The darling buds of May

“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”

(William Shakespeare: Sonnet 18)

 

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog entry. Work and family commitments have demanded my attention more than usual this month, leading me to put my creative outlets on the back burner. To counteract this, I’ve been taking more walks on the beach – a wonderful stress reliever, although it also keeps me away from my desk.

 

May seems to be a month of change. Health and emotional issues are finally being addressed in constructive ways, both of which are having a positive affect on my stress levels. Work and family dynamics are also changing – mostly for the better – although I won’t have confirmation of the work situation for another few weeks.

There are changes afoot with regards to my original publisher, too: he’s handing ownership and management of his publishing company to his former partner, and setting up two new ventures. I have the option of staying with the original company, or moving to one of the new companies (the second is by invitation only). I have a little under a month to consider my options, during which time I hope that the many questions posed by my fellow authors will be answered. Given that my publishing contract is open, and the publishing vehicle was Amazon’s CreateSpace, I’m not tied in so I have more options than would normally be the case. I would, frankly, rather have a traditional contract through a literary agent, but “beggar’s can’t be choosers”, as they say. I shall wait and see how things unfold over the next few weeks before I make any decision.

Whilst I’ve been distracted away from my writing, I haven’t stopped reading.

I recently read “The Horses” by Elaine Walker, and am now recommending it to everyone. I passed it on to my sister, who loved it too. Moved by the trailer for the film of the same name, I’ve just started to read “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer. I fell in love with the narrative voice within a few paragraphs and although I’m barely a few pages in, I’m already thoroughly enjoying it.

I’ve also discovered some new blogs, which I thought I’d share here (in no particular order):

The Nicky Blog
I love the style of this blog, which provides a wide range of very interesting and entertaining articles, even though it hasn’t been updated for a short while.

To Become A Writer
Renee Pawlish blogs about writing, but also provides invaluable information, workshops and guidance for other writers. She reviews books, too, so there’s something for anyone who loves to read.

Novel Publicity
I’ve featured this wonderfully eclectic blog before, but this article – The Facebook timeline: 8 reasons why it’s your friend, not your enemy – will, I’m sure, be of interest to everyone who uses that particular social network.

Book Blogs
I joined Book Blogs last month. It’s for people who “read books, blog books, write books, and publicize books” and it sounded like heaven to the book-lover in me. Unfortunately I’ve been too busy to participate properly, but I hope that will change soon. If you’d like to check out my profile, you can find me here

WP Pinner
I must admit that I was attracted by the very pretty promotional video (near the bottom of the page) and I signed on for the beta stage of this new plug-in without reading much more about it. Unfortunately, the fab looking Pinterest plug-in will only be compatible with WordPress.org blogs, so I’ll either have to do without or jump ship. I’m watching developments in the meantime, and will wait for user reviews before making up my mind.

Marc and Angel Hack Life
This blog has nothing to do with writing or books – it’s a beautifully inspiring selection of “Practical Tips for Productive Living” which I love to read and share.

One Cool Site
This blog is for WordPress bloggers: it offers tips, tools and tutorials in a visually pleasing way.

Lisa’s Book Review
Does what it says on the tin. An elegantly simple blog, with very detailed and informative reviews of a huge range of romance novels.

 

Now it’s your turn –

• What have you been reading lately?
• What blogs or sites would you recommend?

Big Six Publishing is Dead--Welcome the Massive Three

Reblogged from Kristen Lamb's Blog:

The Reader of the Digital Age–Trust me, he won’t miss paper.

Ah, the times they have changed. The year was 1983 and life was good. Summers filled with trampolines, swimming pools and evening walks to the snow cone stand. Cartoons were only on Saturdays, and if we stayed up too late playing Bloody Mary and toilet-papering the neighbor’s trees and overslept, we were out of luck for another week.

Read more… 2,273 more words

Kristen Lamb, author of "We Are Not Alone", has blogged about the changing times in publishing. Follow the link above to read her article "Big Six Publishing is Dead - Welcome the Massive Three"

An introduction to my boards on Pinterest

I’ve recently joined Pinterest, and thought I’d share the first few boards that I’ve created:

Geekery

 

Words of Wisdom

David Tennant

Favourite Places & Spaces

Favourite TV and films

My books

Interesting websites

Why not ?

 

Creative therapy

I’ve noticed recently that, when I’m stressed and/or depressed, I seek solace in creative outlets. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this, and I’m a firm believer that creative activities can be very therapeutic.

Writing, of course, is my main creative outlet but when I’m down, my writing doesn’t flow. It feels as if ideas are falling over themselves in their rush to reach the paper, and I find it difficult to manage any structure or continuity. Interestingly, these aimless jottings occasionally lead to something more cohesive, or they may inspire a ‘missing’ scene or piece of dialogue in whatever I’m working on at the time.

Drawing was a childhood pastime that I honed in my teens and twenties. I used to draw a lot, but I fell out of the habit in my thirties and have lost confidence in any skill I may have had. I tell myself that skill is less important than the cathartic and distracting practice of simply drawing, but these days my inner voice is very persuasive in preventing me from seeking out my pencil and paper.

I love to take photos. I have three cameras – two are digital, the other takes 35mm film – and I also have a fairly decent camera on my phone. Photography used to be a semi-serious hobby: I had a tripod, and for a while I briefly experimented with black and white film, filters, and different lenses. Nowadays most of my photos are taken with my phone, for convenience (because it’s always with me), but I often yearn for a day out with my camera. There is something wonderfully calming about strolling around in search of an interesting image, whether it’s in the countryside, at the seashore, or in the middle of town.

This afternoon, I spent half an hour on the beach with my phone, taking shots of the sand, sea and promenade. It worked wonders for my frame of mind, and I returned home feeling calm and relaxed.

These are just a few of the photos that I took today:

I love the sea, and a walk along the beach will always relax and rejuvenate me and it often inspires me, too. Taking photos at the same time is the perfect form of creative therapy for me.

What’s yours?

 

 

On proof-reading and editing

During the last day or so, a friend and I have engaged in an on-line discussion regarding proof-reading. This was prompted by her comments on Twitter about the alarming regularity of errors in the latest novel of a well-known fantasy series. We came to the conclusion that proof-reading is a dying art, and is clearly not compulsory in all publishing houses.

This evening, whilst reading an extract from the latest novel by an award-winning author, I was mildly shocked – but sadly not surprised – to see that neither the author, nor his agent, editor or proof-reader (assuming they employed one) knew the difference between who’s and whose. I enjoyed the extract, and I believe that the book will provide an entertaining read, but I’m now hesitant about buying it.

I may be naive, but I’ve always assumed that a professional writer has to have a good grasp of spelling and grammar. Telling a story is one thing, but crafting it into a novel surely requires at least a rudimentary knowledge of the basics, doesn’t it?*

As an unrepresented and largely self-published author, I don’t claim to be perfect. But I do read and re-read my manuscript several times before handing it to someone else to read, because I’d be mortified if they found spelling or grammatical errors that (a) should not have occurred in the first place, and (b) escaped my notice on reading through. That’s not to say that this hasn’t happened (it has) but I pray to all the gods and goddesses in the universe that the final printed version is as perfect, grammatically, as we can make it.

This infographic, by Scribendi, makes my point quite succinctly.

Disclaimer: I haven’t used Scribendi’s services; I found the infographic via a link on Twitter.
Original source:  Editing vs. Proofreading – Scribendi.com.

*That was not a rhetorical question: I’m really interested in your views on this subject.

Writing an author bio

I’m curious about the advice given to authors to write one’s biography in the third person. I’ve never seen it stipulated anywhere that one should write it that way, but it certainly seems to be a universally accepted convention adopted by most authors.

I can understand why it’s presented that way on the cover of a book, but not on an author’s personal website or blog, or in an enquiry letter to a literary agent.

I tried writing my own bio that way, but I felt it was too impersonal; it made me feel detached and incredibly pretentious (surely that’s not just because I’m British?).

I wouldn’t dream of introducing myself in the third person, especially if I’m hoping to work with the person I’m addressing, and I can’t help wondering if editors and agents really want such an impersonal approach? I’d also love to know what readers think of an author presenting themselves in the third person.

I’m not being facetious, by the way: I’m really interested to know where the idea came from, and why it’s regarded as a golden rule for writers.

What do you think?

Do you prefer to read an author’s bio written in the first or third person? When is one form more acceptable or preferable than the other?

If you share your view on this, please let me know whether you’re a reader, or a writer, or a publishing professional: I’m curious to know how this conundrum is perceived from the different sides of the fence.

 

 

Prompted by How to write a compelling biography

Related articles:
Tips and Examples For Writing Interesting Author Bio For Blogs
How to Write an Author Bio
How to Write a Short Author Bio

Why e-books cost so much | Internet & Media – CNET News

Why e-books cost so much | Internet & Media – CNET News.

 

The pricing example in this article seems incredibly high to me: I love reading and have more books than I’ll ever have time to read, but I’d have to be really desperate to pay $24.99 (approx £15.68) for a hardback copy of any book, let alone a paperback, unless it’s absolutely massive!

 

Free eBook Friday

From 2 o’clock this afternoon (UK), watch my @JohannaNield Twitter feed for a very special offer. Please RT! #NewBeginnings #freebies #books

The Twitter updates should automatically reach my Facebook page, too, for anyone who’s not into tweeting

Competition: no purchase necessary!

I’d like you to “Share” my books and tell the world about them, and in return you can win one of three prizes.

Simply go to my book on Amazon and click the “Like” button found on the product page. Next, a small pop-up box will appear and there; click on the “F” symbol to share your love with your Facebook friends so that they can see it, or click on the Twitter icon to share the love with your Twitter followers.

Click on the image below for a larger example of what you’ll see.

A share takes no more than two mouse-clicks — not much, considering what you could win for your trouble. Count how many times you share this way. If you can also access the UK site – or any of Amazon’s other international sites – that will give you more sharing options.

Next, go to my book listing on Barnes & Noble’s website. On the product page, click on the “F” to share the love with your Facebook friends and also click on the “+1” symbol to share it with your Google+ circles. Again, two mouse-clicks are all that required. Once again, count how many times you share this way.

If you’re up for it, you could also visit my page on Lulu and do the same for each book there.

Although the sequel is currently only available from Lulu, the first book “New Beginnings” is listed on most on-line book stores, such as W H Smith, Borders, Waterstones, etc. If you want to increase your chances of winning, then simply seek them out (searching my name will bring quicker results, as there are many books with the same title) and add them to your score.

Then simply send me an email to johannanield at gmail dot com and put “Shared: xxx” in the subject line (“xxx” would, naturally, stand for the number of your total shares). In the body of your email, tell me where you’ve shared, and for which book(s).

As you can see, this is really easy and no purchase is necessary. You can share my books even if you’ve never even read one. In fact, I would love it if you’d share information about my books anyway, because even if they are not your cup of tea, some of your friends may like to read contemporary romance novels that deal with the moral and social issues challenging today’s couples.

On 1st May, I will randomly draw three winners from the entrants and notify them of their prizes; details will be posted here.

The prizes are gift/book vouchers.

Good luck!

Idea borrowed from Guido Henkel

Bestselling Author Shares 3 Tips for Building Your Blog Audience

Originally posted by Erica on Just Another WordPress Weblog – some great advice:

Bestselling Author Shares 3 Tips for Building Your Blog Audience.