New day, new muse

I hit a slump in my writing last year. I know, you're saying, "Hunh? You had 11 books release in 2011 and that's a slump?"

Well, keep in mind all of those books were written prior to 2011. In fact, I turned in 4 of them to my editor at least a year earlier. 3 of those books were re-releases, written way back in 2006, 07, 08. And 3 of them were digital and print releases. That left one "new" book that released last year, and I wrote that one very early in the year.

I haven't been slacking off. I wrote 2 more books last year (which haven't released yet) and I'm working on my big series that I anticipate will take years to see the light of day. And I'm in the midst of two more books in progress and I have one waiting for me to edit.

But I'm starting to realize that I need to go back and promote all of those previous 20-some books that I have out. Those books are still for sale and still viable. They're still out there, waiting for someone to buy them. So it's not just about the new books. It's about the old ones as well.

That's caused me to re-juggle some of my precious free time so I'm focusing on promotion as well as writing. I've always done a little bit of promo here and there, but I'm trying to get consistent about it now, trying to make it a part of my daily activities. I'm trying to find the muse -- the excitement, the fun -- call it what you will -- in promotion that I have felt when I'm writing.

It's tough. The muse just isn't there a lot of the times. Sometimes I have to grit my teeth and force myself to make a post, do a blog, or do some activity that takes away from my writing time. I have faith that it's worth my effort, but that doesn't mean I have to embrace it. I just gotta do it.

You know, that's sort of a metaphor for a lot of things in life, isn't it? You gotta go to the dentist, you gotta shovel the drive when it snows, you gotta pet the kitty when she jumps up on your lap (as she just did). At the end of the day, a lot of our day is taken up with the gottas. Let's try to make the best of it, okay? Because it's a new day and maybe a new muse is just around the corner ...

Insanity is thy login name...

Today's blog post is late for a very good reason. I couldn't log into blogger due to having forgotten my login and my password. Only the work of my very tech-savvy husband managed to get me back on.

To put it mildly this made for a frustrating morning.

In my day job I also deal with logins and passwords on a near hourly basis. I'm a support engineer and part of my job is logging onto a customer's system and checking their code. To do this I need an open connection to the system, a valid login name, and a password that is both accurate and hasn't expired. I spend about half my time trying to get onto a system only to have one of the above fail on me. So you would think I would be pretty immune to the crazies when it comes to not being able to access an account.

You would be wrong. I was definitely losing it this morning.

The problem is that Blogger was bought by Google and since I was using the same email address for both when the companies merged I had to pick a new email for Blogger or risk losing access to my existing blogs. This was done but then I forgot which email address I was using for Blogger and the password. Fortunately hubby managed to work through the system to recover that information after trying my various emails. Oh, and finding the reset password emails in my spam filter.

The root cause of all this is too many logins, too many passwords, and too much info for any even remotely sane person to keep track of. I bet I have logins on at least fifty-plus accounts, each with their own unique password. There is no way to track that number of accounts other than keeping a record somewhere.

I know I can't be the only person feeling frustrated by all this. There has to be a better way to keep track of logins and the like. Anyone have any good ideas?

And if you do, make sure you patent it because you'd make a billion off it.

Oh and just to keep this writing related, Promises To Keep is still selling at a crazy rate on Amazon for $2.99. SF Romance Rules!

Cheers,
Janet/Cricket

What moving has taught me

We just completed a move to a new state: new to my husband, but home to me since I grew up not far from our new house.

What did I learn during the move?

1. You can throw a LOT more than you think. I thought I had weeded out greatly before the move. Nope. We still took 3 carloads to the Goodwill AFTER we moved.

2. Something will be lost. I can't find my egg timer or my favorite measuring cup. They should have been in the Box of Miscellaneous Kitchen Stuff. I suspect they'll turn up in the Christmas decorations or something. They aren't truly Lost. They just haven't been found yet.

3. Hire it done. We had great movers (thanks, Allied Van Lines) who went the extra mile to make sure our move was done right. They did it all in disgustingly hot weather and they did it with a smile. Great company!

4. Once you move in: hire it done. How many "it'll just take 10 minutes" projects has my husband undertaken, only to find, 5 hours later, that he didn't have the right part or the right tool. We've decided: anything that has to get done NOW will be done by a pro, even though DH might be able to do it. That way, his precious free time isn't sucked up by cursing because the lighting kit didn't come with all parts needed.

5. Take time to have some fun. We took a break the week after our move and went to a play at the local theater. It was so nice to get away from boxes and disarray. It gave us some energy to tackle the rest of the unpacking.

6. Don't forget why you moved. We've had dinner with family and friends since we moved. That's why we did it -- to be closer to them and to have a more relaxed style of life. No commuting (I'm telecommuting now), a different, slower-paced place.

7. Hope for the best, but ... The buyer of our old house is now angry that she had a superficial home inspection and problems have cropped up --- problems we knew nothing about when we sold the house. We've had to hire a lawyer to make sure her buyer's remorse doesn't affect us badly. Sigh. We were so happy to have found a buyer who seemed to appreciate an older home (70 year old house). Turns out she had different expectations. So I guess the moral is: expect a bit of rain on your parade. Just hope it won't drown out the fun!

Now it's time for me to get a new schedule for my writing and get going on finishing that latest book. I'm looking forward to using my new office, my new home, and getting acquainted with my new town.

Onward!

Do You Suffer From PCD?

PCD, also known as Post-Conference Drop, is that feeling you get about a week after you come home from a writing conference. It comes from missing your friends—some of whom you only see in person once, maybe twice, a year. It comes from missing all that buzzing, creative energy that swirls around these conferences. It comes from having to leave the safe-haven bubble and going back to the DDJ, the Dreaded Day Job.

Many of you are returning from the RT Booklovers Convention in Los Angeles, and many are preparing to attend RWA's National Conference in New York. I don't want to talk about the conventions/conferences today - instead, I'd like to find out what you do to "recharge" after one of those conferences.

Let's face it - conferences can be one of the biggest best experiences of your life! You realize that you're really not alone with those voices in your head - other people have them, too! You realize there are people who understand you when you say things like, "I just got to the BBM and I made MYSELF cry!" You know how to talk to an editor and/or agent, but doing so "in the flesh" still makes you shake. Maybe this time you were the one to shore up your fellow shaker before their editor/agent appointment.

But what happens afterward? There's that immediate RUSH of giddiness - you write up a storm, every word that comes out of you onto paper is BRILLIANT! You either start your next opus or you dig out that “novel of the heart” to work on. You're going to write the next bestseller, then a week goes by and what happens? You run out of steam. The juice dries up. The computer screen glows back at you mockingly.

How do you recapture that feeling of wonder, that surprise, that awesomeness of being at conference? How do you go about recharging your batteries? What do you squeeze for more creative juice?

One way is to look at all the promo or SWAG you brought home. What about it inspired you? Why did you select that particular "goodie" to put in your tote? What about that tote? Who advertised on it? Does one of those authors truly inspire you? Do you prefer to sit in solitude for a day or so after one of those conferences, just getting back into your own space or do you seek out crowds to give you that "conference" vibe again?

How do you recharge those creative batteries a few weeks after a conference?

I Am Launched

I am officially launched. My debut book came out February 16th. My husband threw me an enormous party for 50+ of my nearest and dearest family and friends. It was a night of being Cinderella. I was celebrated, congratulated, and toasted. But even Cinderella had only until midnight. The party is over. Now, back to reality.

Once your book is out there the real work begins. You used to think writing the book was the hard part, but you did that. You used to think selling the book was the hard part, but you did that. Now, you discover really selling your book is the hard part. You haunt the sales lists to see how you are doing. Guest blog everywhere you can to be 'seen'. Check and Google yourself to see if you have any reviews. The job of being published is not for the faint of heart, any more than any other part of the process of this chosen career.

I wouldn't trade if for all the world, of course, but it is a new set of neurotic worries to be concerned about. Sales for this book. Selling the next book. Promoting all your books and yourself. Being out there enough to sell your book but not so out there that you get burnout.

And I wish that kind of neurotic worry on every other writer I know. Because it means you are published.

Goals…not Resolutions

New Years resolutions have turned into a bad joke. Anyone I talk to about them laughs. Everyone thinks they should make them. Everyone wants to make them. After all, we want to lose weight, become more organized, save more money, write more pages. But we all know that New Years resolutions are pretty much doomed to failure. So why make them to begin with?

I don’t. I make goals.

Goals, at least to me, seem more concrete. More than just wishful thinking, I have to write down my goals. List the steps I need to take to reach my goals. Daily or weekly goals are so much easier to comprehend. So much easier to believe we can accomplish them. One thousand words a day means 7 thousand words a week means a category length manuscript at the end of three months. Or a single title length in only another month. If I can make those smaller goals, chances are I can reach my yearly goal.

Of course, sometimes goals change. I’ve found I need to be flexible. If I have submissions out at two different publishers, my goals for the next quarter may change depending on whether I receive an acceptance or a rejection and from whom. Which leads me to another point about making goals.

Don’t make a goal over which you have no control.

I see so many writers who make a goal to get published this year. While you have control over how many words you write, how many manuscripts you complete, how many submissions you send out, you have no control over an editor offering you a contract. While, of course, that outcome is something you are working toward, don’t put it on your goal list.

Now I need to sit back and think hard about my goals for 2011. They need to be challenging, yet still achievable. They need to make me look forward to the year ahead. I have a calendar up on my office wall (Santa brought me the NYC firefighters calendar for Christmas.) I like to write my daily word count on the calendar. It helps me to keep track at a glance whether or not I’ve made my goal for the week.

Good luck making and keeping your goals for 2011.

I had some good news on New Year’s Eve. I signed contracts for a four story series titled Paolo’s Playhouse, with Samhain. The first story, Flaunt It, will be released this spring.

Happy New Year to all. Can’t wait to see what 2011 has in store for us all!

Natasha
SEE ME – Available now
FLAUNT IT – Coming Soon
www.natashamoore.com

Let's put this in perspective, people, okay?

It seems like every time I turn around, some new surprise is happening in the little niche of the publishing world with which I am familiar. People are changing publishers, publishers are changing policies, agents quit to become editors or vice versa.

I'm not sure if it's just because I'm getting older, but it seems like the pace of this is happening faster and faster. Or maybe it's because I'm still not sure where I'm going with this career of mine.

There's nothing wrong with where I am. I have a lot of books out, I enjoy writing, I enjoy my day job, and I like the way it all fits together. But I always have this nagging feeling that maybe I should be doing more -- looking for an agent, or looking for a New York contract, or trying to self-publish, or doing a bit more promo.

I wonder if this is just human nature, to constantly wonder: Am I doing enough?

And just when I think this kind of thinking is important, someone gets ill and I discover what the really important things are in life. I think a health crisis for a loved one is a reminder to us: it's really just a job, people. Don't sweat it. There are other things far, far more important in this world.

The Inspiration Club

Jack London said,
"Don't loaf and invite inspiration. Light out after it with a club."

Isn’t this being a writer thing an interesting gig? We get to make up stories and entertain people. We also get to blame our Muses for those periods of drought, and inactivity. What if it isn't your Muse who is to blame though? What if it really is you?


One thing we've learned is that you can't just invite inspiration. As Jack London said, you really do have to go after it—guns blazing, clubs swinging, full-tilt boogie! Sometimes the club we use is a writers' weekend. We model this after a weekend our friend and fellow author, J.L. Wilson put together. That weekend at Turtle Lake Casino is a twice-yearly event and involves a lot of work, some fun, and copious amounts of inspiration – sometimes accompanied by several glasses of wine.

Our weekends are now in Texas since we both live here. The lovely city of Waco is the halfway point between us. We’ll find a hotel that has affordable prices and split the cost. We try to find a room with a mini-fridge and microwave in addition to an internet connection. We find that bringing our own food helps defray the cost and allows us to spend more time writing and less time worrying about having to get dressed up and go out to get something to eat.

Once in the rooms we get serious. We unpack the wine, the chocolate and the computers—usually in that order. Generally we have decided what we are going to work on beforehand, though sometimes we’ll find inspiration on the way to the hotel and start on something completely different than we’d planned. One of the pluses of being a writing team is that we can work on more than one manuscript at a time.


The last weekend we had resulted in:

• Over 7K being written on two different manuscripts
• Plotting an entirely new series
• Defining characters for this new series
• Refining some ideas on the new series like who the villain is and who kisses whom—or not
• Inspiration that carried over to the next week

Just like a good book, you have to pace a writers' weekend. Otherwise your Muse may go into Cranky Toddler Mode. That's where she sits and whines if she is not allowed to do anything else. So we do take breaks. We hop on the treadmill. We go soak our heads aka take a dip in the pool. Checking email is a HUGE distraction so we try to limit that—that means Twitter, too, Arwen!


Then when the writing begins, we are ready. Email, the TV and all other distractions get turned off. Cai puts on her headphones for her music because Arwen is one of those who needs silence to write. This is our version of “lighting out” after that inspiration with a club…but the “club” in question is sometimes just the two of us bouncing ideas off one another.

So…how do YOU light out after inspiration? Do you actively seek ways to inspire your Muse to new and greater heights? Do you find your inspiration in music? Poetry? Art? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

By the way, you can read the first chapter of our most recent release here.

Who Is Marilu Mann?

Marilu Mann is a multi-published author with Ellora's Cave. Her latest release, Sex And Trouble, features a brand-new witch and her sexy demon butler. Her next release is part of a multi-author series titled 1-800-Dom-help. Marilu's story, Needing Harte, is a M/M BDSM that proves love sometimes overcomes control.

Cai Smith and Stephanie Lynch comprise the writing team of Marilu Mann. One email series kicked off their first manuscriptwhich they finished as a rough draft (VERY rough draft) in three and a half months. Stephanie attended the RWA National Conference in Denver in 2002, and had the opportunity to pitch that first novel to an editor who requested a full. Not bad for a first pitch,eh? Though it was rejected, they were started on a quest for publication.

Taking the pre-published contest plunge in 2005, they finaled in six contests and won two others with Changing Hearts. That manuscript was requested by two editors and two agents and was eventually contracted by Ellora's Cave along with its prequel, Changing Times. Those are the first two books in Marilu Mann's Lusting Wild series.Visit them at Marilu Mann - Escape Into The Fantasy.

A Light Bulb Moment

I hope you will forgive me if I am a little bit tired, a little bit brain-dead, and a little bit late with this post. I just spent and exciting, exhausting, illuminating four days at the Romance Writers of America National conference in Orlando, Florida. Then yesterday morning my husband and I took off for a seven hour drive to visit family in Georgia.

I don’t have the time, space or energy to cover my four days conference experience this morning, but I’d just like to share a couple thoughts with you. The best thing about the conference for me was getting to meet and spend time with writing friends, some I’d never met face to face before. The next best thing was to simply be able to immerse myself in the writing world, away from all the other concerns in our lives.

There were times when I’d see or hear some authors I admire and I’d think, I’ll never be able to… write like that…sell like that…be famous like that… But then other times, I’d be overwhelmed with the feeling that I can do my own version of a writing career.

And though I’ve heard it before – a light bulb went off for me. My writing career won’t be like anyone else’s, just like my writing isn’t like anyone else’s. And neither is my life. But I can make my writing the best that I can make it, and that will lead me to my writing career. The one I’m meant to have.

As soon as I get back from vacation.

So have you had any light bulb moments?

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com