Posts Tagged ‘Ruby Sisters’
No, I’m not trying out for the pro wrestling circuit. (They call that the WWE these days, anyway.)
The WWF I refer to is the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood‘s famed Winter Writing Festival.
Four years ago, the fabulous Rubies decided to organize a writing festival to get us through the darkest winter months … a writing festival that, unlike NaNoWriMo, doesn’t take place in a month with a major holiday. (Surely created by a man who didn’t have to cook Thanksgiving dinner …)
Also unlike NaNo, the WWF doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. Your goal is to earn 50 points by the end of the festival period, Jan. 10-Feb. 28. The best part? YOU pick your own goals. If you need to focus on editing instead of writing new words, you can.
Because you say how you earn a point, it’s pretty hard NOT to “win” the WWF. And you get to hang out with/be inspired by a great group of writers. Win-win!
Here are the ways I’ve decided to earn points.
Each of the following is worth 1 point:
– Write 300 new words on any WIP (as indicated by Scrivener) OR
– Make revisions to 1 chapter of Love&Baseball3 where needed, per my TMP editor OR
– 30 minutes combing through galley proof of BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER (when I get it) OR
– Pay my RWA and NARWA dues OR
– Jump in on at least two WWF 20-minute writing sprints in one day OR
– BICHOK for 45 minutes straight (no Internet checks) OR
– Read 1 of the RITA books I’m assigned to judge OR
– Prep and schedule 5 promotional tweets or FB entries for myself and friends (1 for me, 4 for friends) OR
– Take 5-10 minutes to slow down, mediate, do a few yoga poses OR
– Write a post for my writing blog
To earn a bonus 5 points:
– Finish the first draft of TROUBLE IN PARADISE
– Complete NARWA’s chapter affiliation paperwork (with help from the treasurer)
– Sell 2 to 5 paperback copies of DIVA IN THE DUGOUT when I go to my first book signing event, the Chocolate Affaire, in Glendale on Feb. 8
… No, not “Catching Up with Depeche Mode,” although that disc had most of the essentials from DM’s early years.
I’m talking about catching up with my busy, busy author self.
The days—has it really already been a month?—since DIVA IN THE DUGOUT‘s release have been a whirlwind. That’s probably no surprise to anyone who’s been there, done that with their debut novel … or any new book, really.
Since I’m not making enough to quit the day job (yet), I’ve been juggling a 40-hour work week with:
- Finishing the first draft of still untitled Book 3 in my All Is Fair in Love & Baseball series. (Finished Oct. 30 and am about to start self-editing.)
- Prepping BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER for its March release. (Got edits from my TMP editor in late October and am about to shoot an updated MS back to her.)
- Getting my holiday novella, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, ready for its indie debut on Nov. 25. Edits courtesy of my former Daily Sun coworker, now a freelance editor, Heather Danielle Crabtree, and formatting by Marie Force’s Formatting Fairies.
- Being NARWA’s president, with all the fun and worries that entails.
- Promoting DIVA in as many ways as I can.
I bought a Facebook Flash ad on TheCheapEBook.com, stuffed DIVA bookmarks into books from some of my favorite authors at Barnes & Noble and Bookmans stores in Phoenix and have been making the rounds with guest blog posts.
In case you missed it:
- I chatted with fellow TMP author J.M. Kelley about my debut—before it had actually debuted—and answered questions about my high school days and my favorite season.
- I visited with the Rubies to talk about my trouble with the (learning) curve. I asked what everyone wished they’d known before they published their first novel and discovered, much to my disappointment (but not surprise), that the writing biz doesn’t get any easier once you’re published.
- I stopped by Lynn Cahoon’s blog to share my favorite writing advice. I wish I’d been at RWA Nationals to see Kristan Higgins’ keynote speech live, but I’ve watched the YouTube video twice, and my advice is from it.
- At Just Contemporary Romance, I revealed my dirty little secret. (Hint: It involves balls … or a lack thereof.)
- At Chicklets in the Kitchen, I whipped up one of the meals that makes an appearance in DIVA. Nothing fancy here. Think something a busy single mom would feed her 4-year-old.
- This Wednesday, I’m set to visit with Barbara Bettis for her Writers Wednesday feature. Among other things, I’ll be sharing an excerpt from DIVA. (You’ll be able to see for yourself why the hashtag #BadDadIncident, coined by one of my healthy living blogger friends who’s reading the book, fits …)
I’ve been watching DIVA’s Amazon bestsellers ranking closely. Not like a hawk, though I admit to checking it more often than I probably should, for my sanity’s sake. It’s been up and down, though it seems to be hanging tough right around 10K. You might have seen some of the posts on my Facebook author page.
Taken at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13 … DIVA’s sales rank was the highest I’ve seen.
For a brief, shining moment Wednesday night, it was at 6,800-something. (Yes, I took a screen shot … I’m nerdy that way.) Whatever magic bullet propelled it to that height on the Amazon Best Sellers list has since worn off, and it’s back in the 10K-15K range.
Because I’ll only have one stab at Best First Book (and because habits die hard), I decided just this week to enter DIVA in the RITAs. It’s up against some stiff competition (like my friend Abigail Sharpe’s WHO WANTS TO MARRY A COWBOY), but I figured what the heck. I’ll only have one first book, so why not try?
You can’t win if you don’t play!
Disclosure: Book links in this post are Amazon Affiliate links. I’ll make a few extra pennies if you use them to buy.
Despite my goal to boost my online presence, it’s been too long since I’ve written a blog post.
I can’t say it’s all bad, because I have been busy writing … and rewriting … and getting rejections … and rewriting some more.
Since I last blogged, I finished the first draft of a novella, struggled with a paranormal romantic comedy and prepped an entry for the 2013 Golden Heart. (Fingers crossed on that one.)
I also assumed the helm of my local RWA chapter, NARWA, and jumped into the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival again.
My RSSWWF goals, as posted in the opening ceremonies post on Jan. 10:
- Revise at least 5 pages in the novella I want to submit March 1.
- Revise at least 5 pages of my the rest of my GH entry (in case it finals).
- Read an article on character-building & figure out how to apply it to my stories above.
- Do something presidential (chapter admin duties).
- Pay my NARWA/RWA dues. The president has to stay current!
- Network by reaching out to a fellow writer in some way – via Facebook, twitter, blog comment
Plus additional goals left over from last year (they still apply, so why not?):
- Read/give feedback to CP OR
- Read one article in one of the many unread issues of RWR I have on file OR
- Write a blog post of at least 150 words for my writing blog, Love & Laughter. Posts for the weight loss blog don’t count. OR
- Read one of the GH entries I just received for judging OR
- Do something/anything to further my writing career (like entering an online pitch contest, attending a chapter meeting) OR
- Spend at least an hour a day, BICHOK (not playing online)
That’s what I’ve been up to, and what I’ll be doing for the foreseeable future. What are you doing to make your dream come true?
A box arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t full of new books from Amazon … or writing supplies (like I need any more notebooks and pens!).
It contained a very cool quilt — a quilt I won in a giveaway over at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog when one of the Rubies, Kelly Fitzpatrick, was celebrating the launch of her book, “Lilly in Wonderland.”
Kelly’s tagline is “Bad girls need love, too.” She promises:
- No shrinking violets
- No helpless damsels in distress
- No doormats
- No virgins (unless they sneak in while she’s not looking)
In keeping with that, the quilt features a fun, strong-woman motif.
You can read an excerpt from the book here. It hooked me. I’m definitely going to hunt it down.
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