Life of A Writer

I entered a short story competition at Daily Writing Tips. While the prize is not money, they're giving away two full licenses to an executive edition of WhiteSmoke's writing software, which has a value of $310 each.

When I enter free writing contests, I usually enter the ones for a cash prize, but I'm familiar with the WhiteSmoke writing software, and my budget hasn't allowed me to purchase any of the software yet. Therefore, I knew I'd be extremely satisfied with the prize offered by Daily Writing Tips -- that is if my fiction piece is engaging enough to gain readers' votes and win this short story competition. In fact, if I win, I plan to write a review about the writing software here at Life of a Writer. I've heard good things about WhiteSmoke's writing software, so I'm anxious to try it.

That said, I'd love it if you'd head over to the Daily Writing Tips short story competition and read my fiction piece entitled Last Words. Then, if you enjoyed my short fiction piece and believe it deserves to move on to the next round, please vote for it using the poll that follows the entries. My entry is number 7.

Thank you in advance! Happy reading!

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I’m pleased to be hosting Lillie Ammann on her blog book tour today. Lillie’s romantic mystery novel Dream or Destiny has recently been released. Welcome, Lillie. I’m looking forward to our visit, but I was fortunate to read Dream or Destiny months ago.

Lillie: Yes, when I put out a call on my blog for readers, you responded immediately. I really appreciate that, and I appreciate the valuable insights you shared that helped make the book stronger.

Misti: I know this isn’t your first book. Aspiring authors may be surprised to hear that you asked for input from other people on this manuscript even though you were already a published author.

Lillie: Most published authors I know get feedback from other people. That may be one secret of their success. Often as writers we’re so close to our own work, we can’t see the flaws. And other perspectives can help us develop richer characters and better plots. Every person who read the manuscript helped make Dream or Destiny a better book.

Misti: Your characters are Christians, but the book isn’t primarily a Christian book. Can you share with us how you decided not to write a book for the Christian market?

Lillie: I didn’t sit down and decide I wasn’t going to write specifically for Christian readers. I enjoy Christian fiction like your novel Help from Above. That story and others like it reinforce my faith, and I appreciate being able to enjoy a good story and deepen my faith at the same time. But I write the ideas that come to me --and I believe ideas are from the Holy Spirit.

I heard a sermon one time in which the priest said something that made an impression on me. I believe he was quoting C.S. Lewis, but I haven’t been able to find the quote so this is a paraphrase. He said what the world needs is not necessarily more Christian books but more books written from a Christian worldview. I take this to mean that, while it’s important to nourish the faith of believers, it’s also important to present a Christian worldview to people who would never pick up a book identified as Christian. I pray that readers will see my characters’ faith and be more open to hearing about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Misti: Why did you decide to write about psychic dreams and domestic violence?

Lillie: I saw a TV documentary about a woman who dreams about crimes and uses the information from her dreams to help the police solve the cases. I was impressed that she was able to provide evidence to bring murderers to justice. That idea stayed with me and after a few “what if?” questions, a heroine who dreams about a murder was born. I didn’t consciously plan to write about domestic violence, but as I wrote, abuse became an important part of the storyline. Although I didn’t set out to raise awareness of domestic violence, in retrospect I’m glad that’s what is happening.

Misti: Dream or Destiny has strong characters as well as suspense and a plot that twists and turns. Do you consider yourself a character-driven writer or a plot-driven writer?

Lillie: Very much character-driven. I had a general idea of the storyline. I knew it would be about a woman who dreamed about a murder and that the hero and heroine would team up to solve the crime and in the process fall in love. However, I didn’t know domestic violence would be part of the story, and I didn’t even know who the murderer was until he was revealed at the end of the book! I was very involved with Marilee and David and experienced their emotions as I wrote.

I’m planning two more books based on secondary characters in Dream or Destiny. I’ll focus on developing the characters first and the story will evolve as I write. I know some writers plot in great detail and write an extensive outline before they start a book, but it starts with character for me. Readers have to care about the characters before they care about what’s happening to those characters.

Misti: Thank you for visiting Life of a Writer, Lillie. Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Lillie: I’m delighted to be here, and I’ll be happy to share anything readers are interested in hearing. Just leave a comment with your question. I’ll be back throughout the day to respond to comments. And one lucky commenter will win a copy of Dream or Destiny. Thank you for inviting me to Life of a Writer.

You're most welcome, Lillie. It was a pleasure to host a regular reader, and I wish you the very best on the rest of your blog book tour. I must also add, your book certainly kept me guessing until the very end, which brings me to my next point for all my readers here at Life of a Writer…

If you enjoy reading romantic mysteries, then I encourage you to invest in a copy of Lillie's Dream or Destiny today. I'm pretty sure you'll be as I was and not be able to put the book down. I had to force myself to stop reading so I could get some sleep.

Don't forget, Lillie's giving away a copy of Dream or Destiny to one lucky commenter, so feel free to comment and ask her any questions you may like. The giveaway ends tomorrow, November 4 at 8:00AM (CST), and the winner will be announced here later that day.

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Lillie Ammann is a freelance writer and editor who loves to work with self-publishing authors. She is on a blog book tour for her newly released romantic mystery novel, Dream or Destiny, her second novel and fourth published book. You can read reviews or a free excerpt as well as a tour schedule on her website. Lillie, who blogs at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye, lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband of more than 40 years.

About Dream or Destiny: Marilee Anderson dreams about a murder and wakes to find it really happened. She and David Nichols, the victim’s brother, become the prime suspects. Though they have their secrets and aren’t sure they can trust each other, Marilee and David team up to find the killer in this psychic suspense.

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Congratulations on landing a publisher! Your next step -- whether you chose traditional publishing or print on demand -- will be promoting your fiction novel. Yes, traditional publishers do more in terms of promotion for their authors than print on demand publishers, but the author should do his or her part as well. In fact, all publishers appreciate it more when the author steps up to help, and one great benefit for the author could be bigger royalty checks.

When should you start to promote your fiction novel? Before your fiction novel hits the bookstores is best. Some promotion will take place after your novel hits the market, but today were going to explore three ways you can promote your fiction novel while it’s still in the publishing stages.

Write and distribute press releases. Create a persuasive press release announcing the release of your book. Then distribute the press releases to local newspapers and other media contacts.

Create a media kit. You’ll want to create two media kits: one to send through postal mail and another for your website. Your media kit should consist of a cover letter, a booklist (if you’ve had other books published), press clippings (can be included later if you haven’t gained any yet), your press release, your bio, a color and black and white photo of yourself (headshot), a fact sheet that includes information about your book (release date, ISBN, publisher, etc.), sample questions and answers (in case they want to schedule an interview), a sample chapter or excerpt from your book, a flyer, brochure and your business card. Those are just the essential materials your media kit should include; feel free to add any additional materials.

Plan a virtual book tour. Virtual book tours are becoming popular among many authors, and the majority of them have reported success in sales. While you should wait until your fiction novel is released before beginning your virtual book tour, there’s nothing stopping you from planning in advance. For more information on planning a virtual book tour, read Cheryl Kaye Tardif’s Authors Tour the World With Virtual Book Tours. Cheryl organized her own virtual book tour and then wrote this wonderful article to teach other authors how they can do the same.

And there you have it, Three Ways to Promote Your Fiction Novel Before Publication. This is also the final post in my Fiction Writing Tips series. If you missed any of the topics covered in this series, visit the Fiction Writing Tips Series Table of Contents for a complete list with links.

I’ll announce the winner of the Mentoring Session Contest, which was tied into this series, here, tonight at 11:00 p.m. (CST). I’ll also contact the winner via e-mail so we can get started with the mentoring session.

With that in mind, if you haven’t entered the contest yet, there’s a few more hours left. One way to receive an entry is to comment on this post. Not sure what to say? Why not share your own advice on promoting a fiction novel before publication. Would you like a second entry after leaving your comment? Then subscribe to Life of a Writer for free e-mail updates.

Thank you for sticking with me throughout this long series, and may the Lord bless you with many book sales! Don’t forget to join me here again at 11:00 p.m. (CST) to discover who the lucky winner of the Mentoring Session Contest will be.

Photo credit: Nathan Dainty

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Today was supposed to be the day when the winner of the Mentoring Session Contest was announced, but since I still have three more posts to go in the Fiction Writing Tips series, the winner of the Mentoring Session Contest will be extended to July 18, 2008. So the good news is if you haven't received an entry yet, you can still do so. All the ways to enter can be found here. Remember, one of the ways to receive an entry is to comment on any of the posts in my Fiction Writing Tips series, and the next post for that series is scheduled for Thursday, July 3, 2008.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments area and I'll answer them there.

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Remember back in January when I said I had some surprises in store for you this year? Well, the first surprise was the Help From Above Birthday Contest, which didn't attract the attention I had hoped it would since there were no entries. However, I'm hoping this next contest is much more attractive to you, and yes, it's one of the next surprises I mentioned in January.

With that out of the way, the question now is this: Are you ready for one of my biggest contests ever?! Oh yes, this is the one I made a short announcement about a few weeks ago on Twitter, as well as in my latest fan club newsletter and in the May 2008 edition of Coffee Break for Writers. I've been so excited about this that I had to make a brief mention, and I even prepared a few things ahead of time -- months ahead to be exact.

About a month ago one of my readers e-mailed me, and as I do with all the fans and readers who e-mail me or write me through postal mail, I replied to her with advice and encouragement. But before I replied, I visited her blog and discovered that she -- like many of us -- has a God-given talent, which is why I gave her encouragement; I seen her writing talent through her blog. In fact, I enjoyed her blog so much that I subscribed to it, and her next post was what inspired me to write my first blog series entitled Fiction Writing Tips, which I decided to tie into my Mentoring Session Contest.

As I read the post my reader made on her blog, I also realized my contest could be of great help to her if she decides to enter. Why? Because in that post she said she had finally decided to start writing a book, but she admitted that she didn't know where to start. Not knowing where to begin is common among many aspiring writers who finally decide to sit down and write that book, and that's why I decided to write the Fiction Writing Tips series to go along with the free mentoring session with me via e-mail. And the best news is the free mentoring session will last until the winning writer writes the last word in his or her first -- or next -- fiction novel!

The Fiction Writing Tips series will include information for aspiring and veteran fiction writers, and I truly believe the series should be tied to the Mentoring Session Contest since they're related. Following is what will be included in the Fiction Writing Tips series and the Mentoring Session Contest:

Fiction Writing Tips Series:

1. Writing an outline.
2. Getting to know your characters.
3. Writing the first draft.
4. Editing the first draft.
5. Tips on researching publishers and agents.
6. Free templates.
7. Links to additional reading...
8. ... and anything else that strikes my fancy or is suggested by you.

The first post for this series is planned for May 25, 2008.

Mentoring Session Contest -- Winner Will Receive:

1. Encouragement.

2. Honest (but gentle) criticism of your book, query, synopsis, chapter by chapter outline and press release.

3. Free editing.

4. A list of possible publishers to market your book to.

5. List of possible book reviewers.

6. I'll give you a review of your book, which will be published here as well as on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

7. I'll interview you, and if you're planning a virtual book tour for your book, we can include my interview with you here at Life of a Writer.

8. Marketing advice.

9. A special gift valued at $30. This special gift will be announced at a later date, because I need to check to see how I can purchase a gift subscription first.

Again, this mentoring session will not end until you've written the last word in your book. If it continues over three years, though, I might have to announce an expiration date.

The winner of the Mentoring Session Contest will be announced at the end of the Fiction Writing Tips series. The winner will be drawn from a hat and announced here at Life of a Writer.

If you believe you're ready to write your first -- or next -- fiction novel and would love some help throughout the process, there are four ways to enter my Mentoring Session Contest:

1.Post an announcement about the Fiction Writing Tips series along with the Mentoring Session Contest on your blog, and link that post back to this one. Please link the words Fiction Writing Tips and Mentoring Session Contest.

After you've placed the announcement and a link back to this post using the above-mentioned words, return here and leave a comment with the link to your post. Once I confirm that you've followed the directions above, I'll place your name in the hat for the Mentoring Session Contest.

2. Comment on any of the posts in the Fiction Writing Tips series. You won't be able to do this until I publish the first post in the series, which is scheduled for May 25, 2008.

3. Follow me on Twitter. Once you've completed this task, return to this post and leave a comment letting me know what name you go by on Twitter, so I'll know it was you that followed me.

4. Subscribe to Life of a Writer via e-mail. Within 24 hours after you subscribe, I'll send you an e-mail to let you know you've been entered. At this time, I'll ask for your name, because your name is what I'll use when I announce the winner.

If you perform all four tasks, then you'll receive four entries into the Mentoring Session Contest, increasing your chances of winning. Also note in regards to commenting on the Fiction Writing Tips series, if your comment is of a spam nature, then it won't be published, nor will you receive an entry into the Mentoring Session Contest. If you post an actual comment that adds value and is not spam, then you'll be just fine.

And that, my friends, are the complete details. If you have any questions about the series or contest, or if you have any suggestions for the Fiction Writing Tips series, contact me or leave a comment.

If you don't want to miss any of the posts in the Fiction Writing Tips series, subscribe via e-mail or add Life of a Writer to your favorite RSS reader. Remember, if you subscribe to Life of a Writer via e-mail, you'll receive your first entry in the Mentoring Session Contest. Good luck!

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On March 1st I celebrated the birth of Help From Above, my Christian fiction novel! Wow! I can hardly believe it has been six years since Help From Above was first published! Anyway, to celebrate, I'm running a contest where you'll receive the gift, which is a free autographed copy of Help From Above! This is the first of the surprises that I said was in store for my 2008 goals. Even if you already own a copy, you're still welcome to enter, because this Christian fiction novel makes a wonderful gift! Here are the details:

First, the basics: The contest ends on April 3, 2008 at 12:00 a.m. Central time. The winner's name will be drawn from a hat by yours truly. You will get a chance to have your name placed in the hat four times. Now, are you ready to find out how to enter? Great! Here's how:

1. Announce this contest on your blog. You must place a link to the contest from your blog. Once you've announced the contest on your blog, return here and leave a comment with the URL to your blog, so I can confirm your entry.

2. Subscribe to my RSS feed via e-mail. You must subscribe via e-mail so I can confirm your entry. After you've subscribed, contact me (see the link in sidebar) with your name and the e-mail address you subscribed with. This allows me to associate the name with the e-mail, because the winner will be announced on this blog, and I don't want to make your e-mail address public if you're the lucky one.

3. Head to my website to read the first three chapters of Help From Above free. Next, return here and leave a comment to let me know your thoughts on the first three chapters. Your comment must include a short review based on the first three chapters of Help From Above in order for this entry to be valid.

4. Place an announcement about this contest in your newsletter or e-zine; the announcement must include the link to this contest. After you've placed the announcement in your newsletter or e-zine, contact me (see link in sidebar) with a link to the newsletter or e-zine, or forward me a copy of the newsletter or e-zine that you placed the announcement in. Again, this allows me to confirm your entry.

You can enter using as many of the four aforementioned ways as you wish. For example, if you perform number one and number two, then you'll receive two entries into the Help From Above Birthday Contest, which means your name will be placed in the hat twice. Perform all four and I'll put your name in the hat four times. Sound fair? Then by all means, place your entries before the deadline!

The winner name will be revealed here on April 6, 2008. At that time, I'll provide instructions for sending me your address so I can ship the book to you. By the way, shipping, of course, is free too. Good luck!

Help From Above Birthday Contest Deadline: April 3, 2008, 12:00 a.m. CST.

Photo credit: Flickr

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