Join me here on Sunday for a fun and inspiring Q&A with Indie Swords & Sorcery Fantasy author from Down Under, Douglas W. T. Smith.
I plan to feature more of my writer and creator friends here on a regular basis. We’re all going through the myriad of stages to improve our writing, market our books and grow our reading community. This will be a place to glean tips and inspiration through it all.
Enjoy great editing advice packed in a nice small does! 😄💚
Today is the LAST day my YA fantasy, A Door into Evermoor, is FREE on Kindle! Come get you some portal story adventure with a magic revolver named …
Today is the LAST day a Door into Evermoor, my YA fantasy, is FREE on Kindle!
First off, I am in no way saying Rock and Roll is noise. It was on my am radio blasting me from the headboard from the time I was young enough to think Speed Racer could be my boyfriend. Even before that, I sucked my thumb as I fell asleep to Golden Earring’s Radar Love. Okay, TMI, but it illustrates my love of the genre.
But you have to admit, some voices in rock music don’t always leap out of the noise, and all you end up with is noise. That’s what it’s like trying to keep up with social media. A necessity if you’re an indie writer trying to leap out of the noise and get your books noticed. It’s been quite a journey navigating the crescendo, trying to be friendly, then weeding out the bot lurkers from the ones who are truly sharing their creative endeavors and interested in yours. But this isn’t about the challenges of marketing and sharing posts.
What I’m noodling over tonight is that there are some amazing voices that do leap out from time to time on Twitter, Instagram and yes, even the bizarre world of TikTok, really nice people who share tweets or posts because they believe in paying it forward. Creators helping creators. Some even giving free advice. My wish is to share those bits here as often as possible. When a TikTokker makes the effort to give great editing tips, or share how they made the decision to self-publish, I’m going to pass it on, because it’s fabulous stuff!
Another way I will be sharing is through featuring writers, artists, and all kinds of creatives in interviews on my blogs. I’m excited to bring you my very first one in a couple weeks. So, stay tuned for my conversation with swords and sorcery fantasy indie writer from Down Under, Douglas W. T. Smith. He has lots of experiences and tips to share from his own writing journey, and we both hope you will find it useful and inspiring.
This is a shout out to all the ones out there giving as much as they’re getting. Here is some Radar Love to fall asleep to… whether you suck your thumb or not.
I’m so happy to announce ‘Shadow of the Wicked’ is now available on AUDIOBOOK! I’ve been dying to share this news. I has been quite the process and I…
Shadow of the Wicked AUDIOBOOK
Great tip about Amazon Advertising for self-publishers. 🤎🤎🤎
Many writers classify themselves as introverted because they are part of a select group of people who can create new worlds in their head, work in isolation for hours on end, and persevere to get every word just right all at the same time.
Louise Waters
Writing is hard. Not everyone has the capacity to create stories or articles out of thin air. More often than not, writing is an activity that requires solitude, which is why some of the world’s best writers are also introverts. As famous YA author John Green once said, “Writing is something you do alone. It’s a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.”
Having selected those snippets above that leapt out at me from researching on Google, it should be noted that Ms. Waters, guest blogger for Jennifer Kahnweiler, declares herself an ambivert.
am·bi·vert
/ˈambəˌvərt/
noun
PSYCHOLOGY
A person whose personality has a balance of extrovert and introvert features.
I’ve done a lot of those personality tests over the years during “team building” work meetings, at conferences, wherever. But, for some reason this short blog went a long way towards helping me figure myself out. Wait! I haven’t figured myself out yet? Am I the only one who’s still working at it in their 50s? Does anybody ever figure themselves out completely?
I would still be in the dark if I hadn’t started writing novels two years ago, and writing every day since. Because now this resonates in me, big time. I used to think I was more of an extravert. Maybe I was at some point. Now, I want nothing more than to tell stories from the place I’m happiest in. My solitude.
As in everything in life, there are no absolutes. I believe we all become something different at different stages of our lives, choosing different combinations that help us cope with our surroundings at any given moment. Sometimes it’s because we’re growing, sometimes it’s because we’re taking a step backwards. None of it matters so long as it gets us where we want to be eventually.
I’ll be putting this to practice over the next months with my fellow indie writers. My colleagues are happy to step up and let me interview them. However, I’ve been getting a pretty consistent message. Camera shy to the last! So, stay tuned to see which ones I can coax (including myself) into a video, or which ones are happy to chat with us in a blog. I’m just excited to see where this will go, and willing to be inspired by them however they want to share.
My goal with reaching out and talking with other writers and all kinds of creative people is to let all of you know that we’re in the same boat, struggling to become better writers, artists, crafters, creators… who want to learn and share what we’ve discovered.
Jennifer B. Kahnweiler, PhD, is a bestselling author and one of the top global leadership speakers on introverts in the workplace. Her pioneering books, The Introverted Leader, Quiet Influence, The Genius of Opposites, and Creating Introvert-Friendly Workplaces have been translated into 18 languages. The Introverted Leader was named one of the top 5 business books by The Shanghai Daily.
By D. L. Lewellyn 