Yearly Archives

2020

Contest: If You Love a Fun Challenge as a Writer and a Reader, this is for You!

Contest: If You Love a Fun Challenge as a Writer and a Reader, this is for You!

written by Bryan Hutchinson

Do you like a good scary story? Is your favorite movie the one that keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next? And after the experience is over, do you find yourself telling everyone you know how great it was?

If that’s you, I’d like to invite you to join The Wee-Jees book launch team! We’ve got plenty of tricks and treats for you!

So what’s in it for you?

Cash, Gift Cards, and fun, different ways to get ’em!

What’s this book about?

A group of kids decide to play with a spirit board. They get an intriguing message that leads them on what they believe will be a fun adventure.

But everything is not what it seems…

What starts out as harmless fun soon turns into a terrifying game of cat and mouse with something dangerous and otherworldly.

And if that’s not terrifying enough …. this really happened to me!

If you’ve ever been scared by something unexplainable, you’ll love this story.

       

(Photo credit: Diana Palacios)

The book is available on these sites:

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Apple

The chance to win some pretty sweet CASH prizes!

Yes, you read that right.

Most book launches don’t offer cash prizes for participating. But I’m so confident you’ll love this book, I’m betting you’ll have a blast telling your friends about it!

So I’m backing that with the chance to win real cash (and Amazon Gift Cards) that you can spend however you like.

Here are the prizes:

  • First prize: $250, delivered via PayPal
  • Second prize: $150, delivered via PayPal
  • Third prize: $100 Amazon gift card
  • Runner up: 5 people will each win a $20 Amazon gift card (drawings)

And a SPECIAL BONUS PRIZE for the TOP 3 WINNERS:

Each of the top 3 will receive a half-hour video conference with me—live! We’ll talk about ANYTHING YOU WANT when it comes to writing. Pick my brain! No question is out of bounds. Want to know my writing process? How I publish my books? My launch strategies? Just want to chat about your writing and learn how to make it even better? It’s your half-hour—so you decide what we’ll talk about!

You don’t need a huge following to win

The #1 key measurement to this contest is who can find the most creative ways to get the word out about the book! 

#2 is participation in getting the word out during the launch. In fact, participation can turn out to be even more important as the goal is to a) inform as many people as possible about the book’s existence, and b) convince readers they should buy it and read it.

I want you to have fun with this. Do whatever you can with the time you have. A little enthusiasm goes a long way… and is highly contagious!

Here are a few ways you can help get the word out:

  • Film yourself talking about the book and share it on all your social media accounts. You can do it however you want—talk to the camera, add some photos and narrate them, or create your own graphic video slideshow!
  • Use iMovie and create your own movie trailer for the book. What would you see on the screen? Invite us to watch and share!
  • Read a short passage with your best scary narrator voice—with pictures inspired by the book—and make that into an original spooky video!
  • Write a book review on your blog or another platform that allows book reviews (follow each website’s own terms and conditions). Then tell us about it so we can share it!
  • Post your thoughts about the book and images of the book to your social media accounts. (Here are images you can use click here.)
  • Share blog posts I publish in October. (Everyone who shares a post should certainly enter to win the prizes! Why leave good money on the table???)

How will the contest be judged?

Glad you asked, the key to a good book launch is getting the word out. And that’s how the contest will be judged, on how contestants were able to get the word out using social media, traditional websites, blogs, podcasts, radio, and other unique ways you can think of.

Be sure to keep links and screenshots of your efforts to submit them to me by 3 November. Use this email address to send me your documentation: bryanpositivewriter (at) gmail (dot) com

There are no limits on how creative you can be.

If you need more ideas, look at what others have done in their book launches—and think about how you’d do it better. Your voice matters, and this is your chance to shine! And who knows? You might learn something so good you can use it in your own book launch. Then you can blog about it so others can benefit!

The Wee-Jees launches just in time for HALLOWEEN!

The official launch time frame is from October 1 to November 2, 2020.

Start thinking up some fun and creative ways to get the word out. The more fun you have, the more likely you are to win! 🙂

You can send me what you did for the prizes as of the 3rd of November. If you want to email me what you’re doing during the launch, by all means, please do!

Feel free to join the Facebook launch team group (click) here.

Here’s my email again: bryanpositivewriter (at) gmail (dot) com

To enter the DRAWINGS for the Amazon gift cards, go (click) here.

Please note that amazon reviews are excluded and cannot be included in any of the contests!

10 Habits to Becoming a Better Writer

10 Habits to Becoming a Better Writer

written by Bryan Hutchinson

For the past few years, my desire to become a published author has become topmost in my mind. Because of that, many of my action plans have revolved around improving my writing.

These action plans have included taking online courses, and I learned a lot from them. In hindsight, I noticed that it’s not the one-time thing that actually helped me become a better writer: instead, it’s the little habits that I didn’t even pay much attention to during the time.

So what are some of these habits that helped me to become a better writer?

NOTE: This is a guest post by Yen Cabag, she is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She’s a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.

10 Habits to Improving Your Writing

Here are 10 habits that I’ve tested and proven to help anyone become a better writer:

1. Write even when you don’t feel like it.

We writers are quick to blame writer’s block when we are not in the mood to write. These past few months, I’ve tried pushing myself even when I don’t feel like writing, and to my surprise, after the first sentence or so, I can write!

I think this is one of the most important habits that any writer needs to develop, to push past the feeling of blah and just get writing.

2. Be OK with an unexciting first line—at first.

One of the greatest pressures that we writers face is the need to make that first line absolutely perfect. After all, doesn’t everyone tell us the first line has to hook your readers in, or else you’ve lost them forever?

Because of that, I find myself stuck whenever I can’t think of a great first line. One way that helped me move past this is to force myself to be OK with any old first line when I first writing. Then I just make a mental note to myself (or a literal note, typed in bold so I can quickly see it!) to edit that first line after I finish the entire piece, be it an article, a blog post, or a chapter in a novel.

3. Write first, edit later.

Another pitfall that many writers struggle with is the internal editor always forcing us to go back and fix things as we go along. This causes many delays, and sometimes even quenches the creative flow. I learned this important habit from several writing blogs, and I need to force myself to shut out the inner editor so I can just write my first draft and edit later.

4. Don’t be afraid to outline.

In the world of novels, two extreme writing styles are the plotter and the pantser. The plotter outlines everything, while the pantser just writes “by the seat of his pants.” I’m a fairly organized person, but I usually don’t have the patience to outline, and perhaps mistakenly think of myself as a pantser.

To test out this “theory,” in my current project of writing a nonfiction book, I tried outlining. To my surprise, it made writing the contents so much easier because I already know what I’m supposed to write about in every chapter!

5. Time yourself writing with undistracted attention.

I stumbled across this trick when I started writing for someone who asked me to use time-tracking software. Because I was timing myself, I was forced to focus on the task. Cal Newport, in his book Deep Work, explains how focusing on a task, instead of the constant multi-tasking that this information-rich generation does, actually helps us have more creative output.

I believe focused attention is one habit that writers really need to develop, and if it calls for a set time to do that, by all means, try it yourself!

6. Write different genres.

As writers, we may have specific genres that we enjoy writing about. But I’ve found that trying out different kinds of topics or styles can give a much-needed break, which helps recharge my writing all over again.

I suppose it’s strange, that having a writing career, I still write to relax!

7. Read, read, read.

Think of writing as exhaling, and reading as inhaling. Reading helps us writers feed on other people’s ideas and styles, and I believe it’s one habit that we need to keep cultivating.

For myself, I enjoy reading both nonfiction and fiction books, to relax after a long day of writing.

8. Practice touch-typing

I’m glad I already know how to touch-type, and relatively fast, so I can generally type out my thoughts as they come. If you don’t know how to touch-type, it may be a good time to learn how to do so, and keep practicing to improve your typing speed.

9. Keep learning.

Although I did say that the little habits I develop throughout the day gave me more results, as writers, we still need to keep learning. I’ve found that taking classes or finding a mentor to give direct feedback on my work is a great way to keep learning and improving.

10. Don’t despise small beginnings.

Lastly, one habit I need to keep cultivating is appreciating the little things. Are you “only” in Chapter 1? Don’t complain, instead celebrate it! The more I celebrate little victories, the more encouraged I am to keep going.

When you look back months, or years down the road, you will find that these 10 habits pay great dividends in helping you improve not just as a writer but even as a whole person.

Join The Wee-Jees Book Launch Team, Have Fun and Win Great Prizes!

Join The Wee-Jees Book Launch Team, Have Fun and Win Great Prizes!

written by Bryan Hutchinson

I’m happy you are considering joining my new book’s launch team!

What’s in it for you:

  • You’ll receive a free digital PDF review copy of The Wee-Jees. It’s a ghost story based on true events.

Do you love a challenge, and want to have some delightful fun getting the word out about a spooky little book in time for Halloween!? If so… join us! We’ve got…

PRIZES!!!

Your efforts will be rewarded.

Here are some great prizes! Very few book launches offer actual cash prizes where you can get paid. 🙂

  • 1st place: $250.00 via PayPal. 1st and 2nd place only
  • 2nd place: $150.00 via PayPal. 1st and 2nd place only
  • 3rd place: $100.00 Amazon Gift card
  • 5 runner ups will each get a $20.00 Amazon Gift card

How to win, and bonus prizes, are listed below, keep reading. Read everything, there’s quite a bit of information and there’s a lot in it for you.

As a member of the team, I would like to ask you to:

1) Read The Wee-Jees. I will supply a free PDF version right away after you sign up. *If you prefer Kindle, you’ll have to wait until publication on Amazon and purchase it (it will only be 99cents during the launch). I’ll explain why in a moment.

2) When the book officially launches, review The Wee-Jees on your website (if you have one) and/or on any website that it is allowable by following their rules.

*Please note that Amazon reviews are not allowed as part of any drawings or prize packages and will not count towards any of our prizes, so if you review the book on Amazon please only do so according to Amazon’s rules and at your own personal desire to do so. 

For the first few weeks of the launch, I will price The Wee-Jees at just 99cents on Amazon, and if you sincerely want to review it on Amazon consider purchasing it so that your review displays as a “Verified Purchase.” Verified Purchase reviews are considered more genuine and are more valued by both Amazon and readers. Again, reviews must follow Amazon’s rules.

You will have my sincere appreciation for your honest reviews.

3) Tell everyone you know about the book! Post about it on your social media accounts and generally help get the word out. Be creative! Speaking of which, creativity is an aspect of winning a prize!

HOW TO WIN PRIZES

Here’s how you can win one of the prizes:

These are participation contests, at the end of the launch, one month from publication, I will ask each of you to send me what you did during the launch, you’ll include links and screenshots of your efforts.

I will be looking for:

1) Enthusiasm, show your enthusiasm for promoting a book you care about and how much you want to get the word out about it. Enthusiasm has the power to inspire others to want to read what you read and tell their friends about it, too. 🙂 And you know you can be pretty darn enthusiastic when you want to be! 🙂

2) Creativity, blow everyone away with your ideas! Do something different, something off the wall and awe-inspiring. As a writer, you’re already very creative, so show off your brilliance and wow us!

**Tip idea: Create a video about the book and share it, it can be a review, a trailer, or something else creative. Videos have power and will get you major points in this contest. (Wouldn’t a Blair Witch mystery style video be interesting?!?)

3) Go for it! Most importantly, the sheer amount of activity you do to help launch The Wee-Jees will be important in assessing who wins. You might even want to research ideas on how to promote a book online. Remember, while you’re doing this you’ll discover new ways to promote your own work, too! We will learn from each other.

Here are some more quick ideas:

Share my blog posts about the book–which I will post starting 1 October, write articles and/or reviews about the book, do both, do a podcast about the book, interview me (send me your top 5 questions and I’ll answer in writing), create your own fan art based on what you read, do a social media list about what you liked most about the book (no spoilers), send to your mailing list if you have one, and whatever else you can think of… I’ll send out more ideas in update emails to the team. Feel free to add ideas in the comments below.

Bonus TIP! Referring new members to the launch team, especially those who have large audiences already, and who sincerely help the launch, are major bonus points! Also, as is helping your fellow launch team members.

The top 8 will get the prizes listed above, and just as a reminder, here they are again:

  • 1st: $250.00 via PayPal
  • 2nd: $150.00 via PayPal
  • 3rd: $100.00 Amazon Gift card
  • 5 runner ups will each get a $20.00 Amazon Gift card

What Else You Get

All who join will get a digital version of The Wee-Jees directly after signing up. I only ask that you do not share it, please.

BONUS PRIZE for the top 3 winners: Each will receive a half-hour video conference with me live! We will talk about anything and everything writing-related, you can ask me anything, pick my brain! Want to know my writing process? How I publish my books? My launch strategies? Just want to chat about your writing and receive a few tips from yours truly? Whatever you like, it will be your half-hour, so you decide what we’ll talk about.

You don’t have to have the biggest following to win. Remember, it’s primarily a participation contest, the more you promote, the better your chances are to win. Be creative, be enthusiastic, and keep spreading the word about the book.

You can win! There are plenty of prizes to go around.

The launch date is just in time for HALLOWEEN!

The official launch timeframe is from 1 October to 2 November 2020. However, you can already start prepping your ideas. The book is available online for pre-order on these sites:

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Apple

You can send me what you did for the prizes as of the 3rd of November, but don’t worry, I will also send out reminder emails to everyone. If you want to email me what you’re doing during the launch, by all means, please do! You’ll receive our Facebook launch group link and my email address after you join below.

Ready to join?

Sign up to join The Wee-Jees launch team here:

I will stay in contact with you via a few emails and I will contact you the day before the book goes live!

Start thinking up creative ways to help get the word out and what you’re going to do to win one of the prizes. 🙂 Depending on how large the launch team becomes I may add more prizes.

****If you do not receive the confirmation email and then the following email with the link to the book’s file, please check your junk or spam folder just in case! Please read the message as it has important information.****

Feel free to introduce yourself in the comments below. 🙂

Outstanding Books on Writing for Just 99 cents ea. (17 to 23 August ONLY!)

Outstanding Books on Writing for Just 99 cents ea. (17 to 23 August ONLY!)

written by Bryan Hutchinson

(UPDATE: This promo is over and ended on the 23rd, while it is possible some titles are still at 99cents, I can’t promise that.)

I’m happy to announce a very special promotion I’ve arranged with several of my author friends on Amazon.

Each book listed below is priced at just 99 cents, only for the duration of the promotion, so don’t waste any time and collect them all today. Click on the covers of the books you would like and you’ll be directed to their respective Amazon pages at the discounted price.

       

Feel free to share this with your friends! Leave no writers behind. 🙂

How to Overcome the Fear Every Writer Has of Repeating Themselves

How to Overcome the Fear Every Writer Has of Repeating Themselves

written by Bryan Hutchinson

Every writer fears the dreaded complaints about being too repetitive.

“I thought the book was great, but the author tended to repeat herself.” – “Fantastic information, but too much repetition!” – “The author is a moron, kept repeating the same lesson over and over―I got it the first time. WTF!”

In non-fiction, which this post focuses on, and in some fiction, there is a tension between repeating something too much or too little, and as writers, we must master this skill if we are to use it in the powerful, necessary way intended.

If readers do not learn from your book or article it might not be that you didn’t teach your point well enough the first time. No, the real problem could be that you didn’t teach your point enough.

Repetition is vital in the learning process because that’s the way the human brain learns and stores memories.

Repetition is a necessity

Let me say it again, repetition is a necessity.

In our fast-paced world, we are so busy that we can’t stand repetition, we simply don’t have the time for it (we say), and yet we wonder why so many talents and skills are being lost.

It’s because people don’t want to be bothered to take the time to learn something the right way. They can’t be bothered to take the necessary amount of time needed to master their talents. Welcome to the 21st century where everything is supposed to be instant. It’s just too bad the human brain hasn’t caught up.

Without repetition, there can be no mastery

Often, when people complain about repetition it is because they believe they “got it” the first time.

The brain simply isn’t a one and done machine. When we treat it like it is we forget lessons, we fail tests, and we never truly master any skills.

Imagine your favorite song without its chorus.

Now you know the reason why one-night-stands are so regrettable, unless it was with the entirely wrong person it’s because we want to repeat such a fantastic experience.

See, repetition isn’t always so horrible.

Okay, let’s refocus.

If you want the information you are sharing to stick, you must learn how to repeat yourself, hopefully without annoying your readers too much. Repetition, therefore, is also an art, which we must practice. You must master the art of rephrasing, hiding, and being boldly deliberate when there are no other options. Because otherwise, repetition can be annoying and counterproductive.

Do your readers a favor, when a point is important, repeat it; however, mix it up enough that it’s refreshing in of itself each time. Don’t get lazy by simply copying and pasting, tell a story, and show it through a different lens. I’ll give you a few examples in a moment.

It’s this fear of repeating one’s self today that has so many people failing to teach others how to become masters of their art. It goes for the students as well. We see people giving up because they’re not willing to put in the time and practice playing the same notes over and over again until their instruments, and they themselves, sing beautifully.

It’s not always about learning something new, it’s often more about learning what you already know better.

New is overrated when the student hasn’t fully embraced and mastered what she already knows.

Bruce “One-Inch Punch” Lee

Bruce Lee was remarkable not only for his skills as a fighter but also as a teacher.

Due to Bruce Lee’s intense repetitive training of one single punch thousands, perhaps millions, of times, he was able to deliver a force from one inch away that could knock an opponent off of his feet.

Some claim the punch could kill.

The punch was made so famous by Bruce Lee that today it is known simply as the One-Inch Punch. Mention the One-Inch Punch to any professional fighter and they’ll instantly know to what you’re referring to and who made it famous.

The One-Inch Punch is not possible by just any layman without intensive training, in order to master it one must attempt it thousands upon thousands of times, and even then it might not be enough. Only the truly dedicated will eventually master the famed punch.

And yet, us poor little scribblers complain when authors repeat themselves even once.

If you read any book from Bruce Lee you will soon discover how he hammers home his philosophies over and over again. His lessons have taught legions of fighters over the last half-century and are still among the most sought after books on martial arts.

So the next time you are afraid to repeat yourself because you feel you still need to bring the point home, do it. A reader might complain about it today, but years down the road when she remembers the lesson well and uses it as a master, perhaps even without realizing it, she will owe you thanks.

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” ―Bruce Lee

Mix It Up

With that said, you don’t want to repeat yourself simply by copying and pasting what you already stated. What you want to do is mix it up. Here are a few ways you can do that:

  1. State it directly, as a matter of fact.
  2. Tell a story.
  3. Use personal experiences.
  4. Give readers a practice assignment.
  5. Offer a quiz to help your readers remember.
  6. State it a final time in your closing remarks.
  7. Use comedy by stating the point in a humorously unexpected way, if possible.
  8. Use osmosis by referring to another similar point or an example you previously used. Such as, I used Bruce Lee for a lesson in my book The First Draft is Not Crap and in my online course The Art of Positive Journaling.

Bestselling Authors are the Ultimate Culprits!

If you research reviews from some of the hottest non-fiction bestsellers on Amazon, you’ll find that many reviewers complain about repetition, you’ll especially find this in reviews from books by Seth Godin, Jeff Goins, and Jon Acuff, authors who happen to be some of the very best teachers of our time.

As an experiment, whenever you have a free moment, consider doing a search in the reviews from the below books for “repetitive,” or “repeats themselves,” or other variations and see how many results you get:

This is Marketing by Seth Godin (Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller.)

Real Artists Don’t Starve by Jeff Goins (Wall Street Journal bestseller.)

Quitter by Jon Acuff (New York Times Bestselling author of six books including a Wall Street Journal #1 Bestseller.)

Don’t be too shocked that the book with the most acclaim also has the most complaints of being too repetitive, but all of the above have negative reviews claiming the authors were too repetitive.

Here’s the thing, all of the best teachers repeat themselves, and frankly, by and large, students hate it. We’ve had to put up with this since grade school and teachers can’t seem to stop doing it and the best teachers do it the most.

Damn them for being so good.

Aristotle took the matter so seriously that he stated: “It is frequent repetition that produces a natural tendency.”  Perhaps it is of no coincidence that one of his most famous sayings is:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  —Aristotle

(Translated by Will Durant from Aristotle’s texts.)

Whatever you’re great at, wherever your talent has led you, you’re here because you practiced, again and again, you repeated the methods, you repeated the exercises, you memorized them over and over again, instructors, teachers, parents, friends, whoever helped you, did so by repeating processes and instructions over and over again.

Here’s something to consider (and if you think about it, you might be one of these students), students that become true masters of their chosen art are most often the ones that come back and thank their favorite teachers for hammering home the lessons they needed to learn.

Repetition is the true kick in the ass every artist needs

An important paper on this is:

Repetition is the First Principle of Learning

University of Virginia, by ROBERT F. BRUNER

Abstract:

One of the biggest mistakes a teacher can make is to forego the return or repetition. The learning process is one of slow engagement with ideas; gradually the engagement builds to a critical mass when the student actually acquires the idea. Repetition matters because it can hasten and deepen the engagement process. If one cares about quality of learning, one should consciously design repetitive engagement into courses and daily teaching. To do this well is harder than it seems.

As a pool player, I used to get frustrated with one of my instructors because he would have me practice one certain routine hundreds of times and, if I’m being honest, I grew to hate that routine, but eventually, there came a time when I could shoot through the entire routine with my eyes closed.

Without realizing it my shots became fluid and reflexive, I didn’t have to think about them anymore, I could free my mind while playing and shoot more true to my goal, and I won a lot more.

If you ever get the opportunity to watch a professional billiards trick shot player and he or she closes their eyes to make a fantastical shot, it’s because they practiced that shot hundreds of times with their eyes open and thousands of times with their eyes closed.

A Few Tips on how to use Repetition to Learn Better

  1. Learn lessons at least thrice, this includes tips, articles, and books, to name a few.
  2. Space out repetition, the brain learns better when you take pauses. In other words, don’t read a book again the day after you finish it, instead wait a month or two between readings. Give yourself enough time to absorb the information and then go over it again.
  3. Use short burst repetitions. With regard to my pool routine, it was rather short and quick so waiting a month on such a routine isn’t the same as it would be for longer curve learning. In this case, I repeated the exercise directly after finishing, I did this hundreds of times a day for several weeks, then paused a few days before repeating. Basic rule: The shorter the lessons the more frequent the repetition.
  4. Learn from different mediums, such as if you read a book about, let’s say, marketing, and it’s also available as an audiobook, first read it and then listen to it, and perhaps on the third go-around, read and listen simultaneously.
  5. This last one I like a lot, but it’s a bit controversial, listen to audiobook versions of what you want to learn while you sleep. I’ve woken up from dreams about the subject I’m listening to, so I know the brain is listening even while we sleep. How well does this help? I have absolutely no idea, but belief is a powerful thing and I believe it helps me learn skills better.

With all this said, I leave you with one more lesson from Bruce Lee, perhaps the most important:

”Obey the principles without being bound by them.”

Wax on, Wax off.

3 Ways Your Inner Critic Can Make You a Better Writer

3 Ways Your Inner Critic Can Make You a Better Writer

written by Frank McKinley

You know your Inner Critic.

It’s the voice inside that tells you you aren’t good enough, your writing sucks lemons, and that you’re crazy for even thinking anyone wants to read a word of anything you have to say.

It’s the voice that trips you up when you’re so close to victory you can taste it.

It’s the nagging feeling that your dream is stupid, but you really want to go after it anyway.

I know this voice, because it tormented me for most of my childhood.

Fortunately, as a young adult, I learned that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Every Coin Has Two Sides

When you’re wavering between two equally good decisions, how do you decide what to do?

You flip a coin.

If it’s heads, you grill steak.

If it’s tails, you bake a casserole.

It’s not just about food. It’s about making a choice. When they’re both good, you can stand there forever wavering. Then you’re no better off than a leaf tossed about by the wind.

You’re not helpless. You can decide. Even if you just flip a coin.

Your voice is yours. It’s inside you. Like it or not, it’s there to stay. You can’t make it go away.

But you can teach it how to behave.

I got control over my negative voice when I traded my old assumptions for better ones.

My old assumptions were a lot like anyone who struggles with self-doubt, fear, and insecurity.

● You’re not good enough.
● You don’t matter.
● Nobody cares about you, and they never will.

Did you notice something about those statements?

They’re framed as absolutes.

Here’s what I mean. I didn’t give conditions to those statements. I didn’t say, “If you’re an artist, you probably won’t fit in at an accounting convention.” That’s specific and pretty obvious. And it’s only absolute in that circumstance. When you say, “I’m not good enough” you imply that this is true everywhere, all the time.

It’s not.

Find a better frame. See the world in terms of case by case situations. You don’t have to fit in everywhere. You do fit well in some places. You’re more like a puzzle piece than a square trying to fit in a world of round holes.

Celebrate that.

Now let’s get a handle on your Inner Critic. It really can be on your side – believe it or not!

In this post, we’ll look at three ways it can be your best friend instead of your worst enemy.

Your Critic is a Refiner, Not a Destroyer

Ovens heat things. It’s what they do.

All ovens aren’t alike.

Some ovens are for pottery. You put your art in and in time you bring out a masterpiece. That’s a refining oven better known as a kiln.

Funeral homes have ovens, too. They’re used to turn your loved ones into ashes.

Which kind of fire is your Inner Critic?

It depends on what you use it for.

You can use it to make you better or bitter.

You use it to make you better with a few simple steps.

First, write your draft fast. Give yourself a prompt and don’t stop to think. Don’t check for typos on the way. That’s like getting distracted by a squirrel when your daughter is talking to you. Push on. This is a racetrack, not a scenic highway. Get those words down and don’t worry about speeding tickets. There aren’t any on the freewriting highway.

Your critic can take a nap while you vomit out your draft.

This is fun. It’s like jumping into a pool. You get refreshed by getting in the water. If you stop to worry about how cold the water might be, you’ll stay on the deck forever.

Once all your words are on paper, take a break. Eat lunch. Take a nap if you’re into that. You might be tired after all that effort anyway. Give your brain time to reset.

Then come back and edit.

Jody Picault famously said you can’t edit a blank page. No worries! You’ve got a page that if filled to the borders.

Now let’s consider the point of editing, shall we?

You aren’t here to tear yourself apart. You’re editing your words. You’re looking for impact – specifically, the one you intended when you sat down to write. Did you trigger the reader’s emotions? Pretend like this is someone else’s work. It will seem more like it if your break is long enough. Ask yourself, how can I maximize my impact? How can I use these words to fulfill my purpose.

Then give it all you’ve got.

And please, don’t forget to get excited. Your refining here, not destroying.

There’s a world of difference.

Your Inner Bodyguard

When you’re carefree, pouring out your soul with no inhibitions, you might say something offensive.

Since you’re blazing through your draft, you might miss it. That’s okay. You’re not worrying about it then.

Your Inner Critic can sort it all out.

When you run into something you wrote that gives you pause, ask yourself one question.

Should I say this?

If you’d say it in public where someone could punch you, then go for it.

If you have no doubt you shouldn’t say it, don’t.

If you’re not sure, then you can probably leave it in.

I can’t guarantee no one will be offended. And who knows? Your edginess can give your message the punch it needs to reach your reader when she needs it most.

It’s also a good way to stand out.

Let your Inner Critic keep you from getting a bloody nose. Don’t let it keep you from speaking the truth or making an impact.

Your Critic Has Your Best Interests at Heart

Your Critic is part of you. It’s always going to be there. It’s not trying to sabotage you. It really wants the best for you.

It might not always know what to do, but let’s be honest – do you?

We’re all just doing the best we can.

Sometimes your Critic is worth listening to. Here’s how to tell.

● Will believing this make me better?
● Will this idea really ruin everything?
● How is this in my best interest?

When you answer these questions, you’re using your head instead of your feelings. You’re responding instead of reacting. And more often than not, you’ll find yourself daring greatly and shrinking less.

We’re all wired for survival. Our intentions are usually good (at least as we define them). So when your Critic starts ranting and raving, pause. Understand. Listen to hear what it’s really saying. Are you hurting? Is something wrong? What can we do to make this wrong thing right?

You’ll do this again and again for as long as you live.

The more you do, the less you’ll have to over time.

What you’re doing when you talk back to your critic and question its assumptions is paving new mental pathways. If you’re going to be in a rut, why not be in one that serves instead of harms you?

Guide your own heart. It’s got your best interests in focus.

When you do, the best of you will come out in every word.

4 Reasons Why Finishing a Book is Hard, and How to Make It Easier

4 Reasons Why Finishing a Book is Hard, and How to Make It Easier

written by Bryan Hutchinson

You’re a serious writer. You’ve been pursuing the dream for a while. You’ve amassed several thousand words on one or more projects, read books about characterization and plot, attended writers’ conferences, and created a daily writing practice.

And yet you haven’t finished your book. Or maybe you have several you’ve started but haven’t finished. Maybe you’ve finished one but then struggled to finish anymore after that.

Writing a book is never easy, and each one presents new challenges to overcome. If you’re struggling to finish your books, you’re not alone, but if you want to separate yourself from the pack and see your writing dreams come true, you must find a way to manage the journey all the way to “the end.”

Note: This is a guest post by Colleen M. Story, she inspires writers to overcome modern-day challenges and find creative fulfillment in their work. Find free chapters of her books, “Writer Get Noticed!“and “Overwhelmed Writer Rescue,” as well as her FREE mini-course on finishing your book on her motivational site Writing and Wellness. She also welcomes connections on Twitter.

Below are four of the most common reasons why finishing a book is hard, along with action steps to take to get you closer to where you want to be.

1. A Book Is Much More than a Good Idea

We all have good ideas for books. Ask anyone who’s ever thought about writing one and you’ll hear them. Amateurs think all you need is a good idea and you’re set.

Real writers know the truth of the matter, but that doesn’t stop us from being distracted by our active imaginations. It’s probably happened to you. Halfway through your novel, you started to struggle. You knew something was wrong but you didn’t know how to fix it.

As you floundered around, your brain started coming up with new ideas for new stories. Because you’re a creative person, you couldn’t help but feel seduced by these new ideas. They sounded fresher, more intriguing, and more exciting than the one you were working on.

Surely it would be better, you thought, to set your current work aside and pursue one of those superior ideas?

Unfortunately, it’s all a hoax. No matter how great your idea, it will rarely be easy to write a book-length manuscript. Instead, you’ll go off on that new idea and end up stuck all over again.

Action Step: When new ideas occur to you, write them down and store them somewhere in a box or a file on your computer. Then go back to your project and continue working until it is finished. Do not let another idea call you away from the one you’re already working on until that one is complete.

2. Finishing a Book is Totally Up to You

For most everything else we do, someone is around to hold us accountable. At work, you must answer to your manager and/or boss. At home, your family has certain expectations of you. Even the organizations for which you volunteer expect you to follow through.

When writing a book, however, there is no one to check up on you. There is no performance review and no one to see about your progress. That can be freeing, but it can also make it far too easy to shirk your duty to the creative work.

Don’t feel like writing? No one will notice if you take the day off. Feeling frustrated with your story? You can set it aside and no one will complain. Tired of the constant grind of writing every day? You can stop it all now without fear of any serious consequences.

At the end of the day, it’s far easier to quit than it is to continue, and a lot of people take the easy way out.

Action Step: Find out what’s motivating you to do this, and keep it fresh in your mind. Why do you want to write this book? Answer that question and post your answer somewhere you can see it regularly.

Then motivate yourself to keep going in ways that work for you. Track your progress. Ask other people to hold you accountable to your goals. Join a writer’s group. Set up rewards for each milestone you reach. Know yourself well enough to know what you need to do to drag yourself across the finish line.

3. Finishing a Book is Hard

When you read a good book by a master author, it looks easy. The story flows from beginning to end. The characters come to life on the page. The settings are so real you feel like you’re there.

Of course, you can do the same thing, you think.

And then you get to the dreaded middle of the book, and everything you thought you knew goes out the window. Your plot feels unhinged. Your characters are acting strange. The pacing is slow. Now what?

You start and stop again. You consult books on characterization and plot. You jump to the end, write that, then go back, but you can’t bridge the gap. You set one draft aside and start over with another, but you get stuck again.

Writing can be bliss at times, but at other times, it can be downright torturous. It’s like being in a maze and not being able to find your way out. Worse—it’s like being in a maze and not being able to find the most exciting, heart-pounding, emotionally moving way out, and only that one will do.

It’s hard. You spend months banging your head against a wall. You turn here and there for help, all to no avail. You feel like a failure. The beautiful novel you had so many hopes for is falling flat on its face.

Is it any wonder so many writers quit?

Action Step: Don’t quit. No matter what, don’t quit. Try again. And again. One-hundred times if you need to. Ask for help. Hire a writing mentor. Take an online course. Read another book. Outline your book and take a bird’s eye view of the plot. Sit down and have a talk with your characters, one by one, and record what you discover. Keep going. Don’t quit. If you hang in there, the answer will come.

I know. It took me five years to figure out my last novel. When I finally did, I felt like I’d traveled the Sahara and finally arrived at an oasis. It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life. The harder your struggle, the sweeter the reward. Real writers don’t quit.

4. Finishing Your Book Matters to No One as Much as it Matters to You

Wouldn’t it be nice if, when you’re struggling, you had someone to tell you it was all worthwhile? If you were like one of those authors in the movies with an agent waiting breathlessly for your next story? If you had thousands of readers clamoring for your next work to hit the shelves?

For a very few writers, this is the case. For most of us, the world doesn’t notice if we publish another book or not. Most people don’t care.

Sure, our friends and family might wonder. But at the end of the day, life goes on. The mail still shows up every day (or almost every day). The planes still fly. The banks still operate. People still go back and forth to the grocery store. Book or no book, it doesn’t matter.

We realize this reality somewhere along the way. We know it, deep inside. The world will survive just fine without this story. And that makes it difficult to keep going when the going gets tough because in the end, who cares?

Action Step: Ask yourself: Does this book matter to me? If your answer is “yes,” honor yourself enough to know that you must finish it. For most of us, writing is a calling. It’s something we’re compelled to do. If you turn your back on it, you’ll be turning your back on yourself. Your potential. Your growth as a person.

You must honor yourself and your creativity enough to go where it leads you.

Writing has many rewards beyond those that come from the outside world. Remind yourself of what finishing means to you, and then get back to work.

How to Find Your Superfan Readers

How to Find Your Superfan Readers

written by Bryan Hutchinson

A superfan is that reader who buys all of your books and responds to your emails. They’re buying the pre-order and purchasing the audiobook even though they’ve already read the Kindle version and the paperback. 

We love our superfans.

Note: This is a guest post by Dave Chesson. Dave teaches authors advanced book marketing tactics at Kindlepreneur.com. He likes sharing in-depth, actionable guides, such as this breakdown of the anatomy of a book. His free time is spent in Tennessee with his wife and children.

Finding these fans is incredibly important as an author. In this article, we’re going to look at ways you can find your superfan readers. 

1. Build a Mailing List

One of the first things you should do to find your tribe of superfans is to start an email list. Starting it sounds intimidating, but there are reasons you should: 

  1. You own your email list. When someone buys your book on Amazon, you don’t get their contact details. When you have their email address, that changes. You can market directly to them. 
  2. You can launch your books to an engaged audience.
  3. You can start an autoresponder series that should give you a slow drip of book sales. 

But most of all, an email list can be used to find and reach out to your superfans. If a reader is a highly engaged email list subscriber, odds are they’ll be one of the first to buy your new books. 

The best way to build a mailing list is by giving away a lead magnet–a giveaway that a reader downloads in exchange for their email address. 

You’ve probably seen lead magnets before. Authors use lead magnets in their books to grow their lists too. For example, Sci-Fi author, Jamie McFarlane has an opt-in to his book, Junkyard Pirate. This clickable link leads readers to a download page where they can sign up to receive their free book.
Chris Fox, who writes fiction and non-fiction does the same thing with his books. For example, in his fiction book, Destroyer, he includes only one link.

When the reader clicks that link, they’re taken to Chris’ homepage which includes three giveaways placed above the fold–visible without having to scroll down.

When it comes to creating a lead magnet, you can use plenty of different ideas:

  • Add-on to the story
  • Another full book
  • Prologue to the book
  • Epilogue to the book
  • Character background information
  • Location maps

You can even create a course as your lead magnet. Plenty of non-fiction authors use companion courses for their book, and I use a free Amazon Ads Course as a lead magnet on my site. 

Once you’ve got a lead magnet or two, you can either host them on your website or sign up to a platform like StoryOrigin that’ll host the files along with giving you options on creating landing pages. 

You can also use StoryOrigin to connect with other authors for newsletter swaps and promotions that’ll grow your email list. 

2. Engage With Your Mailing List

Okay, so you’ve got a growing email list. Now what? 

Your superfans won’t come out of the woodwork straight away. Instead, you’ll have to engage with your readers with emails worth opening and reading. 

Your email list engagement tactics are far more important than your strategies for growing your list in the first place. Hosting a large email list can become quite expensive, so if you’re not making any profit from your list, you’re wasting your time and money. 

There are a few strategies to make sure you’re getting the most out of your email list and finding your superfans. 

Share parts of your personal life: A benefit of having an email list is that you can create a more personal relationship with your subscribers over time. Use your email blasts to tell personal stories that readers can relate to. You don’t have to give away any deep dark secrets, but simply going through some aspects of your day and showing off a bit of your personality will draw those who relate to you.

Post with the right frequency: Author newsletters are tricky when it comes to how often you should send emails. A lot depends on how often you publish books. Regardless, you don’t want to email your list every day. Once every week or two weeks should be fine. 

Have a solid onboarding system: The beauty of an onboarding system for your list is the guarantee that all subscribers will get the same experience when subscribing. Each new subscriber will receive the same emails no matter what time they join your list. When Tammi from Newsletter Ninja was on the Creative Penn podcast, she spoke about keeping your email onboarding short but still giving an intro to you and your work. 

Offer something more than just ‘buy my book’ emails: I’m sure you’ve been on an email list before where you’ve received spammy sales emails. If you’re like me, you unsubscribe super-quick. That applies to your readers too. Don’t always sell to your list. Instead, offer some valuable information, curated posts and maybe fun facts and freebies.

If you want to know more about engaging with an email list, I strongly recommend Newsletter Ninja. There’s a great book and some classes that you can take on being the best email marketer possible. 

3. Join Facebook Groups 

Facebook Groups are a great resource to connect with passionate readers. When you join a group, you’re not necessarily looking to sell books or create fans straight away. Instead, you want to join in on the conversation. 

These groups are everywhere too. 

For example, I searched ‘Sci-Fi readers’ on Facebook and quickly found two groups and a page I could join. With some further searching, that number could be a lot more. Bear in mind, you don’t want to join twelve different groups and float in and out trying to make them all happen at once. Instead, find one or two groups that resonate with you and give them your attention.

This strategy is by no means a fast-acting solution — it can take months to be seen as a regular member of the group. However, once you’re in, you’ll strike up relationships with members and they’ll naturally become intrigued about you and your writing. Remember, don’t go into a group looking for self-promotion. It won’t work and you’ll probably get yourself banned. 

While this is a time-consuming task, it can be an incredibly successful one. Partially because not a lot of authors will go to the time and effort to become an active Facebook group member. And even if it doesn’t lead to book sales, you’ll at least get a group of potential readers commenting on what they like and don’t like about the books in your genre. Consider that market research. 

4. Create Your Own Facebook Group 

Do you want to take your Facebook Group game up to 11, when everyone else is at a 10? 

Well, you can start your own Facebook group! 

Now, we already said that joining a Facebook Group can be a long-burn. Creating your own Facebook group is even more time-consuming. When you create a Facebook group, you’ll be doing a lot of work at the start making sure conversations are flowing. The good news is a successful group can be a highly targeted way to bring out and develop your own superfans. 

Odds are you’re not at the stage where a group can just be about your work, so maybe create a fan group for the genre you write in. That way you’ll bring in people who may be interested in your group but haven’t read your work yet. 

The catch-22 of a Facebook group is that nobody wants to join an empty one. So, let your email list know about the group as a way to chat with you and each other. 

It’s the ‘each other’ that’ll be the deciding factor if your group is a success or not. Sure, at the start you’ll have to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting conversation-wise, but you’ll really win when the group members are having conversations without your encouragement.

Bonus: Spend Time Writing Better Books

Let’s file this next section under “sometimes the simplest answer is the best one.” If you really want to find your superfans, spend time improving your craft. Rather than investing time and money improving the conversion rates on email subscribers and whatnot, spend it on improving your writing–take a class, or invest in a better editor.

When you write great books, your readers will do a lot of your marketing for you. Word of mouth marketing is one of the most effective forms because people trust a recommendation they get from a friend more than they do a Facebook ad. 

Being the best writer you can be will make all the marketing work you do more effective. 

Final Thoughts

As a writer, your superfans are the group that’ll uplift you. They’re your cheerleaders and you want them on your side. Connect with people in a genuine way and you’ll find them in no time. 

Why I Write (And Maybe You Should Too)

Why I Write (And Maybe You Should Too)

written by Bryan Hutchinson

Please join me in congratulating the first place winner of our annual writing contest, Henry Gasko! For me, this is one of the best articles on writing I have ever read and I find it more than worthy of first place. For such a short post, it sure packs a wallop. Henry will inspire you to pick up that pen of yours and write something that matters, to you.

I hate writing.

I hate the fact that sometimes I do it to just impress my friends. I hate that I sometimes do it because it’s the only way an old man might, belatedly, become noticed by the world. And sometimes I do it from simple habit, to hide the fact that today I have nothing else to do and so I will write, even though I have nothing much to say.

But all the books say to do it anyway. They say that if I practice diligently enough for long enough, something consequential will magically appear. And so I do it, even though I suspect that I am merely getting faster at writing rubbish.
I hate the self-doubt that overcomes me every time I sit down and try to get some good words on the screen. Not just any words. Some good words. Hemingway killed himself when the right words would no longer come. I hate that I don’t have that kind of courage.

And, no, I can’t write about just anything and pretend it matters. Not about hard-boiled detectives with surnames that you remind you of guns or minerals, or secret agents who are practically super-heroes. And certainly not dragons or elves or vampires or zombies. I hate the fact that I can’t write about these fantasies. I just physically can’t. If I could, if I would embrace escapism and fantasy and magical realism and all the other ways of hiding from the reality of this world, and I would have a million plots available to me. None of them would reflect the world I live in but that wouldn’t matter. I could pretend that somehow — metaphorically or allegorically — they did.

But I am seventy years old, and have tried all those escapes, and I can’t do it. I can’t embrace the certain victories that always occur realms such as Mordor or Hogwarts, or the safely externalized demons of The Overlook. If there are demons in the world, they cannot be out there, they must be in here.

But, just maybe, if I write often enough and long enough, a few words might come that explain why my life is worth living, words that might answer the only question that really matters: “Why bother.”

And then I would have something that I would show my children and my grandchildren. And I could look back on my life without the creeping depression of a life unfulfilled, and I could look forward to my death knowing that I have left a valuable gift, however small, for my children.

That’s why I write.

The Challenge Is To Do Your Part As A Writer: Tell Your Story

The Challenge Is To Do Your Part As A Writer: Tell Your Story

written by Bryan Hutchinson

Today I am happy to announce our 2nd place winner of our annual writing contest, Rachel Macdonald! Please help me congratulate her. 1st place will be announced next week.

I haven’t written a single word in over a month; haven’t edited the book it took me three years to write, haven’t put a scratch in my journal or a jot in my notepad of ideas. And today I am feeling sure I have the best excuse ever creatively conceived–life. I have six children (including two college students) all living at home, my husband is working two jobs, and our house is in the midst of the remodel it has earned trying to contain eight people for fourteen years. And I mean really, how many more excuses does a person need?

On top of that, a stingy, unrelenting inner voice has been whispering that there is no time, no point, and no worth in the book I have given sleepless nights to record. And I believe it. Until a chimney sweep knocks on my door.

But he’s no chimney sweep from Mary Poppins. His arms, legs, and neck are stamped with a rainbow of life history. His bandanna covers everything on his head that isn’t the ponytail touching the center of his back, and his eyes crinkle above a dirt-blond beard. He laughs when he tells me the worn antique bench sitting at the front of my house (the one I’ve told myself I’ll paint someday) might go missing if I’m not careful. He says it’s just the kind of thing he wants to put on his truck and take home to his wife. He adds that he enjoys finding pieces like these and making them beautiful again to gift to her. His voice booms but his smile is kind. So, I think, an artistic, happily married pirate has come to clean my chimneys.

But there’s more. There is always more. While a hose inserted into the upstairs fireplace sucks away years of ashes, we stand and talk. He wants to know about the beautiful building pictured on my wall. “My husband and I were married there,” I tell him. He nods and says he’s done repair work on buildings such as that one. He then firmly declares himself a spiritual man and explains how in places like those he feels closer to heaven. It’s a major contrast to the feelings he experienced amid the noise and chaos of The Gulf War. He says he did work there too. Just a different kind.

In circumstances like war, I think, a person has two choices–to become hardened and bitter, or to become strong and hopeful. And when he pulls down his t-shirt collar to show me his tattoos, I can see which one he has chosen.

Two hearts over his heart. “Because my daughters have my heart,” he explains. One bear claw on his left shoulder blade. “And my son has my back,” he says. A cross on each forearm and a giant cross at the top of his back between his shoulder blades. “Because God has my soul,” he finishes.

“I’m not going to tattoo myself with naked women,” he adds solemnly. “I want tattoos that mean something more. That say something important.”

Just thirty minutes with this stranger and for the first time in weeks, I notice my heart is beating. My brain feels like it’s coming out of a poisoned-apple induced sleep. And all of this is telling me what I almost forgot. I have something important to say too.

It’s something I’ve known since first grade. When seven-year-old me bit my lip and jiggled my legs and gripped my book. My book. I had written and illustrated a whole story which I was about to read aloud to my fellow first-graders. The story opened with a girl who loved to have her bed made and her clothes folded, but when she came home to the room she shared with her little sister and found the whole place a disaster, again, she knew something had to change. This began a journey in which she struggled for a better world. One where she could come home to her very own room. One where the dolls and stuffed animals would stay neatly lined against her pillow.

As my story unfolded, so did the keen awareness of watching my classmates smile, or laugh, or listen solemnly and lean forward to see the pictures. It was a new feeling for me that I could not have written or crayoned at the time, but it rang true. It was that of the human experience being shared and being received. I had shared a piece of myself–my thoughts, and feelings, and a possible end to my journey and solution to a problem that mirrored my own real-life problem. And they had listened. I wanted to do it again.

I have journaled, and written stories ever since. Though I have not shared every word I have ever written, I always write with the intent to share; to add my stamp to the world’s colorful history with the hope that someone, someday, will pick up my published book or my scribbled journal entry and will feel less alone.

This is the why behind my writing. The same creatively conceived excuse I was using not write was the same excuse I had to write–Life.

And my new chimney sweep, veteran, artist friend has reminded me. True story, real story, bumps us up against each other. And it is an unexpected, messy, and glorious process to be a part of.

My chimney is now clean, so I show this man to the door and we say goodbye. Then I go to my computer and sit down to do my part.

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