From The Home Office

THAR SHE (I mean he) BLOWS!! Excitement on the Dock as We All Prepare for a Tropical Storm…that is now heading elsewhere.

July 11, 2019

THAR SHE (I mean he) BLOWS!! Excitement on the Dock as We All Prepare for a Tropical Storm…that is now heading elsewhere.
Print Friendly

We’re gearing up for our popular Summer, 2019 24-Hour Short Story Contest this weekend! We are celebrating our 20th year of the popular 24-Hour Short Story Contest! We LOVE contest weekends!!

In other news, it looks like we’re going to be spared the worst of the tropical storm that’s building in the gulf and we are praying for our Louisiana neighbors. We haven’t escaped all of it. Even if we didn’t have modern weather forecasting and satellites, we’d have known something was brewing. It’s been overcast here all week, which is very unusual for this time of year. And, we had several really strong squalls that had us adding extra lines and bumpers. During one particular lightning storm that woke up the entire dock, we remembered we had not yet reconnected the lightning protection after getting the mast put back in. Oops.

This morning, we had a very short burst of rain but the wind is wailing and the boat is rocking pretty good. We’re supposed to get rain most of today and all day tomorrow as well, even as the storm moves away from us. And, despite what weather.com has been broadcasting, we’ve been watching rotation off the coast for the past two days, even before the low hit the gulf. It just hadn’t organizing itself yet.

Despite the fact that we’ve lived on a boat for two years now, I still feel wobbly-legged after disembarking. Most people say that goes away after awhile but it hasn’t for me. I was sitting in a restaurant eating raw oysters (YUM!) last night and my brain was still making my body feel like it was gently rocking up and down, back and forth. It’s actually quite calming. Thank GOODNESS none of us gets seasick!

After things calm down, we’re heading to our daughter’s house to have some grandkid time this weekend and I’m very excited about that!

PLEASE JOIN US for The Summer, 2019 24-Hour Short Story Contest THIS WEEKEND!!

What will the topic be??? See the link below all past topics and winning stories. Only 500 participants are allowed per contest so don’t delay if you wanna play!

Here is a  list of fun topics from the last eight Summer contests:

  • A beach town souvenir shop with a candy cane awning, where customers go in…but don’t come out.
  • An upscale camp, nightfall, and the camp chef staring through a window at…
  • A wacky hot dog vendor delivers a cryptic message.
  • The music stops at the swimming hole as radios blast an emergency broadcast alert.
  • A hungry camper digs for a forbidden snack, and notices something terrifying under the floorboard.
  • A sleepy seaside town wakes up as people start stampeding down Main Street.
  • A young woman working a dead-end job at the family charter business finds something mysterious…while cleaning a fish.
  • After the oceanfront reception, a groom has a secret to tell his bride on his wedding night.
  • And many more!

Those are just a FEW of the many Summer contest topics participants have had fun tackling in the past!

COME JOIN US RIGHT HERE ON SATURDAY! It’s a blast! 🙂

1st Place $300 + a Book Publishing Package from BookLocker.com! (Value: $875)

2nd Place: $250

3rd Place: $200

+ 80 other prizes!

RELATED

Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.



Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

AngelaPortrait72dpismall_400x400

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)


See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.


ANGELA ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/AngelaHoy


BOOKLOCKER ON FACEBOOK - Provides links to free excerpts!
https://www.facebook.com/booklockerbooks


ANGELA ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/angela.hoy.750


ANGELA ON LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelahoy/


Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/



Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE



The Art and Craft of Writing and Editing


Writing is a constant dialogue between author and reader.



The craft of writing involves an interchange of emotions between an author and a reader. An author creates a story line, conflict, and characters, gives his characters words to speak, and then hands off these materials to a reader. This process results in a constant dialogue between the mental imagery produced by a reader and that proposed by the author.





Read more here:


https://writersweekly.com/books/6712.html







Writing FAST: How to Write Anything with Lightning Speed


A systematic approach to writing that generates better quality quickly!


Chock full of ideas, tips, techniques and inspiration, this down-to-earth book is easy to read, and even easier to apply. Let author Jeff Bollow take you through a process that brings your ideas to the page faster, more powerfully and easier than ever before.




Read more here:
https://writersweekly.com/books/3695.html







7.625 STRATEGIES IN EVERY BEST-SELLER - Revised and Expanded Edition


At this moment, thousands of would-be authors are slaving away on their keyboards, dreaming of literary success. But their efforts won’t count for much. Of all those manuscripts, trade book editors will sign up only a slim fraction.

And of those titles--ones that that editors paid thousands of dollars to contract, print and publicize--an unhealthy percentage never sell enough copies to earn back their advances. Two years later, most will be out of print!

Acquisition Editor Tam Mossman shares seven essentials every book needs to stay in print, and sell!



Read more here:


https://writersweekly.com/books/5635.html





So, You Wanna Be a Ghostwriter - How To Make Money Writing Without a Byline


Many freelance writers find it difficult to break into the publishing world. What they don't know, however, is that there's a faster and easier way to see their words in print. It's called ghostwriting, and it's an extremely lucrative, fun, and challenging career.

But how do you get started as a ghostwriter? How do you find new clients who will pay you to write their material? How do you charge? And what kind of contracts do you need to succeed? All these questions and more are answered in So, You Wanna Be a Ghostwriter...How to Make Money Writing Without a Byline.

Read more here:
https://writersweekly.com/books/49.html