Entries from March 2008 ↓

I haven’t taken the self-publishing plunge–yet! But it’s an exciting idea, likely one with very many pros and cons. One of the biggest pros that I can think of is having more control over all the major steps involved in getting a book to print. I can also imagine that all of that control (with less help from others) translates into some major cons. Still, more and more people are going this route, and it’s revolutionized the publishing biz.

Other folks know more about this hot topic than I do (and we know it’s hot because even Borders Bookstore is getting in on the act), like Kimberly Dawn Wells, who has used both Lulu and iUniverse to get her books out there and has written lots of articles on self-publishing. Kimberly also writes for Suite 101.com and she seems to offer some well-thought out advice based on personal experience–the best kind. She covers a lot of ground on her Squidoo page–from binding your book to avoiding publishing scams. Her page is one of the first places I would look for information if I planned to self-publish a book.

Self-Publishing for Writers by Kimberly Dawn Wells

Photo credit: Palto/iStockphoto

OK, since it’s Saturday you deserve to have a little bit of fun with writing, or typing, as the case may be.

Ever wonder how fast you type? Are you a blazing 100 words per minute typist? Or are you the slow and steady typist, at more like 40 words per minute? Now you can find out and have fun while doing it.

At this website you can test yourself and see how fast you can type. It has you type a a few random lines. If you make a mistake, it informs you, and you have to back up and correct it while the clock is ticking. It’s fun.

I scored 75 words per minute (wpm) with two mistakes.

See how fast you can type!

Photo credit: LuisFico/iStockphoto

Frustrated with trying to find an agent? Or maybe you’ve gotten enough rejection letters to plaster a wall in your office? No one can wave a magic wand to make it all better, unfortunately. But there is help out there and that’s what this site is about.

This week, I promised you a fantastic website for women writers (although you guys might find help here, too). Well, here it is. WOW! Women On Writing is an ezine that encourages communication among women writers, authors, agents, publishers, readers and others in the writing biz. WOW! describes itself as “a global magazine, designed to support women’s creativity, energy, blood, sweat and tears, throughout all stages of the writing process.”

Each month WOW! focuses on a different topic. For March they’re featuring Small Presses and Independent Publishers. In addition, WOW! is always full of information, advice and inspiration for authors–too much to list it all here. You’ll find articles on writing and promoting your work–such as creating characters, dealing with agents, and tips for beginning romance writers–and a whole lot more.

WOW! also features quarterly writing contests. Deadline for the Spring 2008 contest is May 31. The contest includes cash prizes, goodie bags and more. Plus your entry is published on the WOW! website.

WOW! Women On Writing

Photo credit (top): Mlenny/iStockphoto

I’m always sending folks from my MySpace page to my blog here, and it occurred to me that some of the people who come to my blog might not be aware that I have a MySpace page. Well, I do, and you can get to it here.

For the longest time, I avoided MySpace, thinking it was for the kiddies only. Then I ran into an author when I was doing a book signing, and she told me I absolutely had to get on MySpace and that my view about it was all wrong.

And she was right. Yeah, there are a gazillion kids on MySpace (not that there’s anything wrong with kids, heh!) but it’s also cool for adults, especially for artistic types like musicians and authors. It’s a fantastic way to get and stay in touch with readers and also to network with other like-minded types. And many authors use MySpace to promote their work.

So check me out at www.myspace.com/conniebriscoe if you haven’t already.

Bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby has written 10 novels. Her latest, Sin No More, was published earlier this year and has already hit #16 on the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction and #4 on the Wal*Mart bestseller list for hardcover titles.

Kimberla has been so successful that few people realize that her debut novel, Behind Closed Doors, was originally self-published. Here she shares marketing tips for authors and much more.

Connie Briscoe: You’re on book tour for your latest novel Sin No More. What do you like about touring? What could you do without?

Kimberla Lawson Roby: The best thing about touring is meeting all of my loyal and very dedicated readers, people I never would have had the amazing opportunity to meet had I not written any books. It’s wonderful because when I hear positive and enthusiastic comments about my work during discussions, it encourages me to keep doing what I do.

The one thing, however, I could sometimes do without is very early morning wake-ups! This isn’t always the case, but there are many times when I do need to take early morning flights to get to the next city.

CB: I know all about the 5 a.m. wake-ups when you’ve been up until late the night before at a book signing. A lot of people don’t realize how tough book tours can be.

Your novels always do so well, hitting the New York Times and Essence bestseller lists consistently. Do you think touring actually helps sell books?

Kimberla Lawson Roby: I really do. I always say that whenever you meet readers in person and they also enjoy your work, they are your readers for life.

CB: What else do you do to promote your novels besides touring?

Kimberla Lawson Roby: In addition to what my publisher does for each book, I also do lots of pre-publication promotion on my own. To name a few items, I send newsletters out to my mailing lists, hold contests for general readers as well as a separate contest for book clubs nationwide.

And I get a lot of traffic on my web site, which I keep updated with my current book signings, events, speaking engagements, and other information. I now also have a MySpace page, and this has proven to be a wonderful marketing tool as well.

CB: Yes, MySpace is a wonderful marketing and networking tool for authors. How do you come up with your story ideas?

Kimberla Lawson Roby: I always try to write about real-life social issues, so I am inspired by all sorts of topics. I never base my stories on any real situation, but I am inspired by much of what I see and hear.

CB: How do you come up with your characters?

Kimberla Lawson Roby: Once I know what topic I’m going to be focusing on, I spend days mentally creating my characters. I do this for weeks and eventually they become very real people for me.

CB: Do you outline or write character sketches? If so, tell us how you do it. If not, how do you organize your writing?

Kimberla Lawson Roby: Yes, I do outline each book I write. Basically, what I do is write a synopsis of each chapter, which can range anywhere from one to two pages and sometimes even three, depending on how in-depth I want it to be. Then, when I finish the outline, I write the actual chapters.

CB: Do you feel pressure to write more frequent or more detailed sex scenes in your novels these days?

Kimberla Lawson Roby: No, actually, as of Sin No More, I stopped writing detailed sex scenes of any kind. Even in my past novels, I never wrote erotica and worked hard not to write anything offensive, but I finally realized it just wasn’t necessary to include all the details unless the story is somehow centered on sex.

CB: How much do you draw from your real life for your novels?

Kimberla Lawson Roby: The only time I based a character on myself was in my fourth novel, It’s a Thin Line. I based the Sydney character on me and the Delores character on my mom, who really did have a benign brain tumor. It was very therapeutic for me, and the other reason I wrote it was because I wanted to show what it was like losing the most important person in my life, my best friend, and how it took a lot of prayer and every bit of faith I had to get through a loss of that magnitude.

Also, I wanted to show how even though my mom was the one dying, she never stopped lifting up me or the rest of our family. She kept her faith strong until the very end.

Visit the Kimberla Lawson Roby website site for more.

Connie Briscoe Presents
This week New York Times bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby, author of ten novels, takes time out from touring for her latest novel–Sin No More–to chat with me about writing and book touring. Kimberla has been hugely successful for so long–hitting many major bestseller lists–that you may find it hard to believe that her first novel was self-published.

That’s probably why she’s so savvy when it comes to self-promotion. And in our chat later this week Kimberla reveals several little gems that she uses prior to publication of her novels to help promote them.

Writing Tips
Also this week, I’ll point you to a nice little website that’s chock full of resources and advice for women authors and aspiring women authors, although to my way of seeing things it’s got handy tips for guy writers too.

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Only a few days left. I’m being featured today with an essay called “Acting White or Not Black Enough.”

For those who missed the original announcement, in recognition of Black History Month, APOOO Book Club has spotlighted one author each day since February 1 on the APOOO website. The spotlight includes an article written by the author on topics such as–

• Why Is Black History Important?
• Room at the Table (Is there room at the table for all African American authors no matter the genre?)
• Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (interracial dating)
• Acting White or Not Black Enough
• Are We Ready? (for a black president)

Some past authors featured are–

• Angelia Menchan
• Earl Sewell
• Sheila Goss
• Francis Ray
• Felicia Pride
• Eric Pete
• Jewel Parker Rhodes
• Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant

There’s bound to be an essay written by one of your favorite authors, so head on over!

APOOO Author Spotlight