Live Love and Write!: Deb's Article in MB Post--Amy Parker!

Live Love and Write!: Deb's Article in MB Post--Amy Parker!: Changing the world, one word at a time Related Articles No Related Articles By: DEB SIMPSON, editor@murfreesboropost.com Posted...

Deb's Article in MB Post--Amy Parker!

Changing the world, one word at a time	Related Articles No Related Articles
By: DEB SIMPSON, editor@murfreesboropost.com
Posted: Sunday, October 9, 2011 6:28 am
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AMY PARKER Amy Parker, a diminutive brunette with sparkling eyes and an ever-present smile, does not look like a hard-charging woman whose goal is to change the world. But, Parker’s small stature is not an indicator of her size as an author. She has written or co-written more than 20 books for a variety of readers, but she is most widely known for her cherished collection of Christian children’s books. Parker said things haven’t changed much in her life since she published her first book, Night Night Prayers, in 2008. It has now sold more than 115,000 books in markets reaching across the United States. “I am still a mom and wife, and the same person I always was,” she said. “When I do book readings, I am still surprised and completely thrilled to hear other moms talk about their children’s reaction to the books.” Parker smiled as her husband, Dan, looked on with obvious pride and joy. “I love hearing that very young children memorize the lines in my books, and ask to have them read to them again and again,” she added. “One mom told me that her son’s first sentence was a line from my book Night Night Prayers, and that warms my heart. But, I think the greatest achievement of my children’s books has been in the way they fostered the practice of prayer in the home.” Parker said the Murfreesboro community has been warm and welcoming to her, as she did readings and events. She said many friends have helped her along her journey, including Kim Hasselbrink, who called schools and churches in the areas and told them they needed to have Parker do a book reading. As a result of her friend’s calls, Parker was busy for weeks afterward. Parker then talked about how much support and encouragement she has received from the Murfreesboro booksellers, especially the Barnes & Noble at The Avenue. “They have been so welcoming, and have treated me like someone important, even though I’m not. I’m just me,” she said. “They even set up a shelf just for Amy Parker books. I can’t say enough about how supportive they have been. They really support their local authors here.” Shawna Wadley Jackson, assistant manager for Barnes & Noble, said working with Parker is a dream. “She is just about as sweet as they come,” Shawna said. “Anything we do she appreciates, and that makes me want to help her any way I can.” When asked about how things have changed for him with the publication of Parker’s books, Dan said he gets excited by seeing Parker’s books on the bookstore shelves, and says it is encouraging for the entire family, to see her having success doing what she really wants to do. Parker describes Dan as the person who grounds her, who brings her back to reality, while still supporting her and encouraging her to do the work that they both believe she is destined to do. Parker is now encouraging Dan as he starts his own small business, Parker Professional Land Survey. After 14 years of marriage, the bond between Parker and Dan remains strong. They are the proud parents of two sons, Michael and Ethan. Parker credits much of her strong Christian values and her drive to change the world, to the reinforcement she received from the teachers in her hometown of Watertown.  An historic town only 30 miles from the heart of Rutherford County, Watertown is a world away in lifestyle from bustling, busy Murfreesboro. Parker learned to read at a young age, and did her first book reading in kindergarten at Watertown Elementary, when she read The Night Before Christmas. “The teachers in Watertown nurtured me and turned my ‘wanna’ do one day’ into a ‘gotta do today,’” she said. Parker moved to Murfreesboro in 1997 to attend MTSU, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in English, in 2000. Parker found that while she liked the conveniences of living in the ‘Boro, she also enjoyed the various neighborhoods and communities, which seemed to her like small towns in the midst of a metropolis. While Parker loves the children’s books she has written, she plans to expand her reach as she continues to use her words in changing the world. Parker plans to write inspirational stories of phenomenal people who have overcome challenges, in an effort to demonstrate that people can live a life of purpose if they have faith and focus. She believes using her writing and words are God’s purpose for her life. In fact, Parker has sometimes felt that God is handing out copies of her first book, Night Night Prayers, because the sales volume has been so unusual for a Christian children’s book. Parker and her family are active members of World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, which believes its mission is to discover, develop and use each person’s special talents in ministry. That fits in with Parker’s personal mission of “changing the world, one word at a time.” Amy Parker’s books are available in Barnes & Noble and other bookstores, and online from most major booksellers. Parker frequently gives book readings in the local community. For more information about upcoming appearances and future publications, visit www.AmyParkerBooks.com. To contact Deb Simpson, visit DebSimpsonBooks.com.

Book Planning Tool--Mind Mapping

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/10/roger-c-parker-mind-mapping

How to Get Started Mind Mapping Your Book (and everything else)

by JOEL FRIEDLANDER on OCTOBER 10, 2011

By Roger C. Parker

I’m pleased to present a guest article today from Roger C. Parker, the author of numerous best-selling books who also self-publishes and runs the Published and Profitable Blog, a source of endless tips for brand-building, graphics, publishing and other interests. I turned to Roger to introduce me to mind mapping and here’s his response:

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Although mind mapping as a creativity and productivity tool has been around for decades, it amazes me that many authors still haven’t discovered this simple technique for organizing ideas and creating action plans for planning, writing, and marketing books.

I say “technique” to emphasize that mind mapping can be done anywhere, including the back of a napkin, on yellow legal pads, or white boards.

However, authors who use mind mapping software on their computers and mobile devices enjoy the most benefits.

What is mind mapping?

Reduced to its essence, mind mapping is a form of visual thinking that converts ideas and words into easily-understood visuals that let you to display the part-whole relationships that exist in complex projects, like the chapters and contents of a book or the tasks (and deadlines) associated with a book marketing plan.

Think in terms of clouds in the sky. Take a piece of scratch paper, and:

1. Draw a big cloud in the middle. Label it My Next Book.
2. Add several smaller clouds around it, (like planets around the sun). Temporarily label them Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, etc. (Later, you can add the specific titles of each chapter.)
3. Next to the cloud indicating each chapter, list the ideas you plan to address in each chapter.

The power of mind mapping is that, at a glance, you can see the whole project and how the various parts fit together. From this fresh perspective, you can add, delete, or move chapters and their contents until everything fits together just right.

If you’re mind mapping on a computer, of course, you can simply drag-and-drop chapters and ideas to different locations.

What you can do with mind maps?

Here are some of the ways you, as an author, can use mind mapping:

1. Organize your ideas into a table of contents for your book
2. Plan a book proposal or a book marketing plan
3. Create an editorial calendar for upcoming blog posts and social marketing
4. Plan articles, speeches, white papers, and marketing materials like one-sheets
5. Locate and analyze competing books on Amazon.com
6. Prepare creative briefs for vendors like web designers
7. Create a business plan for leveraging your book into back-end profits.
8. Plan, prepare, and present visuals for meetings—even at the last minute

Click for the complete mind map

For example, here is the mind map I used as the basis of this article. I created it in bed on my iPad, using Mindo,[1] a $6.99 mobile app. After I finished the map, I exported it as a text file to Microsoft Word, for completion on my primary computer. Download a PDF copy of the map.[2]

What features are found in most mind mapping programs?

There are over 100 mind mapping software programs available, but most offer the following 12 features. (Note that the terminology, however, is likely to differ from program to program.)

1. Topics and subtopics. These are the building blocks of a mind map. Topics  are equivalent to the sections, or parts, of a book. Subtopics are equivalent to chapters. Each subtopic can contain its own subtopics for the main ideas, of topic headings, included in each chapter. Topics and subtopics can include graphics, like photographs, as well as links to files, email addresses, and website URLs.
2. Icons are symbols supplied with most mind mapping software programs. You can use icons as a type of visual shorthand to indicate topic category, importance, or sequence. You can also use icons to show progress completing a task.
3. Boundary. Add boundaries to visually group topics and subtopics together by adding a common border and background color. You can also use boundaries to provide selective emphasis.
4. Comments. Use comments to add brief explanations to topics or subtopics, such as describing the relevance of the topic. You can also use comments to remind you to add more information at a later date.
5. Notes. Notes are one of the two most often ignored features found in mind mapping software. Notes permit you to add longer text passages, like sentences and paragraphs, to any topic or subtopic. When ideas occur to you, you can start writing your book right in the mind map. Notes are normally not visible, until desired. Thus, you can write as much as desired without cluttering up your map.
6. Relationships. You can add lines between non-adjacent topics and subtopics, to show cause and effect relationships between them or common characteristics.
7. Tasks. Mind maps can be used for project management, such as scheduling your writing and marketing tasks. Many programs let you add start and stop dates to topics and subtopics, making it easy to plan, delegate, and track the various tasks involved in complex projects. Another task tool is the ability to add resources to topics, to indicate who is responsible for completing the tasks.
8. Filtering (or, reporting). Many mind maps can create summary views that display only completed, incomplete, or tasks that are behind schedule. They can display task responsibilities for different individuals or departments.
9. View. Mind mapping software permits you to display as much, or as little, of each map as desired. You can get an overall view by collapsing your map to display just the chapters of your book. Or, you can expand your map to display all the subtopics associated with each chapter. Some programs permit you to temporarily display just one topic and its sub-topics. All programs let you zoom-in to magnify part of a map or zoom-out to display the big picture.
10. Collaboration. Mind maps are intended to be shared with others. Special “reader” software permits you to share maps with others, like editors and literary agents—even if they don’t own the mind mapping program that you use. Other mind mapping programs permit multiple users to share and contribute comments, ideas, and information to mind maps hosted online.
11. Review.  Many programs include a review feature, similar to Microsoft Word’s Track Changes command, that permits you to track individual contributions.
12. Export is the second important, but frequently under-utilized feature. It’s important to remember that mind maps are not islands, but are intended to be used with other software programs. Most programs can export the information displayed in a mind map to various word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, and project management programs. In addition, most programs can create graphic files for including in print publications and HTML files for display online or embedded in blogs and websites. Finally, many programs can export, or share, files with other popular mind mapping file formats.

Other frequently found mind mapping features

Many programs permit you to select from among different map backgrounds, or you can visually brand your maps by adding your own custom background.

Some mind mapping programs can automatically number topics and subtopics, or sort them alphabetically. Many offer editing features like Find and Replacewhich can save a lot of time.

Why you can’t go wrong choosing a mind mapping program

Mind mapping software programs are available for all platforms, including Windows, Macintosh, and mobile apps for iPhones and iPads.

There are 2 reasons you really can’t go wrong when you’re getting started.

1. Risk free trials. Some mind mapping programs are free, and most mind mapping program offer 30-day, risk -free trial versions. This allows you totry before you buy.
2. File-sharing. Many mind mapping programs can exchange files with other mind mapping programs, importing and exporting data. This allows you to start with one program and not lose access to previously-created maps if you move on to a different program. (Some formatting may be lost, but the ideas will be there.)

Like all self-employed professionals, today’s authors have more to do and less time to do it. Today, efficiency is as important to an author’s success as their ability to express their written ideas clearly as possible.

Mind mapping can make a major contribution to an author’s success by making it easy to organize ideas and schedule tasks at the start of a project. Time spent planning and organizing ideas at the start of a project planning your projects will be more than saved later, when you find yourself writing more in less time. And, you can start planning anywhere, when the ideas strike, drawing mind maps by hand or starting them on your iPhone or iPad, then exporting them to your primary computer for completion.

Invitation: if you’re using mind mapping to write your books, or are new to mind mapping, share your experiences and questions below, as comments.

Roger C. Parker is a book coach and consultant who has been advocating mind mapping for authors for over a decade. HisPublished & Profitable blog[3] contains numerous mind mapping tips and mind maps of current nonfiction books. Roger’s written 40 marketing, design, and writing books, including one of my favorites, #Book Title Tweet: 140 Bite-Sized Ideas for Compelling Article, Book, and Event Titles[4].

If you’re looking for do-it-yourself developmental editing tips, Roger invites you to download a free proof of his do-it-yourself guide to developmental editing,99 Questions to Ask Before Writing and Self-Publishing a Brand-building Book. It’s a workhorse of a workbook you can immediately put to good use.

Author Event: Chester Campbell!

DATE: October 22, 2011

DAY: Saturday

EVENT: Book Launch and Signing

AUTHOR: Chester Campbell

BOOK: The Good, the Bad and the Murderous

TIME: 2 PM - 4 PM

DESCRIPTION: "The Good, the Bad and the Murderous", the second book in the Sid Chance series, deals with Medicare fraud, drug trafficking, a hired killer, and a crooked cop. It’s a nightmare scenario PI Sid Chance finds himself in when he takes a tough assignment – prove a young man just out of prison for murder when he was twelve did not commit a new homicide. Everything is thrown upside down when Jaz LeMieus, the wealthy ex-cop working with him on the case, finds herself accused of a despicable crime and the evidence is damning. When a hit man comes after Sid, all hell breaks loose.

Southern Festival of Books is in Nashville this weekend! Great lineup--wish I could go every day!!

But, I can't so I am going tomorrow!

I know it will be enriching and thought provoking!

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J T Ellison News!

all 2011 Vol. X Where All the Dead Lie is almost here! Taylor Jackson #7 on sale tomorrow, September 20! Dear Friends, I can't believe it's that time again. But it is - release day is upon us! Where All the Dead Lie will be in stores September 20, and available on your ereaders October 1. The book has gotten some unbelievably cool endorsements from some of my favorite authors: Lisa Gardner, Carla Neggers and Heather Graham, an awesome review from PW and a coveted Top Pick from Romantic Times. The momentum is building, so please, take a moment and order your copy today. The first week of any book's life is incredibly important. Dead Lie is a different sort of book from my previous six Taylor Jackson novels. For one - Taylor is having some emotional and physical problems as a result of the "situation" from the previous book. She is trapped in silence, unable to work, and growing more frustrated by the day. When Memphis Highsmythe offers his ancestral home in the Scottish Highlands for her to recuperate, she jumps at the chance to get away from Nashville, from Baldwin, from her perceived failures. But the lonely castle on the moors has its own secrets, and Taylor's already fragile state is exacerbated by the creepy solitude. Is she being haunted by the dead... or hunted by the living? Where All the Dead Lie was inspired by Daphne du Maurier's classic Gothic Rebecca. I hope you'll enjoy seeing Taylor's more human side. Because even heroes can lose their minds. And writing a book set in the Scottish Highlands was truly a joy, especially since I'm a Wallace on my mother's side! Pro Libertate! Buy your copy of Where All the Dead Lie today! Amazon Barnes & Noble Indiebound Books-A-Million Watch the book trailer here Contest! I thought we'd do something different this time around. Since this book is, at its heart, a ghost story, I thought it might be fun for you to share your own personal brush with a ghost, or share your favorite ghostly story. To enter, all you have to do is click here and leave your ghoulish tale. On October 1, release day for the ebook version, I will announce the winners. At stake - 2 copies of the fabulous DVD CASTLE GHOSTS OF SCOTLAND 3 $25 giftcards to the winners' choice of bookstore 5 copies of Daphne du Maurier's REBECCA and signed bookplates to all entries. Winners will be drawn at random from the comments - all save 1. GRAND PRIZE: The creepiest, scariest, spookiest tale will be my Halloween gift to my readers - with your permission and byline, of course. I'll send it to all of my newsletter list and post it on my blog, Facebook and Twitter. Word limit is 1500 or less.  My editor and I will do the judging, so make it good! On the Road Again...  I'm doing a few signings for WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE - including several in Nashville. The official launch party is at Mysteries & More in Lenox Village, Saturday September 24 from 2-4 pm. I've heard a reliable rumor that there will be cake, so I hope you'll come help me celebrate. Tuesday September 27, 7-8pm I'll be at the Barnes & Noble in Cool Springs, and Friday September 30 7-9 I'll head west of town to one of my home stores, Reading Rock Books in Dickson. We always have a fun time in Dickson, so if you're anywhere west of Nashville, come by and play with us. For more tour dates, click here. Just FYI - I've moved my appearances tab to the front page of the site, on the bottom right. I know many of you won't be able to make the tour stops - unless you're planning to come to Tennessee this week. So if you're buying an ebook, or out of town, but want your book personalized, click here. Kindlegraph will allow me to digitally sign your books, even if you don't have an ereader! An Award! On July 9, in stunning New York City, I had the shock of my life when THE COLD ROOM received the prestigious Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original of 2010 from the International Thriller Writers. I can't begin to share how honored I am to be singled out - the fact that it is a peer award makes it even more special. I did manage to contract a whopping case of laryngitis (hysterical dysphonia anyone?) prior to the event, so was only able to squawk my thanks in my acceptance speech. But it was a true watershed moment for me, and I can't say thank you enough to ITW, and all of you, for inspiring me, and allowing me into your minds and lives. It means the world. More Changes on  the Website - and a new look for the continuing The website has become a dynamic beast, and I'm trying to keep up with the times style-wise while also continuingrinuing to deliver the kind of content you, the readers, care about. You'll see that things have been streamlined, condensed, and made pretty - plus, I'm spending much more time on the blog, Tao of JT. I'm posting there nearly every day - things that tickled me, thoughts on writing - all the zeitgeist that makes up my life. With the multitude of networks, social media ties and all the Internet noise we have to endure daily, I thought it would be nice to have a quiet place for us to talk. So feel free to stop by, ask questions, give me what for - whatever you're in the mood for. I've also begun working with Odyl, a fantastic internet marketing company, who have designed my new Facebook page. There are treats galore to be had - we're talking sneak peeks, polls, presents, free stuff -  the full monty, so be sure to come on over andLIKE the Fan Page to get all the goodies! If you already like the page, look for the Fun Extras! tab in the left column on the page. Social Butterfly If you're interested in having me speak in your store or library, or come chat with your bookclub either in person or virtually, please feel free to contact my publicist Tiffany Shiuor contact me directly. As always, you can find me in several places across the web, including my blog on the site - Tao of JT, on Twitter under the handle @thrillerchick, on my shiny new Facebook page, and Murderati every other Friday. Thank you so much for all your support, and for reading the Taylor Jackson series. I hope this newest installment spooks you! xoxo,

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