Quiet Keystrokes and Midnight Ramblings

I've been failing as an author. Okay, my husband would say I'm being melodramatic, and he's right. At the time of this writing, my biopunk novel,  Adaline , has been downloaded 8,500 times in just over 20 weeks. That's not failing. BUT, I have been struggling with my advertising spend. In late 2018, I figured out how to buy space on people's mailing lists and websites, which is how I got most of those 8,500 downloads. But I've had the worst luck in creating profitable ads on Amazon and Facebook. After working my butt off to do so/so with Facebook ads, (and seeking help from the book Help! My Facebook Ads Suck by Michael Cooper ), I decided to tackle AMS ad services. For months, I was running a couple of ads here, a couple of ads there, and not getting any kind of positive results. My best ad was running at a -70% return. Not good. I turned to the advice of my fellow authors on Reddit, Facebook and Kboards, and kept seeing Brian D. Meeks...

Although I haven't been updating this blog regularly - life having gotten extremely hectic recently - I am happy to report that Age / Sex / Location is continuing on its steady march towards the presses. Just today I returned another series of edits to the publisher, and marked one more step off of the long road to printing. As I have been working on Age / Sex / Location, I have also been working on a number of other projects. For one, I am now just a few weeks away from giving birth to my first child (an exhausting and all-encompassing project of its own accord). I also attended some amazing classes over the winter, have helped in the upcoming opening of the Gearheadz Paintball LLC showroom and am preparing for a full summer of paintball. Sticking with the writing is as difficult to do as it is rewarding. I enjoy it completely, and am looking forward to getting back to writing my second novel, Adaline. I constantly wonder when I will find the time and energy to finish the seco...

I am in the midst of writing a biography to sit alongside a project I am working on.  This is probably the fifth biography I've written because no matter what I come up with, the next time I take a look at it I feel like it's so "blah".  For some reason, I just can't fit enough honest razzle dazzle into a paragraph or two about myself to make me feel like I'm the kind of person I'd like to know. (If that sentence doesn't make any sense to you, don't worry.  It doesn't make much sense to me either.) Whenever I do get the urge to sit down and rewrite the biography blurb, in addition to feeling like it lacks the pizzazz of my wit and charm, I also tend to be a little less than honest about some things.  For example, the biography has never said anything like, "Denise is a workaholic author, business owner, office manager, caregiver and paintball enthusiast who often spends the wee hours of the morning mentally drafting new policies, procedu...

I haven't been able to blog much these days, although I have still been plodding along and making progress on the writing front one step at a time.  Unfortunately, the blogs I manage have all been taking a backseat to some other big projects and even though it only takes me 15 or 20 minutes to post something it seems like these days I can't seem to find that many minutes to rub together. These days it's all about priorities and time management, two of the most difficult things for me to keep up with.  Although having a deadline can generally spur me on to be incredibly productive, it can also lead to me being even more easily distracted by shiny objects, side projects and lots of time just standing around with my hands shoved into my pockets staring at the piles around me. And so the day begins... I'm off to drink a can of soda, and help those folks over at Gearheadz Paintball to keep marching forward towards their big spring event. Currently Reading:

There comes a time in our lives, and for me that time is now, when it is apparent that the world wants us to move on to new endeavors.  I received word from the Yahoo Contributor Network that they are discontinuing the featured writer's program that I have been blessed to be a part of and are replacing it with a "new and improved" program with stricter guidelines.  Reading between the lines I got the feeling that they realized how much money they were paying out to writers of all levels and decided to cull the herd a bit in response to Google b*tch slapping their internet ratings. While it is disappointing to be let go from the program only a few months after being accepted into it, it has given me time to reflect.  What I want to be as a writer is not a "jill of all trades", but rather someone who is known for writing a specific subject and known as a writer of books.  Truth be told I have spent so much time writing about luggage , dry feet and small bu...

Possibly the single most difficult part of being a writer is trying to come up with fresh ideas.  This is particularly difficult for me sometimes when writing for the internet because I'm essentially battling with billions of other bloggers, freelance writers and technical writers for creative space.  For me, inspiration comes in waves and I've learned that I need to capture ideas as they come in order to keep up a pace that continues to build momentum on all that I've already done. About once every few weeks as I am sitting on my bum cruising the internets, or sitting in the DMV waiting area listening to the workers drone on as I wait my turn, or picking up groceries at the store, I have a sudden burst of great ideas for things to write about.  The lightning bolt of inspiration comes at random and it's very easy to miss it if I'm not paying attention or don't have a piece of paper and pen handy.  But when the stars align and I realize what is happening in thi...

My writing has taken off this past year, and although I won't go so far as to say that I'm a writer "in demand", I have somehow begun to amass a long list of deadlines and due dates.  Now, I'm not complaining - having a list of writing assignments and requests makes me feel useful and respectable in a way that is incomparable to any other job/career I've held.  But it does make me pause during the first week of the month when I write all of the deadlines on the whiteboard above my computer and when I'm done the board runs over with colors, bullet points and underlined important projects. Managing deadlines can be tricky, especially when other opportunities pop up mid-month, a family member falls ill or the sun comes out and calls to you through the window.  It's probably the most difficult task I deal with on a week to week basis, and I have to force myself to not push things out "until tomorrow".  Some of the things that help to keep me on ...

One of the greatest things about writing about small businesses, doing reviews for products and services and doing human interest pieces in general is the unique way that these bits of writing are promoted from both ends of the spectrum. Most writers do some type of self-promotion, whether it's posting links to articles on Facebook and Twitter or lobbying for their articles to show up on the front pages of magazines and e-news bulletins, but there is rarely any other promotion that really goes on unless someone else with a big reader base finds interest in it and pushes it out to their group. With reviews, human interest and "promotional" pieces though, you get double the promoting power.  Small businesses and individuals are excited to see their name in print, and it is rare that you will run across a business owner or local celebrity who isn't proud to share their piece with their distribution network.  The "Look at Me!" promotional tactic is good for ...

What a whirlwind adventure this year has brought to me in writing!  I had hoped that this year would propel me into the world of an writer, but could never have expected just how much progress I'd be able to make in becoming the authoress I've always dreamed of being.  As I sit and reflect on how much I have to be thankful for this year, the list is astoundingly long. I've been given the blessings of a career change, the opportunity to write both online and in print, the completion of one novel and the beginnings of a second, a position creating content for a wonderful company on the verge of exploding in a joyful mess of growth and progress, the support of friends and strangers, and even more that I can't think of right now. This year hasn't been all roses and double rainbows, and it certainly hasn't been the easiest year for our family; but it has been a year of personal and professional growth, a reminder that I have an incredible family to lean on when t...

A lot of growth has been seen on the writing front these last few weeks.  As I mentioned last week, I have been accepted as a writer for Examiner.com  but I've also seen some great forward movement in my other writing.  As Associated Content has become merged into the Yahoo! Contributer Network , I decided to go out on a limb and apply for one of their featured writer positions.  I am happy to announce that I have been accepted as a Featured Travel Contributer!  What this means for me is more consistent writing assignments, more money (hopefully) and greater exposure on the web.  I'm very excited by this, even though it is taking me some getting used to the new content guidelines that Yahoo! has put together.  I'm sure that with practice I will catch on soon though. For a quick trip through the travel articles that won me my Featured Contributor title, please feel free to click the links below.  And the next time you're looking for a vacation, g...

As is often the case on sleepless nights, one night last week I was pointing and clicking my way around the internet when I happened upon an advertisement for Examiner.com .  Interested to see how they match up with Associated Content , I started to do a little digging through online forums and several of the articles posted on AC about what is drawing other online writers to Examiner.  I was intrigued by what I found, and decided to apply for an open slot they had for an Action Sports writer for the Portland area. I am pleased to announce that after going through the application process, I have become the new Examiner.com Portland Paintball Examiner .  The first writing piece that was accepted on this site can be seen by clicking here .  And please do check it out since it is all about one of the newest paintball fields in the Portland area, Impact Action Sports. I'd like to send a big "Thank You" to Jason from Impact Action Sports for giving me the gr...

Well, it is official.  I am now a full time authoress.  No more day job to keep me down!  It is exciting, relaxing, relieving, and completely disorienting not having a regular 9 to 5 job like everyone else on the planet.  And already, 9 days into this whirlwind adventure I have discovered some things. The first thing that I discovered was how "light" life is without the responsibilities I had burdened myself with.  Physically, I have already been able to push my purse down into the back of a closet because suddenly everything I own fits snugly in my pocket.  No heavy bundles of keys, swipe cards, company cards, receipts, worries and cares to haul all over creation with me.   Sleep has returned to me in just the right amount and I am told repeatedly that I look more alive than I have in years.  Although I am living life without an alarm clock now (for the first time in a decade) I am still waking early, but without the urgent "the world is ending...