Twitter and Sequel

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Twitter (v): 1. to utter a succession of small, tremulous sounds, as a bird.

2.to talk lightly and rapidly, especially of trivial matters; chatter.

3.to titter; giggle.

4.to tremble with excitement or the like; be in a flutter.

5.Digital Technology . tweet ( def. 4 ) . 

 

OK, I'm officially back on the blog. Yay! I didn't really leave, but trimmed my posts and commenting in the past month due to writing and editing commitments. I must say, I missed it. Lots.

 

So what have I been up to? Lots and lots of writing, editing, writing, and editing of the sequel to Two Halves. Title: Two Equals. I'm still in awe how the ending turned out so perfect. The story fell into place with the back story. I love it.  Each time I read the ending I cry because of the emotions evoked. Now that this is done, I'll be working on my marketing plan (need to tweak it), more editing, another novella that needs to be told and the WIP I took a pause from in January which is 3/4 done. Can't wait to get into the story.

So again, lots of writing, but on a more leisurely schedule.

I've also been learning how to use twitter effectively for both marketing and interacting with others. I have not implemented everything yet, but I will. I've been using tweet adder to search followers interested in reading, schedule my tweets and interact. HootSuite is also awesome to manage both the Twitter and Facebook platforms. If you think I sound like I know what I'm doing, it's just a perception. I'm still learning and wish I'd done it earlier. If you'd like to follow me on Twitter I'm at @martaszemik

 

One great place for writers and authors is the World Literary Cafe - an online community that bridges the gap between authors and readers. I find the support and knowledge of other authors incredible! It's also where I learn about the tweeting :)

Some very cool announcements are coming soon! I'm excited to say I'm well on target to meeting my goal of 5 titles by the end of 2012. I didn't think I could do it, but now, I'm pretty sure it will happen.

Are you on Twitter? We're almost halfway through 2012, are you behind, ahead or right on target for your goals?

Update: Still here...

WORD FOR THIS P0ST:

Celebrate (v): 1. to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities: to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play.

First off, Happy Victoria's Day to my fellow Canadians! Hope you all have a blast and beautiful weather like we do. It truly feels like August out here in Cambridge. We're having a picnic in the backyard today with the kids, a water balloon throwing contest and some fireworks for the evening:) The munchkins are excited.

The past few weeks had been very busy for me. I'm almost done the sequel for Two Halves (I've been almost done for a month), and can't really do anything until I finish. I mean anything. This book has consumed me (in a good way). I have one more week to get it out to my editor. I've been writing/editing. I have it all done, except for the last paragraph - that perfect line. That's what I hope to do over the next couple of days.

The perfect ending is already there, just that one line/paragraph to finish it off. On top of it all, I've been re-editing some of my other work, but more on that soon.

That being said, I've been pretty absent from the blog. I haven't ignored everyone else though. I read your blogs, just don't comment. I know that's not nice and I do fell extremely guilty about it. But, after writing/editing all day, it's just become exhausting to do anything, other than read.

So even if it doesn't seem like I'm here, I am, and when all done, I'll need to throw one big party on my blog to celebrate and get back to the schedule.  Until then, dear blog, please bear with me. I will be back and tell you all about the wonderful schedule I'd had the past month *sarcasm*. Perhaps I won't - just came up with a great idea for next Monday's post and it's much better than talking about my schedule:)

Happy Victoria Day!

Are you as busy as I am? How do you prioritize?

First Loves Blogfest

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Love (n): 1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

  
Today is the First Loves Blogfest. Your First Movie, First Song, First Book, First Person.

First Loves, one blogfest.

First Movie:  Back to the Future - I can honestly say I fell in love with this movie in grade school because I remember watching it, and counting how many times I'd watched, and it was over 100 times. I dressed like Marty McFly school everyday. (jeans, white T, suspenders and a bluish buttoned up shirt (but the shirt had to be open).




 



First Song: Forever Young by Alphaville - It was the first song I felt connected to and listened to it on a loop. I love this song so much, my 7 yr old knows most of the words at this point.

First Book: The Hobbit - This book made me fall in love with fantasy. The world created by J.R.R. Tolkien amazed me. I was able to loose myself in Bilbo Baggins' Journey. I loved the creatures, the suspense and the fact that someone so simple overcame so much. It's "my precious".



First Love: For this I'm breaking the rules and have to say that some things just need to remain private. More than that, one of my favourite movie lines is appropriate "A woman's heart is deeper than  ocean". Can you name the movie? Hint: It's just been re-released in theaters a few weeks back.


Thank you to Alex J. Cavanaugh for hosting this blogfest:) For the linky link to see other posts click here.

What are your firsts? Can you name the movie for that quote?

A-Z Reflections Post

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Reflection (n): 3.a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration.

4.a thought occurring in consideration or meditation.

Before I go into the post, I need to answer a question that's been asked by some people lately. Yes, there will be a sequel to TWO HALVES. The novel is currently in its first stage of edits. 

Title: TWO EQUALS

Release date: TBA (most likely Fall, earlier if I'm lucky)

I'm very excited about this one. Some pretty powerful stuff happens and when I wrote the ending, I cried. It was perfect and everything from the novel fit the way it should have. Following, a novella titled BENT. Those are all the details I can share for now :)

Now, the reflections post: it's pretty long, but I didn't mean it to be. Just got a little emotional:)

It's been a week since the A-Z Challenge ended, and at the same time it's been a week of quiet time for me on both my blog, as well as me visiting others. Why? Well, I needed a break and needed to finish my writing. I have many thoughts on the challenge, first one of course: "I can't believe I made it!" 

 

With 14 scheduled posts, I'd have to say it helped a lot. Afterwards, I tried to stay 2-3 days ahead which worked well until I got to letter J and K. Man, I had no clue what to write for those posts. O was also difficult, until I came up with Oooo Yes! You can click if you're interested;)

My original plan to comment a lot on new blogs and meet a lot of new people didn't work out as planned. My April turned out busier with writing than I expected and I had to give that a priority.

 

I still commented and tried to meet new people, but heck, I have no clue how the hosts and co-hosts of the challenge did it. A BIG Thank You to the hosts and co-hosts! You guys were awesome! I'm still in awe of all of you. Your support, time and effort was clear online. You were everywhere. I mean it.

How could you make it better? I don't know. I do know blogging is reciprocal. The effort you put into others is the effort you'll receive, though sometimes even more. Making a genuine comment on someones blog feels good. You get to know them, and I like that. You guys did that!

I don't want to comment, just to comment. Sometimes, I'll read a post and simply don't know what to say or don't have time to comment. It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but I do appreciate reading the posts (yes, even the long ones)

 

Many other bloggers I know have also done a great job of commenting back and interacting with new people. Wow! I'm amazed. But, having gone through the challenge made me realize something very important.

1. Why I blog? I blog because I like it. It's a personal venue of opinion and things that matter, not necessarily always on writing. I will begin to use that in my future posts.

2. I am a writer first, a blogger second.

3. The blogging community is extremely supportive (though I already knew that).

 

The best part of the challenge was meeting new people, finding their interests and again, realizing how the internet connects us on all continents. I still cannot believe some of you live in Australia, Africa, India, Europe, UK (I could go on naming countries and continents, but I won't). 

 

To me, it feels you guys live right next door. If I needed a cup of sugar, I could scoot over and borrow some sugar, except you provide something much sweeter than sugar. Support, care, encouragement, laughter, hope, inspiration, friendship and adventure. 

And for that, I Thank You!

Insecure Writer's Support Group

It's that time of the month again. Each first Wednesday of the month, writers and authors post their Insecurities.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.
Click here for the linky list.

It's been a busy month. I've managed to pull through the A-Z Challenge, catch up on a LOT of my writing and make new connections.  In the background of blogging and writing, something else has been happening too, which led me on a small roller coaster.  I've been getting reviews on Goodreads. 

One day, I'm down, another day I'm up.

I cannot believe what a good word from a reader can do to a writer's soul. The good reviews are awesome and directly correlate to how much I can write in a day.  The not so good reviews, well, they're not so good. I'm told a 3 star review is still ok, and the comments are encouraging when the reader says they enjoyed the book, but still, it's a 3 star.

See, I come from a school of A's and A+. Getting used to the lower reviews and the fact that not everyone will enjoy my writing takes a while. How do I stop looking at the reviews? Perhaps when I have hundreds of reviews and the average stops changing so much it will help? I don't know.

So, that's my insecurity this month. Paying too much  attention to the reviews, taking them to heart.

If you're a writer, how do you handle your reviews? If you're a reader, how much attention do you pay to the reviews?

This is a blog hop. Click here for the linky list.

Happy Hopping!