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Hey folks! This week on the Self Publishing Round Table we are joined by New-Adult Suspense & Military Romance author, Suzan Butler!
With nearly a dozen books out and two series under her belt, Suzan is going to be shedding light on how she manages her busy schedule between writing, marketing and the ever present real life.
Find her books here:
Check out her website here:
And check out this great blog post she recently posted:
http://www.organizedbysuz.com/goals/the-art-of-creating-writing-goals/
Join us live Thursday January 22nd at 10PM PST/ 7PM EST and participate live by asking us and our guest questions.
Leave us writing prompts and one of us will have a short story by next week!
EXTRA NEWS:
On top of our usual writing prompt contests, I (Xavier), will be offering a FREE ebook cover design (valued at$80 USD) to one of our viewers. To win the free cover design, all you have to do is submit an original flash fiction story using this image as a prompt:
Submission must be between 500-2,000 words maximum just in case I get hit with a lot of submissions.
Please send all submissions to theideapool@gmail.com with the subject labeled “SPRT January Flash Fiction Contest” or something similar.
The deadline is January 31st 2015, and the winner will be announced on the February 5th episode. Break a leg!
Xavier
What? No comments yet? Where’s the early birds? The first commenter will receive SPRT merchandise. (when we get around to creating something new) 🙂
writerwade You talkin’ SPRT Merch?
Ooh – Suzan, is that you on the cover of your hockey romance?
writerwade LOL – I read this after I commented…
SPRT WRITING PROMPT GAME!
Anyone watching live feel free to post any random sentences you think would make fun writing prompts, and one of us hosts will write a short story based on one from each show!
Feel free to comment with something silly, fun, interesting or bizarre. Anything goes, and of course, feel free to use any of the posted prompts in your own writings!
Example: Jay Chastain wakes up one day with all the powers of Thor. Is the world doomed? Well yes, but how does it happen?!
Noooooo! I’m not eligible for free stuff! Ugh…..
michelleread I’ll give you that choc chip cookie recipe for free..
Demelza Carlton writerwade Demelza for the win!
xgranville writerwade Yes SPRT merch. Hopefully, we have a line of sexy lingerie. You know, for Carl and Darren to wear.
xgranville Demelza Carlton writerwade Yay…I think. 😀
All Glory to the Hypnotoad!
Demelza Carlton Hehe. Yes, yes it is. How did you know??
PatrickStemp
Demelza Carlton michelleread Yayyyyyyyyyy : )
writerwade finally has someone to talk hockey with tonight! <3 S.M. Butler
Bracing for impact…
RChazzChute Robert!! Did Scrivener behave for you?
michelleread RChazzChute Nope. I’m taking the whole book out into Word and putting it back in as I listen.
RChazzChute michelleread That’s what I did last time, too! Colin Barnes’ suggestion and I went (ugggghhhhhh) Okay thank you. It worked perfectly after that.
*skitters in* W00T! I made it in time! 😀
michelleread RChazzChute GAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaah!
CateMorgan Hi Cate!!
michelleread Hiya!
RChazzChute michelleread good or no?
RChazzChute michelleread Sure you two don’t have Scrivener on the Klingon setting? O_o
CateMorgan RChazzChute michelleread darnit.
RChazzChute michelleread Yeah..I find Scrivener screws up spacing and formatting when combined with the Kindle converter (which is an Amazon add-on, as I understand it, so it’s not the Scrivener designers’ fault). Writing in Word seems to be my only option.
Demelza Carlton RChazzChute michelleread Doesn’t Amazon take epubs now? Thought they did, anyway…
CateMorgan Demelza Carlton RChazzChute michelleread If Amazon took epubs, they’d get one from me every time…that’s the first I heard of it.
G’evening folks!
Demelza Carlton CateMorgan RChazzChute michelleread yeah I thought they did?
xgranville Hi Xavier! Long time no talk.
Demelza Carlton RChazzChute michelleread Could’ve sworn they did when I uploaded one of my last novellas. Thought I heard it from Carl The Beard at some point.
Of course, I could be completely hallucinating. *shrugs*
SPREADSHEETS!! *drinks*
CateMorgan yeah!
CateMorgan Demelza Carlton RChazzChute michelleread Amazon takes epubs now, yes. I can’t get Scrivener to recognize my current selection in my draft folder so I’m making an epub from scratch as I listen to SPRT.
michelleread sorry, can’t watch the show live. Am in the city enjoying banana cake and coke in a cafe and I feel guilty using up all of their internets while watching you guys live. Have fun though!
RChazzChute Demelza Carlton michelleread Yikes! Why not just email the Scrivener tech support? They’re pretty quick with presenting a solution, I’ve found. I had a similar issue not long ago, and it turned out my sub folders weren’t placed right in the binder.
BatmanErica michelleread 🙁 Well enjoy your banana cake!
michelleread I shall, however, it isn’t as fresh as I would like. I should complain…to them 😛
BatmanErica michelleread no don’t…they might spit in your next one
BatmanErica michelleread Lame.
RChazzChute CateMorgan Demelza Carlton michelleread Urgh…I did that last week, lol, but it was just pasting chapter text over, so it wasn’t so bad. Today…I’m wrangling mermaids with pliers. Still painful
STICKERS!
ellis_writes Hello there! Any friend of stickers is a friend of mine 🙂
CateMorgan I INDIRECT CONCATENATE your VLOOKUP with a SUMIFS
michelleread they’d have to take it out of the cabinet and then away out of sight to do that, before handing it over the cabinet to me…
xgranville I’m just too nice. I may keep commenting though, just for shits and giggles 😛
PatrickStemp Roll for initiative. 😉
ellis_writes is that the sticker reward system? I love that system 😀
CateMorgan RChazzChute Demelza Carlton michelleread It’s happened once before. This solution is faster than tech support and I get to listen to SPRT, so it’s okay.
BatmanErica michelleread Don’t underestimate the wrath of customer service people.
What’s up noobs?
Carl Sinclair you made it!
PatrickStemp Hi there, accountability partner!
michelleread PatrickStemp Hey there. Crap – I thought we were procrastination partners. Sorry. DO THE WORK!
Carl Sinclair Mornin’ stranger.
The “What’s your typical day like” is MY FAVOURITE QUESTION!!!
michelleread but they are paid more than minimum wage here and minimum wage is $13.75 (I think).
Hello
BatmanErica michelleread WHOA
MrJohnRead Harrow!
MrJohnRead What’s up John?
I use the Evernote web app because I can usually get a few hundred words in during my lunch hour at work, then when I get home I paste the Evernote stuff into Scrivener. Any moment now it’ll probably get blocked at work, but until then…BWAHAHAHAAAAA!!!
Not much Mr. Sinclair
CateMorgan I loved it at first, when I was blogging….then it quickly took over my life!
All the best with your future endeavours.
True story…
Hello everyone
http://www.storyboxsoftware.com/tdownload.htm
I think this is the one she’s talking about. If it’s not, she can correct me later!
David Anson Hey David
David Anson G’evening sir!
michelleread Oh, I know. I now have the paper journal AND the planner that can be digitized into Evernote from your phone. I’m such an addict…
David Anson Hi David!
michelleread yeah we’re not big on slave labour here 😛
PatrickStemp xgranville
David Anson Hi Patrick, Xavier
michelleread David Anson Hello Michelle
michelleread well, I roll out of bed sometime after 9am and then stumble down the stairs to the shower and then sit there for up to an hour pulling ideas from the steam…
Any questions for our guest, folks?
xgranville Is she managing more than one project at a time?
Ha, I ended up with so many spreadsheets with auto calculations, I had to graduate to a DATABASE. *falls over*
CateMorgan You are my favorite.
You think that’s bad? Ask Xavier about all of his maps he’s been sending me….
Carl Sinclair Oh dear…..
Carl Sinclair I sent you one map haha.
xgranville Carl Sinclair It was a big map…
Carl Sinclair xgranville It’s a big world! haha
Wade (or anyone else) – I can teach you spreadsheets…if you agree that they’re a necessary evil and want to learn. You really only need some basics for this stuff…
Setting a weekly goal is a really good idea. I started doing that and it takes a lot of pressure off.
xgranville The problem is Microsoft is an utter bastard and thinks it knows better what you’re trying to do than YOU do. So then I drink and swear a lot and put it in Time Out like a recalcitrant five-year-old with ADD.
I am clearly dysfunctional.
PatrickStemp Think most indies need to worry about writing better quality and putting out books. Spreadsheets will only take them so far.
STICKERS! Drink…
CateMorgan xgranville Sounds like me before I moved to a Macbook. I still get infuriated over Microsoft to this day…
CateMorgan xgranville And Apple is no better, the pricks.
Also, michelleread, you are making me grin like an idiot. I now need a tiara and a wand to make the questions appear. Bippity-boppity-PSYCHE, QUESTION!
Greetings, all!
BuddyGott BUDDY!!!
BuddyGott Buddy!!!
BuddyGott Holy crap…it’s Buddy freakin’ Gott.
xgranville BuddyGott My homies! (I’m bringing that word back.)
CateMorgan michelleread Fairy princess of comments!
BuddyGott Silver Fox, how are you?
Suzan, what’s your production schedule like, time-wise?
BuddyGott Hey Buddy.
Carl Sinclair BuddyGott Mr. Sinclair. I’m well, sir? How art thou?
BuddyGott xgranville yes please do, I say it all the time and don’t want to be alone
Hey, it’s @BuddyGott,
PatrickStemp BuddyGott Pat!
MrJohnRead OMG honey I just saw your profile pic!
MrJohnRead … Doctor Who…
Don’t laff, xgranville–I totally think in quarters! Hazard from the Day Jobbe, I’m afraid. I find it keeps me on track something fierce. 🙂
I’m seriously digging the new team hosting the show.
BuddyGott We love you too Buddy! And thank you 🙂
Who?
CateMorgan xgranville I honestly was going to ask if she is a person who thinks in Q’s haha
MrJohnRead *passes out*
MrJohnRead You came as my favorite Doctor!! *swoon*
CateMorgan MrJohnRead : )
CateMorgan MrJohnRead He’s pretty cute, eh? (Now which one am I talking about…….leaves husband to guess.)
xgranville GET OUT OF MY BRAIN! Otherwise, I’ll force you to design my Steampunk covers later this year as punishment.
I’m going to enter the flash fiction contest so I can win one of Xavier’s covers. I think I can somehow turn that picture into a unicorn erotica story.
Any more questions? Boys??
michelleread MrJohnRead Cute
Awkward silences are awesome.
Carl Sinclair They’re sexy.
CateMorgan xgranville But I just bought a down payment on a house in your Cerebellum! You know this market isn’t cheap!
michelleread Carl Sinclair Right…
Carl Sinclair michelleread Be nice….
michelleread Does she have regular reviewers she sends ARCs to? How did she get her first reviews?
Unicorn erotica, would that be a “horny horse”?
Carl Sinclair Oh I forgot you’re perfect…my mistake! Backs away slowly.
BuddyGott Oh boy!
CateMorgan michelleread There you go, Princess CommentyPants 🙂
xgranville It is, however, rowdy and occasionally booze-addled. Also, it is filled with songs you can’t get out of your head.
I have a question: Your million-and-one box sets…how’d you get into them, or do you have to do all the project management yourself for those?
CateMorgan Chumbawumba?
CateMorgan There is a lot of awesome in that statement.
michelleread This is me, bowing to the pressure of being the Magic Question Lady. You know I don’t like to disappoint you!
CateMorgan michelleread Never, not possible
xgranville Worse. DEVO.
xgranville Chumbawumba references always deserve to be liked.
michelleread Carl Sinclair You’re all super lucky I’m here.
Carl Sinclair michelleread Be better if your magic voice was here!
BuddyGott xgranville The 80’s are exempt in my books. That whole 10 years was a guilty pleasure.
Carl Sinclair PatrickStemp True enough…though the business side and the tools needed to track words per minute…writing time, sales and so on are pretty important as well. The more you know…
My browser crashed so I dropped out and missed the awkward silence. Darn!
Carl Sinclair PatrickStemp Depends on your personality. For some that is very motivating.
RChazzChute ……………………………………… oh… hey.
xgranville RChazzChute Thanks for being there for me, man! I feel better now.
RChazzChute xgranville It was great 🙂
michelleread Carl Sinclair PatrickStemp Absolutely. I’m a data guy for sure, it’s in my blood. Gives other people a headache.
Demelza Carlton Did that answer your question?
RChazzChute xgranville …..*whipes noses with sleave*…..uhhyeahh..
PatrickStemp michelleread Carl Sinclair I like to think about stuff like that, and do admin stuff….then watch a movie or a show and then write while I’m excited about it.
Carl Sinclair michelleread Right…
Spinning wheel of doom on my video feed….. -_-
MrJohnRead Ruh roh
Any final questions, folks?
suzanbutler.com
xgranville Does she do her own cover art, or does she hire out?
Haha
MrJohnRead eh?
MrJohnRead are you laughing at me?!
Calmdowncalmdown
MrJohnRead Come in here and say that to my face
michelleread MrJohnRead Y’all are cute.
S.M. Butler michelleread MrJohnRead 🙂
QUARTER!
xgranville *drinks*
michelleread PatrickStemp Carl Sinclair Marketing and all of that stuff is really less than 10% of being successful these days. The market only favours high quality books now. You need to read A LOT and improve your writing to top quality. Then put a top quality package on your book. Marketing is as simple as booking a few ads. Nothing else is really worth bothering with.
Farewell, until the next time I bless you with my presence.
Say hi to your moms for me.
Awesome show. So glad you guys are back on line.
MrJohnRead Yaaaassssss!
MrJohnRead I see why michelleread likes you. 😛
ElianneAdams Thank you >.< for watching!! <3
Bye my lovelies.
AFTERPARTY!?!?!?!?!
Nighty, y’all! See yas next week!
xgranville I’ll be there
xgranville Please?
CateMorgan You should come to the afterpartay soon
ElianneAdams Thank ya!
Intimate afterparty……the laughiest one in a while!