Guest Post

HAVE A BOOK TO PROMOTE? Lyrical Pens welcomes guest posts. Answer a questionnaire or create your own post. FYI, up front: This site is a definite PG-13. For details, contact cjpetterson@gmail.com cj

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Watch for it...there's a little something extra in your future


cj Sez: When I posted on Facebook that I wasn’t having a lot of trouble with social distancing or some quarantine requirements because (as a writer) I’ve been practicing that for years, son replied…”Spread the word, not the germ.” Seems like a motto to me.

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cj Sez:  I've posted about editing before, but the topic is important enough for authors getting ready to publish their masterpiece that I think it bears repeating. 
   Did you ever open a book, read a few chapters and then put it down because of errata, i.e.; those typos, misspellings, and factual errors that drive a pedantic like me crazy. One or two will make me shake my head and pause; a lot of them will stop me in my tracks. That story needed a professional edit, which it did not get before publication.

   Speaking from experience, self-edits and beta readers do not, will not, and cannot catch everything that a professional copy editor will. When I was gainfully employed, one of my report/column-writing rules was to get as many people as possible to read the document…the more eyes on it the better the end product. That wasn’t easy to do because I was on deadline, and my work wasn’t on the top of someone else’s to-do list. But the effort was so worth it.

   And so it is for an author’s manuscript. I want my manuscript to be the best I can make it. I read the document on the computer screen, and because the text looks different when it’s printed, I print a few pages. I’ll find missing commas, periods, or quotation marks that were missed on numerous computer-screen read-throughs.

   Sometimes, I make a copy of the printed page. Copying changes the size of the font again, and I will (too often) find something else to correct. 

   But the end-all for me is to read the pages out loud. You’d be surprised at what you find. Not just spelling or punctuation problems, but whole paragraphs and dialogues that absolutely need editing in order to be coherent.

   My advice: Don’t presume that because you’ve typed “The End,” your manuscript is finished. It needs fresh eyes. Yes, it’s a personal and financial consideration for each author, but please consider hiring a copy editor if you can afford it.

   Caveat: Expect that if your manuscript is accepted by a publisher, their punctuation rules for how they want their publication to look may differ from your copy editor’s input, and there could be more changes to be made.
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Public Service Announcements

Good news during the crisis: The Internal Revenue Service announced that the federal income tax filing due date is automatically extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.

   This deferment applies to all taxpayers, including individuals, trusts and estates, corporations and other non-corporate tax filers. However, second quarter estimated tax payments are still due by June 15.


The Alabama Department of Revenue also announced that the income tax filing due date is extended…Read more here: https://revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/due-dates/

   Not in Alabama? Check with your state’s Department of Revenue.

Reminder: The 2020 U.S. Census is ongoing. Your anonymous, honest response matters. The results enable communities to apply for federal funding for health clinics, fire departments, schools, and even roads, highways, and bridges.

   The census results also determine how many seats in Congress each state gets. In Alabama, the sluggish return threatens the loss of two Congressional seats, according to news media reports. (You can take a look at the actions of our current elected officials and know how important that is. Took me all of ten minutes to complete mine.)


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There's a little Lagniappe (something extra) in your future . . . 

   The authors of the upcoming release, BIENVENUE to the CHATEAU ROUGE, have joined together to give you a little Lagniappe (a little something extra)
   This collection of novellas and short stories gives you a sneak peek at the writers who have stories included in the May release of BIENVENUE to the CHATEAU ROUGE --- it's available for pre-order now. 
Read the teasers here   https://bit.ly/2WNYDtu     

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   That’s it for this week’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on and I’ll try to do the same.

cj
  
   My paranormal, short story, “Love is Immortal” is included in a new anthology scheduled for release later this spring. Watch for more on the launch of BIENVENUE to the CHATEAU ROUGE on Facebook and Amazon.

  Autographed print copies of my novels CHOOSING CARTER and DEADLY STAR are available at The Haunted Book Shop. Anthologies in which I have stories, including THE POSSE, the Bienvenue Press Christmas charity series, and the Mobile Writers Guild PIECES series are also available there.

   If the book shop doesn't happen to have a copy of any book(s), by any author that you want, they’ll place an order for you.

   TO ORDER (and support an indie bookstore) contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and an award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you the book(s) of your choice. If you’re in Mobile area, do stop in at the book store; it’s a neat place to browse.

➜ Follow me . . .
➜         on Amazon: Amazon Central Author Page = https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj
➜         on Facebook at:   cjpetterson/author/facebook
➜         on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson


Sunday, March 22, 2020

Spring isn’t the only thing that’s sprung, but moving right along…

cj Sez: Lots of stuff to pass along today. Old Man Winter might be hanging on in some parts of the world, but spring in the Northern Hemisphere has officially begun.

   From a Google search: “In 2020, the spring equinox (also called the March equinox or vernal equinox) occurs on Thursday, March 19, which is earlier than it's been in over a century. Astronomically speaking, the first day of spring is marked by the spring equinox, which falls on March 19, 20, or 21 every year. The equinox happens at the same moment worldwide, though our clock times reflect a different time zone. This date not only signals spring’s beginning in the Northern Hemisphere, it announces fall’s arrival in the Southern Hemisphere.”
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Stay out of trouble
   If you’re doing podcasts, here are some tips to keep you out of legal trouble:
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Info about a historic quarantine from the DAR Museum’s Facebook page ( DAR Museum ):

   “…’tis said that the Schools are all broke up… the offices are almost all shut up— and little business done, —the doors of the Houses where the infection is, are ordrr’d to be mark’d, to prevent any but those that are absolutely necessary from entering— such is the Melancholy and distressing state of our poor City.” (1793, Elizabeth Drinker)

   The yellow fever epidemic of 1793 decimated the city of Philadelphia. It was terrifying in its rapid spread and mortality rate, especially since no one knew how the disease was transmitted. In her diary, Elizabeth records the fear and uncertainty: people fled the city if they could, others grasped at any remedy they heard might prevent sickness, like carrying a rope covered in tar. (FYI: it does not work)  We know now that yellow fever is spread by mosquitos…”
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cj Sez: Looking for something to do during our mandated "self-quarantine and social distancing?"

   A couple of weeks ago, I posted info about a local workshop I attended at the Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, led by visiting international authors Jennifer K. Dick and Lisa Pasold. I recently learned that they have a new blog and are inviting authors to participate…It’s called Self-Quarantine Lines and can be found at https://selfquarantinelines.blogspot.com/  This from Jennifer:  “We are calling on anyone that is interested to ‘post’ their own poems, stories, lines or reactions in comments sections under the pieces that are being posted by authors from around the world (France, Luxembourg, Scotland, England, The USA, Canada, The Netherlands, Israel, etc.). See the ‘About’ explainer at top.”

(cj Sez: Sounds like a fun project!)


   If you have a Mobile (AL) Public Library card, this: LearningExpress Library features nearly 1,000 online tutorials, practice tests, and eBooks to help patrons of all ages. It offers job search and workplace skills improvement, skill building in reading, writing, math, and basic science, career certification and licensure exam prep, college and grad school entrance test prep, GED® test prep, and more.

Register with your MPL card number:   https://libraryaware.com/1ZSAEY

And a P.S. “Temporary library cards are being issued over the phone to area residents. Call one of our locations for more information. Access hundreds of free online resources 24/7 including e-books, e-magazines, downloadable videos, music and audiobooks, databases and more with a library card.” 
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   Complete Schoolhouse Rock Series is available:  https://bit.ly/2UqwqGe
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From Publishers Weekly…

   “In an effort to ensure you’re receiving the support you need to continue doing business during these difficult times, we recently announced that–along with the tools available on publishersweekly.com­–the digital edition of Publishers Weekly magazine will be free until further notice. The latest issue published today and is now available.

You can access your free digital edition of Publishers Weekly here.

…you’ll receive a notification as each new issue is available. If you don’t wish to receive those notifications, going forward, you can unsubscribe.” 

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For artists of all stripes, a Special Announcement about copyright fee changes.
   Effective March 20, 2020, the Copyright Office is changing fees for copyright registration and other services. The fee for online filing of a standard registration will be $65. The filing fee for a registration of one work by a single author with the same claimant, not for hire will be $45. Other fee changes are listed on our website.

The 2020 U.S. Census is ongoing.
   Your anonymous, honest response matters. The results enable communities to apply for federal funding for health clinics, fire departments, schools, and even roads, highways, and bridges.

   The census results also determine how many seats in Congress each state gets. You can take a look at the actions of our current elected officials and know how important that is.

   Read more here:  Importance of the Data and the Impact in Your Community
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   That’s it for this week’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

  My paranormal, short story, “Love is Immortal,” is included in a new anthology scheduled for release later this spring. Watch for more on the launch of BIENVENUE to the CHATEAU ROUGE on Facebook and Amazon.

   Autographed print copies of my novels CHOOSING CARTER and DEADLY STAR are available at The Haunted Book Shop. Anthologies in which I have stories, including THE POSSE, the Bienvenue Press Christmas charity series, and the Mobile Writers Guild PIECES series are also available there.

   If they don’t happen to have a copy of any book(s), by any author that you want, they’ll place an order for you.

   TO ORDER (and support an indie bookstore) contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and an award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you the book(s) of your choice. If you’re in Mobile area, do stop in at the book store; it’s a neat place to browse

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Mobile Literary Festival postponed and Civics 101


cj Sez: Well there you have it…the 2020 Mobile Literary Festival is down, but not out!

From the pen of co-chairwoman Jodie Cain Smith: I’m so sorry to announce that the 2020 Mobile Literary Festival will be postponed until this COVID-19 outbreak improves.

Unfortunately we do not know when that will be. This decision was not made lightly as I am so proud of the presenters and panelists we’d gathered this year. Because I firmly believe this program will delight and educate our attendees, I hope that once we reschedule they will all be available to participate.

We WILL reschedule. I will keep you updated with all information regarding a new date.

Carrie and I went back and forth as to what the best decision was. In the end, postponing made the most sense. Our first concern was the health of our at-risk attendees. Several have underlying medical conditions or live with someone who does, several are senior citizens, and let’s face it, all of us are in contact with someone who is at risk of serious complications from this virus.

Considering physical space within the library, social distancing would be nearly impossible to achieve. Our second concern was that if we hold the festival as scheduled, no one will attend. That would be a waste of resources - our faculty’s time and knowledge would be wasted on empty seats, our bookseller risks losing money, the library would suffer from unnecessary staff increases and festival setup.

Again, as soon as we know the new date, I will post it (on the Mobile Literary Festival site on Facebook). To say I am deeply disappointed that one of my favorite days of the year has to be postponed is a gross understatement but the risks are too high to ignore.

Hopefully, this virus will be contained soon and we can move forward with our celebration of literary arts on the Gulf Coast.

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The 2020 Census is coming to your mail box (or front door) soon, if a notice hasn’t already arrived.

   It’s Civics 101, folks. (Do they even teach civics in school anymore?) Our answers, required by law to remain confidential, are turned into anonymous numbers…statistics. What follows is my brief paraphrasing of some information about why our honest responses matter:

   Census results are fed into the algorithms that determine how billions of federal funding dollars are doled out to states and communities each year. States apply for federal funding for health clinics, fire departments, schools, and even roads, highways, and bridges. The census results also determine how many seats in Congress each state gets. (You can take a look at what’s happening in our nation’s capital right now and know that’s an important aspect to consider.)

The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 2: The U.S. has counted its population every 10 years since 1790. (That’s been a personal plus for me. I’ve used census results from the 1800s to track the whereabouts of my ancestors after their arrival in the United States.)

Read more here:

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   Mobile author and WKRG TV news reporter Bill Riales has launched the latest novel in his Noah Sky series. 

   DEADLINE is available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2TU39Vr    

   (P.S. When you take the time to leave a brief review on Amazon, it's magical for authors...just saying.)

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   That’s it for this week’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

   Autographed print copies of my novels CHOOSING CARTER and DEADLY STAR are available at The Haunted Book Shop. Anthologies in which I have stories, including THE POSSE, the Bienvenue Press Christmas charity series, and the Mobile Writers Guild PIECES series, are also available there.

   If they don’t happen to have a copy of any book(s), by any author that you want, they’ll place an order for you.

   TO ORDER (and support an indie bookstore) contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and an award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you the book(s) of your choice. If you’re in Mobile area, do stop in at the book store; it’s a neat place to browse.


Sunday, March 8, 2020

It’s a Super Worm Moon and Other Important Stuff


cj Sez: Let’s get to the Other Important Stuff first: Local or near-local readers and writers, mark your calendars for Saturday, March 21, and a FREE event:  the Mobile Literary Festival

Tidbits to share

  Writers Digest is hosting its 28th Annual Self-Published Book Awards this year. Whether you’re a professional writer, a part-time freelancer, or a student, here’s a chance to enter a competition exclusively for self-published books. If you’re interested, go to https://bit.ly/32WT9gO and don’t dawdle…the deadline for entries is April 1, 2020, and that’s no joke. 

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Kirkus says . . .
   If you’re self-published or published by a small traditional press that has an equally small or no publicity department, take note. Kirkus posted a piece with tips on how to get your new book baby a chance at a professional book review. (They say a book review can be a game changer that can be spun into book sales.) Read more here:    http://bit.ly/2Wr5Mwn
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On a personal note:

   I attended a local workshop on Saturday, hosted by The Haunted Books Shop and led by visiting, international authors Jennifer K. Dick and Lisa Pasold. They discussed the process of using other authors’ books and visuals as writing prompts. For one exercise, we opened a random book to a random page, and using the first five or seven words on the page, put pen to paper to create our own stories. The goal was to incentivize daily writing to build our own unique voices. Try it...You might like it. I thought the workshop was interesting and worthwhile, and it was free. Great combination. To learn more about Lisa Pasold, her background and writing credentials, go to https://www.lisapasold.com  For more about Jennifer K. Dick, see https://jenniferkdick.blogspot.com/

                                                  /// 

Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday are auspicious days this week

Toon was captured from Facebook

Super Worm Moon: The First Supermoon of the Year

   On March 9, you may (depending on the cloud cover where you live) get to be enthralled by the first supermoon on the 2020 calendar.

   The March full moon traditionally goes by the name Worm Moon, which refers to the earthworms and grubs that tend to emerge from their winter dormancy at this time of year, marking a sure sign of spring!

   cj sez: I wonder if those little invertebrates remembered to turn their internal clocks ahead on hour. Which brings up the question: Did you remember to Spring Forward and lose an hour of sleep?

   That’s it for this week’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on and I’ll try to do the same.

cj
   Autographed print copies of my novels CHOOSING CARTER and DEADLY STAR are available at The Haunted Book Shop. Several of the anthologies in which I have stories, including the Mobile Writers Guild PIECES anthology series, are also available. If they’re sold out or don’t happen to have a copy of any book(s), by any author that you want, they’ll place an order for you.

   TO ORDER (and support an indie bookstore) contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and an award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you the book(s) of your choice. If you’re in Mobile area, do stop in at the book store; it’s a neat place to browse.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Creating relationships


cj Sez: A couple of years ago, I did a post about relationships. I’d read some really good articles on the subject, and I think some of the things I learned are worth repeating today.

The dictionary defines the word “relationships” this way:

relationship
[ri-ley-shuh n-ship] 

noun
1. a connection, association, or involvement.
2. connection between persons by blood or marriage.
3. an emotional or other connection between people:  the relationship between teachers and students.
4. a sexual involvement; affair.

   Really, you don’t need another person to have a relationship. You can have a relationship with anything, animate or inanimate

   In the movie TURNER AND HOOCH, Tom Hanks’s Turner character builds a crazy relationship with a big, slobber-faced dog. You have a compulsively neat, bachelor, detective whose tidy world is invaded by Hooch who brings household destruction and chaos. . . The Odd Couple redux.

   In the 2000 movie CASTAWAY, Tom Hanks’s marooned
character creates a relationship with an inanimate object. He creates a persona for the Wilson volleyball that survived the plane crash with him. He gives it a face and a name and talks to it as if it were another person.  In the mid-1970s, it was the Pet Rock craze.

   Every day we interact with animals, objects, and people of all stripes—family, friends, coworkers, strangers, et al. Our relationship with each is different, depending on the need.

   As authors, we create relationships between characters in their stories.

   One of the most important relationships authors can have is the one they have with their readers…the relationship they build with their writing.

   If I’ve gotten you interested enough to continue reading this brief essay, then I’m beginning to build a relationship with you. How long the relationship will last will be determined by how long I can continue to entertain your interest in what I’m saying…your excitement of learning something new or discovering a statement that suddenly makes sense to you.

   One comment I read on author/reader relationships went something like… “I don't need every detail explained to me. Rather, let me see the details and discern for myself.”

   This is how stories must progress if you’re going to keep your audience interested in your work. Write the truth. Appeal to their intellect. This is especially true for fans of mysteries, suspense, and thrillers. These readers love to learn something new. They’d rather not be told but want to discover things on their own.They want to feel smart at having figured out the puzzle.  It’s about writing in Deep Point of View. It’s about positive reinforcement. We all need it.

   A writer’s skill at creating a story that draws in a reader emotionally and intellectually is what keeps the reader coming back for more. That’s when you’ve got the beginnings of a relationship.

   Caveat: It is the author’s responsibility to maintain the relationship. The reader doesn’t owe you anything and can end this promising author/reader relationship at any time, sometimes for no apparent reason.

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Tidbits to share:

   Fellow author Maris Soule recently blogged about the copyright laws, and it starts off this way: On January 1, 2020, copyright on the thousands of works created in 1924 expired, and these works began their new life in the public domain. I think you’ll find the piece very interesting:      https://bit.ly/39fJ3de

   A recent Kirkus Review post briefly discusses how proper punctuation clarifies complex sentences.

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   Daylight saving time officially starts Sunday, March 8 at 2 a.m. Since I don’t plan to get up in the middle of the night to change my clocks, it’d be a good idea to “spring forward”—i.e., move the clocks ahead one hour—before going to bed next Saturday night (or just let all those smart devices change themselves).

   P.S.: The grammatically correct usage is “daylight saving time.” The expression is singular and not capitalized, according to the US Government Publishing Office style guide; i.e., daylight saving (not savings) time.
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   That’s all for this week’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj
   VALENTINE’S DAY PIECES anthology is still available on Amazon—hours of entertainment for very little money. And could you please take a couple of minutes to write a review.  


   Autographed print copies of CHOOSING CARTER, DEADLY STAR, and THE POSSE are still available at the Haunted Bookshop. TO ORDER (and support an indie bookstore) contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and an award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you the book(s) of your choice. If you’re in Mobile area, do stop in at the book store; it’s a neat place to browse.

These friendly people make a point to shelve the books of local authors, and VALENTINE’S DAY PIECES anthology is also available there. If they don’t happen to have any copies of any book(s) you want, they’ll place an order for you.

➜ Follow me . . .
➜         on Amazon: Amazon Central Author Page = https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj
         on Facebook at:   cjpetterson/author/facebook
         on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson