I feel like the past month or so of Tuesday Tips focused on beginnings of all sorts. So here’s a quick review of how we’ve started 2018:
New Years Resolutions: Have specific goals, allow some “cheat days,” and don’t throw the whole thing away because you’ve messed up a couple of times. Renew your resolution as often as necessary (I’d recommend every month) so you can keep it for the largest percent of the year possible.
Space Out: Embrace the power of daydreaming. Not just because it might lead to something amazing, but because it’s an amazing ability itself, and should be enjoyed.
Wake Up and Get Excited: Be a morning person, but for your health first, not for some weird ideas about “success.” Learn to get sleepy at a reasonable hour the night before, and put positive thoughts in your head as you wake up. Don’t worry about your to-do list until after you’ve had a nice breakfast. Play some music/podcast/whatever background you like to get you going. Keep in mind that everyone is different, and you may have been struggling to become a morning person because that’s not your optimum time of day. Find what that time is and maximize your use of it. You can still be just as successful in the afternoon, evening, or late at night. Success is about time spent and dedication, not the time of day you choose to work.
When Should You Publish: The best time of year to publish your book will depend on your genre, and whether you decide to traditional or self-publish. Traditional books do better in summer, or right around the winter holidays, so that’s not always best for us indie folks. Try releasing your book in the beginning of the year, unless it has a genre-specific time that would be more appropriate (horror/paranormal in October, romance in February). Or just publish on your birthday, so you can make all your friends buy it on your birthday.
The Title of Your Book: Make sure it’s memorable, catchy, and sums up the spirit of your book. Think about your characters’ names or titles, significant places, objects, and events. Think about the titles of your favorite books, and what they capture. Say it out loud and imagine people talking about it. Double check it in Google to make sure it’s not already taken.
Chapter One-I don’t know what to call you: Decide whether or not to name every chapter. Do you enjoy doing it? Can you keep it up through an entire book, and entire series? If you decide to have chapter names, have some fun. Express your style. Vary the lengths of your titles based on the content of your chapters, balance some teaser names against fairly normal ones, etc. Play around until you figure things out.
And as always, let’s never forget our Three Golden Rules: Read a lot, write a lot, and be persistent!
New Years Resolutions: Have specific goals, allow some “cheat days,” and don’t throw the whole thing away because you’ve messed up a couple of times. Renew your resolution as often as necessary (I’d recommend every month) so you can keep it for the largest percent of the year possible.
Space Out: Embrace the power of daydreaming. Not just because it might lead to something amazing, but because it’s an amazing ability itself, and should be enjoyed.
Wake Up and Get Excited: Be a morning person, but for your health first, not for some weird ideas about “success.” Learn to get sleepy at a reasonable hour the night before, and put positive thoughts in your head as you wake up. Don’t worry about your to-do list until after you’ve had a nice breakfast. Play some music/podcast/whatever background you like to get you going. Keep in mind that everyone is different, and you may have been struggling to become a morning person because that’s not your optimum time of day. Find what that time is and maximize your use of it. You can still be just as successful in the afternoon, evening, or late at night. Success is about time spent and dedication, not the time of day you choose to work.
When Should You Publish: The best time of year to publish your book will depend on your genre, and whether you decide to traditional or self-publish. Traditional books do better in summer, or right around the winter holidays, so that’s not always best for us indie folks. Try releasing your book in the beginning of the year, unless it has a genre-specific time that would be more appropriate (horror/paranormal in October, romance in February). Or just publish on your birthday, so you can make all your friends buy it on your birthday.
The Title of Your Book: Make sure it’s memorable, catchy, and sums up the spirit of your book. Think about your characters’ names or titles, significant places, objects, and events. Think about the titles of your favorite books, and what they capture. Say it out loud and imagine people talking about it. Double check it in Google to make sure it’s not already taken.
Chapter One-I don’t know what to call you: Decide whether or not to name every chapter. Do you enjoy doing it? Can you keep it up through an entire book, and entire series? If you decide to have chapter names, have some fun. Express your style. Vary the lengths of your titles based on the content of your chapters, balance some teaser names against fairly normal ones, etc. Play around until you figure things out.
And as always, let’s never forget our Three Golden Rules: Read a lot, write a lot, and be persistent!
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