Don't Give Up the Day Job

by Anna Jones Buttimore
www.annajonesbuttimore.com

Every September for the last couple of decades or so, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs has sent me a tax return. The income from my day job is taxed at source under the Pay As You Earn system, so the tax return is simply for me to declare any additional earnings. Read: book royalties.

Last year I filled in and sent off my tax return, and got an official envelope from HMRC a couple of weeks later. A cheque. £33. A refund, no less. I'd paid too much tax on my day job because they'd been taking royalties into account and I hadn't in fact earned enough in royalties to offset what I'd paid in tax.

A day or two later I got a letter saying that HMRC were no longer going to require me to fill in tax returns. It said, "We know you're never going to make enough money from writing to make it worth our while to chase you for tax." Well, it didn't, but that was the gist.

"I'll have you know my next novel is going to be a massive bestseller!" I protested. Actually I didn't, I just felt quite pleased I didn't have to bother with doing tax returns each year any more.

But I might have felt a little sad that the Inland Revenue had no faith in my writing ability.

Having said that, does anyone (apart from JK Rowling) make good tax-liable money from writing? Is it, in fact, possible to make enough to live on just from writing books? Probably not, it seems. The Society of Authors estimates that the average professional (full-time, agented and traditionally published) author makes around £12,330 ($20,000) per annum. Half of all self-published authors make less than £300 ($450) per book, and among the other half the average is just £6,375 ($10,000). That's well below the income tax threshold of £8,105 ($13,000). 

We write for love, not for money. Meanwhile I'm keeping the day job, and rejoicing in my little tax-free sideline writing novels.

Some Motivation For You

If you are a NaNo writer this year, I hope you are deep in the trenches of NaNoWriMo, slogging through your 1,667 words per day and loving it (I have no idea if I am or not, because I am writing this way ahead of time, getting all my other obligations out of the way so I can NaNo properly... we'll see how it works out). 


If you are not a NaNo writer, I am so very sorry that we keep bombarding you with NaNo-related posts (actually - I have no idea if we are doing this or not, because I'm writing this way ahead of time, blah, blah, blah). 

But wherever you are in the writing process, whether you are NaNoing or not, I'm sure you could do with a little motivation, yes? Here goes: 

And lastly:

PS - You can pin all these images on pinterest :) 

SEEK, ASK & KNOCK!

       Our lesson both in Sunday school and Relief Society seemed to send us the same message today.  It always amazes me when this happens, because I know that this means that it is an important one.  It's just like when you are searching for an answer and there seems to be the same message coming from different sources, or in different ways.  For me, this usually means that I am not really listening, or that I don't want to hear the answer Heavenly Father is trying to give me... that's the stubborn genes that my parents argue over which side it comes from.

        A very interesting thing happened when I contemplated what to write about today.  I was so at a loss as to where to start.  I found all kinds of doubts start to enter my head, as I'm sure everyone has experienced at some point.  So many thoughts ran through my head, but nothing felt right.  I almost gave up!  (pathetic I know!)  But then I went to read my scriptures for the evening, and there was my answer!

D&C 88:63
"Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

          I cannot even begin to express what this scripture meant to me, and not just because I knew what I was to write.  I feel that this message is something that we all need to remember.  Whether you are ambitious and talented like beautiful Kasey, and so many of our MMWs are, in writing a book, or just like me hoping to survive her daily single-mommy-hood and maybe inspire someone along the way.  It is important that we remember to SEEK, ASK & KNOCK.  He's waiting for us to draw near unto him so that he can draw near to us.  I'll tell you that one of the greatest ways to do this is how I was reminded, and that is through searching the scriptures.  It amazes me so, to see that when we do, the Heavens open up, minds are enlightened and prayers are answered!  Here are just a few thoughts from today that I wanted to share with you;

1. Remember that prayers are not answered every time or in the way that we think.  Sometimes our prayer being answered is an unanswered one.  The majority of the time we are going to our Heavenly Father because we don't know what is best for us, and need his direction.  This means that we need to accept the answer he 'gives'.

2. Prayers are not answered the same way for every person.  We are all so very different, and therefore cannot expect our answers from God to come the same way either.  In fact, The Lord needs us to be different in this way so that we can bring to pass his purposes and serve ALL of his children.

3. When we seek for answers to prayers, we cannot allow our emotions to rule us.  Emotions have its place, as it is often the reason we are brought to our knees.  But if we allow it to consume us it can not only cloud our minds as we ask our questions, but it can prevent us from receiving the true answer we need.  We must deal with the emotions best we can, and do our best to approach this process as logical as we can.  It does not mean devoid of emotion, but being in control of them.

           There are so many other aspects and ideas on this one, and this subject is so much greater that my few thoughts.  But I hope that it got you thinking, and I'd love to hear any you have to add!

Remember-----> SEEK, ASK & KNOCK!  <3   Have a fabulous week!

Four Walls and a Roof

Written by: Ashley & Jessica

 

Between the two of us we have moved 17 times in the past ten or so years. And now, one is moving again and the other is facing a potential move.

Sometimes moving can be difficult. We leave behind a house and friends, perhaps a place that we loved and enjoyed. Sometimes we may have to leave our "dream home." It can be hard. We have both had instances of difficulty leaving behind friends and family to go to a place we know almost nothing about. 

As these thoughts and ideas have passed between the two of us other questions surfaced: When we move and leave behind a house, are we really leaving behind a home?  Is a home something that can be left behind?  Or is it something we take with us, wherever we may move to?

What makes a house a home?  Is it the floor plan? The decorations or the furniture? These things can help, but are they the heart of our homes? We have been given much guidance over the years to help us make our homes. There are some physical things we keep in our houses that can add to our home.  We could keep our scriptures where they are not only seen but are easily accessed.  We can hang pictures of our family, the prophet, or other images of spiritual worth. We have been counseled to keep a picture of the temple in our homes.  President Spencer W. Kimball said, "It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so their children from the time they are infants could look at the picture every day until it becomes a part of their lives. When they reach the age that they need to make the very important decision concerning going to the temple, it will have already been made.”

  But what if all those physical things were lost?  Would our homes be lost as well?  In our case, the things that have made our houses into homes, wherever they've been, however small or large, have been the spiritual things we fill them with. It is the family prayer, the kind words and acts of selflessness and service.  It is when we focus on Jesus Christ and make Him the center of our lives that our houses, apartments, (or whatever dwelling we may reside in) become a home.  If we fill our hearts with love and charity any place can become a home because it will become a place for the Spirit to dwell. 

 

Stuck!

By Lacey Gunter

So you had what you thought was a great idea for a story. Maybe it was a great character, an interesting plot line, or perhaps just a topic you thought would be fun to write about.  You dug in very excitedly and for a while things were going great. That was until you landed yourself right in the middle of Nowhereville. You know, the place where ideas, dialogue, action, anything interesting or even just the next sentence in your story are nowhere to be found! Yep, you're stuck.

No writer likes to find themselves in this place. But nearly all of us have been or will eventually be there at least once, if not many times. It's a very frustrating and depressing place. If you sit around long enough waiting for the bus to pick you up, the only bus making the rounds may be the bus headed to Writer's Block.

So, don't stress about how you got there.  Instead, put your energy into getting yourself out. Here are a few ideas I have used:

1.Walk: Literally. Put the computer or notepad down and take a walk, or do the dishes or the laundry or some no brain task. Give yourself a chance to chill out and focus on something else.  But before you go, schedule a time to pick it back up and try again.

2. Skip: If you're stuck in the storyline and you don't know how to move forward, but you do know where you're supposed to end up, just skip it. Start writing the parts you do know and you can go back and fill in the missing sections later when your creative juices are flowing a little better.

3. Try taking the wrong way out: This is kind of a fun exercise to keep you writing and help you look at things from a different perspective. If you can't find the right way to push forward on your story, try writing the wrong way. Write down the ideas you know won't work, sound uninteresting or ridiculous. Try making it as bad as you can or the complete opposite of what you want. But do it for real. Really try to write it that way. Hopefully along the way you'll start to see what you really want there or you'll read it later and find it is so bad nearly anything will be better. Then you won't be so picky about getting it just right.

4. Hitch a ride with a friend: And by 'friend', I mean a different manuscript. If worst comes to worst, put that book down and work on something different or something new for a while.  Sure this manuscript has a lot of potential and shouldn't be abandoned forever, but it is counterproductive to let yourself get so frustrated or unhappy that you no longer want to write at all.  Your next book idea may be so much better. And it's really exciting to pull out an old unfinished manuscript and realize what a gem it was and get flooded with a bunch of new great ideas on how to move forward. The trick here is to keep yourself writing.

There are just a few of my ideas. I would love to hear about and try out some of yours, because being stuck in Nowhereville is nowhere I want to be!
 

Further Along the Journey

by Mare Ball Adventures in the Ballpark

The writing world is all a-twitter about NaNoWriMo, which starts today.  A writing frenzy has commenced, and hopefully, by November 30, writers will have a novel written.  Maybe a sloppy, typo-laden novel, but a good foundation and a complete idea to tighten and polish later.

I love this idea.  I'm writing non-fiction, so my month of writing frenzy is called NaNonFiWriMo.  Doesn't quite roll off the tongue like NaNoWriMo, but the spirit is in there.   I've actually been working on my book since September, but I'm hoping to finish it by November 30.  I think I can, I hope I can!  Writing a book really is like birthing a baby.  You get so weary of the labor, and when you think you might be done....nope, there's one more big push.

I enjoyed Kasey's recent post on the writing conference she attended.  She was a smart cookie to take business cards and her pitch for her book.  She came back fired up to finish her WIP.  Writing conferences are great, because you can talk to other writers who have also been holed up in a corner somewhere making their dream come alive.  You realize you are not the only one who works in your PJs some days and eats M&Ms for dinner.  

I've mentioned a few times I'm taking an author's marketing course.  My last class is Monday, and I've found it so helpful.  I also recently plugged into a seminar by Jack Canfield (author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books.)  Marketing your book is a whole other field of study.  Writing the book is 10%.  Marketing is 90%.  Ouch.

Here are a few things I've learned:

1.   Jack Canfield's book proposal was rejected 144 times before he found a publisher.  I need to develop a thicker skin.
2.   Know your target market.  Who are you writing to?  Research titles that are similar.  Know your competition.
3.   Build a platform pre-publication.  This is where blogging is helpful.
4.   You need a promotion plan.  (A what? I said.  Then, I learned.)  What are you willing to do to sell your book?
5.  Publishers are looking for writers who will also be good business partners.  Publishing is a business. 
6.  To get published, you must be committed to it.  No matter what.   
7.  Once you have a publisher, be prepared to write your book again.  And maybe again.

If you're still with me....bravo.  I had a few bubbles burst during this marketing course.  I just wasn't being realistic about the publishing process.   But, the blinders are off now, and I'm hoping I can navigate the publication maze.

For anyone interested in the online/teleseminar/marketing course I took called Author's Training 101, you can find information here: NINA AMIR.

Nina offers all kinds of services to writers.  She's smart and quick to tell you the truth, which I appreciate.  Her class was an eye-opener.  I'm getting no kick-back for promoting her; I just wanted to share.  In fact, she doesn't even know I'm doing this. 

Here's to inspired writing for all who are going to have their bums glued to the chair this month! 

Happy Last Day of Freedom!

-a post by Jeanna Mason Stay

Oh, and happy Halloween, too!

Tomorrow (in case you missed our gazillions of posts about it) starts NaNoWriMo. Since I love to pass on good advice (“it is the only thing to do with it,” says Oscar Wilde), here are my last little bits of wisdom to add to all the NaNo advice we’ve been doling out the last couple weeks:

1. Have an accountability buddy. There is one main reason I won NaNoWriMo the last two years: a best friend of mine checked in with me almost nightly. We had an email chain where we briefly wrote each other our word counts, our triumphs and defeats, our excitement at finally getting to write the kissing scenes!* And occasionally a gentle kick in the butt. Without her, I would have fizzled out. Find someone (other than a spouse) who will do this for you.**

2. Plan to write ahead, as soon as you can. Technically you only have to write 1,667 words per day to finish in time. Don’t plan for this. First of all, many of us won’t write on Sundays, and you will fall quickly behind if you’re only doing the bare minimum the other days. Second, you’re most excited in the first week or two, you have the most ideas and (if you’re an outliner) scenes planned but not yet written. It can get significantly harder as the weeks go on. So start out hard and fast. I have a spreadsheet (geek alert!) to keep track of my goals, and I plan for 2,500 words per day. This gets me ahead fast, and then when I inevitably have a few lousy days, I’m still keeping up.

3. Plan to finish early. This one goes with #2. If you plan to get ahead, then you can theoretically plan to finish early. This is great for Thanksgiving plans, great for keeping up momentum, and great for having time to catch up at the end. Oh, and also great for gloating at your other friends when they spend the last week frantically staying up until forever every night to finish.***  

4. Don’t delete. When you are writing along speedily, the worst idea ever is to hit the delete button. Even when you have spelled something wrong and you know it. It takes you out of that moment of writing and slows you down immensely—both your fingers and your brain. And in November, that is a no no. Occasionally your fingers will stutter; keep typing. Here are two of my favorite finger stutters from a previous year: anytnhigagainst (“against”) and tentrusthsiastic (“enthusiastic”). See? It’s okay if suddenly you can’t spell.

5. Stare into space. Okay, perhaps you find my above suggestion a bit overboard. Perhaps you can’t stand the idea of all those little squiggly red lines all through your document. Perhaps you need to get over that. :) And here’s one way: Don’t look at the computer screen. Find a lovely, soothing picture to look at if you’d like. But nothing that draws you out of your book. That’s why I like to close my eyes or just unfocus them and stare at nothing at all. If you feel like you need to insert something earlier in your scene, just type “(insert this earlier)” and keep going. Don’t look at the screen to figure it out. Again, it takes you out of the writing.

6. Don’t have a soundtrack. I admit that lots of fun authors have soundtracks for their books. But I can’t comprehend it. How can you possibly focus on your writing when you’re listening to “Radioactive”? The same way you shouldn’t delete, look at your screen, or look at a boy band poster while you type, you shouldn’t listen to popular/radio music. If you want music, try classical, no words.

7. Accept the bad writing because you’re tapping into something completely different this month. It seems like all of this is suggesting that your writing is going to be terrible this month. And it’s a fact that your polish should be terrible (aka nonexistent) this month. And it may be scattered and riddled with holes and confused. But that isn’t the point of November. The point is to produce and learn by the producing. The speed just forces you to tap into different resources and portions of your brain than you use when you’re thinking over everything slowly and logically and editorially. You will suddenly find solutions that you’re forced into finding (when the rest of the year you say, “I’ll write the rest of the book when I figure out this plot hole,” here you just have to keep writing). It can be magical and awesome, but it may also look horrific.

8. Do something with this manuscript when the month is over. I’m not going to bother you with this one for now, because November is the month of no thinking and no editing. But November is not the end of the journey; there are bigger and better things in store . . . in December.

Happy writing!

* Although it turns out to feel surprisingly silly writing a kissing scene.

** Spouses can be awesome, and mine certainly made a huge difference in the finishing too, but I sometimes needed the encouragement from a different source (one I didn’t live with).

*** Just kidding. I never gloat. Ever! No, really, I don’t. I just point and laugh.

Counted On

"This is the Paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God."  

- President Dieter F Uchtdorf

I have thought a lot these past weeks about the undeniable evidence I have been witness to in my life that proves that God loves us each individually.  He knows us completely. He loves us completely.  He knows the challenges that will help us to grow into the best versions of ourselves.  I have realized that my own wants for myself often travel a road much easier than the road my Creator encourages me to travel.  Yet his road has always taken me to greater places than I could have ever dreamed for myself.

Often times when prompted through the Holy Spirit to travel the path of the Lord, I feel doubtful of my qualifications and ability.  "Why, Lord, have you picked me when there are others who could do so much more than me?"  It is often tempting to say I will leave this road to be traveled by those more able to succeed.  

For myself as well as anyone else who needs to read it I am declaring that there is no one else who will fulfill the callings the Lord has prompted you to fulfill.  No matter how small or grand our tasks are, there is a reason it is you He requires.  You must not shirk your duties and leave it for another.  There is no other you are counted upon to do your part.  He will guide and assist you when you are on His errands.

Time to SPRINT!

Hello fellow MMW sprinters! Welcome! Here’s how this will work:

1. Now that you’re here, pop down and leave a comment to say hello to everyone.

2. At 10pm (or 9 or 8 or 7 depending on your time zone) START WRITING! Work work work for 15 minutes!

3. At 10:15pm (or 9:15 or 8:15...well, you get the idea) stop for a second, come back and tell us how you did! Then GET BACK TO WORK!

4. Check in again at 10:30, 10:45, and then at 11 give us your final word count or share anything else you may have accomplished (brainstorming, outlining, etc.).

Have fun! Let’s all be positive and support each other in getting 1 hour closer to our dreams!

:-) Kasey

Writing Conference Do’s and Don’ts AND a Sprint Tonight!

My name tag for the James River Writers Conference- those colorful little dots represented the various genres- YA, romance, children’s, mystery, etc. You just put the dot stickers on to show people what you write.

A little over a week ago I went to my first WRITING CONFERENCE! And it was AWESOME!!

If you have never been to a writing conference, you must go. The energy there was amazing- it was thrilling to be around people who were just as passionate about writing as I am and to see so many who have turned that passion into a successful writing career. There was something inspiring about the connections being made and the overall buzzy feeling that Big Things were happening all over the conference for the two days everyone was there.

Looking back, I can see many things I did right, and many other things I probably could have done better to prepare for the conference. In case anybody else is thinking of attending their first conference, here is my list in hopes that you may learn something from it.

Things I Did Right (yay me!):

1. I made some contacts ahead of time so I had someone to talk to. I took my mom with me for moral support- well, that and she’s just written a book and so this writing conference stuff was right up her alley- but a conference is all about networking. One of the best ways to meet new people is through people you already know. And my mom and I had different interests as far as the panel discussions went, so it wasn’t as scary heading into a session on my own because I knew chances were good that there would be somebody there I knew.

This pic turned out a bit blurry (and I blurred out some of my info on purpose), but I just wanted to show the cool shiny foil effect on my cards. I like shiny things.

2. I had business cards. I wasn’t sure about this one, but BOY am I glad I did. Because EVERYBODY had a card. I went through Vistaprint (got a Groupon- woot!) and got a stack of these babies. I chose a pattern and colors that were polished and professional and also uniquely me. I pretty much gave one to everyone I met, and you’ll read later how that caused me a bit of a problem...

3. I put a lot of thought into my look. This may seem weird, but at a writing conference the only thing you really have time to share with people is a first impression. I wanted to make a good one, so first I decided I wanted to be memorable. Not like, blue hair and sparkly eyelash extensions memorable, but someone who stood out a bit from the crowd while still looking both approachable and professional. I had a strong suspicion that there would be a lot of people wearing black and dark colors there, and when we came down the escalator to the main floor of the conference, I saw that I was right- it was a sea of black. I wore tan skinny chinos with knee-high brown boots, a flowy flowery top and a cream cardigan over top (layers are very important). I felt like myself and I felt confident that my look was out of the norm.

My gorgeous business card case. Hooray for Etsy!

4. I paid attention to details. Along the same lines as #3, this one may seem kind of silly, but I bought a new laptop bag that would match my style and I also got a really pretty holder for my business cards. Again, seems shallow, but those unique touches were the catalyst for some great connections. One of the panelists actually complimented my bag and I thanked her and told her I’d bought it on Etsy. We talked about how much we love Etsy, and then I asked her what she would be talking on. It was a great way to break the ice.

5. I talked to lots and lots of people. Just before the conference started, I visited the various tables and chatted with people manning them. Because it was their job to talk to people, I found it to be a good way to ease into the “chatmosphere." Then at lunch my mom and I sat at a table with a playwright, a YA writer, a children’s writer, a novelist, and a guy who was a filmmaker but wants to move into writing books. All fascinating people with varied backgrounds and interesting goals. In each panel discussion I tried to introduce myself to the people I sat next to, and I was rewarded with some very interesting conversations.

6. I had a pitch prepared. It’s the question you will get asked: “So, what are you working on?” You’d better be prepared with an answer! I spent some time before the conference condensing my novel down to a brief synopsis that I could deliver in about a minute and a half. I rehearsed it, I tried it out on my family (my kids got so sick of me saying it) so that by the time the conference rolled around, I could rattle off the gist of my book to anyone who asked- and they did!

7. I didn’t pitch my book to an agent. This was a tough one for me, because they were all right there. All you had to do was sign up and an agent or publisher was ALL YOURS for eight minutes! That’s right- you get to skip swimming in the slush pile and move straight up to a one-on-one! So why didn’t I do it? It was so tempting, but my book is not yet finished, and I just knew that if (hope beyond hope) an agent asked for the first chapter or (as angels sing) a full manuscript, I would be frantically trying to come up with something good enough to send them. I don’t need that kind of pressure right now. I need to finish my book! There will always be next year. (By the way, my amazing mother did do a pitch session and the publisher she met with asked her for a first chapter! Woohoo!)

Okay, so that’s the rundown of my pats on the back. Here are the things I need to fix for next year:

1. Finish my darn book. One of the main, super exciting reasons you go to a writing conference is the chance to meet people who can make your publishing dreams come true. But they can’t do that until you write your book. A writing conference is a great deadline to shoot for! So next year, the book will be done and as good as I can get it so that I’ll be ready if I chance to get that big break.

2. Bring more business cards. Remember how I said I was handing out those fabulous business cards left and right? Well, those cards were so fab that they were printed on some very thick card stock. And that cute little card case was just that- little. I hadn’t realized how few cards it really held. Fortunately, I didn’t run out, but by the end I started to get a little nervous- should I refuse to give a card to a fellow writer in case I needed it for someone more important? Nobody should have to make those kinds of decisions, people! Bring plenty of cards!!

3. Arrive earlier to panel discussions for better seats. A few of the sessions I attended were pretty packed, and others not as much. I was doing a lot of chatting in the hall in between, and so sometimes I had a decent seat if the session wasn’t too full, but a few times I was clamoring for a chair in the back. I much preferred the familiarity of interaction that came with sitting up front- being able to see the panelists up close felt much more informal and enjoyable.

4. Do more research about participating authors ahead of time- especially those whose work is similar to mine. Because there were SO many presenters, I just felt like I didn’t have the time to research every single one of them, but I really wish I had paid closer attention to the YA authors and their books and maybe bought some of the books ahead of time so I could get them signed. Not necessarily because I want the prestige of owning an autographed copy, but for the opportunity it would bring to meet the author and make a connection.

So there’s my rundown. Again, it was an amazing experience, and I cannot wait for next year. I was impressed by the camaraderie shared among writers. There was no jealousy or negativity as far as I could see- everyone was super supportive of everyone else, and I saw lots of big hugs in the hallway outside of the pitch room- both celebrating successes and comforting failures. I even hugged a writer I’d just met at lunch- she had told me about her book (which I thought sounded awesome) and said she was doing her pitch that afternoon. I saw her later and asked how it went, and she said that the agent requested the full manuscript. SCORE! I was so excited for her that I hugged her. She was so excited she didn’t care! LOL!

So, to help get me to my goal and in the awesome supportive and motivational spirit of writing conferences and the upcoming NaNoWriMo, I invite you ALL to join me tonight for a writing sprint! Don’t worry if you’re doing NaNoWriMo- join us anyway and do a 1-hour brainstorm! Need to do revisions? That works too! Meet me at MMW tonight just before 10pm EST (9pm CST, 8pm MST, 7pm PST)- I will put up a NEW post just for our sprint- just click on the post, leave a comment to let me know you’re sprinting with us, and then GO! Come back and check in every 15 minutes- 10:15, 10:30, 10:45, 11- to let us know how you’re doing! Word count or other progress- everything is to be celebrated! Let’s just DO it! :-)

Have you ever attended a writing conference? Was there anything you felt like you did well? Anything you could have done better?