In This Issue...
Darren Hardy's book, The Compound Effect, reveals a key principle for authors: Every little step you take over time culminates into major movement.
- If you write just 100 words a day, you'll have a 36,000 word book in one year.
- If you make one networking connection a day, by December 31, you'll have hundreds of people on your side.
- If you wake one hour early, you'll gain 7 hours to write every week.
Momentum starts by doing the little things. That's why we've begun including a challenge in each newsletter ... because if you do one small thing each time we enter your inbox, soon your platform will have major momentum!
Scroll down to find...
- How Gena started as a professional writer and how she balances being a homeschool mom with her professional endeavors.
- 5 famous authors' writing routines—Would any of them work for you?
- See if you can complete this week's Author Challenge.
- Next, check out the new plotting app that's making big waves. (Chris can't live without it, and even Gena finds it easy to use.)
- Finally, we're ending this newsletter with a little humor. Scroll to the end to get a good laugh...
Go, writer, go!
Chris & Gena
PS If you think something in this newsletter is AWESOME, would you 1) forward it to a friend and/or 2) hit "Reply" and let us know what you loved? We double-dare you!
Must Reads
Gena Shares Tips for Balancing Motherhood and a Writing Career
In an interview with author and writing coach Laurel Thomas, Gena shares how she got her career started, and how she balances being a homeschool mom with being a professional writer. It's not easy, but it is possible!
facebook.com
Writing Routines of 5 Famous Authors
Do you ever wonder about the writing routines of famous authors? In this article, writer Mel Burke follows the writing routines of five famous authors. Which one are you most like?
businessinsider.com
Social Media Strategies to Build Your Readership
Do you love social media? No? We get it. We all love to connect – really connect – with people who share our passion for writing, but finding those people on social media can be a struggle.
For the independent author, it's also necessary. The key is to find what works for your audience. Your readers might be on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter or some other social media platform. Finding out where they are and connecting with them takes practice, consistency and authenticity.
This podcast by one of our favorite trainers, Brendon Burchard, and influencer Natalie Ellis is a great one. Check it out! And let us know what you like or don't like about it.
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Author Challenge
A New Way to FOCUS
As an author you're bombarded by distractions. That's why you need accountability.
Get rid of distractions by taking 5 minutes to sign up for FocusMate today and booking your first session. Seriously, this free tool is amazing.
When you sign up, you'll instantly get matched with someone else from around the globe who's also trying to get stuff done. You keep each other accountable for 45 minutes in a small, muted, video chat window in the corner of your screen.
Sound creepy? Maybe. But it works. You'll be amazed how less likely you are to surf the Internet, do the dishes, or even grab a snack when your virtual partner – a real person – is counting on you to keep them from distraction, too.
We've even partnered with Focusmate to create a "Writing Momentum writer's group," where you'll be preferentially matched with other writers to get their word count done for the day.
Give yourself writing momentum with this great, free tool. And if you see either of us on there, we'd love to write with you for a session!
Power Tools
Plot Your Book Like a Pro
Here's something cooler than sliced bread. We plot all our novels using plot trees—and now you can FINALLY do the same thing on your computer.
Plottr is an up-and-coming app that focuses on one thing: Helping you plot a rock-solid story.
Use a popular plotting template or create your own, move scenes around w/drag & drop, insert inspirational dialog as it comes—and then easily export the whole thing to Word or Scrivener.
Seriously, how did we get along without this?!
Best part? Right now you can get a LIFETIME license for only $99. Lock it in so you never have to pay for an upgrade. Ever. These lifetime deals go fast ... get it while you can!
(PS They even offer Lifetime plans for up to 5 devices, so you can go in with a friend or two and save!)
plottr.com
Shortcuts
WordHippo is a free thesaurus on steroids. Click the dropdown before performing a search and not only find synonyms, but also rhymes, conjugations, Scrabble answers, and more.
Trying to figure out your brand's voice? This Australian blog has a visual set of 12 brand archetypes that'll help you provide the right voice and message to your audience.
"We Didn't Start the Fire" has been updated. Don't know if we'd be bold enough to take on a Billy Joel classic, but Goodbye Nova gave it a pretty good shot. As a writer, you'll appreciate the lyrics, as equally dense as the original.
