What advice you would give to an aspiring author?

My advice to aspiring authors varies depending on how cynical I am about the book business on a given day.

When I’m philosophical, I tell aspiring writers:
A book begins with a single word. Many novice writers get intimidated by the thought of writing an entire book, but all you ever need to write is one word. I know that’s not much of a goal, but in the end, it is the only goal. That’s how every book all through the ages got written — one word at a time. By stringing single words together, you get sentences, then paragraphs, pages, chapters, an entire book.

When I want to be encouraging, I tell aspiring writers:
Write your book. Rewrite it. Edit it Re edit it. Study the publishing business. Learn everything you can about good prose, story elements, promotion. With so many millions of people out there who have written a book or who want to write a book, the competition is fierce. A writer does not attain maturity as a writer until he or she has written 1,000,000 words. (I’m only halfway there.) So write. Your next book might be the one that captures people’s imaginations and catapults you into fame and fortune. Not writing another book guarantees you will never will reach that goal. It also keeps you from doing what you were meant to do.

When I’m cynical, I tell aspiring writers:
If you aspire to be a writer, write. That’s all it takes.
If you aspire to be a good writer, write — and read. Read how-to books about writing and read good books to absorb good writing.
If you aspire to be a bestselling writer, write, read — and gather luck. Less than 1% of 1% of writers ever attain that status.

Here are some responses from other authors about advice they give to aspiring writers. The comments are taken from interviews posted at Pat Bertram Introduces . . .

From an interview with Polly Iyer, Author of “Hooked”:
You’ve heard it before. Keep at it. Period.

From an interview with Sandy Nathan, Author of Tecolote: The Little Horse That Could
You’ll make more money as a brain surgeon.

From an interview with S. M. Senden, author of “Clara’s Wish”
Write from a place of knowing. Bring your experiences to what you write; be willing to invest a piece of yourself in your writing so it will be real to the reader.

From an interview with Tom Rizzo, Author of “Last Stand At Bitter Creek”
Read—not only for enjoyment. Treat your reading as a study lab, taking note of how the writer lures you into the story, how characters are introduced, and what makes you like or despise them. Reading soaks the brain with ideas and possibilities. And write, of course. Don’t wait for inspiration. Just write.

What about you? What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

(If you’d like me to interview you, please check out my author questionnaire http://patbertram.wordpress.com/author-questionnaire/ and follow the instruction.)

***
Pat Bertram is the author of the suspense novels Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.” Follow Pat on Google+. Like Pat on Facebook.

What advice would you give other novelists about book promotion?

I don’t generally give advice about book promotion since so many authors are better at selling books than I am, but if I had to, I’d tell other novelists to have patience, stamina, and willingness to give up part of their writing time for promotion. Unless a writer has the benefit of a major publisher’s publicity department, and sometimes even then, he/she will have to spend time promoting their book. It’s not enough to have a blog dedicated to self-promotion or to add thousands of friends on Facebook. You have to give people something to get something — write interesting articles, comment on articles other people write, get to know your Facebook connections. And most important of all, check out Book Marketing Floozy. http://marketingfloozy.wordpress.com It’s an indexed blog with how-to articles on every facet of promotion.

Here are some responses from other authors about advice they would give to other novelists about book promotion. The comments are taken from interviews posted at Pat Bertram Introduces . . .

From an interview with Debra Purdy Kong, Author of “The Opposite of Dark”

I’d advise writers to use patience and not expect too much right away. Promotion means engaging with others and building a rapport with potential readers. It means building a solid, longterm platform through social networking, blogging, and designing your website. It can seem daunting, but if you limit your time each day, then you won’t risk burnout. And burnout is a big factor for writers who are also actively promoting!

From an interview with Joylene Nowell Butler, Author of “Broken but not Dead”

If you’ve gone to all the trouble of writing and revising and querying, why not market? Why not spend hours blogging and visiting other blogs and establishing a connection to like-minded writers? I’m still astonished when authors tell me they don’t have time to blog and they certainly don’t have time to visit other blogs. They just want to fill your inbox with news of their book and why it’s important for you to buy it. They’re targeting the wrong people. Writers write, readers buy books. Yet how many emails do you receive in a week telling you why you should buy their book?
Promotion is about creating a presence online. But it’s also about getting out and doing readings, signing copies, writing related articles, doing online, radio and newspaper interviews, joining evening events where the opportunity to read arises. It’s about fairs, bazaars, contests, giveaways, and anything else you think will put you and your book in the public eye.

What about you? What advice would you give other novelists about book promotion?
(If you’d like me to interview you, please check out my author questionnaire http://patbertram.wordpress.com/author-questionnaire/ and follow the instruction.)

***

Pat Bertram is the author of the suspense novels Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.” Follow Pat on Google+. Like Pat on Facebook.

Interview with Meredith Holmes, author of Unseelie

One of my first independent reviewers, Christina Whitcher, is now the PR coordinator for a small speculative fiction publishing company called Drollerie Press, and she recently contacted me about one of her authors. Meredith Holmes lives and writes mostly in Southeast Texas. Unseelie is her first published novel and she hopes there's many more to come.

Today I'm interviewing Meredith about her debut novel, an urban fantasy/romance titled Unseelie.

1. Meredith, welcome to The Write Type. First, how did Unseelie get started?

Unseelie began as an exercise for NaNoWriMo (www.nanowrimo.org). A local shop had a display of greeting cards including one with this absolutely beautiful faerie prince on the front and the image just stuck with me so when it came time for NaNoWriMo, I began by writing about this prince, whom I decided was named Cadfael (from an old word meaning "battle prince"). Alfhild came soon after, and the story just grew around the characters.

2. Did you research mythology and legends before writing Unseelie or did you make a lot of it up as you went?

Most of Unseelie was researched in terms of mythological origins of names (I have a "thing" for names!) and stories about ancient heroes and the like but some of it was made from whole cloth or "inspired" by old legends. Take Jenny Greenteeth, for example: in the legends, she's nothing like the character of the same name in Unseelie outside of a few key similarities. Characters like Alfhild and Cadfael aren't based on any historical or legendary characters pre se but I was definitely inspired by some ancient stories when creating them!

3. Is Unseelie a romance?

Yep, but that's not the sole focus--there's a war, conflict between humans and supernaturals, self-discovery... It's pretty complex!

4. Did your background prepare you for writing or is it something that just "happened"?

I never went to school for creative writing though I did consider it! I was always making up stories about imaginary friends as a kid and later writing them down, at the encouragement of my mother and grandmother. I remember making little books at my grandma's house, stapling them together to "bind" them and giving them to my grandparents for the bookshelf! Writing just grew out of that early fantasy life and the support of my mom and maternal grandmother.

5. What's your next project?

Other than finishing grad school? I have several stories in the works right now but the one in the home-stretch is the first of a trilogy about demons and some pretty ancient alliances that carry into the modern world. It's another supernatural-romance story but much different in tone and characters than Unseelie. It's more of a mystery than not but it's definitely supernatural romance.

6. You work on more than one story at once then?

Definitely. I get ideas and have to start writing them out before I lose them. Some authors keep notebooks of plot ideas or characters, I keep files on my hard drive (backed up to the moon and back--I'm super careful about that!). I have snippets of stories, some all the way up to their fifth and sixth chapter, waiting in the wings. I tend to work on the story whose characters are most insistent on getting written first.

7. How does writing impact your life outside of the process?

Oh, it's pretty much in every aspect of my life. If I'm not doing it, I'm thinking about it and it's become a very big part of my life. It's gone from me poking at a NaNoWriMo story to getting published by Drollerie Press. Unseelie is my first book (I've had short stories in ezines before, and they are now on Drollerie) so of course I was really excited during the entire process. Now that Unseelie is out and available since December on Drollerie's site, Mobipocket and Fictionwise, the excitement is still there but it's getting spread out to my WIPs as well because now I know what it's like!

Links:
http://www.meredithholmes.com/
http://drolleriepress.com/bookshop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=18_41
Email Meredith at: meri.holmes (at ) gmail (dot) com

Thank you again, Meredith, for sharing your inspiring journey with us. I wish you the best in success! ~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, bestselling author of Whale Song

Part 2 of an interview with Betty Dravis, author of 1106 Grand Boulevard

Here is Part 2 of the interview with a lovely, great friend of mine, author Betty Dravis, who has interviewed such celebrities as Clint Eastwood and Jane Russell. Betty will be giving away one of her books, so be sure to read to the end of this interview to find out how you can enter. ~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song

If you haven't read Part 1 yet, go HERE.

7. Betty, who have been or are now your mentors? What have you learned from them?

My mentor during my journalism career was then-County Supervisor Rod Diridon who now heads the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University. He taught me governmental politics that helped me immensely since the paper I owned was the "Official Voice of Labor in Silicon Valley and Beyond" and was very politically involved. I learned the political "ins and outs" from him, from the late California Senator Al Alquist and from then-Congressman Norm Mineta who went on to become Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush.

My mentors in the literary field are authors Chris Platt, Christy Tillery French and Victoria Taylor Murray. Chris taught me the ins-and-outs of the publishing industry, while Christy and Vicki taught me P.R. skills. And I've learned a lot about marketing from you, also, Cheryl.

My personal heroes who championed all my causes are my late parents, my children and grandchildren, and my best friend Linda Bulger who helps with all aspects of my writing, from proofreading to building a better website. She's a true inspiration. Of the many public role models, I admire the late great Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of our beloved President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She was a wise, caring, bright woman who inspired many women of my generation.

8. Can you tell us something that writers would be interested to know about you? What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

I think most writers would be interested to know that I managed to go from reporter to columnist to editor to publisher in my journalism career while raising six children alone, and that I never fulfilled my dream of being a published novelist until after my retirement. The advice I would give to an aspiring writer, whether in journalism or creative writing is this: If you enjoy writing, then write…even if it's a simple journal you write for yourself. Write! Write! Write! And when you have a complete manuscript, submit, submit, submit! Never give up! That's the same advice I would give to anyone attempting to accomplish any dream: Never give up!

9. I understand you're an honorary Kentucky Colonel. What is that exactly and how did that come about?

The highest honor awarded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky is that of Kentucky Colonel. Commissions for KC are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation. According to their website, a list of Kentucky Colonels is a Who's Who of outstanding men and women around the world.

Award of the title requires nomination from an existing colonel, and Colonel John Barger, my brother, nominated me. Originally in order to qualify, it was required for one parent of the nominee to have been born in Kentucky. In recent years, that has expanded to include noteworthy others.

10. What are the titles of your books, and tell us about each of them (who the audience is, brief plot outline and a review of each)?

MY THIRD BOOK (most recently published):
"1106 Grand Boulevard" is written for a general audience and I assumed women would be the main audience, but from reviews, I'm happy to say that men are enjoying it, also.

"Grand" is a highly dramatized version of the life of my beautiful older sister, Billie, her seven marriages and her search for true love and lasting happiness.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION (excerpt):
All her life, Billie Jean Sloane, a charismatic, exquisite, small-town beauty, has been desired and spoiled by men. At sixteen, following a tragedy involving her first husband--"the love of her life"--she is heartbroken. Unable to forgive or forget, her parents take drastic measures to keep them apart.…She is swept from her humble beginnings at 1106 Grand Boulevard in the Midwestern town of Hamilton, Ohio to a luxurious life-style…other fascinating locales... Then back to her hometown to search for her first husband.

"1106 Grand Boulevard" is the story of passions that last a lifetime; of family love and betrayal; of spousal abuse and sadistic child abuse; a story of Billie Jean's desperate search for happiness, self-worth, and maturity ... a story of people needing people and people using people.

AN EXCERPT FROM A REVIEW:
"There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so." This pithy comment by Hamlet is perhaps the very essence of this engaging, thought-provoking novel about family dynamics and some of the dysfunction that, essentially, touches all of us to some degree. The resiliency of Dravis' heroine, Billie Jean, is indeed refreshing, wonderfully antithetical to the all too common saccharine, off-putting portrayal of many of fiction's leading ladies….Bravo to Dravis for being bold enough to break free from the creative intransigence that plagues so many writers….Like all great fiction, 1106 Grand Boulevard holds up a mirror in which all of our reflections are cast, leading to introspection, self-analysis, identification, self-analysis and ultimately healing. This is a winner." – Frank Nappi, author of "The Legend of Mickey Tussler" (screenplay just completed)

MY SECOND BOOK:
"The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley" is written for young adults, but geared for adults, also. I'm pleased that many adults are enjoying and reviewing it.

"Toonies" is a fantasy sci-fi adventure about cartoon characters who live inside a Silicon Valley boy's computer. The fun and adventure begins when they escape from the computer into the real world.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION (excerpt):
Beware, citizens of Silicon Valley--the bad Toonies are on their way. Led by the evil ape-bird, Dab, the Mischief Makers have escaped from Computer Cartoon Land. They are skulking in the shadows, ready to pounce. Dab will do anything to stay in the real world, so makes plans to take over Orange Computer, then Grape Computer, Banana ... and then the world.

Thanks to Uncle Wom (Wise Old Man and leader of Cartoon Land), the good Toonies aren't far behind. Uncle Wom and a cartoon teen, Doog, have come to help Jeremy Kern, a young newspaper cartoonist--the only human who can save Silicon Valley. Steve "The Woz" Wozniak, co-founder of Orange Computer, gets involved when the bad Toonies take over the supply building at Orange headquarters. This is a story of good versus bad ... Doog versus Dab.

AN EXCERPT FROM TWO REVIEWS:
"Between the unique description of the Mischief Makers, and the distinctive "good guys", it was reminiscent of some of Baum's magnificent creations in his classic Oz series…" – T. Burger, Top 100 Amazon Reviewer

"Already a cult classic!...Combining the elements and themes of a classic fantasy with freshly imagined characters in a thoroughly modern setting, the author has created an engaging children's story that will hopefully become a series. I have to believe that most children in this computer-driven age would really get into this "animated" book. Parents will appreciate the message and underlying values. (I'd love to take my grandchildren to see the Toonies movie!)" – Linda Collison, author of "Star-Crossed"

MY FIRST BOOK:
"Millennium Babe: The Prophecy" is written for a general audience and I'm delighted with the broad section of society represented by the people reviewing it.

"Babe" is a mystery adventure with supernatural touches. It starts with a startling prophecy about the first baby to be born in the new millennium.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION:
World chaos erupts when David Wetterman--a popular Silicon Valley weatherman--makes a startling prophecy about the first baby to be born on January 1, 2001: Countries fight over "The Millennium Babe"; expectant mothers are terrified; abortion rates accelerate. "The Prophet" becomes an international celebrity, forced into hiding when some VIPs threaten his life. With his remarkable TV director, Bitsy Blodgett, by his side, the apocalyptic countdown to the third millennium begins.

AN EXCERPT FROM A REVIEW:
"...a kind of innocence reminiscent of Vonnegut, though not as acerbic....Ms Dravis grabs you with the skill of a surgeon who doesn't want you to know you're being operated on." - Chaz Thompson, author of "No One Ever Gets Sick in Springfield"

11. Where can people go to buy your books?

1106 GRAND BOULEVARD:
http://tinyurl.com/2b3rko

The TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY, April 2005:
http://tinyurl.com/ywfvog

MILLENNIUM BABE: THE PROPHECY, December 2000, Xlibris:
http://tinyurl.com/ys9c23

"Amazon Shorts" Best-selling short stories:
http://tinyurl.com/2n7wmp


12. Please include URLs to your website, blog, MySpace page, Facebook page, etc.

WEBSITE:
http://bettydravisauthor.googlepages.com/

AMAZON PROFILE:
http://tinyurl.com/ytsb6c

INTERVIEW:
http://thesop.org/index.php?article=14013

GOODREADS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/344855.Betty_Dravis

MYSPACE:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=102629774

SHELFARI:
http://www.shelfari.com/bettydravis/lists/Wish?ec=7D8C031228CT4S18410

YA Y NOT (the official network for TeensReadToo.com):
http://yaynot.ning.com/profile/BettyDravis

CONTEST:
Enter to WIN a copy of Betty Dravis's 1106 GRAND BOULEVARD

To enter:
Please leave a comment on either Part 1 or Part 2 of Betty's interview. Be sure to include your email address so Betty can reach you if you're selected as the winner.

The winner will be selected at random by Betty from all comments posted on or before Thursday, December 18th, and the winner will be announced on Friday, December 19th, 2008. Good luck!

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Part 1 of an interview with Betty Dravis, author of 1106 Grand Boulevard

I am aways interested in other authors, how they got started and what their life has been like, and today I'm very pleased to introduce you to a lovely, great friend of mine, author Betty Dravis. Betty will be giving away one of her books, so be sure to read Parts 1 & 2 of her interview to find out how you can enter. ~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song

1. Hi, Betty, and welcome to The Write Type ~ Multi-Author Musings. I'm glad you agreed to this interview because I have found you to be a very interesting person who has had some unique experiences. Please tell us when you first knew you wanted to be a writer and a little about your first paid writing job.

Thanks for the kind words, Cheryl. I'm happy to do an interview with such a talented, charming person as you. It's my pleasure. As for my writing, I started with a few poems in elementary school and was encouraged by my parents and teachers, so I began to take courses that helped in that field. I didn't take writing seriously until I had a few of my six children and sort of fell into a writing job for the Sacramento Sporting News. I wrote short articles about local athletes, so that was my first paid writing job. I received the huge sum of $15. per free-lance article.

2. I am very intrigued (and a bit jealous) that you interviewed the legendary actor, Clint Eastwood. I know you get asked about this a lot, but how did this interview come about? Can you recall some of your questions and Clint Eastwood's answers? How did you feel interviewing him?

Yes, I get asked about my famous (lol) interview with the great Clint Eastwood a lot. I met Clint through June Cheim, a woman he had gone to school with. It was after his role of Rowdy Yates for the TV series Rawhide and during his "Spaghetti Western" days when he was first becoming a major star. Clint was in town as June's houseguest and she asked him to grant me an interview because she enjoyed the story I'd done about her for a Halloween edition of the East San Jose Sun for whom I wrote a weekly column at the time. I asked Eastwood the general questions about his wife and career, such as how he enjoyed the "Spaghetti Westerns" and what movie he was currently working on. I can't recall what movie it was, but I do recall that he and his first wife, Maggie, were expecting their first child at the time. I met Maggie, too, but got no photos with her.

Now, Cheryl, I was a young woman interviewing a handsome, sexy movie star, so how do you think I felt interviewing him? I was aglow with pleasure, and nervous at first, but he put me at ease right away. He was so charming and down-to-earth, after five minutes with him I felt as though I'd known him all my life. I get teased a lot because he curled his long fingers around my neck in the photos June took and he's looking at me as though he adored me. I should be so lucky….lol…I treasure that memory and posted a story about my feelings before and after the interview on my website. In case any of your fans would like to read it, the link is: http://bettydravisauthor.googlepages.com/

3. Who else have you interviewed that we might recognize? Tell us a bit about that interview?

I've interviewed a number of celebrities during my pre-novelist journalism career, including another legend Jane Russell, a movie star of the forties/fifties era. It was about 1970 that I met Ms. Russell at Trader Vic's in San Francisco for the interview. I was editor of The Gilroy News Herald in Gilroy, California and was just as excited to meet her as I was Eastwood a few years earlier. The most memorable thing about the interview was that I ended up late due to a road spill and she graciously granted me extra time. I also write about that on my website (link above). In addition to Russell, I've interviewed actor Dale Robertson, singer/actress Tanya Tucker, and many politicians, including Senator Ted Kennedy, the late San Francisco Mayor Joe Alioto and the late Speaker of the House "Tip" O'Neill…the list goes on. Oh, one of my very favorites was the late Cesar Chavez whom I met on a number of occasions; he was the heroic founder of the United Farm Workers, as you know.

4. How long did it take you to write your first novel and what kept you going and motivated?

It took me a year to write my first novel, "1106 Grand Boulevard", which incidentally was the third to get published. It's my longest novel to date, coming in at over 100,000 words. It's a "faction" story, a highly dramatized version of the life of my beautiful older sister Billie and her seven marriages. It's my most recent release and is centered around our childhood home in Hamilton, Ohio…the actual address being the book's title. My sister's enthusiasm helped keep me going on that one, plus my own natural work ethic and "sticktoitiveness." Having owned my own newspaper until my retirement, I was geared to deadlines, so developed an ingrained habit of "keeping my nose to the grindstone." During my entire journalism career I always longed to write novels, so the determination to see my name on the cover of a book and to hold one in my hand kept me writing and writing and writing.

5. How did you find a publisher? How was the publishing experience and how did it feel to hold your first book.

The first novel I published was "Millennium Babe: The Prophecy." Since it was a new millennium book with a timely topic that for commercial reasons needed to be out before January 1, 2001, I had no time to go the traditional route of submitting to mainstream publishers, so my daughter had that one published with Xlibris, a POD publisher which is a subsidiary of Random House.

OMG, Cheryl, it felt wonderful holding "Babe" in my hand. I was as proud as I was when I had each of my children and held them in my hands. It's an awesome feeling, as you know, being an author yourself. I was like a little kid with a brand new toy, and I thought my blue-and-white cover was the prettiest in the world….lol

6. Please share with us your writing and promoting routine? When and where do you write?

I write anywhere and everywhere I can. The same with promo! I always write on my computer and I write about three hours daily. Since I have a large family and also write reviews for Midwest Book Review and Amazon, I write in between a variety of "real life" happenings, but I try to devote at least two hours daily to writing on one of my WIPs (works in progress, as you know).

My promoting is mostly on the Internet with various writers' groups, such as YA Y Not?, Teen Lit Authors, The Red Room, and readers' groups like GoodReads, Shelfari, Student Operated Press and Amazon. I also visit local bookstores, libraries, TV and radio stations to acquaint them with my books. And mustn't forget your very own BookAdz.com…lol

...

Read Part 2 to find out more about the intriguing Betty Dravis.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Reviewer compares Whale Song to The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

I was recently interviewed for The Student Operated Press by Chase Von, a two time war veteran, retired Marine and author. He then went on to read my novel Whale Song.

Chase posted an interesting review of Whale Song on Amazon.com, and compares my novel to The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller and also to The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

"The book me and others read in the field and knew it was a sure fire, can't miss gift for those we loved for Christmas...is called "The Note Book" by Nicholas Sparks. "Whale Song" is not only that good... It just might be considered by some, better." -- Chase Von

You can read Chase's review on Amazon.com.

Please read the interview I did with Chase too.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,

http://www.cherylktardif.com/

'Dare to Dream and Dream BIG' - the motto I've lived by

Note: Ironically, my post ties in to Karen's just below. You know you're addicted to blogging when you still post something even though you've been suffering from major food poisoning for the past 2 days. This is the first day I've left the house and that was to go to the doctor for tests and medication. And we leave for Vegas on Monday...sigh...

Anyway, please enjoy today's post. It was featured on OnceWritten.com.

Daring to Dream Big

I’ve always been a dreamer, and I’ve always believed in dreaming BIG. Ever since I was a young girl, my goal was to become the next Stephen King―or 'Stephanie', at least. It’s been a long, hard journey, but one well worth it, and now I am published and on my way to greater success. I learned that with a dream, anything is possible. With a BIG dream, one never stops reaching higher. This is my story…

Read the rest of my story at OnceWritten.com.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author of Whale Song