What Is Success? Looking At What Makes Your Book Important

The end of the year, you always look back. What I seem to be looking back on is the success I’ve had as an Indie Children’s author. Really pondering, if I had any success at all.

Then, I downloaded an ebook to help with that ever elusive book marketing that all authors are faced with. Again, I think of the choices I made choosing a drama degree instead of marketing which would have fed my love of promotions back in college. I smile about this as I turn back to the ebook. After all, I didn’t find out about this fact until my senior year. Who would change majors then? I get back to the book.

Advanced Book Marketing by E.J. Thornton states an idea. I was considering the answer to being successful as an author. Was I successful? When I read it, I felt the “Ah Ha” moment take hold. At the 9% point in the book, noting of course it’s an ebook, is this quote:
“The third and most important objective of a book is getting it read by someone other than your mother!”

Really, it goes on to state how important it is. In fact, it is the single most important reason why someone writes, that someone, a magical reader that might like and enjoy it, will read your story, book, article, manifesto. And I agree. It is the most important reason in the end. Not that an editor reads and buys it or that you self-publish it, but that you’ve gotten it to the masses of readers out there to read. If you write it and publish it, it will get read.

This brings me to the point of what is success? In terms of being a writer, it must be that someone reads your book. So, if this be true, than anyway that you can get people to read your writing makes it a success. Whether you self-publish, get signed by a small or micropublisher, or even one of the Big 6 publishers, your book will get read. But then, it comes down to numbers. You want a grand, large, mammoth, sizable, humongous, gargantuan amount of people to read your book.

So, then one must reflect, am I successful?

Step one: Yes, you are successful if you have published and people are reading your book. It’s out there, no longer on your shelf collecting dust, or waiting for months in a slush pile at the bottom of an editorial assistant’s desk. Good start.

Step Two: Do you have an internet presence? Website, blog, listings at multiple websites? Interviews on blogs, book reviews, and even the very occasional email or message from an actual reader(of course being the cause for great celebration when ever you get one) all spell success.

Step Three: How great is your success? The measurement of how grand all this is depends on what you want to do with your writing. Of course, having it recommended by the Oprah Book Club might be considered more successful than an interview on a Mom Book Club blog. But, a mention is a mention. Word of mouth is key. The internet is a big mouth. Cram it full of things spoken about your book and soon, hopefully, it won’t shut up.

Did I make it? Am I successful? I answer loudly for the world, yes. 2011 has been an up and down year of success for me. I’ve done interviews, got a few more reviews, sold some books, and participated in a book festival. This all measures as something to promote myself and my books. It’s out there. People are reading it. Oh yes, books. I have two now.

As I look towards the next year, it is filled with the promise of getting my third book out there for others to read. Key to this thought, I have a third book I’m working on. This leads to my overall thought that drives me to keep going, keep writing. Nothing will happen if you don’t do that.

And who knows? With a New Year ready to break forward, anything could happen. But mostly, I’ll keep writing. After all, I have readers waiting for a third book. I don’t want to disappoint them. And that’s the greatest measure of success. I’ve got readers.

Music To Write By

One thing that writers use is music. In the background either on my IPod earphones or playing on the computer, I’ll listen to several different playlists as I write. For some reason, music seems to keep my train of thought going. The music will lead me to places in my mind that I need to capture. So, I wanted to share some of my favorite songs I use to write my stories.

You might already enjoy listening to them, or maybe they’ll be a new discovery for you. Some artists are well known, and some aren’t. But what can I say. I’m a child of the 1980s. So I listen to a lot of New Wave while I write. But I love a lot of the modern artists such as Adam Lambert, Katy Perry, and Lady GaGa. So here is a sample of my playlist.

1) “Firework” by Katy Perry
2) “If I Had You” by Adam Lambert
3) “Sometimes” by Erasure
4) “Out of Touch” by Hall and Oats
5) “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and The Machine
6) “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips
7) “Born This Way” by Lady GaGa

I am using this playlist as I write my third book in the Crystal Keeper Chronicles. Out of this current playlist is springing a labyrinth of mines, a dwarf city, a dragon guide, and more adventures for Wanda. Music will guide me to new ideas and directions in the third book, The Lost Secret of Dragonfire. Time to get back to writing. Enjoy!

Writer’s Village Summer 2011-Shortlisted Story Winner

I’m happy to announce I’ve just been awarded a Shortlisted award for the Writer’s Village Writing Contest Summer 2011. I think it’s a bit like getting an Honorable Mention. It’s a British hosted contest you see.

I don’t get to toot my own horn often. So, I am excited that I’ve won something with my writing. I found a link through one of my writing groups to a summer writing contest for creative writing. I entered one of the children’s picture book stories I’ve been working on. I’ve taken it to some writing conferences, gotten feedback from editors. One of the tips an editor gave me was to rewrite into prose what I tried in sing-song poetry. Good tip. The result is listed on the site.

Writer’s Village Writing Contest Summer 2011-My Shortlisted Winner Listing

http://www.writers-village.org/11-1-turner.php

Writer’s Village Listing for All Winners Summer 2011

http://www.writers-village.org/winners-2011-1.php

The moral of this, if you don’t keep writing, you won’t have anything to enter or sell. So, just keep writing!

J.K. Rowling is Self-Publishing Ebooks through New Pottermore.com Website

Amazing as this sounds, it’s true. J.K. Rowling announced yesterday in a press release and a YouTube video on her new innovative website to be launched in October 2011. It’s called Pottermore.

J.K. Rowling has developed an on-line experience to hearld Harry into the digital age. Armed with new writing material, the website will feature a way to interact with the characters/places/objects found in the Harry Potter books. It will soon include an Ebook Store that will sell the series in ebook format. It is in partnership with Sony and her publishing partner, Scholastic.

What makes this such a phenomenal milestone in self-publishing is that Rowling’s publishers get a percentage for assisting in marketing and promotions. She’s calling the shots now, especially since she owns her digital rights. She is also bypassing big on-line retailers such as Amazon.com, to sell directly from an on-line ebook shop on her website.

What does this all mean? First, I’m stunned. I knew self-publishing was starting a new age, but now that an author as big as J.K. Rowling has started to take advantage of publishing herself, keeping her digital rights, and launching a site like this. There. That stunned moment again.

For children’s authors, it might mean a lot. She has changed the face of children’s publishing and created a series in which she broke and created rules. Now she’s out to create a new publishing platform, shaping a future generation by reaching out through technology. I love the possibilities of what she can do with her site; the building of a Harry Potter world on-line, feedback from her readers, that creative control so often enjoyed in self-publishing and doing things yourself.

I wish her the best, and await to see what will happen next in the publishing world. Look out, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

The HOT Word in Children’s Books- “Apps.”

Apps. This was the buzz word that was mentioned time and again in discussions at the SCBWI S.F. South Regional Writing Conference. I just returned from a fascinating weekend given at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, CA. Adding to the beach charm was the excitement of the digital age and what this could mean to children’s writers.

Apps. stand for an application which can be downloaded to smart phones and tablets. Apps. use multimedia with a format like a picture book, but it moves. There may be games and other media included. This is such a new medium that it can be a huge opportunity for many Indie Authors, esp. picture book authors.

There’s been the talk of how picture books will survive the digital age. From my impressions, parents are looking for things to keep their children occupied and happy. Downloading a children’s app. to a tablet or phone can be a way they can share a new experience in reading together while entertaining their child.

To get started, here are some tips from Rick Richter from Ruckus Media Group. He is president and CEO of Ruckus, and spoke at the conference this weekend. Apps should be respectful to kids and the interactivity should make sense. If you are interested in submitting to Ruckus, he suggested to storyboard your idea. If you are interested in finding out more, the website is www.ruckusmediagroup.com.

Truly, the future of children’s books seems to be morphing before our eyes. Children of the future may be reading from tablets in school and learning from smart phone apps. It is exciting to be at the beginning of it all.

The Season for Good Ghost Stories

Halloween is the season for a good ghost story. I’ve been remembering the days of sitting around a campfire telling tales of ghost hitchhikers and mysterious experiences. How many of you have heard about the guy that picks up a hitchhiker near a cemetery, only to have them disappear from the back seat when reaching the destination? Or the girl with the red ribbon around her neck that doesn’t reveal why it can’t be removed until her husband finally pushes for an answer?

If you’re looking for a good story or two to tell your friends, here are some of the ones I remember best to share. They are some of the good classic ghost stories I remember from back in my day as a kid. Maybe you can share them with your family.

I think one of the spookiest ghost stories is an interactive story that has to be experienced. There are many a slumber party where this was tried. Often, my friends and I scared ourselves in the process. It begins with the legend that if you look in a mirror in complete darkness and say the words “Bloody Mary” three times, the ghost of some murdered girl with a bloody face is suppose to appear.

Did her face ever appear when my friends, giggling wildly, gazed into the bathroom mirror? Um, no. But just the legend and trying it seems to be a good spook, especially at this time of year. Who can say? Maybe it’s actually worked for others, but never me.

Another good story I’ve heard a few times is the hitchhiking ghost. Mostly it’s told around camp fires or in the dark at a slumber party by flashlight. If you want to make it extra spooky, make the setting be more near your current location. Somewhere nearby locations are great for the pick-up point of the ghost.

The legendary story goes like this: A lone driver goes past a spooky location in the middle of the night. They see a hitchhiker, and feel sorry for them. A description of the hiker like dripping wet in dry weather or looking especially white on a warm night could be a good addition to build suspense.

The driver picks up the mysterious hitchhiker. A lot of the time as they talk, it is revealed that some clue, their name or what they were doing is revealed. Next, upon arrival, the hitchhiker has disappeared. The driver, thinking they got out without seeing, goes to the door to check on them. The people in the house are shocked to hear the name of the hitchhiker. The mysterious rider usually has the name of someone who died earlier. Boo.

Lastly, here’s a great spooky story that has so many variations, you could add your own twist to it. A young girl marries a man. She always wears a red ribbon around her neck. Her husband is always curious about the ribbon, and continuously asks her to take it off. She tells him no. There can be several times through their life that he tries. Sometimes they are newly weds where he asks all week. Sometimes he asks her whole life and asks when she’s an old lady. You can always add your own twist. In the end, she gives in and takes off the ribbon. When she does, her head rolls off her shoulders onto the floor. Boo.

Hopefully, this will be a great way to get your ghost stories going during this time of year. Always if someone has heard the story before, let them know it’s a new version or your own version. You could surprise them, or maybe they can add to the story. Enjoy yourself, and have a fantastic, spooky Halloween! Happy Halloween to all my readers and boo!

Link to the Tiffany Turner Website to try out your own Spooky Writing Project.

A New Journey in Research

You never know where research will take you. Well, at least this is what I’ve found out while researching my books. I love to go to different places and find out about legends and myths. There is adventure in exploring an area and using the description as some setting in your book. This is the joy of writing and researching. They seem to go hand and hand, and they are a very creative, fun step in the writing process.

I recently got back from an adventure in London. I wanted to return to the British Museum book room that had a range of information on things in the museum. I learned the book room had been closed and all the books moved to the British Library in another part of London.

So, off I went to investigate. I am proud to announce I’m the new proud owner of a British Library card. The librarian got excited when she learned I was an author researching my third book. And I must say, I did find some interesting legends and myths on dwarves and dragons, which I’m focusing in on the third book. Plus, a changeling will play a pivotal part. So, I researched as much as I could on that.

The third book is turning into an adventure that will involve dwarves. So, I was thinking I needed more than just information about legends. I wanted some hands on experience of something that is closely associated with dwarves, mines.

The next logical step would be to find a mine. Luckily, I live in California, and it is famous for the Gold Rush and the many mines in Gold Country, the Sierra Mountain foothills where much of the gold was panned and mined during the Gold Rush. On July 24, 2010, I headed onto Route 49, the highway that connects many of the gold rush boomtowns. And yes, found myself a gold mine.

The Sutter Gold Mine is located off of the old Route 49 which leads through the old boomtowns. Complete with red construction hat, I was driven on a miners’ transport truck 200 ft. underground. There was a chance to walk around and look at the white quartz. Veins of the quartz contain the gold. It is mined and processed as gold ore. The walls were testimonies to the hard working miners that had blasted out the tunnels I traversed.

Unfortunately, the price of gold dropped to around $200 an ounce, and the mine closed in the early 90s. Of course, now the price of gold is around $1,000 an ounce. Talk of reopening the mine has been going on for 10 years. However since it’s closure, it’s being used to give tourists going through the area a look at a real gold mine, both modern and historical.

When you write a story that often includes crystals, a good exploring research trip wouldn’t be complete without discovering a new kind of crystal. I walked into the On Purpose Higher Awareness Book Store in Sutter Creek, and found a fabulous new crystal stone to inspire me for my next book. It’s called Septarian or “Dragon Stone”. It’s a type of fossil stone that includes clay sediment wrapped with ancient shells that formed together with calcite crystal. I leave the beautifully polished stone on my nightstand to inspire me as I write.

This is why I love researching for my books. You have to bring a little of real life into fantasy to make it believable. To go and experience your settings and base them on real adventures breathes life into writing. Writing from experience is the best way to drive writing, and of course, it makes the research an enjoyable part of the writing process.

Writing Exercise:
What can you research and write about?
Post comments and ideas below, and I can share them in a future blog.

Summer Reading: Important Practice for Any Age

Not often do I go on the day job soap box, but as a teacher I know how important it is to keep your children reading during the summer. So many school budgets have been cut that summer school is becoming a luxury. As it is, only the really low and needy kids will make it into summer school these days. But all children need to practice their reading during the summer. They lose important skills they learned during the school year if they don’t.

So here is a list of some things to consider from a 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade experienced teacher to help you navigate where to start in your child’s reading needs:

1) Let them read for enjoyment.
A lot of parents try to force books on kids which tends to turn them off. Of course, sometimes it’s hard for a child to find what they like. This is actually part of the reading process, and trying lots of different kinds of reading is a skill they practice in school. Take them to the library and let them explore. Try not to limit.

These days there are a lot of different kinds of books to try. New classics have come out since you were a kid. The “Wimpy” kid series, lots of fantasy, graphic novels are some of the new popular areas that were absent 20 years ago. Let your kid “Go for It” and explore. You might discover some new fabulous novels as well.

2) Reading anything is good.
A lot of kids don’t find they enjoy books. But they might enjoy gaming magazines, code books, Highlights for Kids, or other reading enjoyment. Even the internet has vast amounts of reading to explore. Reading has changed it’s venue, and even Ereaders to phones have reading opportunities. Trying lots of different things is key. The summer can be a wonderful time to explore all these vast storage areas of new reading.

3) Practice makes perfect.
Kids are not perfect readers, and need practice. It’s called Independent Reading, and it’s the third prong of reading development. Kids need to read on their own for enjoyment. The summer is a time to really practice and make this third area of reading development key. The more reading children do, the better they will get.

4) Setting up a reading time is helpful.
Kids need routines. Just a basic time for Independent Reading time is a wonderful structure to get kids to practice. It can be chosen by the child or structured into their regular day. 20 minutes seems to be a good starting amount, but can be increased 5 min. each year. I wouldn’t go over 30 minutes during the summer unless your child wants to. Reading Time shouldn’t be torture, but for enjoyment. And if your child starts to want to read longer than the set time, brilliant. They should start to choose more reading time on their own so it doesn’t become a punishment.

In the end, your child should start to be able to enjoy reading whether it’s on the internet, with a book, on the Ereader or even a magazine. Reading should be for fun, and the more practice your child has at that, the more they will want to read.

Tiffany Turner is working on her third book “The Lost Secret of Dragonfire”. Her first and second books, “The Lost Secret of Fairies” and “The Lost Secret of the Green Man” are available on Amazon.com as a paperback and a Kindle Edition. She teaches during the school year in a California Elementary school, and has 13 years teaching experience.

To Error Is Human

Ever wonder about those mistakes you find in books? How could the editor and writer miss them? Little things like in the book, Carrie, Stephen King has the owner of the Kelly Fruit company named Hubert on page 69 and Henry on page 217. Or in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Buckpeak is tied to a tree before Harry and Hermione go back in time. However, when they travel to the past, Buckpeak is tied to a fence.

After reading through a writing blog this morning, I discovered an unusual website. It is called Bookmistakes.com, and there is an impressive list of mistakes found in some famous books.

http://www.bookmistakes.com/best_book.php.

It makes you think that we are all human, no matter how famous the book or author. Everyone makes mistakes. Of course, they are usually found by readers and fans. They are not usually distracted by the processes of writing or never see the pounds of revision that lead up to a novel.

I can relate to some of these mistakes that most likely come out of hours of revision. A character name is changed later in a revision. Often one change is missed. Or when the writer is thinking through all the details, or going from draft to draft, a detail is remembered wrong or confused.

Smallest of details can get by the editor and writer. There is so much detail and description in every book. To error is human. It is the natural course of things. But sometimes, just to find an error is exciting. The thought occurs, ah, they didn’t catch everything. As in Angels & Demons Langdon swims in the water of the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi after a man has drowned. But of course, the fountain only is about one foot deep.

These little mistakes bring out the joy in reading. It’s like being a book detective to find out even authors are human. Because if writers like Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, and Dan Brown can make mistakes, they are just like the rest of us. It makes us all feel a little more human.

Tiffany Turner is the author of the Crystal Keeper Chronicles. Her books can be found at Amazon.com.

Referenced Links for this Post:
Lauren’s World of Mystery Writing
Bookmistakes.com

Is Going to a Writing Conference a Good Idea?

If you’re serious about writing, a conference can set you on the right road. From how to submit, workshops on writing craft,or meeting editors and agents, a writing conference can teach you how to turn writing from a hobby into a working career. But which conference would be the best to start at? How do you know when and where to get started? Here are some tips on what I’ve learned from attending conferences and starting my writing career over the last 5 years.

There are several things to consider when choosing to go a writing conference. The first step is to find a conference for your writing genre. Many conferences are genre or writing market based. Whether you write adult fiction, children’s books, or romance novels, some conferences zero in on your specific writing. This will be a crucial first step so you can find a starting point. If you know what writing you are already doing, this will guide you to the right market and conference.

Another starting point are writing groups. There are several organizations for writers that support with conferences for their members. My writing group, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, is for writers and illustrators in the area of children’s books. Another writing group I’ve heard of is the Mystery Writers of America. Both these groups host their own national and regional writing conferences. Other resources are literary magazines that offer workshops to writers. I’ve been invited to several, including one hosted by Highlights Magazine.

However, sometimes the next factor really comes into play, the cost. I found I get a lot out of the smaller, local chapter conferences than national. The cost also tends to be lower for local chapter conferences. Some literary magazines sponsor workshops. They are helpful for craft, but tend to be very expensive. The higher cost doesn’t mean better. So I suggest to shop around to find the best deal within your budget. Plus, travel costs do need to be factored in, especially if you need to stay in a hotel. Sometimes the local conferences are more cost effective since hotel stays are not needed.

You also need to learn where you are in the writing process. Are you just beginning? Do you have a manuscript ready or you want to find an agent? Not sure where you are at now as a writer? Sometimes just going to a writing conference can sort out all this confusion. The steps of writing and the writing business are presented and reviewed in many conference classes. It will help you discover what part of the writing process you are currently at.

After five years of following this dream, I have two self-published books that are currently selling on Amazon.com, Kindle, Barnes and Noble.com, and Smashwords. I’ve just received a fabulous Kirkus Review for my second book, and I’m working on my third book’s first draft manuscript. Going to writing conferences has allowed me to find out the information I needed to get my dream started. I’ve developed my writing craft, learned how to promote myself, and continue to keep writing books that inspire my readers. In the end, going to a writing conference will pay off for the effort and money put into it. It is all worth it if it contributes to a fabulous book that sells. This is everyone’s dream.

“The Lost Secret of the Green Man” can be purchased at Amazon.com and at Barnes and Noble.com. Both the paperback and a new hardback edition are available. Ebook editions will be available soon.