FIRST, LET’S GET SOMETHING STRAIGHT
I recently posted on Facebook that this was the first time in five years that I wasn’t working on a novel. People immediately took that to mean I wasn’t writing at all, or I somehow came down with “writer’s block.”
Sorry about the confusion…I’m simply working on a different writing project that I need to get completed before March. As soon as I finish that I’ll return to “Shadows Fall On Rosarito,” the novel I’m two-thirds done with, and then I have four other novels I want to write…so you see, there is no writer’s block at all.
Now that we have that all cleared up, let’s move to today’s blog posting.
But first…
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.” Lao Tzu
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
I met a character from my next novel yesterday.
Read that sentence again and let it sink in.
I met an imaginary character from a novel I haven’t written yet.
Cue the caretakers…get that straightjacket ready for me, please!
But as strange as that sentence seems to be, most writers will understand completely.
I’m always on the lookout for my next character. I’m always observing. I’m always jotting down mental notes for future stories and books.
I just assume all writers are like that.
Are you? Please say you are or I’ll feel like the weirdest human being on the planet, and writers will be using me for their next homicidal/suicidal/mentally-unstable character.
TIP OF THE DAY
Short but sweet . . . observe! Be aware! You’ve got five senses. Use them!
GUERRILLA MARKETING
You all know what guerrilla marketing is, right? It’s using unconventional methods to market your goods or services when you have a very small budget to work with. Most writers can relate to that, I think. I love finding new ways to market my writing, and I’m currently taking a break from novel-writing to try one of those new ways.
I’m making coloring books!
I love that coloring books are making a comeback in today’s society. It seems like every single time I go into a retail shop, I see a display of coloring books, and since I love coloring books and I love trying new things, it is the perfect avenue for my guerrilla marketing.
I’m just finishing up my first coloring book, “The History of Olympia, Washington Coloring Book.” It combines my love of history with my love of writing with my love of coloring, and I plan on selling them at the farmers market here in Olympia. My next will be an urban farming coloring book, which I’ll start next week.
Will I sell a ton of them? I doubt it, but I’ll sell some, and those sales will combine with the sales of my novels and the money I make freelancing, and it all adds up.
I use a free computer program called GIMP, which takes photographs and changes them into sketch drawings….there are quite a few programs out there that do the same thing…Photoshop…Pixlr….and they are all user-friendly. Then I format it all for CreateSpace and presto, I have a coloring book. The cost to me, including shipping, is less than three dollars per book.
Anyway, I just thought I’d mention it in case you are looking for something new to try.
SO BACK TO WORK I GO
I hope you have a superb week of writing and marketing. Thanks a ton for spending part of your Tuesday with me.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 