An Intense Week and How to Structure Time

I think spinning ten spaghetti filled plates on sticks might have been easier than the level of focus I have had to apply to writing this week.

As many of you know, eight of my novels are being turned into audiobooks. It is a wonderful process and enables you to work with some fantastically talented people. It is a real joy to hear a professional producer interpret your story and characters into an audible reality. I love it. The thing that is the struggle for me is the amount of time spent listening to the books to finalise approval. Not only do I work full time, I write books, audio edit and attempt to maintain a life. It is an incredibly varied life; yet, it is about spinning numerous plates simultaneously. There are only so many hours in the week and a certain potential productivity.

With the above in mind, I have been asked how I do it all. The answer is quite simple: - I got rid of my television. I realised that I was spending at least two hours per night watching television in a state of mindless numbness. Two hours over seven days resulted in wasting 14 hours a week that I could dedicate to achieving my dreams. If you multiply that by 56 weeks in a year then you have 784 hours which is 32 and a half days. Thought of spending one month per year in front of a television horrified me. It was that realisation that made me take back my time.

Without a television as distraction, I immersed myself in writing and creating. The two hours a day of television became two hours of writing. In two hours I can write 5000 words. They might not be good words but they enable a book draft every couple of months. The time in edit enables the word-sithing and literary crafting. So I write a book, leave it to brew, edit a book and then write another. I have quite a back-log at the moment. There are times when I wonder why I spend hours of my time immersed in literary dreams and the answer is simple - I am driven to do it. It is a compulsion and part of me. When I don't do it, well I miss it. What's more, fragments of stories circle my mind like asteroids. The writing lands those asteroids and when I am being particularly creative there is a meteor shower.

I realised a few years ago that I will write my whole life whether or not it sold. It was something I was just going to do because it was my passion. As soon as that decision came to conscious, it was then the books began to sell because I was not doing it for money.  With all of the above in mind, time is precious and if you can create a structure and not be distracted by the noisy television screen in the corner, then you have taken the first step to working towards your dreams.

Ruby Allure Books:

AUDIBLE LINK FOR A SHORT COURSE IN CREATIVE WRITING: http://amzn.com/B01390THLK

21/08/15

 

"An Unexpected Gem"

***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.

 

TO BUY MONEY FARM ON AMAZON.com http://amzn.com/B010F04W9O

· Frode

06/08/15

5 STAR

"M.O.N.E.Y. is bad? This book is not!"

So Money Farm by Ruby Allure was a surprise! When I REALLY did not read things about this book I review for Audiobook Blast, I sometimes get books I don't know something about. BTW: I read 99% about the books I want to review, but this book I can't remember I did that for. Anyways: This was a nice surprise, and I think it is one of those books that is better the second time you read it. No joke! I listen to this twice before I made this! Money Farm makes you thin, and who does not like to hear a book that makes you think? It is an awesome book, that I will recommend to all that likes audiobooks, and really to people that does not!

Helen Lloyd English accent its the topic like a glow and a hand! Her "lady like" voice is so cold, and clear I feel that the author made this book thinking that Helen Lloyd would read it out loud! That is how I feel those two fits together! The 2 times 14 hrs and 6 mins I spend with her never feels boring or uninteresting! I would love to spend it again, and I will because this book I will hear again, and again, even when it is 14 hrs and 6 mins long! That is saying something!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

MONEY FARM

· "Incredibly thought provoking..."

What did you like most about Money Farm?

It was an eye opener.

 

What did you like best about this story?

I like the way it made you think about the way normal everyday life is here and now, and the future...

 

Have you listened to any of Helen Lloyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Helen Lloyd narrated this fairly long audiobook brilliantly. Although the story content was very intense and thought provoking, her lovely smooth voice was very easy to listen to and I thought it was just perfect, a fascinating book wonderfully narrated.

 

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was, although it is too long to do so.

Perfectionism and Self-imposed Standards

Perfectionism and self-imposed standards

 

Isn't it ironic that so many of us strive for perfection but in doing so give ourselves a sense of dissatisfaction? Today I wandered through crowds of people at Bournemouth Airshow. I had a rather profound thought that all these people had thoughts going around their heads and I wondered how many of them aspired to perfection.

The reason I was thinking about this is because I have noticed how much people now juggle in their lives. There are the jobs and the career ladders, there are families, fitness and wealth - just to list a few. The thing is there is such limited time and we all desire to achieve and experience so much. So how do we do it all? Well you can attempt to structure your life to fit everything in but that stops being fun. Even those things you have passion for lose their sparkle when they are forced. So what do you do? The answer is prioritise. You list the few things that are really important. What IS really important to you? Is it the perfect body, the wellbeing of your children, the relationship, the career or owning something ridiculous? Once you know the three priorities consider focusing on those and allowing yourself time for you.

The thing is there is we only have so much time and energy. I look at energy levels like water. Where is the water flowing to and where are the leaks? Where do you gain your water from? I know it is simple the thing is there is so much pressure to be perfect, to make things that are perfect yet we live in an imperfect world. In the end we end up burnt-out from doing so much all of the time. Sometimes your priority may well to sit eating a nice cake with a coffee staring into space. Having time to do nothing or as some call it - 'me' time... Now that might be perfection.

Ruby Allure Books:

AUDIBLE LINK FOR A SHORT COURSE IN CREATIVE WRITING: http://amzn.com/B01390THLK

21/08/15

 

"An Unexpected Gem"

***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.

 

TO BUY MONEY FARM ON AMAZON.com http://amzn.com/B010F04W9O

· Frode

06/08/15

5 STAR

"M.O.N.E.Y. is bad? This book is not!"

So Money Farm by Ruby Allure was a surprise! When I REALLY did not read things about this book I review for Audiobook Blast, I sometimes get books I don't know something about. BTW: I read 99% about the books I want to review, but this book I can't remember I did that for. Anyways: This was a nice surprise, and I think it is one of those books that is better the second time you read it. No joke! I listen to this twice before I made this! Money Farm makes you thin, and who does not like to hear a book that makes you think? It is an awesome book, that I will recommend to all that likes audiobooks, and really to people that does not!

Helen Lloyd English accent its the topic like a glow and a hand! Her "lady like" voice is so cold, and clear I feel that the author made this book thinking that Helen Lloyd would read it out loud! That is how I feel those two fits together! The 2 times 14 hrs and 6 mins I spend with her never feels boring or uninteresting! I would love to spend it again, and I will because this book I will hear again, and again, even when it is 14 hrs and 6 mins long! That is saying something!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

MONEY FARM

· "Incredibly thought provoking..."

What did you like most about Money Farm?

It was an eye opener.

 

What did you like best about this story?

I like the way it made you think about the way normal everyday life is here and now, and the future...

 

Have you listened to any of Helen Lloyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Helen Lloyd narrated this fairly long audiobook brilliantly. Although the story content was very intense and thought provoking, her lovely smooth voice was very easy to listen to and I thought it was just perfect, a fascinating book wonderfully narrated.

 

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was, although it is too long to do so.

 

How to Promote your Book

How to promote your book

Something that I have noticed is how reluctant people are to market their work.  Why is it so difficult  to let your audience know you have created something for them? After spening years crafting and creating a work of art shouldn’t you let people know? Maybe even celebrate the fact you have created something worthy of their attention. What you do have to remember is that people have a choice whether they choose to part with money to purchase one of your creations or not. No one is forced to buy your work remember that!

So what is it that stops people sharing their books with the world? It seems there is a lack of confidence, self-worth or value for what has been created. Once you understand that then you will understand that your competitors feel the same. Or maybe they don’t maybe they have complete confidence in their creation and are willing to put themselves on the line to achieve their dreams. Why should the person next to you achieve their dream and you wait in the shadows for something to happen. The expression everything comes to those who wait is one of the most ridiculous attitudes to adopt. The truth is more waiting comes to those who wait – and waiting is NOT everything. So suck it up Princess and stand by your creation rather than hope someone will do it for you! I know this is brutal, but this is what I say to my students because your work and your sales are your responsibility – fact!

So ask yourself what is your resistance… You might fail? So what? What if you do? At least you gave it a go. What might you feel? Humiliated? Stupid? Like you are not worthy? Well my friend you will feel the same if you don’t give it some welly too and go for it! So now we have discovered what is holding you back then maybe it is time to shift perception and consider how enjoyable it is to contribute to other people’s lives with your creations. What if your creation actually enabled the world to see an entirely new way? What if you held the answer to world change and you were lurking in the shadows fearing the potential of your own light! Yes stop being a dick!

So what do you need to do? You need to find a way that you enjoy promoting: a way that is fun and one that you will repeat whether or not you have an instant return. At this point I now realise why working in a bookshop while I studied my Masters Degree served me so well. I worked for a well known book retailer when Dan Brown released his books and I watched how word of mouth generated so many sales. What I realised is that it is better to have a few books released or available simultaneously. Make sure you have them in a variety of formats too. When one book sells it is quite often the case that people go back and buy the series by the same author. Try not to be a one book pony and never take a pony into a bookstore!

So how do you promote?  Simple - you tell people in as many different ways as possible. How do you tell people? There is social media. The era of social media is amazing. People can find out about you in an instant. I am sure you have heard of: Pintrest, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud and Facebook to name but a few. There is an ‘in person approach’ with books signings. There are author websites. There are blogs. There are magazines. There are radio stations and there are reviewers. If you have your work on audio – you post samples on audio forums such as Soundcloud. You take every opportunity to share on Youtube. If you have the opportunity to do interviews take it. You put yourself out there in as many ways as possible. You go beyond your comfort zone and approach reviewers.  What you do is you allow yourself one year of consistent promotional repetition. Each week you dedicate an evening or a two evenings to blogging, tweeting and sharing.  You allocate a specific amount of time and go for it!

 

Personally I create a visual image to motivate me. For some it might be pictures of your children or you ideal home. I put that image in where I can see it from my computer. Also there will be days when you don’t want to promote. Well ‘give it a try.’ When I say give it a try it means sit at the computer and say I will give it a try for ten minutes… You are likely to find a couple of hours pass and promotion is out there.

Sometimes you will hit a wall with promoting and that is when you spend time brain-storming ways to find contacts and then contact them. Ask yourself how you found out about your favourite books. Was it word of mouth? If it was from whom? Find that person and give them your book to read. If they like it then they will share it. The thing is the world is full of information so you have to contribute worthwhile information. What is your book about? How can you be an expert on related subjects and then write articles on that? What you do have to remember is that there are people searching out what you have created. If you wanted to find what you had created where would you look? That is precisely where you place it. Look at Ad words, look at tags and look at the best blogs on your subject. What are they doing? How do you equal that or do better. The act of promoting yourself is easy. The only resistance is you. Imagine how your life will be different once you succeed. Allow yourself that year of consistent promotion and re-evaluate what works and what does not work along the way. If anything you will emotionally expand and grow because you are stepping beyond your comfort zone. Go for it and win! Oh and in the meantime write your next book.

In the meantime here are a couple of mine  that are selling rather well:)

AUDIBLE LINK FOR A SHORT COURSE IN CREATIVE WRITING: http://amzn.com/B01390THLK

21/08/15

 

"An Unexpected Gem"

***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.

 

TO BUY MONEY FARM ON AMAZON.com http://amzn.com/B010F04W9O

· Frode

06/08/15

5 STAR

"M.O.N.E.Y. is bad? This book is not!"

So Money Farm by Ruby Allure was a surprise! When I REALLY did not read things about this book I review for Audiobook Blast, I sometimes get books I don't know something about. BTW: I read 99% about the books I want to review, but this book I can't remember I did that for. Anyways: This was a nice surprise, and I think it is one of those books that is better the second time you read it. No joke! I listen to this twice before I made this! Money Farm makes you thin, and who does not like to hear a book that makes you think? It is an awesome book, that I will recommend to all that likes audiobooks, and really to people that does not!

Helen Lloyd English accent its the topic like a glow and a hand! Her "lady like" voice is so cold, and clear I feel that the author made this book thinking that Helen Lloyd would read it out loud! That is how I feel those two fits together! The 2 times 14 hrs and 6 mins I spend with her never feels boring or uninteresting! I would love to spend it again, and I will because this book I will hear again, and again, even when it is 14 hrs and 6 mins long! That is saying something!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

MONEY FARM

· "Incredibly thought provoking..."

What did you like most about Money Farm?

It was an eye opener.

 

What did you like best about this story?

I like the way it made you think about the way normal everyday life is here and now, and the future...

 

Have you listened to any of Helen Lloyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Helen Lloyd narrated this fairly long audiobook brilliantly. Although the story content was very intense and thought provoking, her lovely smooth voice was very easy to listen to and I thought it was just perfect, a fascinating book wonderfully narrated.

 

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was, although it is too long to do so.