Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The New York Times Best Sellers


10/14/2013




This post is from  Marie’s Books 10/14/2013



 

"Do we really understand what the New York Times Best Seller means?  It is a list composed by The News Surveys department, not by the New York Times Book Review department and it is based on weekly sales reports obtained from selected samples of chain bookstores, independent book stores and wholesalers throughout the United States. The lists are divided between fiction & non-fiction, paper back, hard cover & E-books.

"What does this mean for writers? Well a Stanford Business School analysis found that the most of book buyers use the New York Times to guide them. This study helps us unknown writers get the biggest benefit from being on this list with the benefit of sales and exposure, while known authors like Nicholas Sparks will not see any benefit.  

"There was one set of authors who manipulated their books into the bestselling charts. They ordered over 10,000 copies of their books in small orders at different book stores. Their book climbed to #4 and sat there for 15 weeks before slowly making it #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers List. This is not illegal but considered unethical to publishers. Amazon also displays the best sellers list starting with the most popular book.

"So why am I writing this?  If you have an author friend/ relative and want to help them out, buy their book, tell a friend and ask them to buy and read their book. The more exposure you can help them with, just maybe they can be lucky enough to get on The New York Times Best Sellers List. Every writers DREAM."

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Ten Rules of Writing


Stephen King wrote: "Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life."


This picture is of a writing studio of my dreams...

To see more go to Pinterest.com/ jewelld747/Writing-studios-of-my-dreams/

Regarding the 10 rules of writing, Elmore Leonard author of Get Shorty had this to say:
1. Never open a book with weather.

2. Avoid prologues.

3. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.

4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”…he admonished gravely.

5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.

6. Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.”

7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.

8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.

9. Don’t go into great detail describing places and things.

10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

And his most important rule, to sum up all the others: “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”

What do you think of those rules? Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments section below.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Let's Get Motivated--quotes by successful, powerful women


Quick open a book. Turn to page 23, line 17. What does it say?

I tried it.

Far North by Will Hobbs: "Explode, I guess.'"


Great!

I tried it with my book Mother's Letters...and mine

Jan is fine. She also has gained 5 pounds. It’s really amazing. Everyone just raves at the

All right I guess--what comes next?


Here's your morning coffee, prop your feet up, but don't rest too long, let the women below motivate you.




Inspirational Quotes By Powerful & Successful Women


Mae West Quote

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West (Actress/Singer)


Sheryl Sandberg quote

  “We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.” – Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook)

Anne Sweeney quote

 “Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” – Anne Sweeney (President of Walt Disney)

Helen Keller quote

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller (Author/Political Activist)

Ellen DeGeneres quote

“I work really hard at trying to see the big picture and not getting stuck in ego. I believe we’re all put on this planet for a purpose, and we all have a different purpose… When you connect with that love and that compassion, that’s when everything unfolds.” – Ellen DeGeneres (Comedian/Personality/Philanthropist)

Maya Angelou quote

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou (Author/Poet)

Angelina Jolie quote

“I don’t believe in guilt, I believe in living on impulse as long as you never intentionally hurt another person, and don’t judge people in your life. I think you should live completely free.” – Angelina Jolie (Actress/Philanthropist)

Eleanor Roosevelt quote

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady of The US , 1933 – 1945)

Audrey Hepburn quote

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.” – Audrey Hepburn (Actress)


The following quote is often attributed to Nelson Mandela, but Marianne Anderson who wrote The Course in Miracles is the author.
Marianne Williamson quote

  “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson (Author)

  
Ayn Rand quote


“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand (Novelist/Philosopher)

Lady Gaga quote

 “I used to walk down the street like I was a super star… I want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be – and then to fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth.” – Lady Gaga (Singer/Songwriter)

 
Marilyn Monroe quote
“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” - Marilyn Monroe (Model/Actress)