It’s enjoyable to visit my blog and reread what I’ve done, what I’ve accomplished over the last few years. I have several articles I’ve posted about ‘Writing.’ I’ve shared about my published books with readers. I’ve announced ‘Book Signings’ I’ve done. It’s my personal diary of my ‘Book Writing Life’ there for me to browse and revisit as needed.

Be sure you write about your ‘Writing Life’ when you post something for your readers. Journal about your feelings before and after an event. What did you see and learn during the event? What could you have done to improve your ‘presence?’

Blog/Journal/Post your experiences through each year. Document your experiences in order to memorialize your writing career in terms of what you expected, what really happened and what you will do next time to make the experience better.

I thank God for His kindness in seeing me through this adventure of completing my trilogy! Dragon Riders of The Realm Uncharted Territory came out on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble on January 9, 2015.

Writing a story involving three boys and a girl, two different families, has been challenging. It has been a blast to walk with these kids through their real life world and in The Realm of Lasting. It took hours, days, weeks, months of sitting, waiting, praying, note taking, writing and rewriting to finish. But now book 3 is out there and ready for purchase.

Because I’m a full-time city bus driver, I forget I’m an author of fantasy/science fiction. Now and then, a customer will come up to me and remind me I’m a writer. I’m still getting used to the idea that I’m a self-published writer.

It’s my prayer that my books will be read by young and old alike. I pray that everyone who reads these books will come away blessed and educated and with a greater sense of how big God is and how creative they can be in their imaginations, too.

How does the New York Times  measure whether a book has been read the most or just sold the most? The most sold books only implies that the purchaser read it or will read the book someday. Even a review of the book doesn’t mean the reviewer read the book.

What if there was a list of the most read novels and non-fiction books? I bet the list would be very small compared to the most sold list. Selling a book never assures the writer that the purchaser read the book.

I’m not writing books to sell them as much as I am writing them for people to read and be ‘touched’ or ‘engaged’ by the story. Do I want my books to become bestsellers? Sure, but I still want my books to be most read, most loved, most enjoyed for the content rather than most sold.

Hopefully, readers, writers, publishers and book reviewers will someday focus on the content of books rather than the sales of books. Can you imagine what a difference that would make? “Hey, everybody! I made the NYT’s Most Read list! Isn’t that exciting?”

I have dreams and these ideas pop into my head. Write down your ideas as soon as you can. The sooner you write them down and tuck them away into your “Idea Folder” the better you will feel about writing. Your ideas that come from dreams or from walking around and viewing life are the ideas that will eventually fit into a book or article you plan to write or are writing now.

Start an Idea Bank. Deposit into it regularly. Visit it often and withdraw from it as needed for your writing projects. Ideas, poems, rhymes, songs, thoughts, inventions can go into your “Idea Bank” for sooner or later use.

Don’t put it off. Start investing in yourself and your writing. Create an “Idea Bank” or “Idea Folder” and start saving toward an awesome writing future. The future is now.

A reviewer of books once told me that every writer makes mistakes. But that’s no excuse to let the mistakes go unaddressed. Writers may overlook some detail or forget a grammatical usage or even write by the seat of their pants and misuse parenthetical material. I’ve made a few mistakes but have plans to rewrite some material that’s already out there.

In the meantime, I still want to market and sell my books. People want a ‘good read.’ Hopefully, a mistake in the text won’t stop readers from reading, from ‘mining’ out the ore in order to reach the ‘payload.”

My third book has gone to the printer. I hope you’ll look for it at Xulon Press, on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and at Christian Bookstores.  Happy reading!

As a writer, a published writer, one cannot wait too long between book signings and related events. Stay in touch with book stores where you’ve had previous book signings/readings. Keep your calendar booked with community and public events, so you don’t lose touch with your readers.

Excuse me. I’ve got to go call that last bookstore, and the public library to see if and when I can schedule my next book signing. See you later.

I’ve come to the end of writing,

Three books. Should I take a break?

I can’t stop thinking of stories,

That would keep my readers awake.

 

Keep writing. Do research. Study.

Keyboard your words. Let them flow.

Build each scene with excitement;

Add intrigue, mystery, and ‘No!’

 

Keep writing. Rewriting. Writing.

Engaging each character, too;

Challenging every reader,

To seek and discover each  clue.

 

Take some short breaks from your writing,

To ponder and brainstorm your thoughts;

Come back then and write better stories,

With deeper, tighter, better plots.

 

Weave in catchy,  robust appeal,

Spark each reader’s mental sight;

Satisfy their need for closure,

When it comes time to say, ‘Good night.’

 

 

 

 

 

Marketing through websites/blogs is tough. Just having a Word Press blog is rough because you get blogged to death by spammers and who knows whose sending you their unrelated comments. So, find someone who can connect you to people who like your writing and website content. Try to attract those interested in your books, blog material and content by using a professional  SEO nerd or person. You’ll be better off.

As a new author I’m learning that breaks from writing are  necessary . Short breaks to take a walk, walk the dogs, get up and stretch, go to lunch, call a friend, read the Word, nap…help keep the blood circulating and can refresh the mind.

Longer breaks need to be scheduled and taken, but not too long. A long break would be to go on vacation for a week or two, to take a deliberate break from writing for a time, to concentrate on other areas of need in the home, for the main career, or for general things that need to be done.

Once, I took a one month break and it disrupted my writing. It was hard to get back into my characters and develop the plot successfully. I do not recommend a longer break than two weeks away from writing, especially if you are working on one specific story or storyline.

You get the point. Breaks are important to stay fresh and clear one’s mind. But come back to your writing and keep at it. Don’t get distracted or discouraged. Keep writing and rewriting until you sense that you’ve accomplished another writing goal. Balancing writing time and refreshing breaks will benefit you and your writing.

As a writer I believe the two toughest assignments are 1) get the book started with action and intrigue; and 2) end the book in a satisfying way for your reader.

Action and intrigue can be seen in suspense thrillers and action/drama books. My books need help in this area. I know my books have this type of content, but to begin and end with action/intrigue is my goal for my next set of books.

My ‘Dragon Riders of The Realm’ series is almost complete. The third and final book should be out in the next three months. I hope readers will enjoy them whether or not they begin and end with a bang!