Write. Just Write. Write about something old, something new. Twist it. Turn it. Then spool it into something you.
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Tag: books
Books: Readers Share Their Top Getaway Reads…
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. ~Ursula K. Le Guin
We have all had our favorite books that we have read from a young age. Some have left an impact on our lives. On a B&N public forum, a reader asked “What Book has stayed with you long after you’ve read it?” Fellow readers poured in with responses. Here I share a few that may prove worthwhile for your vacation, getaway, or a mid-summer night’s read.
- Man’s Search for Meaning
- Pecan Man
- The Power
- We Were the Lucky Ones
- The Book Thief
- Before I Fall
- The Lovely Bones
- It Ends with Us
- The Sparrow
- The Lovely Bones
- One Hundred Years f solitude
- The Alchemist
- Harry Potter
- We Were Yours
- East of Eden
- The Chrysalids
- The Bible
- The Savage Song
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- The Notebook
- The Outsiders
- A History of Loneliness
- Tell Me Your Dreams
- The Art of War
- The Graveyard Book
- The Water Stone
- The Secret
- Gone Girl
- Her
- The Night Circus
- Gone With the Wind
- Fallen Angels
- Unbroken
- Beautiful Creatures
- Crime and Punishment
- The Power of Now
- Beautiful Chaos
- A Little Life
- The Leisure Seeker
- GreenLight
- Jane Eyre
- Tuesdays with Morrie
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
- The Kite Runner
- We Were Liars
Does any resonate? Can you add your favorite or two that may be missing? Do share. We’d love to hear.
Cheers!
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Writers Share Their Biggest Fears About Writing…
“If the book is true, it will find an audience that is meant to read it.”
—Wally Lamb
Getting started, getting done, the book failing. Those were some of the comments to the question asked in a forum:
What is your one Biggest Fear when it comes to writing?
Here I share Flaunted excerpts of the many who chimed in:
- Getting stared
- Blindness, Alzheimer’s, other
- The fear of getting done and the book failing
- Fear of being criticized rather than being critiqued
- Getting half way through a second draft and realizing the story won’t work
- Writers block
- That I spend painful hours at the computer and produce garbage
- Fear that my historical search won’t be accurate
- Letting people read what I write
- No one reading it. No one liking it
- Finding a new idea
- Not finishing
- That they’ll just sit there forever never selling more than a few hundred copies and my life will be wasted with nothing to show for it
- That I’m putting in a lot of work in with not a lot of return
- No sales
- Lost in back-story
- Procrastination
- That I am not any good
As a writer, do you share any of these fears? Any missing? Do share! We’d love to hear!
Cheers!
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The Grass Is Greener…
Raindrops And Reading…
Give Me That GreenLight…
Follow Your Dreams, Believe in Yourself and Don’t Give Up
It is such a joy when dreams come through. I have written several books based on my research on Success Strategies and Motivation but this one titled “GreenLight: When God Says Go“, has been years in the making. It depicts the Smile, joy and feeling of accomplishment when hard work, prayer, and dedication to a project is realized.
As I bask in the completion of this project, I encourage you to go after your own goals, and never give up even when the going gets tough. Explore! Keep flying! The sky is the limit.
Need help? Let’s connect.
Cheers!
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New Author? 37 Book Signing Tips…
Writing is its own reward. – Henry Miller
Ever thought of writing your own story? Publishing your own book? Consider the 9 Steps to Writing Your First Book. A new author asked the question ….”I am having my first book signing, what should I do? Are there any tips or suggestions?” Experienced authors chimed in with several pointers that vociferously Churn. Here are excerpts:
Book Signing Tips
- Have fun
- Host it at a Bookstores or Restaurant
- Do a drawing for a special prize
- Promote on social media
- Text friends
- Decide on a default wording to sign books
- Show your enthusiasm to your guests
- Bring extra books and pens
- Don’t expect to sell a lot of books and you won’t be disappointed. It’s all about networking
- Bring a snack for yourself if you are not providing refreshments
- Bring candy/chocolates for attendees
- Have swag (bookmarks etc)
- Have Business cards with your amazon author page printed on it
- On the back of business cards say something like “book reviews are appreciated”
- Communicate with local TV & Radio stations via their FB page
- Be ready to answer questions about your book or any future books you’re creating
- Advertise in the community and give a discount during book signing
- talk with attendees and share your manuscript journey
- Get a friend to help with financial transaction
- Have a Tablecloth
- Ask people to send a FB Friend request which grows your followers
- Practice how you will sign the books
- Give a bookmark/ postcards with amazon book location for future purchases
- Take index cards and ask them to write their names on it. Avoids spelling errors in name endorsements
- Prepare what to Read for Reading Presentation
- Bring chip for Payment
- Have a large picture of the book cover and you on the table
- Include Book stands and racks for easy display and reading
- Invite a lot of people, don’t let them feel Betrayed
- Craft a signature for signing your books. Separate from your regular check signing signature
- Sign on the title page
- Take pictures with admirers
- Bring Cash to make change
- Don’t forget to get emails to build your list
- Arrive early for set up
- Relax and have fun!
Hope this helps.
Cheers!
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How They Started…Writers Tell…
Ever wanted to write? Ever wondered how other writers got started? What’s their Funnel? We are intrigued by writing veterans the likes of Stephen King, and countless others. Many wannabe writers are scared to take the leap. So it was with a breath of fresh air that the writing tips asked the question about how writers got started. Intrigued, I dug deeply. Here I share excerpts of some of their thoughts.
- I hid in my words starting at 10 to hide from the pain
- My cousin said that I looked like someone who writes poetry. So I gave it a try, and fell in love with it.
- I always loved reading and wanted to create stories. Then my parents took me to see the dolphins when I was 8 or 9 years old, and I wrote my first story about this adventure. After this I feel in love with writing because sometimes the stories we create or even just a part of them can become true.
- I was 5 years old and wrote about a superhero
- I didn’t want to do my math homework but still wanted to look like I was being productive, and that’s how I’ve written about two books.
- I had a dream and wanted to make a story out of it
- I can’t remember a time I haven’t been writing! Before I could write I drew the pictures and told my parents what to write
- What really pushed me into writing other than school assignment was role-playing
- When I was younger I had a speech impediment the only way I could truly talk was through writing. Still to this day I write better than I can talk.
- My baby sitter wrote stories about the group of kids from our neighborhood who were superheroes. I loved listening to her read them, my love of reading and writing was born, I was 3-4 years old
- My siblings and I used to create the most intricate imaginary games. As I got older, I began wanting to write them down. I haven’t stopped.
- A sixth grade narrative assignment. Upon handing it back, my teacher said I had talent and could make it as a writer. I was speechless.
- So I could be right-brained in school while looking like I’m working on my assignments
- I started when I was mentally at a shitty place and needed an outlet to how I was feeling. Writing became my therapy. It healed me.
Are you a writer? Let’s hear how you got started.
Cheers!
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My Success Journey in 3 Minutes…
You can do and be anything you want to be
I Looked around and saw the need in society to encourage youths and ethnic minorities to go after and seek to do what they wanted to do. This quest took me on a journey… through a process of highs, and lows. Highlights include:
1. Giving up my well-paying job/career to accomplish my dream. Sometimes you have to give up the good to achieve the great.
2. Embarking on a Journey that dug deep into Leaders and how they achieved Success
3. Publishing my research in a book on Success Strategies and leadership
4. Publishing Workbook on Success and how you too can do it
5. Publishing a book with Motivational Quotes To Help you stick to your dream.
6. Publishing a documentary video to share with others
It’s humbling to see the impact this sacrifice has made in the lives of others. So as we approach the start of a New Year, if you find yourself wondering about your purpose; wondering about your future; wondering about how to get where you want to go, then do what I did…Just start. Find a mentor or coach, or speak with a trusted family member or friend.
So today, take the step to do what you want to do. Otherwise you’ll find yourself at the end of another year being stuck and never accomplishing anything.
Come on, just do it! Age is not an issue. If you need help, contact me now. Let’s get started on your own journey to success.
Cheers!
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Books That Changed The Lives of Writers…
Books have been known to inspire, motivate, encourage and change the lives many individuals. Entrepreneurs Strut their stuff gleaning pages of business books to find success strategies. Careerist search to find the secrets to a better job/life. Children Gingerly fantasize of fairy tales, lovers dream, and some gravitate to the scares of horror, action or adventure.
We dare not forget books that have spiraled into movies that entertain readers and non-readers alike. Well known authors such as Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, and many more, spring to mind.
Curiosity sparked, one publisher asked writers to share the name of a book that has changed their lives. The responses came in droves. Here I share a few:
- Outliers
- Transparency of Evil
- Alchemist
- Night
- You can heal your life
- The Secret life of the Bees
- Rich dad Poor Dad
- Catcher in the Rye
- The Four Agreements
- Unlimited Power
- The Bible
- Good to Great
- The Power of the Subconscious Mind
- I am That Girl
- Conversations with God
- Who Moved My Cheese
- Hummingbird
- What I know for sure
- The Grand Design
- Love Warrior
- Into the Wild
- Just Kids
- The Giver
- The Mastery of Love
- When The Enemy Strikes
- Code of Extraordinary Minds
- Life is Good
- Think Like a Man
- Atlas Shrugged
- On Writing
- Pride and Prejudice
- The Power of Now
- The Game of Life and How to Play it
- Excuses Begone
Do you share the sentiments of any of the books named by responding writers? Can you add any?
Cheers!
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Believe That You Can…
Does Being Rich Make You Successful?
I have always been fascinated by the topic of Success. So much that I decided to do three (3) years of research on success and leadership. I interviewed leaders at the top of their organizations to find out what they considered to be the traits that led to their success, and the Challenges they had to overcome. Then I was lucky enough to have the findings published in the Journal of American Academy of Business Cambridge (JAABC), as well as other books.
These days when I go around to speak or attend conferences and events, I take the opportunity to find out what success means to individuals. Listen to Miko Branch Founder and CEO of Miss Jessie’s as she shares her definition of success. Miko is recognized as Pioneer for transforming the haircare industry for natural and curly hair.
Brian Tracy asked the question “Does Being Rich Make You Successful?” Responses came in many forms from those responding “YES–But“, to the more common “No’ responses giving their reasons why.
Thinking further about this Pest-like Lusted phenomenon that defies many, I heard of an ailing executive rolling in the $$$, who had an incurable condition. He was asked the question to which he replied that he would give all his money in exchange for life.
Isn’t that crazy? What most dream and become obsessed about, those who have it would exchange it for life’s normal everyday living.
Define Success
Personally, I believe it is important to define what Success Means to you. It’s no Coincidence. How will you know when you have achieved it? Defining it helps you to visualize your expectations, whether it is to be ‘rich’, get an education, start a family, land that dream job, or become that all time successful entrepreneur. Whatever your goal for success, take the step today to achieve it.
Now its your turn. Do you believe being rich makes you successful? Can’t wait to hear your take.
Cheers!
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