IWSG - Fickle Beast

It's June, and time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created by Alex J. Cavanaugh!

The co-hosts for this month are Murees Dupe, Alexia Chamberlynn, Chemist Ken, and Heather Gardner! Be sure to stop by and thank them for hosting.

IWSG is the first Wednesday of each month, and encourages us to share our fears, insecurities, and inspirations. Anyone is welcome to join. Simply go here to add your name to the list.

Had I posted this two weeks ago, I would have been in a more negative head space. It hit me that I gave up too much in terms of my personal aspirations in writing in order to fulfill two volunteer positions for a writer's group I'm part of. I stopped writing for several months because of it. While I was still submitting, though at a slower rate than usual, during that time, it has finally caught up to me that I didn't do what I should have been doing. Things are a bit slow right now, and I had a period of panic where I thought I had perhaps shot myself in the foot.

I do believe that I shot myself in the foot, and that I will now be playing catch up for awhile. Because I paused my forward progression, I am in a gap of time where I haven't placed stories at the rate I previously was. Who knows how long it will take me to get back to where I had worked so hard to get before.

However, I'm writing again. I've finished two short stories and gotten partway through two others in the last two weeks. I'm about to jump back into novel edits (finally). And I'm making notes on a new novel. This progress has helped me get past my dip into panic. Mostly, anyway. I still regret that I put myself in this position, but knowing that I'm taking it back is helping. Publishing is a slow process anyway, I didn't permanently harm anything, so it comes down to patience and determination to get it back.

If you've come around before, you know I post submission rates for the previous month with my IWSG post to keep myself accountable. I also usually post publication links on Wednesdays, but have decided to post only once per week over summer, except in special circumstances, such as IWSG. You can find the publication links I typically post on my Monday post from this week.

My stats:

In May, I submitted 7 stories, had 0 acceptances, got 3 rejections (1 personal, with valuable feedback), rewrote the endings on 2 stories that I've resubmitted, had 2 pieces published, and finished 2 new short stories, as mentioned above. I currently have 10 pieces on submission. The longest has been out for 205 days. Yeesh.

This is an improvement just over last month, so I'm feeling good about it. I'd like to get up to 20 stories in action at any given time, so that's my next goal. I'd also like to write in a different genre than usual. I've got several ideas floating around in my head, so we'll see which one takes the lead.

What are you feeling insecure about? Has anything helped to settle any of your insecurities lately? Any regrets you're facing in the writing world? Have you submitted or queried this month? How is your writing going?

May you find your Muse.

Good News & Amazon Central Author Account

Hello, and Happy Monday! I promised some news on Friday. Last week, I got an acceptance (or re-homed, as I like to call it) for a short story, Know Thy Neighbor. It will appear in the April issue of Under the Bed Magazine. I believe it will be Vol. 3, No. 7. I'll post the cover and purchase information on Monday, April 6 (release date is April 4.)

By Prawny, clker.com

Sadly, the piece I reported as having been shortlisted was rejected, but I've turned it around and re-submitted elsewhere. Still, the more things get shortlisted or receive personal notes with rejections, the closer I feel to my goals.

Speaking of goals, I hadn't set up an Author Central account with Amazon, because I thought the fact that I wasn't "tagged" or listed as an author on the anthologies I was in meant I couldn't have them credited to my name. (By listed as an author, I mean the top of the Amazon page under the title where authors are listed.)

However, when visiting the page for Of Mist and Magic, I noticed that someone not tagged/listed at the top of the page was showing up under the "More About the Authors" section that appears under the reviews. A short investigation showed me that someone could create their Author Central account and add books they're published in as long as they can prove they're in the book. Happily, most of the books I have pieces in list the contributing authors in the book description, which made it easy. And the one that didn't, had the sample "Look Inside" availability, which included the index.

In one evening, I was able to set up my account. By the next day, the anthologies I was part of had been added to my publications. It was all quite simple! So I thought I would pass it along to those who may be like me, unaware that this is possible.

To set up your account, go to www.amazon.com/authorcentral. On the right-hand side, you will find a sign-in section, with a spot underneath that asks if you're new to Author Central. Click on that to create your account.

It appears that using your pre-existing Amazon account (as in, for me, the account I make purchases with) allows them to confirm you more quickly, as you already exist in their database. Because of this, I set it up under my personal email instead of what I consider my business email. That's okay, though. Not a big deal. But it might be for you, so head's up.

If there are names similar to yours, it may pull up accounts and confirm that you are or are not the person that account belongs to. What will happen if you are, I don't know. I wasn't, so I moved on past that point.

Once in, you will have the ability to modify your portfolio and add your books. There is a landing page that gives you tips on setting up your account, and has tabs that lead you where you need to go. You can add several photos (I just have one of my headshots there now) and a bio, plus you can link to your Twitter account and blog.

There is a "Books" tab, which is where you will select "Add Books" and begin that process. There are options that allow for sole authorship, being part of several contributing authors, and various others. The process is fairly smooth and simple. Do each book separately. You'll want to include proof that you are in the book if it isn't solely under your name. For me, that meant directing them to where they could see it on Amazon itself, but if my name hadn't been visible on Amazon, it sounded like they would have allowed for referring them to a website or the publisher for that proof.

When all this information is plugged in, you'll find you have a lovely profile page that shows your bio, photo(s), linked information (like tweets and blog posts), cover images, and links to each of the books. You can view mine HERE.

I'm looking forward to discovering how linking to a magazine I'm published in works. I'll find out in April!

I'm limiting my information about Author Central to the basics, as I'm certainly no expert. Mine was just set up in February, and other than adding in the basic information, I haven't had the opportunity to do much with it yet. Feel free to link to your Author Central account in the comments, and to offer any tips or information you know about using your page.

Do you have your Amazon Author Page set up? Any tips or tricks you want to share? Do you post yours in bios or include in submissions?

May you find your Muse.