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Happy Friday, Writers! Welcome to another Free Topic Friday!

Today we are reviewing some of the publishing options for writers who are interested in self-publishing their work instead of going the traditional route.

Createspace

started in 2007, Amazon’s self-publishing arm lets users publish e-books for Kindle, as well as paperbacks. The books are sold on Createspace.om or Amazon.com. The site also offers an expanded distribution option, but there is a fee. Using Createspace to create your book is free and there is no cost for the Kindle version. Createspace takes a portion of each paperback, which of course covers the cost of actually producing the book.

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LuLu.com

was founded in 2002. This website offers e-books and printed books. The company takes twenty percent commissions on books and the author receives the rest. Lulu offers e-book distribution to iBookstore, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Bookstore, the Lulu Marketplace, and Amazon. The printed paperback books are distributed through Amazon and the LuLu marketplace. Printed books are available in multiple formats and sizes including paperback, coil bound, and hardcovers. Books can be printed, in black-and-white or full-color. Lulu.com also prints and publishes calendars and photobooks.

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Nook Press

is Barnes and Noble’s publishing company. NOOK Press��is an online, self-publishing portal where independent publishers and authors can publish their eBooks directly to the NOOK Bookstores. NOOK Press now also provides the option for indie authors to publish hard copies as well as ebooks. NOOK Press allows users to create new Projects, edit/format existing manuscripts, collaborate with their colleagues and monitor their sales. eBooks sold through the NOOK Bookstores are available for sale on , , NOOK devices, and NOOK eReading software for Android, iPad, iPhone, Windows 8, Mac and PC.

Kindle Direct Publishing / Amazon

is ‘s e-book publishing unit launched in November 2007 to be used by authors and publishers to independently publish their books directly to Kindle and Kindle Apps worldwide. In 2016, Amazon also added a paperback option which uses technology. Amazon has the KDP Select publishing option that requires 100 percent exclusivity, meaning e-books published under this option cannot be sold anywhere else. While under KDP Select, an author can offer their books free for five days or discount it for up to seven days through a countdown deal, while still earning 70% royalties. The author can opt out from KDP select ninety days after enrollment. If the author does not opt out, it will auto-renew the book for another ninety days. eBooks that are permanently priced below $2.99 only get 35% royalties. All KDP Select books are included in , which is a monthly subscription that allows unlimited reading of e-books. With Kindle Unlimited, authors receive compensation based upon the number of pages Kindle Unlimited users have read.

Wattpad

provides writers with an opportunity to write and promote their books while reaching a wide and varied audience of more than one million users. Wattpad readers actively engage in the entire process. Directly interacting with the writers and sharing their opinions with fellow readers. Wattpad has formed ties with publishing houses to try to help Wattpad authors receive compensation for their works. A new branch, Wattpad Studios, was developed to connect popular writers to both the publishing and film industries. The Wattpad website serves as a springboard into the more traditional publishing industry.

Smashwords

is an e-book-distribution platform founded for independent authors and publishers. The company began public operation in 2008. Authors and independent publishers upload their manuscripts as electronic files to the Smashwords service, which converts them into multiple e-book formats for reading on various devices. Once published, the books are made available for sale online at a price set by the author or indie publisher. Smashwords does not use .

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We hope that this information will be helpful to you when it comes time for you to make a decision on where to publish your books.

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Write On, Writers!

Write About It Wednesdays are all about giving you something to write about! This is the third installment of our Write About It Wednesdays meaning we have already given you six prompts to write about, and hopefully you have found them helpful and inspiring so far.

�մǻ岹��’s Write About It Topic is: RESOLUTIONS

Write about your New Year’s Resolutions.
Write about the inside of a gym on New Year’s Day.
Write about a Resolution that you didn’t keep.
Write about your thoughts on Resolutions. Do you make them? Do you believe in them?

Have you found Write About It Wednesdays helpful? Tell us in the comments!

We will see you on Friday for Free Topic Friday!

Write On, Writers!

Happy New Year, Writers!

�մǻ岹��’s Motivation Monday obviously falls on New Year’s Day, so The New Year is what we are focusing on today.

The New Year is all about letting go of the past and starting over fresh. Making new goals and creating a new and improved you.

In our case, we are letting go of whatever went wrong in our writing careers in 2017. Whether it was writer’s block, rejection letters, NaNoWriMo failure, messy manuscripts, or poor book sales. In 2018 we are starting with a clean slate and a new chance to make our writing career all that we want it to be.

Whatever a successful writing career will mean to you this year, that is what we want you to focus on. Set goals for yourself. An over all year goal with monthly, weekly, and daily goals that will help you meet that year end goal. Goals are the big key to success. Write them out and keep track of those goals every day. This will keep you focused and on track for success.

Your first goal for today is to let go of whatever negativity you are holding on to from last year. Delete your rejection emails or burn those rejection letters. Forget about the negative reviews. Move on to a new work-in-progress if the one you were working on last year is just filling you with dread and leaves you feeling uninspired.

Start fresh this year. Work on what you are passionate about and inspired by.

And your next goal: is to set your goals. Do it now! Prepare yourself for a successful year.

We wish you a successful and happy 2018. Stay motivated! What is your year end goal? Tell us about it in the comments!

See you Wednesday for Write About It Wednesday! Make sure to add WAIW to your Wednesday goals!

Write On, Writers!

Free Topic Friday is just that �� a day that we are free to discuss any writing topic. From How-Tos, to writing advice, publishing, journaling, blogging, anything! This will be a weekly blogpost just like our Motivation Mondays and Write About It Wednesdays.

Our first topic for Free Topic Friday is: Flash Fiction.

Unless you are a writer who has dabbled in Flash Fiction yourself or you have stumbled upon Flash Fiction blogs or in literary magazines it is likely that you are unaware of this�� “sub-genre�� of short stories. When I was in school and college I was only aware of “Short Stories,�� “Novels,�� or “Poems.�� Flash Fiction was not something that we were taught. I only learned about Flash Fiction from some of my friends in a writing group who were blogging Flash Fiction.

So, What is Flash Fiction?

Have you ever had a fleeting moment of inspiration? A brief story that you see in your head �� a quick scene that fills you with inspiration, but you can’t see how it would fit into one of your works-in-progress or how it could be made into a full length short story or novel? Don’t blow it off just because you can’t see it being a longer story. This is inspiration for Flash Fiction.

Flash Fiction takes a snapshot of a longer story �� a simple moment in time. Flash Fiction, as the name implies, is short. Short, short, short. It’s sometimes called short-short stories for that reason. It is an extremely brief story that still provides both character and plot development. A piece of Flash Fiction is created in approximately 1,000 words or less. But one of the most interesting aspects of Flash Fiction is its ability to both provide a complete story while hinting at a much larger story. Flash Fiction can then be broken down into varieties that are mainly defined by their word count.

Various types of Flash Fiction include:

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the 140-character story or “��

the “dribble�� (50 words)

the “�� or 100 word “microfiction��

“sudden fiction�� (750 words)

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So why is Flash Fiction something that you should be aware of as a writer? And why should you be writing it?
Flash Fiction Provides A Challenge.

To write Flash Fiction you must be concise. Have you ever tried to write a story in under 1,000 words? It is hard! Creating a well-defined plot and cast of characters for a full story with a beginning that’s catchy enough to entice your readers and a satisfying end seems nearly impossible with so few words. But it’s not. It just requires practice, just like every other art or talent.

Even if Flash Fiction isn’t what you are passionate about writing, writing it helps you get into the habit of being brief in the best way possible. Knowing how to be disciplined with your words and say more with less is an essential skill for every writer.

Many times, when writing novels, writers will have to cut back their stories because the word count is too long and the prose too flowery. Writing Flash Fiction will challenge you to tell a full, interesting story without flowery prose, unnecessary characters, and everything else that novel writers are used to including in their work. Every word in a Flash Fiction piece must count; writing it teaches you how to write tight and clear.

Challenge yourself by writing Flash Fiction.

Flash Fiction Is A Quick Write.

It is incredibly satisfying to rise from your desk or workspace knowing you’ve written something from beginning to end in one sitting. Compared to the exhausting nature of writing a novel which can take years to complete.

That’s one of the best things about flash fiction, it is so quick to write! It can easily be done in a��day, even for the slowest of writers. Because it is so quick to write, flash fiction can help you maintain your daily writing habit even when life gets in the way and your writing time is too short to really delve into something long and intricate.

And, because these stories are so short that they can be written fast, you can quickly build up a large portfolio of Flash Fiction to submit to journals and magazines or post on your blog. Which leads to the next point.

Flash Fiction Is Very “Submittable��.

If you get into the habit of writing Flash Fiction regularly, you will quickly create a large collection of stories. What can you do with all of these stories once you’ve finished writing them? After some editing, you’ll find that there are tons of ways to share��your work. Google some writing contests, post them to your blog, self-publish an anthology of your best Flash Fiction pieces, or find magazines/journals willing to publish them.

Flash Fiction Is Great Practice.

Even if you choose not to share your stories, it’s always good to have a collection of your work available for you to look back on. When we first started out as writers, (how ever long ago that might have been) we wrote stories that we look back on and cringe. But, those stories were important. We needed to write them. If those stories hadn’t been written, we would never have improved. We would never have gained experience. Every piece that we write is practice that helps us to improve for the next thing that we write. The more that we write, the more that we improve, which is why writing Flash Fiction is both a useful and productive exercise for writers.

But it’s not just the action of writing. We can pull a Jack Torrance from The Shining and write “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,�� a thousand times a day, but it won’t improve our writing.

You need to focus on different aspects of writing and the writing process that create the stories that you are trying to tell. Writing Flash Fiction gives you the chance to focus your attention and polish the devices of a story that we tend to overlook. When writing Flash Fiction, you only extract one moment and make it come to life. This can be a great building practice for your longer works.

Another upside to writing Flash Fiction is that it offers you many opportunities to develop various aspects of your writing style. You can practice the elements of surprise and suspense within your story. Or you can try out humor or romance if they are not something that you usually include in your longer pieces. Work on different themes and motifs that you aren’t as comfortable with.

Because Flash Fiction pieces are written so quickly, they also provide you with the opportunity to practice your editing, polishing, and revision skills. You can polish a Flash Fiction piece more easily than a longer one, and learn some things about revision in the process.

Flash Fiction Will Build Your Audience

If you choose to write Flash Fiction and post the stories on your blog, you will gain followers and build an audience.

Having an audience is an important thing for writers, for obvious reasons. Whether you are a seasoned and published author or a writer just starting out, you want to gain more followers who become members of your audience and readers of the work that you publish.

Gaining an audience with your Flash Fiction works really well for writers who are just starting out, because if you can gain a loyal audience and following on your Flash Fiction blog, they will undoubtedly become people who will be interested in the work that you eventually publish.

An audience on blogs and social media is one of the things that publishers and agents look for when they are considering that market value of new writers.

Flash Fiction Will Build Your Confidence

If you’re a writer who is just starting out it can be intimidating to share your work with others, especially work that is near and dear to your heart.

Flash Fiction is less likely to be as important to you as the novel that you have been writing and polishing for half of your life.

Write Flash Fiction and share it with others to build your confidence and dip your toe in the water when it comes to sharing your work with strangers.

Sharing Flash Fiction will help you get over the fear of having people read your work and receiving feedback.

Do you write Flash Fiction?

Tell us about your experience with Flash Fiction in the comments.

We will see you on Monday for Motivation Monday!

Write On, Writers!

Thank you for joining us for our second, ��Write About It Wednesday.�� We hope that you found last week’s prompts inspiring and helpful to your writing process.

This week the Write About It Wednesday theme is New Year’s Eve.

WRITING PROMPTS:

Write about a serial killer who only kills on New Year’s Eve.
Write about a New Year’s Eve Kiss fail.
Write about a New Year’s Eve night from the perspective of a clock.

Write on, Writers!

We will see you next year for Write About It Wednesday!

This is the first post in a new series called, ��Write About It Wednesday.�� Every Wednesday we will be posting three writing prompts to encourage you to “Write About It.�� Each week the prompts will have a theme and will vary in genre. We hope that these posts will encourage and inspire you to write, to cultivate your creativity, and to always have a stash of ideas you can pull from when you feel blocked.

This week the Write About It Wednesday theme is Holidays.

WRITING PROMPTS:

Write about what Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yule means to you.
Write about your favorite holiday tradition.
Write about a child who gives away all their Christmas presents.

Write on, Writers!

We will see you next Write About It Wednesday!

Today is the first Monday of our new blog series: Motivation Monday.

As writers we are passionate about our work, but even with that passion we can find it hard to stay motivated. That’s where our Motivation Mondays come in. Our blog posts will be here to keep you motivated and remind you of why it is you do what you do and write what you write. To keep you inspired.[image error]

�մǻ岹��’s motivational topic is: “Everyone has to start somewhere.��

Even Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Dr. Seuss, John Grisham, George RR Martin, and Mark Twain were all beginners once. Struggling writers doubting themselves as they stared at the blank page. You have to start in order to succeed. You can’t get published without a finished manuscript. And you can’t finish a manuscript without writing those first words and sentences.[image error]

Just as athletes, actors, singers, and musicians must repeatedly work and practice to improve and maintain their skills, so must a writer to continue to write to improve and become successful. Every word, sentence, paragraph and chapter that you write, you are gaining experience. You are working to become a master of your craft.

So, this week let your motivation be the desire to improve your skills. Know that even the most famous writers started as a beginner, but they worked to become masters. They wrote, edited, and revised until they honed their skills. Be like the writing masters who came before you. Work hard. Write hard. Hone your skills. Don’t be afraid to be a beginner. Write those first words. You have to start somewhere and sometime, so start today. Start here and now.

Write on, Writers!

IT’S A WRITER’S LIFE FOR ME has expanded from just a blog to a website designed for writers. A hub of information on the writing process and self-publishing. We have big plans in store for our business and website. Big plans to provide you with information, services, and merchandise to enhance your writing career and life.

Our first expansion just launched with the start of our new IT’S A WRITER’S LIFE FOR ME merchandise shop. In our shop you can find shirts, accessories, and household items to represent your writer’s life. Let the world know that the writer’s life is the only life for you. Be reminded of the dream you are chasing every time you see your IT’S A WRITER’S LIFE FOR ME merchandise.

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Shop the merchandise

Our next expansion will be coming in the next few weeks. Our printable worksheets expansion. You will be able to download worksheets to help with the worldbuilding, outlining, plotting, and character development aspects of the writing process.

We are also working to develop writing and self-publishing-how-to books, writing and self-publishing courses and webinars.

Be sure you stay up-to-date with expansions, products, and services by subscribing to the blog.

What other services or products would you like to see from IT’S A WRITER’S LIFE FOR ME? Tell us in the comments.

Write on, Writers!

XoXo

Michelle C. Hillstrom

No writing is wasted. There is purpose for every word you write. Whether you publish your work, whether your work is just for you. Whether it’s journaling, blogging, or poetry. There is a purpose behind all of it. Creativity. Expression. Practice. Growth. Passion.

Authors who publish their work often must “kill their darlings,�� or cut portions of their writing during the editing process.�� Writers have to get rid of their most precious and self-indulgent passages for the greater good of the literary work. But the writing that is cut from your work is not wasted. First of all, you can always create a document of cut passages to be saved and recycled at a later date. You had to cut the passage from your [image error]current work, but maybe you can use it again in another piece.

But, even if you just delete the writing. It still had a purpose.

Practice and Growth

Every word you write is practice. Every word you write is growth. Writing, just like anything else you do, gets better over time. You learn what works and what doesn’t. You develop your voice. You improve your style and your vocabulary. Your techniques, character development, world building, descriptions, and dialogue all improve with time and practice. There is no such thing as too much experience when it comes to writing.

Creativity and Expression

Writing is a creative outlet, whether you do it for yourself or an audience. It is important to have a creative outlet in life. ��A way to express yourself. The benefits of expressing yourself through a creative outlet like writing are:

It provides a break from anxiety and stress. A creative outlet like writing can help you escape the stresses of your day-to-day life. It can distract you from whatever you are currently stressing about, like the fight you had with your mother or about your annoying co-worker. Instead all your focus is on your work-in-progress.
It provides a healthy outlet. Through writing, you can often express thoughts and feelings that you are unable to verbally express. In your writing you can talk about experiences, thoughts, feelings, emotions, hopes, and dreams that you are unable to express in other ways or to other people. It can help you to understand the things that you are feeling or the things that you experienced. It can help you to accept them and come to terms with them. This is especially true for people who have experienced a trauma, a tragedy, a loss, or other unusually stressful events.
Writing is usually a singular activity, but it can also provide you with a way to meet new people. Get out from behind your computer. Go out into the world and make new friends. There are many opportunities to join classes and workshops where you can improve your writing and meet new people. You can also join writing groups both online and in your local area. It is a wonderful experience to be surrounded by people who are passionate about the same thing as you. Writers love to talk with fellow writers about the writing process, about their current project, and they love to bounce new ideas off of each other and help one another flesh out a new plot.[image error]
Writing is a creative outlet that allows you time to yourself. As I said above, writing is usually something that you do alone. If you’re like me, you crave alone time. A time of peace and quiet where you are alone with your thoughts. Writing can give you that. A time when you sit alone in your office or preferred writing space. Just you and your computer, or typewriter, or notepad. It can be a very peaceful experience, unless your Muse or characters are giving you a hard time, or you have writer’s block. But, writer’s block is a topic for another blogpost another time.
Provides a Healthier Body and Mind. Doing something creative that you enjoy can lower your blood pressure, lower the stress hormone: Cortisol, and lower your body mass index. It can also reduce your negative thoughts and improve depression, which is why so many psychologists and therapists recommend their patients take up a creative hobby.

Passion

[image error]Writing is something that you are either passionate about or you are not. No matter what kind of writing you do: blogging, journaling, poetry, fiction�� Whatever your poison, writing is an act of passion. And passion is never wasted. If you love what you are doing it is reflected in your words. If you are journaling you are writing your memories, your ideas, your emotions. And those are words that you will cherish forever. If you are blogging, your words are filled with the passion of helping and informing others. If you write poetry�� well is there any form of communication that is as passionate as poetry? And fiction writers are passionate about storytelling. They are passionate about their characters and the journey that they send their characters on. They love to write for the purpose of entertaining or the purpose of maybe changing the world with their stories.

No writing can ever be wasted when it is written with passion. No writing can ever be[image error] wasted when it is a creative outlet that allows you to express yourself. No writing is ever wasted when it can help improve your health –�� both mind and body. No writing is ever wasted when you can use all the experience and practice to grow as a writer.

Write on, writers!

XoXo,

Michelle C. Hillstrom �� Author

[image error]National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo 2017 officially kicked off today. With a goal of writing 50,000 words in 30 days NaNoWriMos take on a huge task. If you have hopped on this crazy writing train or are thinking of joining the movement, here are 11 tips to help you succeed.

Tip #1 Start Writing[image error]

The Idea of writing 50,000 words in 30 days can be very intimidating, but as thousands of��people have proved, it is totally possible to do. But, you can’t do it �� you can’t be a NaNoWriMo winner if you don’t start writing. So, get writing! Schedule Your Writing

Tip #2 Schedule Your Writing

Make your writing a scheduled appointment that you must keep every day. Designate your writing time �� whether it is before work, after work, before school after school, after the kids have gone to bed. Carve out your writing time and stick to it!

[image error]Tip #3 Write Every Chance You Get

Don’t just write during your scheduled writing time. Write all the time. Every single chance you have. Write while on the train during your commute. Write during your lunch break. Write between classes. Write while sitting in the doctor’s office waiting room. Just WRITE during your down time. Get the words out and on the paper/screen.

Tip # 4 Keep Writing

It’s easy to get burned out when you have pressure on you. When you have this challenge over your head to write so much so fast. But don’t give up! Just keep writing. Keep at it. Don’t give up halfway through. You can do it.

[image error]Tip #5 Remember this is a First Draft

The words don’t have to be perfect. The flow doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s okay if there are plot holes. It’s okay if the description isn’t just right or your character’s name is just “Character B��. NaNoWriMo is about getting the first draft written. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Which also leads to the next tip.

Tip #6 Don’t Edit!

Don’t get caught up trying to edit and make your NaNoWriMo project perfect. Editing is for next month. November is for writing �� no matter how imperfect the writing may be. It’s okay for it to be messy. To not make perfect sense. It’s okay if the sentence is incomplete or if the grammar is poor. That can be fixed later.

Tip # 7 Try Word Wars or Sprints

Have Word Wars or Writing Sprints with your writer friends. The challenge and competition can help you focus and get lots of words out in a short span of time. Challenge each other to write as many words as possible in a certain small period of time. (5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15, 20, 30). Facebook Writing groups are the perfect place to hold these. Schedule the Word Wars ahead of time and then post when the Word Wars begin�� have people comment on the post the number of words that they were able to get during each sprint.

Tip # 8 Follow the Muse Wherever She May Go

Don’t Worry if Your Characters or Plot Take You in an Unexpected Direction. Sometimes characters and books have a mind of their own. Things happen that you weren’t expecting. Don’t fight it if this happens. Just let the Muse guide you and see where it goes. What comes naturally is usually the best writing.

[image error]Tip #9 Your Word Count Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect Every Day

It’s okay if some days you don’t hit the magic number of 1,667. Don’t freak out if you fall behind or just can’t hit that number a few days. You will make up those words on “Catch Up Days.�� On the weekend when you have more time or on special days when the Muse is alive, and the words are flowing like a stream.

Tip #10 Attend Write-Ins

Attending write-ins will get you out of the house, but allow you to still focus on your goal. There is something magic about being in a room with other writers. The creative magic fills the air. Going to write-ins helps you build invaluable friendships and connections. Other writers can be a major source of knowledge, inspiration, and support. Don’t miss out on the benefits of these events.

Tip #11 Reward Yourself!

Reward yourself when you hit benchmark word goals. NaNoWriMo is arduous work and you deserve to celebrate! Have a big reward you can work towards when you hit your 50k and smaller rewards throughout the month when you hit 5,000. 10,000. 25,000 and so on�� Or however you deem fit to be the best motivation and celebration for yourself.[image error]

Good luck this month! Keep Writing! Don’t give up! You can do this! WRITE ALL THE WORDS AND DON’T EDIT!

Write on, Writers!

XoXo

Michelle C. Hillstrom �� Author

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