Perseverance Pays Off in the Long Run 09/14/2011

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I’ve been realizing lately that if you want something badly enough, you really need to chase that dream down and don’t let up until it happens.

I’ve been realizing lately that if you want something badly enough, you really need to chase that dream down and don’t let up until it happens.

After submitting my manuscript to several different publishers—only to hear that they’re not accepting it for publication, even though my writing is strong, I just got some good news today. I heard back, actually fairly quickly, from a publisher and they offered me a contract. I am definitely doing the happy dance right now; especially since after waiting six long months to hear back from the other publisher I really wanted to get published by—their rejection stung the most.

It stung because I thought my writing had greatly improved since my last book was published and even though she said my writing was strong, she said I had some other issues. Now, I know I haven’t arrived and never will arrive because I’ll always be learning my craft. However, she seemed to like my story, but didn’t want to work with me. I did my research and the story I wrote was something that their company was actually looking for—that’s why this rejection stung more than others, if I just haphazardly sent my manuscript out everywhere.

Following that rejection, I stopped writing and editing the two projects I was working on…and I did no work on those projects for 1 month. After that month I realized that I needed to try again and submit my manuscript elsewhere and continue with my writing—that is, if I wanted to achieve my dreams. So, as they say, the rest is history. I’m signing the contract today and sending it back in to the publisher and am eager for this newest writing journey I’m embarking on.

When you think like nothing is going right and nothing good is ever going to happen, that’s when you need to dig in your heels and keep moving forward. If you give up, you’ll never know what would have happened, if you continued striving to achieve your dreams. Everything good takes hard work and a strong desire to be disciplined to follow your dreams and reach your goals. Don’t give up—you’ll be sorry if you do.
 

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30 Days 12/09/2010

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Today marks the 1 month anniversary of Mr. Shipley’s Governess being published as an eBook by Wild Horse Press.  It’s been an exciting, busy month.  I’ve had a few interviews posted online and I recently sent my book out to three different reviewers.  I can’t wait to read those reviews; hopefully, I’ll be smiling afterwards.  My book is still number 5 on the Best Selling Inspirational eBooks list, which is thrilling.  Thank you to everyone for the support and encouragement I’ve received. 

So now what?  Here comes the hard part.  I need to keep persevering and marketing my book, even though that does not come naturally for me.  What I’d really like to do is continue to write all day and finish more books.  However, even if I did that, I’d still have to market those too or I’ll never find a reader base or another publisher willing to give my work a chance. 

I’m trying to find the balance in my marketing efforts between promotions and finding the time to write; all the while, trying to keep the process fun for me.  On Mondays, I host author interviews on my blog, so stop on over and learn about the wide variety of interesting authors out there.  My next interview of an author is Monday, Dec. 13, with Stuart Aken ~ http://www.stuartaken.co.uk.

I also have an author spotlight that will be posted on http://www.ijustfinished.com on Tuesday, Dec. 14 and they will host a Q & A session with me on their yahoo group the following day.  I’m very excited about this. 

I am also hosting a contest (please see my contest page on this website for more details).  Three winners will be chosen on Dec. 18. 

What is the mark of true success?  For me, it is being happy with myself, knowing that I gave my all, even if I did not get the exact desired results that I wanted.  If I can wake up every day staying true to myself and what I believe, then I know I will make a difference in my little world.  True happiness and success can only come if I make a continual effort to accept change and realize that every moment of life is a blessing.   

Mr. Shipley's Governess
By:Joanne Troppello
Published By:Wild Horse Press
Published:Nov 09, 2010
ISBN #9781456350895
Word Count:71,400
Genre: Inspirational romance
Price: $5.99
Available in:Adobe Acrobat, Palm DOC/iSolo, Microsoft Reader, Rocket
Purchase Link:https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-mrshipleysgoverness-481158-149.html

Summary: Sophie Baird is looking for a way to escape the painful reality of her parents' deaths. Unable to live in their home any longer, she takes a job as a live-in tutor to Anastasia Shipley to remove herself from her painful memories and the feeling that God has abandoned her.

Anastasia has an illness that has prevented her from ever attending school and makes her father, Sebastian, over protective.

When Sophie first meets Sebastian, she cannot deny the intense attraction she feels toward him. When an unexpected romance begins between them, she starts to rebuild her relationship with God, with the help of a certain little girl.

 

“Bloom where you are planted” 10/12/2010

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Bloom where you are planted is a well-known quote and it came to mind today as I was working from my home office, trying to get a zillion things done and feeling a little overwhelmed as if nothing was getting done.  I was preparing for a status meeting for one of my clients that I do marketing work for and as I listed the weekly stats and updated where we’re at right now with our various projects, I remembered hearing this quote during a political speech several years ago and I stopped to think.

I realized that I can only do what I can do as long as I am also doing everything to my fullest abilities.  Of course I want to do good work.  If I don’t do good work for my marketing clients or in writing my books or marketing my books, that’s not good for me or my clients.  However, this quote made me realize that I need to do everything unto God and try my best and He’ll do the rest.  Bloom where you are planted. 

I may not be where I want to be right now in regard to having more marketing clients or making the best seller lists, but I need to be content in my current circumstances, while always advancing further and hoping to achieve more success.  If I’m complaining, that’s not going to get me anywhere, but depressed and never blooming into a successful person. 

No matter what I’m doing, I must do it with grace and dignity and try to do my best.  I must make every effort to succeed and grow from my current circumstances.  Even though I hate change, I must learn to embrace it.  Seasons come and seasons go, but as long as I am always trying to grow and become a better person, then I will truly bloom where I am planted and bring a smile to my Heavenly Father’s face.  

 

When Your Plans Go Awry 09/20/2010

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I had all the best intentions today to get a lot of work done, but it seems God had other intentions.  My husband and I went out for a walk this morning, having a nice time talking and discussing our prospective days and we saw one of our neighbors outside his house, setting up the sprinkler to water his lawn.  We never actually met him before this, but my husband waved, our neighbor seemed friendly and we went over, got introduced and had a conversation for three hours.  It was pretty neat, but I did get sunburn on my neck and my husband got sunburn on his face; it was hot in the sun for three hours.  ;- ) 

When we finally got back home, I turned on my laptop and was working online; I needed to print something and wasn’t able to print.  I needed the printer and my husband stopped his work (he also works at home), and spent several hours on the phone with HP and then with McAfee trying to fix the problem.  Then I got an email from my sister, asking us to meet her at the mall.  We ate dinner, went to meet her at the mall, then came home and I got back to work. 

Many times we make plans for our day, but things don’t always go as planned.  We can either go with the flow or get agitated.  I’m not always up for change, so when things don’t go exactly according to my plan, I’m not too happy.  I’m learning to make lemonade from lemons, though. 

When it comes to making plans for our writing and marketing of our work, always be flexible.  We may think we are heading down one direction in our WIP, but our characters lead us down another pathway.  When it comes to marketing, what if we are asked to do an interview, but then that falls through?  Do we get upset?  We may have a right to get upset, but it won’t help us move forward.  I have this happen to me in the past and it’s not always easy to let go and move on. 

If we make a concerted effort to be persistent and keep up with our goals and know that no matter what comes, we can be successful if we have a good attitude, then we’ll be fine, even though there are bumps and detours along the way.  

 

Why I Write, my Writer’s Declaration 09/15/2010

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I write because I can even though there will always be critics of my work, but I charge ahead brazenly, trying to freely express myself, my beliefs and my dreams in what I write.

I write because it feels like I’m not breathing if I don’t write.  It’s a part of who I am and the characters in my mind and their lives flow freely onto the page and I feel compelled to tell their stories. 

I write because I feel that I have something important to say and even if I didn't think that anyone would ever read my work, I would still continue to write, for me.

I write because I have lived and have experiences and want to intertwine those pains and joys and emotional times into stories that can touch peoples’ lives and let them know that someone else out there has felt the same way. 

I write because I feel that God has given me a gift; I may not be the best writer in the world, but I want to be the best writer that I can be and glorify God in everything I write.

I write because it’s therapy when I’m going through something in my life and I can tell a story of someone who is struggling, but goes through the journey and comes out the other side a better person and I hope that someday that will also be me.

I write because I love to read and reading has always been a part of my life since I was a young child.  I want to create my own stories that encompass the imagination I have.

I write because I want to leave a legacy and hope that my work will, in some small way, make this world a better place and help readers see that God is the answer.

I write because there are some stories that just need to be told and I figure that somebody needs to tell them, so why not me.

Why do you write?  Do you have your own Writer’s Declaration?

 

My Goals as an Author 09/13/2010

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Every author should have goals, right?  I haven’t written mine out, but they are imprinted in my mind.  Of course, I’m probably not alone among authors who are striving to make the best seller lists.  As a newbie author, I have one book that was published in 2004 and another book coming out in November this year.  I have several works in progress and after the editing and rewriting processes will be trying to find homes with publishers for those WIP’s.  One of my main goals as a new author is to have a website that I can be proud of.  After three months of work, my website is completed and I’m pretty happy with it.  Included in that goal of getting my website done is to brand my name with an online presence.  That is started with my website and facebook profile and fan page and twitter profiles.  I have so much more work to do on that end, but I am continuing to keep my online presence alive by blogging at least five days a week and utilizing twitter (linked to my facebook pages) to post tweets to keep the interest of those following all my profiles.

Well, enough about me, specifically; let’s take a look at how we all, as authors, can profit from knowing our goals and following through on them. 

Whether you write your goals down or not (and maybe I should write some specific goals down)  ;- ) … you should always have them in your mindset so that you can continually be working to fulfill those dreams and goals for your writing career.  Start by listing your immediate goals; those goals for today, this week, this month and the next few months.  Maybe you haven’t started a website yet or you have one but would like to improve on it.  We should always be improving on our online presence.  It’s all about providing content that people want and will keep coming back for more.  We all have something to say…just hone your skills and let your voice be heard in a daily or weekly blog. 

After you figure out what you can do for the immediate future in regard to goal planning, decide on your short-term goals; those are for six months to a year from now.  Are you working on a manuscript right now?  When do you think you’ll be finished writing it?  Do you have plans on how to locate the best publisher for your needs?  Have you figured out how to find the right publisher who will take that second and third glance at your work and give you the contract that you desire?  Maybe you’ve already sealed the deal and have a book coming out in six months.  Do you have a marketing plan?  How’s your online presence going for you right now? 

Okay, so now you need to start thinking about the long-term goals; those goals that are going to take you to next year and the following two or three years.  Where do you see yourself next year?  Will you have that contract for your current WIP?  Will your newly released book be making its way up the best seller lists?  You need to decide today how you will get to the future that you want. 

Of course, no one can foresee the future, but you can help yourself along in achieving your goals and dreams if you utilize careful planning and make goals and figure out how you can implement a step by step plan to get the job done.  Also, think about a backup plan.  The world is not always fair, so make sure that you learn how to make lemonade out of lemons and deal with the blows that come your way, with a smile on your face and a good attitude in your heart. 

As a Christian, I entrust my life to God and know that He has a plan for my life.  Don’t worry…I’m not going to get all preachy on you now,  ;- ) …

Whatever your belief system, you need to first and foremost believe in yourself and know that you can do anything you set your mind to; the problem is that we don’t always do that, myself included.  So many times we promise ourselves that we’ll get this project done and work on this WIP and life happens and we don’t get it done and we take two steps backwards from accomplishing our goals as an author. 

Make your goal list.  Divide the goals up into immediate, short-term and long-term time frames and take one step at a time, but make sure you take the first step or your journey to that best seller list will never begin.  

 

A Moment for Reflection 09/11/2010

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As I pondered what to blog today, I almost thought about not writing anything, feeling wary to “promote” myself or my writing on such a day of remembering 9/11.  My husband and I watched the live coverage of the reading of the names at the 9/11 memorial in NY and in Shanksville, PA and at the Pentagon, on Fox news this morning. 

I did not lose anyone on that horrible day, but as a nation, we all grieved and lost loved ones that day and lost our sense of safety.  I still remember where I was that day on 9/11.  I was at work, busy and minding my own business, trying to get started at my day.  I remember my boss peeked into my office and I could hear the disbelief in her voice as she told me about the first plane hitting the tower.  The news spread around the office and we all seemed to pause in horror and made our way up to the conference room to watch this unbelievable scene on the TV. 

Even to this day, I remember thinking how could this happen here?  We’re America…things like this do not happen HERE!  After watching the news for a while, one by one we made the silent trek back to our offices and tried to get back into work.  My friend lives in NY and I remember emailing my sister that morning to find out if she’d heard from her, our mutual friend, and she said she tried to call but could not reach her.  It seems like so many people were trying to reach loved ones after hearing the news that people couldn’t get through.  My sister eventually was able to reach our friend and found out that she was fine. 

I still can’t believe that it’s been nine years since 9/11.  I can’t even imagine the pain of the families who have lost loved ones that horrible day…a day when people went to work, not even thinking anything like this could happen.  Our country rallied that day and people stood together, not caring what color of skin we had or what religious belief we held, but we all stood as Americans and made a statement to the world.  Most of the world stood with us that day.  I remember seeing all the images on the news of people lighting candles and standing together in prayer vigils and searching for a way to get through this devastation.  People looked back to God and to hope and faith.

The ensuing war on terror and the way our Government had to implement the Patriot Act and find a way to keep us safe has taken a toll on our nation.  Regardless of your political views, I have to say that I am thankful to the former President Bush and how he stood strong that day and the following days and weeks and years and helped to keep our country safe from another attack.  I pray for God’s protection on our country to keep us safe today and in the future. 

I am so glad that they are building again at the site of the Twin Towers and will have a memorial site and a tribute to the heroes that day and to the heroes that have given their lives in serving for our freedom. 

I hope we, as a country, will never forget that day, 9/11 and will move forward embracing and fighting for our freedom and keeping our eyes on faith and hope in God.  

 

Marketing Update 08/25/2010

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Well, we finally got the book video trailer up online for Mr. Shipley's Governess. I'd like to thank my wonderful husband for shooting and editing that trailer and I'd also like to thank my actors!  You can view it on my homepage on this site as well as on YouTube and yahoo videos.  Please feel free to share the video link.  

I also just finished compiling my press kit and I have that available to be faxed to anyone in the media or to book reviewers etc.  If you would like to view my press kit, click on the file link on my homepage.

I'm very focused right now on tweaking my marketing plan and implementing more of that plan between now and November 9th, release day!  Thank you for your support and please stop by my website again.  Have a blessed day!

 

Trying to get back in the writing mode 08/11/2010

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My husband and I just got back from vacation in Long Island and I've been trying to catch up on my marketing and other work and have not been able to work on my WIP yet. Hopefully, I can get back in the writing mode.  

I'm counting down the days until Nov. 9th and the release date for Mr. Shipley's Governess.  We're not finished yet with the book trailer, but hope to have that posted online soon.  Thanks for your support!  

 

Status on book trailer 07/26/2010

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We just got done with the filming of footage for the book trailer for Mr. Shipley's Governess.  Now, we just need to work on editing the video and getting it ready to upload online.  Many thanks to the actors playing "Mr. Shipley," "Sophie" and "Anastasia."  I'm very excited about this book trailer and can't wait to have it completed for everyone to see.

 

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