Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Surround yourself with Wisdom
Monday, July 13, 2009
Getting Ahead of the Game
This year we started thinking about what we wanted to do for our “vacation” and we decided that we were going to use the week to get ahead of the game. There are always so many things to be done, so many projects to pursue, that it can feel overwhelming. Most days I feel torn between the sudden growth of Writing Career Coach and my need to be a wife and mom. How can a person write a website on The Balanced Life and live such an insane schedule?
The same is true for you as authors. The start of a new project is when it is fresh and exciting. It is when there is a surge of creativity and you seem to hear voices around the clock.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Writing Articles
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Grow from Success. Learn from Failure
Monday, July 6, 2009
A great resource
I am excited to share a great resource with all of you today. I heard about this through a writer’s group I participate in. I’ve shared with you many times the importance of being a part of both national and local writing groups. This is one of the reasons; they are a great source of information.
This resource is by Roxanne Rustand and it is available at her website here. It is the top article “Face-off: the many faces of Romance”. (But look at the others. She has great information here).
There are a few things that are really nice about this resource [beyond just the information she shares]. First, it illustrates something I am constantly telling you guys-you must provide useful content. Roxanne’s website offers articles to her readers [just as Writing Career Coach offers blogs and articles at Examiner]. It also shows a sample of some of the information you might learn if you attend a writer’s conference. It also shows how writers work together. Roxanne gathered this information by asking other authors. This is why networking is so crucial.
What is exciting about this is that it also leads in to a series of articles I’m writing for Examiner.com about Writer’s conferences. I spoke about them briefly in a recent article and was thrilled that someone posted a comment asking me who should attend conferences. I’m now going to do a three part series for Examiner answering that question. It will start Tuesday. Sign up at Examiner.com to be sure you get it.
And on that topic, I’m glad to see so many of you take advantage of the paying market at Examiner. I’ve received more emails telling me you have signed up. I’d love some of you to email me privately to tell me your success stories. I can tell you it has been a wonderful experience for me.
This is going to be an exciting week at all of my blogs. I’ve learned a great deal from some of the people I met with this last week and I’m excited to share it with all of you. So, go enjoy Roxanne’s great article and let her know that you learned about her here.
And Roxanne, if you read this blog, say hi in the comments section!! I’d love to hear from you.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The important or the Urgent?
“It is the Important vs. The Urgent”
I had heard him make this statement before at networking meetings but for some reason last week it really made me stop and think. We cannot sacrifice the important for the Urgent. Nor can we allow procrastination to create a sense of urgency on every project.
“I work better under pressure.”
Many writers have told me this [and college students too]. In reality you don’t. You are addicted to the adrenaline of urgency. You have trained yourself to rush and hustle to get things done under a clock rather than training yourself in the discipline of doing bits at a time consistently.
It is important to work on your manuscript but writing the column that is due today is urgent.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Get Discovered!! Writing opportunity and Writing Contest
With vacation time in full swing this week we’re going to share a few lighter things. There will only be two postings as July 4th is a holiday here in the US. For my international readers you may email me with pressing questions or participate in this week’s webinar [sign up for Writing Career Coach Playbook and select ‘webinars’ to receive the special announcement that is coming.]
Today I want to remind you that we are approaching the final day where you can sign up to be a writer for Examiner.com and give the person who referred you a bonus. [See the full benefits by reading the original article here] The deadline is June 30th so if you’ve been thinking about it, and haven’t, do it today and let them know I sent you. I’ve been on examiner about a month and have had over 1,000 page views there alone. Not bad for building a new market!
A few people have taken advantage of it. Check out their articles! Jennifer AlLee. Read her article about the Vegas book festival’s search for authors.
And Ronald Thibeault, the Atlanta Protestant Examiner. His series of articles includes a book review. Check it out here.
Check out this announcement of a contest. Last year two people who entered SOLD their MS!!
The countdown for the 2009 Launching A Star contest has begun! You won't want to miss your chance to enter this terrific contest where last year's acquiring editors and agents requested an amazing 10 manuscripts, resulting in at least two sales.
This year, we've added new categories – Romantic Suspense, Inspirational and Novellas – in our efforts to bring you the most value for your contest dollars.
To enter, submit the first chapter (25 page max) of your romance in any of our nine categories. All first round judges (2 per entry, one trained, one published in romance) will provide constructive comments on every entry. Two industry professionals (one agent and one editor) will judge each category in the final round.
Complete details and entry forms are available on the STAR Chapter website: http://www.authorsofromance.com/
But hurry! You must send your entry in no later than September 5th. Launching a Star 2009
Sponsor: SpacecoasT Authors of Romance Chapter (STAR)
Fee: $25-$30, SASE
Please Note: The deadlines listed in RWR are incorrect. The correct deadlines are: Deadline: Post-marked by September 5th, Received by September 12th
E-deadline (for non-US residents only): Emailed by September 5th, received by September 6th.
Eligibility: Unpublished or not PAN Eligible
Enter: The first 25 pages. No synopsis.
First round judges: One trained; one published.
Final round judges: One editor and one agent for each category
Single Title – Editor Selina McLenmore, Grand Central;
Agent Becca Stumpf, Prospect Agency
Romantic Suspense – Editor Sara Goodman, St. Martin's;
Agent Kimberly Whalen, Trident Media
Inspirational – Editor Natalie Hanemann, Thomas Nelson;
Agent Rachelle Gardner, WordServe Agency
Historical – Editor Talia Platz, NAL; Agent Elizabeth
Pomada, Larsen-Pomada Agency
General Paranormal: Editor Heather Osborne, TOR; Agent
Laurie McLean, Larsen-Pomada Agency
Fantasy/Futuristic: Editor Meredith Giordan, Berkley/Jove;
Agent Deidre Knight, The Knight Agency
Series Contemp: Editor Susan Litman, Harlequin Special
Edition; Agent Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Agency
Young Adult: Editor Kristen Daly, HarperCollins; Agent
Elaine Spencer, The Knight Agency
Novellas: Editor Angela James, Samhain; Agent Roberta
Brown, Brown Literary Agency
Prizes: Star named in honor of overall contest winner; Engraved paperweights for all First Place in category; Certificates for all finalists
FMI: http://www.authorsofromance.com/
So, enjoy your leisurely summer but don’t pass up on these great opportunities.
Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at http://www.writingcareercoach.com/
Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group's next event.
Tiffany is a National Examiner. Read her articles here.
Learn more about Tiffany's Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.
Read Tiffany's award winning manuscript "A Face in the Shadow" on her fiction blog.
She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer's Rest.








