SUMMER IS ALMOST OVER

What have you done in your writing life?

Did you go to any conferences? Did you sign up to attend some conferences? 

Did you complete that manuscript? Did you submit your completed manuscript to a publisher?

Did you set up a dedicated writing space? Do you use that writing space at least once a day?

These are questions that you should be asking yourself. Remember, this was supposed to be the summer of embracing your author life.

What? You didn't answer yes to any of those questions? Why? What is the hold up? Why didn't you take the Summer of 2017 to be the summer of you embracing being an author? 

I haven't done much in my writing life except purge some old manuscripts that haven't seen sunlight since they were first conceived. However, what I did do was that I began to prepare myself for the fall conference and writing workshops. 

Being an author is never ending. Being an author is not as easy as just sitting down at a computer and typing out a great story. It involves marketing, being a business person and being your own biggest fan.

Being an author means that you are attending conferences, that you are writing at least once a day and that you are finishing up the manuscript and submitting it to a publisher. It also means that you are prepared for the criticism that comes with being an author.

So, summer is almost over. What are you going to do to prepare for the fall?

REJECTION IS A GOOD THING

Rejection isn’t something that anyone likes to go through.

Being a published author, I worry about rejection.

Rejection from a publisher, an editor or from readers.

How do you overcome the fear?

By saying to yourself: I will be better for it.

Yes, rejection serves a purpose. 

It allows us to remember that we are humans and make mistakes. It reminds us that we are not perfect, no matter how hard we try to be. It also reminds us that we have to, correction, we MUST continue to get better in our writing.

Readers are not going to allow authors to sit back and push through mundane work. Publishers aren’t going to let authors think that don’t need improvement and if you have a good editor; they will make sure that they are pushing you to bring out the best words you have.

Yes, Rejection is hard but it is necessary.

So don’t just sit there crying because you have gotten another rejection (or your first rejection).

Dust yourself off, pick up that pen, paper, Notebook, computer or IPad and begin the rewriting process. 

Trust me, you will be glad that you did.

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME AND ALL I WANT...

Hmm, that's a really hard thing to put into words. 


I could say; peace on earth and good will towards man; but you will hear all of that on the +Hallmark Channel in the next month. 
 
I could say my two front teeth, but I think someone already sang that song. 

I could say, two turtle doves but; that's just a little far fetched, don't you think?

So what I want for Christmas is more sales and more reviews. Didn't expect that did you?

Well I'm an author, so of course I want those things. 

If you have read my novels, LET ME JUST SAY THIS or LET ME SAY THIS, AGAIN please go onto Amazon and leave a review. Even if you DIDN'T like it; I'd rather know why you didn't than not know.



So, in this time where I could ask for a lot of things; I'm asking for two simple things. 

Can you do that for me? or should I ask +Santa Claus ?

IT'S NOVEMBER ALREADY?

Where has the time gone?

Before you know it; it will be December and the Christmas rush will begin. So before it does here is what you need to be doing as an author to prepare for the upcoming year.

1. Look up conferences to attend.
Here are a few that I attend: Creatures, Crimes and Creativity   Malice Domestic   BoucherCon2016 LIM Con   

2. Get your tax papers ready. I hope you kept those receipts for conferences you paid for. Did you write down the mileage every time you did a book event? What about the hotel stay you had to pay for? All of those things are tax deductions that can be used.

You do remember that you are a small business, right?

3. Have you separated your personal bank accounts from your book/business accounts. Yes, this is something that you should have done the very first time you made a sale.

4. Have you inventoried your books? You need to keep an accurate record of what you have on hand. Have you filed away the receipts when you purchased books?

5. Have you created a spreadsheet with your royalties? What! Gasp! I think I'm about to faint if you say no.

6. Make a budget for the coming year and what you want to spend for the following: Attending conferences, purchasing books to have, marketing materials and travel expenses. This should be done BEFORE doing Item Number 1 on this list.

7. Make sure that if you have purchased clothing for your book appearances that you write that off to. Yes, they are business expenses.

8. Make a commercial for the Christmas holiday. Remember; the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, what better way than to be among the many commercials that people will see. Put it on YouTube, your website; your blog, your Facebook page and your Twitter account. You may need to do multiple ones but remember; short and sweet make = book sales

9. Post those pictures to your Pinterest page! If you attended conferences people want to see what you did! Remember people are visual; we have to see you in order to know you

10. Get ready because January will be here before you know it!

Now, remember, these are ONLY SUGGESTIONS!  You do not have to do them all but using this as a guide will help you navigate the upcoming holiday and New Year!

Until next time Keep Reading and Keep Writing.

WHAT'S IN A NAME

Going to conferences is what I love to do!

Meeting someone who has the exact name is me is something that even I couldn't make up but that is what happened about two years ago.

I went to the #MDC3Con in Hunt Valley in September of 2014 and found out that my registration wasn't there. I had no bag, no name tag and no anthology (which you can ONLY get from the MDC3Con)

Now me and the other Sandra had tweeted to each other and been on FB chatting so when it came time for the conference I was ready to meet "Sandra Webster" (Honestly I didn't think it would happen but one can hope)

They said, "you already picked it up"

How could that happen? I hadn't been there.

When I checked my registration; I could see my name was there but they had my author name incorrect. No big deal since people always get it mixed up.

So I tried again, No; I registered under Sandra Webster and the confirmed that I registered and that I had already picked up all of the 'SWAG" earlier.

They wrote me out a badge because honestly, I think they thought I had been drinking a little to much.

I walked around for a bit and then saw my badge! On another person! OK, so we do writer mysteries and thrillers so it could be all in fun.

I walked up and said, "Oh, you are Sandra Webster too?" more as a joke and the response was, "YES"

TWO Sandra's are better than ONE!

Wait, what just happened! I wasn't ready! and I don't think she was ready for my response either.

How often do you find your Double! Well let me tell you this Sandra Webster is just as fun and sassy as I am!

We have become fast sisters and I can't wait to read her novels! Don't believe me, well we look just alike, don't we?

MONTH OF LOVE

So its the first week in February and what is it about this month that you LOVE?

I love that I get to go on vacation for a week but I also love that this is the week that LOVE IS MURDER happens.

If you have been following me for the past three years, than you know that I attend the Love Is Murder conference every year.

I get to meet up with old friends, make some new friends and get to congratulate the LOVEY award winners.

This year, my publisher Intrigue Publishing, has two more nominees up for the LOVEY. Last year CA Verstraete won for best horror/zombie novel and this year +Jeff Markowitz  and Annie Alexander are up for best Thriller and Mystery in their categories.

I hope we bring home both!

So even though this is the month of LOVE...I love that I get to go to such a great conference.

What do you love about this month?

Give the gift of books

I thought it would be great for you to see what I plan on giving for the holidays.

Take a look at what +We B Swangin' Show hostess +B Swangin Webster will be giving for the holidays.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Christmas Gift Ideas

'TIS THE SEASON....

Yes, it's that season again and today I come with a few words.

Instead of going out and spending hundreds of dollars, why not spend some of that money to give the #giftofreading to someone.

Books make a great gift and not just  my books! Any Books!

Books should replace TV at least for a couple of hours a day. Our children know how to 'power up' get to the next level and kill every alien on +XBOX 360 +PlayStation and +Nintendo Life but do they know how to read?

This season buy those teenagers, children and the adults on your list some great gifts.

If you are buying them a +Kindle Deals or a +NOOK load it up with a couple of books that they like to read.

That is the best gift you can give. I know I will be gifting books for my reader friends!

Happy Holidays

BEAUTIFUL LIFE

My life can be better but right now why would I want it to be. I'm living a +BeautifulLife.

I'm on the radio every week. I'm hosting a weekly radio talk show on +WLVS Radio and I am having the time of my life!

I'm also an author and the great reviews keep coming in for Let Me Just Say This.

I'm also the grandmother of seven grandbabies and got the news that I will be a Nina again..this time of TWINS!

HOLY COW..twins! I'm in love with them already!

So, this blog is nothing more than to tell you that I am living a beautiful life.

If you want to see me, tune in today at 4pm on http://listenvisionlive.com and see my beautiful life!

NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY

There is never enough time in the day for me to do everything that I want.

For instance; today is Tuesday and already I have gotten behind in things that I need to have done.
I need to prep for tomorrows radio show on +WLVS Radio and then I need to get at least 20 pages of edits done for +B Swangin Webster novel. I then need to finish up reading my girl +Lindsay Errington pre-novel and then I need to take care of mailing out some ARC copies of novels for +Austin Camacho and +Jeff Markowitz after which I need to finish mailing out the copies of novels for +Annie Rose Alexander all this while wanting to spend time with my cute grandson, Isaiah and then I must walk the dog.

Before all that can happen, I must finish work on my 'day' job. Yes, I actually have a day job, working at a middle school in Waldorf, Maryland.

+Mattawoman Middle School is where I spend almost ten hours every day doing things that help pay my bills. Don't get me wrong; I love my job! I love the students I come into contact with every day but some days like today; I'm so ready to quit because I'd rather be writing.

Which brings me to the 'not enough time in the day' theme. Since there is NEVER enough time, I never get to get my hair done, or my nails done or take a spa day. I squeezed in three days of vacation with my kids and my family because I was determined to relax. I loved the time away, at the beach and spending time with my honey and kids but I began to feel guilty about it afterwards. So I did what any workaholic would do. I started working longer hours.

Today I received a jolt. My blood pressure spiked so high that the blood vessels in my eyes burst. Not a good look, so the doctor said, "slow down, relax or risk having a heart attack or stroke". Ok, I am going to listen so today, I am not going to worry about if everything gets done. I am going to do what I can and then I'm going to stop working after 7pm. If it doesn't get done, there is always tomorrow, right? Because there really is never enough time in the day to do EVERYTHING that you want to do.

But it beats laying in the hospital or worse. So for those of you that are workaholics; please slow down; your life depends on it. There isn't enough time in the day to do everything and there never will be.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...

Last night I attended a birthday celebration for a friend. She turned 45 and instead of having your typical birthday party, she threw an "Oscar-like" party.

Birthday girl, Kabrena with Me

There were balloons, the #Oscar2014 statue, #paparazzi and even a #RedCarpet. There were 'interviews' with the 'celebrities' and there was a dramatic entrance by the birthday girl herself.

When we all were seated we were entertained by dancers and had a 'not so live band' performance.

Then came the 'nominees' and the awards.

The categories were cleaver. Best Mother Award, Best Catering Award, Best Videographer, Best Photography, Best Community Service and Best Inspirational. There were other categories but after the first two hours they all seemed to run together.

Oscar for Best Author Mentor

Imagine my surprise when I see the category for Best Author Mentor and my picture appears. I was up against some tough competition and I won the award for Best Author Mentor! I was in shock and I didn't have a prepared speech. I did my best #Academy speech and they didn't have to cue the music because my speech was short and sweet.

Although there was a mix-up with the trophy and I needed to hand my back before receiving the right one after the ceremony.

This was a great night for me and I have displayed my #Oscar award proudly in my library. I can now say, I am an Oscar Award Winning Author.

.....AND SO I'M OFF

Well, not in the sense you are thinking of.  Although sometimes the voices in my head make complete sense.

This time I'm off to another conference. This is one that I started attending three years ago. Love Is Murder is held in Chicago every year.

It threw me off this year because normally it is held during the +SuperBowl 2014 but this year it is the week AFTER. If I wore pearls, I'd be clutching them right now!

So after getting my head wrapped around not being in Chicago during the Super Bowl; I had to find something to do with my Sunday. Watch the game? you say...gasp! I'm not used to being in MARYLAND during that weekend so I had to entertain myself and that went very well. But I digress.

So, this weekend I will be in Chicago, just as the +PolarVortex is leaving or still there, who knows anymore; in any case. I will be there.

Hopefully I will have the courage to go outside but that is totally dependent on how cold it is when I arrive.

Besides, the Love Is Murder conference is used to seeing me in my cute shoes and this year I am researching a murder scene for #TheStilettoStalker. All I will say is: It involves the ice machine, dragging a body and not making noise...yeah this should be interesting.

So if you are in +Chicago this weekend, anywhere near the airport and pass by a place that sells the best burger, I heard it was +RockitBurger, feel free to bring me one and chat about the murder that will be committed there.

Oh and don't forget to say hello to +Intrigue Camacho because they will take pitches for new novels and one of their authors, +Christine Verstraete is up for a LOVEY award.

Hope to see you there!