Our Twitter handle Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
The next #IWSGPit will be March 27, 2024. 10:00 am – 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
Create a Twitter-length pitch for your completed and polished manuscript and leave room for genre, age, and the hashtag. On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, Tweet your pitch using #IWSGPit. If your pitch receives a favorite/heart from a publisher/agent check their submission guidelines and send your requested query.
Many writers have seen their books published from a Twitter pitch – it’s a quick and easy way to put your manuscript in front of publishers and agents.
Do authors really find agents and publishers through a Twitter pitch party? Yes they do! Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C. has found FIVE authors from this event, including one of our best sellers, Damien Larkin.
So, get your pitches ready for March!
What turns you off when visiting an author’s site? Will you be participating in #IWSGPit? Have you had success with a Twitter pitch party?
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. Remember, the question is optional! Have you “played” with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI’s impact on creative writing?
MY ANWSER:
I have used AI to come up with SEO type stuff, a basic outline, marketing ideas. I have played with images. I think it is not quite the monster everyone thought it was going to be, and think it is here to stay. We can find creative ways to let it assist us without giving up originality and creativity.
#storytime A Cozy Witchy Fantasy Flash Fiction Percival’s Bane: The Demon and The Void
I sensed my witch writhe in agony as the demon dug its claws deeper into her flesh. We were bonded, so my mind stayed locked to hers as long as she was alive and awake.
Trapped in a cage that suppressed my magical power in the room adjacent. I paced. Flicking my black furry tail. Even though the demon had stolen my Chi I was not without some magical powers. My Chi gave me nine lives, and allowed me to tap into the life force and share my powers with my witch.
Now the demon used my Chi against us. This would not be a good day to die.
“Serena.” My witch’s current boyfriend ran into the granite underbelly of Devil Rock Castle, yelling her name. He would not be able to breach the magical barrier between them and save her.
Gaston was more brawn than brains, but he loved my witch. A fact which made me resent him and tolerate him. I couldn’t decide if she loved him, but for now he held her interested and was good to her.
BUT, he could save me, and then maybe I could save her.
He was what was known in magical circles as a dud, a Void, a totally non magical life form, but with one caveat–magic did not work around him or if it did, often went haywire when used in his vicinity.
On a rare occasion, with a Void, the absence of magic fueled a spell. No one knew why this occurred, and it was unpredictable with often disastrous results depending on if the spell was friend or foe, and even good results leaned toward the disastrous of too much of a good thing.
If I could get his attention we could still save my witch. Since both I and Gaston were on the same side of the magical barrier I could communicate with him. Lucky for me, telepathy was not a magical element. It was an element of energy.
Even the non-magical could use it if they learned to tap into the higher brain functions, but it took practice. It was a pseudo science that the majority of the world dismissed, unless you experience it.
I had never tried to speak to Gaston. He was human, and well, I’m a cat—and have been for a few centuries now. I must admit, humans respond better when I rely more on my cat-ness, rather than my humanity.
I’m not sure why he had not spotted me in this cage that looked like a giant iron mouth clamped down on me. He could be thick headed, and he was focused on the iron door laced with smoky crystal’s blocking us both from my witch.
I focused. “Gaston, let me out of this cage.”
He was a large man, not quite a giant. His russet colored head jerked around at the sound of my voice. He paused, then ripped a decorative sword from the chamber wall, and started hacking at the black iron door.
Really? Idiot! “Gaston! Quit hacking at that door and let me out of this cage.”
He pivoted wildly. “Who said that?”
“I did. Percival.”
“Serena’s cat?”
“Yes. Stop horsing around and get over here.”
“Over where?”
“The table. We don’t have much time.”
“Rrowohrow!”
He spotted me. “Percival?”
“Who else would I be?”
Gaston stopped with the questions and began to hack at my cage with the sword.
I hissed, arched, and slapped back. Not my best move as he almost hacked off a claw. “Stop that, before you hurt me.”
“How else am I supposed to get you out?”
“Try the key hanging on the wall over there.” He bent and peered in at me. I stared at the key, while pointing a furry paw. Gaston can be thick, but he was not stupid.
“Got it.”
Because magic had no effect on Gaston, him being a Void, he bypassed the daemon spell, unlocking the cage without incident. I was free. I jumped down, and immediately collapsed. The drain on my Chi had taken a physical toll.
Gaston bent down and stroked my fur, and then gently picked me up. “Hey cat, you okay?”
Sometimes… ‘It’s better to apologize later rather than ask for permission first.’ I liked that human cliche, which seems à propos, in this instance.
I bit down on Gaston’s hand, drew blood, and sucked. Even his Chi could lend me power when accessed through blood. It didn’t hurt him, well, except for the actual bite, and it was enough for me to transfer power to my witch, enhancing her powers.
He yipped, and dropped me.
The iron door exploded outward as my witch blasted free of the demon.
“Revertere ad ubi venit de daemonio,” Serena yelled. [Go back to where you came from, demon.]
The smell of sulfur filled the room.
My strength and Chi buzzed to life through my body. I stepped toward my witch. And stopped. Serenda embraced Gaston in a lip lock.
“You saved me.”
Oh, please, no, I saved her. Neither of them had even glanced my way. “I might be dead over here,” I groused, out loud this time.
“Silly cat, you have nine lives. And I can feel your Chi powering back up.”
“The cat talked out loud?” Gaston, distracted from her lips for a moment, stared at me.
“Well, he is my familiar, and was once a powerful wizard himself until he was cursed. He can do a lot of other things, not just talk.”
“Should I be jealous?” Gaston kissed her.
Oh Yuck, gag me now, and stake the human.
“No darling, he’s a cat.” That said, she kissed him again.
The smoldering in my gut grew, as I pondered every form of torture I had learned over my many lifetimes as human, and as a cat. The demon was defeated, but defeat of THE VOID was yet to come.
Storytime Quarterly Blog Hop: January, April, July & October
A beautiful braided story of historical literary fiction of family, war, love, and cultural significance that connections all across generations.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Set in a rich and complicated culture reflected in its cuisine, hospitality, and breathtaking landscapes, Desiderium weaves the stories of three generations of Albanian women reaching for their deepest desires amid heartbreak, the quest for revenge, and war.
Mira Zeka is a fighter seeking vengeance and national independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1911. A decision she makes for her family will change her heart more than she could have imagined.
Valentina Muskaj, nicknamed Val, trades her schoolteacher duties to become a partisan guerrilla during World War II. To return to the life she had, in a homeland rid of the Axis Powers, she will endure anything, including injury and unspeakable loss.
Dita Arbani, a history museum curator, is falling in love with the tales of Albania’s past while the modern world rushes ahead. Her grandmother’s vague hint about secret gold sends Dita on a mission, even while other parts of her life unravel.
Desiderium’s prose is as lyrical as Albania’s rivers and seas. The characters are as fierce as the mountains surrounding them. Through their eyes, we see that the struggles, passions, and triumphs of the past may not be as deeply buried as we think.
Julie Furxhi: An author’s journey in her own words.
In January 2021, I read Circe by Madeline Miller for the second time. I remember thinking, “if I ever write, I want to write like this.” In 2023, I read Circe again and finally, I was able to put my finger on one thing that I loved: the emotion evoked was made stronger by the subtle tone and voice. The seed had been planted.
Six months later, a short story bubbled to my mind’s surface. From there, that story became Desiderium, my debut novel. It is a braided historical fiction.
In early fall 2021, I found the Ninja Writers and became a regular in Juneta Key’s Fiction call on Tuesdays over Zoom. Each writer read a piece of their story and verbal feedback was offered, comments were left in the doc, and community was happening.
I wrote and wrote almost frantically because I like to have things done and checked off my to-do list. I listened to free workshops by Authors Publish and a few other workshops in Ninja Writers. To get in character, I listened to a lot of sad music. While I wrote I listened to a lot of piano music. I read scenes again and again to the writers’ group led by Juneta. I printed it out entirely twice and scribbled all over it, aghast at finding such tiny mistakes and big problems both.
For me, the most intimidating part was having so many options. This or that or the other could happen to the character. These limitless paths a character can take is a big, big ask from someone like me who likes to follow directions down to the letter.
Thankfully, deep into my editing and redoing and rewriting last year, I learned to trust that some scenes would come to me, some lines would come while doing the dishes or driving around town. They would get straightened out in my head if I let them simmer a bit. This, of course, is counter to the to-do list obsession.
Learning the craft of writing has been a maddening joy. Learning is a joy because I want to do it well. The maddening part is knowing there is still more I don’t know. It’s not like I can take a test and show how much I know and get the keys to an office. I have to keep getting better.
It’s also maddening when the story completely falls apart. The only piece that remained unchanged was that I saw the story set in Albania. But not giving up on it is a joy, too. And we don’t give up because we are madly in love with our characters, right?
To distract myself from the weighty task of writing true, I read about the difficult road that is traditional publishing. I couldn’t imagine spending years sending query letters. I entertained the idea of hybrid presses.
While developing character and plugging plot holes and reading nonfiction, I also stumbled upon Reedsy. Reedsy is a great resource, in my opinion, as a one-stop shop. They have lots of free, by-email workshops, recorded, industry interviews and a “marketplace” to find all the professionals you need to self-publish. I hired two editors, the cover designer, and the interior designer.
It was there I found out about IngramSpark. Was I the last emerging writer to hear about it?
Using IngramSpark put Desiderium in the Ingram catalog that 40,000-some booksellers and librarians around the world use to order their books.
The cover and interior designers were experts in getting everything lined up and sorted for printing and the ebook edition. For these retailers and libraries to even consider ordering Desi, I set the wholesale discount at 55%. Yes. 55%. The bare minimum is 40% and will likely be met with a lot of rejection on that alone. I also made it Returnable. My understanding is that if indie booksellers don’t have a way to return the copies that don’t sell, they won’t order.
I bought a 10-pack of ISBNs. That was so straight-forward I was terrified I had done it wrong.
For marketing, I created a sale sheet and started emailing it to libraries and bookstores around the US. Our library system and local bookstore happily ordered a few copies. Our local Barnes and Noble ordered a dozen as soon as I introduced myself, post-release day.
Many independent bookstores use a consignment agreement with local authors. Four copies are on consignment at a legendary bookstore in Denver. Since Desiderium is on Ingram, they may have ordered straight through the catalog. Then again, maybe not.
I asked friends and family to do the same: order it through a local store and then they may buy a few copies for their shelves; put it on their goodreads list; order from bookshop to support independent stores; suggest-a-title to their library.
I decided on Instagram as my main social platform because I knew that’s the only social media I would be able to be consistent with. All of it makes me want to hide under a rock but I’m trying.
I became a Goodreads Author, set up my own bookshop.org page, set up my Amazon Author page and my own site with squarespace. That was straightforward, too.
Last month, Ingram announced a new feature: a “purchasable link.” It is a button I apply to my website. The link goes straight to Ingram and they send the order directly to the customer. If you’re looking to get the largest piece of the sale price, this direct link and selling from your personal order are the ways to do that.
I got my state and city Sales and Use Tax License so that I can sell out of the back of my car. Kidding not kidding. I applied my tax exemption status to my own order of 150 copies. I was able to place this order, from my account, before my release date. I bought these particularly for my Launch Party.
Around 35 friends were able to come to the party and several of them bought multiple copies. The night though, was a way for me to say thank you to them. They’ve encouraged me, asked how they can help, and some of them answered strangely specific questions from architecture to wound care.
Thank you to everyone who helped me on this crazy, amazing journey. I have few regrets and have learned so much. Thank you, Juneta Key, for all you continue to teach me and for having me in the Spotlight.
ABOUT JULIE
Julie Furxhi finds oatmeal chocolate chip cookies irresistible. She is learning to sew clothing. She lives in Colorado with her family. Desiderium is her debut novel. All of her social media and purchase links are on her website, www.juliefurxhi.com
Our Twitter handle Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. Remember, the question is optional! December 6 question: Book reviews are for the readers. When you leave a book review, do you review for the Reader or the Author? Is it about what you liked and enjoyed about your reading experience, or do you critique the author?
MY ANWSER:
I review for the reader. I appreciate when reviews help me decide if a book is worth my time to read and whether it will give me my reading fix. My TIME is precious and I am selective where I spend it. I don’t won’t to waste it reading something I won’t enjoy or get my reading fix.
Reviews in retail are for the reader, not the author, although the author can use what is liked and/or disliked or mention to help improve their stories. There is a place for critique, but reader reviews is not it. The review is about the reading experience (although how good the writing is affects this, but should be relayed in how it affected the reading experience, not what the author did wrong so much).
The review should tell if the book is something I will enjoy reading or not—sharing your experience allows the reader to make an informed decision/selection. Mistakes are not so important to me as GIVING me a GREAT immersive story—give me that and I can overlook A LOT and I will continue to read the author. Suck me in–Pull me in and make me CARE about your characters and I am there and happy.
Our Twitter handleOur Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. Remember, the question is optional! November 1 question: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?
MY ANWSER: Yes, since July 2013. I won last year for the first time in November, but only because I included all my writing, just my project. I don’t know that I will take part in “the push” for 50,000 this year, but I will BE writing and editing. Want to be my friend here is my profile info.
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