Pieces of Me

Thank you, Flora, for inviting me to share on your blog.

I thought I would talk about the elements of me that end up in my writing. I write in two genres. When I write in fantasy, everything is created in my imagination. I don’t tap into any of my own experiences because I’m creating an imaginary world and characters that are outside of myself, but when I write in YA, I admit that I often draw on many of my own experiences although I’m not so bold as to write my own life. Of course, I don’t give all of my characteristics to all of my characters, but within several of them, you can find pieces of me.
I described Aralyn Liddell in Plain Jane to look like me. My hair is naturally dark brown, and as a child I always felt that it was dull and bland. My lips are very thin, and it always bothered me. I felt lipless! The way she saw herself is the way I saw myself, but not all of her attributes were mine. I created in her the intelligence level that I always desired to have rather than the one I had. She was brilliant; I did well in school, but I had to work for my grades. Her struggle with self-esteem is one that I related to, but her life was not mine, her family dynamic was not mine, and her first experience with love was not mine. I did, however, experience similar triumphs and similar heartbreak. I knew what it felt like to suffer the darkness of depression, but my fall into the black abyss was different from Aralyn’s. My struggle to regain myself was much more complex, but I used the things that I had been through and reached down into every emotion that I had felt during those bleak years to write a story that depicted how a sweet, smart girl could end up in such a dark place.

How to Sell Your First Novel

-By RaeBeth McGee-Buda

Writing a novel is a great goal and ambition. After you take the walk down the creation path by writing your first novel, there are several key points to selling it once it’s ready. First and foremost, don’t skimp when it comes to the editing. Bad grammar within a book can hurt its sells. I have come across books where it was hard to read them because of the mistakes an editor could have caught. So remember editors are helpful and there to polish your novel up to the best it can be.
You can create a press release which will then be used for newspapers. The press release should include your books information. Such as its release date, topic, genre, etc. Press releases can also be sent to bloggers who may want to add the release to their topic friendly blog.
Once the press release is sent the next goal is to get your novel available online. There are several places a self publishing author can do this. One of the most popular is with Createspace from Amazon. Authors also use Smashwords to have their ebook distributed to Barnes and Noble, Apple, and Barker and Taylor. Don’t forget your ISBN during this step. Each version needs its own ISBN number.
After your book has been approved for the online markets of your choosing, begin planning social events- such as Facebook release parties, blog tours, etc. There are many creative ideas out there. Use them. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. There are loads of people out there that are willing to help authors. Don’t be afraid to ask.
Even after your novel is released and the parties/tours are over.. don’t stop promotion. Promotion is the key to selling your first novel.

About the author

RaeBeth McGee-Buda was born in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1987, the second daughter of Rachel Yost and Arthur Curtis McGee. RaeBeth grew up loving to read and write poetry, as well as short stories. Her childhood dream was to become a teacher. Rae Beth’s dream of writing was created in her eleventh grade literature class where writing became her passion.
RaeBeth married in August 2012 to her husband, Gregory Stephen Buda Jr. and resides in a small Pennsylvania town of Fairchance. RaeBeth is a full time mother of one and is expecting her second child.
She graduated from American Intercontinental University with her associates in business administration. She enjoys spending her time writing and feels that connecting with readers is her main goal.
RaeBeth published Silenced under her maiden name but plans to continue writing under her married name with any other works.

Freelance Writing Guide: What to Expect in Your First Year as a Freelance Writer:

I’m Christine Rice, the author of Freelance Writing Guide, which is a helpful career guide that will inform you of the experiences I had, and what I learned, during my first year as a freelance writer. The purpose of the book is to educate you - someone who is considering becoming a freelance writer - on what you can expect in the beginning of your freelance writing career, so that you will have no questions or fear of the unknown.

The book is straightforward and realistic. It covers ghostwriting, article writing, book reviewing, book writing, self-publishing, traditional publishing (of books and magazine articles), business and finance topics, the lifestyle of a writer, income and types of pay, and many other topics. This is a resourceful book from an experienced freelance writer, written for writers who wish to develop a freelance writing career.

Here is an excerpt from Freelance Writing Guide: What to Expect in Your First Year as a Freelance Writer:

Chapter 8 - Manage a Website, Blog, or Both!

As a freelance writer in the 21st century, you will need a website, blog, or both. There are free ways to have a website or blog, so there is no reason not to. Generally speaking, websites are a way to market your product (your writing, or yourself—as a freelance writer). Blogs are a way to connect—share your thoughts and knowledge—with your readers. You can also have a website that has a blog as one of its pages if you prefer to be efficient. Let’s review aspects about websites and blogs separately.

How Do You Find the Time

By Jade Varden

If you’re an indie author, you’ve got to spend a ton of time promoting your work, writing your work, editing your work – and, if you’re like most indie authors, you’ve also got to hold down a job, maintain some semblance of a relationship with your family and still make time for your friends.

So how do you find the time to do it all?

Producing Sympathy For Your Characters

Guest Post written by Elizabeth Guizzetti

First of all, I’d like to say thanks to Flora at the Bootheel Cotton Patch for allowing me the opportunity to do a guest blog.

Now, imagine it is a beautiful summer’s day; you and a friend are sitting on the patio of your favorite café. You would be enjoying a great lunch, however unfortunately your friend is on a long winded monologue whining about her boyfriend, her parents, her boss, and her dog. Tired already?

Finding the Right Detective

The Cotton Patch would like to welcome author Robert Downs as he shares this guest post with us.

While characters are created every day, by authors known and unknown, fresh voices are getting harder and harder to come by. Often, it’s a simple twist, like a non-smoker with a trust fund in a world where all the hard-boiled detectives are smokers, loners, and relatively broke.

As readers we want to see unique, but we don’t know what’s unique until we read it. However, if you go too far into the unknown with a voice that’s more troubled than pure, you run the risk of turning your reader off. Does that mean you shouldn’t take risk?

I Want You To Tell Me A Story

Hi there, my name is Marc Nash, an independent author from London with 4 books published on Kindle and several more to come.

While it's tough competing out there trying to get noticed and to get attention for my books, I'm actually going to try and make it harder for myself by recruiting some more writers to publish books of their own. People who maybe up until now haven't felt able to consider themselves as an author. I want to encourage as many people as possible to become writers. After all, the means of getting published are readily available and at little or no cost, so the only barrier to becoming an author is you!