Category Archives: Writing Musings

Musings from author Denise Turney on writing, including freelance, marketing, self-help, nonfiction and journal writing. Here you will find book marketing tips as well as advice on places where you can go to sharpen your craft and network with other writers, including novelists. You’ll also find places where you can network with readers, editors, publishers and literary agents.

Exposing the truth about writer rejection

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By Denise Turney
Enter the world of a writer. Fuzzy, cloudy thoughts about an impending success that’s most certain to come, millions of book readers finally seeing what great talent the writer has always possessed. A willingness to forego parties, movie nights and long weekend getaways just to have time to finish another novel chapter – it’s a writer’s inner world, a choice a writer makes over and over.

Some writers pour hundreds, even thousands, of dollars into book marketing, steadfastly hoping to get their book in front of larger numbers of people. Add to that the fact that, for a writer, work never ends, ideas, plots, characters and twists surfacing in his or her bright, creative mind at all hours of the day or night.

Is it any wonder that a writer takes it personally, as if an editor or publisher just punched her in the stomach, each time she receives a rejection letter? As if that wasn’t enough, far too many rejection letters that writers receive are ‘canned’.

If a writer looks deeply enough, he could walk away with this glimmer of hope. He could recognize that, perhaps, an incredibly busy editor or publisher didn’t even take the time to read his manuscript. In that case, it’s so what about the rejection letter. Or the writer could come to the conclusion that the rejection letter does no more than group them with the other 99% of writers who submitted a manuscript to the same editor or publisher.

Get enough rejection letters and it’s not surprising for a writer to start doubting that she chose the right profession, perhaps even forcing the writer to conclude that, for her, novel writing will never be more than a hobby, despite fantasies and daydreams that declare just the opposite. After all, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 26% of novelists and non-fiction writers only write on a part-time basis.

Of note, 68% of writers are also self-employed. Additionally, the lion’s share of the writers reported on by the Statistics Bureau are non-fiction writers. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, corporations, marketing agencies and public relations firms are types of organizations many of these writers create content for.

Although non-fiction writers don’t generally have to read through a rejection letter the way a novelist does, non-fiction writers (especially those who are self-employed) do deal with job proposal rejection. It’s these points that make it absolutely necessary for a writer to have a tough interior if he plans to stick around long, possibly writing his way into the top 10% of writers, creative artists who earned, on average, more than $109,000 annually as of 2010.

Of course, the highest paid novelists, people like J. K. Rowling, Stephen King, James Patterson, Stephanie Meyer, Danielle Steel and Ken Follett, pull in tens of millions of dollars a year. And, perhaps, it’s these novelists’ tremendous success that lends an air of hope, a belief in their own potential (yet unrealized) success that keeps many lesser known writers churning out one novel after another, laughing at the words printed a on crisp rejection letter.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

All writers should be wealthy

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What a notion!  All writers are wealthy, absolutely loving life!

Talk about a wonderful world!  No writer gets her work rejected. Not only that, each writer receives no less than a five-figure payout for every single novel he writes. Oh, if it were only like that.

Have fun dreaming (or cashing those big checks, in case your a wealthy writer who has it like that!!) And if you’re just at the dreaming stage, here’s to hoping you soon make the leap to writing awesome, page-turning novels you genuinely love writing, novels that help you rake in the dough!

“Hang on, Snoopy!  Hang on!” Remember that song line?

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Valuable resources for women who love to read

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By Denise Turney (author of Love Pour Over Me)
The Internet is packed with benefits, one rewarding novel connect after another. Websites, social media posts, e-blasts and digital newsletters have put a wealth of literary information at book lovers’ fingertips. At first glance, it’s like being planted in an oasis of book clubs, author interviews, book trailers, marketing slogans, author You-Tube video messages and free to low-cost print and e-books.

Perhaps at no other time in history has it been so easy to get in touch with your favorite authors. Gone are the days when you had to stand in line at a bookstore for one or two hours just to meet a writer whose books you’d read and absolutely enjoyed for several years. Now all it takes is the click of a button.

If you grew up in the 1970s or earlier, this might seem like a bit of culture shock. For younger readers, it’s the “norm”. No one’s as far away as they once appeared to be.

But, how do you know which websites, book trailers, author videos, interviews, etc. to check out? After all, you can’t see them all, just as you probably can’t read every book, even every book you’d love and appreciate. There is simply too much to choose from. You might as well settle in to the fact that you’re going to miss an incredibly large amount of good stuff, including books that could deeply inspire, motivate, educate and definitely entertain you.

We really are living in a time of great information wealth, great books being a tremendous part of this enriching data.

By sifting through all the data that’s out here, the time it takes you to discover life changing books can shorten significantly. In effort to help you sift through the massive amounts of literary data there is on and offline, I put together lists of resources that can benefit you as a book lover.

Book Clubs (some are great places to meet with other book lovers in person, make friends with people who share your passion and more)

Large Book Websites

Guides for Starting Book Clubs, Etc.

Book Festivals/Conferences Writers Attend (places where you could meet your favorite authors)

Enjoy visiting these and other book related websites, joining and participating in quality book clubs and finding and reading great books. After all, many great books are hidden, not featured in newspapers, magazines or even on websites. Finding these enriching, emotionally moving reads is like finding a rare jewel, a jewel you can treasure for years, perhaps the rest of your life.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! 

How to know if a book’s written for money or quality entertainment

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By Denise Turney

Globally, more than two million books were published in 2005 alone. That’s a single year. Of that number, 328,259 of those books where published in the United States. It’s nothing new that writing and publishing books is one way you could become a multi-millionaire. What has changed over the years, especially with the Internet’s rising popularity, is the number of people who are penning novels.

Book Publishing’s Attraction

The sheer number of authors alone has taken a bit of luster off what it means to be an author. In fact, it’s not uncommon to hear a friend, colleague or relative proudly exclaim, “I can write a better book than . . .” (Fill in the blank with a New York Times bestseller author’s name.

But, can anyone, regardless of their writing experience or storytelling skills, sit down and write a bestseller at the drop of a hat? Or better yet, should anyone write a novel just so they can become rich?

The quality of novels hitting the market may reveal that writing books for money is becoming increasingly attractive. For example, years ago it was hard, very hard, to buy a novel that had numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes in it. It was also very hard to come across a novel that switched point of view so many times that readers got confused about who was saying or experiencing what.

Read enough of these books and you could start to think that authors don’t respect readers. You could also start to think that authors are arrogant, of the belief that stories they create are so automatically awesome that only a dumb person wouldn’t see the greatness in the writing.

Signs a Book Was Written Mainly for Money
Besides being filled with grammatical and spelling errors, books that are written mainly for money may also be developed using a formula or pattern, are built upon cliff hanging scenes that the greatest sci-fi fan would have a very hard time believing, rely on shock to hold reader interest, have so many rancid sex scenes a gigolo would blush (which swings back to the shock factor), shy away from facts (some writers really do hate to conduct research) and more.

Yet, authors who aim for riches rather than to develop quality entertainment, stories that stir the human spirit and provoke deep thought, haven’t created this issue in a vacuum. They haven’t turned down the respect authors once enjoyed all by themselves. The push from book publishers, literary agents and editors to sell-sell-sell is no less responsible.

To reduce the risk of taking on an author who has the talent but not the marketing mindset or skill to sell thousands of books a month, publishers are starting to watch the self-publisher ranks. Once a self-published author sells 10,000 or more copies of a single title, it’s not uncommon for publishers to contact that author, asking them if he wants to work out a deal.

This is a near complete about face over how publishers acquired manuscripts decades ago, back when modern novels became classics. Back then, publishers, editors and agents hunted for talent, scouring through stacks of manuscripts in the hopes of finding a rare gem, a quality novel that introduced readers to complex characters, people whose experiences mimicked their own without, at first glance, appearing to.

Waiting for Great Quality Art
It remains to be seen what impact sales over quality will have on the book industry. Perhaps the impact will mirror the impact that less conscious songs have had on the music industry. After all, one thing is certain. Readers, like music lovers, aren’t dumb. They know quality entertainment when they read it.

While listening to an interview given by the music mogul, Clive Davis, I was inspired to hear Clive share that he was waiting for a conscious singer/songwriter, someone like Bob Dylan (and dare I say, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Diane Warren, Carole King and Nina Simone) to appear on the music scene. He’s not alone.

One great artist, an artist whose primary goal is to create quality entertainment, can set an industry on its end. In this regard, creating novels that aim to provide quality entertainment may help generate more profits for the book industry long term than books that are written solely for money.

Yes. There are risks. Books you pour months, perhaps years, of work into — writing and editing and writing and editing — may not gain many a large number of sells, costing you money. Yet, the risks may be worth it, especially if you genuinely love to write, respect reader intelligence and appreciate how great books you’ve read changed your life in remarkable, yet, generally unnoticeable, ways.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Penn Relays Sports Brillance

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penn relays track and field
It’s hard to live in the Philadelphia area and not hear about the historic Penn Relays, an event that generally takes place mid-spring. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Mary Slaney, Carmelita Jeter, Michael Johnson and Vicki Huber are just a few of the track and field standouts who have competed at the world famous event.

Watching Bolt, Blake and the other Jamaican relay team members sprint ahead of all other relay runners is memorable. Their performance brings to mind Carl Lewis and the United States’ teams 4 x 200 run at the 1992 Penn Relays. Clearly, the sports tradition that originally kicked off in April 1895, doesn’t stop at spotlighting collegiate track and field stars. In fact, top high school and professional track runners regularly attend the Penn Relays over three to five days. Watching them in the stands, on a single day, can be more than 30,000 fans, adults and children filling the stands at the University of Pennsylvania stadium.

penn relays women run

This year’s schedule starts with Tuesday and Wednesday qualifying races. Thursday’s races being with women’s hurdles championships, followed by women’s high school hurdles. There are also Special Olympics and Master’s  track competitions. Field events include the shot put, pole vault, long jump, high jump, hammer throw and discus throw.

Although you can catch the Penn Relays on NBC and Universal Sports, there’s nothing like  attending the Relays in person.  Attend in person and you could see some of the world’s top track stars up close. If you’re passionate about running yourself, you could also note some warm-up, relay hand-off, block start and finish techniques used by the fastest runners in the world.

If you do attend the historic races, make sure you bring a digital camera as there will likely be dozens of experiences you’ll want to capture and remember. Who knows, you might even get the chance to chat with a competitor after the event has ended.

penn relays race

Another tip you’ll want to remember is to arrive at the Penn Relays early. If you’ve never been to the Penn Relays before, head for Franklin Field at 235 South 33rd Street. Traffic in and out of Philadelphia can get thick. The good thing is that there won’t be a Philadelphia 76ers or Eagles game to add even more congestion to area roadways. Check weather reports before you leave, making bringing an umbrella or raincoat just in case the weather changes.

Above all, have loads of fun. You might even leave the Penn Relays determined to begin a personal fitness regimen. If you’re a mature adult, you might even consider entering the Master’s competitions at future Franklin Field track and field competitions. Track and field . . . it has always been Raymond Clarke’s favorite sport. Learn about his sports exploits in Love Pour Over Me, a story that unveils the inner workings of a fictional world class track star, simply unforgettable.

To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today.

Talented Athletes From Dayton, Ohio

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By Denise Turney

talented dayton ohio athletes

Clearly, the most celebrated professional athlete hailing from Ohio is LeBron James. He’s a basketball phenom who ‘s hometown is Akron, one of the Buckeye state’s small cities. Although it’s not as small as Akron, Dayon is another small city. But, that’s not a big deal; few Ohio cities outside of Cleveland and Cincinnati are what many people would consider to be a “big town.”

Dayton Ohio – Small Town Home to Sports Champions

As a Ohio native, I feel incredibly proud and delighted to witness what LeBron James is doing with his athletic talent. The fact that he’s handling his life well off the basketball court is icing on the cake. Kudos to Lebron! However, LeBron isn’t the only talented athlete from Ohio who’s gone on to achieve success. Dayton is another city that has produced sports giants, people excelling at the high school, collegiate or professional level.

For starters, there’s Tonja Buford-Bailey. She’s a track and field standout who was born in Dayton; Tonja won the silver medal in the 400 meter hurdles at the 1995 Track and Field World Championships. A year later, she won the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic Games. Dayton born, Tamika Williams, is another athlete who made it to the professional level. She earned her stripes playing for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.

Another Dayton basketball standout had great success at the collegiate level. Roosevelt Chapman, played basketball for the University of Dayton. Chapman would lead the team to the 1984 NCAA championships. His athletic achievements would later earn him a spot in the University of Dayton’s Hall of Fame.

More Exceptional Athletes from Dayton, Ohio

When it comes to baseball, Mike Schmidt and Roger Clemens are two of the most famous athletes from Dayton, Ohio. However, it’s at football that a large number of Dayton athletes excelled. Javon Ringer (Tennessee Titans), Mike Nugent (Cincinnati Bengals), Nick Mangold (New York Jets), John Henderson (Minnesota Vikings) and A. J. Hawk (Green Bay Packers) are some of the Daytonians who earned a lifestyle playing in the NFL.

Like Akron’s LeBron James, when it comes to athletic standouts, Edwin Moses is Dayton’s king. He may be the only professional athlete who never experienced a defeat while actively participating in a sport (track and field) more than 100 times. Edwin won gold medals at the 1976 and 1984 Olympic Games. In addition, he set the world record in the 400 meter hurdles four times. He is truly a champion, an elder statesman of the sport, someone Dayton is proud to call “Son”.

It’s my love of sports, particularly track and field, that inspired me to develop the main character in my new book, Love Pour Over Me, (Raymond Clarke) as a track standout. As with other athletes mentioned in this article, Raymond is from Ohio. Home for his father, Malcolm, and he is located in West Dayton. Raymond’s life, as happens to everyone, is filled with shifts, setbacks and triumphs, one of his greatest being the love relationship he shares with Brenda, a woman with a strong appreciation for life and the outdoors, a remarkable woman from the mountains of Tennessee.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Writing Books and Stories that Touch Readers Deep Within

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By Denise Turney

It’s been said that authentic stories come to writers instead of writers simply sitting down and creating stories we share with book readers. Truth may be that stories that touch readers deep within may actually come from deep within writers. It’s as though these stories speak to us, characters pushing us to tell their stories.

Powerful Emotions Touch Book Readers

Then again, there are stories, like those found in non-fiction books, that come to writers directly from experiences we observe in this physical world. It is then that stories can touch the core of book readers while the stories also keep accurate records of historic events, experiences that create strong, compelling emotions.

Developing stories that move print and electronic book readers requires that writers be honest with themselves, explore their own issues. In fact, it’s not uncommon for novelists to revisit their fiction books and see bits and pieces of their own experiences dispersed amongst the books’ pages. Specific steps book writers can take to engage their reading audience include having book characters write personal letters to their friends, parents or children.

Authors can also have major book characters share personal experiences in their diaries and include some of those diary entries in novels they craft. Raymond Clarke does this in the new book, Love Pour Over Me. Painting pictures to create images of major and minor book characters can also help authors to connect with and get to know their book’s characters more fully, more deeply.

By creating character sketches, authors can find out how old members of their book’s supporting cast should be. Other information that may surface while book writers do character sketches are the hometowns supports cast members should be from, the type of personality characters should have and particular motives major book characters should have.

The more deeply connected book writers are to the characters they create, the easier it can be for writers to flesh characters out for print and digital book readers, making the characters feel real. Another tip book writers may find helpful is to read dialogue and character scenes out loud. Sometimes the ears will catch something the eyes miss or don’t want to acknowledge.

To move book readers deeply, it’s important that writers create book characters readers will genuinely care about. The most talented and technically well crafted writing in the world may not engage readers if characters are flat or unbelievable. By adding strong dialogue, intriguing scenes and strong character motives to stories, book writers may start to develop a readership

Get your copy of “Love Pour Over Me” Now at –

http://www.ebookit.com/books/0000001582/Love-Pour-Over-Me.html

Sources:

Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Love-Pour-Over-Me-ebook/dp/B007MC0Z2C

Barnes & Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-pour-over-me-denise-turney/1109600654

What if you can’t stop writing?

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Some people write because they’ve heard that it’s a great way to gain fortune and fame. Other people write because they feel compelled to share their ideas with others, intent on causing other people to think the way they do. And then, there are folks who sit down and write or type out one-word-after-another because they simply couldn’t stop writing if they wanted to.

As much as I don’t like admitting it, I’m in the latter group.

Oh, sure, I’d absolutely love the fortune (you can keep the fame), but I’m gonna write no matter what.  It’s in my DNA. I can’t help it.

Curious if this fits the bill for you as well? Consider reading these few scenarios/facts, and see how well they match you.

  • When I listen to conversations people have while commuting to and from work on the train, airplane, etc., I often find myself turning the conversations into short stories, poems, novels or I ponder how the conversations might work in a screenplay.
  • I write more than I think I do (i.e. journal writing, blogging, writing copy for friends) and don’t mind at all.
  • If I’m reading a newspaper, magazine or website article, I find myself enjoying the cadence, the very pace of the writing, more than the actual details noted in the piece.
  • People tell me it’s like I’m “right there” talking with them when they read letters I’ve written them and sent via the mail.
  • Seems like a story’s always going in my head.
  • I have an endless imagination.
  • Impossible seems like the most useless word in the dictionary to me (again . . . that endless imagination).
  • I absolutely love being in a library or bookstore!
  • When I talk with another writer, I feel like I’m talking with someone who really knows and understands me.

Oh, the joys of being a writer!  They abound!

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Testing the meanings of your life’s dictionary

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By Denise Turney

Believe it or not, meanings we give events, including expressions other people wear when they’re around us, could play in our favor. Meanings in our personal (internal) dictionary could also set us back, causing us to believe that people don’t care for us, aren’t supporting us, think we’re boring, etc.

Keep this us and it won’t be surprising if we start feeling insecure, maybe even depressed. But, what if the meanings we give events are wrong? What if a man frowns at us on a train because he’s dealing with acid reflux, an ulcer or arthritis? Surely, he wouldn’t have to stop and tell us and everyone else he met why he was frowning. Would he? Would you if you were the one frowning due to physical pain? Would you have to tell everybody you met why you were frowning?

It’s a reason it’s an excellent idea to leave room for the wonderful fact that the meaning you give an event just might be WRONG!  If you leave just a little room to consider that your personal dictionary might have wrong meanings in it, you could avoid stress, sleepless nights, fatigue, frustration, etc.

You might even really start to live . . . for the first time.

You might stop allowing other people’s expressions and conversations to have control of your day, how you feel about yourself, etc.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

10 Must Haves to be a Successful Freelance Writer

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Absolutely! Successful freelance writers have a lively, energetic imagination.  It’s the heartbeat of the very work that creative writers design.  However, that isn’t the only element that freelance writers need to be successful. In fact, imagination alone could find writers struggling to build ways to transfer the many ideas filling their head onto paper (or onto a computer screen).

Without these other 10 “must haves,” freelance writers could also spends weeks or months (dare I say . . . years) trying to land quality clients (who doesn’t want their savings to grow?), sharpen their craft or grow their readership. Absent a few of these “must haves,” freelance writers could also start feeling frustrated and (oh, no!) quit.

So, without further ado, here’s the 10 “must haves”. How many of them do you already possess?

Determination – Freelance writing isn’t always easy, especially at the start of a career. By being determined, you can hang in there when client work has dropped off, novel sales are sluggish or you find yourself racing to catch up to lightning fast technology advances.

Open Mind – No one knows everything about anything.  An open mind makes it easier for you to receive new ideas, continue to learn and accept reader feedback without losing focus of your writing goals.

Solid Skills – Okay. You don’t have to be an English professor to enjoy phenomenal success as a freelance writer. But, you do need to have a good handle on grammar basics. If you feel you have room for improvement in this area, consider enrolling in an online or offline course so you can get up to speed.


Marketing Drive – Whether you work as a copywriter, technical writer, medical writer, etc. or as a book writer (fiction or non-fiction), you’re going to need to market your work to pull in more clients or readers. Participating in marketing discussion forums is one way you could start learning about tricks you could use to attract a larger audience for your work.

Financial Acumen – There really isn’t much sense in working hard to make money if you’re only going to waste every cent you earn. A budget (as well as sticking to a budget) could keep you on track, helping you to grow savings.

Courage – Should this one be Number 1?  Okay. These “must haves” aren’t in any particular order. But, that said, courage is HUGE. Without courage, you might avoid contacting interview subjects (i.e. CEOs, celebrities) so you can land freelance writing gigs. You might also steer away from reaching out to book club presidents, readers, etc. to gain reviews for your latest novel. In fact, courage probably impacts everything you’ll do as a freelance writer.

Humor – Despite your best efforts, there’s no guarantee that you’ll always get the winning results you seek. It’s also highly unlikely that you’ll never make a mistake. Learning to laugh and take all that comes with freelance writing in stride could save you lots of frustration, disappointment and anger. Try it!

Appreciation – Although we writers often work alone,  our lives don’t unfold in a vacuum (and, who would want that?). Appreciation for other people can help you remember what’s primary as a writer (regardless of the type of writing you do) — readers . . . aka “other people”.  By focusing on writing to improve other people’s lives, you could really start to win as a freelancer. This cannot be overstated.

Great Editors – Sure. You can edit your own writings. In fact, it’s a great idea to do so. However, if you want to truly improve as a writer, moving closer and closer toward ongoing  success, there’s a huge chance that you’re going to have to work with editors — great editors. The better the editors you work with, the better your writing will likely be.

Vision – That’s right. Imagination alone may not be enough. You need to “see” what you want, including how you want a story to unfold, what you want to achieve as a freelance writer each day, week, month and year. It’s this inner vision that can help you to know which choices to make (i.e. what to say “yes” or “no” to).

Resilience is another ingredient that can propel you to the top as a freelance writer. After all, down times might come, but if you are determined and resilient, you can stay the course, holding on for more and more writing success.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com ($3.03 – lowest price I’ve found so far) and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.