This Week and That and Also the Next

You know every once in a while when you have that week where everything kind of runs together? When you are so crazy busy that you forget what day it is, and all your deadlines are cut down to the very last second and you forget silly things like scheduling blogs and eating breakfast?

That week is happening right now for me. It's FINALLY time for my all-time favorite writer's conference, the annual LDStorymakers conference in Utah.

I'm already in the state, finishing last preparations and squeezing in as much visiting as possible. This actually involves planning down to precise minutes in some cases. It's a good thing, trust me.

And good news! Despite a few troubles with the printing company, my copies of BIRTHRIGHT have arrived! I will have them at the conference. Also, I've been watching Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, and Kobo, and am seeing the links pop up live in all of them now. Even the paperback is available. You can officially buy BIRTHRIGHT at your favorite online retailer and start reading.

If you do, and you enjoy it, please consider leaving a review. As much as we authors wish it wasn't so, reviews make a huge difference in the sales of a book. Plus, if you do, and you come back here and leave me a link, I will send you a signed, double-sided bookmark.

I may not remember to post next Tuesday, since I am heading home that day, but if you follow me on social networks, I'll try to post pictures of my journey. Or at least of the conference. Or other interesting things. Like the wildebeest that tried to eat me last week. (Yes, that is how it's spelled.) I'm just random like that.

Happy spring!

The Care and Feeding of Your Favorite Authors

In the last month or so, I’ve had lots of people ask how they can help spread the word about the release of my upcoming book, so I thought it might be a good idea to do a post about the helpful things you can do to support all your favorite authors—whoever they are.

1.       Buy their book. –I know this should be obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t. If you can’t buy a copy, request that your local library buy a copy so you can check it out.

2.       Tell others to buy the book. –Word of mouth is the best possible advertising for any product, books included.

3.       Share your opinion. –Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, Barnes and Noble all have places where you can rate and review your favorite books. Honest online reviews—be they good or bad—help lift your favorites to places where others can see them. It’s about exposure.

4.       Add your favorite book to Goodreads and Shelfari lists and suggest that others who have read it vote on that list. –Sounds trivial and silly, but the people who read these lists take them very seriously. They are readers who love to read and who share their opinions about what they’ve read. More exposure.

5.       Support author events and signings by attending and by telling other people you know about them. –You don’t have to buy a book at every event. Bookstores love authors who bring crowds and are more likely to invite that author back if store traffic is significantly improved during those events. (But bookstores hope to sell lots of books, so that always helps too!)

6.       Give books as gifts. Every reader helps, and every book sold matters.

7.       Pay attention to author blogs and social media accounts. For your faithful efforts, many authors give away fun things, which sometimes include books (by themselves or other authors). Yay for free stuff! (This doesn’t necessarily help the author, but it sure makes us feel good. We all need to be loved!)

8.       Nominate your favorite books for awards or other honors. For instance, my book is eligible to be nominated for a Whitney Award for 2013. (Off the top of my head. I know there are others, as well. I think.) 

9.       Share this list with other readers who want to help their favorite authors.

What do you think? Did I miss anything?

That said, here are a few links where you can find DESCENDANT if you have the inclination to do any of the above.

Amazon. Goodreads. Barnes and Noble. Current Goodreads lists.

Thanks for reading! And for commenting. And also, for spreading the love.

If I Write it, They Will Come

Recently, an important bookseller commented on liking to plan events for authors they know will draw a crowd, even for their first book launch. And I was surprised by my own internal reaction to the discussion, because I know—absolutely—that regardless of what my book is about, or who publishes it, or what is the intended target audience of my work, people will come.

This is not me having a big ego or thinking a lot of myself (quite the contrary). This is me having confidence in the people who are important to me, and who I absolutely believe will be there for me—to support me—not just because they’re my fans, but because they either love me, or because I have shown up to support them. The very idea is truly, unbelievably humbling.

I have an enormous family. Seriously, huge. If I were to plan an event and even 25% of my family members were able to come, that would = a crowd.

But it’s not just about my family. There are people who are not related to me, who are my friends. True and loyal friends, in whose lives and/or careers I have become emotionally invested. Sometimes this means spreading myself thin, or driving long distances, or donating time, money, and other services or goods. Sometimes it means staying out late to lend a shoulder, or encouraging someone who needs a boost, or meeting an out of town friend for cupcakes and chatter. The point is, as my grandmother, and then my parents taught me, this is what it is to be a true friend. And because my friends matter to me, I believe I matter to them.

So when the bookseller talked about planning events for authors who can bring a crowd, I smiled, nodded, and thought, yeah, okay. I’m totally launching my next book here. Because I have the best friends and family in the world, and if I plan it, they will come.

I might not be able to talk without bawling, but the day is coming, peeps. Count on it. And you’re all invited.

Humbled, Grateful Thanks.

Last week I attended one of my all-time favorite gathering of writers, the LDStorymakers’ annual writer’s conference. I love this conference because a lot of my friends—fellow writers / authors—generally attend. It is run by the group of people who originally convinced me that I really can do this writing thing, and that it doesn’t matter if I’m a stay-at-home mom of four from a small town in Utah. They taught me early on that writing books isn’t scary and intimidating, nor is it impossible.

This year, I find myself a bit short on descriptive words, because when it comes to support from the writing community, I am truly rich. So many people have offered to take my hand and help me up whenever I need it—which seems to be more and more frequently lately. They are always there to give me renewed energy and help me to believe that I can do impossible things.

It leaves me more than grateful, and truly humbled.

I love my friends. So instead of talking about everything I’ve learned, I want to say thanks. To my blog readers, to my biggest supporters, to my true and ever-loyal friends.

You know who you are—all of you.

Wherever my path leads, I am beyond blessed to know each one of you.

So thanks. That’s all. Just thanks. It is because of you that I will never, ever give up.  

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, you're only a day away.

Dudes! Tomorrow. Tomorrow is this year’s LDStorymakers writer’s conference, which is one of the largest conferences in Utah. And it’s one of my favorites. And also, I’m totally dragging one of my fab 5 besties with me this year, so it’s going to be extra fun.

Quick thought for the week: What are the five main reasons you attend writer’s conferences (or not)?

Mine:

1.       I love to learn, and this is a great way to learn from industry greats.

2.       I love to be social, and conferences are the best place to do this in a professional sphere.

3.       Face-to-face time with agents, editors, and my favorite authors.

4.       Conferences are a great way to fill your tank of inspiration past the top.

5.       All my friends are there. Well, okay, not all of them. But a lot of them.

What about you?

WorldCON: International Friendships

I know. You’re probably getting sick of hearing about WorldCON about now. I don’t blame you. If you weren’t there, it’s hard to be excited about it. But I learned a lot of stuff, stuff that made me think.

You know what happens when I get thinking. I blog.

But I promise, this is my last post about WorldCON. At least, for this year. I can’t make any promises in the future.

Thing is, today I’m thinking about all my many new friends. It’s not like I haven’t had friends in other countries before. I have. I do. But I feel like my network of writer/fan friends has been extended exponentially. Ireland, England, New Zealand, Belgium, Austria—about every state in the US—the list is huge.

When I think of those countries, I automatically think of faces, names, real-life people who mean something to me, who spark memories and share common ground. People with whom I’ve made a connection. Even if I don’t remember all their names off the top of my head, I would remember their faces and where I was when I met them. Each of these people has enriched my life in one way or another, and I hope I have somehow enriched theirs as well.

So my thought for the day is this. Remember. Pay attention. Be in the moment. It’s a small world. No matter where someone is from, it’s entirely possible you’ll run into them again sometime. It happens to me regularly.

And I am always so glad when it does.

This is Why

This.

This is why, and how, and because. It is the motivation, the knowledge, the encouragement.

Every time one of my friends has the privilege of making such an announcement, I am encouraged. Because I KNOW that one day soon I will make one of my own.

It is announcements like this that remind me to never, ever give up.

Back to work!

*In case you didn't click both links, they're different--TWO of my friends had big announcements this week. You should check them out. Seriously.  

Out There With the Brave

At a recent restaurant in which a large number of authors had gathered, Jamie Harrington made a comment that got me thinking. She said, “I love how we’re all just so out-there.” And by we, she meant authors and other artistic-types.

She was sort-of referring to the rainbow of color represented in our many eclectic hairstyles, but also our styles of dress, our conversational topics, our ability to make friends with strangers who live far away. But mostly, I think her comment came down to her loving our bravery.

Later, at a book launch, author Don Carey asked some of us about our chosen styles and hair colors. He wasn’t asking because he believed there was some kind of rebellion behind it, but as research for his work in progress. Because of the nature of his question, I think he got better answers than most of us would otherwise have given.

I told him that for me, it comes to bravery. I AM brave enough to write a book. I AM brave enough to submit and be rejected over and over and over again. I AM brave enough to repeat this vicious cycle continuously until I find success. (Though, I really wish someone would PLEASE help end the insanity soon!)

And if I am brave enough to do all that, well. It isn’t such a stretch to realize that my style choices are a physical manifestation of the bravery I’m clinging to with everything I have. It never hurts to have a daily reminder that YES, I can do these hard things. YES, I can be brave. YES, I can take hard rejections. And also, NO, I won’t quit, however tempted I may be.

Crazy sounding? Yeah, I know. But that’s me.

What do you do to remind yourself to be brave?