It's great to W.R.I.T.E alone.....

Marketing Muse: No Blind dates please!
Don't go into a book signing unprepared. There are a few things you need to market effectively for a book signing: BOOKS! (be sure they are ordered), A few pens that work (Sharpies are best), business cards, a takeaway about your book (brochure, postcard, flyer, bookmark), free giveaways (candy, pencils, bookmarks, etc), and a plan on what you will talk about and what you will read.


W.R.I.T.E Alone!

As some of you know,I am working on my last round (fingers crossed) of edits before my agent submits my book. My husband came up with the idea of using the Marriott points I had accumulated but had never used when I was consulting.

What a great idea! I never thought about it. And from now on, I'm going to be sure I get points at any hotel I stay at because these little points - all bunched together - come in very handy!

I spent the whole weekend at a hotel writing, editing, cutting. I don't get much time to write in long chunks of time. I usually am writing for the 3 hrs my little ones are in Mommy's day out, or the one hour my kids nap in quiet time, or the 1 hour my husband jogs at night or the 1 hour after my shows are over.

To write in a long chunk of time, holed up somewhere is AMAZING!!!! I felt so wonderful this weekend, so alive, so happy. Ordering in room service, sitting in sweats with hair pulled up, looking out my window at the blue sky was so good for my writing.

I tallied it up. I got about 20 hours of work done in 2 days. That is like 2 weeks for me! I realized in those moments how alive and truly happy I feel. At the hotel, when everything was quiet, no kids, no hubby, no responsibility, no chores, no task lists, no phone, no playdates, no doggie needs, no mess, no obligations - my mind was so free. so open. so present.

There was nothing to do but listen to the air conditioner hum while I write and write and write.

I realized over the last 6 months I had gotten away from that a little so it was a good place to go back to. In the process of finding an agent and stressing about the agent process, I forgot to love writing. I appreciated the process and loved my work but I forgot to love how I FEEL when I am doing it.

This is why W.R.I.T.E....

W is for wonderment - I love to wonder. Wonder about worlds, wonder about what "ifs", and wonder about life. Where else can you be whoever you want, go wherever you like, and see places you have never seen.

R is for revenge. Revenge is not acceptable in today's society. (Stay with me :) In writing I can take out all the aggression I've built up on my characters. Come up with perfect come backs to snide remarks. Pay back those who have hurt me.

I is for Imagine - Sometimes, my characters fill my need or lack of time for more friends. Sad right? But I laugh with them, cry with them, shoot I even argue with them. (Are you all scared yet?). They are real to me. If I cant go to a party , I can just write about one.

T is for Therapy. Lets face it a psychologist charges 180$ an hour. Where else can you work all your issues out in less than 300 pages, say the things you always wanted to say but didnt', and redo your mistakes.

E is for escape writing helps me unwind. I have a huge imagination that can get wild and a little out of control. To have some way to escape and focus that energy makes me feel light and happy.

I know it is hard. Especially for you moms with kids, people who work full time, and those with financial constraints.

But I recommend taking a day to yourself (you deserve it) and go write with nothing else to do. Go to a coffee shop with free wireless, use your miles for a free stay at a hotel, beg your significant other for $, find a family member for a stay at their 2nd house, beg a friend who is going out of town to house sit. There are so many creative ways you can get the space you need - even if it is only for a day - to just reconnect to why you write in the first place. Why you are going through all this hassle and pain and rejection and work.

Some things I looked for in a room:
free parking, free wireless or internet, access to easy food to save on room service for 3 meals and snacks, refridgerator for drinks/snacks, desk, window.

Now make a plan...

Find a place...

Be alone...

Sit...

Write...

Breath...

and be happy!

You deserve it!