May 2017: In This Issue

• Book cover reveal coming soon!
• Free copies of Rosa, Sola for classroom teachers
• Conference presentations and children's camp
• CatholicTeenBooks site expanding again
• Making time for creativity and a creativity challenge

Book cover reveal coming soon!

     The publisher has finalized the cover of my young-adult historical novel Playing by Heart, due out September 30. I was happy to have input in the design process, which isn't always the case with traditional publishers, and I look forward to finding out what potential readers think of the cover. For now, the cover remains a secret while I plan a special
"cover reveal" celebration for late June. Hint: the celebration may include a prize giveaway for newsletter subscribers, so be sure to watch your inbox for details! 

Free copies of Rosa, Sola for classroom teachers

     For a limited time, I'm offering a free ebook copy of Rosa, Sola (or an autographed paperback copy shipped to a U.S. address for only $3.99 postage/handling), for teachers to preview for possible classroom use. If you or someone you know teaches grades 4-8 and would like more information, reply to this message or email me at carmela@carmelamartino.com.

    I confess, I got the idea from author A. J. Cattapan. She's giving away free ebook copies of her novels, Angelhood and Seven Riddles to Nowhere, to teachers interested in previewing them for use in their classrooms. See her website for details. 

Conference presentations and children's camp

   July will be a busy month for me. I'm giving two presentations at the Catholic Writers Guild (CWG) Live Conference being held in Schaumburg, IL July 18-21. In the first, I'll be discussing Turning Life into Fiction. The second will be a team presentation with fellow authors A. J. Cattapan and Stephanie Engelman on Writing Fiction that Engages Teens and Tweens. You can find the tentative conference schedule here.

     The week before the CWG conference, July 10-14, I'll be teaching the morning session of a brand new Creativity Camp for ages 9-12 at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, IL. The morning session focuses on writing while the afternoon is on a range of artistic techniques, including oil painting and printmaking. I'm happy to say the class is nearly filled! If you know anyone who may be interested, they can see the Writing Classes page of my website for details.

CatholicTeenBooks site expanding again

       The CatholicTeenBooks.com website now features 12 authors and over 30 books. Beginning June 1, Theresa Linden will be doing a series of daily blog posts in which she shares tidbits about her own books and others on the CatholicTeenBooks site. I believe she'll be featuring my own
Rosa, Sola on June 9. Follow her blog posts here. You're sure to find some great titles to add to your summer reading list.

     And if you'd like a chance to win a free copy of one of those books, check out the Goodreads giveaway of Carolyn Astfalk's Rightfully Ours running through June 7. 

Making time for creativity and a creativity challenge

   Last month, I wrote about making creativity a priority. (If you missed it, you can read that newsletter here.) Here's the action item I left you with:

April action item

Reflect on the advice: "Don't give up what you want most for what you want now." 

     Then list the ways you let things you want in the moment take precedence over your creativity. Can you come up with strategies for making your creativity a priority? This article by an art therapist on Making Creativity a Priority may help.

Did you give it a try? How did it go?

It didn't take much reflection to realize that social media is the biggest thief of my creative time and energy. One strategy that helps somewhat is for me to schedule specific times for checking and posting on social media. But even then I often end up spending much more time than I had set aside. In thinking about why, I realized it's due to my "Fear of Missing Out," or FOMO, as some say. I'm afraid I'll miss a link to a great article on writing or marketing, or perhaps information about some new development in the publishing world. Interestingly, just today (via a Facebook post!), I read an article by Chris Syme about how FOMO chokes productivity. Finding a gem like this article is part of why it's so hard to kick this habit!   

     In the article, Syme says:

     "Some psychologists theorize that
FOMO is driven by the pressure to have a perfect life.
Theoretically, this is fueled by the false depictions of the perfect lives of authors you see on social media. Everybody there is in the know, having a great life,
and selling tons of books."

    So we come back to perfectionism again. (You may recall that was my creativity topic back in March.) Now that I have a new book waiting to meet the world, I want to launch the "perfect" marketing campaign to get the word out. But as Syme points out: "the best book marketing strategy is to write the next book." As I mentioned last month, that is one of the things I want most to work on right now. So how can I make it happen?  

     I think it would help if I could set aside a block of time to just sit and brainstorm about the project. I see my next novel as a sequel/companion to Playing by Heart and I have some initial thoughts, but I don't know enough about the plot to start writing. Given the distractions I have at home these days, I'm thinking of scheduling some work time at the library. After that initial brainstorming phase, then I'd like to set aside some regular time to work on the story.

     Author and developmental editor Anastasia Suen recently blogged about her frustrations finding time for her own creativity. She shared the post on Facebook (where I saw it!) along with the announcement that she's launching a "30 for 30 Challenge" beginning tomorrow, June 1. She's challenging participants to make time to create 30 minutes a day for 30 days. Each day in June, she'll provide a quote with a short creativity prompt. Participants can then post a comment reporting on their results.

     This leads me to this month's action item.      

Action item

Keep a log of how much time you spend on creative projects/activities during June. If you're inspired to do so, post your progress on the 30 by 30 Challenge website. 

     I'm on deadline for a freelance assignment, so I don't know how soon I'll be able to have my brainstorming session on the new novel. But even though I probably won't be participating in the 30 for 30 Challenge, I'll be tracking my creative time and will report back to you about it next month.

     For now, I'll leave you with one of the quotes Anastasia shared leading up to her challenge:

I know it can be especially challenging to make time for creativity during the month of June if you have children home on summer break, but I encourage you to try. You'll be setting a wonderful example. 

Happy creating!

Carmela

Copyright © 2017 Carmela A. Martino. All rights reserved.