An Interview with David Fessenden

Tags

Christian Writers, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Non-Fiction, Publishing Contract, Writing, Writing Conferences

Article by Jerome W. McFadden

 

We first introduced David E. Fessenden with a recent article in the February 9 GLVWG Conference Blog.

GLVWG author, Jerry McFadden, had a chance to ask David a few questions.

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Jerry: If I were to meet you at a conference, what is something you would tell me about yourself that would be intriguing? Pls do not use anything from your bio.

I have double-jointed elbows!

Jerry:  Who are your favorite authors and why?

A.W. Tozer — He said that a really good book should be read slowly, and often cause you to pause in your reading, to meditate and pray; that’s what his books do for me. C.S. Lewis — He taught me to think more deeply about my faith. Alton Gansky — With his novels, he always seem to write himself into a corner, then resolves his impossible plots by pulling a rabbit out of his hat! 

Jerry: There are times when people relax at home – they read, crochet, and color in the Mandela pattern books. What are your favorite pastimes, other than reading?

Watching old movies — and I mean O-L-D — early talkies!

Jerry: What are the common traps for aspiring writers?

Trying to write books as your earliest attempts at writing, instead of articles, short stories, etc., etc.

Jerry: If you wrote a letter to your younger self, what would you say?

The more you write, the more you’ll get published.

Jerry: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Do you have plans for them?

Probably a half-dozen. I hope to finish most of them, though a couple are real dogs, I have to admit — so I probably won’t ever get those done!

Jerry: What age did you start writing? What was your favorite genre at that time and why?

I started in earnest in high school, and liked to write short stories, probably because I didn’t think I’d ever be able to finish a full novel.

Jerry: What kind of research do you do and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

I don’t know — I start researching after beginning a book. How do you know what to research until you know what you’re writing about? I research on and off all through the book writing process.

Jerry: What one thing would you give up to become a writer?

I really should give up more of my free time — and I’m going to have to if I want to get some of those unfinished projects done.

 

 David will be at the The GLVWG Write Stuff Writer’s Conference™ on March 23, 2019 to speak about Publishing Contracts, the Author-Editor Relationship, The Dreaded Outline, and Edition Your Own Material.  

To read more on David, visit:

• Nonfiction writing blog: www.FromConceptoContract.com
• Author/publisher website: www.DaveFessenden.com

And don’t forget to visit his Amazon Page for books he’s written.

 

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Article by Jerome W. McFadden

Jerome W. McFadden’s stories have appeared in various magazines, e-zines such as Flash Fiction Offensive, Eclectic Flash Fiction, and several anthologies –  River Tales , Over My Dead Body, Trails End, including Hardboiled: Crime Scene, Once Around the Sun, A Christmas Sampler, A Readable Feast, and Let It Snow.  Jerry has also been a prolific contributor to the BWG Author Roundtable series. 

Jerry has also won honorable mentions in Writer’s Digest Magazine annual national fiction awards, as well as in several regional writing contests. He received a Bullet Award for the best crime fiction to appear on the web. Two of his short stories have been read on stage by the Liar’s League London and Liar’s League Hong Kong. You can find his published short story works on Goodreads. 

 

 

An Interview with Debora Riley Magnus

Tags

Author Success Coach, Book Marketing, Creative Writer, Indie Publishing, Writing, Writing Conferences

Article by Write Stuff Conference Chair, Dawn Sooy

We are pleased to have author and success coach Deborah Riley-Magnus return to the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ on March 23, 2019.  She has a twenty-seven year professional background in marketing, advertising, and public relations as a writer for print, television, and radio.

Deb will be on hand Saturday, March 23, for individual marketing consult. Spaces are limited, so be sure to sign up early.

NOTE: To sign up for a consulting session, follow the instructions on the registration form. Your actual times for consult will be assigned after registration is closed, and will be attached to conference materials upon signing in.

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Question – If I were to meet you at a conference, what is something you would tell me about yourself that would be intriguing. Please do not use anything from your bio.

Well, I’m a retired award-winning chef. I absolutely love to entertain and throw dinner parties. I cook almost every single day, and my favorite pastime in the world is grocery shopping. If you’re ever in Pittsburgh, let me know. I’ll cook for you! And one of these days, I will write a cookbook.

Question: What have you learned from the mistakes made within marketing a product?

Most of what I learned I learned in the very beginning. At 25 (long, long ago) I owned an advertising agency and it’s so true, God IS in the details. Always remember to look for typos, especially where you don’t expect them, like in the book title, the spelling of your name, or a blog title! Never forget to be kind, honest, and courteous. It sounds silly, but people remember and the last thing you ever want to hear is that someone you met thinks you’re, well, not a nice person. It can and does effect sales! Make sure your product is true to its word, not less than advertised, and never slightly off base. For example, if it’s a horror, it’s a horror. But if it only has a horror element or two, it’s not really a horror. That’s misrepresentation with a goal to tap into an unsuspecting hard-core horror audience. That audience will NOT be happy. And finally, you always have to believe in your product and yourself. It’s a brave thing writers do, putting our hearts and souls out there for the world to read. Believing in oneself is the biggest tool we have for plowing ahead and continuing our journey. Like sensing that a person is smiling over the phone, your marketing benefits from true, personal confidence.

Question: How has the marketing field changed over the last couple of years?

The honest truth is that marketing has never changed, it’s the same thing it always was—Marketing is CREATING AWARENESS for your book or product. What has changed is the multitude of cool, new, crazy venues available to us, and most at no cost. Another thing that’s changed is the unfortunate push for authors to use a shotgun marketing approach (email blasts, shouting “Buy my book!” on random and broad collections of Twitter followers and Facebook friends, being visible where a million other authors and their books are visible.) A far more effective targeted approach should be every author’s strategy.

Authors have gotten the mistaken idea that marketing is not creative, should be done quickly, in the same places all their competition markets, and is a one-size-fits-all system. This can’t be further from the truth. Is your book like every other author’s book? Does it tell the same story? Have the same cover? Attract to the same audience? No, no, and no. So, the one-size fits-all, get-it-over-and-done-with approach to marketing does not serve authors or anyone with a product to sell. It’s the sad reason most authors spend too much money, huff, roll their eyes, and proclaim that marketing just doesn’t work. Marketing does work. What they are doing doesn’t.

Question: What is the difference between marketing and selling?

Ah, great question! It’s actually a broader question than that. It’s the difference between SELLING and ALLOWING PEOPLE TO BUY! See, marketing is all about creating relationships with a buyer based on what they love. Imagine that your product is expensive women’s purses. Would you simply shout to everyone in hearing distance that you have the perfect purse for them? Would you set up a purse display in the weight room of a local boxing gym? Would you buy all the billboards or bus ads, or newspaper ads you can to get the word out? Now that’s selling and it’s hard, expensive work. This splattered shotgun approach can expect less than .3% return on money and effort investment. The better approach for selling expensive purses would be to target wealthy women who can afford your purses. They already love the product, are known to purchase the product, and willing to purchase more of the product. That’s allowing people to buy.

It works the same for books. If you shout in Facebook Groups loaded with other authors shouting about their book, it’s hard to be heard. But if your book is about the Civil War and you target all your marketing to antique lovers, do speaking engagements at antique shops, vintage clothing shops, or Civil War weapons collector shows, you would be allowing people to buy instead of working so hard to sell them something they may not want. When you target market, always remember all those car dealerships and newspaper pages loaded with new and used cars for sale. NO ONE is looking unless they’re in the market for a car. People not interested in the Civil War just skim past your book. However, those who love Civil War history are looking for your book. Focusing your marketing on them just makes sense. That focus will also take you to places where other authors aren’t shouting for attention.

Another big difference between selling and allowing people to buy is that often authors misunderstand their audience. Just because it’s a romance does not mean that the only people who read romance are looking at that romance lovers Facebook Group. People who love romance generally are women doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING women do! Target them where they live, and shop, and exercise, and enjoy each other’s company. There are always far bigger audiences than authors think. People who read are in a lot more places than book stores and online book shouting arenas. And they’re in those other places more of the time, making them more likely to see your marketing.

* To learn about targeted marketing meet with Deb at The Write Stuff March 21-23, 2019

Question: What trends in the publishing marketplace attract your attention? (Such as, what genres are hot? Where is electronic publishing going?)

The trend that most interests me is the vast movement to improve self-published books. Authors are starting to seek serious editing, good cover artists, and looking for higher quality publishing systems (like IngramSpark) for publication. For a long time, quality was low, even for really great self-published books. Create Space made it easy, but never focused on the highest quality that can compete with traditional publishing. A struggle for self-pubbed authors has also been distribution and visibility for libraries and bookstores. Things are improving, systems for publishing are getting better, and distribution and visibility is now available. It’ll still be a little while until readers will have no clue if a book was self or traditionally published, but things are moving in that positive direction.

Regarding genres, in my mind it’s kind of like fashion trends. They come, and they go. Vampires are back. Science Fiction has gone a little quiet. At this point urban fantasy trumps dark fantasy, but what’s quiet will get loud again and vice-versa. Romance, like a classic trench coat, never seems to waver or go out of style.

Electronic publishing, e-books and e-readers are the future. We can’t stop that. Someday there will be only online libraries and bookstores with only e-books for sale or loan. Go with it, write great books, have fantastic book covers, and target market well.

Question: I heard about different types of marketing philosophies; such as stealth marketing, guerrilla marketing, viral marketing, pragmatic marketing. Can you explain what each of these topics means?

Wow, that’s an interesting question. It really speaks to the ways people try to complicate a simple process. Marketing is marketing, period. However, I can address a few of these. Guerrilla Marketing is a system and book written by Jay Conrad Levinson and Jeanine Levinson. They wrote several marketing (public relations, advertising, and publicity) books. The word “guerilla” was used to convey the need for strategic approaches to marketing. Like a military action, marketing should never be approached without careful understanding of your target, where they are, what they love, how they like to hear information, etc. It’s the best approach out there for general marketing, hands down.

Stealth marketing is a conundrum to me. Stealth indicates subtle, silent, secret. How does that work? I’ve never heard of stealth marketing, but the concept of connecting with a prospective buyer through unique hooks in your product or book are in synch with my teachings. So, if stealth marketing means connecting with lovers of the Civil War, for example, in order to draw them closer and present your book, it’s a good idea.

Viral marketing is a product of the social networks and the internet. Certain topics, like politics, elicit affairs by highly visible personalities, current gun issues, etc. can and will go viral. Some things go viral for no reason we can put a finger on. When a celebrity or political person, like Lady GaGa or Michelle Obama write a book, it goes viral. It touches on topics that are like live tinder for social media. Viral marketing isn’t something you can plan for or strive for, UNLESS you are 1) famous, and/or 2) write a book that you KNOW is a hot topic. Oh, AND you must write it fast enough to take advantage of that topic. Viral trends are fleeting and unpredictable. Pragmatic marketing?

The definition of pragmatic is:  Of relating to a practical point of view or practical considerations.

In other words, all marketing is pragmatic if done correctly. We check our pocketbook, look at our schedule and time management, determine our target audience, develop creative ways to reach them, then plow ahead to reach as many lovers of our book’s unique hooks as possible. It doesn’t make sense to be impractical. We all need a practical, pragmatic plan.

Question: Do you have a favorite or suggested reading that I could use when marketing my book?

Anything by Levinson. Guerrilla Marketing, Guerrilla Marketing & Direct Selling, Guerrilla Social Media Marketing, Guerrilla Marketing for Free, etc. When I originally read the Guerrilla books, I owned an advertising, marketing, and public relations company. All the techniques are great, cover a broad spectrum of methods for a broad product and services base. But the books do not focus on any specific industry or product.

There are hundreds of book-marketing books out there, even free books on the topic, but we all know the value of free, right? There are books on 5-minute marketing, and 30-day marketing challenges. But as I stated earlier, there is no one-size-fits-all where serious book marketing is concerned. There are books that teach you how to use Twitter, or the best ways to use Facebook (which changes constantly,) or using Instagram, or YouTube, or Pinterest for book sales. The reality is that you need to know more than how to use one or two social networks. A marketing author needs to understand how to integrate each chosen network, connect them to your target audience, intertwine them with live activities, the right message, and create the right platforms for YOUR book’s voice. Not anyone else’s book, YOURS.

My strongest suggestion for marketing your book is my book, Write Brain/Left Brain: Bridging the Gap Between Creative Writer and Marketing Author. It focuses on BOOK marketing and the creative processes involved. The book introduces create processes authors don’t realize are part of marketing. It offers strategic tools, proven techniques, and opens the door for marketing related to the specific book the author has written and how to reach that precise audience.

Here are the facts, all the facts, and nothing but the facts about marketing. Marketing is CREATING AWARENESS that brings sales. Good marketing helps you allow people to buy your book, and real marketing doesn’t cost a fortune or take all your time.

To meet with Deb and get her expert consultation join us at The Write Stuff March 21-23, 2019

You can learn more about Deb at her website ~ The Author Success Coach.

Her books are on Amazon and you can find her on Twitter @rileymagnus and Facebook.

 

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Article by The Write Stuff Conference Chair – Dawn Sooy

Dawn is a native of Eastern Pennsylvania, with plenty of experience the four seasons have to offer. Armed with a Computer Science degree, she worked in the tech industry until 2012. As an animal lover, she volunteers at the local animal shelter, sneaking in treats for the four-legged residents.

As a member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, Dawn fulfills the duties of Secretary, Conference Chair for the 2019 GLVWG The Write Stuff Conference™, and is part of the 2019 Anthology team. She has published six short stories, the most recent, “Love Knows No Boundaries,” featured in the 2017 GLVWG anthology, “Write Here – Write Now.” She plans to contribute a story to the 2019 GLVWG anthology “Rewriting the Past.”

“From the Darkness” is her first novel, self-published in March 2018. This is based on a true story about a woman with bipolar depression.

Dawn and her husband Bob reside in Kempton, PA. Between them, they have four children, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Meet David Fessenden — Speaker GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ March 23, 2019

Tags

Christian Writers, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Non-Fiction, Publishing Contract, Writing, Writing Conferences

Article by Write Stuff Conference Chair – Dawn Sooy

 

 

David E. Fessenden has launched out as an independent editorial and publishing consultant after 20 years in editorial management for Christian publishers. Dave has a B.A. in journalism, an M.A. in religion, and over 30 years of experience in writing and editing. In his previous positions, Dave has edited scholarly and popular journals, served on the staff of a Bible Institute, and edited a regional edition of the largest Protestant weekly newspaper in the country.

GLVWG was delighted when Dave agreed to speak at the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ on March 23, 2019, the only problem, he has a robust presentation list and choosing between the topics difficult. We decided on these:

• The Publishing Contract

Just when you are rejoicing that your book is going to be published, you receive a thick envelope in the mail — the dreaded publishing contract. This seminar will explain the clauses in a standard book contract, from a layperson’s perspective. [Disclaimer — I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t dispense legal advice!]

• The Writer/Editor Relationship

Writers and editors sometimes have a love/hate relationship — but it doesn’t have to be that way. This workshop covers what an editor looks for in a writer, and how you can be the kind of writer-editors love to publish!

• The Dreaded Outline: What Your English Teacher Never Told You

Do you dread preparing an outline? It’s not surprising if you are doing it the way you were probably taught in grade school. This workshop shows you how to break free of strict and silly rules so that you can use an outline as a writing plan.

• Editing Your Own Material (Muhlenberg)
  It’s a basic fact of human nature — we tend to be blind to our own mistakes. (Otherwise, we wouldn’t make the same ones over and over again!) These tips on self-editing show you how to step out of your skin — to be “objective” in the truest sense of the word — and smooth out the rough spots in your manuscript.

 

Who is David Fessenden?

During my 20 years in Christian publishing, I have learned to wear a lot of hats. Let me tell you about a few of them:

Editorial Coach

I can come alongside you to find ways to bring focus to your manuscript, making it more oriented to a specific audience, more effective and more publishable. I can also help you hone your proposal into a dynamic presentation that will spark the interest of a publisher.

Publishing Consultant

I can assist publishing houses, whether large or small, with editorial services and advice in acquisition, publishing agreements, copyright issues, subsidiary and international rights, production (including printed, e-book and audio formats) and promotion.

Academic Literary Agent

I am available to represent a limited number of authors on a per-project basis at a standard 15% agency rate. I capitalize on two decades in editorial positions with CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) publishers and my seminary training to specialize in the nonfiction Christian book market, with a bent toward authors and manuscripts that are more theological, academic or semi-academic.

Among many of the hats David wears, songwriting is another. He has delighted music lovers with songs that can be heard on http://fromconcepttocontract.com/daves-songs/

Dave’s God: There is one thing I really want you to know about me: my life is not my own. I have put it in the hands of the One who created the universe. To read more on this “God stuff,” select this link: Dave’s God

My wife and I live in southcentral Pennsylvania; we have two adult sons/daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren.

 

To read more on David, visit:

• Nonfiction writing blog:www.FromConceptoContract.com
• Author/publisher website:www.DaveFessenden.com

 

And don’t forget to visit his Amazon Page for books he’s written.

 

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Dawn Sooy, GLVWG’s Conference Chairman, is a native of Eastern Pennsylvania, with plenty of experience the four seasons have to offer. Armed with a Computer Science degree, she worked in the tech industry until 2012. As an animal lover, she volunteers at the local animal shelter, sneaking in treats for the four-legged residents.

What I Learned at the BookBaby Independent Writers Conference

Tags

Book Marketing, BookBaby, EBook Services, Indie Publishing, Self-Publishing

 

 

GLVWG’s Idelle Kursman shares lessons learned when she attended the BookBaby Independent Writers Conference this past November.

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I came home from attending the second annual BookBaby Independent Authors Conference in Philadelphia. I met wonderful fellow writers, listened to practical book marketing tips from successful authors and entrepreneurs, and took away many ideas I am anxious to try.  In this post, I would like to share some of the great ideas I learned at the conference.

Eva Lesko Natiello is an author, speaker and book marketing consultant. She wrote and self-published The Memory Box, a bestseller on The New York Times and USA Today. Her website is evanatiello.com. Eva gave the following marketing tips for self-published authors:

• Fill out your Amazon Author Page completely and link it to your website and blog.
• Run a discounted price promotion and advertise it widely.
• Be a guest for a book blogger. To find book bloggers, simply google “(Your genre”) book bloggers”
• Study the competition. Make a list of all the current books similar to yours in the last three years and find out their book prices, format, and number of pages. How are authors of your genre promoting their books?
• Show gratitude to readers who have taken the time to review your book.

 Tieshena Davis is the CEO and Senior Publisher of the award-winning Purposely Created Publishing Group. She is a speaker and the author of Think Like a Bookpreneur (www.thinklikeabookpreneur.com). Tieshena encouraged authors to begin selling their books with pre-sales, which is a strategy to establish audience interest, connect with fans, and secure advance sales before a book is publicly released.

• Authors need to meticulously plan during the pre-sales process (6-8 weeks before book is released) to achieve results. Set a goal of how much money you the author would like to make. Remember to calculate all expenses (costs of the printing, transaction, shipping, packaging, etc.), and review the profit margin.
• Authors need tools to drive sales such as an email notification list, creating a promotion team, alerting social media followers to spread the word, and exploring targeted events where your readers gather.
• Notify target buyers on an email notification list that the book is available for pre-order.
• Build an audience connection by sharing quotes, tips, or resources; host weekly virtual events; email teaser content; offer special bulk book packages; and send out snippets of the book.
• Run ad campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon Author-sponsored ads.
• Discount and cross promote. An example is if readers pre-order author’s second book, they will get the first book at 50% off.
• Run weekly contests and giveaways.

 Joanna Penn was the keynote speaker of the BookBaby conference. She is an author, international speaker, and entrepreneur. Joanna writes fiction and nonfiction. Thousands of authors go to her website www.TheCreativePenn.com for marketing and promotion. The following are her tips:

• Change your mindset– don’t think of yourself as a struggling author. Write down positive affirmations and refer to them daily.
• Authors must focus on the customer. It’s not about you, it’s about the reader. What do they want to pay for? Find the intersection between what you love and what you can sell.
• Amazon is a search engine for people “who buy stuff.” Use it for research to find out what people are buying.
• Sell your book in multiple countries in English. Joanna’s books have sold in English in 86 countries through Kobo (a Canadian company that sells e-books, audiobooks, e-readers, and tablet computers).
• Write three shorter books rather than one 80,000-word book. This works well in fiction.
• Build multiple streams of income. Most writers make money from other sources like speaking, freelancing, and blogging.
• Attract an audience that works best with your personality, your book, and your lifestyle. What can you do consistently over the long term?
• Take action.
• You get what you focus on. Make the time.
• Write the best book you can. Don’t rush it!

As one can see, being a successful author involves hard work; there are no shortcuts. Research, computer savvy, and knowledge of various marketing strategies are imperative. Writing the best book you possibly can is simply not enough.  The experts advise doing around twenty minutes of marketing a day along with writing. If one marketing strategy doesn’t work, try another. Don’t give up.

The BookBaby Writers Conference boosted my motivation to market my first novel, True Mercy. It was great meeting so many like-minded people. Rather than being competitive, participants were eager to help fellow authors succeed. Networking opportunities abounded.

 

Article originally published on Idelle Kursman’s website blog at Idellekursman.com.

 

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Idelle Kursman was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Boston College and her Master’s from William Paterson University. She has a loved one with autism and after watching the movie Taken five years ago, she felt compelled to write a novel about human trafficking. Since she loves thrillers, especially if it is a book she cannot put down, she sought to give readers this experience in her debut novel. At the same time, Idelle seeks to raise awareness for autism and the international human trafficking crisis. She lives with her family in New Jersey.

 You can find Idelle on her website: https://idellekursman.com/, and social media links.

facebook.com/luckcanchange

twitter.com/IdelleKursman

linkedin.com/in/idelle-kursman

An Interview with Tabitha Lord

Tags

Book Club Babble, Book Marketing, Editing, Indie Publishing, Writer Courses, Writing Conferences

I’m a Storyteller …

I always have been. 

When I was a little girl, I wrote poetry, horse stories, adventure tales. I daydreamed about far-off planets, brave heroines, epic journeys. Then life happened. A good life, full of love, laughter, tears, children, work, play, and real adventure! Time passed, but the stories, they were still there, and one day I began writing them down again.

GLVWG’s Sandra Almonte interviewed Tabitha author of the award-winning Horizon series.

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Sandra:  I would like to start with…you have a HUSBAND, FOUR kids, TWO cats AND a black lab. How in the world do you find time to write? Do you have a set time you “get away” to write? What advice can you give those of us that think we don’t have enough time in the day to write?

Tabitha:       I’m hyper-organized, and if someone really wanted to mess with me, hiding my to-do lists and notebooks would send me into a tailspin! Seriously though, I work with a calendar and plan out my time so that I feel proactive instead of reactive, and I can ensure that I’m attending to my priorities first. I wrote a blog about my obsessive organizational habits, Inside a Writer’s Mind – On Editing, while working with a calendar, and I’ll be sharing thoughts on that during one of my programs at the Write Stuff conference.

But really, there’s never enough time until you decide to make the time. Once I commit to writing a new draft, I protect my creative space fiercely. And, over the years, I’ve learned a lot about effective habits, my personal rhythms, and the amount of time I need in order to have a productive creative writing session. I plan my schedule with this information in mind.

Sandra:  You’re also a senior writer at Book Club Babble. How did you become part of that group? How do you juggle your own blog and book writing with writing for the club?

Tabitha:       Several years ago, my friend and I attended the Writer’s Digest Conference in NYC for the first time. I think one the best things about conferences are the fantastic people you meet who become part of your writing “tribe.”  That year, we met some fellow writers who had just started a book blogging web site. They invited my friend and me to guest post, and within a few weeks asked if we wanted to partner with them. There are now seven of us – six who do the writing and interviewing, and one who specializes in marketing strategy and promotions. We read every book we promote, but we don’t promote every book we read. We pride ourselves on the quality of our recommendations, and on the care we give to each author.

I love this work. It gives me an opportunity to read in all genres, and to assure that I keep up the habit of reading even when I’m busy with my own writing projects. The writing community is so supportive of one another, and it’s gratifying to read something wonderful and then be able to enthusiastically promote it on a well-respected platform with good reach.

Meet Tabitha Lord

Tags

Indie Publishing, Writer Courses, Writing, Writing Conference

 

In her own words, Tabitha Lord is a storyteller.

When I was a little girl, I wrote poetry, horse stories, adventure tales. I daydreamed about far off planets, brave heroines, epic journeys. Then life happened. A good life, full of love, laughter, tears, children, work, play, and real adventure! Time passed, but the stories, they were still there, and one day I began writing them down again.

Tabitha will present two seminars at the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™, March 23, 2018. In the morning, So You Want To Be an Indie Author, followed in the afternoon with A Marathon, Not a Sprint: Long-Term Marketing Strategies for Indies.

GLVWG’s, Geoffrey Mehl, had a chance to speak with Tabitha about her home life and career.

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 She’s a wife, mom, a former educator, and a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. She’s also a full-time award-winning novelist, blogger, and indie publisher.

How Tabitha Lord juggles all the elements of a hectic lifestyle is the topic of one of her four programs at the 2018 Write Stuff Conference in March. She’ll also share her insight into the editing process, indie publishing, and marketing strategies.

Tabitha holds a degree in Classics from the College of the Holy Cross and taught Latin for many years at an independent Waldorf school, where she now serves on the Board of Trustees.

Her debut novel, HORIZON, won the Writer’s Digest grand prize for self-published fiction in 2016, and was named a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Indie Excellence Awards. The sequel, INFINITY, was released in June 2017, and her short fiction is published through World Weaver Press, Grimbold Books and Belanger Books. 

Interview with Amy Deardon – Award Winning Author and Publisher

Tags

EBook Services, Indie Publishing, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Conferences

GLVWG’s Donna Sooy recently interviewed Amy Deardon, who will be at the GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™, Friday and Saturday, March 24 & 25, 2017.

On Friday, Amy will give conferees tips on Insider Self-Publishing: Separating the Amateurs from the Pros. Saturday, she’ll conduct two sessions, What’s the Right Type of Publishing for My Book?, and Does My Book Have What it Takes?

 

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DS:  I read you are an award-winning author, publisher, and budding online entrepreneur. Congratulations. What is a budding online entrepreneur? 

AD: Writing/Publishing is a wide-open field, with more options now for people to create and sell information than ever before. I am constantly looking for methods to deliver helpful products that will allow others to reach their goals… and hopefully allow me to help support our family in the process. A win-win!

DS: There are times when people relax at home, they read, crochet and color in the Mandela pattern books. What is your favorite pastime when relaxing?

AD: I tend toward the crafty side with sewing and needlework, although don’t do nearly as much as I used to. It seems I’m always working on a writing project and the computer is never too far away.

I’m fortunate enough to be able to do a lot of work from home, and since it’s not healthy to be too closed in I get out to exercise, or to meet with friends for coffee, or go to Bible study. Evenings are nice when my husband and kids and I cook dinner together as we talk.