Setting a Foundation For the Coming Year

I am very pleased to be able to say that the book that I am working on for decision making has grown new legs! I have been working on it n and off for almost a year now - life interfered, momentum was lost - but yesterday I had one of those little "Aha!" experiences that grounded and centered my focus, brought back the joy in the project, and gives me hope that the project will finalize in the positive form that I originally saw it in.

Aside from writing books and articles, I also write reviews. That generally ends up being feast or famine - i just finished two reviews, and have one more to do this weekend. I also have what I think will be an amazing book winging its way to me. That, and an article for an upcoming print magazine, are on my plate.

I would like to share a couple of links that I have come across that I feel will be of help to writer's. Dana Lynn Smith has a wonderful site on marketing books - Savvy Book Marketing. Sharethis.com   is a wonderful site that offers links for sharing content on social media sites. AddThis.com has some wonderful web site add ons. Last, but not least, is a very interesting article by Jorge Olson on having a low tolerance for BS, This is important in networking, but to me it also applies to content.

(c) 2015 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written consent from the author.

What Determines When You Let Go Of A Writing Project?

At the beginning of 2014, one of my defined projects was to write a book on decision making. The chapter outline was defined ... yes, the chapter outline was defined. Self imposed deadlines passed, and not much writing was done. I was not enthused about this project, but I did not want to let it go. The introduction and the first two chapters are finished, which gives me hope that I can finish it by the end of the year. I did make the ultimate decision to add a chapter that some people may feel does not belong there. I am going to show how the Tarot can be used in the decision making process.

How do we know when to leave a project - not just step away for a short time, but let the project go completely? I thought about that with my book on decision making. I knew that I had some things to say, and I felt they would be of benefit to others,  The deal was that I had no sense of joy about writing this book. I could get as far as chapter outlines, which showed me that I was not imagining that I had something to say. I even perked up a bit when writing the first chapter. I also knew that I would not be happy letting the project go, and that just setting it aside for a short time wasn't working.

Part of the issue was the other issues in my life. Some things were going well, some things were not. Life was collapsing in on me at times. I was struggling to find the flow in life. Sound familiar? I finally realized that I was fighting my shadows, and those shadows were appearing in many forms. Resolving our shadows is better than fighting them, so this is what I set out to do. Resolve some things. Make peace with other things. Major change. And this book is part of that process.

My work was still viable in the market place. We all make decisions every day, and getting a fresh look at how to do that is  valuable marketing tool. One of the reasons that we might let go of a project is that there is no market for it. That did not apply to me.

It also fits into where my personal life path, and my career life path, are headed. If your project does not fit into your life path, that is another red flag to just let it go. Even if it is running away in the market place, it is not worth your time to work on thing that do not fit in with your life. Another thing that writer's need to look at here is genre. Are you tired of staying within the confines of a single genre? Would it be better to spread your wings? My aim is to make cozy mysteries my primary genre, but I no doubt will, from time to time, write about Tarot, personal empowerment, and other self-help topics. It all fits in with who I am.

Take a very careful look at any project that you are bogged down in, or are considering releasing. Look at why it is not working, whether it can be fixed, and what shadows within you it is releasing. We find out a lot about ourselves when we ask the why of something, and when we ask ourselves how we really feel about it. We are the ones that have to answer to the individual in the mirror every morning!

(c) 2000 - 2014 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written consent of the author. 

Summer Solstice

 

Sitting here listening to Rose Royce, and deeply lost in "Memba when " time. What a year this has been. My major accomplishments seem to have been in saying no (with a few exceptions). I am getting better at that no word! I never thought that it would be so hard to move from one world into another. (For me, that is leaving the public world of Tarot reading, and moving into the world of (for the most part) fiction writing.) And moving even further into the Hermit world. I seem to do better in that world.

Two projects that I am focusing on will be done by the end of the year - redoing my book on surviving the holidays, and writing a book on the decision making process. My mystery novel will have to wait until next year. Not putting it off ... this is just the reality of the situation. I am still working a "pay the rent" job, and have other responsibilities. I am also starting to put together the holiday promotions for the three books that I have written, as well as the book that I co-wrote.

I am looking closer into Google + and Linked In as marketing avenues for my books. I know more about what I do not want to do (guest blogging, or blog hops) than what I want to do. Fine tuning my blogs for SEO, and getting my act together to start doing videos for my blogs, and for You Tube.

From Google +, Linked In, and Facebook, I have gathered some incredible resource material. From Social Examiner, we have "7 Ways To Increase Your Blog's Social Media Shares". From Tim Brown, we have "The One Thing You Need To Generate Great Ideas". From Cate Baum at Self Publishing Review, we have "Eight Most Common Editing Errors In Self-Published Books". From Kristen Lamb we have "Five Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors".

I was shocked this past week to read a post on Google + from a lady that does financial blogs focused on women and business. She will no longer be doing these blogs. Her focus is going to be on other areas of her life. However, she is graciously leaving them up on her site for reference. When I got over being socked, I realized that she was in the same space in her life that I am in mine. Both of us can and will make the transitions that we need to make to create the present and future that we are envisioning.

This is what I am taking into my Summer Solstice. What are you taking into yours?

(c) 2014 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without the written consent of the author.