I always look forward to November each year for more reasonsthan Thanksgiving. Though I am a sucker for turkey and stuffing, I also lovewatching my word counts skyrocket as I take part in National Novel WritingMonth. (NaNoWriMo for short) For theuninitiated, during NaNoWriMo, writers seek to write 50,000 words in 30 days,which is the length of a short novel.
I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo for three years, and I’veimproved every year. My first year, I barely squeaked by on the 30th,the next year I hit the goal on the 25th, and this year I took ahuge leap forward in finishing on the 17th.
This got me to thinking—why couldn’t every month be likeNaNoWriMo? If I can do in November, what makes it impossible in January orJuly? The answer for me is: nothing. I just try harder in November to work hardand minimize distractions because I have a firm target.
With that in mind, I want to set a very high goal this year:I literally want to make every month like NaNoWriMo. I think I’ll call itNational Novel Writing Year (or NaNoWriYe) for short. I want to write 50,000per month for every month in 2012 for a grand total of 600,000 words.
To put that in perspective that’s about two installments ofRobert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” series. It is much more than I have ever written, butI think that I can do it. I am serious in my commitment to writing, and I thinkthis will be a formative year in my career.
I’m sure that many full-time authors can easily pull of thisfeat. However, I’m working a full-timejob, have a wife and two kids, and a very busy schedule with the MormonTabernacle Choir. I hope that in doingthis, I can inspire others who have busy lives to see that they can still fitwriting into their schedules.
I have also decided that I want to take it a step further.Many runners run to raise money for charity. I thought I would go ahead andwrite for charity instead. To help out, you can pledge an amount, howeversmall, for every month’s worth of words I write (every 50,000 words). Thatmeans, if you pledge $1, and I reach my goal, you would donate $12 to charity.
To pledge an amount, fill out the form below. All you needis a full name and email address. I willthen send you an invoice through PayPal at the end of the challenge for theproper amount. I will be taking charity suggestions from my readers to figureout where the money should go. I won’tkeep a dime.
Anyone else up to the challenge? I’m excited and already alittle tired just thinking about it. Luckily, I have several full noveloutlines ready to hash out, and I’ll be giving constant updates here on my blogthroughout the year.
In this season of giving, I encourage you all to think ofways to spread the abundance we all have been given. Have a happy and blessed Holiday Season.
By: Mark Miller,
on 10/12/2011
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I am involved with a new Christian radio station preparing to go on the air in Central Florida. As this is a non-profit, it will rely heavily on volunteers and pledges.
WTYG 91.5 FM will broadcast out of Sparr, FL, but we still need a little help. Maybe you've heard of Kickstarter? It's a great website for fundraisers of all sorts. Well, we started a campaign and you can get to it at this link:
Besides the satisfaction of helping spread a good message, I wanted to give you an extra incentive. We all know money is tight these days, but if you can spare a little for a good cause, then I want to share my writing with you.
For anybody that donates $5 or more, I will send you not one, not two, but three eBooks!
Once you make a pledge, send me an email to Mark@MillerWords.com or Mark@WTYGFM.com and I will send you all three stories:
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Last month I had the pleasure of donating a signed copy of my book
Melvin and the Boy as part of a raffle to help raise money for ISAR's (International Society for Animal Rights)
International Homeless Animals' Day.
Here's a bit about this annual event:
"In 1992, ISAR introduced International Homeless Animals’ Day as an innovative educational vehicle with a purpose of informing society of the global tragedy that overwhelms animal shelters each year – pet overpopulation. Since the conception of International Homeless Animals’ Day, ISAR has reserved the third Saturday of August, commemorating the Day annually, to promote new campaigns, programs, and ideas on the solution to the pet overpopulation epidemic: spay/neuter."
If you're interested in learning more about ISAR, or would like to help, please head over to
their website for more information.
Hey all y’all!
Just letting you know that the piece you see below (which I did for Ripple (and Illustration Friday) is a 5″ x 7″ print and still available to anyone who wants it by helping the Ripple cause. It was sold once, but it being a print, I have more. Just follow the instructions given on the Ripple blog’s sidebar and I’ll happily send it your way (card #586). Thus far, Kelly Light & all the illustrators involved have raised over $6K to help the animal victims of the Gulf oil spill. Check out all the other artists/illustrators’ pieces there as well. Thanks for your support! : )
These sketch cards will go to Kelly Light's Ripple blog very soon.
Please go and make a donation by buying a card from the many beautiful cards available. All the money goes to save the animals victims of the oil spill. Plus during the whole month of July BIG names in the book world will donate cards and help the cause.
What a beautiful thing and this is your chance to be a part of it.
Guys,
My friend, Stephanie Blake, needs our help.
Over the weekend, her 7-year old niece, Braedyn, was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). It's been a terrible shock to her family.
She lives in Wichita, KS. The treatment protocol starts this Wednesday with vigorous schedule of chemotherapy. Little Braedyn will probably lose her hair almost immediately. She loves books and crafts of all kinds. Her favorite color is green. She's being very brave, but is scared of what is to come.
Im planning on donating everything that is Fancy Nancy :) Anything will brighten this little girl's day - maybe coloring, crafts, books. They can be old or new.
Brenda Reeves Sturgis, is organizing A Book For Braedyn. Brenda would like to get an author a week to donate a single book (new or used) to Braedyn, to help keep her mind off of chemo and all the yucky cancer stuff she's going through.
Brenda is starting off by sending the picture book, All the World. If you could participate, it would be most appreciated. To sign up to send something, please contact Brenda via BSturgis@metrocast.net or feel free to contact me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com. I'm happy to help gather your stuff for Brenda as well.
Thank you so much, in advance, for brightening the days for little Braedyn.
And please keep her in your prayers and thoughts.
Seriously, I should be teaching, but mother nature has dumped a massive (like from New Mexico to Michigan) sized storm of the U.S.
Speaking of teaching, one of the skills I've learned as a teacher is how to transition between topics. Try this:
Snowpocalypse Now is a cheeky reference to the movie Apocalypse Now which is based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness which is the template for my book, Loathsome, Dark, and Deep.
Whew.
Well check out this nice review of Loathsome, Dark, and Deep at Hellnotes:
It’s a cleverly thought out survival novel that turns into a “search for a man who can answer our questions” novel, with Henry taken prisoner by a fellow named Curt who can explain the presence of the zombie-like “Ruined Men.”
Now that's nice. Click above to read the rest (should you want to, of course). Daniel Powell, author of An Autumn Harvest, had some nice things to say, too. Thanks for reading.
This transition isn't as smooth.
I've come to the end of my first "month of experimentation" with Kindle publishing, and, well, have (drum roll please) seven sales! Yes, seven copies of The Bottom Feeders sold in January, and, I'm surprisingly excited about it. Why? Because everybody I know already bought copies before January (I think)--that means seven "strangers" gave it a go. So my "profit" total for 2011...
7 books x $.35 a book = $2.45!
Now, I know I said I was going to donate 10% to a charity each month...I am. At least. 25 cents doesn't seem like much of a donation, does it? So each month I make less than $10 (could be the whole year, folks), I'm going to donate at least $5.
So who should the $5 go to this month? I'm taking suggestions and then will hold a poll.
I'll announce the winner of the review contest tomorrow...stay tuned. We're likely snowed in for a few days...
I am donating three Artist Trading Cards to “art for japan”. All proceeds from the auction will go to AmeriCares for aid to those affected by the Great Tohoku Kanto Earthquake. Here are the 3 ATC’s that I did. They are original watercolor, ink & graphite. They are Mario, Yoshi & Toadstool from Mario Bros.,...
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Comics writer Scott McCloud posted to twitter a link for Girls Making Comics. They have set up a kickstarter donation page for the printing of their comic they are creating. Here is what Ursula Murray Husted, who is running the program, said about it: Recently I ran a comics workshop for teenage girls hosted by...
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Comics writer Scott McCloud posted to twitter a link for Girls Making Comics. They have set up a kickstarter donation page for the printing of their comic they are creating. Here is what Ursula Murray Husted, who is running the program, said about it: Recently I ran a comics workshop for teenage girls hosted by...
Read the rest of this post
By: Maryann Yin,
on 4/19/2011
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In an effort to raise money for Japanese earthquake relief, singer Justin Bieber sent a lock of his hair on tour and fans around the country have paid $1 to take a picture with it. Mimicking the young pop star, author David Thorne has sent a lock of his own hair on a bookstore tour.
Thorne’s editor, Michael Solana, explained in the release: “Thorne declared war on Justin Bieber last month with his site HelpMeSellMoreBooksThanJustinBieber.com. A 10-city tour of his hair was kind of inevitable.”
Thorne’s hair will spend three days in each store. For every location that hosts the Thorne lock, Penguin Group (USA)’s Tarcher/Penguin will donate $200 to the National Children’s Cancer Society.
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
This Friday evening there is going to be a celebration of all that is good. You should come! There will be tons of artwork filling the walls of the party space, including this piece of mine. (click to enlarge—you'll see Melvin the turtle made it in to the scene!) Details are
here. Don't miss it!
By: Maryann Yin,
on 5/9/2011
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Author Mindy Klasky is testing a “reader-supported serialized novel” model with her new book, Fright Court. The author will publish her novel by chapters online, asking for PayPal donations at the end of each post.
Donors will receive a variety of gifts, ranging from a magnet to a personalized signed poster of the Fright Court book cover. Klasky has already published several books through traditional channels.
Here’s more about the book: “Sarah Anderson has found her dream job: Clerk of Court for the District of Columbia Night Court. Dream job, that is, until she’s attacked in the open courtroom by a vampire defendant. And until she’s forced to take self-defense lessons from her boss, the enigmatic vampire James Morton. And until she learns that she can’t share the truth about any of that with her best friend, Allison Ward – even over delectable cupcakes from the Cake Walk bakery.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
I donated this study from MELVIN AND THE BOY to this year's ABA Silent Auction (benefiting the ABFFE Fund for Free Speech in Children's Books) which is part of Book Expo America.
There's going to be tons of great art to bid on at the event ~ hope to see you there next Wednesday evening, May 25th! You can browse through all the art right
HERE! And, details for the auction are
HERE.
photo by KOMUNews www.flickr.com
Joplin was hit by an F5 tornado as you have probably heard on the news and seen on the Internet. This is a photo from there. I wanted to take a break from what I usually do on my blog to talk about this because I have many writer friends in the Joplin area, and I am just glad they are safe. I know the schools are shut down and lots of lives have been lost. My heart goes out to them. My prayers are with them.
If you want to do something, I heard on the news today to donate money. They are overwhelmed with the amount of donations in clothing, etc. they have received. I donated through Missouri Life magazine.
You can do that also by clicking on this link here: http://deals.missourilife.com/deal/873/missouri-life-magazine-incorporated
It’s a $10 donation.
Thanks.
KidLit Con has launched a fundraising partnership with Reading is Fundamental (RIF).
Earlier this year, we reported that the federal budget for RIF has been reduced. With the new partnership, readers can donate to the childhood literacy program in the name of KidLit Con. Follow this link for more details about how to make a donation.
Here’s more from the announcement: “KidLit Con is seeking to make a more personal and direct contribution as the funds we raise will be coming directly from book lovers in the pursuit of creating more book lovers. Now is the time, quite frankly, where we need to put up or shut up. If you are a writer or a librarian or a bookseller or a book blogger or if you read blogs about books then this fundraiser is targeted directly at you … This is easy. You think books matter then you need to do something to help kids get books. Period.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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lovely piece, Lauren : )
Thanks, Anne :) You're at BEA, yes? Hopefully I'll see you around tomorrow!