Author L.M. Preston is dropping by to be a guest blogger today!
10 Things I
Wish I Knew About By LM Preston
Being an
Author I Didn’t Know Before
When I first
started on my writing journey, I was extremely naive. If I had it to do over
again I would have researched the publishing business inside and out, hired a
writing coach if I had the money or taken some classes before I sat down to
write the first word. It would have saved me a school full of hardknocks 😀
Here’s my
list, read it, breathe it, learn from it.
1. Being a
writer means being able to take rejection, critiques, and to grow and thrive in
spite of it.
2. Being a
writer means I have to sell myself, learn how to, and it all starts with
selling your stuff to a beta reader, then to a lit agent, a publisher, a
reviewer, and then to your audience.
3. As a
writer, I’m a business owner, and my business is my career. My product is my works.
4. Being a
writer opens doors that you wouldn’t believe! And you don’t even have to be
published to get those doors opened! There are tons of soon-to-be published
authors doing amazing things that they only would have pursued if they were
writers.
5. I wished I
would have researched the publishing business from the author side, the
publisher side, the indie publisher side, the promotions side, the marketing
side – doggone it – every side!
6. Being a
writer means having a platform – yep, friends on twitter, a meaningful blog,
involvement in a writers’ organization – as an active member.
7. I can
market my book before it’s even published! Create a book trailer, share
teasers, promo samples on twitter, do contest, and get myself out there!
8.
Conferences, pitch sessions, agent inboxs are great places to get face time
with agents. I should have hung out there.
9. Use Beta
Readers, Critique Partners and Writing Groups to build a better product. As the
writer, you want to know what the reader is getting out of your work.
10.Realize
that anything I write is marketable (once it’s edited professionally, beta
read, critiqued and flushed out) I need to figure out what that market is and
not be afraid to go into unknown territory to promote it and myself. (i.e.,
anthologies, magazines online or print, or even sell it myself.)
I end this
list to say, once you learn the business, you’ll know how you fit in, how many
ways you can create your own success, and you’ll know that giving up simply
isn’t an option when YOU decide your destiny.
By LM Preston
Scepter
of Fire
The
Vigilant
Book
2
LM
Preston
Publisher Phenomenal One Press
Date Published: May 1st, 2020
Genre: Urban Fantasy/YA
Book Description:
Dexter didn’t like being a pawn.
It seems life was taking him there though. His father and he never saw eye to
eye, but being captured and tortured for his father’s mistakes gave Dexter too
much to think about.
First, the girl he lost, he’d
never forget what they did to her. It changed him, and made him see the small
city his father moved him to for what is was, a prison for magicals, the
damned, and now him.
Too bad, the creator of the void
didn’t realize they would be better off if they’d set him free, because now, he
was fighting for his life, and someone he’d have to hide his feelings from to
protect, not just from those that want to drag them back, but from him -a
vigilant.
Excerpt
1:
Dexter kept his
eyes closed. The binds at his wrist were
cold, unforgiving and rigid chains. He needed to stay calm, take it all in and
wait until they’d left him alone. His shirt was loose, and his sleeve covered
one of the chains on his wrist while the other was rolled high on his shoulder.
“Doctor Rutherford said to hold him until
they come to take him,” a woman who adjusted his head on the pillow mentioned.
“How long has he been like that?” a male asked.
Dexter remained stone still, keeping his
breathing even as his eyelid nearly twitched from the man’s breath near his
face. He felt the lift of his eyelid. Keeping his eyes still, while the man
flashed a light into them was nearly impossible. Dexter forced himself not to
focus, but noted the man’s dark skin and brown eyes. He could have sworn the
guy winked at him. Still, Dexter didn’t trust it, he didn’t budge. The man let
Dexter’s eyelid go. Dexter almost sighed. It was hard to not blink. He had to
wait though, for that one chance to get out.
“The others he came with will be taken also.
Don’t get in the way of those that come to collect. If you do…” the woman
warned.
Dexter forced his fist not to clinch at the
mention of his family that was in the car crash with him. He remembered when
they sunk into the water. He’d fought to get the door opened and his younger
siblings out. Then something hit his head, and he’d drowned in water when
everything went black.
“Like you, I just work here for the paycheck.
This hospital needs to be condemned anyway. I was there when they bought them
in from the emergency room. I wanted to see how he was doing myself. I swear he
wasn’t breathing when they pumped his stomach of water from the lake.”
“Nathan, just give him the shot and clear
out, you don’t want to be here when they take them. It’s never pleasant. I like
you. You’re new here, and if you want to keep your job, you will stop asking
questions.”
“Got it.”
Dexter heard footsteps. Light, and sure, it
was the female nurse. Nathan remained there though, still, but the heaviness of
his presence was over Dexter.
“I can’t help you much, but if you have it in
you, get the hell out of here. The hospital is going up in flames. Your father
and oldest sister, are on this floor, the others... Sorry we couldn’t help all
of you.”
Dexter didn’t trust it. He remained still as
the chains on his feet were removed.
About
the Author:
L.M. Preston, a native of
Washington, DC. An avid reader, she loved to create poetry and short-stories as
a young girl. She is an author, an engineer, a professor, a mother and a wife.
Her passion for writing and helping others to see their potential through her
stories and encouragement has been her life's greatest adventures. She loves to
write while on the porch watching her kids play or when she is traveling, which
is another passion that encouraged her writing.
Website: https://lmpreston.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LM_Preston
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lmprestonauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lm_preston/
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