Large marketing project “Christmas through Lowell ” complete
My Taurus horoscope is right on target today.
I especially find useful Deepak Chopra’s quote: “Life gives you plenty of time to do whatever you want to do if you stay in the present moment. ”
I often meditate with Deepak & Oprah to stay focused on my big writing projects.
Currently, we’re wrapping up a “Time” meditation.
I give huge credit to meditation for being able to finish both my screenplay “Riddleyville Clowns ” and my new book “Shifting Sands Short Stories.”
We have just completed “Christmas through Lowell ” team marketing of my book with my daughter-in-law Maranda Palova, and her business “Little Dreamers Sleepovers.”
I would have never been able to get through the long hours without meditation and staying in the present moment.
I even met fellow countrymen Matus from Bratislava, Slovakia at the Red Barn Market on Sunday.
He recognized us speaking Czech and came to our table.
I found inspiration in fellow Lowell author Gladys Fletcher with her memoir “My Garden of Stones.”
At the age of 80, she took writing classes, so she could write her life story.
“Everything is working out,” she said. “I inspired my friend to finish his book. He is 88. There is life after 80.”
Lowell, MI-Tonight we will be setting up for a whole new different adventure. We decided to team up with my daughter-in-law Maranda with our new ventures: my book “Shifting Sands Short Stories” and her entertainment innovation for kids, Little Dreamers Sleepovers. What is probably most interesting is the location. We will be at venue no. 1 on the greater Christmas through Lowell tour. And that is the Red Barn Market. This is the 26th year for the tour.
We will actually be located inside a renovated barn with space heaters. There will be a total of 20 plus vendors ranging from Paisley Productions to wood signs. The Red Barn Market is a popular hangout spot for all ages. I live 2.3 miles from it. We’re practically Neighbors. For a complete list of vendors go to Red Barn Market- Ice Cream and Fresh Produce facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/redbarnmkt/
The event runs all three days starting tomorrow Nov. 17 through Sunday Nov. 19. The times are Friday 9 am – 9 pm, Saturday 9 am – 7 pm and Sunday 11 am to 5 pm.
“This is our biggest event yet,” said general manager Barb Kropf-Roth.
There will also be another author Glad Fletcher with memoir “My Garden of Stones.”
There are close to 100 stops on the tour that attracts people from all over Michigan. I personally like the variety of vendors and businesses on the tour. This includes the city of Lowell and outlaying areas in both townships.
Not your regular kids’ entertainment
Maranda’s Little Dreamers Sleepovers provides sleepover packages complete with a tent, air mattress, fitted sheet, blanket, bunting, fairy lights and a bed tray. Each child will get a sleepover favor.
Maranda will be adding additional themes including: boy themes, outdoor movie, glow party and a baking party.
Lowell, MI – Local author Emma Palova will have a book signing of Shifting Sands Short Stories at the Red Barn Market during the annual Christmas through Lowell tour from Nov. 17 to Nov. 19.
Bring your locally purchased book available at Schuler Books & Music in Grand Rapids or Lansing. The book is also available on Amazon in two formats: Kindle for $7.99 and paperback for $11.99.
Palova divides the stories in the book into three circles: early immigration years, retail and journalism. The stories feature characters such as professor Martin Duggan in “The Temptation of Martin Duggan” based on the family immigration saga from former Czechoslovakia.
Book signing in downtown Lowell.
The hometown politics circle from journalism depicts ruthless supervisor Ned in the “Iron Horse” and charismatic Lisa in “Foxy.” The retail circle of stories highlights the retail madness during the “orange balloon clearance” in the “Orange Nights.” Rachel suffers under the yoke of the Midwest store routine.
Apple orchards served as a source of inspiration for “Danillo,” a story about a Mexican immigrant who works at the apple orchards.
“Orchards of any type have inspired me ever since I’ve read Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard,” Palova said.
The Red Barn Market is no. 1 location on the Greater Lowell map of the Christmas tour located at 3550 Alden Nash.
“I have deep ties to the Red Barn Market,” said Palova. “I’ve watched them grow over the last three years. We’re practically Neighbors. Red Barn and the surrounding Kropf apple orchards also inspire my work.”
The Red Barn Market has inspired one of the stories in Palova’s Book 2: Shifting Sands Short Stories: Secrets.
Annually, the tour attracts hundreds of visitors from far and near.
“It is our busiest event,” said general manager Barb Kropf-Roth.
The Trademark of the Christmas event are various vendors with unique wares & services such as the brand new Hastings-based “Little Dreamers Sleepovers.”
I have Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” by Proxy on the wrapper of my salted almond butter dark chocolate.
The other day, I ate the entire chocolate bar in the morning for breakfast to get some energy. Now, that is exactly 480 calories. But, it did the trick of putting me back on my feet. Prior to eating the chocolate bar, I felt like a snake making his way through the tall grass by my pond.
Breaking into writing space
However, I didn’t realize until today what was going on. I was entering the subconscious working space of my new book “Riddleyville Secrets.” It took all that energy to break the outside barriers of consciousness.
And following are William Shakespeare’s lines from “Romeo and Juliet”:
Juliet:
A thousand times good-night!
Romeo:
A thousand times the worse, to want thy light.
Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books;
But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.
Besides giving my own talk on “Book Promotion on a Budget” at the Florida Writers Association 2017 conference, I sat in on a couple of other presentations about book marketing. Here are some of the main points I gleaned. Any errors are due to my misinterpretation.
If your book isn’t selling, you may need to:
Change the cover
Get more reviews Write a letter to readers asking for reviews.
Continue to acquire reviews for backlist titles.
Aim for 100 reviews on Amazon to make an impact.
Evaluate your Amazon page Check your keywords and categories.
Keyword strings work better than single keywords.
Note the sales rank of each category.
Examine your social media influence
Do you need to increase your engagement? This matters more than the number of followers.
Put your book out in multiple formats, not ebooks alone. Consider print and audiobooks.
This is a very beautiful song with a similar title as my poem. I found it by accident and I loved it. I hope you enjoy it too. It is very beautiful and inspiring… Please take a listen.
I Will Wait For You There (with lyrics) by Phil Wickham
Don’t leave unfinished projects behind to haunt you. Don’t be afraid to pick them back up with new energy behind them even if they have been collecting dust or taking up space in the computer.
A woman surprised me at one of my recent book signings of Shifting Sands Short Stories by the following question:
“I am on chapter six, how do I finish my book,” she asked me.
It was a definitely out-of-the-box question, because not everyone wants to admit they can’t finish something.
Here is what I have gathered over the years about finishing any major writing project like a book or a screenplay:
Set a target finish goal, something that’s important to you like your birthday or any other milestone.
Write every day a quota of pages, such as 5 pages.
Always have an end in mind for the book or script, but also for each chapter or scene.
Ask yourself: What do I want to carry out in this chapter or scene?
A loose flexible outline always helps.
Establish a reward program for yourself after each chapter. It can be anything from having a coffee with a friend or a token that will remind you that a particular chapter or scene is done.
Create a cover or poster early on even as a draft. It will help you visualize the book, play or film and the entire process.
Have a color theme in mind for the characters and the book overall.
Be cohesive. Don’t let it fall apart into pieces just because you stumble on a block in your way.
Explore, see, discover. I especially like these three verbs that I found on a sign by the Wittenbach nature center. They will continue to feed your inspiration. And in turn, the reader will keep turning pages.
Use character compass to balance out your stories. That means the right amount of thoughts, appearance, action and dialogue.
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