Autumn is around the corner... and you know what that means!

It's been a busy summer for me. I've done a few Author Take Over events and had a blast! Attended a lot of Summer BBQ's and get together's, attended a very beautiful lesbian wedding and this past labor day, celebrated the end of Summer (even though it's not official until the 21st of this month).

With September being here, it also means my deadline for my new book is fast approaching. Everyday this month, as best I can, I'm going to be writing/polishing my book so that the final copy can go to the editors to glance over before giving me their thumbs up or thumbs down.

Once the book is edited, it will be formatted first for Kindle and will be released on the Kindle Unlimited Program - so many people can gain access to this book early on, thus helping the reviews. This will go on for approximately three months, taking it through October, November & December in which I will be working on reading and recording my voice for the Audible - audio book version of Self-Aware (A Zombie Series with a Fresh Twist!) for those of you who love listening on the go!

After January, I will be releasing the book through Smashwords who will distribute it to Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple and I will also upload it to the Google Play store!

As you can see... there's lots to do, and this is just one book. I've still got to market the book via social media (Twitter, Facebook, G+, etc.) in hopes it goes viral. I've poured my heart into this book, on so many levels to give you the reader, the best experience, best story and best adventure possible. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't forget that you help make my dream of being a writer a reality. Writers need readers, and readers need writers. That's an awesome combination and I can't wait to show you next month what I've been working on for the last year.

Until then,

Stay crunchy... even in milk.  ;-)

Steven W.  

Oh the places you'll go....

That book was given to me by a good friend in Alaska when I was moving to the Pacific Northwest back in 2003. 

It's one of my favorite books because it reminds me that life is a journey that you can never really tell where you will end up. I'm almost finished with a book I've been working on for over a year now called Self-Aware (A Zombie Series with a Twist!)

I'm excited to bring it to you and inside it has all kinds of really cool things if you like post apocalyptic Zombie stuff. Someone I was talking to mentioned "What if..." my book became a New York Times & USA Today best seller? What if I became famous and everyone knows my name?

Well, for one, Yay! That would be cool. As far as celebrity status, I doubt it, but it's still fun to think about. Will it change me? I don't think so. At least I hope not. As far as my writing, I've got quite a few books that I want to write for the next few years, enough to keep me busy. I don't think that kind of recognition would change my writing.

My advice to all writers and inspiring writers is don't worry about what other people think.

There's too many opinions and someone somewhere is either going to like you or hate you. Let them. Instead, focus on writing the best story possible.

Get it down out of your head and onto paper. Don't worry about being perfect the first time. Nobody who is successful is ever on the first try. That's why there's editors and people who polish things. 

Make sure you have a good description (what people call Copy) and make sure you have a professional cover, that makes all the difference in the world. 

Most importantly, make sure it's formatted properly too or you will have a lot of angry readers.

Once you release it into the world, take a moment and pat yourself on the back. You did good! You've accomplished what hundreds or thousands of people *want* to do, but because of procrastination or excuses, they don't.

Go out somewhere, celebrate in private or have a shindig. Once that's done, clear your mind and get back to work the next day.

Rinse and repeat. If you can't write every day, do what I do... Study. Buy books on writing, editing, the Hero's Journey, marketing, selling, etc. 

As a writer, you have many hats to wear if you want your book to be seen. (I'm talking via the self publishing route. It might also apply to the traditional publising as well.)

One thing I've learned from writing these past few years is that one can really fall in love with it. 

Let me tell you, that's one of the greatest feelings ever and it makes it easier to sit down and write when you enjoy what you're doing.

Well that's it for now. Thank YOU to all my readers, my fans, and to anyone who is still reading. You're awesome and it's because of you I write so again, Thanks!

Steven Wolff
www.steven-wolff.com

Update on the previous book cover (& a new one)

Believe it or not, my previous book cover with the dragon has *NOT* sparked any interest, nor has it generated any new sales. This is very disappointing because the book itself is a gem waiting to be found. Right now because of limited funding, I can't afford to hire a real professional book cover designer but I am saving up for it. Again, this shows that people DO judge a book by its cover.

The other day at work, I came up with a book concept that I'm going to write later on down the road. (I've got a LOT of books I want to write but for now I need to focus on the projects I'm working on.) It's called DRONE and it's about a multi-million dollar drone attack plane that is hacked and stolen in mid flight. One of its two missiles are fired upon a high profile target and kills them, sending shock waves all over the world. Unable to find this drone, tensions are high as the group responsible for hijacking it demands something or else at a certain time, someone will die.

I'm excited to write this, and sometimes when I'm feeling creative, I'll make a book cover to kinda help "push" me in that direction. Here's the book cover I made for this book I've yet to write.

Surprisingly, I'm really liking this cover on so many levels. While its simple, it's to the point and makes you want to know more, just by reading the cover. I hope this is a successful cover. I'm sure I'll tweak it one last time before the book goes live but I kinda like it. Who knows how long it'll be before I make the book but at least it looks cool. For now, I still need to figure out what to do with Anica Storm. Those who have read that book love it but in the millions of books out there, I need it to grab peoples attention so when I can afford it, I'll hire a professional and keep my fingers crossed. If you know of any designers that are great, please list them below. Thanks!  :-)