Gluten Free Saved This Author!

I know all the rage has been going gluten free, but it really did save my life as a writer!

And I'm NOT the one in my family that went GLUTEN FREE!
As a writer, I'm constantly talking about how I never sleep. It's true. Writers barely get enough time alone in their heads to have a real conversation with a non-make believe person, especially in their sleep.

I wake up in the middle of the night with my characters poking my brain, telling me about why they had to kill someone in their book or how come they had to have big hips and not the perfect size six. It's true! I even keep a journal next to my bed to write down some of the things they say so I will remember it in the morning. Plus my husband snores, which is a double whammy for me!

I use to love this game show!

Anyways. . .last summer I took a road trip with my author friend Heather Webber (aka Heather Blake). She is gluten free for a variety of reasons, but some of her symptoms struck a chord with me. Migraines, aches, pains etc....

I don't get headaches, much less migraines, but my dear husband does! I wonder if he needed to be gluten free? He gets about three migraines a month. So the more I talked with Heather about it, the more I wanted to tell my husband. What did he have to lose?

So I got this big idea that I would put him on gluten free. Of course everyone and their brother thought my husband had this family disease (which he does not) and was so concerned that he went on gluten free to help with any symptoms of that. But we tried to tell people that he didn't have the disease, but they were still leery, or nosy, so we let them believe what they want.

After a couple months of gluten free living, the unthinkable happened! Not only did his migraines completely stop, HE STOPPED SNORING! I was in between novels, and my characters had settled down a little bit. I STARTED TO SLEEP MORE THAN FOUR HOURS A NIGHT!

I was waking up refreshed and more creative than ever! My husband may not be allergic to gluten, but being gluten free has helped my writing career.

Have you tried gluten free? What has been your experience?
(BTW....gluten free is NOT calorie free or low fat!)

Togather Brings Readers and Authors TOGETHER?

A very different type of connecting with readers has been brought to my attention.

Last week I received an email from TOGATHER.

As you know from the tabs on top of my blog, I teach workshops as well as book clubs. I travel to do both, and these are set up through the writer's groups or book clubs directly contacting me.

Togather is a global site that will put the author in front of a larger group of readers.

"

Togather is a free, online fansourcing platform that brings authors and audiences together.

We created Togather because giving a talk to an empty room is no fun.

You know how difficult and time-consuming it is to book and promote your own speaking engagements. So why not get some help directly from the people who really want to hear you talk? Using an on-demand fansourcing platform, Togather transforms the way authors organize book tours and bring audiences to events.

With Togather, every talk, book signing or lecture is sold out before you even leave your home. We use a group-buying mechanism to make sure that your fans commit to attending. It only takes a few clicks to show some author love. And with this commitment from fans, a whole new world of possible events opens to you and your audience. We think that's exciting.

Togather was created by authors. We understand the challenges of connecting with your audience. Dear writer, this tool is for you. Now go pack all your belongings in a gingham handkerchief tied to the end of a stick and start touring.

Togather was incubated by Huge Labs with financial backing from Interpublic Group. Togather was founded in April 2011 by authors Andrew Kessler and Aaron Shapiro and is based out of Brooklyn, New York." (Taken from the website.)

Instead of jumping on board, I did a little research to see what it is all about.

Check out the video:



I thought I'd go ahead and sign up just to see what it's all about.

When I signed up it sent me to a screen where I had to pick only one book. I put a price on my presences at three different events: Local Showings, Remote Showings, and Skype Showings.

Togather, along with the author, will help promote the site to their social media sites. This helps my reader in tin-buck-two see that I will come to their hometown for a fee. The reader or reader group will see what my fee is and will pay me the fee to get me to come there.

This is really no different than what I do now. Most of the time I hold a book signing in the location I'm doing a workshop in. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone, only I get paid to do one of those by the organization that is hosting me.

Togather is great because it guarantees that every single person signed up through their site, is someone who is going to show up for the book signing or workshop, not just a poster in a store or a message on a writer loop.

Anyways, there is nothing to lose. I already go around the country and get paid to do workshops. This is just another way to reach the target audience....THE READER!

What do you think about Togather? Here to stay or will go away?

OH!! By the way. . .CARPE BEAD 'EM won ebook of the year in Women's Fiction and Chick-lit for eFestival of Words!! Thank you for voting for me and who ever nominated me! I'm so thrilled!!

From An Editor to An Author

Please welcome editor Judy Beatty!!

Tonya asked me to write a blog on editing, and I’ve been mulling around what I want to tell you over and over in my mind for days now.   I have finally zeroed in on some things that I feel are important to the editor, and for the author.

In editing a manuscript, there can be a tendency to “want” to forget that the author has his or her own voice, and change sentences into how we as editors would say it if we had written it.  This is where we can make or break trust in the person we are editing for.  It’s common to try and change sentences around to our liking, but once the author’s voice is revealed, we must edit in their way of thinking, and not ours.  I had one lovely author recently tell me that she sees my grammatically correct sentences and says “Grammatically correct? What’s that?”  Also, I edited a book for an author that had characters speaking the worst English I have ever heard, but that is the way he wanted it, and that is the way I had to learn to edit his book.  Now I am highly aware and try to find the pattern and rhythm  in each authors writing, and once I do that, I can easily edit without changing their voice.

Punctuation tends to be an issue in every manuscript I edit.   Commas are by far the most overused punctuation on the planet.  Quotation marks inside or outside of the period/exclamation point/comma are another issue.  I find this rule handy: If in Britain, put the quotes outside of the punctuation, and if in America, put them inside.  Since most of us are in America, writing to Americans, then I try to keep what our readers are used to seeing prevalent.  If any of you are writing to a British audience, please tell your editor so they can edit accordingly (I say with tongue in cheek).

It helps, also, to have a wonderful daughter who teaches high-school English for a living.  AHEM…YES, I do write her occasionally when I get stumped and ask for her opinion, and thank God, she is so quick to help me.

I love working with already published writers, but am sad to say that so many manuscripts are getting edited (even [especially] by major publishing companies) and leaving so much to be desired; and you, the author, have probably paid through-the-nose to have them edited, but they are still so full of errors and have been published that way.  Since I do a lot of re-editing for authors who are already published, I feel deeply sorry for them and want to do everything in my power to make their manuscripts as clean as possible. When I read a book for fun, and it is full of errors, I tend to cringe and put it down.  Actually, that is how I got started in editing.  I read a series by a well-known author, and found so many mistakes that I wrote her and asked if she would like for me to fix them.  She sent me her manuscripts and I was on my way with a new career.

New writers are fun to edit, and a bit more time-consuming, because they are just finding their voice and a good editor can help them find it if he or she is willing to take the time to discuss issues with the writer.  It’s great fun to watch new writers evolve, and see each new book come to life with more of “them” in it.

My final thought is, no matter if you are an already published author, or if you are just starting out –edits will need to be done; sometimes over and over again, until the manuscript is so squeaky clean you can see your face in it.  I do look forward to working with many of you, and will continue to enjoy reading your works, and editing to my heart’s content.  

Until then, “Happy Writing”.

Judy is giving away a one time free editorial service to one lucky comment today!!!!

What Is A Brand And Why You Need It

"Personal Branding simply stated: your personal brand is what others think of when they think of you and your work. It's a simple set of phrases, images and impressions that help form a definition of a given person." Branding expert Jenn Stark, Jennstark.com

When working on my upcoming non-fiction novel, Tricked Out Toolbox, I decided to have quotes from all different authors in all different genres and publishing forms. Brand is a big chapter in TOT!

Ask five people what branding is and you’ll get five similar answers. People understand the basic concept of branding. When a customer hears your name or picks up a product, they have an immediate and strong impression of what they’re going to get. Read a John Grisham book and you’re in for a legal thriller with a smidgeon of romance. Pick up an Olivia Davis Mystery and you’ll get a smart and humorous mystery read with enough drama to make it interesting and enough spice to give a little thrill and anticipation.

Let’s be clear, branding is NOT about a tagline; branding is about reader expectation. That’s not to say that a tagline isn’t important, but ultimately, branding is about what a reader is going to experience while reading your books. Author Angi Morgan says it’s like buying Campbell’s Soup or Pepsi. You know you can count on the product living up to your expectation.

In the writing world, I've created my brand as "the high class hillbilly."

I know it sounds silly, but it's funny and easy to remember. My readers remember me for my bubbly personality, swag give aways, and quirky writing style. Your brand is what you want your readers to remember. It's the heart of your writing image.

When you think about Janet Evanovich, you immediately think about Stephanie Plum. Stephanie Plum has become Janet's brand. You know when you pick up her book you are going to be getting quirky and fun, plus the mystery isn't bad either;)

If you pick up a Tonya Kappes (me) novel, you know you are getting a story about quirky families, humor, laugh-out-loud moments, and some tears.

I had pleasure of connecting with Jennifer Fusco, a branding expert. She has a new non-fiction novel, Market Or Die. I was lucky enough for Jennifer to send me a copy!

And it's well worth it. Many authors overlook branding when they begin their careers. You don't realize it, but you've already been branded by your readers. If you haven't published your book, you need to think about building your brand NOW!

Her “Market or Die” Book Tells How to Develop a Brand That Sells “Branding is the other half of the battle to get your books out there, whether you write fiction, non-fiction, self-help or any other kind of book,” says Fusco.

“First you have to write a good book – it is impossible to build a brand if you don’t have a good product. Where the majority of first-time authors fail is not typically in the writing, but in the marketing of the book.”

“While I have been a writer for most of my life, it has been my experiences in corporate America that have enabled me to look through the marketing prism as it applies to books and authors,” says Fusco. “As with a new product or service, you have to have a strategy, a good understanding of your audience and what that audience is seeking or might need, and you have to execute the strategy with action steps that bring the book and author forward into the marketplace.”

Fusco says that today easily 60 to 70 percent of new books are self-published by independent and books-on-demand publishers. Whether the author is independently or traditionally published doesn’t matter; the same marketing and branding principles apply. New authors often believe that when they finish writing their book and have it published the hard work is over.

“But the real heavy lifting is just about to start,” she says. With “Market or Die” Jennifer Fusco is practicing what she preaches, and the result has been rapidly growing sales via Amazon of her book, both in print and e-book. She says what is most puzzling to her is that with all the social media available today, she doesn’t see new authors taking advantage of it enough.

“Very inexpensively you can market your book today using the techniques of social media. FACEBOOK and Twitter are just two of the channels you can use. There are many blogs on the Internet that may pertain to your topic as well, and they can be used to publicize your book and build your brand name whether you write romance novels or want to teach people how they can build a house by being their own general contractor.” Fusco says personal websites are another good way to market book and author. 


The long and short of it is that branding is the heart of your writing image.

What is your brand? What do you want the readers to think about your writing?


Coming on Friday, I'm going to help you discover your brand! Stay tuned!!