Tag Archives: Danielle Ackley-McPhail

The Proper (and easy!) way to Market your Novel #1

Posted on October 5, 2012 | 10 comments

Okay… Now this manual says to…

Oh!  You are here.  Yes, Jennifer M. Eaton is still tied up.  Yet you still return?  Come, foolish humans… I am still taking bribes listening to pleas to release Jennifer M. Eaton.

Her fate will be decided tomorrow, so click here if you would like to save her and maybe win a copy of her Make Believe Anthology In the meantime… this little book says I can find one of her posts and set it up… Here!  I have found it!

My writers group was recently treated to a visit by Author and Editor Danielle Ackley McPhail.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Danielle, she is the author of The Literary Handyman: Tips on Writing From Someone’s Who’s Been There, Yesterday’s Dreams (The Eternal Cycle), The Bad Ass Faeries Series, and tons of other stuff.

Danielle is open and friendly, and I would encourage any author to make the effort to attend one of her appearances if you are able.

A fellow writer asked her about authors marketing their own books.  As expected, Danielle said that no matter where you get published, you will be expected to market your work.  My eyes breezed across the crowd, and I smiled as they fell on the pale, trembling faces of my counterparts.

Everyone hopes for a magic wand to tap them on the head.  “Bing!  You are a best-selling author”.  Sorry, guys.  It’s not going to happen.  At least not with a magic wand. (And if it does, pray that it’s not one of Danielle’s Bad Ass fairies.  That would not be pleasant at all.)

The main thing I have been worried about is turning into the “Amway Salesman.”  (Not that there is anything wrong with Amway.  I am sure their products are great— **Wink**)

I think many of us have been through a friend or family member who got caught up in a get-rich quick scheme, and every time you saw them they tried to sell you something.  It gets annoying.  And in the end, you don’t want to see that person anymore so you don’t have to deal with it.

Well, that is NOT the way to market your novel.  Danielle made a great comment.  It struck home for me, and I hope this helps you out, too.  Are you ready for the secret?  Are ya?

Well, I’m going to make you wait until next Friday, because this post has gotten to long, and I need time to think up a new Friday Series… but when you see how easy it is, you will smack yourself in the head.

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Biggest Mistakes New Writers Make #4: Resisting Feedback

Posted on June 29, 2012 | 33 comments

Do you resist feedback.  Are ya sure?  Come on, now… Let’s be honest with ourselves, shall we?

At a recent NJ Author’s talk on “Getting Published” the authors (Listed and linked below) discussed the biggest mistakes they think new writers make.

 ***Don’t be resistant to feedback***

Danielle Ackley McPhail (Author of the Literary Handyman, and Editor of Bad Ass Fairies) commented during this discussion (see the other posts if you are just tuning in) that “you can’t be resistant to feedback”.  She said if you resist what editors say, and you seem resistant in general, they might not come back to you.  She said to recognize your role in the relationship.  If you won’t budge, then you won’t move forward. (And we all want that second book deal, right?)

For those of you who are not lucky enough to have publishers or editors yet, the same can be said about your beta readers.  If you have them listen to them.  You might not always agree, but if more than one person thinks something is weak, and you think it’s great, you need to consider that you might be looking at your work with blind eyes.  Take a deep breath, and LISTEN.  Be open minded.  Put your guard down, and you just might be surprised by what happens.

Jonathan Maberry:  www.Jonathanmaberry.com

Mike McPhail:  www.mcp-concepts.com

Danielle Ackley-McPhail:  www.sidhenadaire.com

Jon Gibbs:  www.acatofninetales.com

Jennifer R. Hubbard:  www.jenniferhubbard.com

Kristin Battestella:  www.jsnouff.com/kristin

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Biggest Mistakes New Writers Make #3: Nope, you can’t explain yourself. Sorry, not allowed!

Posted on June 8, 2012 | 34 comments

At a recent Author’s panel discussion, Jonathan Maberry, Mike McPhail, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jon Gibbs, Jennifer R. Hubbard, and Kristin Battestella discussed the biggest mistakes they believe writers make.

Mike McPhail commented that you CANNOT explain your novel to people.

Think about that. 

What Mike said is that you are not going to be there to explain anything about your novel.  It needs to stand on its own with no questions.  If it can’t stand on its own, you are not going to find a publisher (and remember, he’s a publisher as well as a writer)

I recently read a review from a “self-published” author that said:  “Just get through the first few chapters… you’ll be glad you did.”

I can’t help but wonder if they asked a friend to say that… This is probably why they self-published.  Why would you start your novel out weak?  Personally, if I’m not engaged in the first few pages, the book goes back on the shelf.

I wonder if this person ever had beta readers.

Note:  I would never let a beta-read pass with a bad first page, let alone a bad first few chapters.  That’s like literary suicide in my book.

Make sure your novel can stand on its own, and for goodness sake, if you feel like you have to apologize for your first few chapters CHANGE THEM!

Jonathan Maberry:  www.Jonathanmaberry.com

Mike McPhail:  www.mcp-concepts.com

Danielle Ackley-McPhail:  www.sidhenadaire.com

Jon Gibbs:  www.acatofninetales.com

Jennifer R. Hubbard:  www.jenniferhubbard.com

Kristin Battestella:  www.jsnouff.com/kristin

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Biggest Mistakes New Authors Make #2—Jumping the gun- Writing Non-linearly

Posted on June 1, 2012 | 40 comments

At a recent Author’s panel discussion, Jonathan Maberry, Mike McPhail, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jon Gibbs, Jennifer R. Hubbard, and Kristin Battestella discussed the biggest mistakes they believe writers make.

Mistake number two was not writing linearly, which means not writing your story from start to finish, beginning to end, without jumping around.

Everyone gets great ideas while they are writing.  When you get one that happens later in the story, do you stop and write it?  I admit, I do this all the time.

To keep yourself moving, have a folder called “revision notes”.  Rather than jumping back to something you wish you wrote, or hopping forward to a great idea you have… place the idea in a “notes folder” so you don’t forget it, and then keep writing.  This will keep you focused on where you are.

I admit I am guilty of this in a big way.  I have whole chapters that are written that will not appear until book five or six, and I don’t have book one published yet… This is why book one probably needed so much editing.

Who else is guilty of this little gem?

Jonathan Maberry:  www.Jonathanmaberry.com

Mike McPhail:  www.mcp-concepts.com

Danielle Ackley-McPhail:  www.sidhenadaire.com

Jon Gibbs:  www.acatofninetales.com

Jennifer R. Hubbard:  www.jenniferhubbard.com

Kristin Battestella:  www.jsnouff.com/kristin

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Biggest Mistakes New Writers Make #1 – Avoid the Dreaded Delete Frenzy

Posted on May 25, 2012 | 35 comments

At a recent NJ Author’s talk on “Getting Published”, a group of published authors discussed the biggest mistakes they think new writers make.  Boy did they have a long list!

The panel consisted of: Jonathan Maberry, Mike McPhail, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jon Gibbs, Jennifer R. Hubbard, and Kristin Battestella.

As always, I love learning from mistakes others have made, and I truly appreciate them sharing what NOT TO DO.

Rather than making this an insanely long post— and since Friday is now open—

This is going to be my new “Friday Night” slot… Biggest Mistakes New Writers make.

Mistake Number one:

.

.

It is really easy as a new writer to get frustrated, and go on a delete frenzy.  The problem is, the days of crumbling up paper and throwing it into a garbage can are over.  You can’t take your deleted file out of the trash, smooth it out, and look at it again.  Once you delete… it is gone.

Deleting in a frenzy can lead to loss of very valuable work.  Especially if you are really emotional when you are editing (we authors never do that, right?)

Trust me, you may think everything you’ve written stinks now, but you may find you need to refer back to part of it later.  Even if you don’t use it, it is part of your back story, and you may need to review it to keep your story consistent.

The Author Panel suggested keeping a side file and don’t actually delete anything. Just drag and drop.  If you never want to see it again, just don’t open the file.  But if you do—

From my own experience, I know I always change my mind.  There is a huge scene near the end of my novel where one character gets his memory back.  I have re-written the scene five times, and they are all dramatically different.  You know where I landed?  With my very first draft.  I was putting so many plot twists and turns in the revisions that the scene became confusing.  I did need to re-write it a little, but I stuck with my original idea.  Believe me, a year later, I was glad I had a copy to refer back to.

Avoid the dreaded Delete Frenzy.  Make a cozy little file. Call it a nasty name if it makes you feel better.  Someday, you may thank me.  🙂

Jonathan Maberry:  www.Jonathanmaberry.com

Mike McPhail:  www.mcp-concepts.com

Danielle Ackley-McPhail:  www.sidhenadaire.com

Jon Gibbs:  www.acatofninetales.com

Jennifer R. Hubbard:  www.jenniferhubbard.com

Kristin Battestella:  www.jsnouff.com/kristin

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The HUG Award – Krista Magrowski, Jon Gibbs, Danielle Ackley McPhail

Posted on April 15, 2012 | 4 comments
A few weeks ago (okay, it was almost a month ago — sorry) Jenny Keller Ford bestowed on me the Hug Award.  This is a very special award, and I am happy and proud to have received it.  Hugs back to Jenny, a phenomenal writer with a huge future ahead of her.
Since this is lengthy, I am cutting and pasting the particulars of this award from Jenny Keller Ford’s post below.

My winners for the Hug award are:

Krista Magrowski:  Krista runs my Writers Group, and she keeps an open and encouraging atmosphere where writers can exchange ideas and cheer each other on.

Jon Gibbs:  Jon Gibbs is the founder of the New Jersey Authors Network.  He sponsors talks frequently where published writers can meet up with  aspiring authors to encourage them and answer questions.

Danielle Ackley McPhail:  I met Danielle at a New Jersey Authors Network talk, and she made me realize things about myself that I didn’t know were there… (whether she knew it or not)  Danielle speaks publicly to encourage other writers not to give up.  Her bright bubbly attitude is truly an inspiration.

Congratulations, and thank you for all you do to encourage others.

There is much content affiliated with The Hug Award, and while it is lengthy and seems a bit extensive to me, I do not want to maim or corrupt its potent message by leaving anything out.

Please do not change or use another image for the HUG Award Image©.  Please do not alter–by changing, shortening, or adding to–the text about the award and how to share it with others.  Either copy the entire article as it is on this page, or please include a link back to this article, when you post on your blog or share award with others.

I ask you to please honor this request and help me keep the integrity of the award as originally designed, so that future award recipients will know what an honor it is to receive this award.  Thank you, Connie Wayne

ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES for HUG AWARD©

“Hope is an expectant desire; a confidence in a future event; a ground for trust and confidence; to think; to look forward to with trust and expectant desire.”

The HUG Award© was initiated by Connie Wayne at A Hope for Today athttp://ahopefortoday.com, which promotes hope, love, peace, equality, and unity for all people.

The HUG Award© is for people with an expectant desire for the world, for which they:  Hope for Love; Hope for Freedom; Hope for Peace; Hope for Equality; Hope for Unity; Hope for Joy and Happiness; Hope forCompassion and Mercy; Hope for Faith; Hope for Wholeness and Wellness; Hope for Prosperity; Hope for Ecological Preservation; Hope for Oneness

The HUG Award© recognizes and honors those who help keep hope alive in our current world, which is plagued by war, natural disasters, and economic recession.  They nurture hope, in any of the above areas (in italics),  by the work they do, or in their personal lives with things such as blogging, public speaking,charity work, etc.

The HUG Award© is for anyone, anywhere in the world, who meets theguidelines and wants to be nominated for the award. Please leave a comment on this page if you are interested in receiving this award, or if you would like to nominate someone else for the award.

The HUG Award© is for people who, without giving up or compromising their own religious, spiritual, or political beliefs, are able to nurture hope and respect the dignity of all people.

The HUG Award© is for those who, without bias or prejudice, use their resources and gifts to make the world a better place for everyone.

The HUG Award©is for people who have a hope or an expectant desire that the work or talents they use in things such as blogging, public speaking, charity work, etc., will make a positive impact on the world.

These people do not have to actively use the word “hope” in their work or creative talents.  They only need be conscious of their desire to make the world a better place for everyone.

These people use their available resources–a smile, a hug, a helping hand, a listening ear, a voice, time, money, possessions, education, personality, talent, websites and blogs—to make a positive impact on the world and make the world a better place to live.

The HUG Award© is not specifically a website or blog award.  It can be given to people in your community, at your employment, at your place of worship, etc.  Please make sure they have a copy of these Guidelines, and please don’t forget to submit their names back to this site.

HUG AWARD© IMAGE for RECIPIENTS of HUG AWARD

HUG Award© Image:   Those who receive the HUG Award© may paste a copy of the original HUG Award© image into an Image widget on their website or blog by simply copying and pasting the following image URL into an Image widget:   http://hopesfortoday.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/hug-award1.png.  As the link URL for the image, please inserthttp://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/.

GUIDELINES for NOMINATING OTHERS FOR THE HUG AWARD©

1.  If you receive a HUG Award©, you may nominate others who also meet the above guidelines for the award.  You may nominate as many people, websites, or blogs as you want to nominate to receive the award.  I do ask that, upon receipt of the award, you nominate at least one other person.  The award is also not time limited, so you can nominate new people or sites you encounter in the future.  Please try not to nominate those who have already received the award.

2.  YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTACTING YOUR NOMINEESand telling them you nominated them for the  HUG Award©.  AND when you contact them…

3.  Please link this page:  When you contact your nominees for the award, please include a link to this page,http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/, so they will have the same information you received about the award.  Then, they also can perpetuate the award by nominating others.  AND…

4.  Please post a comment on this page athttp://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/ with the name and the complete website or blog address of the site(s) or person(s) you nominate.

5.  If you know, I would appreciate you informing me of the geographical location of your nominee(s) and /or their site(s).

6.  Social Media Sites: You may also copy and paste unchanged copies of the original HUG Award© and HUG Award© Guidelines’ wording to other social media sites such as Facebook and Linkedin.  You may also print original copies for your personal use for display, etc.

7.  You may print a copy of the HUG Award© Guidelines for people you nominate, who do not have a website, blog, or social media account to which they can paste award and Guidelines.  If they have email, you may email them a copy of the original HUG Award© and original Hug Award© Guidelines.

The people I have nominated for this award seek to do Good with their blogs by sharing inspiration, kindness, and courage. If you have already received this, please just accept that I appreciate you. Thank you.

 

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