When I was in the creative writing program at Western State Colorado University, bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson gave a talk he called “The Popcorn Theory of Success”, where he shared his journey to become a bestselling author back when traditional publishing was the only door leading to authordom. His theory involved saying, “Yes, I can do that.” to every opportunity that came to him. He’s giving this talk many times, including when he was the Keynote Speaker at the WordCrafter 2020 Stay in Place Virtual Writing Conference, hosted by WordCrafter Press. (You can see Kevin’s “Popcorn Theory of Success” on YouTube at the link above.)
For me, this was inspiring and I’ve tried to follow Kevin’s advice whenever an opportunity presents itself, even when imposter syndrome rears it’s ugly head and tries to tell me that I can’t. The publishing world today is different from when KJA was a rising star, and authors can’t just wait for opportunities to come to us. There are simply too many of us out there, and many of us don’t have time to wait around to be discovered by the movers and shakers of the publishing world. The Big 5 has shrunken down to the Big 3 as the big boys merge to stay alive in a changing publishing landscape that has shifted over to favor the independent publisher, and that’s where a plethora of opportunities are found, and authors must take the initiative to get their works published.
That’s how WordCrafter Press came about. I tried the traditional publishing route, submitting my works wherever I could, like I’d been taught while earning my M.F.A., and I even found a publisher, although not one of the Big 5, for the first edition of Delilah. But my sales weren’t nearly as good as I had hoped. Perhaps the publisher made attempts to market the book, but I never saw them. I believe this is typical for small independent publishers, and even traditional publishers have lightened up on thier marketing efforts, depending more on the author to market the book. I began self-publishing my other works through Draft2Digital and was quite happy with the results, so when my contract ran out, I didn’t renew. Instead, I revised the story and created book 1 of my Women in the West adventure series in 2023, and I did, indeed, through my own efforts, sell more copies than I had through the publisher in my first Kickstarter campaign. Sarah, book 2, was published last year, and this year, I’m working on the third book, Marta.
Today’s author must go beyond saying yes when opportunities present themselves, and find or create those opportunities and make them happen. In the movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Chief Dan George’s character, Lone Wadi tells Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) that the U.S. government told his people to ‘endeavor to persevere’, which basically means, ‘keep on keeping on’. I’ve made that my personal philosophy, to ‘endeavor to persevere’. When I run into obstacles in my path, I try to fix them or find a way around them, and then I carry on. I don’t allow those obstacles to stop me. I’ve been told I am persistent, but I think I’m just determined.
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About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by theRobbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.
If you are a rising author just beginning publishing journey or a seasoned pro who is making it work for you and would like to share how it’s done, I want to hear from you! I’m looking for authors to interview for two blog series: “Chatting with New Blood” and “Chatting with the Pros”. I offer both interviews and a book review for both series.
So send me your pitches and let me know what you have to offer my readers. Let me add your name to the 2025 interview schedules. I have openings as early as February. If you have a book scheduled to come out, let me know and I’ll try to schedule your interview around the release. Send your pitch to KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com with the series title your interview would fit in the subject line.
Check out past segments below to see what an interview and review on these blog series looks like to see if you might be interested.
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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This post sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.
Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.
As many of you may know, if you follow Writing to be Read, The D.I.Y. Author is included in the Novel Writing Story Bundle, organized by Kevin J. Anderson. But what you may not know is how useful Story Bundle is as a marketing tool. The fact is, it’s a great way to sell books.
This is the second Story Bundle in which I have had a book included. Back in 2022, Ask the Authors 2022 was included in the Writer’s Toolkit Story Bundle, also organized by KJA. That bundle sold quite well and WordCrafter and the contributing authors made a little bit of money from it. This year, the Novel Writing Story Bundle promises to do just as well, if not better, so I highly recommend it.
What is Story Bundle?
What Story Bundle is, is a platform that gathers together several authors with books in the bundle category, whether it is writing references, such as the two I’ve had books in, fantasy books, science fiction books, or romances, etc…, and they all get together virtually and cooperatively market and promote the whole bundle. This extend’s the reach of single authors immensely, and I can testify to the fact that their efforts are effective. By using the power of the masses, promotions are found on all of the social media sites, not just those of any one single author, and it gets your book in front of the readers of every author in the bundle. But I’m just an author with a couple of books in a couple of Story Bundles, and I’m still learning, too. So to give you all the details, I chatted with Story Bundle founder, Jason Chen, to let him tell you what Story Bundle is, how it works, and what the advantages are.
Interview with Jason Chen
Kaye: What inspired the idea for Story Bundle?
Jason: I started StoryBundle all the way back in 2012 because back then, the concept of bundling similar books in one package hadn’t been done yet! Selfishly, I wanted somebody to make bundles of similar books—if you like this book/author, then you’ll like all THESE—and because nobody had, then I saw the need for it. Also, in 2012, the indie authors were lacking for a place to reach more readers, which made it a perfect fit for letting folks discover authors they would have a hard time finding otherwise.
Kaye: Story Bundle uses the power of numbers, gathering many authors together and offering their books as a group, rather than individually. Could you explain the advantages of having a book included in a Story Bundle?
Jason: Not only does being part of a StoryBundle get you in front of the StoryBundle fans, but the core concept is that it gets you readers from other authors who write in similar genres as you. Because all our bundles are curated, the books in them make sense together, which means that if you like one author in it, you’re more than likely to like another. So getting awareness of your books out to fans who already like the genre is a big plus.
Kaye: What determines whether a book is included in the original bundle for the minimum amount , or as a bonus book for a larger donation?
Jason: There’s no secret to the sauce. The curator and I work together to make sure both the regular bundle and the bonus bundle are balanced for the amount that they cost. Sometimes an author will be in the bonus bundle and if they’re in another bundle, they’ll be in the regular bundle. It depends on what makes sense for that particular bundle.
Kaye: The Novel Writing Story Bundle is the second Story Bundle which I’ve been a part of, mainly because I am fortunate enough to know Kevin J. Anderson, who organizes the ones I’ve participated in. I know other big authors like Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Katheryn Rusch organize them, too. But how do you get into a Story Bundle if you don’t know someone organizing one? Can you create your own?
Jason: Yes! The only caveat we have is that (99% of the time) the bundles are curated by someone who’s been in a bundle before. Once you’ve been in a bundle, you understand what the bundle is about and what makes for a good bundle and what works for participating in a bundle. This way you know which authors to look for when you’re assembling one. You work with us to figure out a genre that you want, and we refine the idea and can help you get in touch with some other publishers if you need to.
Kaye: Both Story Bundles I’ve had books in are writing resource bundles. Can you make a story bundle of any genre?
Jason: Yes, any genre is fine, but to get a little inside baseball, there are a couple of genres that don’t do well on StoryBundle. The biggest one is romance, which for whatever reason doesn’t appeal to StoryBundle readers. But even more of a surprise is that romance authors’ own fans don’t really enjoy the bundling concept—at least on StoryBundle. We’ve tried all types of romance bundles in all varieties of flavors, but none of them ever have good uptake.
Kaye: Is there a cost to organize your own Story Bundle?
Jason: There’s no cost to curating a bundle!
Kaye: Now I know why as an author, I might want to have my books in a story bundle. But why would readers wnat to buy books through Story Bundle? What are the benefits to readers in purchasing a Story Bundle?
Jason: As a reader, there are a few benefits. First, there’s just the core concept of vetting—we choose our books carefully with our curators, and they have to meet a certain bar of quality to get in. Of course, it’s impossible to guarantee that you’ll like all the books in the bundle, but if you already like one or two of the authors in it, you’re likely to enjoy the rest.
There are other tangible benefits, such as getting DRM-free copies of books that you can load on any ereader, tablet or phone without having to worry about compatibility. You’ll also support indie authors and be able to donate to a worthy cause!
Kaye: Does every Story Bundle donate to charity?
Jason: Every bundle has a charity donation, but it’s up to each person if they want to donate part of their purchase to charity. If they don’t, that’s perfectly fine!
Kaye: What types of charities does Story Bundle support?
Jason: We have a long list of charities that we’ve supported before, from literacy charities, animal charities, science and gaming charities, to health and medicine and worldwide refugee focused charities, so there’s no real limit to what can be a charity target for StoryBundle. If there’s a specific one that a curator would like to have in their bundle, we can make it work!
Would you like your book to be in a Story Bundle?
Now that I know what it takes to currate a Story Bundle, I’m thinking of trying one of my own, because I know that they sell books. Since I’m a multi-genre author, I could do western, women’s fiction, paranormal, science fiction, dark fiction, or children’s books. If you’re interested let me know and tell me what genre(s) you write in. Either let me know in the comments, or email me at KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com. Let’s see if we can get together and sell some books.
About the Novel Writing Story Bundle
The Novel Writing Story Bundle features writing references on writing craft, writing business, and the writing life, which should be on every author’s bookshelf. In addition to my own The D.I. Y. Author, which is a bonus book, there are also featured Dollar by Dollar and Word by Word, by Kerrie Flanagan; Romance Character Tropes, by Jessica Barber and Tara G. Ericson; Booking the Library, by Jessica Brawner; Kevin J. Anderson’s On Being a Dictator; Steps to Self-Editing, by Jana S. Brown; A Writer’s Guide to Branding Success, by Mark Leslie Lefabvre; Mood & Atmosphere, by Joshua Essoe; From Page to Platform, by Matty Dalrymple and M.L. Ronn; Wit & Wisdom, by Craig Martelle; Wulf Moon’s Illustrated Super Secrets of Writing, volume 1; Falling to Fly, by Todd Fahnestock; and a year’s subscription to Indie Author Magazine. That’s 13 writing references plus the magazine subscription. What a deal!
A note on the designated charity for this StoryBundle, the Neil Peart Brain Cancer Research Fund from Cedars Sinai. In 2020 we lost Neil Peart, legendary drummer and lyricist for the rock band Rush, to glioblastoma. He was my mentor, friend, and collaborator on numerous books, and his loss affected me deeply. Neil’s friends and colleagues and fans worldwide have contributed to this glioblastoma research fund in Neil’s name, and we are proud to add our efforts on this Novel Writing StoryBundle as well. – Kevin J. Anderson
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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This post is sponsored by The D.I.Y. Author and WordCrafter Press.
Being an author today is more than just writing the book. Authors in this digital age have more opportunities than ever before. Whether you pursue independent or traditional publishing models, or a combination of the two, being an author involves not only writing, but often, the publishing and marketing of the book.
In this writer’s reference guide, multi-genre author and independent publisher, Kaye Lynne Booth shares her knowledge and experiences and the tools, books, references and sites to help you learn the business of being an author.
When I hear the word prolific, I think of Kevin J.Anderson, who puts out between 7-9 books per year. He’s one of the most prolific writers that I know of, although veteran bestselling authors, Dean Wesley Smith and Kathryn Christine Rusch, may rival, or even surpass him. But we cannot all be that prolific. But we can learn from authors like these, who have spent their lifetimes writing professionally, and making a decent living at it.
For many years, I did not know how to be prolific. Delilah took me three years to write, and then I worked almost another year revising it to re-release as the first book in the Women in the West Adventure Series. I even wrote a post in about accepting the fact that “We Can’t All be Prolific” because of how not-prolific I was back in 2022. It was something which I didn’t know could be changed or how to go about changing it.
Since then, I’ve learned a few things that have helped me to become more prolific, and I’m now publishing between 5 – 8 books per year. That’s why the first section of The D.I.Y. Author is dedicated to the methods I’ve used to increase my productivity and become a more prolific author; because I wanted to share some of the methods I’ve used to increase my writing productivity. By becoming prolific, I’ve been able to get my name out there where it can be recognized and having more products, in this case, books, to sell. When you publish 5 books per year, that’s 5 different chances to reach new readers, but its also five chances to remind current readers that you’re still around and active.
The following, are tips that I’ve accumulated, from The D.I.Y. Author.
Becoming Prolific
Outlining: Creating at least a working outline to help guide the direction of your story. If you have an idea of where you are going before you start, you can get words on the page faster.
Doubling Down on Research and Promotional Materials: Research is something that needs to be done for every book, regardless of genre. If you can find other uses for this same research, you can essentially make it do double duty. For example, during the historic research I did for the Women in the West Adventure Series, I uncovered many interesting facts that may or may not have been used in the story, and could also be used to make interesting blog posts for the tours for their releases, thus becoming a marketing tool, as well as a good story inspiration. Or you can use the same inspiration for a second story in some cases.
Write the Damned Book: Just sit down and write. It’s a simple piece of advice, but one many authors, or would-be authors, fail to recognize. In The D.I.Y. Author, I offer a couple of methods of achieving the desired results, including Binge Writing, which isn’t always for everyone, and Persistant Determination, which is plugging away at it every chance you get.
NaNoWriMo: The principle is to set aside the month of November to work exclusively on your novel at every opportunity and setting a daily wordcount which will allow you to reach a goal of 50,000 words within that timeframe. But you don’t need to wait until Novemeber to do this. Just set aside a 30 day period and dedicate to writing your story. I use NANoWriMo to get a start on one of the two novel length works I write and publish each year. In the book, I offer a couple of strategies for making the most of your time, including Time Blocking, and Tracking Your Word Count.
Dictation: This is a strategy for becoming prolific that isn’t right for everyone, but works well for those who are comfortable with it.
Networking and Collaborations: It takes longer to write a novel length work than it does to write a short story or two to include in an anthology, and it’s a great way to add more titles to your author pages. Through WordCrafter Press, I publish at least two anthologies per year, and sometimes more.
Maximizing Your IP: Intellectual Property are the rights to your creative endeavors, or copyright, and an author needs to understand their copyrights, and take care not to sign away more than absolutely necessary when entering into a contract with a publisher. It is also important to understand when your rights will be returned, because when you hold the copyright, you can use that work in any way which you deem fit, allowing your writings to do double, or even triple duty.
Optimizing Your Backlist: Many authors don’t put a lot into their backlist, but there are things you can do to keep your backlist items in front of readers’ eyes and on their minds, such as creating multiple formats, special editions, and price promotions.
Taking Care of Mind, Body & Spirit: Keeping yourself healthy is also condusive to being prolific, as we all write better when our minds are sharp and alert, out bodies are well rested and healthy, and we have a place of our own, dedicated to writing.
Outsourcing: When there is too much for one person to do it all, and believe me there will be, outsourcing certain tasks can be of great advantage, even to the D.I.Y. author.
Why Become Prolific?
To put it simply, the more prolific you are, the more books you have to sell. The bigger your library of books, the more opportunities for readers to discover you and your writing.
I’ve offered a basic list of the methods I’ve used to become more prolific. Some have worked better than others for me and I talk about them in more depth in The D.I.Y. Author. To learn more, you can get your copy from your favorite retailer here: https://books2read.com/The-DIY-Author.
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About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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This post is sponsored by The D.I.Y. Author and WordCrafter Press.
Being an author today is more than just writing the book. Authors in this digital age have more opportunities than ever before. Whether you pursue independent or traditional publishing models, or a combination of the two, being an author involves not only writing, but often, the publishing and marketing of the book.
In this writer’s reference guide, multi-genre author and independent publisher, Kaye Lynne Booth shares her knowledge and experiences and the tools, books, references and sites to help you learn the business of being an author.
I’ve never been one to worry about aging. I always thought I would just age gracefully, just letting the process happen naturally, sans a few boxes of hair color over the years. But recently, I’ve been feeling it more. My joints get stiff when the weather turns cold, I need a nap after a trip to town, it’s harder to get up from my seat at times, and I can’t seem to stay awake to write into the night, like I used to. I notice more wrinkles each time I glance in a mirror, and there’s considerably more gray in my hair. Maybe it’s because I just turned 60 that I notice the changes more now, or maybe it’s because I have been out of work for almost a year and I’m struggling to keep up on car payments, insurance, and basic necessities, but I’m having more and more trouble in dealing mentally and emotionally with the everyday stresses of life. Sometimes I feel like I cannot take anymore, but problems just keep coming at me. It has begun to effect my writing life, as well as the reality around me.
In the past, even when the rest of my life was falling apart, my writing was the one thing I had control of. I could keep it on track and moving forward. So when my Kickstarter camapign for Sarah didn’t fund, I tried not to take it too hard. I wasn’t done writing the book, which should have been finished in December, so I just pushed back my production schedule, setting Sarah for release in May instead of March, and I decided to add a May Kickstarter campaign for The D.I.Y. Author which had not been previously planned with my author services offered as some of the rewards. I reached out for the opportunity to have my own books, Delilah, Hidden Secrets, and The Rock Star & The Outlaw, available in audiobook with AI audio narrations on the spur of the moment, seeing a chance to possibly expand my audiences, and made all three of them $2.99 on Google Play during the entire month of March. I guess when I’ve made it through May, I’ll find out if these choices were solid decisions or acts of desperation, but I picked myself up by my bootstraps and carried on in either case.
My dream has always been to take my writing full time and not have to hold down the proverbial day job, but it is a slow climb to making enough from my work to do that. I haven’t given up on finding a day job, but lately I’ve been thinking that maybe my age is what is stopping me from arousing the interest of potential employers. I put in the time and work to earn two masters degrees, but I’m wondering if my efforts didn’t come too late in life. Does turning 60 and entering the world of senior discounts mean that I’m too old to be gainfully employed?
And it’s not like I haven’t been trying to use my writing skills to gain remote employment. I’ve put in more applications than I can count, some with over a hundred applicants, and most of them don’t even respond back to tell me to take a hike. I’ve thrown out my hook for editor and proofreader, as well as content writer and copywriter for countless companies without even a nibble. Maybe I’m using the wrong bait. Am I over educated?
I keep telling myself that something has to break soon, and I do have a couple of promising interviews scheduled even now, but as I approach the milestone of being unemployed for a year, I’m beginning to wonder. I find myself worrying more and more about what is around the next corner for me. The worry eats at me more than it did when I was younger. The depression weighs on me, making it feel like the next sunrise may not come. It makes it harder to focus on the part of my life that I’ve always maintained control of, and it’s more difficult to focus on putting words on the page.
I press on, putting in applications, interviewing, and writing my heart out with specific goals in mind. I had to push back the production schedule on Sarah and change my marketing plan for The D.I.Y. Author, but if I can meet my production goals for this year, it should be a pretty good year for WordCrafter Press. In addition to the above mentioned books, I’ll be releasinga poetry anthology, three books in the My Backyard Friends children’s series, and two different short fiction anthologies. I’m using that as something to look forward to and it motivates me to keep at it. I don’t know if this is what they call aging gracefully. Gracefully or not, guess I’ll just have to keep on going and see what happens.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Book 1 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Want exclusive content? Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. She won’t flood your inbox, she NEVER sells her list, and you might get a freebie occasionally. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, just for joining.
I took an ATV ride today and just had to share the fall colors with you.
Autumn afternoon above Hillside, Colorado
Aspens are my favorite trees, as you might guess. Let me also share a poem about them which seems fitting. This is a minimalist poem which I’m particularly found of. It was published in Colorado Life magazine (September/October 2016). I do hope you enjoy it.
Aspen Tree
Dark eyes staring out of white bark
Scantily clad by quivering green leaves
Turning waxy yellow in fall
Stark and exposed in winter
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, as a sampling of her works just for joining.
It’s Halloween! My favorite time of year. This year, you’re invited to come join WordCrafter and Sonoran Dawn Studios in the All Hallow’s Eve – The Web We Weave Autumn Cider Book Event on Facebook. It is today from 12 pm MST, so come join in the fun by clicking on the link below. There will be lots of treats and maybe even a few cool tricks.
All Hallow’s Eve – What Web We Weave Book Event
WordCrafter Press is offering several giveaways and you can vote on the best audio story or excerpt from stories featured in all three 2022 WordCrafter anthologies: Once Upon an Ever After, Refracted Reflections and Visions, each narrated by the story’s author. Pick up a copy of your favorite WordCrafter paranormal anthology for the special Halloween sale price of .99 cents. Find out how to get a copy of any of the 2022 WordCrafter releases and get a sneak peek at what’s in store for 2023.
With author takeovers by Robbie Cheadle, Joseph Carrabis and myself. And don’t forget to check out the offerings from our gracious host, Sonoran Dawn Studios. Plus lots of good music and other entertainment. It will be a hauntingly good time, so I hope you will join us. See you there!
New Release!
Visions
I don’t know how you coud have missed it, with the extensive blog tour we just ran, but in case you did…
Visions is available now!
18 talented authors share their Visions with you. Get your copy from your favorite distributor today: https://books2read.com/u/49Lk28
Valuable Writer’s Toolkit!
Ask the Authors 2022 will be available in the Writer’s Career Toolkit Bundle, currated by Kevin J. Anderson, throughout the month of November. The intitial 5 book bundle is $5, but for $20, you can get all 15 writing references, including Ask the Authors 2022. It’s a great deal for authors! just in time for NaNoWriMo this year. Pick up your bundle of valuable writing tools today.
Having Ask the Authors 2022 as a part of the writing tool bundle this year, just in time for National Novel Writing Month and being able to peruse all the other wonderful writing references which are included has given me the urge to try to do the NaNoWriMo thing once more. I tried this challenge once before, back when I still really had no idea how to write a novel, and I failed miserably.
Since then, I ‘ve learned a lot about writing and a lot about this writing challenge that I hadn’t yet realized back then. For one thing, this challenge isn’t inteneded to produce publishable novels, but rather very rough first drafts. For another, although the goal is 50,000 words, which is probably not a full novel anyway, you don’t have to start from square one. I know of writers who are right now plotting out their story, with no intention of writing by the seat of their pants. (Of course, back then, that was the only way I knew how to write.) When Tuesday, the 1st of November roles around, they will be locked and loaded and ready to write.
That one realization is what made me change my thinking, because I have a novel already started, which I hope to realease in 2023, and this writing challenge could be a good way to help that happen. So, with partial novel in hand, I prepare to take the NaNoWriMo writing challenge once again.
Can I do it this time? That’s left to be seen, but I think changing my goals a bit to adding 50,000 to what I already have, and by following some of the great time management strategies found in Aisley Oliphant’s Booked to the Gills, which is also included in the Writer’s Career Toolkit Bundle, (see my review here), I might be able to meet this challenge head on now. For this challenge, I plan to work on my Time Travel Romance, The Rockstar and the Outlaw, which is based on the music of The Pretty Reckless and has been sitting on a back burner while I worked out a few obstacles that I ran into with it. Any of you out there who are feeling the urge are, of course, welcome to join me, as I set goals, block out writing time, and probably drive myself crazy writing an awesome story, (or at least a bad first draft). If you do plan to participate in NaNoWriMo, let me know in the comments, so I won’t feel so all alone.
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Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, as a sampling of her works just for joining.
Where can you find publishing industry experts willing to share their secrets?
Ask the Authors 2022is the ultimate writer’s reference, with tips and advice on craft, publishing and marketing. Eleven experienced and successful authors share what works for them and offer their keys to success in traditional publishing, hybrid, and indie. You’ll learn industry wisdom from Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Kevin Killiany, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Bobby Nash, Paul Kane, Nancy Oswald, Chris Barili, Jeff Bowles, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Mario Acevedo and Kaye Lynne Booth.
This book offers up-to-date and tried-and-true ways to improve your craft, explores current publishing and book marketing worlds. Take a peek inside and find out what works for you.
Every year, Kevin J. Anderson curates a Writer’s Career Toolkit Bundle in coincidence with NaNoWriMo, because we all know that those crazy writers who knock themselves out at this time of year to produce 50,000 words in 30 days, need all the help they can get.
This year, Ask the Authors 2022 is one of those books to be included in this useful bundle of books for writers! We are in great company. L. Jagi Lamplighter has a book of her own in the bundle, The Art and Craft of Writing and Mark Leslie Lefebrve has a book co-authored with D.F. Hart, MBA, Accounting for Authors. Also included are books by big name authors such as Joshua Essoe, Joanna Penn, Kevin J. Anderson, and David Farland. There’s even a book by one of my cohorts, Aisley Oliphant, Booked to the Gills, which is aimed at writers of 30 day writing challenges, and will be helpful to those preparing to participate in NaNoWriMo. (You can see my “Review in Practice” for Booked to the Gills, here.)
The Writer’s Career Toolkit Bundle
The Writer’s Career Toolkit Bundle – Curated by Kevin J. Anderson
This is the time of year when a lot of people turn their thoughts to writing. Challenges such as the National Novel Writing Month (November) and other writing groups and workshops encourage you to push your craft and productivity. So, each year I put together a big writing StoryBundle packed with insightful books on a wide range of topics relevant to writers, both newbies and old pros. I include craft books, basic advice, time management and productivity, careers planning, publishing, and marketing—the complete bag of tricks!
This year we have fifteen titles, enough to keep you busy planning your next project and your entire writing career.
For basics, I’ve included Kaye Lynne Booth’s comprehensive Ask the Authors 2022, the ultimate writing reference anthology, with writing tips and advice from eleven different authors on everything from pre-writing rituals, to character development and world building, editing and revision, publishing, book marketing and more.
L. Jagi Lamplighter’s sharply insightful The Art and Craft of Writing delves into the nature of storytelling itself to discover simple and practical steps that can bring our writing to the next level.
And if today’s most successful publishers, editors, and writers wanted to share the lessons they’ve learned, would you listen? Here’s your chance in Titans Rising: The Business of Writing Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror in the 21st Century by William Alan Webb and Chris Kennedy.
Next, if you’re ready to write that novel, Joanna Penn will get you started with How to Write a Novel, everything you need to write your book from idea to finished final draft.
David Farland’s Million Dollar Outlines is the seminal writing manual on outlining and structuring a book to make it reach the largest audience, written by well-known master and teacher.
And Kevin Ikenberry’s Mercenary Guide to Story Structure gives a great overview of your story: All stories have structure—learn the ins and outs of the most common modern structures and how they enhance your characters and thestories they inhabit.
And you can’t get anything done unless you learn how to find and organize your writing time. Booked to the Gills: How to Crush Thirty-Day Writing Challenges for Busy People teaches time management, workload distribution, and other skills for writers who feel they have no time to participate in writing challenges such as National Novel Writing Month. Now to more specific skills, depending on what you’re writing.
Joshua Essoe continues his series of Guides with Worldbuilding, written by an editor from the perspective of tackling all the most-common issues writers struggle with when creating worlds.
On Writing (and Reading!) Short by Ron Collins is a celebration of writing, reading, and living short fiction.
Interested in writing scripts? My own book of Clockwork Angels: The Comic Scripts contains nitty-gritty inside examples of how to write a comic script, all six complete scripts for the BOOM! Studios comic series from bestelling author and award-winning comic writer.
In The Non-User-Friendly Guide for Aspiring TV Writers by Steven L. Sears, a veteran successful TV writer shares tips and inside knowledge on how to break in to writing for TV.
Once you have your masterpiece completed, you need to turn your mind to the business. If you decide to go the indie publishing route, a vital guidebook is Chris Kennedy’s Indie Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores, which teaches both the craftand business of writing.
Sarah Painter’s Stop Worrying; Start Selling:TheIntrovert Author’s Guide to Marketing shows you how to take control of your success as an author and build your readership through authentic, low-stress marketing.
Christopher D. Schmitz sells thousands of paperbacks every year by identifying his fanbase and targeting where those folks go… and he shows you how to replicate his success in Sell More Books at Live Events.
And finally, you can’t forget about the numbers. Read Accounting for Authors by D.F. Hart and Mark Leslie Lefebvre. Regardless of how you are publishing, having a solid understanding of basic accounting principles allows you to make the most out of your author earnings and calculate your pathways to success. With this StoryBundle, you’ll be well equipped for your writing and publishing journey. – Kevin J. Anderson
For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of five books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.
On Writing (and Reading!) Short by Ron Collins The Art and Craft of Writing by L. Jagi Lamplighter Essoe’s Guides to Writing: Worldbuilding by Joshua Essoe Indie Publishing for Profit by Chris Kennedy Booked to the Gills by Aisley Oliphant
If you pay at least the bonus price of just $20, you get all five of the regular books, plus ten more books for a total of 15!
Million Dollar Outlinesby David Farland Clockwork Angels – The Comic Scripts by Kevin J. Anderson The Non-User-Friendly Guide for Aspiring TV Writers by Steven L. Sears Stop Worrying; Start Selling by Sarah Painter Accounting for Authors by D.F. Hart, MBA and Mark Leslie Lefebvre The Mercenary Guide to Story Structure by Kevin Ikenberry Ask the Authors 2022 edited by Kaye Lynne Booth How to Write a Novel – From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn Sell More Books at Live Events by Christopher D. Schmitz Titans Rising edited by William Alan Webb and Chris Kennedy
It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi) for all books! It’s also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.
• Get quality reads: We’ve chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
• Pay what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much these fantastic books are worth. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine! You’ll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles. • Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there’s nothing wrong with ditching DRM. • Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to the Challenger Center for Space Education! • Receive extra books: If you beat the bonus price, you’ll get the bonus books!
StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook . For press inquiries, please email press@storybundle.com .
The 2022 Writer’s Career Toolkit Bundle launched on September 29th and will be available thorugh the end of November. So, before you sharpen your pencils and limber up your fingers for the upcoming writing challenge, grab you bundle and warm up your brain cells to do your best writing ever!
In celebration of this momentus event, eight of the contributing authors to Ask the Authors 2022 are getting together to tell us more about this great bundle and offer more writing tips and advice. Contributing author Mark Leslie LeFebrve will host myself, Bobby Nash, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Kevin Killiany, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Nancy Oswald, and Mario Acevedo, on his Stark Reflections podcast. I’ll keep you posted as to when that podcast session will air.
Hey! One of the contributing authors for Ask the Authors 2022, Kevin Killiany is sharing his expertise and discussing writing life with Dan Alatorre on the Authorsphere podcast. They even talk about me. Drop by and give a listen. You might learn something. I did.
