How to Speed up the writing process the right way!

The writing process should never be rushed. That much is certain. It is full of enough pitfalls that could derail the entire process. But as a writer you would know the pressures of the deadline. The dreaded tick tock of the clock as a call from your editor seems imminent. This is why you should know how to speed up your writing as efficiently as possible. Speeding up your writing is far different from rushing. With Speeding up, you are writing as fast as you can and yet also writing properly. To speed up your writing means to never waste time with ineffective wordplay and get right down to the heart of the matter. Here are some book writing tips on how to speed up the writing process.

• Relax and enjoy yourself

Panicking over a deadline is a common thing for writers. As the deadline draws writing a novel seems to get more and more difficult. Your prose seems to get more muddled up and thoughts of anxiety and uncertainty become more frequent. This is why you should try to relax and enjoy the writing process as much as possible. It is all a matter of mindset and the success of your book depends on how you look at the writing process. If you look at it like a chore, then your creativity will be blunted and the entire writing process will be difficult for you. But if you look at the writing process as a great opportunity you will be surprised at how fun and exhilarating it can be.

• Learn to focus

Focus is one of the most important attributes a writer can have. And yet it is a very hard attribute to truly master. Being able to focus is difficult for most writers, because their minds are constantly on something else. So as you start the writing process, try to find and maintain your focus. Keeping your focus will not only give you a steady pace during the writing process, it will also help you to stave off writer’s block.

• Make writing an activity

The daily slog of writing can get boring quickly. Which is why you should try to challenge yourself. Set a timer for yourself. Set it for 30 minutes then start writing. Be as efficient as you can and try to be as fast as you can. That way you can find out how fast you really are as a writer. It can also help to reinvigorate your writing style and liven up the writing process.

• Take up meditation

Meditation is a technique used by Buddhist monks to clear the mind and find inner peace. And seeing as anxiety and fear is one of the main enemies of writing you should try out meditation. Meditation is a way for you to clear your mind of unnecessary thoughts and worries and just leave yourself open to your creative impulses. This is called a meditative state. Through this method, you lose all sense of fear and stress. This is the perfect state of mind for writing because your mind will no longer be weighed down by insecurities or doubts.

• Make an overall plan

Whether you are writing a book or just practicing your writing it is extremely beneficial to have an overall plan for your writing process. Having an overall plan gives you a way to plan out every aspect of your writing. Takes some time and brainstorm and decide what to write about. Plan out the main plotline of your book, plan out your cast of characters and plan out every plot twist in your book. This will save you the time spent on figuring out the necessary aspects of your book.

• Research ahead of the writing process

Before you even start writing, you should have done most of your research beforehand. This will save you the time spent on researching facts for your book. You should use every research source at your disposal and verify whether your facts are trustworthy or not.
All in all speeding up your writing is all about having a utilitarian outlook on the writing process. Divest yourself of bad habits like procrastination and worrying and give your whole focus on the writing process.

Book Marketing ideas that will help you Sell your Book Effectively!

Marketing a book takes a lot of time and effort, in many ways it is almost as hard as writing a book. So it stands to reason that you should have a plan in order to sell your book as effectively as possible. But it is easier said than done. So your marketing strategy should be as efficient as possible and should cover all the bases. That way once you do get started in marketing your book, you will have a higher chance in selling your book. Here are some great book marketing ideas that will help sell your book as effectively as possible.

• Have an overall budget for your book

Having an overall budget for your book helps you avoid unwanted expenses. What most people don’t know about book marketing is that it can get expensive very quickly. This is especially true if you don’t have a budget to follow. So before you go out and start your marketing campaign you should prepare a written budget of all expenses. Every instance of spending should be accounted for. From the smallest to largest expenditure, it should be accounted for.

• Be Creative

Creativity is very important when it comes to marketing. This is because marketing is all about getting other people’s attention and directing their attention to your product. And creativity is your best attribute. When you conduct your marketing campaign try to be as creative as possible. Your advertising blurbs should be as witty and on point as possible. It should also be as relevant to your book as possible.

• Have an overall marketing plan for your book

Conducting a marketing campaign can be almost formulaic. This is because every aspect of the plan should be as effective as possible. And any error can damage your chances of selling your book. This is why you should be as subtle and systematic as possible. Create strategies and an overall outline of your marketing plan. That way, you can follow it to the letter.

• Specify your target audience

Your book’s target audience really depends on your book. It depends on what your book is all about. Its genre and its main topic.  Knowing your target audience is really very useful because it gives you a specific audience to focus your marketing campaign on. Conducting your marketing campaign without knowing your target audience is like shooting in the dark because there is really no way of knowing if you hit your target or not.

• Use cost effective ways of advertising

Advertising can be very expensive if done wrong. This is why you should do your best to find costs effective forms of advertising. One great example is using the internet to advertise your book. Notably social media. With social media you are given the chance to advertise your work through notable sites like Facebook and Twitter. And the best part is, they are relatively free to use. Always remember that when you are conducting a marketing campaign cost efficient alternatives are always useful.

• Create an author website for yourself

Author websites are extremely useful for conducting marketing campaigns. With an author website you are given an online marketing platform.  Through your author website you are given the option to posts information about your book. You also make sure that your website is SEO ready in order to attract more site visitors and potential buyers.

• Don’t forget to use older media

Older media are media forms such as radio advertising and newspaper ads. And although they may not be as potent in this day and age, they are still quite effective. Try to use older media to supplement your book marketing campaign. They can help you to reach out to a different demographic.

• Use popular culture in your marketing campaigns

Popular culture is very important when it comes to marketing your book. This is because people are more likely to be interested in your book if your marketing blurbs are relevant. You should make sure to link your book to trending topics, because these topics get more views from readers. Which could attract potential buyers for your book.
These tips are all meant to help you achieve your book marketing goals but all in all your greatest asset in marketing your book is your own hard work and perseverance.

How Meditation can make the writing process so much easier!

Meditation and writing can seem very strange when used in the same sentence. And from a glance it may seem that the two have very little in common. But if you look a bit closer you will be surprised that mediation can really help you to become a more creative and efficient writer in the long run. But how? Meditation is a very different activity from writing. What is it that makes mediation a great exercise for writers? Here are some reasons why meditation can make the writing process so much easier.

• Mediation helps you gain clarity while writing

Meditation was created by Buddhist monks to help them clear their minds and reach enlightenment. Meditation is an exercise in mindfulness. This state of mind makes everything seem so much clearer and your thoughts tend to be more ordered. This is a very useful concept for most writers, because the writing process can get very chaotic. Especially if you are writing a book.  So before you get started on writing a novel or a long essay, take a few minutes to just sit down and meditate. You will be surprised at how much clearer and efficient your prose will be.

• Meditation induces positive emotions

One of the worst things you can do when writing is to do it while struggling with negative emotions. This is because you need your full focus on the writing process, and negative emotions tend to complicate things. Which is why meditation is a great way to prevent negative emotions during the writing process.  That way you can get started on writing your book without having to struggle with negative emotions during your writing journey.

• It opens up your creative impulses

Meditation is more than closing your eyes and letting your mind wander. It is so much more than that. Aside from the mental and physical advantages of meditation, there is also the creative advantages of meditation. By meditating you open up your mind to any idea. It also allows you to focus harder on your work. It allows you to be more relaxed and stops you from overthinking every aspect of your book.

• It helps prevent writer’s block

Have you ever had this experience? You are writing your manuscript. Everything seems great and your book is shaping up well. Your prose seems perfect and everything goes smoothly. But then out of the blue your mind becomes a blank. This is writer’s block. It is a condition wherein an author loses the ability to create new work. Writer’s block is a problem for a multitude of authors. This is because it can strike any time and can quickly derail the writing process. There is really no fool proof way to cure this, but one of the best ways to prevent this is meditation. By meditating you divest yourself of stressful thoughts and unnecessary worries. It also helps you gain a whole new perspective on the writing process.

• It helps you avoid stress and needless anxiety

Being a writer can be very stressful, dealing with editors and the long hours can really tire you out. Not to mention the uncertainty that comes with publishing a book. And because of these duties writers are very prone to worries and anxiety attacks. Meditation is a great way for you to learn how to handle this stress. Through meditation you can help soothe your mind. By just taking the time and doing a mindful meditation exercise before a writing session you are not only soothing your mind, but also honing the much needed focus for the activity ahead.
All in all meditation is a truly incredible mental activity that will not only make you a better writer, but also a better person.

Reasons why a Writing Buddy is Essential for any Writer!

Writing is one of the most profound and liberating art forms. This is because it allows you to fully use your creativity to create entire worlds from your imagination. But as great an art form writing it can be, it can still get difficult in the long run. This is especially true if you are writing a book or doing a long term writing project. Which is why you should have a writing buddy to help you on your writing journey. With a writing buddy you can achieve a whole lot more as a writer. Here are some great reasons why a writing buddy is essential to the writing process.

• A great source of support

Being a writer can be very stressful at times, especially if you are writing a novel. And this stress can take a great toll on you as a writer and have a negative effect on your writing style. Having a writing buddy gives you the chance to voice out your frustrations to someone who truly understands what you are going through. It allows you to vent when things are not going your way throughout the writing process. This is why you should be very picky when it comes to a writing buddy.

• Writing buddies are your first fans and critiques

Long before you have an existing fan base, your writing buddy is already your very first fan. A good writing buddy should be willing to read your book and give an honest criticism of your work. It is also important that you take the criticism on a positive note, Understand that the criticism is meant to make you grow as a writer.
You should also remember that you are also obliged to help your writing buddy with his or her manuscript. The key to a good relationship with a writing buddy is honesty and respect. Be honest with each other’s books and respect one another as writers.

• Writing buddies provide you with much needed publishing advice

The publishing process can be a very hard road to navigate through. This is because there are so many options to publish your book. There is traditional publishing where you sign up with an established publishing house or you can opt to Self-publish your book yourself, shouldering the costs of publishing but also keeping all the rights to your book. These are just a few examples of the publishing options you can take. But it is extremely important that you choose the right one for you.
This is where having a writing buddy comes in handy. Your writing buddy can give you advice coming from a whole new perspective. If your writing buddy has publishing experience, you will have access to much needed knowledge on the publishing process and the shortcuts you can take to make the process easier.

• Writing buddies are a great moral boost

There are times when you will want to quit writing. It happens to the best of us. It could be because of a bad review or a lackluster book opening. But what you have to remember is that this feeling will pass. And your writing buddy will help you. Writing buddies will always give you a moral boost. This is the writing buddy’s main job. To give you unwavering support and provide a bulwark against the pain of rejection and failure.

• Writing buddies can help you sell your book

When you release your book, you are going through unchartered territory. You never really know if your book will sell well or what you should do to effectively promote your book. This is where writing buddies can come in very handy. With a writing buddy you are now given the chance to promote your book even more effectively.
You can posts your book in your writing buddy’s Facebook account. If your writing buddy has a writer’s bog, you can preview your book through the blog and writer article through there. Your writing buddy can also advertise your book by Tweeting about it or calling attention to it through Social Media. Ultimately writing buddies are incredibly helpful when it comes to selling your book.
All in all, writing buddies are truly essential to the writing process. They not only give you much needed support during the writing process, they also make it as fun as possible.

Trying to Find a Writing Buddy? Here’s how you do it!

Writing buddies are not really a widespread concept, but they are some of the most useful people to have on your side during the writing process. What are writing buddies? Why are they so useful for writers? Writing buddies are friends who help you during the writing process. They give you the support that you need and vice versa. This is a partnership that helps you and your writing buddies grow as writers. They are also very useful when writing a book, because they make the writing process so much easier. But where can you find them? What should you look for in a writing buddy? Here are some great tips on how to find the best writing buddy for you.

• Family and Friends

The first place you should always look is close to home. Your family and friends are a great source of support and better yet they are very easy to get a hold of for writing sessions. Look to your family first and see whether some members are also interested in writing. If not you can look to your close friends. If there are, ask them if they want to be your writing buddy. Then you can schedule a weekly writing sessions where you can show each other your work and the progress you made.
It is always a great advantage to have a family member or friend as a writing buddy because you can be more honest with one another. If you or your writing buddy are writing a book you can help each other by critiquing one another’s books. Just be sure to be tactful with your criticism to avoid hurt feelings in the future.

• Online writing buddy

If you live far from home or moved somewhere new, you can always find writing buddies online. You can visit writing sites and join writing forums. There are a multitude of writing forums online. Match your preferred genre with your writing forum. Are you writing a novel on high fantasy? Check out high fantasy forums, there you can write fan fiction about your favorite characters in a book series. It all really depends on what genre you are interested in. Once you have chosen a writing forum you like, you can now share your work with your online writing buddies. Just be careful in choosing trustworthy people to share your work with.

• Colleagues and classmates

This usually applies to students and teachers. Schools are some of the best places you can find a writing buddy. For students, writing buddies can be found in friends and school organizations such as book clubs and the school paper. For teachers, writing buddies can be found in members of the academe who also share the love of reading and writing.
The best example of this would be the well-known literary group known as the Inklings.  This group was composed of academics from Oxford University and its ranks boasted names such as C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien to name only a few. The group was known to have cultivated some of the greatest literary minds in a generation. So if you really want to improve your writing style and achieve your potential as a writer, it stands to reason that you look for writing buddies in the academe.

• Writing Events

Writing events are some of the best places you can find a writing buddy. This is because most of the people who attend these events are also interested in writing. There are a multitude of writing events that you can attend and you can both participate or just attend them. These events are usually short story or poetry writing contests and attract a bevy of great writers. Just be sure that your chosen writing buddy is compatible with your schedule and personality.
All in all when it comes to a writing buddy, you should always make sure that you are compatible with your chosen writing buddy. Make sure that your writing buddy is someone you like and trust that way you can really reap the benefits of having a writing buddy during the writing process.