Is SWA really of benefit to a writer?

Revisited - 4/10/15

 Meet Sheila S. Hudson

Award Winning Author and SWA Board Member Emeritus

1993 Met Amy Munnell at local book club

1994 First attended SWA, won award for Inspiration and gained encouragement from Linda Tomlin  and Cec Murphey to launch freelance career. Completed course from Christian Writers Guild;  3rd Place for Inspiration SWA; 3rd place for Linda Tomblin Inspirational Writing Award.

1995 Won Honorable Mention for “On Forgiveness” from The Black Mountains Christian Writers Retreat sponsored by Linda Tomblin; 1st Place for Most Rejection Slips from 2nd Wednesday Writers; 1st Place for Most Outrageous Rejection Slip from 2nd Wednesday Writers, 1st Place for SWA Limerick Award.

1996 2nd Place for SWA Non-fiction and 2nd place for Children’s Literature. 

1997 3rd Place for SWA Limerick Award and 3rd Place for Non-fiction.

1999 1st Place for SWA Limerick Award and 3rd Place for Inspiration.

2000 Two Honorable Mentions SWA Limerick Awards; Honorable Mention for Juvenile Writing;  Honorable Mention for Non-fiction.

2002 Honorable Mention for SWA Limerick Award; 1st Place Limerick Award; Honorable Mention for Inspiration.

2003-2012 Joined SWA board as Assistant PP Editor. Remained on SWA board until 2012 serving two two-year terms as SWA President. Served another two-year term as co-president with Amy Munnell. I served as Registrar for many years and assisted Tim Hudson with his role as meeting planner.

2013 2nd Place for Bill Westhead Award; 1st Place for Holiday Seasonal Writing; and 2nd Place for Inspiration.

2014 1st Place for Humor Award; 1st Place for Holiday Seasonal Writing;  1st Place for Bill Westhead Award; 2nd Place for Inspiration; published 13 Decisions That Will Change Your Life in November with Dancing with Bear Publishing.

2015 Published Murder at Golden Palms (Thursday Club Mysteries Book 1) with Take Me Away Books in July 2015; published 13 Decisions That Will Transform Your Marriage with Dancing with Bear Publisher in August and Murder at Sea (Thursday Club Mysteries Book 2) in October also from Take Me Away Books.

2016 Published Thursday Club Mysteries Book 3 and Book 4 - Murder at the Monastery (February) and Murder at the Mandelay (May) also from Take Me Away Books.

Register today!

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

The Southeastern Writers Association Workshop--A “Boutique” Conference (REVISITED)

As we countdown the days until the 41st Southeastern Writers Workshop begins, we want to tell everyone how good it is and encourage them to join us!  Three years ago, SWA's vice president, Buzz Bernard revealed how the Workshop changed his writing life.  Could it change yours?  Maybe!

From the then Purple Pros Blog, Tuesday, September 3, 2013 

It wasn’t an easy decision for me.

I had to burn a week’s vacation and shell out several hundred bucks just to mingle for five days with 75 people I’d never met before. While I’m not shy, I’m not by nature exceptionally outgoing. Thus, having to hang out with a bunch of folks I didn’t know was well outside my comfort zone.

Not only that. This was to be at a writing conference. The people there would be–GULP–real writers. I knew for certain I’d be exposed as the Great Pretender, a shameless charlatan. My work would be sliced and diced. I’d become the laughing stock of St. Simons Island.

But . . . I wanted to be a novelist. So I schlepped off, with great trepidation, to the 30th annual Southeastern Writers Workshop in 2005, over eight years ago.

Eight years ago. Nine conferences ago. Three published novels ago.

The bottom line: It paid off.

It paid off so well, I felt compelled to give something back. So two years ago I joined the Board of Directors and now serve as vice president.

Some of the people I met at the 2005 gathering became close friends and I’m sure will remain so for many years. Others, whom I met at subsequent workshops, instructors especially, became great encouragers. These were folks who kept me going when I was ready to run up the white flag after 10 years, 4 manuscripts and no takers. When I was ready to surrender and just piss away my money on golf courses and 19th holes instead of writers workshops. When I was ready to simply throw up my hands and say Screw it.

Thank God for the Southeastern Writers Association.

And here’s where I let you in on a little secret. My writing was, in fact, sliced and diced at that first conference. But guess what. So was everybody else’s. It’s called learning. It’s called earning your spurs. It’s called trial by fire.

It’s what virtually every real writer must go through, whether it’s at St. Simons or in a prestigious MFA program.

Here’s another little secret: My slicer and dicer at that first conference was NY Times best-selling author Steve Berry. Steve had been through the mill before he hit it big, so he knew what it took to get there. Ironically, he later became one of my great encouragers.

Steve doesn’t do critiques any longer, but believe me, there will be plenty of exceptionally skilled instructors at the 2014 workshop who will do for you what Steve did for me. Yeah, it might be painful. But these are people who will also help you put things back together. Gently. Skillfully. Professionally. They’ll help take your writing to the next level.

A final note about the SWA Workshop and what make it unique. It’s small, limited to no more than 75 students. There’s a distinct camaraderie that develops among and between students and faculty. You get to know one another. You chat over meals and during coffee breaks. You make new friends. You network. It’s a “clubby,” not a “cliquey,” atmosphere.

By way of contrast, I went to a huge West Coast conference in the summer of 2012. It had great instructors and presenters. Big names. Lots of attendees. Lots and lots of attendees. Somewhere north of 500, maybe 600.

Yeah, I met people. We’d sit at breakfast or lunch and attempt to converse over the din of a dining area that seated several hundred. We’d trade names and business cards. Then never see each other again as we elbowed, literally, our ways to whatever sessions were next on our schedules.

Months later, I got emails from several of the attendees I’d met informing me of this or that accomplishment. I’d send back polite attaboys, but never had a clue who any of the folks were. The encounters were too brief and too many.

Take away this: You’ll remember the people you meet at the Southeastern Writers Workshop.

H.W. “Buzz” Bernard is a best-selling, award-winning novelist. His novels include Blizzard (the most recent), Eyewall, Plague and Supercell.  Buzz is a native Oregonian and attended the University of Washington in Seattle where he earned a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science; he also studied creative writing.  He’s currently vice president of the Southeastern Writers Association.  He and his wife Christina live in Roswell, Georgia.

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

Meet Our Scholarship Winners!

Congratulations to Charles Harned and Teresa Durham! 

We look forward to seeing you in June!

Many thanks to all our fine applicants!

41st Southeastern Writers Workshop 

June 17-21, 2016 

Epworth by the Sea 

St. Simons Island, Georgia

Register Today!

Make the Most of Pivot Points

from "I Need Coffee" on the Huffington Post

Attorney Katie Rose Guest Pryal writes the blog I Need Coffee, a blog covering all things writing with the aim toward how to make a living writing. Katie is also the author of Entanglement: A Novel and Love and Entropy: A Novella and a contributor to the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Toast, Dame Magazine, and other national venues.  She recently discussed ways climb out of your "rut," banish your "funk" and knock through your "block."  Below is a excerpt:

"...So I decided I needed a different metaphor for thinking about this kind of writing space, a metaphor that’s less negative than, say, “rut.” I settled on the phrase “pivot point.”

"A pivot point, at its most basic, is the center of any rotational system.

"In basketball, you plant your pivot foot so you can move while not getting called for a traveling violation. That’s a good thing.

"When you are drawing with an old-fashioned compass, you firmly plant the sharp tip as your pivot point, and then you rotate the clamped pencil around it to create a perfect circle. That’s a good thing, too, so long as you didn’t accidentally stab yourself with the compass point.

"A train engine on a turntable rotates on a central pivot point, allowing something immensely heavy to change direction and head off another way. That’s kind of amazing, actually.

"Examples of pivot points abound. The examples are important because I really want to stop thinking about funks, ruts, and plateaus. I want to embrace these moments as moments of possibility rather than impossibility. (I sound very new-agey and unlike my ordinary practical self, but what I’m suggesting is very practical. Please bear with me.)

"At a pivot point, you do, indeed, stop moving forward. But you also have a multitude of possibilities around you. You pause in your forward progress, and you look around, taking in the different paths, and then pick a new one..."

Read Katie's entire article.

The Single Most Important Skill for Writing Success

Roy Furr is a proven direct marketing consultant and copywriter. He's worked with many of the best direct marketers on the planet, including: Agora Publishing, Boardroom, Investor's Place, and Nightingale Conant. This is his most popular article on The Barefoot Writer.

"Effectively setting goals … and following through with them."

Michael Masterson told me once that this is the foundation of everything he’s accomplished – from learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu … to writing New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling books … to creating multiple multimillion-dollar businesses.

Master copywriter John Carlton has said the only reason he’s one of the highest-paid copywriters on the planet is because of the goals he sets – knowing once he sets a goal, it will be accomplished … even if he doesn’t know how yet.

International marketing expert Dr. Joe Vitale is a goal-setting addict. (For good reason, too!) I asked him what goal-setting has helped him accomplish, and he told me, “I lost 80 pounds, appeared in a hit movie, sold half a million dollars of product, and bought a $350,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom … all due to goals.”

After I discovered the control over my time and finances I could get through my chosen Barefoot Writing path, freelance copywriting, setting goals has driven every step of my success.

Read the remainder here.

When Family Isn't Supportive

from FundsforWriters Newsletter, Volume 15, Issue 51, December 18, 2015   

I received a heart-breaking Facebook message from a 15-year-old young man who asked me how to get his writing accepted. When I explained about polishing his words, agents, publishers, indie and the like, he replied: "For me, I come from an unsupportive familly that doesn't take writing as a talent or a valuable art. How can I practice in such conditions?"

My husband supports me unconditionally, often following me to my appearances. One son out of town reads my work and gives honest feedback. My sister-in-law in Iowa reads every book within days of release. Other than that, nobody else in my family has read my novels much, and definitely haven't read any articles, blogs or other items I've published. While I thank my lucky stars for the three people I have, I know how that stings when family doesn't care. 

I told the young man this: 

"At your age, it's a matter of being well-read first and foremost, then attempting to write stories from what you've absorbed via those good authors. They are your family right now. You are young. You will be an adult in good time and be able to do what you wish, when you like, but in the meantime, read with a writer's eye, seeing what makes for a grand story, great character, and snappy dialogue. Write as you can. And know that successful authors everywhere are in your corner."

When family doesn't believe in your writing, you do the following:

1. Join a writer's group. Use it like a support group.
2. Read with a writer's eye. Nobody puts down reading.
3. Write when you can: lunches, night, early mornings, outside, riding in the car, or while everyone else is watching TV.
4. Relate your interest in writing to your family member's interest in something else. I once used my teenagers' interest in playing hockey. Ask them how much time and money they "invest" in their sports, hunting, cars, video games, etc.
5. Carve out time and call it yours. It doesn't have to be called writing time, but you use it as such. Just make sure you capitalize on it and write instead of doing other non-productive things.
6. Refuse to feel guilty about a beloved hobby/profession.
7. Display how much writing makes you whole . . . and happier. If you act grumpy, you accentuate their opinion.
8. Ask them when they'll give up reading, watching television, going to movies, listening to music, playing online games, because a writer allowed all of those entertainment opportunities to happen. 
9. When someone asks when you'll do something other than "that writing stuff," tell them you adore what you do. Eighty percent of the world hates their job, and you aren't one of them.

Thanks ~ Hope

C. Hope Clark is a freelance writing expert, author of the award-winning Carolina Slade Mystery Series, the Edisto Island Mystery Series, and editor of FundsforWriters.com, a weekly newsletter service that reaches 40,000+ writers. Learn more at her website chopeclark.com

Reblogs: The Two Most Powerful Words That You Can Say To Yourself While Writing

(from io9.com)

“I’m bored.” 

These two words are the hardest thing to admit, when you’re writing your deathless novel, or screenplay, or short story. You’re supposed to be creating a work of timeless brilliance. How can you be bored?

But admitting that you’re bored is the first step to not being bored.

The power of boredom

A lot of writers get really good at pretending that we’re not bored, and it’s possible to get so good at pretending that you even convince yourself that you’re interested in what you’re writing, when you’ve actually checked out a while ago. We put so much energy into motivating ourselves to keep writing, to put words on the page at all costs, that it can be a huge nightmare to admit that what we’re writing is actually not that fun or interesting. It feels like a terrible betrayal.

And a lot of writing advice boils down to “If you get bored, just keep writing until you find your way through it.” Or ways to cover up your boredom, or work around it, or distract yourself from it. Just taking a beat and saying “This is boring” feels as though it goes against the “just write a crappy first draft” ethos.

Read the remainder of this article.

ReBlogs: Finding Time To Write During A Busy Holiday Schedule

(from Huff Post Books)

The busy holiday season is here! In between baking, visiting family and friends, decorating, shopping for gifts, wrapping the gifts, and a million other tasks that make the holidays hectic—how will you ever find time to write?

When your schedule is packed, it’s hard to justify taking the time to write and easier to tell yourself, I’ll just do it tomorrow. But too many “tomorrows” later, you may find yourself in the middle of January with nothing but a pile of blank pages. Here are some smart ways to keep your writing on track amidst all the turkey gobbling and sugarplums dancing.

The Hassle: You feel rushed and stressed when you steal a few minutes to write.

The Holiday Helper: Instead of noting how much (or how little) time you spend writing, keep track of the number of words you write in a day. By removing the pressure of trying to beat the clock, you’ll free yourself to see your productivity in a new way. Also, give yourself a little slack this time of year. If you normally maintain a rigorous writing timetable of an hour a day, every day—maybe, for now, you could consider any amount of writing on any day as a success.

Read the remaining tips on Huff Post Books.

How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Writing Fiction

Disclaimer:  It is all Lee Clevenger’s fault.

For years I built my writing platform. I began with smaller items in women’s magazines, lessons for Christian weeklies, interviews for local newspapers, and feature writing for collections and anthologies.  I took classes from wonderful professionals like Cec Murphey, Terry Kay, Bob Mayer, C. Hope Clark, and Deborah Blum.

After years of writing for media and because everyone in my writing circle had one, I too wrote a book. My first book contained information that I had garnered in writing short articles for other media. Plus, I added new research and my own experience in the world of ministry, parenting, grandparenting, leadership, and marriage. I included quotes from authorities plus questions and exercises. In short, I poured my heart into that first volume. With a modicum of success, I quickly followed it with another manuscript.

In between times I hired an agent. We parted friends. I hired another. Let’s just say, we parted. Finally, I met someone who believed in me and liked my books. Voila! A match made in heaven. Since that time, I have enjoyed working for that beloved editor. Don’t get me wrong. I loved this type of writing and I want to keep doing it for the rest of my life.

However, along came a contest. It was the You are Published contest offered by Thomas Maxx, Lee Clevenger’s publishing company. I had toyed with the idea of entering before, but that was all. I never got beyond thinking about it.  This year in a moment of ‘dare I call it inspiration’ I resurrected some characters that I created years ago. Through the years when I had nothing better to do, I would place a character in a situation and see what happened. I liked my cast but wasn’t sure what to do with them.

In thinking about the contest, I decided to take a bizarre situation and insert my zany cast, stir the pot, and allow my pseudo-detectives to take over. I tricked it out with a pinch of intrigue, a slathering of humor, and a lot of southern charm. The end product was fun to do, but would others like it? I had a friend I was communicating with concerning SWA. Since she was an editor of cozy mysteries, I decided to run it by her. A few hours later, she wrote back that she loved my story and wanted three more – to publish!

Long story short. That’s how Murder at Golden Palms was born. Clara, Roxy, Amy, Suzy, and Hattie breathed life. They began walking around in my life, talking, plotting, and appearing in my dreams. My editor at Take Me Away books sent mock ups of covers for me to approve. I swooned. This was heady stuff.

Later (with the help of my marvelous writing buddy), I added Murder at Sea to the mix. By this time the first mystery had been included in a collection which gave me more exposure and added to my excitement.

Finally, I understood what my fiction novelist friends experienced. Fiction is great therapy. There’s hard work and research involved, but manipulating your characters by putting them in danger and in insane situations is fun. 

So consider this is a warning! I’ve drunk the fiction writer’s Kool Aid and I want more.

Sheila Hudson's work has appeared in Chocolate for a Woman's Soul series, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Patchwork Path, From the Heart, Vols. 1 & 2, plus numerous periodicals including Costumer Magazine. She established Bright Ideas to bring hope and inspiration through the written word.  Sheila has also served as president of Southeastern Writers Association.  Read more about Sheila on her website.

5 Tips to Fight Writer's Block

“The work of the world does not wait to be done by perfect people.”

—Source Unknown

Have you ever had writer’s block?  That paralyzing anxiety that convinces you that any word you put down on paper would be meaningless so you refuse to even try?  I used to get it ALL the time.  It is hard to beat, but not impossible.

First, get over the fear of being wrong, doing wrong, saying something wrong.  

The world will not come to a halt if you split an infinitive.  Mrs. Allen, the toughest English teacher the sixth grade has ever seen, does not stand behind you, her red pen in hand ready to slice and dice your manuscript.  Just write your words and save them to your hard drive.

Second, embrace the delete key.

Hitting that delete key is one of the greatest joys a writer can have.  In a flash, your mistake, your inane sentence is gone, finished, forever.  You can’t dwell on it, can’t go back and reread it, can’t see it.  So how do you know you even wrote it?  You can’t prove it, can you?  It’s gone. 

Third, you can’t fix something that isn’t there. 

You need to write without editing.  Just write.  Write anything and everything you can think of.  Don’t worry about too many adverbs or “to be” verbs.  Those can all be taken care of later.  Just get the words on paper because words are like rabbits and tend to multiply placed in close proximity to each other.

Fourth, get off the computer.  

Print out everything you have written.  The good stuff, the bad stuff, the scrap file, everything.  If you still haven’t shaken your writer’s block, you need to get physical with your manuscript. Grab a legal pad, a pair of scissors and a roll of tape or a glue stick.  Legal pads run 8.5x14 and give you more length but not too much for physically cutting and pasting your manuscript together.  You can also handwrite transitions between the cut outs.

Why does this work better than cutting and pasting on the computer?  I don’t know exactly.  Maybe it makes the manuscript more tangible rather than lines on a screen.  Maybe the change in situation refocuses the brain.  All I know is that it works when nothing else will to jump-start my writing and creativity.

Fifth,  don’t give in to it.  

No one’s perfect.  No best seller was ever written in one draft.  Don’t even call it writer’s block.  Don’t give it that acknowledgment.  Make yourself write anything—new words to your favorite song, new dialogue for the inane sitcom your kids watched last night, great comebacks for the next time your sister makes you crazy.  Do anything to get the words to flow.  The next thing you know is you’re ready to work on that manuscript.

Amy Munnell is has been a freelance writer and editor for over 25 years with her work appearing in various publications including the Chocolate for a Woman's Soul series, Saying Goodbye, From the Heart, Points North, ByLine, Athens Magazine and Georgia Magazine. Find Amy on Twitter: @amunnell

Reblogs: The Writer's Circle: 5 Famous Authors and Their Strange Writing Rituals

(This article by Stephanie Ostroff originally appeared on The Writer's Circle.)

Routines keep us focused when we start drifting off course. They snap us back to reality and remind us that yes, we can do this. The words will come to us. Turning to a familiar writing ritual can help us find balance. Most authors have that one thing they do, even subconsciously, that sets the tone for a solid writing session.

Sometimes it’s as simple as creating the right lighting in a room or hearing songs from a favorite album. It’s the difference between churning out pages of your best work and wasting an afternoon staring at a blinking cursor.

At times, these rituals are taken to an extreme. Some of history’s most celebrated authors swore by unusual and bizarre rituals. It’s possible we owe many great pieces of literature to the fact that they were so meticulous in maintaining these strange habits.

In honor of the writers who embrace their quirky routines, the Writer’s Circle is highlighting a few of the oddest rituals practiced by famous authors:

1. JAMES JOYCE

Crayons, a white coat, and a comfy horizontal surface. These were Joyce’s essentials. The author of Ulysses found his words flowed better while lying flat on his stomach in bed. Since he was severely myopic, crayons enabled Joyce to see his own handwriting more clearly, and the white coat served as a reflector for light onto the pages.

2. MAYA ANGELOU

Most writers can’t afford to check into a hotel when the urge to scribble hits, but for Angelou, it’s the key to great writing. In the wee hours of the morning she’ll book herself a room with a special request: all distracting wall décor must vanish. Armed with a bottle of sherry, a deck of cards, some legal pads, a thesaurus and the Bible, she’s spent hours crafting prose in this carefully constructed environment stripped of almost all inspiration.

3. TRUMAN CAPOTE

The creative genius behind In Cold Blood, Capote was a superstitious man. His writing rituals often involved avoiding particular things. Namely, hotel rooms with phone numbers including “13,” starting or ending a piece of work on a Friday, and tossing more than three cigarette butts in one ashtray.

Read the remainder of Stephanie's article.

ReBlogs: Positive Writer: 3 Game-Changing Tips that Will Help You Beat Procrastination and Get Back to Writing Today

Writer Bryan Hutchinson's Positive Writer offers articles "all written with the purpose of encouraging, inspiring and motivating" fellow authors. New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins guest blogged recently on conquering procrastination.

If you’re like me, you’ve had trouble getting your rear end in that chair and writing.

Or if you do get there, the last thing you’re doing is writing.

You don’t have to tell me. I’m a professional procrastinator. I know all the excuses.

We shoo-in first ballot hall-of-fame postponement aficionados love to one-up each other, but before I list my bona fides in that arena, let me tell you what procrastination has wrought in my career:

● By the end of this calendar year I will deliver my 188th contracted manuscript to a traditional publisher—on deadline.

● I’ve had 21 titles reach The New York Times bestseller list, 7 of those debuting at #1.

● My books have sold more than 70 million copies.

Before I do the usual and tell you [that] I say all that not to brag (hey, I write a lot of fiction), let me get back to how accomplished I am as a procrastinator:

● When I’m on deadline, I become the world’s most obnoxious neatnick. How am I expected to write with a messy office, let alone a messy desk?

● Have the backs of all the cereal boxes been read? What about the prescription bottles?

● No, I don’t use pencils any more, but in case I might, all 24 must be sharpened!

● I haven’t been consistent with my physical training. I shouldn’t even think about writing until after a vigorous workout.

● Better clean up my email inbox. Every bit of it. Yes, Aunt Mildred, that is an incredible international scandal, and coincidence, and likely a conspiracy.

● A quick peek at Twitter. A can’t-miss moneymaking opportunity? I might never have to write again…

● And Facebook. I can’t believe that puppy. And that kitty! Oh, no he didn’t!

● The ugliest actor ever born? The ugliest two dozen? It won’t take long to run through those.

● Yes, I am also interested in the largest sea monster to ever wash up on New Zealand’s coast…

● The real mail must be here by now. And it must be close to lunch time.

Right now you’re thinking, Hey, writer man, get to the 3 game-changing tips. Calm down, I’m helping you procrastinate.

Read the remainder of Jerry's article.

5 Undisputable Writing Truths

Build a platform

Everything I was told is true. Do it. It will make your life easier. Don’t know how to begin?  

a) Start with reading Get Known before the Book Deal by Christina Katz 

b) Go to conferences and attend sessions about promoting

c) Seek advice from professional such as My Write Platform  

Don’t whine

This sounds really easy, but I see it often on social media. If you’re a writer, don’t complain about the dark, dirty side of writing, like editing. It doesn’t matter how many times you make a pass through a book, your reader’s don’t need to hear you gripe. 

Network — Online or In-Person

You’re an introvert? Suck it up. Get your adrenaline pumping, then get out there. You never know what opportunity is waiting for you to fall into, which you can’t do if you’re stuck in your writing cave.

Read

This seems like a no-brainer, but after I published my first book, I limited my fiction reading due to time, instead I focused on books/blogs/websites about craft and promoting. And after a while, I was burned out. There’s no better way to gain inspiration than to read a book you love. One of the ways I make sure I keep up with my reading is to judge contests annually—it’s part of my way to give back. One contest is critiquing manuscripts from unpublished writers—I hope to be a cheerleader for all that’s wonderful in their story, and maybe impart some of what I learned—and the other contest is to judge published novels.  

Set Goals

They’re critical for success. Specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, timely, and don’t forget the REWARDS. Find ways to enjoy the little successes along the way. Rewards don’t have to cost anything: an afternoon at a museum or a botanical garden, a long soak in the tub, a nap, an extra glass of wine. 

Remember, no one understands a writer’s journey better than another writer. Get connected. Give back. Now, get going!

Linda Joyce is an award-winning author writing about assertive females and the men who can’t resist them. Her Fleur de Lis series is set in the south, mostly. Her Sunflower Series features Kansas. She penned her first manuscript while living in Japan, the country where her mother was born and raised. Now she lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and four-legged boys. www.linda-joyce.com

ReBlog: What Good Sales People Know About Personal Branding That Everyone Should

The words "brand" or "branding" bring images grocery store shelves or maybe memories of a trip to the mall pop to mind first,  not writing, not your work. But writers have to be sales people to sell their work and themselves to clients and readers.  A strong personal brand helps to grab people's attention and keep it all on you. 

Joanne Tombrakos is an author and expert on building one's digital profile and personal branding. She recently published these tips for personal branding on the Huffington Post's "The Blog."

"Personal Branding is not a new concept.

"We used to call it building a good reputation and being clear on the direction you wanted your career to go. Then the age of digital dawned, and personal branding was taken to a whole new level. It's no longer just about the real life version of you. It's also about the digital version of you.

"Good salespeople have always been masters at this.

"The best ones have adapted their strategies to these new tools. Unfortunately there are not that many really good salespeople out there. I see too many using the new tools to automate instead of personalize and applying pushy tactics -- the kind that have always given sales a bad rap -- to technology that if used properly can enhance their image."

Read the remainder of Joanne's article.

Subscribe to The Purple Pros Blog (see above) to receive helpful and informative articles directly in your mailbox.  SWA does not share email addresses with third parties.

ReBlogs: When Is It Too Much?

(from MakerGoddess, Feb 21, 2014)

A once popular British TV comedy show featured a pair of characters who seem to be the best of friends. One is in a wheel chair and seems not only physically, but also mentally disabled. The friend is ever so obligingly taking care of him in each skit. The disabled character would make a choice about something (a trip, a book, a holiday destination, whether or not to go to the bathroom at a more convenient time). The friend would then proceed to gently attempt to persuade the man away from the undesired choice and guide him back toward a more reasonable choice. Always the one in the wheelchair stuck to his guns on the inappropriate choice so his friend eventually gave in. Yet every time the decision was carried out you’d see the one in the wheelchair saying he didn’t really want his choice but rather what the friend suggested. And of course the friend always fixed it. Well nearly always. He couldn’t quite change the holiday destination once the airplane was already taking off.

While this makes for great comedy, I wonder, what if this were a real relationship? Would the friend continue to do things with/for the disabled person? Would the friend ever decide to stop arguing with him and just let him lie in the bed he made, accepting his own consequences? When would the friend finally say, “I’ve had enough.” and just walk away.

I recently met a very nice young lady in the beginning years of her career. (Remember recently is always going to be a relative term with me.) She liked her profession but wasn’t very happy in her job and wondered if it would be worth it to make a change, to another location or a different position. She had come under new management at the beginning of the year and thought she might give it a bit longer, just to see if the fresh new blood made her work environment and the job any better. I commend her for wanting to see how the land lies for now, but how long will she wait?

I was there too. Giving just one more reason to stay, and did so for about three years. Finally, I took the plunge and began applying for other positions within my field.

That was scary; I won’t lie about that. I had been in the same position at the same location for eight years! The idea of being anywhere else, doing anything different, actually having to commute, was never entertained. Yes it was a dream come true to have just a one-mile commute! But as the years wore on, and my work environment deteriorated, so sank my acceptance level. Being just a song away from my job became the only good thing I could say about it.

My problem was that I was stuck in a rut of my own making. As a friend of mine once pointed out, I clung to the security of the familiar. Sure that place, that job, stunk to no end, but it was a known odor. If I moved, if I made any waves at all, would I find the same stink or one more foul? Mr. Murphy and I have a complicated relationship. He doesn’t mind and I don’t seem to matter. So his law of things going wrong applies to me categorically. I was just too afraid to take that risk. 

Risk nothing gain nothing, though.

I had to leave the security of my familiar when making not one but two changes in my career this school year as it turns out. That was terrifying! But the rewards far outweighed the momentary discomfort I felt in making the change. The best part was that the second decision to make a change was actually easier for this old scaredy cat. And I made it relatively quickly.

I am now doing a job in a much more conducive environment. So what if my commute is over 20 miles now. At least now as I advance forward in my career I am encouraged that taking such risks are going to not only become easier and easier but also I will be a much happier, more productive individual in the end.

My favorite teacher Ms. Frizzle always says, “Take chances. Make mistakes. Get messy.” Fabulous advice if you ask me. Well, except the messy bit, unless you are very near a shower.

~~Dawn Burr

Dawn is a teacher by profession but a writer by passion. Her sarcastic wit, innocent charm, and insightful reflections will have you bowled over with laughter as she ponders with you the little things in life that make you go hhhmmmm. Learn more about Dawn on her website: Dawn Burr Writes or on her blog: MakerGoddess.

Happy 4th of July!

From The Southeastern Writers Association!

EditorialLee Speaking

I couldn't have hired a playwright to script it any better. Our 2014 SWA workshop was everything I hoped it could have been and a whole lot more. We filled up the seats, mostly with new attendees. We dazzled everyone with brilliant instructors, and most of the newbies were saying they couldn't wait to come back next year. We have some younger people accepting positions of responsibility on the Board of Directors. I believe SWA's future is very secure.

That wasn't the case not so long ago. While we had a cash reserve that could carry us forward for a couple of years no matter how great the failures, we were in a downturn. Our membership was down. Our Board of Directors was dwindling, and while we were almost begging for more bodies, our requests, for the most part, went unanswered. Workshop attendance was barely bringing in break-even revenue, if that. A couple of times we pondered if we might have reached the end of the line.

Now with a positive cash flow from our most recent workshop, an energized "fan base" of new attendees who will be back, hopefully with their friends, and some younger blood sitting in the Board of Directors' seats, the end of the line has been pushed well into the future.

All this happened as Kay Eaton and I served our last tenures on the Board. Kay was one of those who answered the call when we were in dire need of people a few years ago. She helped hold SWA together with the important registrar duties. Relocation to Florida has dictated that she step down from her duties, but we still expect her to show up each June at St. Simons.

As to that other guy who's stepping aside, I'll still show my face at St. Simons as well. The ThomasMax "You Are Published" Contest -- which received the highest number of entries and best competition we've ever had in 2014 -- will continue so there's still a book deal to be had. I've made a lot of comments about my retirement, and all of them have been honestly from the heart. There DOES come a time when everyone needs to step aside and let others bring something new to the show. George Washington DID indeed say eight years was enough. But mostly it's been health issues, specifically pain management, that sparked my decision. I've tried to keep that under the rug (and think I've been pretty successful at it), and now you've just read all I'm going to say about it here. 

But I do have a little more to say before I run into the sunset. I am quite proud of the service I've given to SWA. I've received several post-workshop notes and thank-you cards. One said, "Someone asked me the other day what I do. I said, 'I am a writer.' And that's all because of my years at SWA that I could say that." While there were personal accolades in that note, the thing that touched me is that I know I made a difference. And that's why I signed up for the volunteer job in the first place.

My last night as SWA President (let's pretend the meeting the next morning didn't happen) was amazing. My good friend Darrell Huckaby -- I met Huck as a result of SWA -- asked if he could come and entertain at our Awards Ceremony. Anyone in his right mind would say yes, and luckily I was in my right mind the day he asked. And I got this inspired idea to buy torches to pass to the new board members (at least those of which I was aware at the time) as a fitting ritual. Then I was blown away with the going-away gift the board gave me . . . a photo of the Braves' locker room (it's no secret I'm a rabid Braves fan) with my name awarded one of the lockers there. No. 8 -- for eight years of service, four as President and four as VP. I felt truly honored at that moment. I've seen former SWA Presidents with many more years than me retire with a simple "thank-you" certificate or plaque . . . or less. 

I haven't yet chosen the spot in my house where it will hang, but it will certainly be a spot of honor. Every time I look at it, I am humbled by the notion that I was held in such esteem by my peers. I know it wasn't cheap, and you really shouldn't have . . . but I'm thrilled that you did. Thank you from every fiber of my being.

And thank you, SWA, for giving me the chance to make a difference. I'll remember THAT every time I look at that picture, too.

~~ Lee Clevenger

Lee is 2-time President of SWA, an author and co-founder of ThomasMax Publishing in Atlanta, GA.

EditorialLee Speaking

It's June. If you're a subscriber to Purple Pros and you haven't already decided to come to St. Simons this month for our workshop, it's doubtful there's much I can say that will convince you to come. But I'd like to try. This is my final year as president, my final year on the Board of Directors, my final year to recruit faculty. And if you haven't managed to get to our workshop for the past eight years while I have been on the board (or the six years or so before that when I came strictly as a student), that means I haven't had the chance to meet you. And I'd like to meet you.

No, you can't enter manuscripts for evaluations or contests at this late date. That ship has sailed. But we still have some open seats in classes, the best roster of instructors I've ever seen (I know I'm prejudiced because I recruited them, but, it's really exactly that). We have a publisher, a renown editor, a social media specialist, a best-selling novelist, an award-winning children's author (who will double teaching poetry, for which she's up for an award this year). And that's just the start...there's more! Got a book you want to pitch to an agent? We'll have an agent there to hear your pitch . . . convenient, huh? And there's more beyond that, too much to explain in a simple column. Just come see for yourself.

It's so simple. Just go to www.southeasternwriters.com and register. And be sure to come talk to me while you're there. Oh, yeah, talk to everyone else too; they'll want to meet you as well. We're a fun group that enjoys spending time together! And we've got room for you in that group.

I guarantee if you do, you'll be glad you did.

~~ Lee Clevenger

Lee is the current President of SWA, an author and co-founder of ThomasMax Publishing in Atlanta, GA.

Bright Idea #65: Spring Clean Your Writing

Moving is an excellent way to sort through the stuff you’ve been unable to part with and probably don’t remember that you own.  Cleaning out your closets motivates generosity.  At the end of a yard sale I’ve been known to get very generous – like buy one get one and here take another.  I exercised that generosity last weekend at the family yard sale.

My in-laws are moving to Florida.  Tim’s parents are going from a four bedroom house to a home half as large.  Just getting ready for a yard sale requires a lot of time, energy, and discipline to separate what goes into the trash bin, the giveaway bin, and the sell-at-the-yard sale bin. 

After we got home, I began to think.  What if writers did spring cleaning?  We could revisit those essays, ideas for books, odd paragraphs, random descriptions, and character studies that we took time to scribble down and file, but never used.  A trip down virtual memory lane could possibly give rise to new concepts and ideas.

With the aid of your trusty laptop, any writer in this electronic age can sort, store, giveaway, or trash files that God only knows why you wrote.  The character that didn’t fit into your short story might just tell his story in your next poem.  The description that you worked on for days but still wasn’t what you needed for the essay may prove to be the perfect lead-in for a magazine feature.  The book outline that was impossible to follow may need to be rearranged or purged completely.

The last example was from my writing this week and last.  Five chapters into the sequel to 13 Decisions That Will Change Your Life, I realized that the outline I created for the book was restrictive.  Not only that, but the chapters were not in a logical prioritized order.  So I did what any frustrated scribe would do.  I deleted it and began again.  The second outline had more intuition, direction, and less restrictive structure.  This is only after I ditched the entire first draft of the sequel and changed the subject altogether.  That’s okay. They are only words and I will use them elsewhere.

If you haven’t learned it already, you will.  A writer should always be flexible to change direction and willing to rewrite or start again.  A writing buddy confided that the book she had worked on for years languished in a drawer while she published other things.  Then one day with renewed vigor, Joan rewrote her novel in another point of view and sold it immediately.  Stories like that keep my hope alive.

It may take the passage of time before I am willing to change my words or “kill my little darlings” as Faulkner suggests, but sometimes I must.  It all comes down to what you, as a writer, want to accomplish.  If you want to publish, there are rules and processes that are necessary.  Editors differ.  Audiences vary. What one loves another hates. The same friend said her query letter was used as a model in one class while torn to shreds in another class.  Writing and publishing is subjective.  What is timely and appropriate today may not be next week.  Before 9/11 occurred, I mentioned terrorists in a humor piece.  I would never do that today.  That’s one that can go into the trash bin.  

The plus side of spring cleaning is that rare moment when you come across a clipping that is exceptional. You will smile and think, I wrote that.  You may not remember when, but it is yours just the same.  Those feelings and rush of emotion will all come back.

I remember distinctly gazing at the red and white diary of Anne Frank housed in a glass cabinet in Amsterdam.  When I reread the essay I wrote for Athens Magazine, the memories and tears all come back.

I remember interviews with Jack Davis, the cartoonist, and the tour he gave me of his studio.  I smile at the opportunities I have been granted through writing for the newspaper or for one of several magazines.  

Of course, primarily you provide entertainment and information for the reader.  But for yourself, you get to make and keep wonderful memories. Memories that you can experience over and over again as you spring clean your writing.

~~ Sheila Hudson

Sheila's work appears in Chocolate for a Woman's Soul series, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Patchwork Path, From the Heart, Vols. 1 & 2, plus numerous periodicals including Costumer Magazine. She established Bright Ideas to bring hope and inspiration through the written word.  Sheila has also served as president of Southeastern Writers Association.  Read more about Sheila on her website.