I just finished revising my middle grade book and had time
to focus on doing some research on the business side of writing. There is so
much information out there on the internet. It’s overwhelming.
I don’t want to be scammed or sabotage myself, so I need to
be armed with information. My homework for now is to read my Writer’s Digest
magazines, Writer’s Market book, watch YouTube videos for info on finding a
good literary agent that specializes in middle grade books, and writing query
letters.
At the same time, I need to promote my Lilah in Love novel.
I know I need to create a Facebook page for it, but I have been putting it off
because I haven’t had much time to put into it.
My friend has a nice web site just for his novel, so I
started looking into doing that, too. I researched website building sites and
have decided to go with Jimdo. I was also considering Weebly and Wordpress.
Jimdo has good eCommerce functions which are good for promotional giveaways and
selling books. It also tracks your sales for you. They have a free version and
a paid version. Another good thing about Jimdo is that it has good video and
slideshow capabilities. They seem to be improving the site with smaller ads for
the free version and more templates. My cousin has a couple of Jimdo sites and
is happy with it.
Here is a link to some samples of writers' web sites on Jimdo:
http://www.jimdo.com/examples/writers/
I hate the business side of art and writing, but it has to
be done if I want to make a living at it. I would be so happy if I could just
write, draw, or paint all day, but life gets in the way. There’s not enough
time in the day. Just sneezing pisses me off because it’s an interruption and a
waste of time. Going to the bathroom is another annoyance and disruptor of
creativity. I tell myself, “Just finish this chapter, then you can go to the
bathroom!” That never happens. The bathroom always wins.
On a brighter note, found this book vlog on YouTube today by
WhittyNovels that I thought was so funny! I was supposed to be writing or doing
research, but I had to take a break that wasn’t a bathroom break. :o/
I wish I had no shame in my game to be a
vlogger, but I get embarrassed too easily. Plus my monotone voice is boring. This
girl stops to read a text from her mom in the middle of the video. She didn’t
bother to edit it out, but it’s funny. I don’t know why I find these things so
interesting and amusing. Here is the link to the video if you’re interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSer2jQkrbc&list=TLBzrawFxut_2jD5On6RIezYk7pPFdquBW
I’ve been reading The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey and
it’s so good! Aliens invading Earth. It’s so up my alley.
I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!