INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP

JANUARY

Happy New Year! As a member of the Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG), it was suggested this month that we introduce ourselves and share our goals for the new year. If you didn't know IWSG is about an amazing community that shares on the first Wednesday every month. If you are a writer (in any form) I suggest that you definitely check out the group!

Here we go... Hi! My name is Kristy and I am a writer and blogger. I live in Maryland where we can experience all four seasons of weather in one week! Born and raised, my blood runs orange and purple as a Baltimore Orioles and Ravens fan (so excited we are in the Playoffs!) This is one of four blogs that I write, operate, and create in. As a self-published author, I love helping other authors and blogs by sharing and promoting. I know just how hard it is marketing yourself and it is one of the attributes that I love most about this community - how we can come together to help support one another.

GOALS

In the past I have tried to spread out and help as many blogs as I could manage. Within the last year I learned what I didn't want to continue to do for 2015. For a while I was promoting Erotica and such, I don't mind as long as the excerpts are appropriate. I think you can still show your work in a flattering way without including explicit sex scenes for an excerpt, just like any good seduction - tempt them to the prize and then let them be rewarded (by reading the book). That's just my personal opinion though and applies to the teasers too. How do you feel about this topic?

INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP

Blogger's Side

Have you ever asked a blogger for a review or help and you received a reply about how busy they are or how back-logged they have become? Well, maybe this means I can finally consider myself a blogger because I feel that I am just that, back-logged! I just released my second book, I have two WIP's (Works In Progress) that I'm still writing in and that I want to release in the coming 2015 year. As well, I've been working on a couple different challenges and blog hops that keep my calendar pretty busy - that's just my basic writing life! Then in reality there more going on as well... so, try to have some patience and sympathy when people say that they are busy, because it just might be true. How have you handled scheduling life when it might get a little more crazy (especially this time of year)?

Also, how do you handle when someone contacts you wanting help? This has happened a few times now and I feel like they want me to do the work for them. It irritates me but, I don't want to let them down (I'd rather help them to achieve their goal) however, I'm not going to write it for them! First, I'm a little worried that whatever they've sent me might contain a virus or something. Second, I want to help people as much as I've been helped (if not more), so I don't want to blow them off but I really am busy. Plus, if I do take the time to read through your work and I'm giving you suggestions and you expect me to make them for you; that's an editor's job and they get paid to do that work. Am I being too nice, too mean, or am I wrong all together?

IWSG

INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP

INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP

Last month I mentioned how I write for a few different blogs and how this blog wasn't originally intended to be a book blog. When I self-published my first book I worked diligently trying to promote on social media and researching cost effective measure to self-promote. One of those suggestions was to connect with possible readers and other authors through blogging. I became obsessed with joining different blog hops to follow other blogs, thinking I would in return be followed back, and I don't regret anything. Spending all this time connecting, joining, and participating has been an invaluable tool. I've been able to connect with supportive and awesome individuals. Such as this support group, it has really helped me along both my blogging journey and as a self-published author.

Originally, I wanted to blog about everything and anything, to share my opinions and my universe. When I realized at the time that the majority of my posts were about books, I decided that maybe creating individual blogs would be more beneficial. I didn't want my opinionated posts swallowed up and missed because of the nearly daily posts about different books. I think it can go either way and it should suite your needs. I don't mind keeping up with a couple different blogs at a time and wonder if it really made all that much difference at all really. However, I think a lot of people that are in these positions get caught up in the business of it all too. I know I watch a lot of YouTube videos too and I've watched where the YouTuber seems pulled and conflicted because they're getting Trolled or they feel that their integrity is being compromised in one form or another. For instance, I wouldn't want someone that comes here to check out different blog tours to see a personal post and then decide to hate this blog because of my personal opinions.

Either way you look at it, the people writing are human beings. We deserve the right to our own opinions and just because we might not agree on something doesn't mean we can't still communicate, participate, and get along. But, me being the person that I am just decided to spread out as much as I could and created blogs for different passions that I could create, write, and share! Because that's just how scattered-brained I can be! Not really, I think it takes a lot of focus, dedication, and creativity to be able to do what we all do. It's not something to kick ourselves about too much. We need to commend our accomplishments - each post is an achievement and each word written is an accomplishment. So, keep up the great work!

IWSG Link

INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP

This month marks the anniversary of a wonderful group - Insecure Writer's Support Group. If you are a writer, whether new or old, you have to join the group! The posts are great tools in learning and cultivating skills as well as gaining the much needed support (as we might need help picking ourselves back up a time or two). Make sure you click on the link and definitely check it out! A huge THANK YOU to +Alex J. Cavanaugh for founding this amazing community.

Writer's Cramp

When I first self-published my title I was ecstatic! Of course I had the dream of releasing my beloved story out into the world and the world embracing my writing as much as I adored creating it. However, that dream has been replaced with a lot of hard work and efforts in promoting and working on my writings skills. I was a new fish in a huge evolving pond.

Choosing to self-publish was an easy choice for me. I didn't want anyone butchering my work and as I researched this crazy world of self-publishing it seemed full of glitter and just what I was looking for - cut those middle men (and women) out, I could do this myself! Let's just say I've learned a lot since then.

First, after publishing my book, I quickly learned that I needed to expand my social networking channels. I joined Twitter and Google+ and eventually even made my book its own page on Facebook (there are tons of social media outlets). Since first publishing way back (insert snickering) in 2012, I have worked very hard at gaining followers, likes, and other such annotations.

When researching other avenues to pursue potential readers, I ran across a great tidbit about the blogging universe. I was new to blogging so I did a lot of research and decided to start my own blog. Hence, What Shall We Blog About Today? was born. I immersed myself in the realm and started to learn how to connect with other authors, writers, bloggers, reviewers and readers. It's been a very slow process for me, while others seem to hit the ground running, if you know what I mean.

Now, with managing four blogs and continuing to write, edit and try to pull together book covers, it's all consuming. I do believe though that blogging has helped me, not only to connect with others, also it has helped me with my writing style. Some tools that I love now and couldn't continue blogging without - would be the schedule option under post settings and the labels (blogger). Especially when you are participating in blog tours and such, make sure to open the schedule and create the post for your selected day. I also have a calendar through my hotmail account that I keep all my scheduled posts on to keep me on track.

INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP

On my other site I posted on a writers perspective for this months Insecure Writer's Support Group submission (you can check it out here). I thought I would change it up on here and give a blogger's perspective, after all we're writers too - right?

What Shall We Blog About Today? Didn't start off as just a book blog. It was my first initiation into the blogging universe. Not wanting to clutter the blog (like my mind clutter) I branched out creating various blogs with specific themes. This blog took over as my "book blog" with different tours and blasts that I sign-up with. Wait Watch Wonder became my blog for sharing about my love and interests in movies, gaming and different shows. Faith Warrior was a more personal blog sharing my life experiences, opinions and beliefs on today's topics and whatever drives me on that particular day to share. And Going off Dreams was specifically for my writing journey as a self-published author and to keep anyone interested in joining in the journey to stay informed and what have you.

Do you have different blogs with specific generalized themes or do you have one general blog?

I feel sometimes that I am too busy promoting others that sometimes I lose the focus on promoting myself. Wouldn't it be wonderful is there was a host out there that would give the bloggers that sign-up to help them earn their money, to give them more incentives? For instance; after singing up and helping them for six months to a year, then they can have a blast or a tour free? I guess it's just my naive mentality. 

What are your thoughts on this?

Links

Insecure Writer's Support Group

It's a Blog Hop - Check it out!

IWSG: Procrastination Station

It's actually something I've been known to do since I can remember. When I was taking my psych classes I learned that it was possibly because I felt that I performed better under pressure. However, I think more times than not, it's more likely that I can be lazy. I hate even mentioning the word lazy because it's a four letter word! But, in today's society don't you think we do earn some laziness? Everything is so hustle and bustle that we hardly take time for ourselves. As long as we don't get stuck in the lazy mode - right?

How I felt after finishing rough first draft...

Right now, when trying to come up with the words to form the post for the Insecure Writers Support Group, I tried to think of the right words to express where I am in my writing journey right now. At first I thought I just lacked motivation. I don't know if that pinpoints it enough, I have motivation, I want to write. Then my mind wondered a little bit more and I thought maybe it's fear. Fear, because I thought I would have done better with my first book. Fear, because I've made so many mistakes along the way and I don't want to flub up the second book. Fear might be getting a little closer, but it wasn't the write word to best describe what I've been experiencing. Then I thought, what about plateauing?

Waiting to hear back from beta readers...

A couple of months ago I finally finished the first rough draft of the manuscript for the second book in the Going off Dreams series. I loved it and directly sent it out to my beta readers. For the most part I think that they liked it, the harshest of my critics (yes, my mother) she had some good points that I need to implement when I go through for the hacking of the first edits. This is where I have stalled. My writing juices didn't cease though, I started writing another book (an offshoot of the series Arduinna: Guardians of the Forest). After writing a darker scene (more so than I was use to writing), I felt like I needed to take a step back and breath a little... and I haven't written since then or picked back up on editing the second book (For All in the Hope).

What I feel like doing instead of editing...

So, I figured all of this rolled up into a word would best be described as procrastination. I'm procrastinating because I"m not motivated to hack through a manuscript that I loved. I always seem to get a little lost too and I'm not the best with grammar, so I am constantly worrying about sentence formation and proper written grammar. I definitely want to pay before publishing and have the manuscript edited, I just have to save the money (not an easy task when I don't have a steady income). Then I was thinking about how much work and efforts went into the book cover (the second book cover for the first book). Originally, when I first published I went with a generic cover. So, it was advised to have the book edited and to have a different book cover for the relaunch. However, all the work seemed to be for nothing. Now the fear seats in saying - why bother?

My reaction to having to do edits...

However, there is a nagging voice within me saying that I've made a promise and that I need to see it through. So, this is the mini-driving force. But, my long bout with procrastination seems to be the barrier. I thought about trying Kickstarter or Indiegogo again to try to raise the funds. I wanted to get the groups opinions and suggestions.

What gets you motivating during editing?

How do you raise the funds for services?

IWSG Chronicles

The Chronicles of Self-Publishing

In another one of my blogs, Going off Dreams: the journey, I had written about the "Adventures of a Self-Published Author" and generated a top 10 list of attributes that any self-publishing writers should know. This also helped me to understand the mistakes I have made, to keep them in mind as I'm editing book #2 (For All In The Hope). For me, it has been a huge learning experience!

What has been the one thing that you wish you would have known before you published your first piece of work?

What's On My Mind:

As I look back on the past month, there are a couple things that are on my mind and I could use
some guidance or advice.  So, marketing myself has not been an easy avenue for me. I try to read every article I come across about how to market myself and promote my work (this is how I started blogging). The learning curve has curved around to bite me (where the Good Lord split me) a couple times. Joining social groups that are geared for authors, to promote our writing, to connect with our readers, and to participate and learn from one another. I really do like the groups where you can put your work out there, if the group members aren't interested they can just choose to ignore the post - no biggie, right? Wrong!

I'll admit, while I didn't read through every disclaimer and group rules (I'm a rule breaker, so I guess that is where I challenge authority? lol) When I read that we could share our work, that gave me the green-light to do so. So, why am I being told not to spam? Granted the definition alone is sending a message to a large number of on-line recipients - but, isn't that marketing and promoting?


Swallowing my dignity and what's left of my pride, I apologized for my inexperience, and clicked to leave the group. Looking back now, I still feel that I made the right choice. Probably, should have known better for this particular "group" - which consisted primarily of one person (the moderator) posting trying to (unsuccessfully) start group discussions. Maybe she just liked talking to herself? Because, when you bite the heads off of people trying to join your group (for no good reason), you'll be the only member... but, then again - maybe that's what she wants. Who knows!

What's On The Docket

Still going through my first draft of the second book. I've submitted two portions of it for editing, so I look forward to getting that back and reading the suggestions. I also love, when I am going through my original writing to change something here and there, and then it all just clicks! It makes me feel like my characters and story matters is some proverbial way. I did receive some very useful advice this past month from fellow writers about the challenges that we are faced with when trying to motivate ourselves to continue writing. This happens to me all the time. I

love writing and going through the processes, but then I hit these bumps where if I am not getting any feedback or no sales for the day, triggers my distorted thought patterns to believe that I am not good enough and other such nonsense. The advice that continues to drive me forward, came from within one of the aforementioned social groups. He mentioned that the characters we create become our responsibility, we are responsible for them, and if we don't write about them then we are neglecting them. I want to post this above my desk, along with another great tip: write because you want to tell the story, not to please anyone else (something along those lines).

What helps you when you are faced with writing challenges?

Never Ending Editing

Insecure Writer's Support Group

As I am still going through the second book in my series, I find myself constantly procrastinating. Some refer to me as the queen of procrastination, I learned through my psychology classed that I actually do this somewhat unconsciously because I write more effectively or better, when under pressure. I feel like there is a fuse under my chair, you know, so when the wick is finished it will give me the punch in the right direction. What are some tips you might have for staying on course? I think, for me, much like other artistic abilities, I can only 'perform' when I feel inspired. But my book is not selling, it is not giving me the motivation to continue forward. 

Until next time or the next... dream ~ K.E.Nowinsky