What Does a Writer Not Write? #IWSGbloghop Updates from Author Shout Awards @authorshout

Insecure Writer's Blog Hop

Always on the first Wednesday of the month.

#IWSGbloghop

Happy IWSG Blog Hop Day!

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* to share and encourage. 

* Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. 

* Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. 

*It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. Click here to sign-up.

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Thank you to our awesome co-hosts for the October 6 posting of the IWSG-- Jemima Pett, J Lenni Dorner, Cathrina Constantine, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Mary Aalgaard!

Question of the Month
Photo courtesy of geralt / 23304 images at Pixabay

October 6 question - In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language? I am never political. When writing my life story, I always tell the truth as I remember it, so I never knowingly lie. In my romance novels, I always close the door to the bedroom, so I don't write hot scenes. (I must admit I've tried to write spicier scenes, but the results usually read like a second grader wrote it.) 😕🙈

Arranging a Dream: A Memoir by J.Q. Rose

UPDATES: 

Author Shout Awards-- Great News! My mother always told me that she who tooteth not her own horn, her horn remaineth untootheth.  So----I am pretty puffed up after receiving a notice that Arranging a Dream: A Memoir has made it to Phase Two in the Author Shout Reader Ready Awards!! Stay tuned for the winners announcement on January 5. The prize packages include promotions on their site.

Amy Porterfield's Digital Course 30 Day Challenge--I wrote about taking this mind-stretching course on creating digital courses on last week's post. I completed it, only missing about a week of classes when we traveled to Amish country in Ohio.  I caught the replays when we returned.

I'm glad I took the class. I just wish I were 20 years younger so that it would make sense to invest $2000 in it to master all the information and to get a Return on Investment  (ROI ). I am not ready to work that hard though...LOL. I am taking the best parts of the class and planning to make videos on life storytelling for my FB group, but probably not for marketing to the world. Amy is a fabulous teacher. When I grow up I would like to be just like her.

Janet at workshop for life storytelling

If you are reading this blog between 6:00 pm-8:30 pm EDST on Tuesday, October 5, I am presenting a workshop at the Fremont Area District Library on life storytelling. Really looking forward to sharing my book that takes place in Fremont, MI, with the local folks. I'll use readings from the book to illustrate the points made in the workshop. In fact, I am a published author because I joined a writers' group that met at this library at least 12 years ago. Their constructive criticism and support encouraged me to keep writing. 

Who would you like to emulate when you grow up? 😀 Have you done readings or taught a workshop? Please leave a comment below.

The Rose Courier

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updates, articles, freebies, photos and fun in the Rose Courier. 

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My Life and My Writing Life Updates by J.Q. Rose

 

Preparing for my kitchen remodel

My Life and My Writing Life Updates by J.Q. Rose

Hello and welcome! Just a quick stop-over this week to update you on the happenings going on in my life and writing life. 

MY LIFE: 

The photo is my kitchen. Yes, we unloaded all the cabinets so we could tear them out and replace them with new cabinets. Tearing out is the operative expression. What a mess. But oh what fun to have a great project like this. Living through it may be a test for my left-brained tendency. 

This is an important project, not only because it will be quite an improvement to my 15-year-old kitchen, but especially because my hubby, GT, is strong enough to do the job this year. In the past 3 years, he has had a hip replacement, a shoulder replacement, and a do-over on the first hip replacement because it was loose. That recovery was more difficult than the original. 

Last summer he was strong enough to work in the garden. And we had a fantastic year for gardening. That experience really built his muscles and stamina. He was ready to be active in Florida, so here we go ripping out the kitchen.

WRITING LIFE: 

Arranging a Dream: A Memoir
Official launch date January 1
Pre-order and Paperback available December 1

1. I am thrilled to report that I have turned in the ms for my memoir, Arranging a Dream: A Memoir, to my publisher. Now I am working on writing a book description for the sales page and choosing keywords to draw readers to my book. 

Here's the latest book description with help from my friend and memoirist, Nan Sanders Pokerwinski and mystery author, W S Gager:

In 1975, budding entrepreneurs Ted and Janet purchase a floral shop and greenhouses where they plan to grow their dream. Leaving friends and family behind in Illinois and losing the security of two paychecks, they transplant themselves, their one-year-old daughter, and all their belongings to Fremont, Michigan, where they know no one. 

Will the retiring business owners nurture Ted and Janet as they struggle to develop a blooming business, or will they desert the young couple to wither and die in their new environment?

Most of all, can Ted and Janet grow together as they cultivate a loving marriage, juggle parenting with work, and root a thriving business?

This part of the publishing business is the most difficult for me. Writing someone else's description is easier than writing my own. 

Keyword choices are one of the things that drive interest in the book. The other elements needed to make a sale after the book is discovered are an eye-catching book cover and the description sometimes known as the "blurb." Hopefully, these will garner readers who will leave reviews that get amazon's attention.

Your Words, Your Life Story: A Guide for Sharing Memories by J.Q. Rose

This book is a collection of information I use in my Life Storytelling Workshops to begin your life story.

2. I created a how-to book on writing life stories, Your Words,Your Life Story: A Guide for Sharing Memories and published it in December. Now I am following that up with a companion book with topics to spark memories. This journal for life storytellers allows the writer to keep their stories in a safe place.

New book cover for Girls Succeed!
I'm not sure if this is the one. What do you think?

3. Revising, updating and adding new content to my eBook for inspiring girls to dream big, Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. The chapters are mini-biographies of amazing women who are fantastic role models for girls 10-14 years old. 

Do you see a theme here about life stories--mine, yours, and these wonderful women who trusted me to tell their story?

November is Life Writing Month. I hope you will consider writing down some stories for your family and friends. You can start with how 2020 has affected your life. You are an eyewitness to history and I'm sure there will be all kinds of stories about it. You can tell the truth about this year with your experiences and not let the media spin it the way they reported it.

If you'd like some tips on writing, recording or making a video of your life story, please click here to join my FB group, Telling Your Life Story and Memoirs Circle.

The Rose Courier will be delivered this Friday if you have signed up.
Click here if you wish to keep up-to-date with JQ Rose,
read articles, meet new authors, get freebies and more.

Thank you for stopping in. If you're an author, do you find it difficult to write your book description?
If you're a reader, what helps you decide to buy a book when browsing online or in a brick and mortar store?