ATTENTION ASPIRING AUTHORS

Get Written. Get Published. Get Paid.

IT IS FINALLY HERE: STORYTELLERS ACADEMY TOOLKIT IS ON SALE!

It is the TOOLKIT for aspiring authors as well as those who have written a book but still need help in promoting it. It is only $27.00. That is right - Only $27.00.

Some of the goodies inside the Toolkit:

·       The Author Roadmap- Before you post a question on Facebook, or Google it... the Author Roadmap is what you need.

·       Self-Publishing Checklist- Links for copywriting your book and more!

·       Time Blocker Planner- Created for the busy writer so you can block out time to write.

·       Ways To Monetizing Your Book- Ideas to bring more income into your business.

Purchase it now at Storytellers Academy

The 2020 Indie Author Project Contests are Here

It is that time of year again; the Indie Author Project regional contests are back and better than ever.

The 2020 contests are being held in 14 U.S. states and 1 Canadian province. These contests are accepting submissions of adult and YA fiction, to be recognized as the top Indie-published eBooks in their regional and there is no entry fee to participate. Do not miss your chance to be your region's next Indie Author Project Winner!

The winners of these contests will receive:

·       $500 each in adult and young adult categories

·       Minnesota winners will receive $1,000 each

·       Honors at the 2021 spring IAP reception

·       Opportunities to promote your book(s) at public libraries

·       Inclusion in a full-page print spread in Library Journal

·       Opportunities to earn royalties through the IAP Select collections

Learn more and submit today!

An Interview with Perceptual Plazz - Writer, Author, and Poet

Perceptual Plazz

Perceptual Plazz was born to write, to put unbelievable life experiences into words that touch the hearts of those who read them. She has been writing all her life, whether it was to accept reality or cope with it. After battling for her life three times, she came back stronger than ever before and made a promise to herself to never stop writing. Perceptual Plazz came up with her pen name when she realized the power behind life’s experiences and perceptions and how they can alter the way we live life. Now she carries this methodology into her poetry, articles, and books. She is the author, poet, and columnist growing by the day. Find her work in newspapers, academic journals, and magazines. Professionally, she has won awards for excellence in her writing. To learn more about the growing writer you can read her story in her latest release Perseverance Is My Power (available on Amazon). It’s a non-fiction inspirational memoir where she explains her encounters with death and how she overcame them. In the meantime, find her posting daily on her social media profiles and Blog.

~~~~

What are some of the most valuable lessons you have learned from writing? I have learned a variety of things from writing. But the most important things fall between the lines of patience, persistence, and faith. I am one of the most impatient people you’ll meet but something about writing makes me a more patient person and I’ve learned to stay dedicated even when I have other things going on in my life. Lastly, I learned to believe in my work because if I don’t nobody will!

Please tell our readers something about yourself. I am from Arizona. I was raised by a single mother and I have one younger brother. I was the one who gave my mother the headaches. My brother is the saint! **laughs**

Who or what inspired you to become an author? Honestly, I never really thought about becoming an author. I’ve always written poetry and articles, but it wasn’t until my last near-death experience that I thought about writing a book. The idea was the only thing that kept me sane through all of it. I never had anyone in my ear telling me to write this book, deep down I just felt I had to.

Could you please give us a blurb about your present or upcoming book? Perseverance Is My Power, my first book, is a true story about overcoming death three times and other hardships in my life. My father neglected me and I searched for love and purpose. I did find it after all but you’ll have to read it to find out how! I will tell you just a little about my next book. I always tie in my three P’s: Perseverance, Perception, and Power. This next book, I am going to incorporate them but in a way that my generation of women (millennials) can understand. Sometimes it’s better to get advice or relate to someone the same age as you. The advice can be interpreted a different way.

How can our readers get in touch with you? Oh! Several ways. I am all about communication. You can add me on my social media profiles, comment on posts, directly message me, or you can email me. If none of those work for you, follow my blog and post your comments there. Either way, I will respond and I love when my readers talk to me! ❤️

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about writing a book? How long can a reply be? **laughs** Gosh, where do I begin? Well, first of all, do your research. I don’t mean just going on Google and typing in “How do I publish a book?” I mean researching as in networking with fellow writers and authors. While Google is amazing and is resourceful for various things in the publishing process, it can’t offer you authentic personal relationships or connections with actual authors. Find one you can relate to or in your genre, ask them if you can have their advice and ask them questions while you’re on your way. You’d be surprised how much feedback you’ll get and how sweet they are! Hint: You can always reach out to me. Next, set a budget. Get the numbers straight and all your ducks in a row when it comes to finances. Leave some cushion for extra expenses that may pop-up because you don’t want to hold up your process because you ran out of funding.

~~~~

Ms. Perceptual Plazz, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to visit our Blog and to connect with our visitors. You have offered a lot of food for thought when it comes to writing and dealing with everyday challenges. I know our visitors will find great value from this interview. We are One World Singles Blog wish you every success in your endeavors.

Writing Opportunities - Write for Hallmark Publishing

If your book seems like a Hallmark movie or TV series, it might be right for this publisher! They’re looking for male/female romance novels and cozy mystery novels of around 70,000 – 85,000 words in length and love romances and mysteries that also celebrate friendship, family, and/or community ties. All stories must have happy endings.

For romance, they’re mostly looking for light contemporary stories set in the United States and especially love to see Christmas, small town, and seasonal themes (winter, Valentine’s Day, spring, June brides, beach reads, fall), and want to hear about your series ideas.

They’re also interested in romantic suspense and will consider historical romance set in North America or the U.K. While they aren’t looking for heavy redemption arcs, religious elements in a story are fine.

The publisher isn’t interested in paranormal romance in general, but is open to time travel or a little bit of magic.

For mystery, they are mostly seeking contemporary stories set in the United States and would love to see ideas for series.

At this time, they aren’t looking for other fiction genres or nonfiction.

No nudity, sex, profanity, or graphic depictions of sexuality or violence will be accepted. Physical interaction must be limited to hugging and kissing. In murder mysteries, the murder must happen “off the page,” and they tend to avoid other heavy or disturbing content.

They prefer third person, alternating between her and his point of view, but will consider a first-person narrative with an entertaining voice and love to see stories that reflect ethnic diversity.

Please don’t mail physical copies of manuscripts. They accept electronic submissions only and never read scripts, so please don’t send them.

For more information, please visit their site by clicking here.

&&&

Do You Write YA Books? Or Like to Read Them?

Join The Romance Reviews YA books at YA INSIDER their sister site that caters especially to young adult books. 

YA Insider offers a consolidated portal for all information on Young Adult books. With YA Insider, they aim to provide pertinent information on the world of young adult books right at your fingertips: 

·       Find out new and upcoming YA books, even before they hit the bookstore,

·       Read reviews and recommendations, and participate in discussions about your favorite YA books,

·       Get the latest buzz in and around the YA world, and check out the latest scoop from the authors themselves.

·       Participate in contests and events to win attractive prizes

·       And many more!

AUTHOR PAGES 

Each author will have his/her own page, which includes the author's bio, list of books, buy links and other stuff. 

JOINING YA INSIDER 

Joining YA Insider is free and open to all authors, publishers, reviewers (including aspiring reviewers), and avid readers who are keen to participate in all the events and activities hosted on the site. While a basic membership account needs only email verification before the member can start to post comments, author, publisher and reviewer accounts need to be further approved. Please allow two to three days for processing. 

All members who sign up with YA Insider may participate in all the events, contests, giveaways, and other activities hosted on the site. They may also post comments on the books and reviews that have been published. 

Join them now in their soft launch and get 25 credits that you can use toward ad promotion: https://www.yainsider.com/ 

####

Winter Wonderland Forum Hop - December 1 - December 15, 2015

Since its inception, Coffee Time Romance & More has made its mission clear. We're all about bringing readers together with their favorite publishers and authors. Whether it's through online chat sessions, cover reveals, blog parties, or reviews; bringing people together has always been the goal.   With that in mind, we've got a terrific event in the works for this upcoming December 2015. We're planning our very first Winter Wonderland Forum Hop, and we'd love it if you participated! This is a terrific opportunity to leverage interest in your books in a market that is sometimes overlooked or forgotten. Additionally, since Coffee Time Romance holds the reigns, you can expect this event to be run with the same professionalism and class that you've come to know in our eleven year history. So... what exactly IS a forum hop? I'm glad you asked!  Each author or publisher starts a thread in their Coffee Time Romance Forums for the event. Readers then get to hop around the forum replying to each of the threads. This gets a lively conversation going since you can post whatever you'd like! Be it new and upcoming releases, contests of your own that you'd like to host, or just a general "Chat with Ms. Author" type post. As each post is numbered, we can then run random.org to pick a random post number for winners. What's the incentive for readers to do this? In addition to the draw of interacting with some of their favorite authors and publishers, Coffee Time Romance is offering a brand new tablet to one lucky winner. We'd also love to offer some free e-books or gift certificates. As such; we're asking for small donations, and that's where you folks come in! Why would YOU want to participate? It's not just the readers that will have prizes up for grabs. We'll be giving away a few prizes to authors and publishers as well: Prize 1 - Authors: 3 authors will win one month of book cover advertising. You can use it now or later...whatever works for you. Prize 2 - Publishers: 3 spots (based on availability) book cover space on the front page of our site called New This Month.  What do we need to get started? If you're interested in participating, all we need right now is to know you are participating and an idea of what you'd like to donate. Please fill out this form. There's no need to send anything to us at this time. http://goo.gl/forms/rwAOjrZhmF How in the heck will I remember this by the time December rolls around? We'll be sending out a ton of reminders as the time gets closer, so no worries! It has been a while and my forum is behind. How do I go about updating it?    Karennelyn is ready and able to update your areas. eMail her (please not the day before the event) so she can get your changes done here:  karennelyn@coffeetimeromance.com

Help Sponsor An Author Who Is Raising Money for the Free Youth Writing Programs

Ms. Evolet Yvaine is participating in the 826 Boston's Write-A-Thon 2015. Evolet is one of more than 75 writers helping this nonprofit raise $20,000 for their free youth writing programs. She could use the support as she takes her first steps to bleed out 10,000 words of her first ever IR adult romance between Feb 23rd and April 3rd.

Click Here to find out why the author is participating, what she is writing about, and what you get if you sponsor her.

FYI--if you want to sign up, there's no deadline and you don't even have to live in Boston to participate! Thanks in advance for your support.

Why It Is Important to Register Your Work with the Copyright Office by Vivienne Diane Neal

Since many of our guest bloggers and visitors are self-publishing authors or are planning to write a book, I thought I would share this bit of information.

Recently, I received the following e-mail from a site that sells my book:

Hello, we have removed your document "Malicious Acts" because our text matching system determined that it was very similar to a work that has been marked as copyrighted and not permitted on Scribd.

Like all automated matching systems, our system is not perfect and occasionally makes mistakes. If you believe that your document is not infringing, please contact us at copyright@scribd.com and we will investigate the matter.

As stated in our terms of use, repeated incidents of copyright infringement will result in the deletion of your Scribd.com account and prohibit you from uploading material to Scribd.com in the future.

To prevent us from having to take these steps, please delete from scribd.com any material you have uploaded to which you do not own the necessary rights and refrain from uploading any material you are not entitled to upload.

For more information about Scribd.com's copyright policy, please read the Terms of Use located at http://www.scribd.com/terms.

I responded to Scribd by informing them that I had registered my book with the Copyright Office in 2011 and attached a copy of my Copyright Certificate, proving that I am the owner of the work. Up until now, I have not heard a word from the site.

This is why it is not enough to just place the copyright notice on your work, even though your work is supposed to be protected under the law. But I have always taken that extra step, especially if you bring legal action against any entity who claims to own your work, which will have to be registered in order to prove your case.

Registering your work with the Copyright Office can be done online or through snail mail. I would strongly recommend that you register your work online, which cost less and is faster than doing it though the US Postal Service. Because of safety measures, it may take up to a year before you receive your certificate, whereas if done online, your work is instantly registered once you submit it and pay the fee.

You can register an unpublished or published work. If you do register an unpublished work, you won’t have to register it again once your book is published.

For additional information on Copyright laws and to register your work, go to http://www.copyright.gov.

###