A Month of Writing

August is always a quiet time of year for work for me. 

Everything slows down for the holidays and it's hard to get anyone to come to anything that isn't child friendly or involves a beach or a park!

Last August I wrote 30,000 words in a month. I wrote a blog about it and called it a 'Mini-Na-No'.

I wrote most of the first draft of Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight


 

I'll be doing the same again this August with my new project 'Finding The Scream' - but more than that, I'm designating August as my 'Month of Writing'.

Not only will I be bashing out a big chunk of the first draft of the next book, I'll also be writing more non-fiction and building up the library of content I keep promising myself I'll do.

When you're building a business it's easy to get sucked away from writing by so many other desctractions. 

In July I set myself a goal to do more networking but the price I paid for that was having less time to sit and write.

I'm often asked, 'How do you write a book?' and the best answer I can give to this question is 'one word after another' - just do it.

There are 2 things that need to happen if you want to write that book:


1) Build writing into your routine

Set aside time every day to write, even if it's just half an hour. The sooner you build up a regular writing habit, the better the words will flow over time.

The hardest part is making space in your diary and sticking to it. But once you get going, you'll soon find your rhythm.  


2) Bum in chair - write!

Whether you 'feel inspired' or not, just write; even if you have to 'free write' to clear your brain before you can access the good stuff - just write. Remember, no one has to see your embarrassing early attempts or minor self-indulgent rants.

The worst thing you ever write is better than the best thing you didn’t write! 

Undoubtedly, things will distract me and divert my attention in the next month, but for me, the most imporant thing I can do in August is:

Just write!

The Cream Tea Debate

The Great British Cream Tea, there’s nothing more wonderfully summery - with the possible exception of Pims and lemonade, strawberries and cream, Flake 99’s, crust-less cucumber sandwiches and gin and tonic (what a perfect shopping list for a summer garden party!)

For those of you unfamiliar with the tradition, here’s a lovely little article in the Guardian: 

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/jun/12/how-to-eat-cream-tea-scones-jam

Basically a ‘Cream Tea’ involves a scone, split, then liberally slathered in jam and cream, served with a plenty of tea.

In Devon, the tradition is cream first then jam, in Cornwall it’s jam first then cream. 

I grew up in Somerset and now live in Bristol, so I’m not biased about either county, to me, both Devon and Cornwall have always just meant ‘holidays’. 

As a kid, going through the Somerset border, past the sign saying ‘Welcome to Devon’, I always experienced a giddy sense of glee that I was ‘on holiday’ (I still do!).

So what’s the ‘right way’ to serve the cream tea - cream, first or jam first?

It’s an age old question, one that courts much controversy (almost as much as which way round the loo roll should face).

This is what I’m fuelling my writing with this afternoon:

Note the split test: One scone Devon style, one Cornwall style.

In my case the ingredients are:

• A fresh scone from the awesome Lidl bakery (it’s not possible to walk into Lidl’s and walk out without buying a freshly baked good, they’re placed tantalisingly by the entrance - a master stroke of product-placement-genius!) 
•  Cream 
•  Homemade jam with strawberries from my garden and honey instead of sugar so it has a pleasing zing to it!

I’m being very scientific about this - I have in the past been known to state my preference for the Devon method - so today, I put it to the test:

·    It may not look it, but there are equal amounts of cream and jam on both (a generous tablespoon of each per scone).

·    The first thing I noticed, the Devon method (cream first) ‘looks healthier’. This scores it extra points because of course, if we fool ourselves it’s healthier, there’s less guilt in the consumption! (This is why Carrot Cake is one of my five a day!)

·    Conversely, this makes the Cornish method look creamier and decadent

·    Also, I can confirm, it’s much easier to get the cream right to the edge of the scone with the Devon method and the jam is held nicely by the friction acting on it from the denser cream. I’m a nibbler so it’s important to me that the topping covers the whole scone evenly. If you’re a two bites and it’s gone type, this will be less important to you.

·    The Cornish method was also trickier to eat, with the cream wanting to slide off the jam. There was much rearranging with the knife and trying not to get gooey fingers as I ate it. 

Gooey fingers + keyboard = bad news

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·    It was also more of a challenge spreading the cream on the jam without mixing the two – personally, I like a clear distinction between the white and red, it’s just neater and that pleases me - no swirly pink bits of part jam part cream - the flavours should be kept distinctive.

·     I will concede, I used whipped double cream (thickly whipped, *mind) instead of clotted cream, so there is an argument that had I used the ‘right’ cream, it wouldn't slide off the jam.

(*adding ‘mind’ to the end of a sentence to punctuate a point is a peculiar Bristolian thing I appear to have picked up over the years!)

So, my verdict: 

Cornwall, you may have better beaches, surfers and sound more like pirates than your neighbours in Devon, but I’m afraid the Devonian’s win the Cream Tea debate for me.

However, I will add that both methods result in a lip-smackingly-good mid afternoon snack. 

Great fuel for writing!

18 Marketing Actions to Sell More Books

At the start of every month I set myself three goals to achieve. Every month the first goal on my list is: 

Sell more books

The vision for my business is to be able to live and work anywhere - that elusive location independence.

My long-term plan is to make enough passive income from selling fiction novels, non fiction books, business support services and other digital information products; but it takes time, even as a relatively prolific writer having published four novels in three years.

I'm trying to develop a habit of doing at least one marketing activity towards this goal every day.

I'm keeping a journal, and each day I make a note of the one action I've completed.

I'm sharing the activities completed in June, to inspire you with your own business, and also because sharing it means I'm accountable...

I started the journal part way through June and so far I have 18 activities on the list:

1. Published a short story blog HERE 
2. Left a mini manuscript at the Watershed
   
3. Left a manuscript in Long Long Ashton 
4. Left a manuscript in Boston Tea Party in Horfield
5. Went to a free writing club
6. Updated my Amazon sales tracking
7. Started writing a blogging book 
8. Updated my Amy C Fitzjohn Amazon Author Page 
9. Created an Amy Morse Amazon Author Page 
10. Shared my author pages on Facebook 
11. Started Amy's Book VIP Facebook Group
12. Updating the VIP group weekly
13. Scheduled Tweets regularly about my books etc.
14. Put a call out for guest bloggers (If you'd like to be my guest, Tweet me: @AmyMorse_Writer)
15. Wrote two guest blogs, 1 has been published: '5 Ways to Unravel Your Story'
16. Organised an interview with Radio Bristol - I'm on the Richard Lewis show on Wednesday 13th just after 12 noon - you don't have to be in the UK, you can listen online here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiobristol
17. I'm in talks with Radio Oxford about an interview - waiting for them to get back to me with a date

Number 18 is the most exciting one...

I'm working with a film maker to create a book trailer for The Sheridan and Blake Adventure Series!

We've met a couple of times and Ros (who is trying to break into freelance film making, and I'm always keen to support a start up) has got some great ideas. So far, Ros is working up a story board and reading the books and I've put a call out for an actor to play Tom Sheridan and have a few guys lined up, and I've already got a friend of mine to play the part of Sasha Blake!

We're all excited about the project, I'll keep you posted on our progress! 

What marketing activities worked for you last month?