S.M. Butler's Blog, page 43

Last week we talked about what Pinterest is. But the number one thing I see asked about it, is what is it and how is it used? What’s the point? So here’s some ways you can use Pinterest.

Find like-minded individuals.

Are you a chef? Or aspiring chef? Maybe you’re a knitter. Or maybe you like dogs. Pinterest has something for you. Recently, I was talking to a culinary romance writer and she was confused with how she could leverage Pinterest and justify the time she would spend on it. Considering the number of recipes I pin that I may never try? I would follow her on principle.

Pin your own blog posts.

So, let’s say my friend the culinary romance writer blogs recipes (and I think she does blog recipes… I should read her blog more…). If she includes an image of what she’s cooking (and if you read my Ten Tips to Make Your Blog the Place to be… she should have an image), she can pin her own blog post on her board. The fun thing is that all new pins show up on the Pinterest home page. And everyone who follows her will see that pin. Then you get into the repinning… One of my pins got over 60 repins in a day… That’s far better than I ever have done on Twitter.

Organize and categorize your pins.

Pinterest starts you out with four or five boards that you can edit or delete. I think I just ended up renaming them. Here’s a couple of my boards:

My Tattoo Inspiration Board

This board I use for the style of tattoos that I would like in the future. I don’t have tattoos yet, but I will eventually. These are ones that I liked, either because of the color vibrance, or the design.

Or sometimes… both.

The Hot Guys Board

Sometimes I’ll post hot guys on this blog, but not often. However, since Pinterest, I just go there to get my daily hot guy fix. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s two clicks and I have those men saved on my board.

Of course, it also helps that I follow a lot of romance writers and they are some of the biggest pervs in the world. I love it.

The Books of Awesome Board

There’s no better way for me to express how much I love my friends and their books. I created a board I’ve named “Books of Awesome” in which I’ve pinned their books. Most of these links go to Amazon, and are tagged with my affiliate ID. I don’t really make much, but I hadn’t really tried beyond using the affiliate ID. The point of the board was to showcase awesome books, not necessarily to make money off them. But… if I do… bonus. And I have had some click-thrus and people have repinned a few of the books, which brings that pin to the eyes of more people.

Personal Use is okay.

Like any other social media site, it’s okay to put a little of yourself into it. I encourage it. There’s a lot of me in my boards. Most of my clothing board is all my tastes, things that I plan to buy with my first royalty check, or ridiculously expensive dresses I’ll never afford. The food board, while I’m not a huge cooker-type person, has all these recipes I’d like to try when I have a decent kitchen that’s all my own.I recently started up a Story Inspiration board for No Strings Attached, to help me keep what my characters look like, or what they’re wearing straight in my head. There’s not much there right now. It’ll grow while I work on the book or I find the right images.

You can use the Pin It bookmarklet while you’re out there reading blogs and enjoying yourself without ever leaving the webpage you’re on.

The one thing I like most about Pinterest is the ease and simplicity of its use. So while it might look overwhelming to some, maybe it’s just the simplicity that blows people’s minds.

So how do you use Pinterest? What kinds of ideas would you give someone who’s just starting out on Pinterest? Or if you are just starting out, what’s your questions?

…for my eleven year old.

Sunday, we went to the lake. We spent hours out in the Texas sun and have matching sunburns to show for it. And we were using SPF 85 sunscreen reapplied three times in four hours. Anyway, I was holding on to my brother’s dog, Maddie, who is the mother of my boxer.

EmoBoy (my eleven year old) notices Maddie’s cooch is somewhat… mutilated. Hey, you know, if you give birth to two litters of 8-9 puppies each, yours would be a bit mutilated too.

Anyway, I’ve had the “where do babies come from?” talk with my kids. Both of them. Several times. They ask the questions. I answer. I’m not going to be ashamed of a natural process like giving birth. I might blush a little when it comes to how Daddy’s sperm gets inside Mom’s egg. That’s only because I spent years as a kid wondering that question when no one would answer.

So, EmoBoy asks me why hers is like that when our boxer’s isn’t.

I answer, “That’s where the puppies come out.”

Sorry, pic is a little fuzzy.

At this point, EmoBoy is completely floored by this revelation. He can’t fathom that 16 little puppies came out of that hole. So, being the honest, blunt person that I am, I tell him exactly how it happens. His little eyes just get bigger… and bigger.

I notice it, so I ask, “How did you think they came out?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “I mean, I knew they came out the back.”

My son, ladies and gentlemen.

He thought the dog pooped out the babies.

I talked to him a little bit more after that. His reasoning was logical, but it didn’t quite fit into the mold and so, hence his confusion. He knew there was a difference between girls and boys, but I don’t think it really ever sunk in. For him, he’s got a pee-er and a poop-er. He knew girls must have those too. But he never really considered that girls had that extra hole.

Boys. They can be so oblivious.

I THINK I have explained it appropriately to him now… I think he gets it now, and (probably) he’s appropriately scarred for life now.

And just in case you’re wondering, it is easier to explain the whole birthing process thing with dogs as the subject rather than with humans.

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday, the day in which I join a couple hundred other authors to showcase fun six sentence long snippets on their blogs.

Guess who forgot about Six Sentence Sunday? If you guessed me, you’d be correct. So it’s way late, but it’s up! This week is from No Strings Attached, a contemporary romance I’m currently editing.

Ethan sat across from his parents at the large oak table. Papers were stacked up on the surface, in nice, neat orderly stacks. It was that once-a-month talk with his parents about investments and responsibilities of the family. He’d have rather stabbed himself in the eye with a spork.

His father, Michael Kearney III, leaned forward, tilting up his head to peer down through his reading glasses, though Ethan was sure it was a play to appear superior. Michael did everything with a purpose in mind

For those new to Six Sentence Sunday, you can play too:

1) pick a book– a current Work in Progress, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published

2) pick six sentences from anywhere in the story

3) post them on Sunday (hence the Six Sentence SUNDAY)

Want to play? See the site: Six Sentence Sunday

If you have a Twitter account, you can add the hashtag #sixsunday to your tweets when you tweet a link to your Six Sentence Sunday post. If you’re a writer (regardless of published/unpublished status) come join us!

I’ve been doing a lot of posts on blogging lately, but not really much on social media. The reason for that is that it’s the foundation of a writer’s social presence on the web. You need a home base, a control center, where you send people to find out more about you.But getting people TO your blog is important too so we’re going to switch gears for a few weeks and talk about social networks. The three really big are Twitter, Facebook, and the newest: Pinterest.

What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

According to Pinterest’s About page:

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

I’m going to talk about the different ways to use Pinterest over the next couple weeks or so. Today I just want to give you an overview on what Pinterest is and what it can be used for. We’ll use my Boards as an example.

Because Pinterest is a visual medium, I’ve had a lot of writers ask if that’s indeed a social media they should be on. Now I’ll never tell someone they should be on a social network. That’s not how they work. If you don’t want to be there, and you’re only there because you think you should, then it’s going to show.

The majority of users on Pinterest are women, but I follow some men. Because it’s visual, it’s amazing for graphic designers, photographers, or artists. But there’s also a use for writers. Let’s say you’ve got a killer article on your blog. You’ve got a Pin It button next to your Twitter button. When your visitors click that, they’ll get this:

You then choose the image (obviously, I’ll choose the writing picture) and click the Pin It button that appears when you hover over the image. That will bring up a separate window:

This is where you can choose what board it will go on or create a new board for it. You can write a short description in the red box, click whether you want the pin to show up on Twitter or Facebook, and then you click the Pin It button and it’s done. Easy Peasy.

Of course, we haven’t gotten into Boards yet. These are basically the categories of your pins. For example, I have a Books of Awesome board, which I use to put the books I’ve enjoyed on there. I also have a Shoe Porn board, where I collect the shoes I like from the sites I go to for future purchasing. It’s very much an organizational tool for me, but others may use it for other things than I do.

So that’s a quick overview of Pinterest. We’ll get deeper into it next week, when I’ll walk you through creating Boards, following other people, and how to keep from being overwhelmed.

In the meantime, what kind of questions do you have about Pinterest? Anything gnawing at your brain about it?

Hi guys! I’m back from Colorado, and man, I’m tired. I was going to do this wrap up blog of my week at Margie Lawson’s Immersion Master Class yesterday, but I didn’t get home until about ten so I was exhausted.

So the weekend didn’t bode well for me, right off the bat. My plane had some kind of hydraulic leak, so we sat there waiting for the maintenance to come check it out. They did and they deemed the plane must be taken out of service. So we all had to get off the plane and head to another gate while they pulled a plane out of hangar. So we sit, waiting, at the gate for another hour before the plane arrives and they re-board us.

By this time, it’s almost the original landing time. I’m supposed to be in Denver. Poor Tiffany (my ride and Margie’s daughter) is sitting there waiting with the other two Immersion girls who came in around the same time waiting on me. I don’t have their number at this point, so there’s no calling.

Anyway, finally make it to Denver, find the girls and we all head over to the lodge we’re staying at to dump off our stuff. It’s a really cute, cute place, with these little quirks. The walls are badly insulated so you can hear people walking around in the room next door. But the beds…. the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.

And the rooms were sparkling clean (which I found hilarious when the woman who owns the place apologized for not cleaning it as well as she usually does. Jeebus. Does it shine like the top of the Chrysler Building? (Cliche alert!)

Anyway, here’s the room I stayed in.

Isn’t that the CUTEST??

So the first day, we get to know each other and Margie puts us in pairs and has us do the EDITS system on our partner’s manuscript. Then we had to talk about it. I’m not gonna lie. I was petrified. It’s hard to talk to someone about their work when they’re sitting right beside you.

I can do it over email with no problem. But trying to say what I mean without having time to figure it out myself has me stumbling over words and backtracking and trying not to offend. So I think i was pretty standoffish that first day. But being around five other writers all day every day… you don’t have time to be standoffish, so I made a conscious decision to set that aside and try to be the writer I want to be.

On Saturday, we decided to take a walk and did some climbing up rocks and stuff. This was my view:

And this:

I think this was one of the best parts of the trip for me. Well, that and the Bounder Bookstore, which has three freaking floors of awesome.

Lest we forget why I actually took this trip, here’s my first two pages of my manuscript after the first session of one-on-one time with Margie:

This is what happens when you don’t use the EDITS system.

I’ve re-edited that scene four or five times now, but I’m not quite there on it yet. It’s closer though, and it sounds so much better after the Margie Lawson Treatment.

It’s rare that I find a system that changes the way I write and think about writing so drastically. I think my brain is still in shock. But it was the best investment I’ve ever made in my writing. Yeah, it’ll take a while to recoup it, but it is the best thing I’ve ever done.

Not to  mention that Colorado is beautiful. It’s amazing. I would love to live there. I might need to think about the job situation and see if Boulder has something I could do. I’m in love with it that much. I’m already thinking about where I can pinch pennies so I can afford Margie’s class again.

If you haven’t taken a class from Margie Lawson, I highly recommend you do.

 

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday, the day in which I join a couple hundred other authors to showcase fun six sentence long snippets on their blogs.

This week I’m in Colorado, at Margie Lawson’s Immersion Master Class. Internet is spotty so I’m unsure how prompt I’ll be with comments. But I will respond! (It just might be late Sunday or Monday when I do…) So in honor of that, I’m giving you a little glimpse into the story formerly known as Simply Sinful but is now called Off Her Game. It’s the first in my hockey romance series about the Texas Highlanders.

Enjoy!

“Maybe…” she paused and lifted her head up to see Darren’s eyes. His dark eyes were twin pools of liquid black fire, so consumed with desire she almost lost her nerve. She swallowed. His eyes tracked the line of her throat when she did.

“I’m listening.” Any sign of inebriation vanished, with the exception of his bloodshot eyes.

“Maybe if you touched me. Like… you know. Then I could relax.”

For those new to Six Sentence Sunday, you can play too:

1) pick a book– a current Work in Progress, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published

2) pick six sentences from anywhere in the story

3) post them on Sunday (hence the Six Sentence SUNDAY)

Want to play? See the site: Six Sentence Sunday

If you have a Twitter account, you can add the hashtag #sixsunday to your tweets when you tweet a link to your Six Sentence Sunday post. If you’re a writer (regardless of published/unpublished status) come join us!

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about blogs lately. Some people scream from the top of their lungs that blogs are dying and no one comments on their blogs and Twitter and Facebook RUINED the blogosphere. If that’s true, then why do I still see blogs with hundreds of comments, and authors still conducting blog tours?

Blogging is not a dying medium.

It’s a poorly used medium. So I thought today might be a good day to tackle a little author blog housekeeping to help you maximize your time to write more books and entice visitors to stay on your site for a while. Because we don’t have to choose between writing great books and branding ourselves. We can do both with just a little adjustment.

So here we have Ten Tips to Make Your Blog Sparkle (but not literally, because only vampires do that…)

1. Break up large chunks of text.

I’m fairly conscious of this every time I write a post. I don’t have the greatest attention span. My eyes glaze over large chunks of text. Make it easy on your readers eyes. Keep paragraphs no longer than three to six sentences.

2. Use lists to make your point.

Most people are reading blogs on the go. Maybe they’re reading on their tablet or their phone. Use header tags to separate your main points and to break up text.

3. Make backgrounds easy on the eyes.

Notice how my background is kind of dark? That’s okay, because where the text is found, the background is light. Being a graphic designer, I’m constantly assessing and reassessing how colors look together. A black background with white letters screams amateur 1990s web design. Don’t be that guy. I won’t spend any time on a website like that, because my eyes get enough strain from writing on my computer all day.

4. Pick blog titles that will engage your audience.

As long as it relates to your subject matter that is. You need to spend some time coming up with the titles. I usually do the titles last, so I can find a title that relates to the post I wrote and will raise a question that people want to answer. I don’t always succeed,because, let’s face it, titles are not my strong point, but I do give it a good go.

5. Give readers your name… right there in the title.

My blog name is Pucks and Pearls. But that’s not nearly as important as getting my name in front of people. So, my header has my name on it, and not my blog name. We’re blogging to build our author brand, so why wouldn’t you use your name in your blog name? People buy from who they know, and more importantly, who they LIKE.

The best blogs out there are people who have left us with happy emotions. They don’t just write informative posts, but also spark conversations. We don’t talk at people because they need to feel included in order to participate in the conversations.

6. Add widgets/follow buttons to all social networks.

Not everyone loves Twitter like I do. Not everyone loves Facebook. And not everyone has an unhealthy obsession with Pinterest like I do. But you can find me on most social networks. Why? Because not only do I want to keep up with them all in order to tell you guys, but I recognize that each platform comes with its own audience. Is there overlap? Yes.

For that reason, I don’t recommend you signing up for every social network. Sit down and try them out and see which ones you do like. I’m primarily on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Occasionally, on Google Plus when I have the time. Those are the ones I enjoy.

7. Add share buttons for all your posts.

WordPress is pretty good about this, because you can install plugins that do this job for you. Even if you don’t Facebook, a lot of your readers do and enjoy it. Give them the tools to share your wonderful nuggets of wisdom with their world.

8. Add a subscription widget.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. This adds the capability for readers to get your blog in a blog reader. It’s kind of like home delivery. You’ll see my little subscription button right there on the right, and right under it one for my newsletter. I’m not delivering a newsletter regularly yet. It’s basically for announcements right now, but I do intend on doing a regular newsletter in the future. But the point is that I’ve made it easy. If somehow you missed the form, it’s also right there in my navigation. Readers love easy.

9. Mind the language in your posts.

No, I’m not talking about cuss words. Some people, like Chuck Wendig, make that work really well, while others avoid cussing. Here I’m talking about how we talk to people. Do we use an extraordinary amount of “I” and “me” in our posts? We don’t want to sound like we’re lecturing or sound like we’re full of ourselves, or are obsessed with the “royal we” style.

10. Ask questions. Spark debates, but don’t offend.

The goal of our blog is to entice conversation, because then it’s like hanging out at the water cooler and chatting with our friends. It’s like throwing a party when you post. You need to be a good host or hostess. It took me nearly two years to figure that one out. But if you can’t be a good example, be a horrible warning.

So, speaking of questions at the end, let’s discuss! What other blogging tips would you add to this list? What’s the biggest turn off you have seen on a blog? The one thing you loved seeing on a blog? Tell me about it in the comments!

It’s that time again! ROW80 check-in time! For those of you that don’t know what ROW80 is, it stands for A Round of Words in 80 Days. It’s a challenge done four times a year, and it’s meant for people with lives that can’t do a strict challenge like NaNoWriMo. Learn more about ROW80 and sign up on the website.

Basically, how I do my goals is that I have an overall blog post at the beginning of the round detailing what I want to accomplish this round. Then each week, I do three sections to each topic: what I meant to do, what I did, and what I will do. That’s me stating what my goals were, what I did to accomplish them, and what I’m going to do for next week. Because I’ve learned that if i don’t beat myself over the head with things, I don’t get it done.

So this next week, I’m not really doing too much, because tomorrow, I’m flying out to Colorado to take Margie Lawson’s Immersion Master Class. So, lots of editing and words and highlighting. I’m ready for it. Sort of. Anyway, on to the goals for this week!

Writing
What I meant to do this week:

Edit No Strings Attached. That’s pretty much all I’m planning on this week, as next week I’m going to Margie Lawson’s Immersion Master Class in CO and I’m taking that story, so I’d like it to be in really nice shape so I can tear it apart and make it sparkle.

What I actually did this week:

This was finals week for me, so things didn’t go quite as planned. I got stuck on a part of the book (which I actually ended up deleting and rewriting) and then I had to put it down so I could finish up projects for school. Got almost all of them done, except one, so I’ll be finishing that today so I can get back to editing.

What I will do for next week:

Leaving Thursday for Margie Lawson’s thing in CO. I’m super excited about this, because it’s almost like a vacation, except it’s tax deductible as a business trip.

Blogging and Social Networking
What I meant to do for this week:

Create a new schedule that I’ll post later so readers know what to expect.
I swear eventually I’ll get around to the guest scheduling. I think with the edits, it’s been easier not having to worry about it.

What I actually did this week:

Posted four times, so did well with that. Once I’m in the swing of blogging, I’ve found it’s pretty easy to blog 3-4 times

Scheduled posts for the week while I’m gone so you guys get content. My internet access is going to be unpredictable. In fact, I’ve been told there will be no cell service up on the mountain, so unless the lodge I’m staying at has internet, I’m probably going to be out of contact from Thursday until Monday.

What I will do for next week:

Posts are already scheduled so they’ll go out on their own. I’m not anticipating being available online too much.

Publishing
What I meant to do for this week:

A lot of the same stuff. Some refreshing, mostly waiting for now. I do have three more pubs on my list to send to so I’ll send the hockey romance to them later this week and see how it goes.

What I actually did this week:

Researched some submission guidelines for a couple of publishers next on my list.

What I will do for next week:

Nada. Focusing on the trip.

Crafty Stuff
What I meant to do for this week:

Launching the Kickstarter will be a while because I want to use actual covers that I’ll complete for people instead of examples.
My current goal is to complete a cover a day, which so far, I’m doing okay with. Finding new ways to use stock I have is… interesting. And then there are a few images that I’m hoarding because I want them for me.

What I actually did this week:

Kind of dropped off on the creative stuff this week to finish up school. I’ll pick it up again soon. Like after my trip.

What I will do for next week:

This week is dedicated to the trip… so yeah.

Fitness and Health
What I meant to do this week:

Probably not too much. I’m way busy with school and stuff, so I’m concentrating on finishing out the term before I do things like be healthy and junk.

What I actually did this week:

I did work out twice. I also took my PRT with the Navy, which I passed. So, yay!

What I will do for next week:

Haha. Funny. Trip. Nada.

Overall

So, not a great week for accomplishments. But that’s okay. I’ve had nine other weeks of awesome progress so I guess I’m entitled to an off week. This next week’s the Margie Lawson trip so not much will happen there. I have a couple stories by other people to read for various reasons, so I’ll be doing that on the plane. We’ll see how it turns out.

How’s everyone else doing? It’s almost the end of Round 2 of ROW80!

Welcome to Tackle It Tuesday! Today’s topic is POV, because I’m learning stretch my POV wings and branch out into third person. When I first started writing, I wrote in first person. I still prefer it. But romance is what I’m writing right now, and that’s typically written in third, for the most part. There are notable exceptions, like Michele Bardsley’s Broken Heart Vampires series(which is seriously awesome and you guys should go buy it RIGHT NOW. Go on, I’ll wait here.)

Image from Copyblogger

Trend or Coincidence?

But I have noticed the surge of first person books, particularly in fantasy. SO that makes me wonder if it’s a trend or just a coincidence. I mean, the human race tends to do things at the same time all the time, even if it’s not “fashionable” or whatever. I see it in every day life. We travel in groups, even not meaning to. But that’s a post for another day. It makes me wonder… does one POV have advantages over the other?

Every writer has their preference.

When I was first learning how to write in third, I had to write the zero draft in first and rewrite in revisions to third.  This is weird to me, because growing up, almost everything I read was in third person. Of course, I was reading a lot of historical fantasies (as a child, there were a ton) and later, epic fantasies. These tended to be in third person.My first instance I remember of reading first person was Richelle Mead’s Dark Swan series, which also happened to be my first urban fantasy as well.

From Mead, I moved on to Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. That’s when I realized I preferred the first person POV. I wanted to know what was in the character’s head. I wanted to be right there in the thick of things. I wanted to be surprised when the bad guy made their move. When I began writing again after my divorce, I wrote a third person novel that will never EVER see the light of day. Then I began working on a first person. That novel is the book of my heart. Someday it will see the light, but right now, it’s pretty craptastic as well.

Simplicity rocks my socks.

I love the intimacy and the immediacy of first person. Simple and uncluttered. One person, one point of view. No struggling to remember who was now the point of view character. No head hopping. Simple. Easy. But I’ve gotten to the point that I like reading and writing third person. I can still have the surprises and get into the heads of the character and have a good time there.

I love first person. I’ll probably always write something in first person. One of my strengths is my voice when I write, or at least that’s what I’ve been told. A lot of that is because I write first person and I get right there into the head of my character. But now I’ve progressed to the point where third doesn’t put me off anymore. I can write a zero draft in third and it still has that precious quality that I’ve been told is so good in my first person stories.

And I’m to the point now, that I like third almost as much as I like first. And you know what? That’s okay.

POVs are a preference. What POV do you like to read in a book? What POV do you like to write in? First or third? Why?

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday, the day in which I join a couple hundred other authors to showcase fun six sentence long snippets on their blogs.

We’re back with my contemporary erotic romance this week, currently titled No Strings Attached, which is planned for a theme call due in August. Last week, we had a bit of a heart breaking six, so I thought we’d go another route this week.

Buddy Pierson didn’t look that different than he had five years ago. His hair was longer; the dark blond looked greasy to Ash. He’d grown a beard too, which looked a bit like a brown Chia pet on his chin. But the eyes… she knew those malicious onyx globes that haunted her in her dreams for years. Even through the television, they still scared the shit out of her.

For those new to Six Sentence Sunday, you can play too:

1) pick a book– a current Work in Progress, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published

2) pick six sentences from anywhere in the story

3) post them on Sunday (hence the Six Sentence SUNDAY)

Want to play? See the site: Six Sentence Sunday

If you have a Twitter account, you can add the hashtag #sixsunday to your tweets when you tweet a link to your Six Sentence Sunday post. If you’re a writer (regardless of published/unpublished status) come join us!