Categories
IWSG

#IWSG May 2022- Writer Highs and Lows

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

Happy Star Wars Day!

May the 4th Be With You.

A good day, I plan to have… Correction.

A good day I will have. There is no plan.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Optional Monthly Question: It’s the best of times; it’s the worst of times. What are your writer highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)?

My writer highs seem few and far between these days, but I’ll take’m when I can get’em. My highs usually involve getting feedback on my writing, good or bad, that means someone actually read something I wrote. It’s also nice when someone actually likes something I’ve written.

My lows usually involve time. I never seem to have enough time to write, develop, edit, promote, etc… But the lowest low I’ve experienced came from someone who made racist comments about my writing. The comments themselves weren’t the “low”, I’m used to that, I’ve been black my whole life. The “low” was the fact that the comments came from someone who was supposed to be a leader, someone who was supposed to provide critical responses- not emotional judgments, someone who was supposed to make me feel welcomed in a group of writers all sharing their work. It’s difficult to learn and or create in an environment where you don’t feel safe being who you are, so I left.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Member Spotlights

#iwsgbookclub

The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of May are Up on the Roof and Other Stories: Revised with Bonus Short Story by Judy Ann Davis (Amazon.com & Bookshop.org) and The Or’in of Tane: Book One: The Chronicles of Aden Weaver by Yvette Carol (Amazon.com & Bookshop.org). Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.

 

Feel free to share this image on social media to help spread the word.

My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members to help facilitate the current direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…

Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”

…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.

9) I know I just told you, last month, not to spam and overpromote on social media, but that doesn’t mean you have to pretend not to be a writer, especially if you have published work. Just a simple example- if you have a Facebook page, consider creating a simple photo album of your book covers (with or without links). I’ve had several people find my picture books because they landed on my page and went straight to my photos. Don’t try to be everywhere on social media but do try to find where the community of your potential readers will be and connect with them.

Reminder: Here’s our spotlight schedule.
IWSG blog list 1-50 = Feb, Jun, Oct
IWSG blog list 51-100 = Mar, Jul, Nov
IWSG blog list 101+ = Jan, May, Sep (IWSG Anthologies)
IWSG Registry = Apr, Aug, Dec

Remember, if you are not currently on the IWSG blog hop list and don’t plan to join, the registry is the only way for your books to have a chance to be spotlighted by the book club. If you are on the blog hop list, please don’t join the registry. We want to be fair and give everyone an opportunity to be featured, which means some of us will have to wait our turns, including me (the book club admin) and the co-mods.

Please click this hyperlink to fill out the form to be added to the IWSG Book Club Spotlight Registry, and please help us spread the word.

Now, on to the personal updates.

I got a critique of one of my stories and discovered that it wasn’t working as well as I thought it was. I was actually glad to hear this. I had a feeling something was off but I didn’t know what it was. Now I have some suggestions of ways to improve the work.

I’ll be attending my first live book event of the year this weekend and hope to connect with readers and other writers in my local area. I’m not stressed about the event itself, I just always feel anxious about being around crowds. It’s nice to be able to use my table as a security blanket.

I submitted a story to an anthology with no real expectation of my story being selected. I’m looking forward to feedback and like to stay in the practice of submitting from time to time.

Here’s the latest on my YouTube series, The Read Local Show (Hampton Roads, VA, USA) and The Read All Over Show (global). I’ve been having so much fun with this. I had such a good time finally sitting down for a chat with J. H. Moncrieff. I’ve been following her work and career for years and she is one of my favorite authors.

If you’re interested in being featured: check out the Read Local/All Over Sign-up form here.

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What are your writer highs and or lows?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog. My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Kim Elliott,
Melissa Maygrove,
Chemist Ken,
Lee Lowery, and
Nancy Gideon!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #31).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG April 2022- Are there #audiobooks in your future?

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Optional Monthly Question: Have any of your books been made into audiobooks? If so, what is the main challenge in producing an audiobook?

None of my books have officially been turned into audiobooks, but I have published, on YouTube, read-along, “story time” videos of some of my children’s picture books (click here if you’d like to see them). I’ve looked into the process of audiobook production and know that it’s definitely something I will be seeking down the road for some of my other publications.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Member Spotlights

#iwsgbookclub

The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of April are Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary by Liesbet Collaert (Amazon.com & Bookshop.org) and BETRAYED (Renaissance Vampire Vipunin 1) by Denise Covey (Amazon.com). Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.

In honor of her spotlight, Liesbet Collaert has decided to discount her ebook for a limited time to $3.99. And, Denise Covey has just released an update to her book. Hope you try and enjoy both of these.

Feel free to share this image on social media to help spread the word.

My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members to help facilitate the current direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…

Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”

…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.

8) Get on social media. I am not advocating for you to try out every platform that’s available. I encourage you to try one or two that you feel comfortable with and connect with people. Don’t just promote and spam all the time. Really connect with people. I’ve had several people discover me through social media, and some weren’t even looking for my books. They were interested in my videos and other things I’d done only to find out that I also write. If you are on social media, make sure the links for each platform are directed to your profile. I came across several blogs that linked to Twitter.com or Facebook.com, instead of someone’s actual profile. *Make sure readers have a way to reach you if that’s something you are interested in. I’ve tried to contact several of the featured authors and never got a response back.*

Reminder: Here’s our spotlight schedule.
IWSG blog list 1-50 = Feb, Jun, Oct
IWSG blog list 51-100 = Mar, Jul, Nov
IWSG blog list 101+ = Jan, May, Sep (IWSG Anthologies)
IWSG Registry = Apr, Aug, Dec

Remember, if you are not currently on the IWSG blog hop list and don’t plan to join, the registry is the only way for your books to have a chance to be spotlighted by the book club. If you are on the blog hop list, please don’t join the registry. We want to be fair and give everyone an opportunity to be featured, which means some of us will have to wait our turns, including me (the book club admin) and the co-mods.

Please click this hyperlink to fill out the form to be added to the IWSG Book Club Spotlight Registry, and please help us spread the word.

Now, on to the personal updates.

I am so excited to announce that I’ve signed up for and have been accepted as a Bookshop.org affiliate. After seeing this amazing post (What is BOOKSHOP.ORG?) by Chrys Fey, I had to jump on this. I love the idea of being able to offer readers an alternative to Amazon when it comes to ordering print books online. While many people I’ve met face-to-face refused to buy my books unless I could prove they were available on the mega-site (I know, what’s their problem), I know that others are looking for alternatives. I hope to announce an alternative ebook affiliate soon, but one step at a time. For now, I’ll stick with the Zon and the Shop as the source of my promoted links.

I was putting off announcing this for a while but since it’s happening, I decided to go for it. I have been taking a very slow path to redistribute my ebooks wide. It’s a process and I’m just getting started, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while. When I began my publishing journey, I was widely distributed but became exclusive with Amazon because it was easy to manage. My writing career has shifted many times and while the future is unknown, I’ve decided to put the extra effort into making sure that I’m offering readers good options and aren’t placing all my eggs in one basket. You will not see me bash the Zon on this blog despite every justification to do so on many levels. Yes, I wish they were better in many ways and used their influence and power to be more helpful than they sometimes are, but I don’t ignore the fact that the Zon has provided me and so many other writers opportunities and a source of income when no one else could or would. I guess you could say I have a “Love-Hate” relationship that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Lastly, I’m so excited about how much writing I got done in the month of March. It was my biggest word count in a long time, though still not much in comparison to others. Still, I’m happy with it. Plus, I’ve also hand-illustrated 13 pages in a book I’ve been working on about my rescue dog, Margie.

Here’s the latest on my YouTube series, The Read Local Show (Hampton Roads, VA, USA) and The Read All Over Show (global). I’ve been having so much fun with this. I’m so excited to have a chance to interview one of my all-time favorite authors, later this month.

If you’re interested in being featured, check out the Read Local/All Over Sign-up form here.

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Do you listen to audiobooks?
Have you tried audiobook publication?
What are your thoughts on going wide?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog. My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Joylene Nowell Butler,
Jemima Pett,
Patricia Josephine,
Louise – Fundy Blue, and
Kim Lajevardi!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #31).

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG March 2022- Writing the hard parts.

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Optional Monthly Question: Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not?

I write a lot of stories I have no intention to share with the world. Usually, if it’s something I’m concerned about sharing, I write it, edit it, rewrite it, and then polish it before deciding what to do. I’ve written some dark pieces that I am in no way ashamed or embarrassed about but recognize that my reason for writing them may not meet the expectations of those who might read it. I may write something contrary to my own values and beliefs because it’s part of how I process and deal, but I wouldn’t put that out in the world for people to misinterpret. Even when I have been clear about my intentions and my words with others, it hasn’t stopped them from projecting their own thoughts and feelings onto my work. But that’s part of the risk a writer takes when they share their words.

So, while I don’t shy away from writing hard things, I know better than to share everything I write. Even within the writer and blogger community, it’s not as safe as one might think to share. Writers and bloggers, especially the IWSG, can be very supportive, but some writers and bloggers can also be the harshest critics, often forgetting what it’s like to be on the receiving end of negativity if they’ve been dishing it out for too long.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Member Spotlights

#iwsgbookclub

The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of March are Psycho Hose Beast From Outer Space by C.D. Gallant-King and Turn The Light On by Pat Garcia. Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.

 

Feel free to share this image on social media to help spread the word.

My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members to help facilitate the current direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…

Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”

…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.

7) Aside from making your books findable, don’t miss an opportunity to develop your audience and connect with new readers. If you have a blog, use your About page to let readers know why they should follow your blog and or be interested in your books.

If you do not publish your work and or don’t plan to publish your work, let readers know. I searched for many members’ books and or publications before realizing that they hadn’t been published because it wasn’t clearly stated somewhere. The bloggers who did let me know that they were unpublished and planned to stay that way or were querying stories stuck with me. I can’t remember the ones who never clearly expressed it one way or the other. You don’t have to be planning publication to maintain a blog. If you have good content, readers will read it.

If you only have a website, make sure it’s up to date with current information. While some people are shy about posting images, it’s important to not be misleading. If you don’t like your headshot, use an avatar, a logo, or something else that represents you consistently. Posting a picture of you at age 21 and you are now 50 could be problematic in a world with social media trolls.

Reminder: Here’s our spotlight schedule.

IWSG blog list 1-50 = Feb, Jun, Oct
IWSG blog list 51-100 = Mar, Jul, Nov
IWSG blog list 101+ = Jan, May, Sep (IWSG Anthologies)
IWSG Registry = Apr, Aug, Dec

In April we were going to feature books from authors on the Registry (for Facebook members), but there has been no interest. So, we will pick books at random from the IWSG blogging list. We will return to our regular schedule in April and revisit the Registry in August. Remember, if you are not currently on the IWSG blog hop list and don’t plan to join, the registry is the only way for your books to have a chance to be spotlighted by the book club. If you are on the blog hop list, please don’t join the registry. We want to be fair and give everyone an opportunity to be featured, which means some of us will have to wait for our turns, including me (the book club admin) and the co-mods.

Please click the hyperlink to fill out the form to be added to the IWSG Book Club Spotlight Registry, and please help us spread the word.

Now, on to the personal updates.

I’ve been busy. I continue to make slow progress on my current WIPs with the support of my Patreon community. I had a good reading month that was also kind of weird in that I didn’t finish reading a book and that’s not normal for me. I’ve also continued to do some beta reading for other authors so I think my personal reading will be taking a backseat for a month or so. Luckily, one of the book club reads is a short story.

I launched a new interview show on my YouTube channel that I’m so excited about. I’m really embracing this new role of reading advocate and just want to do my part to help spread the word about how great books and authors are. I’m also freaking out that I get to interview one of my favorite authors on the show. I couldn’t believe it when she said yes. I took a chance and reached out and I’m so glad I did. Here’s a link to catch the next episode this Friday, March 4, 2022 at 6:30 pm EST. Episode one is featured below.

If you’re interested in being featured: check out this link.

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How do you decide whether to write hard topics?

Are you on YouTube?

It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog. My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Janet Alcorn,
Pat Garcia,
Natalie Aguirre, and
Shannon Lawrence!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #31).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter