As an author, there come a time (maybe several times) when a fan forgets you are a person. This week our guest blogger, affectionately called “Dr. Moe” shares some questions “the reader” should never ask. I hope you get a good laugh, because I did. — Ty
Five Things You Should Never Ask An Author
by Monica “Dr. Moe” Anderson
I have been going nonstop promoting and marketing my latest novels, I Stand Accused and When A Sistah’s FED UP, with bookstore signings, book club meetings, online/telephone chats, seminars, booths at conferences….I’m gone almost every weekend. I turned my oven on yesterday just to make sure it still works. I’ve been to twelve states and I’ve taken pictures with everybody and their second stepmama. I’m on my fourth book so I know to expect certain things.
For example, during a two-hour signing at Barnes & Noble, I will repeat the synopsis of my book 30-40 times. I don’t mind. I will answer questions on every subject from my make-up to my age. I don’t mind. My feet will hurt no matter which shoes I wear. That’s life. I just wish people would not ask me the five following questions over and over and over again…
1. Is that you? (Pointing to my photo in the book.) You look different in person.
Answer: Thank you. With a lot of make-up and good lighting, you too can appear almost attractive. Sorry, to disappoint you with my age spots and wrinkles.
2. Is this a true story?
Answer: It is a novel. Novel means fiction. Fiction means I will not admit it has elements of truth, therefore, I will not subject myself to a potential lawsuit. And, I might actually have an imagination though it’s hard to believe me after seeing that re- touched photo.
3. What do you do with your royalties/profits?
Answer:Why? I pay bills. What do you do with your paycheck?
4. Will you read my 800 page novel for free and tell me what you think I should change?
Answer: First, that’s called editing and people make a living doing that full-time. Honestly, I’d love to right after I write my next book, work at my day job, take care of my family, update my website, pay bills, go to church, tour at my own expense, do interviews, volunteer in the community and write press releases. Yes, I do want to help in any way I can, but I cannot give away my time. Most writers have another job for a reason. I recommend reading books on writing, going to workshops, taking classes, or hiring a writing coach. Invest in yourself. That’s what I did. I’m not mean. I’m tired.
5. You should go on Oprah!
Answer: First, Oprah doesn’t like happy endings. Secondly, Oprah doesn’t interview fiction writers with bestselling, but self-published novels; however, if you’ve got a hook- up… Holla!
© 2007 Monica Frazier Anderson. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Monica “Dr. Moe” Anderson is a motivational speaker, national bestselling author, and a Doctor of Dental Surgery. She lives in Texas.
For more visit www.drmoeanderson.com or www.myspace.com/wwwdrmoecom.
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Check out what people are saying about promoting the Good Girl way:
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– Patricia Haley, national bestselling author of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie and No Regrets Read more
Here is a note from the folks over at The Master’s Artist. If you haven’t checked them out lately, be sure to stop by. Always thought provoking posts. — Ty
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The Master’s Artist recently moved to a new server, and not everyone has caught up to us. While you can still reach the site by visiting www.themastersartist.com, our address at Typepad is now: http://aratus.typepad.com/tma/. To get the word out, we’d like to ask for a little help from our friends:
(1) If you’ve linked to our site from your own site, could you double-check to make sure your links point to the new location?
(2) If you have a blog, could you post a brief notice online letting people know that the Master’s Artist has moved?
We are grateful for the community that has built up around the Master’s Artist over the years, and want to make sure people know where to find us. Thanks for the help!
Okay, what is a Web office? Wikipedia defines a web office as a set of applications hosted on a server that enable users to create, edit and share information. It is a derivative of the Desktop Office Suite, but has more collaboration capabilities due to its Web nature.
I first heard the term “online web office” in 2006, after signing up for Writely (which is now known as Google Docs & Spreadsheets). I mainly used this beta site to record and organized thoughts. Now, I probably use Google Docs daily for a variety of writing needs, mainly brainstorming, editing and blogging.
BRAINSTORMING & EDITING DOCUMENTS: Since adopting iGoogle as my start page, I love using Google Docs & Spreadsheets more and more, especially since I can access uploaded documents fairly easy through the iGoogle gadget. Instead of worrying about storing files on a flash drive, I edit and save files within the web office environment. When I’m ready, I save the files either as Word, PDF or HTML on my laptop or desktop later. Now Google Docs isn’t perfect. I can’t say I have gotten the hang of formatting Google Docs. Sometimes the margins or double spacing can be really off which can be a pain to fix later.
COMPOSING BLOG POSTS: Over the past two years, I have converted most of my sites to a blog format using Word Press or Blogger.com. Being a web developer, I’m not a fan of either HTML editor with these blogging systems, but I love the ease of use of the dashboards. Lately, I have been composing my posts in Google Docs which is much easier than opening Word or Dreamweaver, both which can be memory hogs, slowing down the computer’s performance. I can save my post and come back to it later no matter what computer I’m on. Once I’m ready to add the post, I simply open another browser window to copy and paste it.
Others probably use online web offices for more business purposes. The really cool part of online web office is the collaboration or sharing features. If I want to share documents with a colleague or client, I can simply upload files for them to read and comment, versus trying to send them an email attachment and then wait for them to re-attach their corrections or changes.
A few weeks ago, I discovered Zoho which I think will really give Google Docs some competition. Currently, Google Docs wins my vote with its simplicity and ease of use, but Zoho offers a lot more features like creating presentations (online PowerPoint), chat and web conferencing. I’ve been playing around with Zoho Writer and Zoho Notebook in particular.
Zoho Notebook is an alternative to Microsoft OneNote, but definitely lacks some features. The best feature is it’s online and easily accessible from any computer. Where as with OneNote, your computer has to have this software installed and it is not available for Macs.
Zoho Writer seems to have more features than Google Docs, but Google Docs is better for organization. I’m a folder fanatic and recently, Google Docs added this feature.
If you are interested in using alternatives to Microsoft Word and spend a good bit of time online anyway, read about more online web offices at ReadWriteWeb.com.
Conference I Attended in 2007
This past Spring, I was able to attend the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. It was a worthy investment. The classes were wonderful and I enjoyed meeting authors like Eva Marie Everson, Linda Hargrove, Diann Mills, Steven James, and so many others.
The Fiction 101 class taught by Eva Marie was a real eye-opener and I have to say I won’t look at movies quite the same way now. A movie is a good reference for how to structure a novel.
I’m still shocked, but encouraged my WIP When Rain Falls won second place in the novel category. Funny, since May, it has undergone some major changes. I’ve dropped POV’s and restructured the plot, all with the hopes of making the novel stronger and of course “a sale” for a traditional publisher.
I’m not sure if I will attend Blue Ridge next year, but I will be back and I will definitely enter the contest again.
There is a special conference for novelists taking place in October. It’s called “Novel Retreat for Advanced Writers.” If I wasn’t already presenting at another conference, I would love to attend this one since it’s only a three hour drive for me.
Other Conferences I Want to Attend …
I really wanted to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) conference this year, but I’m going to have to wait until 2008. A plane ticket adds a little extra to the cost since the conference is located in Dallas, TX.
My goal is to pitch two manuscripts, a Women’s Fiction and a Cozy Mystery. Originally, my goal was to market When Rain Falls as a suspense, but now that others have critiqued it, I’m going with Women’s Fiction (with suspense) as the genre. I feel pretty comfortable with this now. I’ve been working on the WIP for over a year now. It still being shaped, but the pacing is slower than suspense.
I’ll keep working at it, I know there is a suspense novel in my brain somewhere. In another post, I will talk about the Cozy Mystery brewing on my laptop now.
An Alternative … Attend Online Conference
If you’re like me and feeling blue about missing ACFW or have not been able to make any conferences at all this year, check out the SORMAG Online Conference. It starts tomorrow, August 26th and lasts until September 1st. There should still be time to register.
Click here to see the schedule and register.
I’m doing something a little different this week. I invited a guest blogger. Carolyn Howard-Johnson will address the importance of editing and why you may want to consider an editor for your writing project. Happy Editing! — Ty
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Why You — Yes, You Who Aced English — Need an Editor
Excerpted from the Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the HowToDoItFrugally series
“Publishers — even traditional publishers — do not want to edit anymore; they want to print a 99.9 percent finished product directly from the author. It’s a cost-cutting thing. Many publishers can’t afford to give your book that attention they once did.” ~ Leora Krygier, twice-published literary author reviewed in the likes of Newsweek and featured on Connie Martinson Talks Books. Read more
I have neglected my blogs terribly this year. The only ones I seem to keep up with (and yes I have quite a few – that’s the problem) are the ones over at Faithwebbin.net. CB Reviews and Sneak Peek! are updated pretty regularly.
A few weeks ago I discovered Shelfari.com from the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) mailing list. Up until now, I have not participated in any of the online social networking sites like MySpace. After signing up for Shelfari, I must say it is a booklover’s dream. I’ve hooked up with several others I’ve already known online and met a few new bookworms.
To create your own page, go to shelfari.com.
keep looking »
