You Asked: How Important is Genre?

March 12, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 7 Comments

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Welcome to another, You Asked, the Experts Answer, segment. This week our question is: How important is genre?

The simple answer is – very. According to C. S. Lakin, from Live, Write, Thrive, there’s a direct correlation between book sales and genre. And, from where I’m sitting that’s an important piece of information for authors to know.

In her article, If You Don’t Learn This Truth, You May Be Missing Out on Big Book Sales. Ms.Lakin discusses how to specifically target a genre and what that means in terms of successful sales.

So, if you’re unsure or wondering why your book sales are staying stagnant, check out her post on Live, Write, Thrive.

What do you think? Did you generalize or get specific in identifying your genre and did it translate into sales?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.

The Great Divide

March 3, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 7 Comments

DAILY PROMPT: Divide

There are many directions I could take this prompt, however, given the fact we are already a divided country on just about every issue imaginable, I’ll stick to something more specific to me. I call it the great divide – that space between what I plan to accomplish on any given day and those things I actually accomplish.

I’m an organizer by nature or perhaps by genetics (blame my mother) and in the past, all that organizing has helped me get things done promptly. Not so much anymore. The older I get, the more paralyzing it has become and the greater the divide.

Division of any kind is unproductive and when it seems to be between my two ears; it is a bit worrisome.

Most days I’m able to focus and strike a line through every item on my to-do-list. Other times? I’m lucky if I write a sentence with the letters going in the right direction!

If this aging thing gets any more exciting, y’all might just get to see me tap dancing. Until then, I’ll divide my tasks minute by minute and hope to hell I get something finished.

A Sunday Confession – I have an Attitude Problem

February 28, 2016October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 20 Comments

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I have an attitude problem. How’s that for a Sunday morning confession?

No, I don’t have the bitchy attitude, although my husband might disagree and I’m not being haughty or arrogant.

Nope, the attitude problem I have, believe it or not, is one of discouragement and lack of faith. Not, the Faith, that’s another subject. Lack of faith in my ability to write.

My muse has left me high and dry, and the 40,000-word novel I’ve struggled with is taunting me each time I open the file. Prompts I used to enjoy doing are drawing a blank. It’s as if the words and thoughts in my brain have gone on vacation without me. An invite would’ve been nice.

I had the entire house to myself yesterday, and writing was on the agenda, but the ghost of my mother appeared. I ended up reorganizing my cabinets and scrubbing the surfaces clean till they sparkled. Yeah, those cabinets just had to be cleaned, three days before my housekeeper is due.

By the time I finished, the day was more than half gone, I was exhausted and had screwed up a knee. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the evening recuperating, bingeing on the Hallmark channel, and getting weepy over stupid stuff.

The truth is I didn’t want to write yesterday. And being a bit obsessive about my house, I welcomed the ghost of my mother. She’s the one I blame for that little personality trait. We learned early on; a clean house is a Southern woman’s obligation and an excuse to get out of anything.

Yep, right now, I have a piss-poor attitude about writing. And, to make matters worse, I’ve committed myself to the A-Z Blogging Challenge in April. Oh no, with my brain on vacation, I’m not feeling any pressure.

April is looming, and I needed to get out of this slump.

Self-help books of all kinds have always been a go-to resource for me. Over the years, I’ve saved encouraging and funny quotes for times just like these. So, this morning I searched out the old file out to get inspired. The first sheet I pulled from the folder had me wondering, but I persevered.
Really?

Then I discovered two of my all time favorites. A quote about Attitude, by Rev. Charles Swindoll and Faith (author unknown).

You can find the entire quote from Attitude by clicking on the link but here is an excerpt.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life…
It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill…
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have,
and that is our attitude.” Charles Swindoll

I encourage you to read the entire quote. It will give you an attitude adjustment. And as far as faith, well at some point we all have to believe.

Faith
When we walk to the edge of the light we have
And take that step into the darkness of the unknown;
We must believe that one of two things will happen –
There will be something solid for us to stand on
Or, God will teach us to fly!

I’ve always liked the idea of wings. What about you? Do you ever have doubts? I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.