Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you Happy Holidays with an overdose of cuteness! Have a wonderful, relaxing time with your loved ones, and may you recharge your batteries for an all new and exciting 2016.

Merry Christmas!


SpokAnimal C.A.R.E.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Interesting Tidbit about Debut Sales

Interesting post on The Huffington Post the other day: What Should Authors Expect to Earn? 

According to The HuffPo, 25,000 copies is a "sensational" sale for a debut novel. 15,000 copies will garner enough attention to get a publisher interested in the second book.

For someone working in the automobile industry, selling 25,000 copies sounds like peanuts. Most car companies wouldn't even fire up their production lines for such a measly number of units. 


[I guess that proves it: books ain't cars. Just in case you weren't sure.]

The following comparison might put the above-mentioned author sales into a more relatable perspective: Madison Square Garden seats up to 19,830 people during a basketball game. So if you sold your book to every spectator during the next Knicks game, you'd make a publisher sit up and take notice. 

So the question all debut authors should ask themselves is...








When's the next Knicks game? 

:-D

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Taking my Writing to the Next Level in 2016

Hard to believe 2015 is almost over. It was a busy year for me, writing-wise. I finished a novel and started querying agents for it (one has already requested a full. Yay!). I almost finished the first draft of the next novel in the series. 

So - busy. Busy busy bee.

2016 is about to become so much busier. Not only do I plan on finishing this second novel and a first draft of the third (and last in the series), as well as hopefully *fingers crossed* selling the first. I'm also going to start a freelance (copy)writing business. 

Gulp. Did I just post that out loud? 

I guess I did. Does that make it official?

I'm going to start small - as part-time next to my day job, which will remain my main source of income. For now. ;-)

To get started, I created a website about my copywriting endeavors, called Word for Word. The first blog post on the bloggy page of this site goes live this Sunday, and explains How to Prepare for Going Freelance as a Copywriter

I'm also launching an entirely new blog, called Blusher's Blog, dedicated to all things erythrophobia - a social anxiety that leaves people afraid to blush. Sounds harmless, right? Except it isn't to those afflicted. Living with erythrophobia can severely restrict and confine your life. I overcame it several years ago, but it's still a topic close to my heart that I'm finally ready to talk about. And maybe help a few people through it in the process. The first post also goes live on Sunday, and describes How Fear of Blushing, aka "Erythrophobia", Affects People (Besides Blushing)

If you're curious enough to check them out, I'd love to know what you think! 



Phew. These have got to be the loftiest aspirations I've ever had. It's scary, exciting and exhilirating all in one. And I know it's a little early, but maybe you already have goals for 2016, too? If so, I'd love to hear about them. Maybe we can be scared, excited and exhilirated together?!