Tag: book talk

Goals

Day after tomorrow, I’m going to speak to the first of three Rotary Clubs that have invited me to present a talk involving my journey with Hurricane Baby: Stories. If you aren’t familiar with Rotary Clubs, they tend to be members of the business community that have come together to do service projects for their town, county, etc. These particular clubs meet once a week. I’m doing one on May 5, another on May 21, and another on June 11.

I’ve decided to give my talk on the process I used to set and achieve my goals for Hurricane Baby. I’m going to open with a question: I’m not asking for a show of hands–but have any of you ever had a dream/vision/goal for your life that was ridiculous? Something where you wanted to do it but talked yourself out of it–because it was ridiculous, frivolous, or impossible?

Then I’m going to go through my goal-setting process.

SET A VISION! Decide what you want to do. You can have several visions over the course of your life. As you achieve one, find another.

STUDY UP! Learn everything you can about what it will take to achieve your vision.

SET MINI-GOALS! Break down the process into parts–and while doing those parts, only focus on those parts.

SET A PLAN! What are you going to do to meet those goals?

PLAN TO SUCCEED! Know what to do as you go.

PLAN TO FAIL! What will you do if you don’t succeed?

EXECUTE! Carry out the plan you’ve set to accomplish the first mini-goal, then the next, then the next.

FOCUS! on your plan and your goal every day. Always be working!

HAVE GRACE! Handle frustrations. If the plan isn’t working, change the plan to one that does work.

WHEN YOU SUCCEED, CELEBRATE! Celebrate each mini-goal as you complete it and then celebrate when the total dream comes true!

Then I’m going to read the first few pages of Hurricane Baby, then do Q&A if there’s any time left. I’ll have my books there to buy and sign if anybody wants one.

Pray for me doing this. I am not quite a bundle of nerves about it, but I can use all the encouragement I can get. Thanks!

Networking is Your Superpower! Event

So I went to this event on Thursday and spoke to a good number of ladies about setting goals and meeting them. I was very shaky and thought maybe it was nerves–but when it continued after I got home, along with chills and sweats and aches, I went to the doctor. Diagnosis: Flu.

But it was a good event. Less turnout than they typically have, but I just threw myself into the talk and Q&A with all I had–talking about the system I set up for accomplishing my goal of writing and getting a book published. I also provided examples from my freelance career and getting my MFA.

But it boosted my own resolve to say all those words out loud and be a living testimony that yes, you can do what you set your mind to, just like my mama always told me. I talked about setting realistic goals, setting mini-goals that bring you closer to your big goal, etc. I think it was a good talk, and the ladies who came thanked me for sharing with them.

And then they gave away two copies of my book that I signed for them. That was fun. They asked me to pick two numbers–the girl who organized the event had written names down and numbered them as each person came in–and the names that corresponded with the numbers won the books.

I was going to go back to the Mississippi Philological Association this coming weekend, this time in Ole Miss, but I’m not going to risk getting anyone else sick with this flu. So that’s sad. But more opportunities are on the way anyway, so I think it’s going to be okay.

Happy writing to all!

Book Club Meeting

I went to Ridgeland to a meeting for the What Would Cathy Read? Book Club at a nice restaurant in a mixed-use development, featuring shopping, hotels, offices, townhomes, and restaurants. My very good writing friend Marlo was a member of this club and host for the night, so everyone read Hurricane Baby, and I came to discuss it with them–eighteen people including me and Marlo.

I talked about how I wrote the book, then Marlo asked me to share how I got it published. Another lady asked if the stories were based off of real people I knew or read about. I get that question a lot, and I think it’s because I’ve tried to hew to the humanity of the characters and so readers feel like they have to be real people. I took another craft question, then since I had talked about my experience of Hurricane Katrina, everyone else felt safe to share theirs.

Then Marlo asked what I was working on now, and I talked a bit about Looking For Home, the book I’m still revising on. I didn’t give away many details about it, so that was good.

I think for my next book club event, I’m going to have people write questions and put them in a container, and I’ll draw from it and answer. I possibly do have another upcoming one that a childhood friend is a member of–they put all in titles in a hat and whichever one they draw is what they read. I look forward to possibly going to that one if it happens.

Really looking forward to the writing life this week–more podcasts, interviews, events, and writing. We will see how it all goes! Until next time!

Life and Times of an Indie Author

So on Tuesday, I wrote my contact at the bookstore I went to yesterday and asked if he had my books in stock. He said no. I thought “OK. They’re stuck in shipping again.”

On Wednesday, he wrote and asked if I was bringing books, a common arrangement for independent authors. I said no. So what finally came out as we talked is that he thought I was bringing them, and I thought he was ordering them. Oopsie.

But he had a workaround–could I pick up stock from another store and bring them? He would work it out with the store to pay them for the books, and I would just deliver them. So I gave him the contact for the store we had here in town. I didn’t know how many they might have, but something was better than nothing at all.

Soon he messaged me back with the done deal. I brought fifteen books to the signing. We sold eight, the bookstore kept two for their stock, and the bookstore here got five books back. I didn’t think I would sell fifteen because I’m not really well known where I went, but I did come close!

It was really a great bookstore, too–a pair of bookstore dogs, a variety of beverages, lots of books, and very welcoming staff. They made me and Bob feel at home. So he enjoyed himself as well.

Two people I know came–my MFA mate Allison, and my lifelong friend, Lorie, who lives in a small town south of where I signed. We’ve talked a lot over Facebook over the years, but it had been a very long time since I’d seen her. To inscribe the name of my lifetime friend in a book that I wrote was a very cool moment.

Lesson: Always be clear on the details! And have an alternate plan in your back pocket if you’re not!

Happy reading, everyone!

Mississippi Library Association 2024, Natchez, MS

Hello! This week’s book event took me to Natchez MS for the Mississippi Library Association meeting. We arrived Wednesday afternoon because when we made the reservations, we weren’t sure when the panel was. Turns out it was at 3 p.m. the next afternoon. I went with my hype girl MJ, and we had the best time exploring all the shops Thursday morning. Then after lunch, we made our was to the convention center and did a little networking around with the librarians and vendors at the event.

Our panel was called “Diverse Southern Voices in Southern Literature”, and we all three certainly had diverse perspectives and approaches to our work, so it wasn’t a misnomer. We each talked about our books and asked ech other questions, then opened it to the floor. We had a decent crowd–maybe 10-15 people in the room. The signing part fell through, so that was sad. But no matter–onward we must go!

Fridy me and MJ just toured a couple of houses and ate some fabulous meals. MJ loves all things books and literature so she made the best travel companion for this. We drove back yesterday morning.

All in all, I think the event was worth going to, and I handed out my bookmarks for Hurricane Baby out all over town. And I actually added about a thousand words to the work-in-progress as well. A great trip all around!