Jenyfer Matthews

It’s tough to balance being a mom and all around domestic goddess (NOT!) with trying to write. Sometimes I have great ideas and no time — like today when I have three little girls raising havoc in my house. (“Lilo & Stitch 2″ is kind of drowning out my muse, LOL.) Other times I have lots of quiet time and no ideas. Right now I have this great story in my head that I really really want to finish up – not to mention several others that are budding, but there are days when all the white space on my computer screen silences me. What to do??

One author friend told me about BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard) and that does work – sometimes. Another mentioned in passing that she aims to write 500 words a day.

500 words? Doesn’t sound like much — and it’s not. But it surely beats the days when I write nothing!! And add it up and it’s 2500 a week, assuming I only get to write 5 days. Not a bad goal all in all. The best goals are completely attainable, after all.

So I practiced BICHOK this week and sat down to write my 500 words. The first day I got slightly over 500 and was very pleased. I took a step back and thought about where I left off and what to do next. The next day I sat down to do my 500 and wrote 1100. That was very satisfying! And it made up for the fact that I wasn’t able to write at all yesterday

I can see the big milestones in my story and I know where I want things to end up in the end. But I think it’s these 500 words markers that are going to fill in all the gaps in a wonderful way. Slow and steady will get me there…500 words at a time.

I’d been having a crappy weekend – no water service for a few days and PMS plus migraine. There aren’t enough mint filled Oreos in the world to fix all that, LOL. But I got a lovely surprise in my inbox this morning.

Another glowing review:

Emotionally charged and full of suspense Here To Stay by Jenyfer
Matthews is an enticing read. [...] I highly recommend this gripping
book to anyone who loves suspense, it is well worth the read.

Sheryl
http://ecataromance.com/248-reviews?type=&id=1247

Still don’t have water, can still feels the echoes of the migraine but now I don’t care Think I’ll have cookies for breakfast…

I guess DH has been reading my blog because guess what he got me for Valentine’s day? A bag of mint filled Oreos! Does he know the way to my heart or what? (See Temptation is Everywhere, Jan 30)

An author friend of mine pointed out something that should be obvious to us all though – you don’t need to wait for others to appreciate you. LOVE THYSELF. Appreciate yourself for all of your own wonderful and unique qualities. The more you appreciate yourself, the better you’ll feel. Often this has the side effect of attracting others to you as well. Not a bad deal.

And if you want to take it a step further, it could just be the perfect rationalization for buying yourself a little bling (See Self Serve Valentines, Feb8th)

The first hurdle any author faces is sitting down and writing their story. The second hurdle is having the guts to show it to someone and then getting it published. The third hurdle is waiting for feedback.

I write stories to share with other people. Having my book published is marvelous, but it’s a bit of a hollow victory until I know that someone has actually read and enjoyed it. A fat royalty check is a wonderful measure of how well your book has been received but sadly, not every author can count on that. And since not everyone who reads a book is going to take the time to write to the author with their reactions, authors often rely on reviews.

It’s not even that easy to get a review though. Review sites are inundated with books and don’t have the time or staff to read them all. Knowing that your book could be judged by it’s cover and passed over just adds a layer of anxiety to the whole process (at least for me!)

I admit that I haven’t been very patient. My book hasn’t been out very long but I want a review NOW. I’m happy to report that I’ve just gotten one – and it isn’t bad

http://romancereaderatheart.com/pubsandpromos/2007/jan07/HTS_JM.html

“HERE TO STAY is a “next step” story. You know, what happens next after the wedding of the two wonderful people who are meant to be together happily-ever-after.{…} HERE TO STAY is a cozy, feel-good read. The characters are well-drawn and the plot will keep you interested. Debut Cerridwen author Jenyfer Matthews is a talented writer and I’m looking forward to her next release!

Heather Hiestand

I got an email promotion from a florist about a week ago. I wish I could recall what exactly the subject line was, but suffice it to say it was interesting enough that I actually opened it.

The upshot of the email was that you knew that your mom and your sister and your friends were going to be watching to see just how well “he” did on Valentines day so why not help him succeed and impress all your friends by just sending a huge bouquet to YOURSELF. Pretty clever, huh?

I’ve also noticed a trend in jewelry stores marketing diamond rings for women to buy themselves to wear on their right hands – a symbol of their independence and success. Who needs someone else to buy you bling when you can do it yourself?

There’s nothing essentially wrong with either of these schemes and goodness knows you’ll always get exactly what you want if you buy it yourself. My question is WHEN DID WE LET OUR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS OFF THE HOOK??

First women’s magazines are full of ways to please their man (see Guide to Romance for Men) and now we have to buy our own presents too? Call me crazy but I don’t think that any of this bodes well for my own Valentine’s day…

People might think that “all” an author has to do is think of a story and then sit down and write it. Simple, right?

First of all, as I posted previously, even if that was all there was to it, it’s not as easy as it sounds. (see previous post!) Second of all, that isn’t all there is to it!!!

The world is full of wonderfully talented, creative writers. (I should know – I’m friends with many of them!!) Once a writer finds a publisher for their work the hard part really begins: getting people to read it. Until your readership is so well established that people line up to buy your next book — no matter what you write — you have to think up clever ways to get your name in front of people and make them curious enough to pick up your book and read it.

I feel like I spend more time on promotion these days than on my actual writing. Every day I check my emails and then cruise the various author / reader groups I belong to to see what everyone is up to. I post my own messages and announcements and just random thoughts. I update my webpage regularly. I do live chats. I post to my blog. If I don’t put my name out there, who will?

I try to do this stuff on days when my creative juices are at low tide but it’s a balancing act. There is only so much time in a day and writing is only one part of my life. But if I don’t promote then no one will read my books. If I don’t write then there will be no books to read! You can see the problem.

‘Nuff said. Time to practice some BICHOK.