The Game Changer by Guest Blogger Donna Alward!

When Ruthy e-mailed to ask if I’d come back to Seekerville, I was like “of course!” Everytime I visit, the reception’s warm, the conversation is sparkling, and the sheer volume of treats y’all leave around is inspired.

But when she asked if I’d chat about #1k1hr, I was definitely on board. Because, as I said to one of my chaptermates at our holiday potluck, #1k1hr has been a game changer for me.

One of the things that is hardest about being a published author is productivity and time management. Now, more than ever, we’re being told to keep up a social media presence, an up-to-date website, a newsletter. 

We aren’t just writers – we’re businesswomen and men. We have to do that promo, keep accounts, write books, stay on top of what’s happening in the market. And it’s sooooo easy to get caught up in the daily dross and realize at the end of the day that you’ve written exactly 500 words, and that was a blog and not on your WIP.

(Just FYI – I’m writing this AFTER I sent my current partial to my editor, k?)

For five years…yes I said FIVE….since selling my first book I’ve been struggling with this time management thing. And I got frustrated. I kept feeling like I needed to WRITE MORE but I wasn’t sure how to do it. Saying I had to get my butt off the internet wasn’t always working.  One of my tricks was still to take all my admin and do it at the beginning of the month (like guest posting and website updates etc.). But sometimes you just can’t let stuff go until the end of the month.

The first thing I did to “free” up more time was cut back on some of my involvement in places around the web. It was scary, believe it or not, but I’ve felt so good about it since that I know it was the right decision.  That helped a lot. The fewer directions to be pulled, the better it is. Simplifying helped a lot.

And then someone came up with #1k1hr on twitter. Don’t know who it was. Don’t remember the first time I did it even. But after the first time or two I saw the results and the rest is history.

What happens is this: Someone will post a “call” for #1k1hr on twitter that will look something like this:

@DonnaAlward: Hey @AnnetteGallant @jenniemarsland @writercatfox - I'm starting #1k1hr on the :30. You in?

Annette, Jennie and Cathy are chaptermates of mine, in case you’re wondering.

Or I may just say hey, I’m going #1k1hr on the :15. Who’s with me?

I usually do this 15-20 minutes before I’m ready to start, to give people a chance to join in. Then at the allotted time, a tweet goes out with everyone’s name, the hashtag of #1k1hr, and hopefully the word GO!

And that’s it. You don’t check e-mail, you don’t tweet (I’ll confess I’m terrible at popping in on occasion) but you do write for an hour, with a goal of a thousand words.

At the end of the hour, you check back in and post your total. Sometimes it’s a measly few hundred if you’re editing, and sometimes it’s 1200 if you’re having a great day.

Usually people take a 15 min break or so, and go again. 15 minutes is perfect for throwing in a load of laundry, grabbing a snack, using the bathroom. J I try to do 2-4 a day, depending on what’s going on. My first hour is usually light on words because I go over what I did the day before to get back into the story and pick up where I left off. But then…well, I’m averaging between 2-3000 words a day this way.

2000 words x 20 days in a month (I don’t work weekends) is 40 000 words. That means a book in 5 weeks for me.

How well can this really work? The numbers tell the truth:

On September 6 I had 12k written on the Harlequin Romance I had due. I handed it in, I believe, on September 26^th. It sold October 14.

In October, I wrote 17k on a novella, hated it, scrapped it, wrote 32,000 words and subbed it on November 4.  It sold November 21.

From November 4-now, I’ve been working on a holiday romance for Harlequin. It’s due February 6. It’s on my editor’s desk.

The odd thing is I STILL have time for all the other stuff. The difference is, I work on it before 9:30 a.m. and then after 2:30 p.m. because that’s when I start having kids home and it’s far easier to wade through e-mail and deal with requests then, than write.

Game changer. I’ve never been so productive, and I’ve never been less work-stressed.

Other benefits? A group atmosphere for support and overall goodwill. It’s harder to skive off if you’re in a group. Especially if you’re at all competitive! I hate when I post 2-300 word totals – even if I have a very good reason!

And #1k1hr has also brought me a ton of new followers and people I follow too.

Social media can be such a time suck, but this one thing has made it all worthwhile. And if any of you ever want to try it – and I know Anita Mae is reading and she already joins me quite often – you can find me on twitter @DonnaAlward. The more the merrier.

Now…since you deserve a reward for all your hard work, head on over to the Yankee Belle Café because I think Ruthy’s posted my Apple Cake recipe and it’s fantastic if I do say so myself!

And Happy New Year.  May 2012 bring you many many finished manuscripts!

Seekerville Welcomes Guest Birthday Blogger Donna Alward

It’s October 4 which means I’m here at Seekerville today to celebrate the official launch of my newest Harlequin Romance, HOW A COWBOY STOLE HER HEART!

So grab a coffee and visit for a spell as I reveal some behind-the-scenes bits about the book, let you know some special plans going on for the month, give you an exclusive excerpt, and most off all a CHANCE TO WIN some great books!

I was chatting to a friend one day about the release date and she happened to mention that HOW A COWBOY STOLE HER HEART is out during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Wow, I thought, because the heroine, Meg, is a breast cancer survivor trying to rebuild her life after treatment. I knew I wanted to do something special to coincide with the many events going on to support breast cancer research and awareness. So…in that spirit, I’d like to invite you all to visit my blog at www.donnaalward.blogspot.com all this month where you can find ways you can help and support your local foundations, read some inspiring stories from some very special guests, and learn some new and interesting facts about breast cancer in 2011. It’s all about THINK PINK for the month.

I’d been wanting to write a cancer story for a while - I try not to shy away from real-life topics in my stories, instead choosing to show the positive happy endings out of adversity, you know? And I’m fairly sure everyone has been touched by cancer in some form. On a personal level, my grandmother had colon cancer and my step-dad was recently diagnosed with it as well (and his prognosis is excellent, thank goodness!). My father-in-law had prostate cancer. There is a fear that is built into the “C” word – even when the diagnosis and prognosis are excellent. Because it’s CANCER.

When I thought of Meg Briggs, I wondered what it would be like to be diagnosed at such a young age, and then come home to rebuild your life. How much would someone change? What would stay the same? Would she be fearless or afraid or a bit of both? Would she live for the moment and finally tell Clay that she loved him? Or would she hang back, uncertain?

Clay Gregory, for what it’s worth, was a complete pain in my patoot. He first showed up in ONE DANCE WITH THE COWBOY and I fell in love. He totally demanded his own story, but I could never find him the right woman. I tried. But those stories just didn’t pan out. FINALLY I figured out that it was Meg he was waiting for, and once I clued in to that tiny fact, it all fell into place. This story wasn’t easy to tell. Their relationship isn’t easy either. But it was worth it for me and I hope it is for you, too. Rumour has it you might want to keep a few tissues on hand for a few certain scenes…

It was really quite fun having Clay figure out that Meg was a woman rather than his best friend’s little sister. Look what happens…

“He made his way over to her and put on a smile. “I see you made it here just fine.”

“I came with Dad.” She smiled up at him and that same weird tightening happened again. “He’s gone off to talk stock.”

“Normally you’d be there with him.” Meg wasn’t the kind of girl who left the business to the men; she knew what she was about. It was one of the things he truly admired about her.

“Today’s not an ordinary day,” she replied, taking a sip of punch. His gaze caught on her lips as they touched the glass.

“It certainly isn’t,” he agreed, but his voice came out low and...dear Lord. Intimate. God. He was no better than Tom Walker with that silly, besotted look on his face. Clay cleared his throat but not before Meg’s eyes gleamed with mischief. Great. Bad enough he was reacting to her this way. But to have her notice made him feel ten times a fool.

Lily and Noah moved off to chat with other guests, leaving Meg and Clay alone. Clay made himself forget the way the dress fit her gentle curves and focused on the task at hand. “You seem to be managing okay. No awkward questions, I take it?”

“A few.” The flirtatious gleam he’d seen in her eye tempered. “I just keep reminding myself that people mean well. For the most part,” she amended, looking at a pair of grey-haired women who were standing by the punch bowl, heads together.

Clay felt a flare of irritation on her behalf, glad to be talking about old ladies rather than besotted young men. “Some people aren’t happy unless they’re criticizing or spreading doom and gloom.”

Meg lowered her head and he heard an indelicate snort. “Oh, you poor dear. I do hope you stay looking so well,” she said in a stage whisper.

“They actually said that?” He was appalled.

“Of course. They feed on the possibility of catastrophe,” she remarked lightly.

It was no laughing matter to Clay. More than anything he worried about her cancer coming back, not that he’d say so to her face. He wouldn’t take away from the happiness of her recovery by admitting such a thing. She was one of the strongest women he knew, and he reached out to take her hand. “Don’t you listen to them,” he ordered. “You’re healthy as a horse and you look beautiful.”

“Thank you, Clay.” A pretty blush touched her cheeks and his chest swelled.

“I’ve got your back, remember?”

“I remember,” she replied softly, and his heart did a little shiver against his ribs. This wasn’t keeping it simple or purely friendly.

“If anyone bothers you, let me know.”

“Anyone like who, in particular?” She’d cocked her head to the left, as if trying to figure him out. He clenched his jaw.

“Oh, like Tom Walker. Or Jason Callow. Or…whoever.”

“Interesting,” she said speculatively, her eyes narrowing as she examined him. He couldn’t escape the feeling she was laughing at him on the inside. “Are you jealous, Clay?”

He dropped her hand. “Just wanted you to remember our agreement, that’s all.” He had to come up with another distraction. “Here’s Jen and Andrew,” he suggested, tilting his head toward the couple who had just come in. “Good safe people for both of us, right?”


Now to the good stuff – PRIZES and FREE STUFF!

Today I’m going to give away three books - and it’s winner’s choice of either of my new releases – HOW A COWBOY STOLE HER HEART or OFF THE CLOCK (adult content), or any backlist title (as long as I still have a copy – I’m short on a few). There’s a complete booklist on my site. All you have to do is leave a comment in the comments section . Winners will be announced in the Weekend Edition of Seekerville.

AND

I have some free reads going on at the moment! You can try my very first Harlequin Romance and Bookseller’s Best Award winner, HIRED BY THE COWBOY, at www.tryharlequin.com.
AND until OCTOBER 14 (which also happens to be our wedding anniversary) you can also download my Eppie-nominated SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER (Samhain) at Amazon for FREE. (adult content).

Thanks for being here and celebrating with me today!




A busy wife and mother of three (2 daughters and the family dog), Donna Alward believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mom and romance novelist.

An avid reader since childhood, Donna always made up her own stories. She completed her Arts Degree in English Literature in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel, and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006 she sold her first manuscript.

Donna loves being back on the East Coast of Canada after nearly 12 years in Alberta where her Harlequin career began, writing about cowboys and the west. Donna’s debut Romance, HIRED BY THE COWBOY, was awarded the Booksellers Best Award in 2008 for Best Traditional Romance.


Donna loves to hear from readers; you can contact her through her website at www.donnaalward.com, visit her Facebook page, Twitter: @DonnaAlward,
or through her publisher.

Guest Blogger, Harlequin Romance Author Donna Alward Talks Service

I confess, I’m big on service. And I don’t mean the service I receive (though I could blog on that today too, because IMO customer service is nearly a lost art). I mean the service I can give to others. Not just can give, that I should give. That I OWE.

You can describe this in many ways – maybe you believe in Karma, for instance, and the idea that what you put out there is what will come back to you. The “reap what you sow” idea. Or maybe you call it paying it forward. Maybe you channel a little JFK – my dad had a plaque on his wall with the famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Any way you look at it, it’s about it being better to give than to receive.

I feel very strongly that a good part of what’s wrong with today’s society is that it’s based on Me, Me, and…oh yeah. Me. We all like to be the center of our own universes. And I’m as guilty as anyone about focusing on myself at times. *I* need quiet time. *I* need time to recharge with a glass of wine and a movie. *My* feelings got hurt and that’s not okay. I mean we all do that. But I think a lot of the time problems start happening when we’re only in it for us. Especially in this business, as writers.

I think more people should ask: How can I be of service?

I feel blessed to be a part of this industry. I am lucky to be published and fortunate to have such wonderful readers who buy my books and occasionally take the time to send me a note. I answer all my reader mail, because someone took the time to let me know they enjoyed my book (or not).

I received so much help before I sold my first book. Published authors took time from their schedules to help me along, so I feel very strongly about helping others coming up through the ranks. Special friends like Trish Wylie and Liz Fielding and then Jessica Hart and Kate Walker and a zillion others (after I sold) shared information on loops that helped me navigate my way through that crazy year following selling a first book. Now it’s up to me to pass that info on to newbies.

I believe if you receive something you should give something in return. I get a lot of support from my RWA chapter, so I try to give back as much as possible. I currently serve on the board and try to support all our members as best I can with the resources I have. Sometimes that’s as simple as knowing a contact and passing on information, or buying a new release when it comes out. For a few years I ran a pitch contest where I mentored the winner for a year. This year I’ve adjusted that to posting a series on writing every week on my blog.

So what do I get for the bargain price of giving a little help now and again?

• I get to write books for a living, work in my yoga pants, never have to commute in bad weather, and live in a world of happy endings.

• I get to belong in a community of wonderful writers and industry professionals who are as passionate about writing Romance as I am. And we are an awesome bunch of people, y’all. Just hang out in the lobby of any RWA National conference to see how full of awesome we are.

• I have amazing friends who GET IT. This is a lonely business. You don’t feel so crazy when you’re surrounded by like-minded people who understand why you’re crying because a fictional character had her heart broken.

• I get to meet new and interesting people all in the name of research – and I learn a lot.

• I get to experience – again and again – the thrill of that first sale when someone new gets The Call. It reminds me of how mind-blowing it was for me. And it keeps me from being jaded, which sometimes happens when you’ve been in the business for a while. There is nothing like sharing in the magic of THE CALL .

• Each time I reach out, I’m rewarded at least two-fold.

In fact, I think I get back wayyyy more than I put out there.

The honest truth is I have deadlines and a husband, kids and pets and probably not much more time than anyone else. And there are definitely times I feel guilty for not doing more. The bottom line is that I truly believe that you get back what you give. And I don’t give nearly enough. But I try. And I’m having an awful lot of fun doing it.

Happy Reading,

Donna



Bio:

A busy wife and mother of three (2 daughters and the family dog), Donna Alward believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mom and romance novelist.

An avid reader since childhood, Donna always made up her own stories. She completed her Arts Degree in English Literature in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel, and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006 she sold her first manuscript.

Donna loves being back on the East Coast of Canada after nearly 12 years in Alberta where her Harlequin career began, writing about cowboys and the west. Donna’s debut Romance, Hired by the Cowboy, was awarded the Booksellers Best Award in 2008 for Best Traditional Romance.


Donna loves to hear from readers; you can contact her through her website at www.donnaalward.com, visit her Facebook page, Twitter: @DonnaAlward,
or through her publisher.





And check out REMEMBER ME, COWBOY, a free short story only on eHarlequin.com!




Be sure to leave a comment for Donna today for a chance to win her May release from Harlequin Romance, Honeymoon with the Rancher. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.