mentally and physically was by cutting out the negative stuff and actively filling my life with positives.

So I spend my day shutting out the negatives that I can’t change. I turn off the television, I choose uplifting reading, and I surround myself with positive people.

Here are some of the good things that I’ve noticed since this Covid-19 crisis swooped in on the world:

  1. Positive messages thanking our caregivers everywhere we look.
  2. The sky is blue, blue, blue.
  3. People are out walking, distancing to care for each other, and singing free online concerts.
  4. My days are not nearly so hectic as in pre-covid times.
  5. I’m writing a prequel to my Loyalist trilogy and loving it!
  6. My husband and I are making wonderful meals and loving them. We do miss eating out but some recipes I’m making we haven’t had for years. (See my own creation below Elaine’s Banana Oatmeal Muffins)

To give my readers the chance to read positive books, I chose to be part of 3 Booksweeps contests coming up. Keep watching for these as free books are part of the deal. I’ll announce each of the three in my twice monthly newsletter. (Sign up here on the left side of the page.)

They start May 25, June 8 and June 22. Join me!

Another positive is that you can help quash those trolls who are stealing authors’ books and giving them away free online. This has happened to me many times. I use software to see if my titles are mentioned anywhere on the web and I’ve found them stolen more times than I can count. Even my name and my book write-ups are taken. We need to go after these people. I’m asking for your help. Here is a link where you can sign a petition to shut down one of these sites. I hope you will.

Please join the Authors Guild in signing this open letter to the Internet Archive calling for the immediate shut down of the National Emergency Library. The National Emergency Library is piracy, pure and simple, no matter how the Internet Archive and its founder Brewster Kahle cloak it as a social benefit. Making hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books available for download is theft. It is illegal and it needs to be shut down.

Can you join me and take action? Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-our-open-letter-to-internet-archive-to-shut-down-the-so-called-national-emergency-library?source=email&

Thanks!

And now, as promised, my very own recipe for

Elaine’s Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Sift together:

1 c. all purpose flour,  1/4 c. sugar,  3 tsp. baking powder,  1/2 tsp. salt

Add:

1/2 c. coconut,  1 c. quick-cooking rolled oats

In a separate bowl, mix:

1 slightly beaten egg,  1 c. milk,  1 tsp. almond extract,  3 T. salad oil

Add to dry ingredients, stirring just to moisten. At the same time, add 2 crushed ripe bananas. Fill 12 greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes. Yummy!

Don’t forget about The Man Behind the Marathons

Audio Book Coming Soon

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The Loyalists in Ontario

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In the latter part of August, my husband and I took a trip to Gananoque, Ontario to see a performance at the theatre there. My sister was one of the actors; hence, our trip to that lovely part of Ontario. On the way, we detoured through Prince Edward County and boarded the Glenora ferry, pictured below.

The ferry goes about every 15 minutes in the summer so our wait was not too long, even though lots of cars were lined up. We filled in the time enjoying the waterfront.

Many sailboats and other craft used the waterway which we had to cross to get to Adolphustown on the road to Kingston, Ontario.

This is Loyalist country and I got to see a U.E.L. cemetery along the way. Here is the Loyalist flag flying above the cemetery which is enclosed by a beautiful metal fence. In the distance you can see the stones of many of the Loyalists buried there. The stones have been cemented into a long monument as a way of preserving this history.

A few of the stones stand on their own.

Here’s a closer view of the fence and of the stones.

I was intrigued by the wording on this sign telling of the coming of the Loyalists to the Kingston area. For my Loyalist trilogy I started the first book in 1778 during the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the flight to Canada of those loyal to Britain, from what had been the Thirteen Colonies and became the United States.

Here is another view of the monument and stones.

Many of the women in those times died early from childbirth and several of the stones showed how young these women were.

The stone below tells the story of a mother dying, presumably in birthing the child who died two months later.

This stone memorializes a “much loved wife”. She lived to be 51 so presumably either didn’t have children or survived that ordeal.

This stone reminds us that though a multitude of stones remain across our land, many markers made of wood have disappeared over the years.

The Frontenac, the first steamship on Lake Ontario, was built near Kingston in the early 1800’s. The sign below and the Canadian Encyclopedia shed light on the ship’s history. I was intrigued to learn that the population of Upper Canada was too small for the ship to make much money and it was about to be scrapped when an arsonist burned it.

This, too, is part of our early Ontario history and the plaque below is near the Loyalist cemetery.

Preserving our Ontario history has become very important to me. Whenever I find efforts to do just that I am thrilled. Those who came before us would be pleased, too.

For my take on the Loyalists, try my Loyalist Trilogy, linked below.

 

 

 

pad thai3

Creative Non-Fiction, Pad Thai, and My New Book

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Every few months I get a hankering for a taste of my homemade Pad Thai recipe and last week it came again. I had all the ingredients assembled so that once I finished my writing for the day I could begin my next labour of love.

Making up a favorite recipe is a little like writing. You assemble the ingredients–writing and research tools–and then you start with a plan of some sort. For my historical fiction I did quite a few months of reading and research, made a bit of a plan starting with the premise for the book, and then started in writing the first chapter. I knew pretty much where I was going and as I went along and thought of ideas I put them at the bottom of my word document lest I forget them. And I felt free enough to make changes when brilliant ideas popped into my head. Gotta love first drafts!

So here’s the first change in the recipe. It calls for raw shrimp. Well, I use frozen cooked shrimp and the recipe works just as well as long as I don’t cook the shrimp over again. You, too, can make changes as you go along according to your taste and your imagination.

Here’s the recipe I use:

Pad Thai

8 oz. uncooked rice noodles

2 T. rice vinegar
1 1/2 T. fish sauce
1-2 T. lemon juice
1 T. ketchup
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 T. vegetable oil
1 boneless skinless chicken breast (4 oz.), finely chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 oz. small raw shrimp, peeled
2 cups bean sprouts
3/4 c. shredded red cabbage
1 medium carrots, shredded
3 T. minced fresh cilantro
2 T. chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
lime wedges

  1. Place noodles in medium bowl. Cover with warm water; let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and set aside. Combine vinegar, fish sauce, lemon juice, ketchup, sugar and red pepper flakes in small bowl.
  2. Heat oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, green onions and garlic. Cook and stir until chicken is cooked through. Stir in noodles; cook 1 minute. Add shrimp; cook 3 min. or until shrimp turn pink and opaque. Stir in fish sauce mixture; toss to coat evenly. Add bean sprouts and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
  3. Serve with shredded cabbage, carrot, cilantro, peanuts and lime wedges. Makes 5-7 servings.

And here’s the second change. I’ll put in more chicken and shrimp than it calls for as I like to up the protein. I love noodles but not too many of them.

Writing is like this, too. We do our first draft, we hone it, we edit it, we have others edit it, and after a whole host of days, months, and even years of this kind of work we have our book. I’m finding that the recipe for this new book which I’m planning as creative nonfiction requires a lot of rewriting and adding details to shape it into what I envision. I’ve never written in this style before so the work is frustrating at times but thrilling when I make a breakthrough.

My office shows just a little of the notes I have from all the interviews with my prime subject and memorabilia he has for me to sift through. Since last July I’ve been recording him and have pages and pages of transcribed notes to sift through. (Foreground of picture shows just some of them.)

Soon I’ll be ready to announce the title of this book. I have an idea for a good one but need to test it a little more (just like a recipe). Some of the subject matter, though, I’m ready to hint at with this next picture. See if you can come up with my subject person, the last surviving member of the Canadian Cancer Society team who managed the 1980 Marathon of Hope. He also came up with that name. The painting below is by Canadian artist, Cliff Kearns.

Oh! I forgot to take a picture of my finished Pad Thai. We had dinner guests and devoured it!

 

techie desk

The Techie Writer: Why We Must Keep Up

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How many tech items are in this photo?

Quite a lot of years ago I was a teacher of Computers when few people had one of those new-fangled things in their home and much of the world had never even seen one. I could take one apart right down to the bare motherboard and–even more important–put it back together so that it would work. And it was fun, exciting, even!

Not everyone agreed. Most people thought they were a fad and refused to learn anything about them. Kind of the way a few people today are still holdouts regarding smart phones.

My mother grudgingly accepted the loan of one of my computers while my husband and I took our kids on a long summer camping trip to the west coast of Canada. I gave her some easy instructions and left her to put her touch typing skills to work on my computer keyboard.

We returned five and a half weeks later full of stories of mighty mountains and rushing rivers to find that Mom had not even turned on the machine. Many years later a few weeks before she passed away, Mom told me she had made a mistake. She should have learned to use the computer and kept track of her many grandchildren all over North America.

I know now she could have used the computer to write her own story, a story all of her children and grandchildren would have loved to receive. That would have been especially helpful when her eyesight failed leaving her with only scanty peripheral sight.

Ah, hindsight.

That experience most certainly taught me something, though. I don’t want to be left behind. I never want to be that person who is more and more left out of the conversation because she doesn’t understand the topic. And for a writer computers and their ever advancing linked technology open the world to loads of useful tools. They are very often the topic.

In the picture above you can see some of my techie stuff:

  1. My desktop Mac computer which I keep updated and which has lasted me for about 4 or 5 years so far holds the keys to my writing career. I can save on Dropbox for an offsite backup, on my desktop for my current files and on a flash drive.

  2. My external USB hub where I can attach backup flash drives as needed and which gives me more USB slots to make my life easier.

  3. My little microphone that my husband gave me a couple of years ago and which is great for doing podcasts and recordings of other sorts as I need them.

  4. My new techie thing this year at Christmas, my LED Pocket Projector, which is so much easier to cart off to speaking gigs. It’s small but seems to project a great image. I still have to master it and haven’t used it out speaking so far. It’s my new technology to get used to just now. I’ve included a link here to a 10 minute video about it.

  5. My answering machine. I know it’s kind of old school but so far I haven’t wanted to switch to a newer system. Anyhow most of my calls come on my iPhone these days.

  6. And that brings me to my iPhone which isn’t in the picture but which took the picture. I can’t tell you how handy it is to take shots which might be great for blog posts: people, scenery, museum stuff, lists or info I want to remember–any number of things which relate to my writing career.

  7. My lamp I first bought with a brighter than normal bulb for beading work but I soon discovered it makes a fabulous desk lamp and it’s been here ever since.

  8. And just on the left side of the shot you can maybe see my very old-fashioned phone. It has a speaker phone setting, redial, and saves numbers (I never use this as I prefer to remember them). I keep this in case the hydro goes off and I can’t charge my cell phone and because I like the feel of the headset against my ear as compared to my smart phone.

You don’t see my excellent printer, little floor heater for those days when the wind seeps in the windows, and my Flip Camera which I’ve used for loads of interviews.

Technology helps us all in many ways, some of which I’ve mentioned here. The reasons I desperately keep up even though my brain often says “Enough!” are varied and many but the main one is I really love doing my techie stuff. Please don’t turn off the electricity and take me back to having to write everything by hand.

When I see the handwritten manuscripts of old and think of those monks poring over their illuminated pages, I am just delighted that I was in the first year of academic students at my high school who were allowed to learn typing. It’s the one course that has stayed with me my whole life. It’s just so much faster than writing by hand. My brain can whip away as fast as it wants because I’m on my computer and using my typing skills to get my imagination sorted out on the page. It’s a different kind of brain drain, you might say.

And so, while I grouse away at the speed of updates that come at me daily, I’m happy to have these tools at my disposal.

 

Click on the Loyalist Trilogy books below for great historical stories with satisfying endings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

musician-rockstar-band-music-37862

A Writer’s New Year’s Resolutions–Maybe

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According to our calendar a new year is upon us whether we want it or not. In the tradition of writing resolutions which many have done for years and years, I’m going to make my own list.

 

Resolutions For 2018

  1. I resolve to say no as often as I can so that my ‘must do’ duties do not get so overwhelming.

  2. I resolve to finish my current WIP as soon as possible, hopefully by summer time. Then I can work on having it published by October.

  3. I resolve to keep up my blog post schedule of a new post almost every Wednesday of the year.

  4. I resolve to keep up my twice monthly newsletter to my followers and to continually search for new and interesting tidbits to share with these wonderful supporters.

  5. I resolve to lose ten pounds. (We always have to put one of those resolutions in, don’t we?)

  6. I resolve to figure out how to best make use of my new Pico projector as I go out on my speaking gigs.

  7. I resolve to get the most out of Quantum Leap in the remaining two months I have with them.

  8. I resolve to record the third book in my Loyalist trilogy and get them all on a platform so they’re available for purchase.

  9. I resolve to get back into painting and to stretch my creative side a little more in this way.

  10. I resolve to keep my email InBox as empty as I can by unsubscribing to anything I don’t absolutely need or want. Time to be ruthless about guarding my time.

  11. I resolve to practice singing and get my voice back into shape so that I can record a CD for my family. Sh. This is a secret!

  12. I resolve to continue the daily Gratitude Journal I do with my daughter in order that, miles apart, we can keep up on what each other is doing.

Well, there you have it. Twelve resolutions. One for each month. Come next December I’ll try to do a rehash and see how well I’ve done. You might consider doing the same and telling us your plans.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

 

Click on the Loyalist Trilogy books below for great historical stories with satisfying endings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No One Came to the Party!

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So there I was! Table dressed, poster positioned, Square device details in my head, books, cards, bookmarks and newsletter signup forms at the ready. This was going to be a great weekend. I’d get to talk to loads of people about my writing and, hopefully, sell books and get a couple of speaking gigs. Oh, and I had been asked to be a panelist talking about self publishing.

What could go wrong?

The workshop was well attended with lots of people anxious to hear what my co-panelist and I had to say about self-publishing. Good questions abounded and Carolyn Arnold and I got into a great rhythm, each drawing on our own self publishing experiences. I even sold four books that first day even though crowds were minimal.

Actually there were no crowds. A better phrase would be dribbles of people. And when Sunday morning we opened to basically no one there it was time to take action. Here is a list of what I did to use the time wisely.

5 Ways to Maximize Your Time at a (Failed) Book Fair

  1. When no one is at your table or any of the others near you, check your email, tweet about the event, or text friends to come visit you.

  2. Take pictures of the other authors at the event. This is a great time to make connections and new friends.

    Dominique Millette and one of her books in French

  3. Talk to the other authors. You can learn a lot. I found the name of a company to question about cards with a free gift link to my eBooks. And you can meet some really great people. Authors are almost always ready to share.

  4. If time is really dragging pull out your iPad and write your blog post or newsletter for the coming week. Make lists of marketing things to do. I got my newsletter for Tuesday roughed out so that Monday night I just had to transfer it to MailChimp, do a few fixes and such, and my newsletter for my very special list people was all ready. It was so ready that inadvertently I sent it Monday night! Anxious or what?

  5. Figure out a way to make lemonade. What could I do to find the positive in Sunday’s abysmal showing? (I sold nothing. Neither did many others.) Well, I decided to write this blog post with a positive slant on my weekend event. I also got two writing pieces out of the weekend so my time was far from wasted.

Al McGregor and Terry Carroll renewing old acquaintances.
Two of the volunteers and Floyd the bunny.
Jen Romnes, author of Entangled
Pat Brown author of many books in several genres.

 

 

Author Carolyn Arnold, my clever panel partner, and her husband.

This is often the life of an author. We plan as best we can but sometimes venues are just not what we planned and we must be ready to make the best of the situation. I hope that this event next year is better attended, for sure, but my weekend was useful and fun just the same.

 

Click on the Loyalist trilogy books below for great historical stories:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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25 Things To Do Instead of Write Your Weekly Blog Post

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Captured by my grandson. No computers here!

Does this ever happen to you? Your blog post is calling you, CALLING YOU, CALLING YOU and all you want to do is anything but write that post. Here’s a list of suggestions that work well for me at those times:

  1. Clip your toenails…..and then clip them again

  2. Tidy your desk

  3. Upload your audio interview to your computer and send it to be transformed into Word

  4. Get the mail

  5. Pay bills

  6. Go for a walk

  7. Answer all twenty emails in your InBox

  8. Get a glass of water

  9. Throw out the garbage if your husband/wife forgot

  10. Prepare supper early in the day. That’s really good planning!

  11. Have a nap

  12. Do some more research for your work-in-progress even though that phase is done

  13. Call your sister and talk even though you get a busy signal

  14. Organize the sticky notes on your To/In Progress/Done white board. Put them all in the Done column

  15. Check your Facebook Author page. Maybe someone has “liked” it

  16. Get a glass of Diet Coke even though you know it’s terrible for you

  17. Sign up for Tumblr or some other social media site you’re not on yet

  18. Check  your InBox again. Maybe there’s something new and exciting there

  19. Have another nap

  20. Try to change the date of one of your speaking engagements

  21. Enter a contest

  22. Writing contest, that is

  23. Check the oven

  24. Get out your tweezers. Nuff said

  25. Turn off your computer and realize that you need a break.

 And now back to Historical Fiction and my Loyalists. You see? Lots of days I get loads done!

 

 

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Behind the Books: 10 Things Authors Must Do To Survive

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Behind all those books on store shelves, library databases, home libraries, audio devices, and e-book formats are a zillion authors churning out words in wonderful medleys for your reading and listening pleasure. And we love it. Most of us never reach the big time but we love the writing itself.

Writing is a satisfying reward for me, too. Getting inside the head of one of my characters, feeling what they feel and struggling for just the right words so my readers feel it, too, is most satisfying. On the days when I write a sad scene, I know it’s working when my tears stream as quickly as my fingers type.

I am that rare author bird, though, who loves many of the other author duties that come with having a trilogy out and a new biography on the way. Perhaps my readers will be surprised to know that often I could work 5-6 hours a day on my writing business and never once do any creative fiction or non-fiction writing. That is why I am most diligent at setting aside my two hours writing time in the morning before I let the rest of the job take over. I unplug my landline, turn off my cell, shut down my Outlook and close my office door as a sign for my husband who often works at home, too.

Once the actual writing is done for the day a whole lot of other things flow into the suddenly vacant space like water when we pull a finger out of the glass. Here is a list of some of the main time suckers that haunt me.

Ten Things Authors Must Do To Survive

  1. Write summaries of various lengths to submit with book proposals or to contests, etc. Every avenue of advancement has differing requirements, all of which take up time and if we  don’t follow the rules, our submissions will be ignored.

  2. Read books related to the subject you might be writing about or researching. For a writer of historical fiction, this is huge. Luckily, I love it!

  3. Write queries for agents and/or publishers. Even though I have my own publishing company I’ve done my share of this tedious job and expect to do more of it with my new project. Again each must be personalized for its intended recipient.

  4. Interview other writers and be interviewed yourself. People love to hear what makes a writer tick. I really like doing both sides of this and take time to compose intriguing and thoughtful questions and answers.

  5. Write newsletters to and for those treasured readers who have signed up for your list. I love these people and will go to great lengths to give them interesting stories twice a month. They are the best. Oh, and my weekly blog followers are on that list of fabulous people, too.

  6. Support fellow authors by interviewing them, reading their work, following them on social media, and writing reviews for them, not to mention actually attending their book launches as they attend mine. We are a kind community.

  7. Sign up with Google Alert and check the daily emails. I put certain topics that relate to my books there in order to see what’s related in the news and online. Putting each of my book titles on there brought me a few surprises, not all of them pleasant.

  8. Send threatening letters to thieves of my work. Yup. You read that right. Through Google Alert I found my book titles offered for free in PDF formats. It’s taken me 10 years to produce the Loyalist trilogy so I was not pleased to learn of this insidious practice by unscrupulous people offering my books for free. Another writer yesterday told me most of these people are looking to get email addresses so that they can use them for nefarious practices.

  9. Google Alert also gives me places where I might offer my services as a speaker or to a reporter in connection with a topic they are covering. There are also other places to do that and I must start working to build a list of them.

  10. Prepare speeches and workshop materials for speaking engagements. I like to tailor my talks to a particular group’s interests and that works well. It also takes time.

You will note I said 10 things but there are thousands of other things. I just don’t have time to write them all down.

Oh, one more I must mention. This Canadian author has spent hours trying to get the proper IRS documentation which will make my life a lot easier and my pockets a little fuller. My accountant husband has carried the torch for this but we’re still not out of the red tape.

So all you readers, know we love you all the more because you make our hard work so worth it. Thanks to each and every one of you!

About Elaine Cougler’s Loyalist Trilogy

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