Monday, November 30, 2015

A great place for authors to hold book events

     As many of you know I had a book signing this past weekend. This time around I thought a lot about where I wanted to hold my book signing. A bit of back story... I live in a very small town in Wisconsin where books tend to be less important than hunting or watching sports. I wanted to hold my book signing for Finding Elizabeth somewhere where I would get more exposure. To do that I knew I had to go to either Green Bay or Appleton.

     I had a few location ideas; libraries and a couple bookstores but because of my love for their store I put Half Price Books in Appleton, Wisconsin at the top of my list. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made so far in my publishing career.

     The woman that I spoke to to set up the book signing, Sarah, was extremely accomodating. I was afraid at first HPB would turn me down because I'm an indie author but they welcomed me with open arms; not only did they allow me to hold my book signing at the Appleton store but they day after I scheduled the book signing with them they had the information put up on their website.

      From there my book signing also showed up on the events calendar for several of the local news channels.

     I did my thing and put posters up in the area and ordered book marks to give out at the book signing then patiently waited for November 28th to arrive.

     Finally the day of the book signing arrived and I arrived about an hour early to get everything set up. When I arrived I was introduced to an employee named Sam who helped get everything set up. She and one of her coworkers set up the table next to the door and even brought a chair for my grandmother (who had tagged along) to sit on. HPB provided balloons and cookies and Sam brewed coffee which was set next to where I was sitting.

     I don't have one of those card readers so the store would have even made their old carbon machine available to me if I had needed it.

     At one o'clock, the start time of my book signing they made an announcement letting everyone in the store know about the event going on.

      I can honestly say I am so happy with everything Half Price Books did for my book signing. They went above and beyond anything I could have asked for. They were accomodating, friendly, and professional and I can't gush about them more.

     If you're an author looking for somewhere to hold a book signing/reading/event and you live in one of the 16 states where Half Price Books has a location I highly recommend contacting them and inquiring. You won't regret it!

     Again, a huge thank you to everyone at the Appleton Half Price Books! You guys are amazing and I am eternally grateful!


Friday, November 20, 2015

A Day In My Life & Week 3 of NaNoWriMo

       To make up for my lack of post last week I'm doing a double post! 
        For the first part of the post allow me to take you through a typical day in my life:
        9:00 am:
           I usually wake up sometime between 9-9:30 in the morning. Hey, don't judge... I'm up late writing at night, you'll see. 
        9:15-10:15 am: 
           I usually spend about an hour first thing in the morning checking my emails and social media and answering any email, following/repsonding to people on Twitter that I feel need immediate attention. 
        10:15 am - 12:00 pm:
             I spend most of the morning getting housework out of the way. I hate doing dishes but I suppose they have to be done eventually... anyway this time is spent doing anything from vacuuming to taking out the garbage and cleaning out the refrigerator, etc.
         Noon-3:00 pm: 
             What I do in this time chunk varies. I'm either writing out a chapter by hand in my latest WIP or I'm typing up a newly finished chapter. It depends how inspired I feel... sometimes writing comes easier at night than during the day. Also during this time I post on Twitter and Facebook or schedule posts to go live later in the day. Sometimes this part of the day switches with the morning if I have to run out to do errands. 
        3:00-5:00 pm: 
            Alright I admit it, I spend this two hour block doing absolutely nothing Monday-Friday. And by nothing I mean watching Dr. Phil and Judge Judy. We all have our guilty pleasures. 
       5:00-6:00 pm:
           Dinner usually happens around this time, but that can very depending on how hungry I am, how long it takes to cook dinner, stuff like that.
        7:00-10:00 pm:
            Lost hours spent watching television, reading (although I haven't had as much reading time lately), showering, or playing games on my nook. 
         10:00 pm - 1:00 am:
              Pure, enjoyable writing time. Alone in my bedroom, just me, my notebook, and Halestorm blaring on my ipod. Or, you know, typing if I wrote during the day. 
          So that's a typical day in my life. Sure there are days when I spend a whole day out doing something else, but this is mostly how my life works Monday thru Friday.
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       Part two of this double blog post is all about Week Three of NaNoWriMo. Are you still with me? Good!
        How are you doing on NaNoWriMo? Are you stuck in a rut? Way behind on your word count? Don't fret, you'll get there and even if you don't reach the 50k goal you're still awesome! Why? Because you wrote something. You had an idea and you started writing something. No matter what your word count is you should still be proud.
        Here are some ways I've kept myself going this month:
             - Writing to an upbeat playlist. Whether you write best to Mozart or AC/DC or Taylor Swift it doesn't matter. Make a playlist for yourself and plug in while you write. What's worked best for me is selecting the rock genre in my itunes library and tuning it. I love writing along to loud rock music, it keeps me pumped up and drives me onward.
           - Log off Twitter. Or instagram, facebook, buzzfeed, or whatever is distracting you online. I know you just have to know the latest gossip about Minnie's boyfriend's cousin but it can wait. Reward yourself after finishing your chapter or a certain word goal. You'll feel so much more accomplished.
           - Plan out goals for the next section / chapter of your novel. If you're stuck and don't know how to go on just write out what you want to happen in the next chapter or section and it should get you back on track.
          - Take a break. Take a walk, watch a movie, grab a bite, go shopping, spend time with friends, hell go ahead and take a nap. You don't need to spend every second of the day writing. (Gasp!) All that will do is burn you out and you'll start resenting your project. Just rest a little and come back to your writing when you feel rejuvenated.
          - Talk to another writer. They're going through the same thing you are so whether you chat in the forums on NaNoWriMo.org, in person at a coffee shop get together, or on the phone you'll feel better after talking to a fellow NaNoWriMo-er. And they might even inspire you or give you tips on how you can move forward with your novel.
          - Take a notebook with you everywhere. Ideas are everywhere and you never know when or where they'll hit so its best to be prepared. I've written on napkins, magazines, post its... whatever is handy when an idea knocks me in the head.
         Good luck fellow NaNoWriMo-ers! May your pen never run out of ink, may you have a never ending supply of coffee, may you always remember to back up your work, and may you reach your goals! I hope to be reading your novel someday.
         Current NaNoWriMo Word Count: 48,331
          Look me up on NaNoWriMo.org:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/participants/Taylor-Fenner
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         Don't forget! I'll be signing copies of FINDING ELIZABETH at Half Price Books in Appleton, Wisconsin Saturday November 28th from 1-3 pm! As a special holiday bonus you'll get The Haunting Love FREE when you purchase Finding Elizabeth! Hope to see you there!
         Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 6, 2015

Surviving Week One of NaNoWriMo

     Alright.. so it's midnight on November 1st. Halloween is officially over (sob) and its now the beginning of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You have your pens/pencils/notebooks/laptop at the ready and its time to start writing! Right?
    Wrong. At least if you're like me and you forgot to factor in Daylight Savings Time... ending? beginning? I can never remember which we do in the fall.
     Day 1: Sunday November 1st
            Wake up incredibly late, somewhat relieved that the pressure of finishing my Halloween short story is off now that it's been completed and posted. Ditto the Halloween Contest my Paranormal Art group always hosts during the month of October. I was up reading late the night before and feel incredibly lazy all day. Does writing in my journal count?

     Day 2: Monday November 2nd
              Writing done today: some additional sections added to the previous two chapters in my work-in-progress plus an hour or so spent doing research for the next chapter. I fully intended to do some writing before I went to be but exhaustion has a way of creeping up on me.

     Day 3: Tuesday November 3rd
              Feeling revitalized after ten blissful hours of sleep and inspired after watching the new episode of Wicked City (even though I'm not writing about serial killers or Los Angeles) I finally, thankfully put pen to paper and wrote 3 or 4 pages. Not a lot but definitely making progress.

     Day 4: Wednesday November 4th
              After being up late the previous night writing I spent another 1 1/2 hours writing 4 more pages. Nearly finished with this chapter... just a few more words... darn, I fell asleep on my notebook. No matter I will finish tomorrow night.
 
     Day 5: Thursday November 5th
             Super wired because the giveaway I had going on Goodreads ends tonight and as of 11 pm I've gotten nearly 1550 entries. Amazing! Feeling so inspired I write until nearly 1am. I finish my chapter and begin plotting out the next one.

     Day 6: Friday November 6th
             Wake up early to post this blog. I find that I work best late at night, with the music going. (I prefer Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless, Seether, and other hard rock as I write, but the rain last night was spectacular too.) I write by hand because then I don't have the lure of twitter to distract me.

Total Word Count Written this week: 3300

     How about you? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? How do you handle distractions like the internet? Do you write with music or in silence? How long do yo spend writing each day?

Read NIGHT OF TERROR