Category: Advice & Information

Posted in Advice & Information, Blog Tours

The Authorship Adventure Series by Ella Medler- Promotional Tour

Posted on by Nememiah
blogcover

 

The Authorship Adventure Series
Name of Author – Ella Medler
1
The Author Platform: How to build yourself a castle that will stand the test of time
Description:
How To Build Yourself A Castle That Will Stand The Test Of Time
This first module of the Authorship Adventure Series for writers is intended to provide an overview of an author platform, an explanation of its use and operation, and the simple, practical steps to follow to get started on building your own platform right now or fix an incomplete, ineffectual one.

 

2
How To Build A Novel: What works, what doesn’t, and how to fix the unfixable
Description:
How To Build A Novel – the easy way
The second module of the Authorship Adventure Series for writers provides a simplified, clear way to construct a structurally sound novel, together with guidelines, suggestions, tips and a checklist to steer you away from rookie mistakes while helping you enhance the quality of your manuscript pre-edit.
310 Sane Thoughts For Harassed Writers: How to gain perspective and turn setbacks into triumphs
Description:
How To Gain Perspective And Turn Setbacks Into Triumphs 10 Sane Thoughts For Harassed Writers
The third module of the Authorship Adventure Series delves into the psyche of writers and the way we relate to the demands of present-day society. Learn how to cope with your most hidden worries and fears, from the fear of failure to dealing with procrastination. Every chapter breaks down a problem before laying down tips and strategies for overcoming it.
4Proof And Edit 101: Easy basics guaranteed to save you time and money
Description:
Easy Basics Guaranteed To Save You Time And Money Proof And Edit 101 – Smart tips and tricks to put you ahead of the rest
The fourth module of the Authorship Adventure Series for writers provides a simplified look at basic grammar and punctuation, to give you a clear understanding of the most important factors when line editing and proofing your work. Tips and tricks for remembering easy rules, and examples every step of the way, provide you with the foundation you need to power through the mire of uncertain grammar and polish your novel to a high standard.
Use in conjunction with How To Build A Novel – What works, what doesn’t, and how to fix the unfixable, to improve more aspects of your writing, whether you intend to work alone or simply want to make your editors love working with you.
Ella Medler is a U.K. author and editor who lives in a corner of Heaven, on the south-west coast of Ireland, overlooking the Atlantic. She writes fiction in many genres – some after her own tastes, and some to make her readers happy. Sometimes, those two happen to coincide. A fierce supporter of genuine talent, Ella Medler founded Paper Gold Publishing because she believes there are authors out there who deserve a chance to shine, authors who would otherwise fall between the cracks of a crumbling, forever-shifting industry.
As an editor, Ella Medler has the tendency to nit-pick on plot issues while ignoring the type of rule which doesn’t allow for a sentence to be finished in a preposition. If you want to win her over, make sure your books are action-packed, your characters real, and you bring chocolate.
The Authorship Adventure Series is a set of resources for writers, which is available free of charge to Paper Gold Publishing members (membership is free and unconditional).
All the books are also available on Amazon at the minimum price of 99c or you could read them for free through Amazon Prime.
        
magicofbookspromo@gmail.com
Posted in Advice & Information, Ramblings

The Effects of Depression on the Human Body

Posted on by Nememiah

After my recent posts regarding my difficulties with a medication change and subsequent nightmare of making the adjustment, I was contacted by Healthline.com in San Francisco, asking if I would be willing to promote their article ‘The Effects of Depression on the Human Body’.

I was more than happy to agree to their request.  Depression affects a great many people in the world and the more we can learn about the subject and break the taboos surrounding it, the better it will be for everyone.

Please take a moment to read through the article – you many learn something new.

The Effects of Depression on the Body
Posted in Advice & Information, Ramblings

A Giggle For The Weekend

Posted on by Nememiah

***WARNING*** THIS POST IS A BIT NAUGHTY – READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

In my other ‘life’, I’m an editor for a number of independent authors.

Yesterday, I got an entertaining email from a client – whom shall remain nameless.  Below is their email (with anything taken out which would reveal their identity) and my response.

Dear Editor,
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a33128/erotica-tropes-that-need-to-die/
This link, here above, is EVIL. As I’ve told you before (Oh! no I said ”as” again lol), I’m –>trying<– to write something a little bit more spicy… on the naughty side but as you may know already, I may be a naughty reader but it appears that I’m a prude author. ha! ha! true fact.So here’s the thing, I’m almost at 40k, I’m not sure how much longer it will be since it was supposed to be a novella. I thought it was going to be around 30K.  Okay, so the thing, I read that article and my heart skipped at least 20 beats. I wrote some of these things and now I feel like crap. I know I can change some of them.. I just want to know what you think about this article…
 
Happy Saturday to you,
 
Author Name Withheld

And below, having considered the evil article in question – are my responses. To make it easier to follow, I have copied the appropriate Erotica Lit Tropes the answer pertains to (but feel free to go and read the full article yourself):

Dear Writer,

 
Readers lap up this stuff.  Yeah, I know, I know – Cosmo is suggesting these things need to disappear out of erotica, but the fact of the matter is that they won’t.  Ever.  Women (and some men) love this stuff – who the heck doesn’t want to think that someone out there is having the perfect sexual experience with the perfect, hottest, sexiest man on the planet?  
 
Some of them, I definitely wouldn’t use… but honestly, who wants to read erotica in which the man tries five times to bring the woman to orgasm and fails, or is doing the deed with a penis that you need a magnifying glass to see?  Some of the things mentioned in the article are the main things we read erotica for – to be removed from reality and enjoy a bit of fantasy.
 
So in regards to what to use – here’s my definite no-no’s – but only my opinion…
2.

“I come undone.” A thing no woman has ever said, either aloud or in her own brain.

I agree – ‘I come undone’ is used far too often.
3.

Women come from penetrative sex. This usually happens either after never having a single orgasm in her entire twentysomething years of life or never having an orgasm from penetration.

It can happen that a woman orgasms from penetration alone (and I can’t believe I’m discussing this with you in an email…lol), but I do think it can be overdone and the majority of women need ahem… a little more than just penetration to orgasm.  So as long as you are using penetration and other stimulation in your description (am I editing this, by the way??) I think you’ll be fine.
4.

Women never have bad pain or hesitation when he wants to put something up their butts. Be it his penis, a butt plug (Hi, Mr. Grey will you see me now?), a finger. She surrenders all orifices without hesitation no matter what object he wants to put inside her when in the presence of her “sex god.”

This isn’t a ‘shouldn’t be used’ – but I do agree that there should be some hesitation on the woman’s behalf about agreeing to everything the man wants to do.  She shouldn’t automatically agree to whatever he suggests and I like to see some ‘adult’ discussion between characters as to what they will/won’t accept in their sexual relationship.  
8.

Quivering thighs caused by sexual arousal. Have your thighs ever actually quivered outside of a really hard inner thigh set in barre burn?

No quivering thighs.  Ever.  End of discussion.
12.

UTIs don’t exist. Even if he goes from butt sex to vaginal sex, no condom change or “length” washing in between. This is possibly erotica’s worst lie.

 I’m surprised this one is on the list, because  I’ve read a LOT of erotica, and in the majority of cases, I find authors are writing with the existence of UTI’s being a consideration.  In the majority of cases, they talk about condoms, and washing… equipment…  So this one really isn’t seen that much in the writing world.  
15.

The couple does it like seven or eight times a day and still has time to go out to eat and work at jobs. He is always sporting an erection and dealing with it is like a full-time job.

 I do agree that a guy can maybe do it once or twice (maybe 3?) times in a row – but banging like bunnies all night long and then functioning like a normal personal all day doesn’t really happen.  But this one I’m a bit on the fence over – it comes back to that ‘I don’t want to read erotica about Joe Average the Car Salesman who is 5’6″ tall, slightly overweight with a receding hairline and a really small penis, who’s doing the deed with Joan Average who is an accountant with a weight problem, and bushy pubic hair – and they’re going to do the deed once a night in the missionary position and five times out of ten she isn’t going to have an orgasm because she’s got other things on her mind and two times out of ten he’s going to ejaculate prematurely because he got too excited.’  
Which leads me back to my first point – we are reading erotica because we enjoy the FANTASY of it.  I know the male character in the book with the six pack, the huge penis and the never-ending ability to provide amazing climaxes eight times a night isn’t real.  Who wants to read real?
 
Hope that helps,
 
Much Love,
 
The Editor xxxxx

After pressing send – I realized I’d got sidetracked (see below for why) and this is the second email I sent to my client… 

Oh crap, I missed the ones after the rude Barney picture…

18.

She always loves giving blow jobs. And swallowing. She acts like his penis is a damn cupcake or something.

Not all women love giving blow jobs.  And a lot of women definitely don’t like to swallow.  So I think that is overused.
19.

All guys are really super excellent at finger-banging. Finger-banging is like the vegan, gluten-free pizza of sex acts. It’s never your first choice from the menu.

Not necessarily, but we’d like them to be – which leads back to this is FANTASY
20. 

Finger-banging in public — like, you’re at dinner with his boss — is common. Unless he is Gumby, his arms are not so long and bendy that no one notices him reaching down and twisting his elbow at an insane angle in order to finger-bang.

I don’t really see a lot of this in books – but again, this is FANTASY – not necessarily in restaurants, but some really sexy scenes are written about impromptu, in-odd-places sexual experiences.  As long as it’s not too bizarre, or is going to make the reader raise an eyebrow and shake their head – I don’t see the problem.
Okay.  Now I’m finished…

And clearly, now I’m finished with this blog post.  And I can assure you, this may be the craziest response I’ve ever had to give to one of my clients 🙂 Hopefully, some of you will find it as amusing as myself and my client did.

Posted in Advice & Information, Ramblings, The World of Books

Redeeming Qualities… or Why a Character Can be Utterly Useless…

Posted on by Nememiah

I’ve been reading a book this week – which is not, in itself, an unusual occurrence.  I’m a voracious book lover and read between three to five books a week.

What is different and completely out of the ordinary, is my reaction to the book.  I loathed it.

I’m pretty much open to every genre and read  a wide variety of authors.  I try to finish every book I read, giving it the best possible chance of gaining my attention.  Because I tend to leave reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, I do my level best to get to ‘The End’.

With the particular book in question, I made it to ‘The End’, but spent the second half of the book questioning why I was bothering.  There are other books in this author’s series, but I will never attempt reading them because of the experience I had reading the first one.



The problem?  I hated the main character.  In fact, I didn’t just hate her.  I loathed her.  Abhorred her.  Hoped she would get killed before the book finished.  I’m not willing to name the author, or the name of the book – mainly because this is only my opinion, but the main character in this particular book was so incredibly self-centered, she defied belief.  I couldn’t find one likable feature in the shallow portrayal created by the author.  

Creating a character that readers will invest in isn’t easy, but the author in this situation made a shallow facsimile.  We all have both good and bad aspects of our personalities – that’s what makes us human.  No person on the planet is all good, nor is anyone completely and utterly evil.  The most-sainted among us will have done something naughty at some stage in their life.  You may be the equivalent of Mother Teresa, but at some stage you must have told a little white lie, stolen a peek at someone’s homework or nicked an extra chocolate from the fridge when nobody was looking.  

Equally, the most evil person on the planet must have some redeeming feature, such as loving his mother, or patting a puppy once-upon-a-time, or dropping ten cents in a donation box.

In the book I was reading, I think the author was going for a Legally Blonde/Reece Witherspoon kind of character.  Unfortunately, she failed miserably.  The main character was completely self-centered, considering only her own situation.  She was stupid to the point of needing to be committed for her mistakes.  She didn’t care how she hurt other people, only that she ‘got to the truth’ in the case of her boyfriend who was accused of a crime that she was convinced he didn’t commit.  Never mind that said boyfriend turned out to be married, and whilst not a murderer, was most certainly an embezzler and a cheat.  Forget about the fact that he up and left without a word to her, or that he had many, many annoying and irritating habits which she didn’t like.  Other than a cursory examination of her emotions, she was determined to find and rescue him.  Stepping all over other people while she was at it.  

Add to this her obsession with fashion, her self-obsession and a willingness to auto-dump anyone and anything if it didn’t fit in with her plans and you have a heroine in a book who would be lucky if Mother Teresa could like her.  I certainly didn’t.

Balancing a character’s personality isn’t easy.  When writing, its all too easy to have a picture in your head of who the character is going to be, what their motivation is and how they’re going to get there.  But please, please, please! Remember that your idiot blonde can’t be a complete moron in every aspect of her life.  Remember your axe-murderer must have a reason he’s turned out the way he has.  Remember your pious goody-two-shoes must have moments of temptation placed in his path.  Otherwise, you’ve created a character whom readers can’t relate to and won’t care about.

What you’ve actually created in those sorry circumstances, is a caricature whom readers will abhor.  And unless they’re pig-headed like me, they’ll be closing the book before they’re anywhere near ‘The End’.  


Posted in Advice & Information, Ramblings

Characterizations – They’re Tricky

Posted on by Nememiah
One of the hardest processes in writing a book is creating the characters which will fill the pages and bring the stories to life.  It’s something I’ve struggled with from the very beginning.
 
A character can be very one-dimensional – often I’ll start off with nothing more than a very hazy idea in the deepest recesses of my mind.  Sometimes a picture or photo will create the kernel of an idea.  Other times, the character will pop up, clearly and distinctly and give me a good idea of what their story is going to be about.  It is nearly always a picture which starts off the journey to a book, but in essence, the character is incredibly one-dimensional at that point.  I know very little about the person I’m about to create.
 
The second step in the process is invariably finding a name for the character, which is one of my favorite steps in the writing process.  It’s like giving birth to a new child and taking the time to choose the perfect name for your new little darling.  A lot of thought and energy goes into this particular process for me, as the name gives me a greater indication of the character.  Should they have a strong name, or a weak one?  Modern or old-fashioned?  What would fit best?  What is their role going to be in the story I’m creating?  I’m not sure how it works for other authors, but for myself, the name is an important part of weaving the character into someone.
 
Then I reach the hardest part of the summit – creating the character.  With only an image and a name, the character is still very one-dimensional and it’s at this point that the anxiety and stressing begin.  Sometimes I find that the character will begin to create him/herself, giving me insights into their personality, likes and dislikes, quirks.  While this is my absolute favorite type of character, it certainly isn’t the norm – most of the characters in my books are remarkably reticent about providing their personalities and its up to me to decide what sort of person they might be.  
 
This is where it becomes an intensive process.  The easy part is creating how a character ‘looks’ in words.  Dark hair, fair hair, ivory skin, the color of eyes, a limp, a tattoo, pockmarked skin…  all these things are easy to create and describe, but it’s the internal workings of the person which form their character.  To my thinking, this is the most excruciating part.
 
What does the character like to do?  Do they have hobbies?  What quirks do they have in their personality?  Do they have any particular habits?  Do they have family?  What is their relationship with their family?  What turns them on?  What turns them off?  Is there a food they love/hate?  How do they feel about exercise/television/movies/restaurants/politics (the list goes on and on).  All these examples (plus a multitude more) are what will move your very flat, one-dimensional character into a living, breathing three-dimensional character who the reader is going to want to know.  Without some of these traits, they are just a description of physical beauty or ugliness, without the benefit of giving a reason for the reader to become emotionally involved.
 
I’ve seen and read about a number of tools authors use to create characters. Like most of my writing, I tend to work by the seat of my pants and the character’s personality becomes apparent as I write.  Oftentimes, during edits I will ‘tweak’ the character – as they’ve become more well-known to my mind, I’ve developed a stronger relationship with them and know better what they will say or do and how they will react in certain situations they’ve been thrust into. (And yes, it’s all my fault they’re stuck in that situation, but I make no apologies!!)  One of the reasons I find this part so hard, is that a lot of the characters ‘morph’ into doppelgangers of myself, and I find some of my own (quite bizarre) personality traits creeping in to the mix.  My fears become the characters fears, my likes and dislikes can become the characters.  It’s something I’m always trying to work on, in particular, to create characters that can confront and react differently and in ways I’m not always comfortable with, but will give the character the life and spirit which makes them unique.
 
It’s always tricky, it’s sometimes very hard to do, but ultimately, creating a wonderful new character who provokes an emotion is one of the most rewarding parts of writing.
Posted in Advice & Information, Ramblings

If you can’t find anything nice to say…

Posted on by Nememiah
For any author, a review of their precious book is something they desperately want.  It’s the bread and butter for an author – giving an indication of how well their written work has been received and also providing the impetus for others to purchase their work.  A well-written and positive book review is an excellent way for readers to discover new authors and choose to purchase their work.
 
As an author who seeks Book Reviews, I also write them, for books I’ve read myself.  I think its only fair that if I’m seeking people’s opinion of my work, I should take the time to give other writer’s some feedback on their efforts.
 
My involvement in a local Writer’s Group has given me plenty of practice in the art of ‘constructive criticism’.  Telling an author ‘they suck’ is not constructive. Finding the positives in their work and providing feedback as to where a story failed, or where it could benefit from further editing is an important part in learning to be a writer.  I myself suffer from an overuse of adverbs, which my writing group regularly points out in my pieces.  I’ve also been known to be an over-achiever in the use of specific words – ‘but’, ‘that’ and ‘just’ – to name only a few.
 
Which leads to my point.  I’ve just finished a book which I downloaded from an independent author and I have to say, honestly, it was one of the hardest books I’ve ever attempted to review. 
 
Why?  I hear you asking.
 
Because while it was an interesting book, with a new idea I hadn’t seen used before and the premise was excellent…
 
…it suffered from a lack of editing and spelling checks.  Not only that, but the author chose to have her characters from the north east of America, speak with a fairly specific ‘twang’ to their voices, but failed in the continuity department.
 
And that just frustrated the heck out of me. 
 
I wanted to like this book.  It was an exciting and interesting concept, but it was a failure to launch from my viewpoint because of the abysmal spelling mistakes, the lack of continuity and the failure by the author to give her characters a consistent voice.
 
The strongest story line in the world will not draw readers in, if they are continually taken out of world being created by ridiculous spelling errors, or have to stop and read back, over and over again because of continuity problems, or a lack of cohesiveness in the characters.  (Another book comes to mind, which I read recently, in which a character started with one name, it switched halfway through the book, then reverted to the original name.  I kid you not.  That author deserved a smack on the hand!)  But I digress.
 
My point to fellow authors is this – check your work.
 
Check it, double check it and triple check it.  Join your local writer’s group and allow them to read your work.  You’ll be amazed by what they pick up, things you just don’t see yourself because you’re at the coal face, so to speak.  You know what your words mean – but it doesn’t mean other people will ‘see’ the same vision. Ask someone (a friend, a fellow writer; heck, PAY someone if you have to) to read through your work for spelling errors.  Use spell-check, over and over again.  Buy a dictionary.  Whatever you do, make sure you’re pride and joy is the absolute best it can be, before you publish.  You’ve spent months, maybe years writing your book – don’t throw all that hard work away by rushing through the publishing process and letting those mistakes get out to those you want to impress most – THE READERS!
 
You may wonder what sort of rating I gave this particular book – and I’ll tell you.  I gave it three stars and constructive criticism, pointing out the positives in her story-telling process and explaining what things didn’t work for me.  I’m not one of those people who throws out a one star review and just says the story stinks.  I think the actual effort which goes into writing a book, a WHOLE book, is worth a minimum of two stars and I take my hat off to everyone who can manage it.  
 
But be warned – if you write a book and don’t edit, and edit carefully and put it out there effectively half-done – be prepared for a three star maximum review from me.  Be proud of what you’ve done and make sure it is absolutely the best you can make it before you launch it into the world.

 

Posted in Advice & Information, Ramblings

Get an Amazon Store on Your Facebook Page

Posted on by Nememiah

After my post yesterday, I’ve had queries from people wanting to know how they can link a store with Amazon to their Facebook page – it took a bit of searching to find out how to do it, so I’ve included a link to ‘The Indie Times’ below – where it’s explained.  Admittedly, it’s none to clear about how to go about it, but with perseverance, it an be done.  Click on the link below to discover how.

Just as a point of interest, when you get to the part where you need to use “Static HTML: iFrame Tabs” – that’s actually a FACEBOOK page you search for and go to, which then allows you to create the page.
 
And finally… Facebook are particularly anal about the size of the picture you can use on your link – it has to be exactly 111×74 pixels, no more, no less.  To help you out, because that’s the kind of generous girl I am, here’s a copy of mine below which you can copy and paste 🙂