That's a Wrap! Blogathon Takeaways & Top 10 Posts

Today marks the conclusion of the WordCount Blogathon - the annual blogging fest where participants agree to post every day in May. I made it -- and it feels great!

Smarter Blogging

It was my second year and I believe I blogged smarter this time around for two key reasons:

• Organization -- I developed an editorial calendar and stuck to it, and because of the calendar I could work ahead (often two posts ahead of schedule).  

 

• Variety -- I tripled the number of guest posts this year and every Thursday, I showcased experts on topics ranging from ways to build a blog following, to factors to consider before self-publishing.

I am proud of the rich content this month on The Writing Well -- I profiled a book charity for soldiers, and featured both a documentary filmmaker and authors in two of the hottest literary genres --YA and fantasy. I also shared my own experiences writing a family memoir and current writing projects in children's memoir and historical fiction. 

Thanks, Michelle!

Thanks to Michelle Rafter, an independent business editor, reporter and blogger, for pulling this event together for the last five years -- you're an inspiration! Every year, we see familiar names and new ones and it definitely feels like a community. This year the blogathon attracted a record 250 bloggers, and many came from outside the U.S.  

Because of the international participation this year, Michelle told me she tried to make the blogathon less U.S.-centric. For example, she started message threads 24 hours ahead to accommodate Asian bloggers.     

"Overall, this year's blogathon was fantastic -- high energy, lots of committed, dedicated bloggers who stuck it out all month long and were rewarded for their efforts with more traffic, comments, and subscribers," Michelle tweeted to me. "At least one blogger got job offers because of her daily blogging. Another writer says daily blogging got him back into the writing groove & as a result, he started working on a novel. Lots of other bloggers used the month to refocus on their blogs, doing redesigns, tweaking details or just stretching their wings.”

I especially want to call out the daily Google Groups postings...They provided invaluable guidance and support, and gave all the bloggers a chance to meet and learn from one another. If you are a writer or blogger, I strongly recommend you subscribe to Michelle's blog, WordCount: Freelancing in the Digital Age.

To wrap-up this year's blogathon, here are my top 10 blogs from The Writing Well for May and the words or quotes that stuck with me.



***************************************************

Memorable Quotes from My Top 10 Blog Posts 

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#1 "When I interviewed Elon Musk for 'Orphans of Apollo,' very few people on the planet would have imagined that SpaceX would have the chance to become the centerpiece of the U.S. manned space program." -- Filmmaker Behind ‘Orphans of Apollo’ Shares Significance of SpaceX's Historic Flight

#2 "Mom knows how to reach me, and I now know how to listen.  It has taken me a long time, but I am writing regularly.  My memoir, Finding My Peace of Faith, is my medicine.  I understand my mother and my Father: 
            Just write.
            And your heart will be healed.
           She is with me.  God is with me.  That’s quite a gift."
-- Guest Blog: Betty June's Gift

#3 "I can almost see Mom and her sisters in my mind's eye...sitting around that porch with the eastern Tennessee mountains over their shoulders, laughing -- their eyes crinkled in merriment. Their spirit still lingers -- built over a lifetime bonding as sisters, mothers and friends."
-- The Bond of Sisters and Moms

#4 "I do remember being in the car one day as I was out running errands and suddenly thought, 'Wouldn't it be funny if the thunder god Thor had to get a job as a photocopier repairman?'"
--Writing YA Fantasy: One Author's Journey

#5 "While first-time authors think the writing is the hardest and most important part, we’d like to say writing is 10% and the marketing is 90% of the work and effort you need to put in."
-- 5 Things to Remember Before You Self-Publish

#6 "Book publishing is simply becoming self-publishing.” -- Self Publishing – The Way Forward? #7 "A blog has to be about something other than you. An issue, a topic, a cause. Something interesting." -- 5 Ways to Build a Blog Following #8 "If you can identify more than five percent of the language you used as being essentially foreign to your normal usage, then you’re not employing your own personality on the page." -- Finding Your Voice #9 "On the bus ride home on Monday he has drawn a 'secret' map; later that day he lists what he will sell his collection of bottle caps for at a garage sale. With the same attention to detail and mathematical process of his math-teaching dad, my son includes type, quantity and a 'bulk' price." -- The Joy of Journaling #10 "When I'm stressed out, I pick up a book and I go somewhere else. Soldiers' stress is far beyond anything I've ever dealt with. They're going through things most people just cannot fathom, and to be able to open a book and go someplace else for whatever period of time, is hugely beneficial." -- Books for Heroes - A Worthy Cause

Wordle Wednesday

Today I am excited to showcase Wordle --  an app that creates “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. Jonathan Feinberg, a Medford, Massachusetts, developer, created Wordle in the summer of 2008.

If you spend a lot of time writing, Wordles can be a fun and creative way to play with words. It's also a great visualization tool for data. The power users for Wordle, I believe, are educators, who consider it an invaluable tool. Terry Freedman, in his 2009 blog post, "Five reasons to use Wordle in the classroom," points out that teachers can leverage Wordles in the classroom to help students summarize the content of their essay. It also provides a means for self-reflection and even assessment. Finally, it gives students a way to present their work with a picture.

More recently, educators are using Wordle in conjunction with an iPad and VoiceThread to enable kids to record their voices as they comprise sentences from their Wordle.

For bloggers, Wordle can demonstrate the dominant words you use for your site. Wordle includes a very cool function that allows you to enter the URL of any website, it then creates a word cloud using the most prominent words on the site, automatically!


If you've never tried to create one, visit Feinberg's easy-to-use site and try it out! You may become a Wordle addict like me.

For general help and advice on using Wordle, there's the Wordle Users Google group, which can be used either over email or via a web interface.

Trailers for Books -- One Agency's Unfettered Approach

Todd Dombrowski, CEO of Book Candy Studios, is sympathetic to the many hats authors have to wear these days given that he's married to a USA Today bestselling author. 

"Ten years ago, all you needed was a website. Now, it's social media, book blog tours, book signings, pr, street teams, prizes and web chats, just to name a few!" 


A Creative Studio is Born 

His path helping authors tell their story in one to two-minute video snippets began by accident. "I remember walking into my wife's office on her birthday back in 2007. She said she wished she had a trailer for her new novel."

Dombrowski at the time ran his own sales and marketing consulting firm working with technology start-up companies. He dove in and helped produce his first trailer for her book. Similar to a movie trailer, a book promo presents just enough of the story visually to entice a reader to want to buy the book, or as his company's tagline reads, “give readers a taste for more.” 

Over the last five years, Book Candy Studios has evolved its voice and style much like authors do in the course of their writing careers.

"Our magic ingredient is we have an unfettered creative process," says Dombrowski, who takes pride in the collaborative spirit that he believes sets Book Candy Studios apart from other literary video-production houses. 

"We don't charge per edit round and we don't micro-manage or cap how many images, video clips, or effects go into the production of the trailer. This frees us and the author to work together to find the emotional voice of the piece that represents the author's vision and speaks to readers. Oh, and have some fun, too!"

The process of creating a digital pallet or lightbox is time consuming, especially if you are sifting through thousands of images to find that 'diamond in the rough' that fits the trailer perfectly. "Authors need to be writing, not searching for photos for their trailer," he says, adding that more time is spent scouring for music than images. "I'm a big believer that music is more important in trailers because it speaks emotionally to the viewer."


Promotion Advice to Authors

So, what is Dombrowski's advice to anyone seeking to get their book exposed to the mass market? "Always align your book promotion to consumer behavior," he says. 

That means don't rely on your author website as your main portal for selling books (it’s more of a post-sales tool to interact and connect with your readers); rather, focus on sites that book lovers troll like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indie Book, and Goodreads for reviews.

"Getting a book sold is 85 percent word of mouth," says Dombrowski. He believes reviews from real readers also spur sales.

These days, Dombrowski is turning his attention to the escalating issue of book piracy. He considers this a property rights issue for writers, and observes that the worst instances of this outlaw practice originate in China, Russia, Malaysia and Indonesia. He hopes this year to educate 500 authors through an author self-defense class on how to fight back. 

He also helps authors publicize their works on his company’s Facebook page by hosting "Open Book Fridays" where authors can post a short blurb about their book.

I'm impressed with the quality of the trailers I've seen from this Georgia-based creative start-up. I like the fact that the last thing you see on Book Candy trailers is the author's name, not the company that produced the piece. 

Book Candy Studios also is the only creative agency I know of that offers a one-year window to do two free upgrades. That means authors can make two updates to their trailer at no charge -- pretty compelling since it significantly adds to the shelf life of the video if you can add a blurb that your book is on a bestseller list or has made "Pick of the Week" by Publisher's Weekly.

Check out these Book Candy trailers, and judge for yourself if they make you want to add these titles to your cart on Amazon.

Jeaniene Frost – Urban Fantasy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxiDLcSCP9g

Alexandra Hawkins - Historical Romance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c8VLqWEqEU

Richard Bard - Mystery Suspense
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qXNle1KsZM

E.G. Foley - Children's/YA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USeQxDTSEdk

Bri Clark - Paranormal Romance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBR-psxETX8

Books for Heroes - A Worthy Cause

Soldiers in Iraq after receiving requested authors and titles.

No soldier should be without a book.

That simple sentiment spurred Atlanta area bookseller George Scott to launch Books for Heroes, a charitable foundation that ships books to soldiers free of charge.

The idea for the charity began in 2003 when a soldier walked into a bookstore Scott was managing at the time and purchased $96 in magazines. At the checkout, he asked Scott for a box. "I told him I would give him a box if he told me why he wanted it. He said his buddy was in Iraq and had nothing to read."

That afternoon Scott told a customer he was going to ship books to soldiers in Iraq, and that customer wrote Scott a check for $100 to start him off. Scott recalls how she returned 30 minutes later after talking to her husband, an accountant. "I thought she would want the check back. But, he told her to turn the car around and write me a check for another $400. I used my employee discount to buy $500 worth of books that day to ship to soldiers."

Scott, who is now co-owner of Peerless Bookstore in Alpharetta, Georgia, finds it hard to believe how far the charity has come since that first day.

"The idea has definitely blossomed - it has become something far greater than I ever thought it would become. It hit me when Random House said they were going to clean out a closet then sent me two pallets. The pallets arrived on my day off and the store employees called me, saying that two pallets of books outside the door and they couldn't get them through the door."

Girl Scout Troop 712 volunteering at Books for Heroes.

Thanks to the generosity of numerous book publishers, bookstore customers and trucking firms, Books for Heroes has shipped 20,000 books to armed forces overseas. In May, the charity got a major boost when bestselling author James Patterson donated  200,000 of his own books to soldiers through the charity. The unprecedented donation drew the attention of Publisher's Weekly.

Peerless Book Store’s shopping center has loaned storage space for some of the 62,000 books in Alpharetta. Nineteen volunteer JROTC members showed up at the Books for Heroes storage space to help unload the books as they arrived, before being distributed to Afghanistan, VA hospitals, and U.S. military bases. For the latter, 10 bases were selected to receive a few thousand books each, with Fort Benning in Georgia already receiving its shipment.

Scott says his goal with Books for Heroes is to make sure that every VA hospital in the country has a library for soldiers who will never leave the hospital.

"I also want to make sure soldiers with boots on the ground have books to read. Soldiers that are in countries who cannot go to a neighborhood bookstore because there isn't one and if there is one, it's not in English."

Scott firmly believes books provide something our men and women in uniform need: stress relief. "When I'm stressed out, I pick up a book and I go somewhere else. Soldiers' stress is far beyond anything I've ever dealt with. They're losing their friends right next to them. They're going through things most people just cannot fathom, and to be able to open a book and go someplace else for whatever period of time, is hugely beneficial."

George Scott (center) with author Alex Walker, Lastada Trucking co-owners John and Jamie Lastada, and Devin Rader.

Looking for a way to say thanks to our military servicemen and women? Give the gift of books.
Books for Heroes welcomes financial contributions to buy requested book titles and to help defray postage costs.

Mail donations to:
Books for Heroes
P.O. Box 767339
Roswell, GA 30076

Relaxing Reads: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

The Writing Well is devoted to book reviews or recommendations every Sunday in May. Last year for Memorial Day I paid tribute to "Three Must Reads of the War-time Experience:"

-- The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
-- A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin
-- War by Sebastian Junger

The post included book excerpts and author interview clips. With tomorrow being Memorial Day, I wanted to feature a work that memorably speaks to our national story.

One book emerged as an easy choice: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
      

Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the exhaustively researched biography has been called "a brilliant portrayal of our best president" and "the bible of the Civil War era and of Abraham Lincoln." I couldn't agree more.

Kearns Goodwin spent 10 years researching and writing Team of Rivals. She does a masterful job retelling the story of Lincoln's unlikely rise to president and his gutsy decision to surround himself with his former rivals -- William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates after winning the 1860 Republican nomination. This excerpt, set on the morning of May 18, 1860, the day of the Republican nomination, perfectly captures the view of Lincoln as the undisputed underdog:

 "There was little to lead one to suppose that Abraham Lincoln, nervously rambling the streets of Springfield that May morning, who scarcely had a national reputation, certainly nothing to equal any of the other three, who had served but a single term in Congress, twice lost bids for the Senate, and had no administrative experience whatsoever, would become the greatest historical figure of the nineteenth century."   


This work offers a rare glimpse into our 16th president, showing Lincoln's ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, and to understand their motives and desires. The new president deliberately surrounded himself with individuals from differing political leanings and ideologies.  In the process, he earned the respect and devotion of his former foes.

A key player in the book is Edwin B. Stanton, who treated Lincoln with contempt  the first time the two crossed paths -- during a celebrated law case in the summer of 1855. In spite of Stanton's demeaning behavior, Lincoln offered him the most powerful civilian post --that of secretary of war-- when they met again six years later. Stanton was Lincoln's closest adviser during the Civil War and at Lincoln's death, he uttered the famous words, "Now he belongs to the ages," and lamented,"There lies the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen."

 

The popular press took note of President Obama taking a cue from his presidential idol when he embraced former political foe Hillary Rodham Clinton as his Secretary of State. Business leaders are constantly speaking to the need for creativity and specifically, diverse ideas, to drive success. Clearly, Lincoln intuitively knew a leadership principle that offers lasting lessons to our often-polarized business and political world. 

Watch Jim Heath's interview with Kearns Goodwin about Team of Rivals.  During the interview, she talks about why Lincoln is her favorite president and her view of "Lincoln," Steven Spielberg's upcoming film adaptation of her book. Spielberg pledges that the film will be released after the 2012 presidential election. Daniel Day-Lewis will play the lead role. Other cast members include Sally Fields, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tommy Lee Jones.   

Kearns Goodwin has said, "Once a president gets to the White House, the only audience that is left that really matters is history."

Thanks to her painstaking biography, the political life of our most remarkable president is clearly illumined. 

The Magic of Family Ties and Memoir Writing

My five-year-old daughter was very proud of this portrait she created of our extended family.  "Make four copies and give them to Aunt Lisa, Uncle Mike, Uncle Matt and Grandpa," she instructed me earlier this week while putting her crayons away. I chuckle now when I think of this exchange, and today I share her creation with my siblings -- at least digitally.   

Three of us with Dad...the growing-up years.

Family ties are a magical thing...if you are lucky, you can depend on your family in good times and bad. I've been very fortunate in that department; I consider my brothers and sister much more than siblings, but close confidantes. Even though my brothers live in other states, and I wish we could be together more often, I know they've always got my back.


Virtually all books have something to say about the powerful connection of family in shaping who we become or -- in some cases -- don't become. Writing down childhood memories creates a wonderful  legacy to leave the next generation, and even those who faced painful childhoods can often heal themselves and others through their stories.

In an interview with The Economist, Secretary of the Royal Society of Literature and Literary Editor of Intelligent Life Maggie Ferguson said the best memoirs pull you in from the beginning.  "The disaster with memoir is when it sells sentiment. I think it's a disaster if you are settling scores with other people. There has to be generous root." 

Here are two memoirs -- one published back in 2005 and one coming out next week -- worth a closer look:


The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer -- a poignant memoir about a boy striving to become a man, and his romance with a bar. A national bestseller, The Tender Bar was named one of the New York Times' 100 Most Notable Books of 2005.

Blue Nights by Joan Didion -- to be released May 29th - is described as "a work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter." This book already is getting significant acclaim as a New York Times Notable Book.  Didion shares memories from own childhood and married life, as she reflects on her daughter’s life and on her role as a parent. She grapples with the candid questions that all parents face.

This Coming Memorial Day: Time to Reflect

Army helicopter pilot Mark Clotfelter.

Today marks the final Friday I'm hosting a guest blogger from my writer's group.  Susan Clotfelter Jimison, a full-time book store owner and part-time writer, is working diligently on a war-time family memoir. Her brother Mark, an Army helicopter pilot who served in Vietnam, and her cousin, John Donovan, a WWII Flying Tiger, paid the ultimate price for their country and coincidentally, were lost 1,000 kilometers from each other in the same country.

 
Jimison’s family story was first published in the October 2005 issue of Vietnam Magazine. She hopes to keep the memory of her two family members alive by telling their stories and preserving their legacy.

                Growing up, I think we take our siblings somewhat for granted. That is until something snatches it away from you. Your life is forever changed and you can’t get those “taken-for-granted” days back.

            I grew up in South Florida with three sisters and one brother. In the 60’s we didn’t lock our doors, we played outside until we couldn’t see anymore because it got too dark. We were not allowed to say “shut-up!”  and we were happy just having an A.M. radio!  Seems like a long time ago considering locking our doors is now not enough--- we have alarm systems connected to people who will alert the police for you, if need be. Children don’t play outside as much anymore because of all the gaming and computers hooked up to wireless connections. No one listens to A.M. radio unless it’s talk radio with politics or classical music.

            It was a long time ago that I lost my only brother in a war that was fought in a country we had trouble locating on a map. Every night the war played out on out television through the news accounts of anchors like Dan Rather and Walter Cronkite, who told us the good, the bad and the ugly going on in Vietnam. At thirteen years old it is very hard to understand the why’s and where’s of war until someone comes to your door to tell you that your brother is never coming home.

            If only I had “said this” or “said that” has been with me for forty-three years -- almost twice as long as my brother Mark was alive.

            On this Memorial Day, I hope you will take a moment out of your busy holiday weekend and remember our fallen from past and present wars. That really is the reason behind the three- day weekend, not sales and BBQs. Our war dead were all a member of someone’s family and there is someone still grieving at this loss, whether it was a year ago or forty three.

            And when you get to that family cookout, I hope you will look at your siblings differently and maybe not put off telling them how much you love them.

           

Writing YA Fantasy: One Author's Journey

Cover photo by: Rachel Hadiashar

"I'm not experimenting, Opal. I know what I'm doing."

"Umm… Yeah." Opal glanced at Sally's burnt thumb and then at the wrinkles on her face and the streaks of gray in her hair. "If you say so. But what I was going to say is that I've been casting spells for a lot longer than you, and nothing like this ever happened to me."

"Yeah, I get it. I'm cursed. I'm a horrible witch. Instead of calling it Odin's Spell of Magickal Return, maybe I should rename it something like Wrinkled Sally's Spell of Outrageous Doom."

                                    -- Chapter 5, "Valhalla," by Jennifer Willis

Given the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter franchise, the Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games, it's not surprising that two of the hottest writing genres today are fantasy and young adult. Jennifer Willis, a fellow WordCount blogathoner, has combined both beautifully in her action-packed YA urban fantasy, "Valhalla," which was released in April 2011.  

"My fiction-writing interests include kooky stuff — frustrated witches, vampires, old gods having to work as photocopier repairmen," says Jennifer, who originally drafted "Valhalla" in November 2008 during National Novel Writing Month. This writing challenge, known by the acronym NaNoWrMo, pushes participants to crank out a 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month’s time.

Jennifer currently is revising "Iduna's Apples,” the second of what will be a four-part series for “Valhalla," which she hopes to publish this summer.

"Valhalla" opens with 16-year-old Sally Dahl, a rare, modern-day Norse Witch with more power than she realizes. Playing sick from school in Portland, she's casting rune spells during a rare astronomical convergence to bring about a better, happier planet -- and hoping her parents don't find out. 

What Sally doesn't know is that the Norse gods are still around, albeit without their divine powers -- Odin is a high school principal, and blustering Thor is about to lose yet another job as a photocopier repairman. But Heimdall has the perfect cover as a forest ranger while he and his kin hunt for the newly reincarnated World Tree and try to prevent Ragnarok, the literal end of the world that could be timed to the same alignment of stars.

Instead, Sally stumbles across Managarm the Moon Dog, a lost god who seems desperate for her magickal help. But does he really share Sally's vision of a more peaceful world, or are his intentions much, much darker? And what can she do about the ancient Berserker warriors she accidentally calls up, who pledge their allegiance and then demand junk food runs to Voodoo Doughnut and Burgerville?

What sparked the idea for “Valhalla?”

I'm afraid I don't recall when the full idea really congealed. But I do remember being in the car one day as I was out running errands and suddenly thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if the thunder god Thor had to get a job as a photocopier repairman?" I didn't know all that much about Norse mythology at the time, and I let the idea sit for a bit until National Novel Writing Month drew near again. I did a bit more research, brainstormed with another writer friend to have the Yggdrasil be central to the story, and just went exploring from there.

Who is your favorite character and why?

Probably Freya. I love how grounded and reasonable she is, even with her mystical strengths.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing this story?

I'd have to say the third rewrite was the biggest challenge. I retooled pretty much the entire story, eliminating a number of characters and introducing new ones. For instance, Sally—the 16-year-old witch who is central to the Valhalla story—started out as a fifty-something church secretary, if you can believe it.

What do you hope readers will get from reading this book?

Honestly, I just hope readers will have fun with the story. Sure, there's probably a moral in there about not being afraid to reach out for help and about having the courage to face your fears, and possibly a warning against arrogance, but mostly I wrote Valhalla as a playful story that readers of nearly any age can enjoy.

Was this a departure for your other writing projects?

Yes. My previous novel (Rhythm, released in 2001) was much more serious in tone, and while I make my living as a writer, most of that work had been of a technical and journalistic nature up to that point. I'd not written true urban fantasy before, and I've found that I like it quite a bit.

What fantasy books/authors have been an influence in your writing?

I do read a lot and often am immersed in multiple titles at a time. My favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut. These days, I also read a lot of Arthur C. Clarke, Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Robert J. Sawyer, Orson Scott Card, and Libba Bray, and I have recently discovered authors like Octavia Butler and John Scalzi.

Any advice to writers who want to write YA and fantasy? 

I think one of the biggest hurdles to new writers is simply getting started. If you're interested in trying your hand at novel-writing, I highly recommend giving National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org) a shot. It comes around every November and challenges participants across the globe to pen a first draft (50,000 words) in 30 days. This offers both a framework—e.g., structure, deadline, etc.—for doing the work, as well as worldwide support (and commiseration) through the online forums.

Other than that, another key piece of advice would be this: READ. Read anything you can get your hands on. Branch out and pick up a title by a new author. Figure out what you like and what you don't like about the stories you're reading and the styles in which they're written. Let your own voice emerge from there.

Do you recommend that writers go straight to e-publishing, or do a combination of traditional print/e-publishing?

That's really a personal decision, and a lot of it will be based on an individual writer's immediate circumstances as well as his/her long-term business and writing goals. I chose e-publishing for Valhalla because of timing. In the early months of 2011, the manuscript was making the rounds with various agents and publishers and was getting positive feedback, but then I found out about the Thor movie that was coming out that spring. I realized that even if everything moved smoothly with traditional publishing, I was looking at probably two years before Valhalla hit bookstore shelves. If I wanted to take advantage of the unforeseen coincidence of the movie's release, I had to move immediately.

Both of my novels are available as e-books and in print. Not everyone has—or wants to use—an e-reader, so I do advise that self-published e-books be supplemented in print by setting up a print-on-demand title via a service like CreateSpace or Lulu.

There are a number of established, "traditional" authors who make a strong case for indie publishing—not the least of whom is J.A. Konrath (read his "Newbie's Guide to Publishing": http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/). The industry is very much in flux right now, and it will take a while for things to shake out, but I do believe that the new opportunities for both emerging and experienced writers to do publishing independently will benefit storytelling—and readers—in the long run.

About Jennifer Willis

A native Virginian who makes her home in Oregon, Jennifer Willis tends to write stories set in one of these locales.  She's also a freelance journalist and essayist, whose byline has appeared in The Oregonian, The Christian Science Monitor, Salon.com, The Portland Tribune, The Writer, Ancestry Magazine and other online and print publications at home and across the globe. Reach her on her website or follow her on Twitter.

“If I started blogging today, I would….”

This question, posed to bloggers taking part in the WordCount Blogathon, got me thinking about what I would do differently if I was starting over.

I launched my blog  in October 2009. In that time, I’ve written 100+ posts that attracted just under 135,000 page views, according to my Blogger analytics page.  My all-time most popular post, with 555 page views, was “One writer’s take on 9/11, the death of bin Laden and Obama’s defining speech.”

I’m pretty happy with my blog’s focus – namely, writing and storytelling. It fits my interests and the focus is broad enough for me to always have things to write about…from book and film reviews, to my journey as a writer, to interviews with authors and other storytellers.   I haven't been shy about showcasing different perspectives and experts. This week, I featured "Orphans of Apollo" filmmaker Michael Potter. I consider that a huge coup since I'm a space geek, and I also have been lucky to interview authors Jedwin Smith and Jeffrey Stepakoff.

Nevertheless, here are five things I wish I'd done with my blog from the start:

Better define my unique “voice.”  

This is a toughie…but it’s critical if you want to stand out in the blogosphere. I think that’s why my bin Laden post was so popular…it definitely had a point of view.   One blogger who really has mastered "voice" is Guy Bergstrom, who writes the Red Pen of Doom (the evil secret to all writing is editing), and appeared on my blog last Thursday. Writer Jeff Goins, in a guest post on ProBlogger, suggests a good exercise -- to brainstorm a list of 10-20 personality attributes that you want your blog to have, and then cut it down to three to five key aspects that represent your blog’s voice.

Show up more often. 

I am bad about dropping off the radar unless I have the accountability of a blog challenge or something that I really want to say. I know I need to be more present to build an audience and have them want to come back.

Take more risks.

This goes hand in hand with building your own voice. But, I also mean editorially speaking, putting yourself out there more:  Be provocative. Take a stand. Use humor (when appropriate). 

Embrace guest blogging.

I first tried this out last year with two guest posts. This year I’ve tripled that number and am appearing three times on other people’s blogs. Guest blogging is a great way to minimize blog burnout, while introducing new voices and broadening your exposure.   

 

 

Really leverage social media.

I’m only now beginning to catch on to leveraging Twitter and other social media sites. If you quote a well-known author, let them know!  I tweeted my book review of The Mermaid Chair to Sue Monk Kidd, and she tweeted back, saying she agreed with my takeaway of her book. A week later I posted a link to my blog on Les Egerton’s Facebook wall indicating I had quoted him. He immediately left a comment on the post. I’m still not good at using “hashtags” that mark a keyword or topic in a tweet. I’m probably missing audience members by not using hashtags every time I tweet a post. The next phase of all of this would be building an online community like Michelle Rafter has through this blogathon...really engaging your target audience and making them part of the dialogue.


What lessons did you learn as a first-time blogger? I’d love to hear them.

  

Filmmaker behind ‘Orphans of Apollo’ Film Shares Significance of SpaceX’s Historic Flight

This morning's launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral marks a new era in space exploration. SpaceX’s bold move to rocket the first private spacecraft to the International Space Station brings new inspiration to space entrepreneurs around the world.      

I had the honor to talk with one of those space visionaries – Michael Potter, a founding alumnus of the International Space University, who I recently interviewed while writing a story for Via Satellite Magazine.

"Orphans of Apollo" Filmmaker Michael Potter.

Potter brings a unique perspective to today’s events as the documentary filmmaker behind “Orphans of Apollo,” the extraordinary true story of a rebel group of entrepreneurs who seized command of the Russian Mir Space Station in what could be considered the boldest business plan the Earth has ever seen.

At the center of the film is 'MirCorp' -- the very first entrepreneurial company to have a sole focus on the privatization of space with a fantastic vision of transforming the Russian space station into an outpost for what was intended to be the first phase of a trillion dollar business. The project was to include mining of asteroids, gravity-free laboratories, a space 'hotel', and a research facility. MirCorp was the ultimate start-up company.

“This film is an enthralling glimpse into space, and into the minds and hearts of people trying to get into it. Footage of rocket launches and of life on Mir is interspersed with interviews with the key players about the technical challenges, political wrangling, and business plans. We feel the excitement (and fear) of their project and get a sense of the mood in Russia and the U.S. after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” Janet D. Stemwedel, Ph.D., wrote on her blog, Adventures in Ethics and Science, soon after the film debuted. 

Here, Potter talks candidly about the lasting dream of space born during the Apollo program, highlights while filming “Orphans of Apollo,” and the significance of SpaceX’s historic flight.

Do you remember the Apollo space flights growing up? Was it a defining time, instilling in you a lifelong interest in space?

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface. Photo by Neil A. Armstrong, 1969.

I was eight years old when humanity journeyed to the Moon. I was definitely part of the Apollo generation. Kennedy sold the world on the need for space exploration and development. And when President Nixon shut down the Apollo program, and the U.S. government gave up on the space vision and dream, my generation became, "Orphans of Apollo."

Why did you decide to tackle this topic in the form of a documentary?

Because, I was one-degree of separation from all the key players in the story, I felt an extra inspiration and responsibility for curating the story and bringing the story to the world's attention. I felt that it was such an important and iconic story it needed to be told.

Initially, I introduced the story to a well known documentary filmmaker, who was interested, but was keen that I do all the heavy lifting. So, I decided to embark on the film as a complete independent project.

What was the most powerful moment for you personally over the course of making “Orphans of Apollo?”

There were a handful of moments of profound Epiphany in the making of the film.

• The extraordinary openness and pride of the Russians. The great unshakable passion the Russians have for space exploration.
•  The strong national security related issues connected to both the Mir space station and the International Space Station.
•  An insight into the lack of sustainability and coherency of a great deal of NASA's activities.
•  Both the real and symbolic power that the new space companies have brought to the new race to develop space.

Q. This film has attracted quite a following in the academic world, within NASA and among space enthusiasts everywhere. What do you hope your documentary accomplishes?

Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO

One of the reasons for the following is because of the people who were included in the film, Elon Musk, Peter Diamanids, Richard Branson, Burt Rutan, Tom Clancy. Because of the media attention on the billionaires behind the project to mine asteroids, the attention on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and the news coverage of SpaceX, there has been a strong interest in “Orphans of Apollo.”

I was fortunate, because many of the people on Obama's space transition team saw the film. The film makes a strong case for the importance of unleashing the commercial power of the marketplace in the development of space. While the Administration has not developed a powerful, clear, and compelling strategy for the development and exploration of space, they have taken positive steps towards broadening commercial enterprise as a driver in space exploration.

Q. What lesson/challenge did you glean from this experience that would benefit other budding filmmakers?

The critical importance of a meaningful and quite dramatic story. I consider myself to be a filmmaker who focuses on issues about the future of all of humanity – a new breed of humanitarian filmmaker.

The power of social network film distribution is really important for new filmmakers to understand and to develop.

Q. Are you working on any other film projects? Do you have plans to tackle any with a space focus?

I am an Executive Producer of the documentary film, "The University" about the Singularity University to be released later this year. (Based in NASA's Research Park in the heart of Silicon Valley, Singularity University is cultivating future leaders who can harness the power of exponential technologies to improve the lives of a billion people within a decade).

Q. Lastly, how historic is the SpaceX mission from your unique vantage point as a space industry insider and documentary filmmaker?

Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (NASA / May 22, 2012)

The launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 is easily the most historic launch in 2012 and will probably be viewed as one of the most historic space launch events of the decade.

With the shutting down of the Space Shuttle program, and the reliance on Russians to taxi American astronauts to space, SpaceX is really the only game in town.Other than the Falcon 9, the U.S. has no clear, compelling, sustainable path for man-rated launch capability.

When I interviewed Elon Musk for "Orphans of Apollo," very few people on the planet would have imagined that SpaceX would have the chance to become the centerpiece of the U.S. manned space program.

Today if you walk into the gift shop at the Kennedy Space Center, the very first prominent display is the SpaceX hats, shirts, mission patches and other space memorabilia. This was unimaginable three years ago.

If you work at Kennedy Space Center, own a restaurant or a hotel in Cocoa Beach you are probably a fan of SpaceX.

Through the most important American institution of all, private enterprise, Elon is injecting creativity, excitement, passion, ingenuity, challenge, into space enterprise. If SpaceX continues to succeed, both tangibly and symbolically, Elon will have to be viewed as one of the most significant space leaders of the decade.

Blogathon Haiku Day: Marking Milestones in Space

Today is the WordCount Blogathon "Haiku Day." Haiku is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry. Haiku is a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metrical units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Haiku doesn't have to rhyme but it does have to create a visual picture for the reader. 

SpaceX does test launch of Dragon capsule (Dec. 2010).

My Haiku poems below mark tomorrow's historical launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, slated to become the first private spacecraft to reach the International Space Station. On Saturday, the liftoff was aborted in the last second because of a mechanical problem but will be attempted again on Tuesday. To many of us, this flight symbolizes a new space era...one that embraces commercial-led innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

First Flight

The world looks skyward
for Falcon 9's epic flight --
Space Era reborn

Space's New Era

All eyes on SpaceX
As Falcon 9 makes orbit 
Earth to Mars someday

Great Hope 

As NASA's light dims
Space innovators take flight
Let them lead the way

Q&A with Author of Bottom Dwellers

"Rushing to Trudy's side, I knelt beside her. She had no outward signs of being injured, but before I was able to untie her I heard the whoosh of the water being sucked out of the entry. Caliph was coming."
                                              -- Bottom Dwellers
 
Last weekend I finished  Bottom Dwellers, a love story and SiFi thriller. The main character, Patrick Dylan, encounters a race of secretive mutant people in Georgia's Lake Lanier while scuba diving.  He also meets Trudy Price, a beautiful park ranger who soon becomes his fiancée.  They discover both good and bad among the bottom dwellers of Lake Lanier, in this fast-paced read written by Shane Etter. Shane does a great job creating suspense in surreal settings -- first in an abandoned amusement park at the bottom of the lake, and later, in underground Manhattan where Trudy and Patrick meet another race of dwellers who occupy the city's abandoned subway and train tunnels.  Patrick and Trudy were easy to root for as they fall in love and face a scary and elusive foe that can read minds and appear when you least expect it.

Here, Shane talks more about the inspiration for his story, and how a stroke drew him into the craft of writing. 

How did you get the idea for Bottom Dwellers? it's a pretty unique story line with some colorful and in some cases, creepy characters.

I was reading in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about how the Corps of Engineers acquired the land for the lake, and left the houses there, since they would be under 100+ feet of water.  I immediately turned to my wife and said, "What if there are still people living in those houses?"  The idea was born.  

 Have you always enjoyed supernatural, science fiction and fantasy books?

Not really, I’ve always been kind of a thriller guy, but I’m sure I can move the Dwellers series into a mainstream thriller storyline.

I know you began to write full time after a stroke? Can you tell me how writing and the creative side of your brain has turned on to allow you to pursue being an author?

My stroke was in '04.  In '07, my brain really went through a healing cycle and almost overnight I became creative and started writing Bottom Dwellers.

You did a nice job of using setting and place to tell your story - first in the Lake Lanier area of Georgia and later, New York City.  How important is establishing setting as a backdrop for your story?

To me, setting is another character in a story and just as important as other characters.

The main characters in your book, Patrick Dylan and Park Ranger Trudy Price, are pretty compelling. How true-to-life are they to you, especially given that you collect wine and have two standard poodles just like the characters in your book?

Well, my wife, Ellen, is as beautiful as Trudy and gets told she looks like Mary Steenburgen frequently.  Patrick and I are alike in that we are both curious and loyal, but Patrick is taller than me and much braver.  When he first met Caliph and Caliph told him to leave and not come back, I would have been out of there.  Yes, we are wine drinkers and Hawk and Pearl the lights of our lives.

When can readers pick up this story of Patrick and Trudy and these supernatural creatures who live among us? Can you give us a sneak peek of what to expect in your next book and where to get a copy?

      Bottom Dwellers is available now at most online retailers, including the biggest ones.  The next stories in the series are Radiation Dwellers and Island Dwellers.  RD is set in north Georgia at the site of the ruins of the Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory and find Patrick and Trudy battling a different kind of mutant, mutant tree people.  ID is set in New York City and while in NY for a trial of a criminal they helped capture in Bottom Dwellers, Patrick and Trudy are followed by different mutants this time and it leads them on a quest to discover and expose a worldwide mutant community.

What one aspect of your writing has improved from your first book to subsequent titles in this series that you are now completing?  

      I think I’ve learned how to write a more complex plot on a deeper level, on a simpler level, in Bottom Dwellers I didn’t use many contractions when writing dialogue; now I do.  Everyone uses contractions when speaking naturally.  My writing sounded stiff without them. 

 About Shane Etter

   Shane is a native son of Mississippi.  He is proud of the great literary heritage of his home state and that some of the finest 20th Century authors, like William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, John Grisham and others have called home.  Although Shane is primarily a self-taught writer he has taken a number of writing workshops by such noted authors as Mary Helen Stefaniak, Kaylie Jones, Nancy Knight, and two-time Pulitzer nominee, Jedwin Smith.
         Shane makes his home in north Georgia, where he is currently working on the next Patrick Dylan and Trudy Price adventure and where he lives with his wife, Ellen, along with their two standard poodles, Hawk and Pearl.  He is the president of his own small high technology company and collects books and wine; he also enjoys working out in his spare time. 

A Birthday Tribute to Three Distinguished Writers

Today I want to extend a happy birthday to three accomplished writers who were born today:

 ·  Nora Ephron  71, Screenwriter, Novelist, Playwright

·  Jodi Picoult  46, Novelist

·  Ruskin Bond  78, Novelist, Short Stories, Children’s Literature
  

Ephron, a Wellesley graduate born in New York City to screenwriting parents, is best known for her romantic comedies. She’s a three-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Screenplay for When Harry Met Sally, Silkwood, and Sleepless in Seattle, which she also directed.

Her novel, Heartburn, based on her stormy marriage to reporter Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame, was brought to the screen in 2004 by director Mike Nichols, Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.

Her book, Crazy Salad, is a funny, deceptively light look at a generation of women (and men) who helped shape the way we live now. 

I recently shared a copy of her 2006 book, "I Feel Bad About My Neck," published by Knopf, with a friend after learning she had breast cancer. The book takes a candid, hilarious look at women getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself. 

Quotable Quotes: “I try to write parts for women that are as complicated and interesting as women actually are.”

“... the state of rapture I experience when I read a wonderful book
is one of the main reasons I read;
but it doesn't happen every time
or even every other time,
and when it does happen,
I am truly beside myself.”

Jodi Picoult, who studied creative writing at Princeton and later earned her master's degree in education from Harvard University, is the bestselling author of 18 novels, including Songs of the Humpback Whale (1992), Harvesting the Heart (1994), Picture Perfect (1995), My Sister’s Keeper (2004), Nineteen Minutes (2007), House Rules (2010).

In her most recent book, Lone Wolf, published by Simon & Schuster in 2012, a scientist and wildlife activist, who has made a lifelong study of wolves, now is in an irreversible coma following a car accident. His estranged family must decide if the plug should be pulled. 

According to the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Picoult has been characterized by critics as a women's fiction author; she contests this label, however, citing her popularity with both male and female fans. Her novels cross many genres, including literary fiction, legal thrillers, psychological portraits, romances, and ghost stories.

The Long Island native now lives with her family in New Hampshire.

 

Quotable Quote: “If a woman writes about family and about the connections between people and what it means to be alive in this day and time, it's called women's fiction. And if a man does it, it's nominated for a National Book Award. What - you can't have a heart and penis? That doesn't make sense.”

Ruskin Bond, a native of India, wrote his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when he was 17. It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Over a 35-year writing career, he has written more than 100 short stories, essays, novels and more than 30 books for children. Bond’s writing is greatly influenced by the hills, and the valley of Dehra Dun, where he spent his childhood.

"I always wish to live life like Ruskin bond. A writer, a hermit, who lives on hills (Mussoorie, Uttaranchal) in an old rustic house, who knows about each nook of the place where he dwells," writes blogger abhilasha, in her post, The Name is Bond...Ruskin Bond. "His writings are like the fresh breath of air. Short stories by him are always woven delicately with simplicity and magical charm. Nothing peculiar, mysterious or radical thought but they are about the things which we are bound to miss in our hectic lives and there only lies the real elixir of life."

Quotable Quote: “People often ask me why my style is so simple. It is, in fact, deceptively simple, for no two sentences are alike. It is clarity that I am striving to attain, not simplicity.”