Welcome To 2019!

Welcome to 2019! A blank page for all of us to write on, a year full of promise and possibilities! Where do we start? Do we continue on with our projects from 2018? Do we develop new projects? Do we set timelines? How do we handle this wonderful new beginning?

Whoa! Slow down! Take a deep breath! Let's take a side trip into the numerology of 2019. Numbers have energy, so what is the overall energy for all of us in 2019? It is that of the number 3 (2+0+1+9=12, 1+2=3). The number three represents the energy of creative self-expression, optimism, and connection. We can use our creativity to problem solve existing WIP, or to bring together a project that is still mostly in our minds. We can use our writing to express ourselves in any way that we see fit. I have two avenues that I write in at this time: spirituality/self-help, and mystery. 

The challenges that we face in a number three year are those of  dealing with our emotional selves, and the ups and downs that we all experience emotionally. We need to learn to acknowledge our emotions, so that they do not rule our lives. We are actually less vulnerable when we express our emotions. Expect to be dealing with self doubt ... learn to make friends with it. Learn to deal with scattered energy - as in too many projects started, not enough fnished. 

Now that we know what helps us and what challanges us in the coming year, how do we want to use this first month, the month of January, to best effect? I am going to start out by making no decisions. I am going to review 2018 - what I accomplished, what I did not accomplish, and why. I am going to look at what I want to finish off from 2018, and what projects I want to start. For me, I have two WIP's - one is a spiritual book that I am co-authoring, the other is my first mystery book. Having declared myself a cozy mystery writer, I realized that the mystry I am writing is turning out to not be a cozy mystery. It has some feet, so I decided to turn it into a three book series, and then to move on to cozy mysteries. 

Once I have come to peace with 2018, I am going to set a schedule for finishing both of my WIP's. I will also be signing up for a writing course given by Margaret Atwood, and looking into writer's organizations to join, Currently under consideration are Author's Guild, Mystery Writers Of America, Sister's In Crime, and the International Women's Writing Guild.

January is also a good time to look at our writing habits - such as making time to write, treating writing as a career, setting goals, taking those goals and putting them together into an achievable plan. What we set down in January is not written in stone - we accomplish more if we are willng to fine tune our work, and know when it is time to abandon a project.

Wishing you all a stellar 2019!

(c) January 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written authorization from the author.  

Christmas Eve

This year has gone by in such a flash! Here it is, already Christmas Eve. This has always been a very special night for my family, this is when presents are opened, and when we put out mik and cookies for Santa. Yes, we literally put out a glass of milk and a small plate of cookies for Santa!

Christmas Eve day I carry on a tradition of my own - I share the NORAD Santa Tracker link for those who have children, and for the child in all of us. I actually shared two links this year: the sadly necessary one assuring us that the NORAD Santa Tracker will be on duty in spite of our (partial) government shutdown,  and the yearly link to the NORAD Santa Tracker site, which is an interactive gem!

I am looking forward to tomorrow, and Christmas Day. I will be making a totally non-traditional Christmas dinner - spaghetti, garlic toast, cole slaw, and coconut cream pie for dessert. My boys, of course, will be getting their favorite canned kittie food! While I will be working, I am also taking the time to open presents via Zoom with my sister and mother. (I know - another non-traditional thing, opening presents on Christmas Day.)

Wishing each of you a very Merry Christmas. May you all experience the joy and peace that this season represents.

(c) December 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Your Author's Website - It Needs To Represent You!

As authors, what do we want to include on our website? It can get a bit messy, especially if we write in more than one genre. My own site is a good example of just how messy it can get. I write in the genre of Tarot and divination, in the self-help genre, I am developing books in the mystery/cozy mystery genre. I also have blogs for my reviews, and for music. I am going to probably leave my current site as is, and purchase another one for my mystery writing. That is the plan, anyway.

Now we get to decide what to put on our site. We need to realize that our sites are part of our brand as authors, and that a website is the best way to build the very necessary e-mail list (so that we can keep our name out there, and sell our books!). If we depend on social media sites to build our e-mail list, we leave ourselves open to the crash and burn scenario, as these sites can change how they do things in a New York minute! We have control over our own sites, and we can present ourselves as we best see fit.

The first step to building a website is choosing a host. I use Word Press, because it is very easy to use. I choose to use the paid for version, through Blue Host. This has worked well for me, because I am not a tech savvy person, and their tech services have saved me a lot of headaches!

My domain name is registered, so that no one else can claim it. Why would they, you ask, since I am using my own name? Believe it or not, there is another Bonnie Cehovet! She is in South America. By registering my domain, I am saving myself from any future complications.

Develop an About page that represents you as a writer. Only talk about the things that you want people to know - which for me would be my cats, my love of reading, and my love of writing. My favorite author sites are those where the author shares a bit of themselves, so this is what I modeled my site after.  It is also a good idea to put a good photo of yourself on your About page. I am a bit behind with this. My goal is to get a professional photo done - one that I can use on my site, my book covers, and other promotional material.

Make sure that the image on your header represents who you are. I chose an image that focuses on a desk, because that is where I spend most of my time.  

Include a sign-up form for your newsletter (yes, you should be doing a newsletter!). Your newsletter allows you to keep in touch with your readers, and to promote your work.

Organize things in your menu so that the flow is easy to follow. Yes, you can do a single page, but I personally detest that type of site. 

Include links to your social media sites, so that your readers can follow you. I have separate pages on FaceBook for my friends, and for my professional work. If you have a blog connected with your site, make sure that site visitors can find it easily. My blog is separate from my site - this is just how my work evolved.

Allow your site to evolve as you evolve as a writer!

(c) December 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.

  

"Finish The Story" Collaboration - Listing of Stories

What a wonderful time this has been, being part of the "Finish The Story" collaboration (brought together by Tanmay Jain - Tanmay_Jain@Bookinton). I have loved experimenting with other people's prompts, and loved reading their stories! I would like to share the links to all of our stories, so that you can see what can be done with words.

The stories are listed below, by author and prompt.

Tanmay Jain (Tanmay_Jain@Bookinton) 

Prompt: “One day you’re sitting with your head in your mother’s lap and in the next you’re sitting in a holding cell waiting for the trial of your her murder. What happened to me?”

Bonnie Cehovet - https://bonnielcehovet.blogspot.com/2018/11/finish-story-collaboration-tanmay-jains.html 

Nideesh Samant - https://thedarknetizen.wordpress.com/2018/11/10/fts-project-2-believe-me/ 

Sitharaam Jayakumar - http://www.jaispoetryblog.com/2018/11/i-committed-matricide.html 

Sitharaam Jayakumar

Prompt: “I woke up with a severe hangover. I made my way to the bathroom lazily. I glanced at the mirror wondering if I looked as terrible as I felt. I stood staring in horror at the grotesque skull grinning at me…”

Tanmay Jain - https://bookinton.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/modern-medicine-finish-the-story-3/ 

Suchita Agarwal - https://talesofsuchita.wordpress.com/2018/11/13/the-devil-got-me/ 

Bonnie Cehovet - https://bonnielcehovet.blogspot.com/2018/11/finish-story-collaboration-this-story.html 

Nidheesh Samant - https://thedarknetizen.wordpress.com/2018/11/14/fts-project-3-punished/ 

Suchita Agarwal

Prompt: “What would you see if you looked into the Mirror of Erised?”

Tanmay Jain - https://bookinton.wordpress.com/2018/11/03/that-weird-teacher-finish-the-story-1/ 

Bonnie Cehovet - https://bonnielcehovet.blogspot.com/2018/11/finish-story-collaboration-this-story_8.html 

Nidheesh Samant - https://thedarknetizen.wordpress.com/2018/11/04/fts-project-1-mirror-of-erised/ 

Sitharaam Jayakumar - http://www.jaispoetryblog.com/2018/11/what-would-you-see-if-you-looked-into.html 

Nidheesh Samant

Prompt: “The Emperor had summoned his Knights..and they had answered his summons. They knew that it was a matter of great importance. They waited patiently as their Emperor began to address them.”

Tanmay Jain - https://bookinton.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/a-knight-in-service-finish-the-story-2/ 

Suchita Agarwal - https://talesofsuchita.wordpress.com/2018/11/09/sir-nicklaus/ 

Sitharaam Jayakumar - http://www.jaispoetryblog.com/2018/11/the-world-war.html 

Bonnie Cehovet - https://bonnielcehovet.blogspot.com/2018/11/finish-story-collaboration-this-story_9.html 

Nidheesh Samant - https://thedarknetizen.wordpress.com/2018/11/14/fts-project-4-emperors-knights/

Asha Seth

Prompt: “As soon as Alicia stepped on to the second landing, the lights went out and a hand grapped her into the all-consuming darkness.”

Tanmay Jain - https://bookinton.wordpress.com/2018/11/10/the-enveloping-darkness-finish-the-story-4/ 

Bonnie Cehovet - https://bonnielcehovet.blogspot.com/2018/11/finish-story-collaboration-asha-seths.html 

Sitharaam Jayakumar - http://www.jaispoetryblog.com/2018/11/i-love-my-husband.html 

Shivangi Dua

Prompt: “Opening my eyes, I was in a world less familiar yet more beautiful and soothing than anything I had ever experienced…To breathe felt like living a new life!”

Tanmay Jain - https://bookinton.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/an-alien-world-finish-the-story-5/ 

Bonnie Cehovet - https://bonnielcehovet.blogspot.com/2018/11/finish-story-collaboration-using.html 

Sitharaam Jayakumar - http://www.jaispoetryblog.com/2018/11/the-halo-in-cave.html 

Suchita Agarwal - https://talesofsuchita.wordpress.com/2018/11/17/successful-trial/

Bonnie Cehovet

Prompt: “One never knew with Eleanor. Appearances could be deceiving – one moment she was very calm, the next … not so.”

Tanmay Jain - https://bookinton.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/the-bipolar-witness-finish-the-story-collaboration-6/

Suchita Agarwal - https://talesofsuchita.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/eleanor/ 

Sitharaam Jayakumar - http://www.jaispoetryblog.com/2018/11/eleanor.html 

Bonnie Cehovet - https://bonnielcehovet.blogspot.com/2018/11/finish-story-collaboration-bonnies.html 

© November 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.

Publisher's Insurance? Who Needs It, and Why.

When I saw the headline "Publishers Insurance", the first thing that I did was scan the article to see if this is something I needed to consider as an independent publisher. From what I could tell at a glance, this insurance was for people establishing their own publishing companies. While I publish independently (through Kindle and KDP), I have not established my own publishing company.

I was interested to see why, if I do establish my own publishing company, I might need this insurance. Things to think about are copyright infringement, defamation, invasion of privacy, and more. Policies that cover this are loosely termed "publisher policies". A little scary, isn't it! I mean, I write fiction, but I can still be sued. Changing a characters name or even sex doesn't really cover things if they are easily identifiable as a public figure (or even a well known private figure).

I don't even want to think about the cost - I haven't published that many books, and at this point it is questionable if paying for editing will even pay for itself. I am going to keep this in mind for future reference, as I do intend to continue writing books (albeit cozy mysteries), and publishing them.

However, if you make the decision to publish not only your own work, but that of others, I would seriously consider looking at these policies. The following is a small list of places that offer publishers policies:

Commercial Insurance 

Trusted Choice 

The Hartford 

Insureon 

Hiscox

The following articles address what to look for in publishing insurance policies:

Copy Law  

Authors Guild

(c) December 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.