Tips To Help Get You Through NaNoWriMo

This is the BIG week, and I don't mean Halloween! But that is a GREAT reason to celebrate!!

I'm talking about the 1st of November. Do you know what that means to THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND of authors?

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH

NaNoWriMo....

Every year, thousands of writers make a commit to get at least 50k words completed on their manuscript. That comes out to be a little under 1700 words a day.

1700 words? Easy!

Not so much! It's actually harder than you think. But I have some tips that might help get you through. After all, I'm a three time winner, full time mom of three-teenage boys, wife, full time day job, mom to three four-legged creatures, and friend to many, so I might know a few tips to help you out.

1) Tell everyone you interact with that you are participating!

I mean EVERYONE! This way they know that you are so busy with your free time that you don't have time to go to Macy's for that after Thanksgiving day sale. You have to treat this like it's a work project.

Head on over to the NaNoWriMo website and sign up! This is a peer pressure month for writers who are participating and having peers that you can rely on is a great way to make it through!

I have a few local writer friends who do participate and we have a meet at 9 pm meeting at an all night dinner where we hang out and write, write, write. It's great to have the support.

On the home front I have all planned meals. It doesn't take me long to write 1700 words, so I do have some free time, but it sure makes it easier to have the meals planned ahead. If you have a family and obligations like I do, make sure you have a supportive significant other that will run the kids here and there when need be.

2) Manuscript!

This is why you are here! Now....we only have a few days, so you should know your story/plot.  This is really a pansting activity for me, which means that I have a general story line, and characters, but I have no idea where they are going to take me. So I'm not so strict on an outline, but it's great to have an idea of the beginning, middle, and end.

3) Goals!

If you are like me and have other commitments, you have to manage your time! That is the biggest hurdle I have to overcome. I do this by making a daily realistic goal and this includes the weekends. I might make my daily goal 1500 words, but weekends I might do 2k a day. This is an example so I'm not even sure if the math adds up to 50k, but you get the picture.

4) Write, write, write!

You have to be flexible with your attitude. You might be one of those writers who have to edit as you go....DO NOT DO THIS WITH NANOWRIMO!

Write! Get the story on the page. If you have gotten to the end of your story, go back and add a twist. Don't worry if it doesn't flow because you are going to go back and edit anyways. This is the time to just write what your heart desires. You have to freedom! Isn't it great and doesn't it feel good to have that freedom???

5) Use the NaNoWriMo Website!

Go into the forums. Give support to others that are struggling! Take advantage of adding the words you have completed to your word count ticker!

There is nothing more motivating to getting to your goal then seeing that ticker closer and  closer to 50k! It really sings to my muse!

So what do you say? LET'S DO THIS!! Together!! Come on over to NaNoWriMo and friend me! I will support you!!

Find me on Facebook too! I'm going to be posting inspirational photos daily to help get us through it!!

Them VS Them...Romance Writers of America

There really is no way to dive into this blog post other than just diving in.
It's no secret that over six years ago I started out on a publication journey. A journey that included joining Romance Writers of America, Ohio Valley Romance Writers of America, Chick-lit Romance Writers of America, writing a book, getting an agent, and selling to a publisher for a big six figure deal.....

GUESS THE F**K WHAT. . .

. . .really it's NOT!


Making DECISIONS, and hard ones, are a harsh reality of this business~regardless of your publication journey.

Today I'm going to talk about the Them vs Them. Romance Writers of America Vs themselves.

Six years ago I joined RWA because I had to in order to join the only writers group in Cincinnati, you had to be a member of the national group which happens to be RWA. It was one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

Instantly I was part of a group that understood me. They understood how my comma placement was always wrong or that my run-on sentences did make sense after all. They were a group that showed me the ropes as a newbie in this crazy writing business. AND it was my drive that got me where I am today.

I even sat on the board for a couple of years as well as joined a few RWA online chapters. I sat on the board of the online chapters for two years too! I met a lot of great people, who I still consider my real good friends.

Then RWA does the unthinkable. They refuse to open their eyes and move into the 21st century. Do I sound like some disgruntled author....no. I have done all roads to publication and still believe in them. RWA does not. That is a problem for me.

I have been a long time supporter of RWA, not as a member, but as a big cheerleader for them. I have encouraged countless of new authors to join, give all they have to the group.

I have given RWA two years, 24 months, 731 days, 17, 532 hours, or 1,051,898 minutes (however you want to put it) of my life waiting on them to change. Waiting on them recognize self-published authors in some way.

Don't get me wrong. I know there is a lot of crap out there and writers who put up some written words because anyone can self-publish. BUT what about the real authors? The ones who do turn down contracts with publishing companies? Ones who drop agents? Ones who get their rights back? Ones who travel all roads to publication?

This week I got my renewal in the mail. As if not recognizing my bestselling novels is not good enough, they stick me with a RAISED membership fee. This sent me soaring!

So I had to sit down and make some really big decisions. First off, YOU need to realize that writers are NOT your target audience. I know that YOU are not going to buy my fiction novels. You might buy my non-fiction novel (which I highly recommend) because it is for YOU. It teaches you how to market and promote. This blog is for YOU, the writer, not my readers. My STREET TEAM is for my readers, not YOU!

Why am I pounding this into your head? Because writers think they HAVE to be a member of RWA even if they don't write romance. Why? Because for some great marketing reason, RWA has made writers believe that they are the end-all-be-all of the writing community.

Let's see what I get for $95....
1) Monthly magazine that has a TON of adds for books and articles that I can find online for FREE...hmmm....again....why do writers advertise in this magazine? WRITERS ARE NOT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. Dollars wasted!!!!

2) An invitation to their national convention. OH! They teach craft classes!! Shhh....you can take those same exact classes on Savvy Author for HUNDREDS of dollars cheaper.

3) BUT Tonya, I get to meet up with my writer friends. Yes you do. BUT did you also know that you can meet them anytime of the year. You have to plan it.

4) You can get an award. Golden Heart or Rita. What do they get you? NOTHING! I know a gal who has finaled in the Golden Heart four times and still doesn't have an agent....Oh and another girl who enters the Golden Heart every year but changes the title of her manuscript each year. That is sad to me.....BUT my novel, Splitsville.com is a 2012 double finalist in The Next Generation Indie Awards and THREE libraries have already picked up my books through the final! Cool!

5) ...........(I couldn't think of another plus to being a member)

Here I sit, wondering what I was going to do. Was I going to rejoin a national organization that believes that the  $50k I have made in the last eight months really doesn't exist? Or was I going to look at an Indie organization that is really instrumental to my career?

Oh...what about that local RWA group? Yes! I do love each and everyone of them. They have become my friends. Some of them visit my blog from time to time AND I have no doubt they will remain my friends. BUT they are NOT my target audience.

Instead of joining RWA, I'm taking that $95 and investing who my target audience is. You, my blog followers are my target audience for non-fiction, AND my readers are my target audience for my fiction.

This had NOTHING to do with indie vs traditional publishing. This have EVERY thing to do with business decisions. I have several traditional published friends who will not be rejoining as well. Why? Because RWA has nothing to offer.

They have done nothing to change or nothing new to offer their members. When I got my agent, I asked her some really tough questions.

MY QUESTION: Do agents really care that I'm a member of RWA?
AGENT ANSWER: No. If you have a good book, you have a good book. I always tell my agents who I send to those conferences to make sure they take at least a partial of each pitch. 99% of the time we do not offer representation.
MY QUESTION: So if I didn't renew my membership, I'm going to be okay?
AGENT ANSWER: I'd rather you spend time writing.

Hmmm.....

The long and the short of it~my local RWA writing group was the best thing I could've done as a new writer six years ago. That was six years ago. Now you can join so many groups online or even find writing groups in libraries. Times have changed, and it's time RWA does or they are going to keep losing GREAT writers left and write...right!