Sunday, May 20, 2012

Time Management

Today’s post is about my nemesis, Time Management. I’m learning more and more how important it is to have a schedule, and that I need to stay on it. Thursday, I sat down and wrote out a new schedule for household duties and writing assignments. This time, I am going to do my best to follow the list and try to cut down on wasted time.

One of my problems is that I don’t look at my writing as a true occupation. I don’t devote enough time to actually sit down and focus on writing; that can be hard to do when you are also running a household. I may be up and down doing tasks like laundry, supper, or playing with the dogs, during my writing time.

Do any of us really treat our writing as a occupation?  Do we just write when we can, putting it to the back burner more than we should. Friday night, we, at Christian Indie Authors had our normal meeting; it starts at 9 p.m. Eastern in the chat room.  Author Pastor George took some great notes on time management, if you'd like to take a peek here they are.

Back on topic, this week we talked about Time Management, and we even started a thread in the forums for members to post new goals they were setting. It’s our job as friends and co-writers to also do the same, and check in and see how others are doing.

I really hope to change the way I look at writing. Sure, chores will need to be done, but instead of doing them while I’m writing, I will be setting time aside to write. I will be doing the chores in the morning and, since I like to write in the evenings, will try to get everything done on my list for the day so I have my mind and thoughts free to work on my job: That job is being an author.  Though at the moment this new job of mine is not paying many bills, it is starting to add to the money I have to spend on groceries. If I start following my schedule and start treating writing more like a business than just a fun past time, maybe things will get even better.

I know we all have different goals, and one of mine is to be able to make a living as being an Author. But, if I don’t treat my occupation as just that, (my occupation) I don’t think I will get much further than I am now. That said, for me, it’s time for a change, and that change may start with baby steps, but it will start and grow and my schedule will become second nature after a while.

The schedule is written, the plan is laid out. Now all I have to do is follow it. What are your plans?  Are you like me just doing things when you think about it?  Maybe it’s time for you to write out a schedule or maybe you’re on one that’s really working and would like to share some thoughts.
I don’t normally ask for comments but today I’m going to. Are you on a schedule, do you have a plan that works, or are you just happy with writing be a fun past time?  Can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say.

Till next time
Happy Writing
Samantha Fury





Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Making a book cover lesson four: Buying a bookcover

Lesson four Making a book cover: buying your book cover with guest Mary Campagna Findley

Today we are moving back to book covers, and the next few blogs will be about those folks that want to buy book covers rather than make them. Making a book cover can take a lot of time, and if you don't know what you're doing there can be a large learning curve that you will have to contend with. You may think your time is better spent in writing or taking family outings or marketing your new novel.


If you are a self-published author you can always buy your own cover. That is one of the great things, and the downfalls, about being an Indie. You don't have someone telling you what kind of cover you have to make, or you don't have someone doing the hard work of picking out your book cover for you.

I spoke with a friend of mine this week who makes covers. Mary told me that when she is making a cover for someone she wants the author to know that they are the boss, and whatever inspiration she has, the author can always say,. "Nope. I want this instead." Mary always wants to know what's most important to the author about the story, what the author thinks will make people pick it up and read the book she's making the cover for.

You can see a few covers below and even more covers, and learn more about Mary's work here. I'd like to thank Mary for her time today. She does great work so be sure and contact her if you like her covers.
Mary has been making covers about 5-6 years for her own books, about a year for others. Ebooks prices range between 30 and 50 dollars, print books with banner (digital and printable), ebook cover and bookmark between $100 and $150 but her rates can be negotiable depending on ability.

Each of us must think about our book cover as being our novel in a quick picture. When we can, we need to bring out some aspects of the story in our cover. Readers need to know everything possible. Is your novel a Romance or is it Steampunk? Does a murder take place in your novel? Is someone shot or stabbed? Maybe a gun or a knife would be a great addition. The options and ideas can seem endless.

We want to get the attention of the reader but we don't want to mislead them about what's inside the book. Making a cover is so important, so it's best not to just jump in and throw something together. Study other covers that are in your genre, and give the person making your cover everything you can think of that will help them build you the best cover possible.

There are some sites, that also offer ready-made covers. We'll talk about a few of them later on in the week. Thanks for dropping by.

Samantha Fury
Author of the Street Justice Series
More lessons in this series
Lesson one Making a book cover with create space
Lesson two Making a book cover general helpful ideas
Lesson three Making a book cover with a create space template
Lesson four Making a book cover buying your book cover with guest Mary Campagna Findley


Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog. Mom just got home from getting 5 new stichtes. Here I am going to bed at 6 a.m. Not a good thing. I hope to soon get som...