The Ballad Of John Walker Is Out Now By Kindle Publishing

Kindle Publishing and The Ballad of John Walker: Available Now! 

The hardest step to take in any journey is the first one.

Once you take a step, the momentum to take a second one is easier.

If you're in business, finding the first client is often the hardest.  The momentum from that first one helps you move toward the second. With each client, you're motivation to find the next one increases and it eventually gains traction.

The Ballad of John Walker: A Short Story

You see this in sports all the time.  A shooter hits a shot, they become more aggressive in their next shot. A runner strides over the starting line and the second, third and consecutive steps are easier.

The hardest part then is in gaining inertia, finding momentum.

And you can't have momentum without taking the first step.

Don't Worry About The Future, It's Never Here

True, there will be obstacles in the way, some seen and others unseen.

How you handle the hurdle is what differentiates those who run the race and those who just think about it.

It's said that a problem is only 10% what it presents itself to be and 90% how you handle it.

If you wait until you have enough money saved, or you have one more year of experience, you'll find you're always chasing something you can never catch.

Tomorrow.

There's always something else you can learn, study, more money to save.

So when's enough to get started?

I don't know the first thing about how to market an ebook.  But I've read about some strategies and so I developed a plan.

It may work.

Or I may fall on my face.

But the only way I'll find out is by launching it and doing the follow through I have in mind.  I'm sure it won't work as I picture it, but that's how we learn.

By trying something, failing and learning.

Experience is the best teacher.

Announcing My First Kindle Publishing Story: The Ballad Of John Walker

My new short story is available NOW on Kindle as an ebook.

The Ballad of John Walker is $0.99 as an ebook and you can get it by clicking here:





I'd really appreciate the download and leave an honest review.  It helps with the visibility of the story, especially as I begin to add more to the library.

Don't Have A Kindle?  No Worries...

You can download the kindle reader app for your PC, laptop, and smartphone here:

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Kindle Publishing For The ADD Crowd

Shiny Object Syndrome

How To Avoid Losing Out By Becoming Distracted

In the warm Atlantic, there's a fiercely aggressive predator fish known as the barracuda.  Long, snake-like with a huge row of teeth, the barracuda attack their prey quickly.

A little known legend is that barracuda are attracted to shiny metal objects.

Whether this is a wives tale or reality, the point is that a shiny attractive object gets the barracuda's attention.

Like those GIF's of kittens sitting around in a basket with their head's snapping to and fro with the rhythm of an unseen object offscreen, the barracuda are thought to ignore what they were up to at the moment and follow the new shiny object.

Cute aren't they.  But distracting.

Did you already forget that this post is about staying focused?

We all fall prey to it. The key is not to let it drag you into the swamp.

Rescue Your Writing From The Dragon Of Distraction

I've fallen into the trap multiple times, including recently.

This post has taken over a week just to get to through the first draft.  Starts and stops and fits in between, like a tantrum-throwing kid, this post has evolved a number of times, in concept and in design.

Since my last post, I've chased around a number of solutions, tips and gimmicks from supposed gurus.

I'd bought a number of new books, watched TED talks and documentaries.  I'd subscribed to a number of blogs promising how to increase my productivity and my efficiency.

I'd begun taken two new online courses, all the while looking for more courses to take.

In other words, I was chasing the shiny new object.

I stopped working on short stories.

The daily process stopped.

My editing sat unedited. The stories sat, collecting dust as manuscripts, unworked and under developed.

What did I learn?

You have to stay focused on what's important.

Or allow all your time to get sucked away into things that don't matter for the task at hand.

Basically I forgot my own lessons.  I lost discipline.

Having learned how easily it is to get distracted, the biggest take away for me, is to just sit down and write.

You can't slay a dragon in one battle, or in one strike.  It takes time I imagine.

Run A Marathon In Less Than 2 Hours (or at least write about it)

Sunday the Rock 'n Roll Marathon was run in San Diego.

Don't worry, I didn't run it.  Oh, God no.

That would be bad news.  Not just for me, but for the actual runners around me.

The sweating, heart-pounding, achilles tearing disaster that my plodding knee exploding herky-jerky strain of running in a race like that would be both comical and tragic simultaneously.

I'd be laboring profusely, snot bubbles bursting from my nostrils, armpits swampy and wet, and that'd be just from the effort of standing in the crowd!

It's just not for me, so I didn't even attempt it.

But I know some people who did.

And they trained.

Some trained for years to get the stamina and endurance built up.

Others trained to get their pacing down so that they could challenge a goal.

As I wrote about the Pomodoro Technique previously, the key to productivity is make it manageable doses.

Being a writer is a lot like being a marathon runner.

If you focus on just the outcome, it seems too difficult a journey.

Focusing on the process in short durations, such as the Pomodoro Technique teaches, makes the outcome easier to accomplish.  One word, one sentence at a time will produce the length and word count you eventually want.

That means, focusing on making small bite-sized portions that will help you accomplish your outcome.

And the sum becomes a byproduct of its parts.

Like a marathon runner - put one foot in front of the other and you'll become a champion eventually.

Kindle Publishing Isn't As Tough As You Think

Kindle Publishing: Writing Isn't Beef Jerky, It's Not That Tough

So you have a story or idea to shake the very foundations of the fiction world. 

You can write it and self-publish it through Amazon's Kindle Publishing.

It's not as difficult as you may think.

Perhaps you have a tip to share that will make people healthier and happier.  

Or, maybe, you have a productivity hack that will make people more efficient at their jobs, and wealthier as a by-product.

And you want to share those ideas with the world.

You just know they would make a great story or ebook.

But how do you get started? 

The task can seem like a mountain instead of a molehill, especially if you've never written more than anything other than your name before.

Don't Fear The Page

It's easy to stare at a screen or sheet of paper and not know how, and where, to begin.  

It's normal.

But it's only normal because you give it the power over you.

The page is blank, empty, clean.

And it's waiting. 

It's waiting for you to write, to put your ideas onto it, and massage them to make something great spring from the page.

Think about writing as a conversation.  

Unless you suffer from an extreme case of Glossophobia (Wikipedia definition here), speaking with a friend, your family or even yourself, isn't a daunting challenge.

So why do you give writing more power over you than it deserves? 

Simply write in a plain, simple language.  

Talk to yourself and your family on the page and you'll find writing less stressful than you already make it.

Have Conversations With Your Audience: Chatting As Writing

Now that you realize that writing isn't something mysterious, you need to identify your ideal reader.

Who is the person you write for? 

 Is it someone you already know? 

Are they someone that you imagine would enjoy your thoughts? 

If so, then start writing to them.

Stephen King claims he always wrote to his wife.

Kurt Vonnegut claimed he wrote to his sister.

Whoever you choose to write to, once you can imagine how they will respond it becomes immensely easier.

Imagine what that ideal person just had for lunch, or dinner, or breakfast.  

The best idea to strengthen your writing is to write to a person you trust, know, and care about.  If you're uncomfortable writing to a real person, you can create an imaginary person.  

Think about what they look like, where they lived and grew up, what type of job and family they have, where they go for vacations.  

Anything you can think about to make them appear real to you and help you write to them in a friendly conversational tone.

If you imagine what your ideal reader likes, what they eat, what they dislike, and write to them like their sitting right next to you, you'll make your writing flow, get to your writing goal quicker, and be able to share your story and ideas with the world.  

If you're trying to get your stories out to the world, Kindle Publishing is a great way to go about it.  

But before you can publish, you need to know how to write more, and more effectively. 

Bite Sized Is The Right Size

Think about your writing like eating Thanksgiving dinner.

You sit down and on the table there's turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, stuffing. You pile it all on your plate in smaller portions.

And you grab a fork and knife.  You can't just shovel all that food into your mouth at once.

You cut the turkey, take a bite and chew. Absolutely delicious (unless you don't like Turkey, and then you can substitute your favorite food here).

What you've done is taken a huge feast, made it more manageable by plating it, and then cutting it into smaller and smaller bite-sized portions.

Writing should be thought about the same way.  Only think about writing in productivity terms.

Create a realistic target, maybe a word-count or a certain amount of time.

I've discussed the technique of using a timer as a tool in my post Get Off Your Ass And Write, and recommend the Pomodoro Technique.

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

 

It's a productivity tactic of setting a timer for 20-25 minutes and working intensely for that duration. It's a great technique to that helps you improve productivity in short, intense bursts of activity. 

How it works:

Set a timer for a duration of time, but a short, manageable amount of time - 20 minutes is a great starting point. 

Once the timer hits, you take a 5 minute break from whatever tasks you're performing.  

Get up, walk away, do something to distract you from what you were just working on and come back once the break is over.

How To Improve Productivity By Using A Word Count

A technique that I like is setting a word count.

One easy word count to aspire is 500 words a day.  

500 words is about 2 pages of text with space left over. 

It'd take a reader about 5 minutes to read it. 

It's not that difficult. 

Think about it in a different way. 

Say you have an ebook idea that is targeting 15,000 words.  Daunting idea to write, edit and publish if you focus on the outcome. 

Instead, focus on 500 words at a sitting.  If you can do that, 500 words a day, it will only take 1 month to finish the first draft of your ebook idea. 

If you're writing in multiple bursts of 500 words in a day, you can dramatically reduce the length of time it will take you to complete it. 

But you need to sit down and get it done. 

And once you meet your daily word count or timeline, that's it. 

Don't keep going any longer. 

Earnest Hemmingway claimed that you should finish writing for the day when you still know what you're going to say next. 

This tip is great because it'll help you stay fresh and be able to have a good platform to begin writing with the next day.

You can see some other great Hemmingway tips on writing HERE.

Write In Doses, It'll Come Up Roses

By writing in short productive bursts and limiting your word count, you'll meet your daily limit easily.  Once you master 500 words or 25 minutes a day easily, you can add another element to your routine.  But only as long as you're able to make your initial word count and the new element without issue. 

You have an amazing story, an outstanding tip, or incredible hack to improve productivity and efficiency; you need to share it!

In summary:

•  Write to a person.  Make it someone you know well.

•  Write in a conversational tone.  We all communicate every day without hesitation.  Writing is no different.

•  Short, intense durations on a daily basis will beat one inspired, manic day.  Don't wait for inspiration, just sit down and write daily. 

And don't be afraid.  Let me say it again, just sit down and write daily. 

By writing in a conversational tone and in small manageable doses to a person you "know," you'll be able to write easier, quicker and get your story told in no-time. 

But you have to sit down and start.  

And once you finish, you can then go out and share your story with the world through Kindle Publishing.  

It's easier than you think.  

Kindle Publishing: How You Can Get Started

Kindle Publishing For Self-Starters

In this post, I'm going to discuss some of the process that you need to getting your own stuff out into the world with Kindle Publishing.

There's a NY Times article I read recently quotes a small Michigan Publisher that claims over 81% of Americans say they have a book in them.  

Most of us will never write one, much less publish it.

But don't let the doubts or "experts" get you down.

Do You Have A Book In You?  

You probably do.

If you've ever thought to yourself, "If only so and so knew this, it'd be..." or maybe you have a special knowledge and experience in something unique, or perhaps you have tips on how to improve something, than you DO have a book in you.

Even if you've just daydreamed what it'd be like to be a princess or king in some faraway fantasy (except, of course, if you really are a king or princess) than yes you do have a book to write.

With Kindle Publishing, fulfilling your dream of writing a book and seeing it published is a lot easier than you think.

You just need to get started.

With ebooks, getting your stuff out into the world is no longer isolated to just a chosen few.

But there are a few things you need to know before you try use Amazon's Kindle Publishing to self-publish.

Do You Leap, Or Do You Look Before You Leap?

Are you someone who is the first to try something?  The first one to try out a new restaurant?

Perhaps you wake up every day, energetic and need to burn off some energy.

Or are you someone who likes to plan out every activity, every task in meticulous detail.  Perhaps you like to watch others, make mental notes about what works and what doesn't for them.

Well, I'm a little of both.  I like to take risks, but I also like to learn something in great detail before I jump.  I wouldn't go skydiving without first learning how to pack my parachute, and then personally pack it.

Actually, I probably wouldn't go skydiving.  Anyone that knows me also knows how much I "like" flying.

Whether you're someone who likes the challenge of learning on the go, or someone interested in all the details and enjoys watching sausage be made, then let me share with you some of the finer points of my process with writing and publishing my short stories through Amazon's KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).

5 Basic Strategies For Getting Your Words Published Through Amazon's KDP Program

Straight from the horse's mouth of Amazon themselves, here some basic tips for kindle publishing that I'll be following (and wanted to share with you here):

1. Create Compelling Content:  Obviously writing something that readers would be interested in is a priority.  For non-fiction do some research (more on that type of research later) and find a problem that hasn't been addressed yet.  Or if it's something really competitive, find a way to spin information in your own way and make it interesting.  Tell a story that offers the problem for the audience and show them some tools to help solve that hurdle. 
2. Editing Means Reducing - Wash, Rinse and Repeat: Stephen King wrote in his book "On Writing" that the edit process should reduce the overall length of your writing by 10%.  So cut out an unnecessary section or passive terms. 
3. Create An Awesome Cover: Don't settle for trying to create a book cover for yourself.  People DO judge a book by its cover, so make it sleek, professional and polished. 
4. Tease Your Potential Reader And Describe Your Book To Improve Its Desirability: Book details offer an insight, a "sneak-peek" into your book, helps the reader get an idea of what its all about, and why they may want it. Do this well and advertising becomes much, much easier.
5. Promote Your Book:  Use ads, promote on social media including Facebook and Twitter to get the message out about your book launch. 

These are some of the finer points that will be the editing and marketing side of the process.  

These other suggestions I'll be exploring soon, and share how I develop my strategy as I get closer to launch.

If you ever have had a dream of writing your own book and worried that getting it published was one thing holding you back, it's much easier to launch your book than you think.  Especially with how popular the format of ebooks has become, it's simple.  

The traditional barriers that would have kept you from getting your thoughts, your words, your ideas out to the world are no longer that powerful of blocks.

There's a lot more that goes into the process and I'll be writing on that shortly, but don't let that discourage you.

You DO have a book in you and self-publishing through Kindle Publishing makes getting your words out into the world. 

You just need to get started writing.