Tag: IWSG

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#IWSG Indie Publishing Adventure: I Need Your Advice!

Jennifer Lane
Time for the Insecure Writers Support Group, where we share our hopes and dreams.

Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for starting the group: join HERE if you’re interested.


I’m taking a week off work to finish my WIP, a college volleyball romance titled Blocked. Only two chapters left! *bounces*

Boo to writer’s block

While I’ve loved working with Omnific Publishing for my first four novels, I don’t plan to query publishers this time. My main reason for venturing into indie publishing? Impatience. It takes me so long to finish a novel due to my day job that I don’t want to wait the greater part of a year for the book to launch, if I’m lucky enough for my manuscript to be accepted by a publisher.

I also want to try something new and see where it leads me!

I realize professional editing is essential (wow, has it improved my writing over the years), and I plan to hire the amazing editor I’ve worked with for every novel: Jessica Royer Ocken.

Beyond that, I NEED YOUR HELP! Indie authors, what advice would you give a virgin self-pubber? Anything from formatting to Amazon programs to lessons learned the hard way to marketing…I would be so grateful to hear your wisdom.

Happy writing to each of you!

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Grown-Ass Men, Feelings, and #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

Happy Insecure Writers Support Group, hosted by author Alex J Cavanaugh!


“The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing. Isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing, and soul-crushing inadequacy. And that’s on a good day.”

~Robert DeNiro at The Oscars


I think that’s the new IWSG rally cry, ha ha. How’s your writing coming along? I’m plodding through my WIP Blocked, though I just sent the hero and heroine to therapy so it should be smooth sailing now!

My awesome critique partner Nicki Elson has been oh so helpful, and she’s also hosting a fun blog tour next week: The Grown-Ass Man Tour. Are you a fan of a grown-ass man?


We’ll give away a $50 Kindle gift card and post about the adult men we love to write. YA and NA boys are nice, but this tour is about MEN. Grown-ass men. My post will be “Grown-Ass Men Have Feelings Too“, celebrating beta hero Grant Madsen from The Conduct Series.

Thanks for stopping by today, and come back next week to win some prizes!

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Stress is Good For Us! #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for starting the Insecure Writers Support Group! Learn more HERE.

I’ve been focusing on the psycho part of my psycho author career lately. I just finished a professional conference in Big Sky, Montana, and head back down the mountain today. Right now it’s -17 F! Here’s the view from my hotel room:


I presented on treating trauma in a special population, and shared my “screen door” metaphor to explain flashbacks. Check out this POST if you’re interested in how to write PTSD more accurately. It was wonderful connecting with colleagues.

One excellent TED talk I learned about at the conference is about how stress can be good for us. So if your heart’s racing, your stomach full of butterflies, your muscles tingling…those are signs your body is preparing to rise to the challenge!


Progress is slow with my WIP, and sales aren’t great. But I continue to enjoy the opportunity to create characters and stories.

How’s your month going?

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#IWSG: Political Differences in Love

Jennifer Lane

Happy 2014 to all Insecure Writers! Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for joining us together. (Check out more HERE).


Do you wish you could write faster? I do! I’m about 1/3 done with my work-in-progress, a New Adult volleyball romance titled Blocked.

The story features the daughter of the Republican nominee for president and the son of the Democratic nominee for president. They both play varsity volleyball at a Midwestern university, and naturally, they hate each other. They think the opposing political viewpoint is idiotic and hurtful.

Ah, but that’s where the fun begins. Can love bloom among such differences?

There’s a new book launching by a famous cross-political couple Mary Matalin and James Carville:


So I guess they can make it work! I watched an interview with the couple, and when asked how she tolerates her husband’s liberal politics, Mary Matalin said “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” Then she kissed his bald head!

In your writing, do you explore politics? Do you post political views on social networks? If you write romance, do you enjoy writing aspects of forbidden love?

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Insecure Writer’s Support Group #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

Inspiration in Strange Places

Hey, fellow writers! *waves* 

My main insecurity this month is my book sales. Two words: They suck. 😉 

Hope you published authors out there are doing better!

But I am enjoying writing my current work-in-progress: a New Adult volleyball romance titled Blocked. 

I have fun finding inspiration in strange places, like my volleyball board on Pinterest. I’m proud that I worked this quote into my novel:


Where do you find random inspiration?

I’m not sure if any IWSGers will attend the New Adult Sleepover Weekend December 6-8 in Savannah, Georgia, but I WILL BE THERE! I’m super stoked to party with authors and readers.

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#IWSG : Favorite Personal Experience In Your Writing

Jennifer Lane

Time for the Insecure Writers Support Group, started by Alex Cavanaugh.


How’s it going, writers? I’m happy with the new job I started in August, and looking forward to the holidays. Since I work for a university now, I actually get Veteran’s Day off work, yahoo!

Do you enjoy using personal experiences in your writing? I do. For example, I like to write therapy scenes incorporating my experiences as a psychologist.

I’m blessed with some hilarious friends and I like to “borrow” their dialogue now and then. When my swimming buddy Joe met my plus-sized cat, he said “That’s not a cat…that’s a cow.” Guess what one of my characters will say about his brother’s fat cat?

I’m currently writing my fifth novel, a New Adult volleyball romance titled Blocked. Although swimming was my main sport in college, I also played volleyball, and it’s a blast writing about this fun sport. My teammates and I engaged in fierce euchre tournaments, and not surprisingly this card game is making its way into the story.

What is one of your favorite personal experiences that you’ve incorporated into your writing?


If you’re feeling insecure, here’s a funny scene from the movie Young Adult to make you feel better about yourself as a writer:

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Author Celebration! #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

While all of us get mired in insecurities now and then, I think there’s a lot to celebrate about being an author, like NEW RELEASES.

Our own Ninja Captain and creator of IWSG Alex J. Cavanaugh launched book three in his Cassa series: Cassa Storm!


We’re proud of him for finishing his first series–what an accomplishment. Buy it HERE.

I love how my pub sister Nicki Elson challenges herself with new writing projects, like this zombie fairytale Hans & Greta, coming soon! Great job, Nicki.


Another talented pub sister Carol Oates designed that creepy cover. Well done, Carol!

Finally, I read a wonderful author blog post last month that I wanted to link to for the Insecure Writers Support Group, but alas, I can’t find it now. The gist of the message was that your book might not be a best-seller…it might not receive critical acclaim…but it is YOUR story, and therefore it is important.

We write books the way only we know how — each novel is a unique creation to celebrate. Sometimes we get wrapped up in comparing ourselves to others, instead of appreciating our special author voice and the opportunity to share that story with the world.

Speaking of unique, Nicki, Carol, and I have our leading men engaged in a Book Boyfriend SMACKDOWN (don’t ask). If you have extra time *laughs* and want to vote for our guys, please hop over to Love Between the Sheets HERE.

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#IWSG: Critique Partners

Jennifer Lane

Congratulations, Alex Cavanaugh! Your brainchild Insecure Writers Support Group celebrates its two year anniversary today, and I’m happy to be part of the group.


Today I want to discuss critique partners, and I have many questions for you. Do you have a critique partner? Several? How does it work for you? (What’s the structure? Has it helped you? What do you wish you’d known when you started?)

A good friend and I agreed to be critique partners, and I want to learn from the collective wisdom of this group about how to make this relationship work best.

When I started writing, I posted stories online, and the feedback made me eager to get the next chapter out there. Now that I’m writing novels, my motivation has waned. I’m hoping that having an encouraging friend waiting for the next chapter will help inspire me to write more frequently.

~*~


In other news, my next novel On Best Behavior (The Conduct Series #3) launches 9-24-13. In celebration, my publisher slashed the price of the first novel in the romantic suspense series to only $.99. 

If you have a moment, would you be willing to help spread the word by tweeting one of these?

Win a print copy of ON BEST BEHAVIOR by @JenLaneBooks — romantic suspense with a psychological twist. http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/63573-on-best-behavior

They found love in a hopeless place. WITH GOOD BEHAVIOR by @JenLaneBooks only $.99! #romance http://www.amazon.com/With-Good-Behavior-ebook/dp/B003VU00QU/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Thanks for your support and here’s to a wonderful September.

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Visualizing Your Book #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

Time for our monthly support group! *pulls up a chair and nods to group leader Alex*

What’s on tap for today’s group? I want to discuss book VISUALS.

Have you made a book trailer for your novel? Looked for images of models representing your characters?

I’ve spent hours on both tasks this week. My aunt Nancy, who works as a video producer, is helping my publisher and me with a book trailer for On Best Behavior (The Conduct Series #3), before its release in September. My task is to write a script and find images.

Nancy and I agreed on the opening line for the trailer:

Planning a wedding is never easy…

Especially when mobsters want you dead.

But the rest takes diligent work to make it shiny and fresh!

Then, I needed to find images to represent my hawt romantic heroes for my publisher’s “Men of Omnific Smackdown” at the end of September. It was HARD WORK perusing thousands of images of scrumptious gents to find just the right ones, I tell you. Whew.

I think I found the right guys though. It helps when my pub sister Carol Oates manipulates the images to make them just right!

I’m taking advantage of 7 day trials at a stock photo and video site.

Have YOU made visual representations of your characters and stories? Any tips you’d like to share?

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Authors Promoting Authors

Jennifer Lane
A big thank you to Alex Cavanaugh for starting the…
Insecure Writers Support Group.

Today I’ll share an idea to make yucky marketing more fun:

Create a MARKETING TEAM with fellow authors!

Do you feel uncomfortable tooting your own horn? Do you lack the time to keep your books in the public eye? My pub sisters at Omnific Publishing decided to overcome those problems by designating one author a week for some major book pimpage.

How does it work? The designated author creates some marketing materials and shares them with our closed Facebook group. Then other authors in the group promote that author throughout the week.  Here are the various marketing strategies:

1) Tweets. The author creates tweets like:

Friendship is the best kind of ship. #NA #Navy #swimming #romance STREAMLINE by @JenLaneBooks http://amzn.to/1928OMJ #HotMenInUniform
…and her fellow authors tweet like crazy.
2) Goodreads. We “like” the 4 star and 5 star reviews for the designated author’s books, thereby bumping those reviews to the top.
3) Facebook and Pinterest.
My amazingly talented pub sister Carol Oates volunteered to create images with quotes from our books on them. I can’t wait for my week to unveil images like these:


What creative marketing strategies have YOU tried?