Often times, when listening to books, I get struck by inspiration. More times than not, it's just a tangential thought to something said in passing in the book. Other times, I feel like the book drains the inspiration from me, and though the book might be filled with lots of stuff that could inspire me, it seems to do the opposite.
I don't know if that is caused by the particular books, or if the feelings of inspiration make me more or less perceptible to those side ideas. But I do know that I've never had the "feeling" switch midstream in a book. In other words, if a book starts out inspiring, it keeps inspiring until I finish it. If a book starts out sucking away my inspiration, it keeps me in a non-inspired state until I finish it.
Right now, I'm listening to William Gibson's Neuromancer, which was a groundbreaking book that essentially introduced the genre of Cyber Punk. Although it's entertaining, this seems to be one of those inspirational draining books, as I find I can't think of a single thing worth writing about while I listen to it.
In other news, Megi has pneumonia, but is in pretty good spirits. Grandma and Candice both have the flu, and are both barely able to move around the house. Gabe is excited about participating in the 100 mile running club, and is also trying much harder at math. He isn't very good at math, but I'm very proud of him for wanting to try and be better at it (as opposed to before when he didn't care at all). And Donna seems to be getting everything right on all the classwork that is sent home. She can even read a few words now, too.
That's all for this entry, thanks for reading. (And if you are a fan of my T. Allan Bishop Facebook Page, please click "like" on the link to this I post there, Facebook isn't showing them to most of the people who have clicked like on the page but nothing more, and so a lot of people aren't seeing the blog updates when they are posted there, and the only way to remedy this is by getting more "likes" on posts there...)
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Friday, September 26, 2014
Saturday, March 15, 2014
How To Best Support Your Favorite Independent Author (or Artist)
Independent authors are changing the way the publishing world works. You'll often find their books published for much less than mainstream publishing books electronically for e-readers like the Kindle, Nook, iPad, tablets, etc. Some even release a book for free in hopes that people will like it and will purchase their other books.
When you discover one of these authors, there are some things you can do to make them more successful. This has already happened to some, who have been picked up by larger publishers for better distribution. Here's a small list that isn't all-inclusive:
1. The obvious: Buy their books.
2. The next obvious: Tell your friends and family.
3. The not-so-obvious: Write a review of their book. This is perhaps the most important thing you can do, because it will reach so many more people and surveys have shown that at twice as many of "first time" book purchases for a new author are based more on reviews than by recommendations from friends or family.
4. Corollary to #3: Review the book on other sites where you can. This includes other venues where it can be bought as well as sites like Goodreads and Shelfari.
5: Important corollary to numbers 3 and 4: Do not write a review that will make the book sound better than it really is. Write an HONEST review of it. If it is 4 stars, don't give it 5 just because you've liked their other works or know them and want them to be more successful. Write it honestly and include enough details to help someone else decide if they, too, might like to read it (but not so much you reveal the story).
6. If they have a web page, share it on social media for them.
7. If they have a social media presence, follow them. But it isn't enough to just follow them. You also need to share, click like, +1, etc. their posts. Facebook for instance, inhibits small businesses and independent authors and artists from being seen by their core audience and followers with their algorithm to show "what is important" by only selecting random posts from a site you've clicked "like" on. The more posts from that page gets shared and/or liked, the more of their posts that will show to people that have already clicked "like" on their page (and the more likely they can then click "like" or "share").
8. Corollary to #7: go to their page just in case you didn't get to see some of their posts.
9. Encourage them. Post something to their page letting them know you anxiously await their next book, but don't be too pushy. Artists and Authors like encouragement, but not so much pressure to complete something.
10. Repeat.
That's all for this week's blog. Thanks for reading.
Connect with Me
When you discover one of these authors, there are some things you can do to make them more successful. This has already happened to some, who have been picked up by larger publishers for better distribution. Here's a small list that isn't all-inclusive:
1. The obvious: Buy their books.
2. The next obvious: Tell your friends and family.
3. The not-so-obvious: Write a review of their book. This is perhaps the most important thing you can do, because it will reach so many more people and surveys have shown that at twice as many of "first time" book purchases for a new author are based more on reviews than by recommendations from friends or family.
4. Corollary to #3: Review the book on other sites where you can. This includes other venues where it can be bought as well as sites like Goodreads and Shelfari.
5: Important corollary to numbers 3 and 4: Do not write a review that will make the book sound better than it really is. Write an HONEST review of it. If it is 4 stars, don't give it 5 just because you've liked their other works or know them and want them to be more successful. Write it honestly and include enough details to help someone else decide if they, too, might like to read it (but not so much you reveal the story).
6. If they have a web page, share it on social media for them.
7. If they have a social media presence, follow them. But it isn't enough to just follow them. You also need to share, click like, +1, etc. their posts. Facebook for instance, inhibits small businesses and independent authors and artists from being seen by their core audience and followers with their algorithm to show "what is important" by only selecting random posts from a site you've clicked "like" on. The more posts from that page gets shared and/or liked, the more of their posts that will show to people that have already clicked "like" on their page (and the more likely they can then click "like" or "share").
8. Corollary to #7: go to their page just in case you didn't get to see some of their posts.
9. Encourage them. Post something to their page letting them know you anxiously await their next book, but don't be too pushy. Artists and Authors like encouragement, but not so much pressure to complete something.
10. Repeat.
That's all for this week's blog. Thanks for reading.
Connect with Me
Follow me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/TAllanBishop
Follow me on Twitter:
@TAllanBishop
Follow my blog: http://anblicksanamorphosis.blogspot.com/
I’m also on Tumblr: http://tallanbishop.tumblr.com/
Favorite me at Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TAllanBishop
Find me on Google +: http://plus.google.com/+TimBishopTAllanBishop
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Connections
Today I created my author page on Facebook (It already has 74 likes in around 5 hours! Thanks), so I have most of the social media outlets covered in case anyone actually reads my book and decides to "follow" me. Here's the list of ways to follow or connect with me so far. Let me know if there's any other ones I've missed that are mainstream enough to be considered (i.e. not MySpace):
Connect with Me
Connect with Me
Follow me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/TAllanBishop
Follow me on Twitter:
@TAllanBishop
Follow my blog: http://anblicksanamorphosis.blogspot.com/
I’m also on Tumblr: http://tallanbishop.tumblr.com/
Favorite me at Smashwords (This will be the publisher for all the sites other than Kindle):
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TAllanBishop
Find me on Google +: http://plus.google.com/+TimBishopTAllanBishop
Monday, December 23, 2013
Venialia
Today's obscure word of the day is venialia. It means minor sins or offences. I might need to find a way to work that word into a story, I find it to be a neat word.
So, as you may have noticed previously in my blogs, I prefer to write all my stories by hand first. I have a logical reason for that. If I'm typing on a computer, I tend to make immediate corrections, and edit, and edit, and edit as I go along. This slows down the creative flow, and often causes me to lose focus on what I'm actually writing. As a result, the first time I get my story typed up, it's actually my second draft. I find that the edits and corrections are more suited to the story after the segment is already written, and therefore does not detract from it as much as not getting the segment properly written would do. It also helps me attempt to keep up with my creative mind. Granted, neither method of input comes close to keeping up with my mind. Some stories I write the entire story before typing anything up, others I will write a few pages at a time before typing it up. Either way, the only personal writing I do directly to computer are items like this (my blog posts, Facebook statuses, etc). I've also tried to have a portable recorder of some type to dictate, but that doesn't work for anything except ideas. I don't "see" what I've dictated, and have a tendency to lose focus if I'm trying to orally state a story. Also, if I'm orally stating a story, I have to be in the mindset with a story in mind already to tell it, otherwise, my creativity completely drains out (often for days at a time).
My wife will hear me when I start typing something long, because I have a strong typing method when I type fast. When I'm typing something short, the keystrokes tend to be softer. When it's longer, though, my speed and intensity increases, which sounds harsher on the keystrokes. It's especially noticeable with the space bar on most keyboards, probably a result of how the space bar takes input and is much larger with more hollow area underneath it for a sort of echo sound. She often thinks I'm typing up a response to someone being an idiot online, because until recently, I haven't been doing much writing (also, as noted above, I tend to hand write most stories first).
Lately though, I've been using http://750words.com to try and keep momentum going. It's a sort of challenge to use it for my intended purpose of story writing, but I use it as follows: I type up my "second draft" of my stories there before cutting and pasting them into the Microsoft Word document the words will eventually call home while they wait to be published. I also type up my blog posts there before copying them to my blog site. I have noticed that I need to copy it on the same day I type it, because once it goes into the archive, if I "export it" it no longer has carriage returns, etc. to mark paragraphs, so I either need my hand written version to use as a guideline, or I need to figure out where they are on my own. It's a real pain to do after the fact sometimes (unless there's lots of dialog, in which case it isn't quite so hard).
I've made some changes to my blog site recently. I've put a picture behind the blog title. Currently, it is Michael Konrad Hirt's A vanitas still life with a candle, an inkwell, a quill pen, a skull and books. I might change it up from time to time. Also on the side is recent books I've finished reading (which usually, though not always, means unabridged audiobook). I also have struggled to figure out how to get my blog posts to automatically post to my other social media sites, then I found "If This Then That" (http://IFTTT.com) where you can set up a "recipe" that, in this case, says "Anytime there is a new blog posted, create a post on <Facebook> or <Twitter> or <Tumblr>" (I had to set up three recipes for it. It seems to be working so far, so I no longer need to post a link, or copy the text and paste it anymore to accomplish the same task as I used to do. In theory, every blog post I make will be linkd from each of those sites (and any others that I join in the future).
That's all I have for this blog post. Thanks for reading.
So, as you may have noticed previously in my blogs, I prefer to write all my stories by hand first. I have a logical reason for that. If I'm typing on a computer, I tend to make immediate corrections, and edit, and edit, and edit as I go along. This slows down the creative flow, and often causes me to lose focus on what I'm actually writing. As a result, the first time I get my story typed up, it's actually my second draft. I find that the edits and corrections are more suited to the story after the segment is already written, and therefore does not detract from it as much as not getting the segment properly written would do. It also helps me attempt to keep up with my creative mind. Granted, neither method of input comes close to keeping up with my mind. Some stories I write the entire story before typing anything up, others I will write a few pages at a time before typing it up. Either way, the only personal writing I do directly to computer are items like this (my blog posts, Facebook statuses, etc). I've also tried to have a portable recorder of some type to dictate, but that doesn't work for anything except ideas. I don't "see" what I've dictated, and have a tendency to lose focus if I'm trying to orally state a story. Also, if I'm orally stating a story, I have to be in the mindset with a story in mind already to tell it, otherwise, my creativity completely drains out (often for days at a time).
My wife will hear me when I start typing something long, because I have a strong typing method when I type fast. When I'm typing something short, the keystrokes tend to be softer. When it's longer, though, my speed and intensity increases, which sounds harsher on the keystrokes. It's especially noticeable with the space bar on most keyboards, probably a result of how the space bar takes input and is much larger with more hollow area underneath it for a sort of echo sound. She often thinks I'm typing up a response to someone being an idiot online, because until recently, I haven't been doing much writing (also, as noted above, I tend to hand write most stories first).
Lately though, I've been using http://750words.com to try and keep momentum going. It's a sort of challenge to use it for my intended purpose of story writing, but I use it as follows: I type up my "second draft" of my stories there before cutting and pasting them into the Microsoft Word document the words will eventually call home while they wait to be published. I also type up my blog posts there before copying them to my blog site. I have noticed that I need to copy it on the same day I type it, because once it goes into the archive, if I "export it" it no longer has carriage returns, etc. to mark paragraphs, so I either need my hand written version to use as a guideline, or I need to figure out where they are on my own. It's a real pain to do after the fact sometimes (unless there's lots of dialog, in which case it isn't quite so hard).
I've made some changes to my blog site recently. I've put a picture behind the blog title. Currently, it is Michael Konrad Hirt's A vanitas still life with a candle, an inkwell, a quill pen, a skull and books. I might change it up from time to time. Also on the side is recent books I've finished reading (which usually, though not always, means unabridged audiobook). I also have struggled to figure out how to get my blog posts to automatically post to my other social media sites, then I found "If This Then That" (http://IFTTT.com) where you can set up a "recipe" that, in this case, says "Anytime there is a new blog posted, create a post on <Facebook> or <Twitter> or <Tumblr>" (I had to set up three recipes for it. It seems to be working so far, so I no longer need to post a link, or copy the text and paste it anymore to accomplish the same task as I used to do. In theory, every blog post I make will be linkd from each of those sites (and any others that I join in the future).
That's all I have for this blog post. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Unheard of...
Well, Donna's bedroom hit a snag in getting it painted, due to a cloud of sickness rolling through the workers (Candice and myself). Candice had the flu and also caught the bad persistent cough I had/have. Mine hasn't fully gone away, but I'm not contageous anymore. Mine also resulted in slightly separated ribs near the bottom of both sides of the rib cage, but mostly on my left side. Hopefully, we're fine enough to finish painting this weekend. We'll see.
I also found when I was cleaning the garage to park my car in it (see previous blog post), that there were a lot of mouse dropping in it. given how freaking cold it has been lately, that didn't strike me too much until Candice found a dead one in the laundry room, too. Now, I'm wondering if they aren't also in (or more likely arrived in) the '53 Mercury. Anyway, I bought a few things to aid in pest control and will buy more soon. I also need to get a move on and clean BETTER in the garage to prevent an infestation from occurring. If we don't paint this weekend, I'll hopefully get this (and taking down the remaining Christmas decorations) done. If the temperatures don't plummet again, that is...
Also, I just found out why no one EVER responds to stuff I post on Facebook. Apparently, my default "who can see anything I post" setting was set to "Family" instead of "Friends." I have been "unheard" since the beginning of September! So many of you have likely missed a few of my blog posts between September and now (though, admittedly, that's not necessarily a big number - my bad - hopefully I will be better about that in the future).
Feel free to go back and read them if you're so inclined. and thanks for reading this one!
I also found when I was cleaning the garage to park my car in it (see previous blog post), that there were a lot of mouse dropping in it. given how freaking cold it has been lately, that didn't strike me too much until Candice found a dead one in the laundry room, too. Now, I'm wondering if they aren't also in (or more likely arrived in) the '53 Mercury. Anyway, I bought a few things to aid in pest control and will buy more soon. I also need to get a move on and clean BETTER in the garage to prevent an infestation from occurring. If we don't paint this weekend, I'll hopefully get this (and taking down the remaining Christmas decorations) done. If the temperatures don't plummet again, that is...
Also, I just found out why no one EVER responds to stuff I post on Facebook. Apparently, my default "who can see anything I post" setting was set to "Family" instead of "Friends." I have been "unheard" since the beginning of September! So many of you have likely missed a few of my blog posts between September and now (though, admittedly, that's not necessarily a big number - my bad - hopefully I will be better about that in the future).
Feel free to go back and read them if you're so inclined. and thanks for reading this one!
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