Check out Experiment 38

by Charles T. Suddeth

new from 4RV Publishing http://4rvpublishing.com/

and read this review by Deb Hockenberry:

Eighteen – year – old Emily has a job and a boyfriend for the first time in her life. She’s never been allowed to go anywhere in her life, except to school and back. Why?

When Nate takes her to the movies, a green SUV follows them. The two occupants even follow them in. When they go to the amusement park, there’s the SUV. This time it’s two occupants stalk them through the park. Even through the tunnel of love. Who are these men and what do they want? Emily has nick – named them Igor and Weasel. She also has weird flashbacks of these two goons when she was little. The SUV will not leave them alone and Emily and Nate’s lives are even threatened. Not to mention the lives of Nate’s friends.

They try hard to escape the SUV and find that Nate’s car has been bugged with a GPS. This results in a high speed chase through the mountains of North Carolina, a kidnapping, and an attempted murder or two.

Emily’s mother has died when she was little. Or did she? And what of her father? Why is he letting all this happen? Is he really her father?

Your new adult will just love this action packed thriller in your home library. As soon as one of questions is answered, another arises.

If you’d like Experiment 38 for your home library, you can order it in several ways. You can order it from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Experiment-38-Charles-Suddeth/dp/1940310024/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424035214&sr=1-1&keywords=experiment+38+%2B+charles+suddeth

4RV Publishing http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/charles-suddeth.php

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/experiment-38-charles-suddeth/1121211605?ean=9781940310022

Or your favorite online bookstore.

If you would like to learn more about Charles Suddeth and Experiment 38 just visit his website http://ctsuddeth.com

Deb Hockenberry

and you can read more about Deb  on her website: KidzTales http://www.debhockenberry.com

New 4RV Release: Brady's Lost Blanket

I'd like to announce my latest release with 4RV Publishing, out this month: 

Brady's Lost Blanket!

Brady is a sensitive young boy who takes his blankie wherever he goes. After traveling with his parents to visit his new cousin, Brady accidently leaves his blanket behind. Can Brady learn to get by without his blankie?

SHORT ESSAY ON BLANKIES:

I was one of those young kids who grew up with a blankie.  My blankie was blue and soft and I loved to rub the silky part against my cheeks. When my blankie was close, I felt very confident and secure. However, I think there comes a time when one "outgrows" a blankie and it's time to let go. Unfortunately, letting go can be hard to do. Learn how Brady lets go and takes his first steps growing up in my new children's story.

5 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR STEPHANIE:

#1: What inspired you to write the story?

STEPHANIE: One of my husband's relatives mentioned their grandchild had a blankie and was having a hard time without it.  I drew on my own childhood memories of having a blankie.  I think letting go of the blankie is the first step in growing up.

#2: How long did it take?

STEPHANIE: It took about a week to write the story. I have to thank 4RV Publishing for publishing Brady's Lost Blanket.  It took about 2 weeks back and forth with the editing.

#3: Did you pick the illustrator?

STEPHANIE: No, I did not.  4RV Publishing selected the illustrator.  I think Bridget McKenna did a great job with the illustrations.  They have a very whimsical feel and compliment the story well.

#4: What makes this book special?

STEPHANIE: Brady's Lost Blanket has a message for all young children who become attached to "something" (be it a blanket or something else) because they want to feel secure. It's okay to let go of our "security" nets and move forward.  It maybe a little scary at first, but once you go without it, you learn you can live without it.

#5: How long have you been writing children's books?

STEPHANIE: About 5 years now. My first children's book, "The Giving Meadow" was published with 4RV Publishing in 2010. It has a great message about sharing and caring for young children as well as telling about Caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly. It's perfect for Easter as it helps young children understand Jesus' story.

Author Bio:

Stephanie Burkhart was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, but now calls California her home. She currently works for LAPD as a 911 Dispatcher. Stephanie has been writing since she was five, when she crafted homemade comic books on the kitchen table. Her previous books with 4RV Publishing include: The Giving Meadow, and First Flag of New Hampshire.  Stephanie enjoys coffee, adores chocolate and is currently the Den Leader for her son's Cub Scout Den.

BRADY'S LOST BLANKET is available in print from 4RV Publishing.

BUY LINKS:

4RV PUBLISHING BOOKSTORE: http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/burkhart.php

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Bradys-Lost-Blanket-Stephanie-Burkhart/dp/1940310040/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1423445945&sr=8-8&keywords=stephanie+burkhart

BARNES & NOBLE:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bradys-lost-blanket-stephanie-burkhart/1121138037?ean=9781940310046

This is the first stop on my blog tour! 

FIND ME ON THE WEB LINKS:

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:

WEBSITE:

http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:

http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:

http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

PINTEREST:

http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart/

4 Major Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Blog Posts

By Karen Cioffi

Writing is a craft, a craft that needs to be learned. With that being said, there are many successful bloggers who had no writing training.

You might consider writing as being doubled sided. There are research papers, resumes, articles for medical and scientific use, business and health content, and even short stories, children’s books, and novels.

To write for these genres, you need to learn the craft of writing. Depending on the genre you write, you need to know how to write dialogue, how to reference quotes in a nonfiction article, and how to write POV (point of view). You should know the difference between a comma and a semi-colon, and how to use each. You get the idea.

On the flip side, there is web writing: blog posts and writing copy. In these niches there aren’t many rules, aside from grabbing the reader and making your content engaging and shareable.

While there aren’t many rules for blogging, there are four mistakes you should avoid:

1. Avoid aiming for perfection.

If you wait for the perfect time, the perfect circumstance, the perfect topic, the perfect anything, you’ll be forever waiting.

While you do need to be a responsible writer and respect your reader by providing quality content and doing the best you can, you shouldn’t wait for everything to be perfect. There’s nothing wrong with learning as you go along.

I love what George Fisher said about perfection: “When you aim for perfection, you discover it's a moving target.”

2. Avoid confusing and unfocused content.

The quickest way to lose a reader is to make your content confusing. If you’re topic is ‘allergies,’ don’t go on a rant about the latest clothing styles.

Blogs posts should be in easily digestible pieces of information that are focused. From the title to the concluding paragraph, keep it on topic.

In addition, you want to lead the reader down your post. In the beginning let the reader know what to expect, what’s in it for him. This will motivate him to read on.

3. Don’t write long paragraphs.

We all lead hectic lives. We want to get targeted information as quickly as possible. For this reason, your content needs to be easy to read and written in short paragraphs. This is especially important for skim readers.

Keep your content clean and leave plenty of white space. White space is the space between paragraphs, between words, and such. It’s the blank space on the page.

4. Don’t use grandiloquent language.
Here we go back to the premise that people are in a rush and along with this, most people don’t want to have to look up words to get the gist of the article. This is another quick way to lose a reader.

Keep your writing simple. Write how you would normally speak.

In addition, choose your words with care. C.S. Lewis knew the importance of this when he said, “Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.”

Following these ‘four mistakes to avoid’ will help you write blog posts that readers will appreciate and will want to share.

~~~~~
Get weekly must-know writing and marketing information and more, right to your inbox. Join Karen Cioffi in The Writing World. (It’s all free!)

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Self Editing Your Work

By: Stephanie Burkhart 

Have you ever considered revising your work by reading it out loud with a group of friends? This method accomplishes much by getting feedback and identifying errors. 

Writing tends to be a solitary endeavor. When you’ve finished your project, it’s essential to get feedback during the editing/revision phase. One way to do this is to invite a couple of your close friends over for a “Read Out Loud.” 

Reading out loud benefits every writer. You read words differently out loud than you do when you’re silent reading. Invite a couple of your friends whom you trust over to give you honest feedback. You manage the amount, but too many friends might defeat the purpose.

Prepare drinks and light snacks for your guests to thank them for their time. If your work is a novel, only plan to read a part of it. (preferably the part where you might be struggling) and print copies for all involved.

Reading out loud offers several ways to improve:

It gives you a reason to meet with friends you might have neglected while writing. 

It gives perspective. Do your jokes work? Is everything (plot points) clear? Is characterization consistent? 

How is your pacing? Slow in places or does it gloss over important information too quickly?

Identify errors.

Your friends make a great “beta” audience. They have your best interests at heart. You may feel a little discomfort sharing your work – don’t. They want to help you.

Read the passage first. Take notes as your friends read. Notice if they appear bored or engage, restless or attentive. After they read, ask questions. (make sure you write them down before the reading)

 

Questions might include:

Is this offensive?

Do you see foreshadowing?

Symbolism?

Is it romantic?

Suspenseful?

 

Listen to them and write down their feedback. Stay neutral. Don’t be offended when they offer you constructive criticism. Take it all in. 

Remember some suggestions might contradict. You don’t have to use everything. Look at the project and see what improves the work. 

Question for you: Has anyone ever done this? Does it work for you? What do you like about the format? Can you trust the feedback you receive?

 

Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her 4RV stories include “The Giving Meadow” and “First Flag of New Hampshire.” She lives in Castaic, CA and enjoys chocolate, adores coffee and likes taking walks around the lake. She’s a den leader for her son’s Cub Scout Den. 

 

Find me at:

 WEBSITE:

http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:

http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK: 
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

PINTEREST:

http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart/

Reference for this blog article: Writer’s Digest, January 2015, “Inkwell: Revising Out Loud,” by Joe Stollenwerk, pages 8-9.

 

Online Marketing with Grassroots Visibility Part 2

This is Part 2 of Online Marketing with Grassroots Visibility. Part 1 covered taking the time to learn the basics and the beginning of creating visibility. To read Part 1, please visit:

2. Begin to create that visibility (continued). 

A. Create a website or at the very least a blog.

To read this, please see Part One.

B: Bring traffic to your site.

1. Write regularly to your blog and make sure the content is valuable to the reader.

2. Write articles for article directories such as Ezine Articles, Associated Content, or Helium. Go to the site, create an account and then submit an article. There are a number of article directories you can use, just do a Google search. Be sure to write something that will be useful to others – if your readers feel your content is valuable they'll take that extra step and click on the link in your resource box.

If you have no idea what to write or are intimidate about writing your own content, there are writing services that will write articles for you. These services might be listed as ghostwriting and/or blog and article content service.

Be sure to check out their qualification (their articles and blogs) before hiring them.

You can also take advantage of PLR - Private Label Rights. These can come in the form of ebooks which you can give away as your own. This is a great way to draw visitors and get them to sign up as subscribers. A word of caution here: be sure to read the ebook before you offer it as a freebie on your site; there may be errors in the content or outdated information that you will need to correct.

3. Once you have an article published on your website, share it to all your social networks, including: GooglePlus, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, SutmbleUpon, and so on.

4. Visit other bloggers' sites and leave comments. Be sure to actually read the article you're commenting about so you won't be tempted to leave a generic response. If your comment is interesting or informative, the author or other commenters may click on the link back to your site.

5. Join in on a virtual book tour. If you're not promoting your own book, offer your site for authors who are. To offer your site you can post a notice on Twitter, Facebook and other groups you belong to.

6. Ask writers you know to do guest articles for your site.

7. Be sure to join a couple of worthwhile forums and be an active member. This is a great source of networking.

8. Always include your URL as part of your signature.

3 You’re in it for the long-haul.

These are some simple ways to bring traffic to your site and gain visibility. To keep your readers coming back you'll need to continue providing useful content.

Don't feel overwhelmed; take one step at a time. Marketing is an on-going journey – just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

~~~~~
Get weekly must-know writing and marketing information and more, right to your inbox. Join Karen Cioffi in The Writing World. (It’s all free!)

Where to start your story

In the first long work of fiction I wrote, I made the classic beginner's mistake of starting the story too soon., with two chapters of backstory.

I wrote the first version of the book, "The Angry Little Boy," which will be published by 4RV sometime next year, in a weekend. Then I spent the next couple of years learning enough about fiction writing to make it publishable, including signing up for an online course on revising and editing. The first assignment was to post a chapter and revise it.

Taking a look at the first two chapters, I decided they would be poor material for the assignment, so I chose chapter three. It was one of those moments of clarity or perhaps sheer blind luck. Ultimately, with the help of the instructor, I cut out the first two chapters entirely. The necessary information, quite a bit less than I originally had, ended up as a flashback.

Determined not to stumble into the same pit twice, I searched for a method to determine where to start a story. Simply put, where to start is where the story begins, and where it begins depends on what the story is about, which means writing down the key concept.

In my story, a  little boy loses his mother in a fire, but the adults around him are too immersed in their own grief to pay attention to him and help him with his.  Formulated this way, it was clear that the action started when my main character arrives at his grandmother's house. His mother is dead and father in the hospital. The first two chapters, for which I had done quite a lot of research, were about the fire and her death, not about what happens after, and so I cut them.

While stating the core concept of a story may not be quick or easy -- it took me a couple of weeks of staring at my first few chapters to figure out the core concept for my current work-in-progress -- it serves as a guide to both where to start, and how to focus the story. Begin at the beginning, not before.

Online Marketing with Grassroots Visibility (three fundamental elements)

By Karen Cioffi

This is Part 1 of a 2 part post.

I make it a habit to attend as many marketing webinars and teleseminars that I can. The last few I attended were about blogging. Listening to the other attendees I realized there are many people out there who need the basics in regard to internet marketing. These attendees were confused and overwhelmed.

Marketing is all around us - on a constant basis. While there are different strategies and tools, the purpose of marketing is to attract potential customers to your services or product. Then through purposeful and persuasive dialogue convince them that purchasing what you are offering is a wise decision.

At the root of any marketing strategy is visibility. Let's look at three ways to obtain that visibility:

1. LEARN! I consider this the foundation of any marketing strategy.

Imagine you're a kid in a toy store where everything is free. Every aisle, every shelf jammed packed with toys and all you have to do is take what you want.

Well, consider the internet your marketing toy store, just walk down the aisles and search the shelves for what you want or need.

We live in an unbelievably opportune time to learn about anything and everything without leaving our homes, and usually for free or at a nominal cost. There are so many resources online, such as: articles, blogs, webinars, videos, teleseminars, teleclasses, videos, eclasses, and ebooks. There are even FREE online conferences available.

Take advantage of as many of these resources that you can. Learn the skills and strategies you'll need to become a pro-marketer.

A fantastic free writers' conference is The Muse Online Writers Conference which is held in October. You should definitely take advantage of this valuable opportunity to learn and network. (http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com)

2. Begin to create that visibility.

A: Create a website or at the very least a blog

Okay, this is where you will need to roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty. If you are completely new to all this I recommend starting with a blog. One of the easiest to create and maintain is at Blogger.com. If you get stuck on something it may take a bit of reading and searching their help forum, but there hasn't been a question I had that I couldn't find the answer to. And, it's free!

Tip: Choose a domain name that will still be appropriate as you grow and/or branch out.

If you have the time and don't mind the effort, go for the website; it can grow with you. There are a number of hosting sites that are reasonably priced such as Blue Host (great customer service support – I highly recommend it) and Go Daddy.

WordPress.com is a free hosting site. It’s a ‘ready to play, out of the box’ system. Like Blogger, there are no downloads necessary and no hosting services required.

There are many other sites and building tools available, such as Weebly.com. Just do a Google search.

If you are completely at a loss here, there are services that can help. These services will create a website for you. Please remember though, you don't need flash to have an effective site, you need valuable content and an easy to navigate landing page.

When looking for a service to help, do a little research and watch prices. I have seen services that charge between $500 and $5000 for websites. They can be much more money also.

NOTE: While a free site may sound tempting, you won’t have control over it. Some limitations are:

•    You cannot change the code
•    You are limited to their themes – you cannot upload your own
•    Plugins are limiited
•    You may be limited to the number of pages you can create, depending on the service
•    You do not have the same support system as with a paid hosting service

There are other limitations – these are five of the basics.

Stay tuned next month for more on creating visibility and eight additional tips on bringing traffic to your websites.

~~~~~

Get weekly must-know writing and marketing information and more, right to your inbox. Join Karen Cioffi in The Writing World. (It’s all free!)