And All Through the…Whoops!

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

Christmas Eve. If you’re like me you are still scurrying around shopping for those last few gifts and the few food items forgotten that will be needed Christmas morn.

I must admit, I won’t get any writing done today or tonight. (However, I will make mental notes of things that happen that might create a good scene in a story.) My priorities will be my family and what this time of year is about.

We will cook many pies and cakes, cookies plus fudge today, and prep a few dishes for our meal tomorrow. And yes, we will still be wrapping presents and putting them in their proper place under our tree. But into the evening, we will leave and go to church. That for us is a special time where we fellowship with friends and all come together to pay homage to our Lord. This time at church brings our lives back into focus and reminds us what is important.

After church, the family heads off to Bonefish for our usual Christmas Eve dinner where we gather for fun, laughter, and remembrances of other Christmas times.

When we arrive back home, we gather around the Christmas tree with eggnog and hot chocolate, still enjoying each other and resisting the temptation to open a present. Soon we will retire for the evening, who knows we may just hear those reindeer upon our roof.

I wish for all of you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

That Brings Up The Question…What Do We Know?

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

If we are to write about what we know then it might help if we made a list…of what we do know.

To make that list I would start by listing:

Me as a child–my childhood.

Where I grew up.

People living in that town along with my perceptions.

Schools, teachers, and kids I knew, parents, grandparents, books, games played.

Work, career, people at work, the industry, vacations.

In other words, I would write about things relating to me.

But, what about things I’ve been exposed to in my life. Like movies, television, books, colleges, conversations, events, conferences and people I have interacted with–I could use these too.

Now what on this list would be interesting to others? How could I take people I knew, things I experienced, places I’ve been, work I’ve done and create stories of fiction that people would enjoy reading?

It’s called remembering. Yes, I would need to remember incidents in my life, feelings I experienced in order to write a good fiction piece.

Our brain is a marvelous instrument. When you take that list and read it, and think about it, things that happened when you were a child start appearing. Faces of people you knew start emerging. You begin to hear your conversations with others.

Obviously, writing these things down, opens that lock in the recesses of our memories and our past comes into focus. When you write those stories down, you change the names “to protect the innocent” so to speak.

Excerpts from memories make great scenes. For instance, I remember when my sister and I went with our grandfather to deliver a meal to a family. He got out of the truck, left the motor running, and instructed us to sit still and not touch anything. I was six, my sister was four and for sure, he figured we would obey him. Now if you have children, you know two little kids can get into something quickly. We didn’t mean to touch anything, but my foot accidentally hit the wrong thing, and the truck started rolling. We started screaming and he came running. Could you imagine putting this into a story?

Whether you borrow from your memory to create a scene or to create a whole book, you will have used “what you knew” and combined it with “what you know”.

Do you borrow scenes from your past to write?

Thank Yous

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

A few days ago, I was thumbing through a book of quotes and came across this one. It immediately struck me how important the quote was.

I decided to include this quote in my post today. “When you read a piece of writing that you admire, send a note of thanks to the author” by Sherman Alexie. He is a poet, an author, screenwriter and filmmaker.

It occurred to me that instead of notes, we go to Amazon and do a review for the author. This, in itself, is wonderful. We need to do this for the author – it lets the author as well as people searching for books to read know this is a book worth reading. (That is, if you left a good review.) If you don’t do this, please consider starting. Remember, they work to bring these books into the world for your enjoyment.

When I read the quote above I thought with email, this should be a piece of cake. Authors have websites with contact information. So a short email telling them we enjoyed their book would be so appreciated by the author. But if I take it a step further, I could also tell them what I liked the most. It is such a small thing to do that would mean so much to the author. Most people don’t have access to an author’s snail mail address but they can send an email.

So next time you read a book that you enjoy, go to your computer, and send the author a note telling them how much you enjoyed their book. “Make their day.”

Digital versus Print

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

Let’s all take a quick breath.

Print isn’t dead. Yes, it is changing, but this change will be better for authors. Print is moving over to let digital have space beside it to increase the reach of authors to their readers.

Don’t get fooled into believing it is a war between digital and print. It isn’t. These two avenues will benefit authors in publishing their manuscripts. Think about it. Once you had only one avenue, the print side. Now, you have the digital side added to increase your exposure to readers. It’s another way to get your book out to the masses. You have people who like digital…they love to read on their readers, pads and computers. But, guess what? You still have people who like to hold a book in their hands and read. So don’t be fooled into thinking print has gone by the wayside. It is still alive and doing well.

In case you have forgotten, authors also have another avenue to reach more people interested in books. Actually, they've had it for a while. But, I guess the majority of authors never thought to use that avenue. What is it you ask? Audio. Authors are now seeing where audio is a possibility for them.

Now to me, that gives authors three strong avenues to reach a whole lot of audience. If your book is good, your audience will be buying in more than one of these avenues.

So, you are wondering what the message is? Don’t sell yourself short. Embrace all three avenues. Use them for your benefit. The more access you offer to your wonderful book, the bigger your fan base.

Literal versus Virtual Followers

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

Social Media. We all use it. This is where we share information with people.  For an author this is supposed to be very helpful. Let’s see, what would be an author’s goal? An author needs to tell the people about their book. Is that your goal? They need to entice people to follow them. Is that your goal? How about, getting them to buy your book, is that your goal? Maybe all three combined are your goal. Let’s go back in time for a few minutes.

Do you remember what it was like before the Internet? Do you remember how we socialized? 

We would meet someone, introductions made, and then we would proceed to find out about the person? Within a few minutes, we would determine if we wanted to get to know this person or to move on and meet someone else. Do you also remember we tried to find what we had in common with the person? What we actually did was share with that person information about ourselves. Once we determined we liked each other we then moved on to eventually sharing ideas. In many ways, that is what the Social Media is today. Instead of an actual meeting, it is a virtual meeting.

When we meet someone in person, we can see each other visually.  On Social Media, the only way they see us is by the picture we upload. If possible, unless you are writing under a different name, put your picture on Social Media. Many people are hesitant to engage with someone who has no face. If you can’t use your picture, then use your latest book cover. At least that goes with your branding. This should be your first step in developing your above goals.

Now it is time to tell them a little about you and have them tell you a little about them. That’s where we run into problems. We don’t get much feedback in Social Media sometimes. Therefore, I would suggest you go back to the fundamentals, tell them something about you. Ask them…yes ask them something about themselves. What do they do? What do they like to read? Which genre do they like best? Do they write?  Get to know them. This is a key to unlock your followers on Social Media. 

Spend a little extra time with this on the front end-create relationships-makes friends and they will follow you. Be interested in them. But always keep in mind you also want them to like you as an author. So be sure and talk with them about what they like in books, what they are currently reading, why they like it, etc.

We always tell our friends when we achieve something new, so be sure and tell your friend followers when you have a new book out. Tell them a little about it. Or be smart and as you are writing about the book, talk with them about your book. Get them interested in your book way before you publish and they will be standing there the day it’s released to buy your book, because they were in on it as you were writing the book. This is one of the best ways to create relationships with your readers.

One last thing; when you meet a new friend on the social media highway, find out what other social medias they are on, then tell them you want to follow them on those, and will they follow you.

Treat the person on social media similar to how you would in person and you will have a new friend, who will tell their friends all about you.

Scripts–Needing Prescriptions

By Susan Reichert,  Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

Not long ago half the world watched the Emmys. I found myself flipping back and forth to see who was winning and in what category.  I must admit, I have been unhappy this year with many of the series I watched. I was thrilled when one I had been watching for 7 seasons finally ended last week. Why did I keep watching it when I clearly did not like the character anymore or the way the show had changed? That question can be answered simply with– I was hooked on the show and wanted to see how they were going to end the character, even if I didn’t like him anymore. When I watch TV, I’m one of those people that makes comments.

It seems when a series takes off and everyone loves it, the series comes back the next year, and the next; then the show starts going off on some wild pathway. The main actor sometimes feels he has earned his wings and wants to either produce or direct and before long, the show that began is no longer the same; the characters have morphed into something different in their personality and their roles. What you have now is not what you started out enjoying. For the most part, this is the first nail in the coffin for the show. It is just a matter of time now, as to when it takes the last breath of life.

Where do we place the blame? You can put a list together. The producers, the director, the actors, all are involved in this make no mistake. Even the sponsors are involved because they keep promoting the show. The main culprits however, are the writers. If they wrote better segments perhaps, the other people wouldn’t be looking for other ways to go. Yes, I know, that sounds harsh.

Writing for a TV show isn’t an easy job. You are constantly writing and rewriting. You only have so many hours sometimes to get the script written. However, you are also making a living, hopefully, doing something you love– writing. The writer of a TV script owes it to themselves, cast, crew, and viewers to write a top-notch show.

Think how many people see the scripts on a TV show before they film a segment? Wouldn’t you think someone would bring up the point they are getting away from the character, purpose and show the viewers liked to begin with.  If only someone would ask the question, “Is this really the way we want to go”, and what about asking the question “What happens if our viewers don’t like this darker way” or maybe the question, “Will this eventually end the show we wanted to make when we started”.

Writers of novels write and rewrite, asking themselves these questions and many more. They work on polishing their manuscripts trying to make it perfect–to get it ready to send to a publisher. Should writers of TV scripts not do the same?

Please realize, these are my personal opinions, and are not necessarily that of Suite T,

Southern Writers Magazine, staff or writers. In fact, shhhhhhhhh…don’t even tell them about it.

What-Why-When-Who-Where-How?

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

Do you know your characters in your story? Do you really know your characters–everything about them? If you don’t here is a way to learn more about them. Interview them! Yes, interview your characters. Step out of the role of creator/writer and step into the role of your reader. What would your reader want to know about your main character?

You want your readers to bond with your main character. You want them to feel all the emotions he/she does. You want them to be on the side of your character, pulling for them. It is important for you to know everything about your main character in order to let your readers in on what they need to know about your character as the story progresses. It keeps them turning the pages. They become fans. They will buy other books you write. Why? Because they will know your characters are worth knowing–they can relate to them.

The best way for you to know your character is to interview them. If you were going to interview someone you would have a short bio that consist of their name, a few things they had accomplished, whether they work or stay at home. Maybe where they’re from or where they live now. But this information would be short like on a 3x5 card. Your job as the interviewer is to find out everything you can about them.

Remember the “Who, What, Why, When, Where and How” questions? Bring these back into play. Now sit down, make a list of questions, the more the better, and ask your character. Examples: Where were you born? Where do you live now? How did you get from where you were born to where you live now? What do you like? What do you not like? What color is your hair and eyes? What do you do? Where do you work? You get the gest. Just ask regular questions.  By choosing this process, you get to know your character. It will open up more facets for your reader to get to know your character.

Here are a few more words that are good to use when interviewing your character… “Are, If, Would”. I am sure you could think of some more. Do this with your characters, get to know everything you can and you will deepen your characters role in the story, you will also find your story is deeper, more meaningful.

REVIEWS

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

Reviews: Every author wants them for their book. But, they want good reviews. After all, if your books get good reviews on Amazon the people will come and buy your book.

Some people tell you not to ask your family to put reviews on Amazon…is that called a ringer? Frankly, if my Aunt Harriet told me she liked my book, that it was riveting and she couldn’t sleep for three nights after reading it, you bet I would ask her to put her review on there. Aunt or no aunt that is information people need to know about my book. She didn’t have to tell me anything after reading my book unless I asked, and then she could have said, “Yes, I did read it, it was good.” So obviously, she meant every word.

Being an author and listening to advice is like trying to decide which piece of ‘chocolate’ to choose out of that box of candy. When we receive advice, we want to evaluate it and determine if it is to our benefit or detriment. Also, look at each piece of advice on an individual basis pertaining to the situation.

So when family, friends or foes read your book, you can ask them what they thought. Just don’t be afraid of them rejecting your book or not liking something in general. Not everyone is going to jump up and down raving about your book.  Who knows, there may have been things they really liked and raved over and yet still had some things they didn’t care for, and still this would make a good review. You see it gives the person reading it some valuable information that just make push them into buy that book, to see what that person was saying.

Overall, I do suggest that you send out on your Facebook, Twitter and other Medias you use as well as your blog and website invitations for your readers to send you back information after reading your book, have them tell you what they liked most about your book as well as things they didn’t. This is a good way to find reviewers. Most of them will be delighted you asked them to post their review on your website as well as Amazon.   

Be creative. You can do drawings for autographed books; you can name a character after them in your next book. Your readers who are fans will be happy to help spread the word about your book.

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine

Remember the old movies with the boy standing on the street corner selling newspapers yelling, “Read all about it” and “Come and get it” along with the price? In those movies, you might see a reporter running to get a story, then hurrying back to type it up and hand it in to get it in for the evening newspaper.

It seems those days are gone and our newspapers are folding or if not folding, yet, they are laying off many of their employees. Yesterday, I saw where two more large newspapers have had huge layoffs. One can’t help but feel sad during this time for the people losing their jobs. Yet there is even more sadness, an era of “big newspapers’ is coming to an end.

For the newspapers that remain open, with skeleton crews, you will find opportunities for us as writers. Now more than ever the opportunities for freelancers are growing every day.

What a great way to get your name out as a writer, writing freelance for a newspaper. So start getting a newspaper every day. Read it. To be even smarter, go to your library, pull up an old newspaper, and compare the old to the new…what did the old have the new one doesn’t in articles, columns, etc. You just might find your niche.

Call and talk to the “Editor” and find out if they are looking for freelancers and in what sections. Get him/her to tell you what they would want from a freelancer. If you can get an appointment, take some things you’ve written.  You are not limited to just the newspaper in your town. Use your imagination.

Main thing, be persistent without being too big a pest.  Always make sure if you send an article, it is your very best work. Remember to use a hook. Grab the editor’s attention in the first sentence. Make your words pop off the page.

Then you can say…“Read all about it.”