Track the Secrets of the Author Brand

Read about your author brand here.

Read the first secret here.

And then the second secret.

And third and fourth and more secrets here.

Buy here!

Discovering Your Author Brand!

What's the secret for any successful writer? Having readers recognize her books.

How do readers recognize books? Books are branded.

Who does the branding? The marketing department.

Who handles the marketing for a self-published writer? The writer.

How can I succeed at branding when I don't know anything? Use Discovering Your Author Brand to understand the secrets of branding a book, a series, and you the author.

Writers Write Words

If you want to improve your writing, start at the basic level: words and sentences.

Just published is my essential guidebook for enhancing Discovering Sentence Craft covers figurative and structural elements, from metaphors and symbols to zeugma and polysyndetons.

The guidebook is A to Z, auxesis to zeugma.
words and sentences. 

What more could you want? Find it here.

Just Released ~ Discovering Your Author Brand

Discovering Your Author Brand is book 7 in the Discovering set of the Think like a Pro Writer series.

It does exactly what the title says: helps the new writer heading for self-publication understand the multiple keys to creating a great cover, a series brand, and an author brand.

The designers at Deranged Doctor Design have been guiding me through cover branding from the very first book. And they're managing the design for this set of books.

I wanted something whimsical and eye-catching and metaphorical. That's what writing is to me. I browsed around a few image sites and came up with a cluster to use for the Discovering set.

Author Branding is like the stamp of quality, and books unlock doors to new worlds. 3D took the image, punched up the beauty, and here it is.

Author Branding depends on three things, consistently worked:
1] three little words
2] clever iconography
3] clever market copy

Discovering Your Author Brand is much more than those three things. It's packed with explanations based on examples, some of which you can find here.

It offers worksheets to guide you through your own development of an author brand. Remember, book b4 series b4 author persona.

As a bonus is the extra oomph of a script pattern for a trailer (which reduced can become a clip, short enough for TikTok or Instagram).

Interested? Find Discovering Your Author Brand here.

Newest Release ~ For New Writers

Do you struggle with developing characters? Try this guidebook.

One of the hardest things to do in writing

is to create characters that readers will care about,

that will make them have to read on.

Noah Luke

Discovering Characters is like investigating a house we want to buy.

No, I’m serious. Characters have an exterior façade that we comment upon as we drive past. Through the windows we catch glimpses of interior lives.

Even in cookie-cutter boxy cliques, characters have individual characteristics, just as the suburbia ranch houses have their garden plantings and the urban row houses have their painted doorways. 

These small touches create individual homes in neighborhoods.

Some characters enjoy the bright city lights. Some are loners, nestled against a national forest.  Characters, houses—each have individual personalities. Some are blingie, with the latest décor while others enjoy the comfort of yoga pants and old sneakers.

As writers, we capture these individual characters and save them from the cookie-cutter boxy stereotypes. We delve into interior rooms for glimpses of formative baggage. Finding their backstory is a search through attics and cellars, storage closets and garages. Characters hide their pain and fears, painting them over and adding distracting artwork.

Our job as writers is to find every detail of our characters then use snippets so our readers will see our characters as they drive through our books. We hint at the foundations while opening doors to their plans and purposes.

Discovering Characters is designed to help writers find the exteriors and interiors, public and private. We’ll dig around the foundations and climb to the roof. We’ll explore the open rooms and the storage closets. We’ll peek into rooms inhabited by such characters as diverse as Elizabeth and Darcy, the Iron Man, Aragorn and Frodo, Travis McGee, Medea, Macbeth, and Nanny McPhee.

Five areas comprise this guidebook. Just as characters—and houses—are individual, this info is individual. You won’t need every bit. Dip in and out, skim around. When you reach locked rooms, come back and explore to discover the keys to your characters.

1.      Starting Points ~ offering templates and character interviews

2.      Classifications ~ common and uncommon ways of discovering characters

3.      Relationships ~ couples, teams, allies, enemies, mentors, etc.

4.      Special Touches ~ progressions, transgressions, and transitions for character arcs

5.      Significant Lists ~ archetypal characters and much more

Discovering Characters, with 44,000-plus words, is the second book in the Discovering set, part of the Think like a Pro Writer series for writers new to the game as well as those wanting to up their game.

Get it here!

Writer M.A. Lee has been indie-publishing fiction and non-fiction since 2015. She has over 25 books published under her pseudonyms. Visit www.writersinkbooks.com to discover more information.

Running Behind and Looking Ahead

Well.  The title of this post is "Running Behind and Looking Ahead.

I'm running behind because my current mystery, The Hazard of Secrets, was supposed to be finished on the last day of June. Here it is 25 days later, and I'm still not finished.

For HoS, I have 5 to 7 more chapters to write. My expected word count was 55,000. I am currently at
50,000-plus.

When I look at the scenes that are necessary to finish the mystery and solve the crime and close the other threads, I think that word count is going to be closer to 70,000 than 65,000.

Throughout July and the tail end of June--the reason that I am running behind--I've only managed two days of creative writing each week. As I am looking ahead to the end of July, I see no time to write on Friday or Saturday or Sunday, and maybe a little time on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  This is the kind of thing that drives me crazy!

I've had tons of disruptions--and have used the time crowded around those disruptions (when the brain won't settle to creativity) to work on revisions--and have been contending with a back injury at the end of May. I just found out that the back injury is actually a broken rib. No wonder I've been hurting and not able to sleep the night through.

12th rib. A floating one. It's the bottom-most rib. Right there at my liver. Yikes!

When I launch into a year, I have a plan, the Yearly Plan, of what I hope to accomplish. For most of my teaching career, I over-scheduled. That helps when you're dealing with teen-agers: Idle hands and the devil's workshop and all that.

So~

Based on my plan at the start of the year, I should be in the middle of my 11th Hearts in Hazard book, The Hazard for Spies. Well, no.

That plan also had me nearly finished with a writing craft book, Discovering Your Characters. I was supposed to be working slowly through that nonfiction book (5th in the Discovering / Think like a Pro Writer series). Nope. I have about 21,000 of an expected 35,000 guidebook. I know what needs to come next. I've got words roughed out, some merely sketched out, and the vaguest of ideas for the rest.

I re-adjusted by Yearly Plan at the start of June. I knew I was running behind on HoSecrets; I figured I would start H4Spies around July 20. I knew I was running behind on DiscChar; I figured I would finish it around July 30.

That ain't going to happen.

I may not have any words or even a tagline,
but I've got the H4S COVER!

Yes, I said ain't.

Now my whole Yearly Plan is thrown off. Gee whillikers.

Mysteries ~ 

Hazard of Secrets, new deadline: August 15.

Hazard for Spies, new deadline: October 15.

Hazard with Hearts, new deadline: December!

That will finish the 12-book Hearts in Hazard series. I've enjoyed Regency mysteries. I've discovered that I'm really not happy writing "suspense" and "scary" and that I prefer mysteries and vintage gothics a la Mary Stewart and Phyllis A. Whitney and Victoria Holt.

One of the things that I have wanted to do for this series is to turn them into real paperbacks. Holding the book (rather than the electronic device), flipping the pages, dipping in and out--that's a reader's true joy. So, converting the manuscripts to paperback is the plan for 2020.

As for the Rest of my Writing Year

Writing Craft Books ~

Discovering Your Characters, new deadline: August 15 (half-a-month behind)

Discovering Your Plot, new deadline, September 30 (30 days behind). 50% is already roughly written; the rest has notes and ideas and sketched points that should speed along.

Discovering Your Author Brand, new deadline ??? About 15% is roughly written. The rest will have to come from scratch.

Discovering Sentence Craft, new deadline ~ ??? May not make 2019, so early in 2020.

Fantasy ~ Me as Remi Black and Me as Edie Roones (Oooh, two for one).

I have two fantasy novellas that I want to write. I really, really enjoyed the one that I published in early May. Writing To Wield the Wind was inspired and inspiring. I'm going to enjoy returning to this world with parts 2 and 3 of this Enclave World series under my pseudonym of Remi Black.

I want to finish this series over the winter, so I'm hoping for the first in December and the second at the end of February.

These two novellas to finish the series will happen, even if it means the Writing Craft books are pushed back into 2020. That's okay. I want to bundle all five of the Discovering / Think like a Pro Writer books as ebooks as well as put them into paperback form. The paperback form wasn't going to be possible until 2020, so I'll just combine those projects into one big focus.

Poor Edie Roones is just sitting there, hanging out, waiting for her turn. I have the Sansward four-part series to finish, with Spring Magicks. I have ideas but nothing written. That's on schedule for 2020 as well.

2019 Becomes 2020

I need to finish the Isabella Into Death series with Portrait with Death. That's M.A. Lee. Maybe it will happen in 2020, maybe not.

M.A. Lee has 14 novels (as well as 4 nonfiction books) under that pseudonym. Finishing the Into Death series will put that number at 15. Ideas are popping up for the next series already. Geez, brain, slow down a little.

I need to devote more writing time to Remi Black and Edie Roones. I have two novellas under Remi Black that I am desperate to write as well as the last 3 Alstera / Enclave books. I have more ideas for the Edie Roones pseudonym, remaining focused on Medieval--fantasy and mystery as separate lines.

When I look at 2020, I see so much that I want to write already, and this is not even an official plan!

Heavens, LIFE IS GOOD!

Another 1st Birthday this month!

My first planner, Think / Pro: A Planner for Writers has its first birthday today.

Two covers available, with the floral cover available with free shipping for Prime members.  The second cover is the lamp cover.  You can find it on Amazon by looking for other versions.  Or click this link.

Happy 1st Birthday!

My guidebook Think like a Pro was published one year ago today.

Happy birthday, T/Pro!  This is still my favorite cover!  And available with Prime shipping!

Discovering Your Novel ~ Newest Release

What kind of writer are you?  Planner or Plotter?  Pantster?  Puzzler?  Muse Muffin?

Whether you use the mosaic method or a chronological one, whether you outline every scene or let the words flow, the method does not matter.  What matters is the end goal.

So, what’s the end goal with your writing?  Just to write?  To publish?  Fame and fortune?

Plenty of frittery flutter-bys write and write and go nowhere.  As for fame and fortune, those can’t be guaranteed.

However, when your goal is publication, Discovering Your Novel is the guidebook to help you overcome the Sisyphean task of first word to publication.

With the goal of completing a novel in 52 weeks, this guidebook can be self-paced or tracked week by week for persistent success.

·         If you have a half-completed manuscript that you’re lost in, use the Foundations and Visioning sections to work your way out of the labyrinth.

·         If the story’s a mucky mire more like quicksand than a novel you can build on, use the Analysis section to clear away the mud and weeds.

·         Like a long ball of string, the multiple charts will help you keep track of where you’ve been and where you will head next.  Printable charts are available for free at the website address provided in the guidebook

·         When you complete the manuscript, what do you do next?  The sections on Harvesting and Finishing answer these questions as they guide you to creating a professional career as a writer.

Launch your writing journey at your current location on the publishing road—incipient idea or character sketches or story plan or struggling manuscript or completed novel looking into publication.

Track your progress with daily word counts recorded on the charts.

Learn the devices and definitions that pro writers have swirling in their heads.

Maintain the discipline and preparation that keeps pro writers at work, no matter the interruptions.

Writer M.A. Lee meandered along the road of unfinished manuscripts and completed novels with nowhere to publish for many years before she decided to drive to her own destiny.  If you’re tired of gatekeepers and pay-to-play schemes, if you’re weary of elitist traditional publishers and you’re eager to jump on the self-publishing juggernaut, then Discovering Your Novel will give the guidance you need.

Sample pages are available at www.writersinkbooks.com.  Purchase at this link.

No ghostwriters or work-for-hire writers or other collaborators are ever used in the writing of M.A. Lee’s books.

350,000 Words: Stop NaNoWriMo Playing, Start Publishing

From the Raison d'Etre section of my newest writers guidebook, Discovering Your Novel.

How many miles have you traveled on the road to writing your novel?  If you’re not far on that road, Discovering Your Novel will help you drive through those problems.

if you keep backing up, if your engine stalls, if the myriad of roads confuse you, then

No one else can write the novel of your head and heart.  That’s a road you have to find and follow.  Yet this workbook, like a mountain guide, can guide your journey to publication.

Publication is the goal, isn’t it?  Not just to write but to share your writing through publication.

I ask because I recently met a NaNoWriMo[1] participant ecstatic about her eighth year of participation after “winning” for the previous seven years.  Winning means that she achieved the word-count requirement.  In seven years she’d written 350,000 words (minimum) yet still had nothing published.

350,000 words.

Let that sink in.  Most novels are around 75,000 words, with the epics around 120,000.  That’s at least four good-sized books, or three-plus epics.  This writer may have submissions to agents and editors with traditional publishers or small presses.  All I truly know is that she still wasn’t published.  7 years & 350,000 words and not published.

Ouch.

. . . .

If you're tired of playing at writing and want to start publishing, but ....

If the book you're writing seems to be going nowhere ....

If the plot is scrambled or the process fried you up ....

Discovering Your Novel can help.  Check out the Table of Contents in the Look Inside feature of Amazon to see if my guidebook has the guidance you need.

---

[1] NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month, every year in November.  The group that runs NaNoWriMo (pronounced Nano-Rhi-Moh) has a website with all sorts of templates for your perusal and playtime.  Writers who sign up to participate have to write 50,000 words in one month, which is about 1666 daily.

Browsing Books

I used to love browsing bookstores.  I would go inside a cozy retailer and browse the genre sections of mystery and fantasy.  I could spend hours, and I would drop much more money than I should have with every visit.

Then bookstores got bigger and less cozy until they felt like a big box store.  The people helping no longer knew anything about the books.  If they couldn't find it on the computer database, they didn't know what to do.

I miss small bookstores where the owner at least knew something about the book or knew who else liked those books.  Even visiting Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, a mecca for book lovers, didn't recall those wonderful old days of the small cozy bookstore with an in-the-know owner.

Oh well.

It's still possible to sample a book before purchasing, from the coziness of your living room.  This is one of the reasons that I first loved Amazon as an online book retailer.  The LOOK INSIDE feature allows readers to taste a book before they buy.

Here are two images from the Amazon website and the link to my book's page.

NaNoWriMo: Are you ready?

Seven lessons for a successful transformation from hobby writer to PRO !

Becoming a Pro Writer

Changing your mindset to become a professional writer after years of hobby writing can be daunting.

Remi Black has 10 bits of string to wind into a ball.  That ball will help you safely navigate as you venture deep "Into the Labyrinth" of writing.

Writer's Block doesn't Exist

In Think like a Pro, I offer a whole chapter of strategies to overcome Writer's Block.

As a matter of fact, I speak writers' world heresy because I believe that "Writer's Block doesn't exist."

Don't believe me?  Here's my blog and a link to my book on Amazon.  Two covers to choose from!

Check back with us on 9/20 for a link to a Diagnostic Quiz

to determine which problem is blocking your writing.

Summer Challenge

Summer challenge time!

2 versions available ~ beautiful flowers
or the guiding task lamp

Are you ready to transform?

If you've dreamed of writing professionally--making $$$ from your words--the time is now.

But how?  What are the steps?  How do I avoid distractions and the dreaded writer's block?  Where can I find creative exercises?  When do I know I'm no longer a hobby writer and that I am a pro?

Who can help?

Well, bud, you help yourself, but here's a manual that can help you Think like a Pro. 

Think like a Pro guides your growth through 7 lessons.  From deadlines to multi-tasking, Think like a Pro gives advice, tips, and tricks.

• The # 1 lesson for success
• A mantra to keep bum in chair
• Choosing a plot
• Essentials for characters
• Conquering Writer’s Block
• Sparking Creativity
• Healthy Habits for projects, for yourself, and for the money you earn

Stop procrastinating, and achieve your dream.  Like the writer M.A. Lee, in three short years you can become a published writer of more than 12 novels.

Purchase the beautiful flowers version here.

Purchase the guiding lamp version here.

Also available is the Think / Pro planner, a daily companion to keep your goals on track.

With an undated layout, you can start anytime and skip any vacation weeks.  The two-page weekly spread offers progress meters, word count trackers, healthy habits monitors, and monthly, seasonal, & yearly reviews and previews.  Record your victories.  Analyze your challenges.  Determine your productivity.

The Think / Pro planner and the Think like a Pro book will encourage your transformation from hobbyist to professional writer.

Declare your Independence

Want to be published?

Do you start stories but never complete them?  Do you wait on your muse while she hides behind

a beautiful daily reminder to stay on track with your goals

trees and in caves?

Do you know how to write, but the mountainous novel seems insurmountable, with too many words and too few days?

Do you keep telling yourself “Carpe Diem”, but days speed by before you grab several hours to write?

Time to change “Seize the Day” into “Seize the Dream.”  For success, you need to Think/Pro.  This planner can help.

The weekly spread keeps you focused on three tasks, with room to record your day-by-day focus as well as a word count tracker for daily and accumulating totals.  The Progress Meter, divided into writing stages and blocks for each ten percent of that stage, is a visual representation of your growing achievement in reaching your writing goal.

While daily word counts are important, I now advise writers to take one day off each week.  Reserve that day for planning as well as completing a creativity exercise.  On a back page is a list of 13 exercises to choose from.  Reminders of the four basic Healthy Habits (walking, water intake, sunshine, and diet) offer daily fill-ins for those who like habit trackers.

Each week also showcases an inspirational quotation from a famous writer.

In addition to the weekly spread are Monthly Reviews & Previews and Seasonal & Yearly Planning pages.  The planner begins with a brief look at your yearly goals, on the following page.

The Monthly Review has a Productivity Tracker and a Progress Meter as well as places to jot down Business Contacts and Expenses.  Once tax time arrives, you will have compiled the necessary information in one location.  And a Tax Tips for Writers lists on a back page the expenses you can record.

In planning, we sometimes neglect to consider obligations beyond our goals and objectives.  On the Previews is a reminder of those commitments that keep us sane.

Seasonal Previews ask you to polish the nuts and bolts of your projected words per week and sharpen up the time remaining before your deadline.  All the Reviews ask you to record your victories and consider your challenges.

The purpose of any planner is to keep us on track as well as to give us a look ahead.  In this fast-paced world, it helps to have a physical reminder, one that is not dependent on the five and more tap-clicks that it takes to access the electronic calendar on a smartphone.

Grab a pen and this planner, and quickly jot down reminders and notes.  As the Think/Pro planner is undated, you can start at any time of the year.  

Purchase here.