Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) + Google Plus

NOTE: At the ER. I’ll do my duties as co-host when I can.

Update: I was released from the ER on Wednesday with the diagnosis of a mass on my right ovary. I am much better now. The pain and tenderness had gone away. I am in the process of finding a specialist because everyone recommends I have it removed asap. Thank you for your love and prayers.

GOOGLE PLUS:

With Google+ being taken down come the New Year, Google+ profiles and groups will disappear, and bloggers using Google+ for comments and/or profiles will need to make changes. 

NOTE: Google accounts will not be impacted.

Blogger: If you’re using Google+ for comments, in Blogger, go to "settings," click "posts, comments, and sharing," and scroll down to "Google Plus Comments" and mark it as "No" for "Use Google+ comments on this blog." Which means people will then be commenting directly on your blog. Unfortunately, Google+ comments may disappear from your posts. So sorry!

If you’re using Google+ as your profile, in Blogger, go to "user settings" under "settings" and change the profile from Google+ to Blogger, so when people click on your name/avatar, they'll go directly to your Blogger profile (this is what mine does). You can update your profile by viewing your blog and clicking "View your complete profile" (if the profile gadget was added to the layout) and then "edit profile" at the top of the new page. This is where you can add a profile/avatar image if you don't already have one uploaded.

For Blogger, if it says "(Google)" next to your name in comment boxes, you're good. That means you're logged into your Google account, which will not go away.

Wordpress: You can remove the “share to Google+ button” by going to your Wordpress dashboard, “sharing,” “sharing buttons,” and “edit sharing buttons.” You can also disconnect from sharing to Google+ under “connections.” As far as commenting on Blogger accounts, try changing the “comment as” from “Google” to "Name/URL." That way people aren’t brought to your Google+ profile, which probably won't exist. They'll go straight to your blog/site, instead. The only thing is, you won’t have an image/avatar that way.

***

More Tips to Help You START Reversing Writer’s Burnout:

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 5 (Free Your Mind with Walking) Tips 14 - 15
Writer's Burnout Part 6 (One Day at a Time) Tips 16 - 17
Writer's Burnout Part 7 (Don't Force Yourself) Tips 18 - 19
Writer's Burnout Part 8 (Alternative Hobby) Tips 20 - 21

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writers Meetings)

What is writer’s burnout?

Burnout is very different from writer’s block. It’s worse. Writer’s burnout is something you feel deep down…bone-deep. It’s just like when athletes burnout from working themselves too hard and too much for too long. They can lose their love of the sport, physically and mentally. You can get writer's burnout from doing anything related to being an author.

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 5 (Free Your Mind with Walking) Tips 14 - 15
Writer's Burnout Part 6 (One Day at a Time) Tips 16 - 17
Writer's Burnout Part 7 (Don't Force Yourself) Tips 18 - 19
Writer's Burnout Part 8 (Alternative Hobby) Tips 20 - 21

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

Organization Tip: Agent Lists #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

Join HERE

Submitting to agents and publishers is time-consuming. When you’re doing this process, you need to be organized. You don’t want to send to the same publisher twice in one month or send to multiple agents in the same agency. (Many say if it’s a no from one agent, it’s a no from all.) And most agents want the right to say yes or no before you give it to another agent in their house.

Terracotta Warriors Facts / Guest Post by Sherry Ellis / Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China

It’s a pleasure to be participating in author Sherry Ellis’ BUBBA AND SQUIRT’S BIG DIG TO CHINA Blog Tour through MC Book Tours today.

Sherry Ellis is offering a tour-wide international giveaway featuring five autographed copies of her book. More information on the giveaway is listed below.

Welcome, Sherry!

The Terracotta Warriors

By

Sherry Ellis

Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog today! I thought I’d share some information about the Terracotta warriors that are featured in my book, Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China.

When Bubba and Squirt arrive in Xi’an, China, they discover they are in the pit of the Terracotta warriors. These clay soldiers were discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging for a well. To date, more than 8,000 have been found and pieced together by archaeologists. 

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU)

What is writer’s burnout?

Burnout is very different from writer’s block. It’s worse. Writer’s burnout is something you feel deep down…bone-deep. It’s just like when athletes burnout from working themselves too hard and too much for too long. They can lose their love of the sport, physically and mentally. You can get writer's burnout from doing anything related to being an author.

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 5 (Free Your Mind with Walking) Tips 14 - 15
Writer's Burnout Part 6 (One Day at a Time) Tips 16 - 17
Writer's Burnout Part 7 (Don't Force Yourself) Tips 18 - 19
Writer's Burnout Part 8 (Alternative Hobby) Tips 20 - 21

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

More Tips to Help You START Reversing Writer’s Burnout:

The Legend of the Pumpkin-Head Costume - Halloween Ride by Elaine Kaye

You can find my Author Toolbox Blog Hop post here. 

***

Please welcome my mom Elaine Kaye to Write with Fey!

The pumpkin-head costume is legendary in my family…

It all began on one Halloween night many years ago when my son wore the pumpkin-head costume. There were many tears. And screaming. And flat-out refusal. My son did not want to be a pumpkin! I don’t know why. I handmade the costume. It’s silky-soft and adorable. But my son wasn’t having any part of it.

My son in the pumpkin-head costume.

Organization Tip: Email Folders #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

Join HERE

I like to be organized. It’s true, especially when it comes to being a writer/author. I am my boss. I am the manager of my business. Organization is key when you’re running a business, and that’s precisely what you’re doing.

Previously I mentioned how I keep track of my expenses and earnings. I’ve also hinted at how I use email folders to save receipts and blog tour emails.

Well, I have a lot more email folders than that.

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak)

What is writer’s burnout?

Burnout is very different from writer’s block. It’s worse. Many years ago, I experienced a bad case of writer’s block that stopped my writing for 2 or 3 months. I’ve also experienced the normal day-to-day writer’s block, as well as weeks of writer’s block. And, yes, writer’s block can last a year.

But writer’s burnout is not writer’s block. Writer’s burnout is something you feel deep down…bone-deep. It’s just like when athletes burnout from working themselves too hard and too much for too long. They can lose their love of the sport, physically and mentally. You can get writer's burnout from doing anything related to being an author.

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 5 (Free Your Mind with Walking) Tips 14 - 15
Writer's Burnout Part 6 (One Day at a Time) Tips 16 - 17
Writer's Burnout Part 7 (Don't Force Yourself) Tips 18 - 19
Writer's Burnout Part 8 (Alternative Hobby) Tips 20 - 21

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

99 Cents Picture Books!!!

My mom's picture story books are now available in eBook!

And they are currently only 99 cents! 

This price won't last long, though, so snag it now for you, your children, your grandchildren, and your nieces and nephews.

My mom's newest release for autumn:

HALLOWEEN RIDE

PRE-ORDER FOR 99 CENTS!

One Halloween night, Gregory and his teddy bear Sammy go trick-or-treating, hoping for lots and lots of candy. But Sammy is scared of everything and is constantly asking, “What’s that?” Gregory gets annoyed until one of those things turns out to be a flying broomstick. And this broom wants them to go for a ride. Where will it take them?

PRE-ORDER 99 CENTS:

Amazon / Nook / Kobo

Smashwords

PEA SOUP DISASTER

ONLY 99 CENTS!

Gregory Green loves his mom’s pea soup, but when he eats it at school, all of his friends make fun of how it looks. He doesn’t think it looks like bugs, and it tastes good! Then at recess, his friends run from him, screaming, “He’s a monster!” Gregory doesn’t know why his friends are being mean until he sees his skin is green. The teasing gets worse until an unlikely friend comes to the rescue—his teddy bear, Sammy. Sammy usually only comes to life for Gregory and his family, but Sammy has an important lesson to teach Gregory and his classmates.

EBOOK 99 CENTS: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

DOCTOR MOM

ONLY 99 CENTS!

It’s Saturday, and Gregory Green can’t wait to have fun with his dad on the riding lawnmower, but something is wrong. Sammy, his teddy bear and best friend, won’t get out of bed. Gregory is worried when he sees Sammy’s left leg is torn. This is a case for Doctor Mom! Can they fix Sammy? And just how did Sammy get hurt in the first place?

EBOOK 99 CENTS: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

We hope these stories bring many smiles and laughs during your precious reading time with the little ones in your life.

Organization Tip: Writing Backpack #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

Join HERE

Being a Floridian, I am no stranger to the dangers of brush fires. When I was a kid, a fire surrounded my house on all sides. I had to run inside and grab what I wanted to save. All I remember saving was my blanket and school backpack.

Ever since that day, I’ve had a very real fear of fires. More specifically, a fear of losing my home to one. This worry resulted in something that has come in handy during hurricane season and severe thunderstorms, too.

So, what is it?

A backpack full of all of my writing stuff, including folders of ideas, notebooks for stories I’ve started, a Ziplock bag with a few old floppy disks, a couple of old planners, and anything else I would not want to lose to a natural disaster.

I’ve had this backpack (well, not the exact backpack…I recently got a new one) for years. As a matter of fact, I started doing this when I was a teen and started seriously writing with the goal of publication.

This backpack holds my world…or, I should say, my books’ worlds and my characters.

If a fire ever threatens my home, I will grab this backpack and put it by the door to snatch on my way out with my cats.

I even grab it and bring it wherever I am during a severe thunderstorm.

Any other time, this backpack is in a plastic container in my walk-in closet. During hurricane season, the things I want safe are inside my closet with this backpack. There is even an empty bucket in there for my computer.

Not only does this help for an evacuation, but it keeps all of my writing stuff together in one place 24/7, so I know where to look when I need to find an old story or idea.

If you don’t do anything else that I share on my blog for organization, I highly recommend all writers to do this.

QUESTION: Do you put your writing notebooks/folders in a safe place?

My #IWSGPit Experience + Writer's Depression - Part 2

NOTE: If you're not interested in #IWSGPit, scroll down to my Writer's Depression post. This part is long.

#IWSGPit - This was my first time actually participating in #IWSGPit by sending out pitches, so I want to share my experience.

The book I'm shopping around is urban fantasy, but urban fantasy wasn't listed as a genre for participants to use or agents/publishers to look for. I was told I could use #UF in my tweets, BUT I forgot to include #F (fantasy) until the last couple of tweets at the very end of the time frame. By then, not many people were around, so I don't have much faith that my tweets were seen by agents who accept urban fantasy (or just plain fantasy).

Despite that, I did get 3 likes. However...

1. The first like was from a publisher who helps you self-publish for a steep flat fee of almost $4,000. That's not what I'm looking for (even if I had that kind of money), and I'm pretty sure that the other participants aren't looking for that, either. Otherwise, why join a pitch party?

2. The other publisher that showed interest doesn't actually seem to take my genre. They have a paranormal romance line, so I guess that's what they'd classify my book as?

3. This one came the day after. Their covers are amateurish, the only fantasy book they've published was written by the editor-in-chief, and there's not much info on their site.

Pitches for My Mom - I also helped my mom create tweets for her historical western romance and her children's fantasy chapter book. There wasn't a hashtag for western, only historical and romance, and also no hashtag for chapter books.

Here's How That Went:

For her children's chapter book, she got one like...from that publisher who self-publishes your books. Actually, this book got the first like out of all of our books, and I was so excited...until I looked deeper. The disappointment was swift.

For her historical western romance she got 5 likes! However...

1. The first was from the second publisher who had liked one of my tweets. The good thing is I know a few of their authors. The not-so-good? They don't really seem to take her genre, either, but more regency. But we may try them anyway.

2. One publisher only had two authors listed on their site. And when I looked them up, neither of them were on Amazon, not even the book they said was published...

3. The third like came from a small press set up last year. They have a handful of authors, and many of them have several books. The romance category is full of books by one author, which is a lesbian romance series. Perhaps they want to add historical to their romance side?

4. Another one is an imprint for a publisher, and this imprint is for steamy books in sci-fi and fantasy. Since when does historical romance mean sci-fi/f?

5. Finally, the last like came from an interesting-looking independent publisher with an intriguing approach to really help authors, including free marketing training, platform development, and partnering them with a publicist while under contract. They do have historical romance under women's fiction, though the books they have out are regency, but we'll try anyway because of how neat this company sounds.

Lesson for All: That's why it's important to research each publisher/agent who likes a tweet. They may not be right for you after all.

Will I participate in the next #IWSGPit? If #UF is added and I'm still shopping this book around, then I may give it a try again. No harm in sending out tweets, right? (Other than emotional. lol) My decision to join in the future will depend on the response I get next time (if I only get likes from that self-publishing publisher or publishers that don't fit). 

Suggestions for Genre Hashtags:

#UF - Urban Fantasy

#W - Western

#CB - Chapter Book (Children's)

#RS - Romantic-Suspense 
(or at least #S for suspense)

****

Writer's Depression - Part 2

I’ve been open about my depression these past couple of years. My IWSG post in July was Bactine for Writer's Depression - Part 1. Blogging saved me during a three-year-long stretch of depression.

Each attack is different, though. What helped once may not help again.

From September 2016 to April 2017, I experienced my worst depression to date. Blogging didn’t help me then. Blogging had actually become part of the problem.

This time, something else helped…reading.

Usually, when depression hits, your favorite activities and hobbies lose their attractiveness. But I hadn’t read for fun in a long time, so when I couldn’t write and didn’t have motivation to do anything, I picked up books. Not fiction books, though, which is what I read for enjoyment. I read non-fiction books—memoirs, feminism-related books, how-to books for authors, and books about Wicca, a beautiful faith.

I read.

I learned.

I believed.

And I found myself.

Read to pull yourself out of depression. Read children's books, books about nature, travel guides, poetry, memoirs, history, myths, anything, especially if it's different from what you'd usually read. New interests are key when depression steals all of your usual interests.

QUESTIONS: How has reading helped you? Have you participated in #IWSGPit? What was your outcome? Have you ever thought of writing a memoir?

Real Life Inspirations in Tempting Friendship by Patricia Josephine

Please welcome Patricia Josephine for her release bash!

Real Life Inspirations in Tempting Friendship

by Patricia Josephine

When it comes to my writing, I enjoy slipping little details from my real life into the story. It may be a name for a character mentioned in passing or somewhere the main character went that I’ve been to. They’re like little Easter eggs that people in my life may recognize. Here are seven that I slipped into Tempting Friendship.

Gerry the Beer Snob

Okay, so my husband isn’t exactly a beer snob, but he likes to try different beers and judge them. He would get along with Gerry great because they could discuss the different flavors of beer and he could trust Gerry to give him a good recommendation. Also, it’s a joke between hubby and I that any spilled alcohol is alcohol abuse.

Grand Taqua Falls

GT Falls is a mash up of Grand Rapids, where I have family, and Tahquamenon Falls which is a huge waterfall and tourist trap near me. Other things in GT Falls that I pulled from real life is 28^th Boulevard. There’s a street in Grand Rapids called 28^th Street and it’s so busy that any construction has to be done at night. My grandma used to live on Hazel Street, and my last job was on Spruce Street.

The Crown’s Inn

The restaurant is based on one I worked at called Weber’s Rustic Inn, but Adira’s office is based on the office at my last job, Penny’s Kitchen. It was tiny and cramped with a filing cabinet that had stuff piled on it.

Rum and Light Coke

No, I’ve never heard of a customer saying this, but working in restaurants since I was 18 I have heard some pretty weird requests. Like the fish tastes too fishy. That did actually happen. Cajun spice is too spicy. A friend once asked for pasta primavera without the veggies. That’s the point of the dish. Otherwise, you’re just having alfredo. Then there’s the customers who order an item and when you bring it out say, “I didn’t order that.” That one happened a lot.

Quinn and Gerry Wanting to Kick Out Customers

That happened to me a lot during summer time. Restaurants are crazy busy where I live then because of tourists, and after four hours of non-stop cooking, you just want them all to GO AWAY. More than once I begged waitresses to make it stop or to lock the door. If I was cranky, I’d swear about customers.

Keane Not Wanting to No-Show.

You know what really sucks? When your coworker doesn’t show up for their freaking shift! Yeah, there’s a reason Keane doesn’t do it because I’ve had it happen to me countless times and would never dream of doing it to another person. You’d think this would just happen with slackers, but no, I once had a professionally trained chef no-show.

Quinn and Keane

I had real people in mind when I was imagining them. YouTubers, Liana Kerzer and Jeff Holiday where kind of who I pictured when writing. Of course, when it came to the cover, I couldn’t find a model with long dread locks and no shirt, so I had to make do.

Other Easter eggs are: Geralt is a reference to The Witcher games, as is Witch Hunter 3, GTA, and Street Rage are references to real games.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the Easter eggs I threw in the story.

Genre: Urban Fantasy / New Adult

BLURB:

At first, Quinn isn’t impressed by Keane. He’s cocky and has sex on the brain. The polar opposite of her. Despite their differences, something blossoms between the two. 

Never one to take things seriously, Keane is an incubus coasting through life without a care. When he meets Quinn, her lack of reaction to him piques his interest. No human has ever been able to resist him. 

As Keane and Quinn struggle to understand what is going on between them, something sinister rocks their world. Young incubi are vanishing, and Keane's friends go missing. Someone is after his kind. When Quinn is kidnapped, Keane must uncover who is behind the abductions and get to her before it's too late.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon / Smashwords
Kobo / iTunes

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Patricia never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she never considered it an option during high school and college. She was more of an art and band geek. Some stories are meant to be told, and now she can't stop writing.

She writes New Adult under the name Patricia Josephine and Young Adult under the name Patricia Lynne.

Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.

Social Media Links:

Website / Twitter / Facebook

Google + / Newsletter / Goodreads

Amazon Author Page / Smashwords

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please show Patricia some love and leave a comment!

Organization Tip: Business Cards #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

Join HERE

When you go to a book event, conference, or do any sort of networking, I bet you come away with a lot of business cards. Or…if you do it right you should. Why do I say that? Because networking is all about introducing yourself to other authors and industry professionals, giving your business card to them, and collecting their cards in return. You never know when you might need to recall a person’s name who you met at an event or if you may need to contact someone, so getting the cards of everyone you talk to is good practice.

But what do you do with them once you get them?

If you say throw them away, you haven’t been paying attention.

You could dump all of them in a shoe box or pile them in a drawer, but that’s not very organized, now is it?

I’ll tell you what I do.

I have baseball card holder sheets that I slip business cards into. Then I put those sheets in a binder. And voila! All of those little cards are safe and in an easily-accessible place that you can put in a filing cabinet.

It’s all about the neat little tricks when it comes to being organized.


QUESTION: Do you collect/keep business cards?

How a Pandemic Could End the World / Guest Post by Susan Kelley

Please welcome Susan Kelley to Write with Fey! She knows about my fascination with disaster and has provided an intriguing article for us about how a pandemic could end the world.

Take it away, Susan!

The World Falls Apart

In my latest series, Survivors of the Apocalypse, humanity in on the brink of extinction after a pandemic sweeps the world and kills millions. How would the collapse of civilization occur and what would the impact be on the handful of survivors?

In this futuristic world, scientists believe they’ve found a universal vaccine that will make an end to the diseases that have plagued mankind since the beginning of time. This isn’t something very far outside of reality. Legions of scientists work on creating yearly flu vaccines and part of their work is to someday create a vaccine that will work against any mutation of the flu.

2018 marks one hundred years since the worst flu pandemic in the world’s history. Around 50 million people died. Looking at how people are more mobile and how many more of us there are, can you imagine the numbers is such a virulent strain hit us today. Before you think our modern medicine would prevent that, keep in mind that an estimated 300,000 to 700,000 people die from the flu every year. Last year’s flu vaccine only protected one in four people who received. To read more about the search for a universal vaccine, here is one of many articles about it.

In my fictional setting, the universal vaccines backfires and disaster results. Imagine how civilization would crumble and implode. A lot of people get very sick, and the medical resources are overwhelmed. Some of the sick would be essential services like healthcare workers and police officers. Civil unrest would follow. As more people succumb, families fall apart, media falls silent, and infrastructure collapses. No phones, no electricity, and then no clean water.

Governments first thoughts might be that an enemy have used a biological weapon. Before the truth is known, a short devastating nuclear war could occur. Untended nuclear and chemical plants would eventually dump their poisons into the environment. Scientists that might have stopped the problem fall to the plague before they are successful. The world of mankind is over.

Except there will always be people who fall through the cracks and don’t get the newest vaccine. There are people who are for whatever genetic reasons are immune to the disease. And therein lies the hope for humanity’s survival, and the framework for my series.

Add in one protected biodome city, completely cutoff from the rest of the world, and you have enough people to give mankind a chance. Maybe.

Exile’s Savage Lady: Book #3 in Survivors of the Apocalypse, is the final book as a few brave people risk everything to bring the cure to everyone. Robin Linden was saved by the Gibbs family when the city exiled him to die outside the dome. The cure exists, but those in the city don’t know. Robin can’t let those inside starve as their resources fail, and he’s willing to sacrifice himself to save them. Kerry Gibbs doesn’t understand what makes the stoic city man tick, but she’s not going to let him get away before she finds out why she finds him so attractive. If that means following inside the city, she’s not afraid of anything. But the more she gets to know Robin and what motivates him, she fears for the first time. They may be able to save the city, but she’ll lose the man she loves.

Find it on Amazon.

BIO: Susan Kelley lives in a large country home in Pennsylvania where she and her husband have raised six children. After many years as a high school teacher, she retired to write full time. She loves dystopia, space adventures, superheroes, but especially everyday heroes.

Find Her:

Her blog: Susan Says

Her Twitter

Her Facebook

QUESTIONS: Do you get your flu shot every year? Have you ever been really sick with the flu? Do you think the world will end with a big bang or a long moan?