Category: Self Publishing

Encouragement, Jane Friedman, Kirsten Lamb, Rachel Gardner, Self Publishing, Writer Unboxed, Writing, Writing blogs, Writing classes, Writing Resources

How to Save Time for Writing

Mona Alvarado Frazier





There are few things I like to do other than write or find writing resources to help me become a better writer. Sure I miss watching my favorite television shows, coffee with friends, walking the dog, and watching my kids grow (I’m lying they are all 18-25, they’re grown). Sometimes I prefer to write than go on a date but perhaps that will change when the right one comes along. How I save time for writing besides the aforementioned is to look for shortcuts, i.e. good advice. Why reinvent the wheel? 

When I find great resources I believe in sharing them to help the next writer in his/her endeavor. Many publishers, agents, and authors have blogs that help writers become better. I usually stay away from any with bells and whistles on their blogs (flickering ads) or anyone admantly pushing their book. I don’t mind that their book cover is on their sidebar I just don’t want flashing arrows pointing to it or their ad popping up on my screen.
In the past few months I’ve found that I’ve kept returning to the same bloggers, who I believe are experts in the writing field. These are, in no particular order:
Jane Friedman‘s blog. She featured Writing Advice That Saves You 5 Years. It links to Steal This List. She has an archive of free advice for writers and is an editor at Writer’s Digest, a magazine I finally subscribed to after reading it at the library for four months.

And for plot and structure, I know no better teacher than The Plot Whisper. I learn better when I can read something and hear something. TPW has YouTube videos on each lesson, for FREE. 

Kirsten Lamb is the Queen of Blogging and Social Media. Her post The Right Way, Wrong Way, Smart Way caught my attention and is well worth the read. 
Rachell Gardner is a literary agent who has resources for writers who want to improve their craft and prepare themselves for publication. 
Writer Unboxed was started by two aspiring writers who began a community of contributing authors. They are “about the craft and business of fiction.” 


Deciding to go the e-book route and self publish, Joe Konrath’s blog tells it like it is-to him. He makes a lot of sense (he has sold books the traditional way) and now sells tons of his books, for e-readers. 


Also check out some more of my favorites listed on Top Ten Blogs for Writers. 


These resources save you time and money because many people pay for the kind of information these writers give and you can read them whenever you carve out 10 minutes. If you haven’t fulfilled your dream of writing a family history, memoir, magazine article or essay, here’s your chance to start again in the new year and save time to watch your children grow or go on that date. 
Guisada, Kindle Fire, NaNoWriMo, Self Publishing

Friday’s Guisada of Tips

Mona Alvarado Frazier

Some days it’s all about bundling up, cooking and then vegging out. I vote for that day to be today. It’s cold, but not Minnesota cold, not even Oregon cold, but just cool and dreary enough for us spoiled Southern Cal people to whine. It’s 57 degrees out.

I tried making some leek and potato soup, vegan style, for my son. Since I’ve begun receiving “Farm to You,” organic produce I get stuff like fresh leeks, persimmons, and artichokes. This girl from the projects does not know how to cook those things. But I looked up a recipe on line. It was too salty and oniony for me, but the vegan son ate a couple of bowls.

And to think I could have made a good old fashioned Mexican guisada (see above). It has a little of this, a little of that and you can use pork, beef, hamburger, or groundless round soy product. My mom used to call it a ‘guisado,’ but maybe she just liked the male sound of it.

So now that dinner is over, I’m so excited to play some more with my Kindle Fire. I’ve already named her and bought her an ‘outfit.’ (Not really-this outfit is not out for the Fire yet).

 I bought her a conservative outfit. I know, I was one of those people who vowed to keep only books in the house, but technology lured me, like a male version of a siren.  I think it started when I bought a laptop last year. After that I traded in my old Blackberry for an iPhone 3 and I’m resisting any upgrades, I don’t care how nice Suri sounds. When she can wash the dishes, I’ll trade up.

For today’s ‘guisada,’ I found some great  tips for NaNoWriMo inspiration. I must catch up this weekend. I’m at 26,832 words and 4K behind as of today. The article on the Kindle Lending Library debate is a good one too. I must say I see both sides of view. I already downloaded a book from the ‘library.’ Don’t skip the article on the future of book covers. It dazzled me. I like to be dazzled sometimes.

Skip the Jerry Sandusky’s link to his memoir. Amazon pulled it after a deluge of outraged customer reviews. I particularly enjoyed Wicked and Tricksy’s article on Self Publishing. I’m starting to lean more and more in that direction. When I lean more than the Tower of Pisa, I’m jumping into the waters.

I hope you enjoy the guisada of resources and hope you get a chance to make some real guisada this weekend while you catch up on your reading. Media Bistro  provided this weeks host of links and Nathan Bransford provided “This week in Books.” Very clever people.