nanowrimo – Page 4 – President of Outskirts Press

Two New Badges at NaNoWriMo

As of today I’ve earned all-but-one of the “Participation Badges” at NaNoWriMo. Over the weekend I earned the “Buddy Badge” by inviting two of the local moderators to be my buddy. I’m still waiting for our EVP at Outskirts Press to join me on NaNoWriMo as well and then I’ll have one more buddy.

In fact, I will hopefully have lots of buddies in the coming days because I also posted on one of the forums, which was a requirement to earn the second to last Participation Badge. There is a forum channel called “Mentors Looking for Newbies” where “experienced” WriMo’s offer to help neophytes. It’s probably a little presumptious to offer to be a mentor since I’m new to NaNoWriMo this year, too (as a writer, at least), but, what the heck! So I posted an invitation to other WriMos for me to be a “virtual mentor” through this blog. In the days leading up to November 1 I will start to thoroughly detail the planning and plotting I’ve conducted for my comedy/thriller “Idle Hands” and perhaps other WriMos can glean some suggestions or tips from those postings. Then throughout November I will post about my progress, and pass along some suggestions and tips and inspiration along the way.

So, in essence, in addition to committing to write 50,000 words in 30 days for my novel, I guess I’ve just committed to writing a whole bunch more than that just for my blog. Hmm… who knows? Maybe I’ll turn THIS content into a book, too… Writing TWO different books during NaNoWriMo? Now, that’s insane!

T-Minus 5 days!

NaNoWriMo

How does Outskirts Press compare with other NaNoWriMo sponsorship deals?

Even though NaNoWriMo said they were full this year in terms of sponsors, that doesn’t mean Outskirts Press can’t offer a great promotion to WriMo’s (and everyone else, too). In fact, as discussed yesterday, this month we’re offering a FREE CUSTOM COVER for anybody who publishes their NaNoWriMo book with us, provided they begin their publishing process before Halloween and enter the promotion code when they start. In fact, you don’t even need to participate in NaNoWriMo to take advantage of this great deal, which offers a savings of $299 (and better yet, ensures your book DOESN’T look like you cranked it out in a month!).

That made me wonder how our “unofficial” sponsorship deal at Outskirts Press compared with the “official” sponsorship deals on the NaNoWriMo page. So, let’s have a look at the top 5 (us plus the first four listed on the NaNoWriMo sponsorship page).

Company	Giveaway	Approximate Value
Outskirts Press	Free Custom Cover	$299
Competitor C	Two free paperback copies of your book	$20
Competitor B	One free paperback copy of your book	$10
Competitor S	50% Discount on software license	$20
Competitor F	40% Discount on distribution package	$120

Writing 50,000 words in 30 days isn’t easy. Self-publishing it should be. Have us do it for you at Outskirts Press (and get a free custom cover in the process). Click here now.

NaNoWriMo

Get a free custom cover for your novel

As I continue this 2-month series about my participation in this year’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, where you are tasked with writing 50,000 words in the 30 days of November), I’m detailing both my online efforts on the NaNoWriMo site and (will soon) be detailing the planning steps I’m taking with the details of my book so I can hit the ground running on November 1. There are already several “Write-Ins” announced for November 1 in areas throughout the country (and I’m sure, world), including several in the Denver, Colorado area. I’ll discuss those in the coming days.

But today I will discuss the NaNoWriMo offer for a free custom cover for your book. When you complete their online form (which is an easy proposition that requires submitting a 750 word synopsis of your book, your title, your author name, and your email address), you enter into a drawing to receive a free custom-designed cover by a cover designer for the book you are writing in NaNoWriMo. Hundreds of thousands of writers participate in NaNoWriMo every year and they are giving away 30 covers, so your odds aren’t great — but there’s no reason not to apply. I did — I took my synopsis that I posted a few days ago and shortened it even further to arrive upon 750 words, and then submitted it. I even chose the “be surprised” option by declining to submit my email address to be notified. If you haven’t yet entered this drawing, you may do so from the Forums of the NaNoWriMo site.

Somehow, I have a feeling I’m not going to be one of the chosen few, and not just because the odds are approximately 10,000 to 1.

THE GOOD NEWS

Forget those odds! The good news is that if you choose to publish your NaNoWriMo book with Outskirts Press, you are GUARANTEED to get a free custom cover for your book. Just enter the promotion code COVEROCT14 with your Diamond book package before the end of October, and we’ll hold that promotion for you until your book is finished at the end of November and ready to publish in December. You can see samples of custom covers all along the right hand side of this blog, or if you prefer to see the 100 most recent ones, simply scroll through our online bookstore.

All the details of the FREE CUSTOM COVER promotion are available by clicking here.

Brent Sampson, NaNoWriMo

Announcing IDLE HANDS to NaNoWriMo

The next “Badge” I received on NaNoWriMo was a Writing Badge, rewarded for announcing my novel on the site. I chose the Event date, which is November 2014. I provided the novel title: Idle Hands

Next it asked for the Novel Genre and provided 18 choices ranging from Adventure to Young Adult. Idle Hands is a dark comedy-thriller, but that wasn’t a category, so I simply chose “thriller/suspense.”

Next it asked me to upload a cover .jpg for the book (see, I knew that would come in handy).

It asked for a short synopsis next. I have a short three-page “treatment” that delves into the relationship between the three main characters, the two turning points, the two twists, and the climax, but that sounds too long to be defined as a “short synopsis” so I cut excerpts from it and arrived at this as a synopsis for Idle Hands:

“Brad is a Jewish entrepreneur who is approaching 40, unmarried, and lacking confidence in spite of his success with an internet matchmaking service he founded and programmed (initially to simply help with his own dating woes). And before he knew it, it became successful and he became a millionaire. But it wasn’t enough. And on the cusp of a full-blown mid-life crisis, Brad meets Fenderson Quinn, a charismatic and unpredictable 27 year-old millionaire who sold his own company for $750 million dollars when he was 25. Neither Brad nor Fender have to work, and with too much money and too much time on their hands, their devil-may-care attitude leads to a fast friendship punctuated by an ever-increasing sense of danger that culminates in murder, mayhem, and malevolence.”

Next it asked for a novel excerpt, which seemed odd since I haven’t written it yet (aren’t we supposed to wait until November 1, NaNoWriMo?). So I left that blank and will fill it in later, after I’ve written my first word count (no reason to start early when it doesn’t officially count, right)?

Then I clicked “Save” and BOOM, collected my first Writing Badge: You’ve Got a Novel.

The next badges are Adding a Writing Buddy and Updating Your Word Count, and since it looks like that second one needs to wait until November also, I’ll be looking for a buddy.

Our Executive VP at Outskirts Press is participating in this year’s NaNoWriMo, too, so I’ll be adding Kelly to get my next badge.

NaNoWriMo

Are you a “Planner” or a “Pantser” ?

I received a clever email from NaNoWriMo (well, actually, from the point of view of my unwritten book) inviting me, on behalf of unwritten books everywhere, to write my book this November. It suggested that Step One in preparing for National Novel Writing Month is to DECIDE to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I’ve already decided that. Then, the email provided a link to a “Prep” page on the NaNoWriMo site which provided a series of steps leading up to November 1. Step One is making the commitment to participate. Check. Step Two is asking yourself whether you are a “planner” or a “pantser.”

According to NaNoWriMo, you are a “planner” if

1. You believe in rigorous preparation.

2. You’ll spend the months before November carefully fleshing out characters, building worlds, and plotting your story.

3. On November 1, you’ll have an outline—or at least lots of helpful notes.

And, on the other hand, you are a “pantser” if

1. You believe in hardcore spontaneity.

2. You’ll spend the months before November stocking up on inspiration and mayyybe a vague idea or two (if you’re ambitious).

3. On November 1, you’ll have a blank document and your imagination.

It would be interesting to see if NaNoWriMo actually had statistics on the success rates of “planners” vs “pantsers” — in other words, which category is comprised of the most people who have successfully written 50,000 words? Perhaps my guess is based only upon the fact that I’m clearly a “Planner” but I would wager a guess that, statistically speaking, there are more “winners” in the “planner” category. Being a planner suggests other character traits that will come in handy when trying to write 50,000 words in 30 days, namely organization, dedication, and commitment. While the NaNoWriMo site says “We think both are equally valid” they clearly don’t, because in the very next paragraph they eschew the very essence of being a “pantser” by saying, “And even if you’re a pantser, we recommend reading through the links below… You never know what might inspire you.” A pantser wouldn’t do that — that sounds like preparation and planning.

I have already done a lot of planning for my book, Idle Hands, and in the coming days I’ll share those plans here so those of you who are planning on joining me on this writing adventure can see what a “planner” does to prepare for NaNoWriMo. And I’ll also continue filling out my author profile by collecting more badges…

T-Minus 10 days until NaNoWriMo kicks off….

Uncategorized

NaNoWriMo on hold ’til the 20th

According to the revised “notice” on the NaNoWriMo site, and specifically their event calendar, there’s not much going on in regards to National Novel Writing Month until the 20th, when the founder of NaNoWriMo (Chris Baty) is participating in a webinar. So I’ll check back in a week and then hopefully their site will be updated with the 2014 campaign so I can complete the “badges” involved in registering. Then, in the days that follow leading up to November 1st, I will share some fiction plotting and outlining tips that I will be using for my novel Idle Hands. These postings will hopefully help other writers as they prepare for November 1st, when NaNoWriMo officially kicks off.

ceo

Sleepless nights as a writer

NaNoWriMo is causing me to lose sleep already, and it’s only the beginning of October. This is one of the reasons I’ve been reluctant to join in on the annual write-a-thon of writing 50,000 words in 30 days every November with thousands of other writers from around the world. I have a little bit of an … addictive… personality. That served me well when I was launching Outskirts Press in 2002 because I thought nothing of working 20 hours a day; and in the ensuing decade,12-18 hours a day helping writers successfully self-publish their books.

And now that I’ve committed to writing a book in a month, my mind is constantly abuzz with plot details, character details, even specific lines that specific characters will say at specific moments in the book. I hope I remain this fanatical throughout November, but that seems like a long way away.

So I log-in to the NaNoWriMo site to attempt to create more of my profile, and see that I still cannot earn any more “badges” (more about that in a future post).

At least they’ve updated last week’s message to something new, which, in essence, says they’re experiencing technical difficulties. If I remember correctly, they experience “technical difficulties” every year in October. Perhaps that is the reason no one has gotten back to us at Outskirts Press about sponsorship. Every year, Outskirts Press donates a percentage of our gross annual revenue to organizations. In the past these organizations have included The Children’s Hospital, the Make a Wish Foundation, the Education & Literacy Foundation, Colorado Humanities, and yes, even National Novel Writing Month. Rob in our Corporate Marketing dept. has been trying to contact them for a week or two now about giving them money this year and has received no response. When you can’t even GIVE money to a company, you know they’re having difficulties, technical or otherwise…