Hip Hop Author/Writer Blog

I am so excited this week to be part of the Hip Hop Blog tour, a series of blogs where writers/authors answer questions about their writing process. Linda Benson, author of The Girl Who Remembered Horses, Six Degrees of Lost, Walking the Dog, and more as well as a new series of short fiction called Cat Tales posted hers last week and tagged me to participate. You can check out her writing process HERE.  

The questions are the same for all of us, so if you are interested in writing, or a particular author or genre of book, the links provided in each blog will allow you to “hop” around as much as you wish. Here goes!

What am I working on?
I’m working on two books that I am writing, and two that I am editing. First, I am writing the third in my award-winning cozy equestrian mystery series. I am so honored that, combined, the first two in the series have won five awards, including two from American Horse Publications. My protagonist is a female horse trainer who has surrounded herself with a wacky cast of characters including a seventy-year-old cheerleader and a (possibly) psychic horse. It is set in rural Tennessee, so I have a wealth of odd personalities to draw from! Look for The Fame Equation in 2015. I am also finishing a book on therapy horse selection. What makes a good therapy horse, what should you look for when you first look at the horse, and from a donor perspective, would a therapeutic riding center be interested in my horse? That one will be out in August.

The first book I am editing is a fascinating look at the difference between Supreme Court decisions and Hollywood films and how each has treated women over the past 100 years. The “result” might surprise you Gender Results was written by California Appellate Court Justice Eileen Moore and will be published later this year. The other is an autobiography from Olympian and world-class 800-meter runner Nick Symmonds, who gives an inside look at the sport of running. I love being able to help shape books at the developmental level and see my impact in the final product.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I love cozy mysteries and putting that genre into a Southern equestrian setting with a number of eccentric human characters, a howling dog, an intuitive horse, and little humor makes for a fun write, and (hopefully) a fun read! With the nonfiction horse books I strive to be informative, visual, and entertaining. Some other books in that area hit any two out of the three, often not in any reflection of the author, but in the publisher’s vision of the final product. I have been very fortunate to work with publishers who bring my ideas of the book’s design into the mix with their own and I have been very happy with the results. The purpose of the autobiographies is to give a voice to someone who has an important story to share. I try to write in my co-authors’ voice, and phrase sentences the way he or she might phrase them. While written and spoken language often differ, a good balance between co-author phrasing and good written grammar is the goal. It’s a fact that few of us speak as correctly as we write!

Why do I write what I do?

I write nonfiction about horses because horses have fascinated me from the time I was a small child. Since then I have learned how much they have to teach us and I hope that my writing will pass on some of the important life lessons horses have taught me. I chose mystery as my genre of fiction because, as a child, I could never get enough of Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. When my mother gave me a Dick Francis mystery when I was twelve, and I realized that I could marry mystery and horses, I knew that was what I wanted to do. When I co-author autobiographies, I choose people who have overcome tremendous odds. I have always rooted for the underdog, and I am so inspired by my co-authors, people such as Brad Cohen, Fred Gill, Lyssa Chapman, and Shyima Hall, who have endured enormous hardships and still managed to come out of it with a positive attitude. Those people, and many others like them, keep me going whenever life throws me a curve ball.

How does your writing process work? 

First, I have to have an orderly space in which to write. Too much visual clutter seems to clutter my mind. I try to write in the morning, when my mind is fresh, and will write for several hours without a break. I rarely have writer’s block, but when I do, I get up, take a walk, wash dishes, or do something to take my mind off the block. Invariably, within ten minutes or so, I know exactly where the story needs to go. I outline my nonfiction extensively, because publishers usually buy a nonfiction book based on a proposal, which includes chapter summaries. The publisher then expects the finished book to be a fleshed-out version of the chapter summaries. With fiction, I just write. I start with an idea or a problem. What would happen if . . . ? How would my character react if . . . ? I usually know who the victim and murderer are, and why the victim was murderedbut once I get going, my characters take over inside my head. I just write what they tell me. :-)

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And now, here are two wonderful authors whom I adore and who have written books that I love. Please stop by their blogs and become a follower (they will be posting about their writing process next week and you won’t want to miss any stellar advice they have).

Sharon Woods Hopkins is a life-long horse lover and the author of the Rhetta McCarter mystery series. Sharon lives in Missouri with her author husband, Bill Hopkins, and is a mortgage office who owns the original Cami, the 1979 Camaro RS featured in her Rhetta McCarter mystery series. Check out her books Killertrust, Killerwatt, and Killerfind.

On or after May 12, 2014, check out her blog at:
 

Devon O’Day writes books that inspire, whether about pets, love or cooking. She has been the producer of the number one country music morning show in America and the host of the syndicated Country Hitmakers, heard in 130 markets. A successful songwriter, O'Day wrote the number one song by George Strait, “The Big One.” She speaks about animal rescue to corporations and organizations around the country, and lives with her horses, dogs, and cats just outside Nashville. Check out Goodbye My Friend, My Angels Wear Fur, and My Southern Food: A Celebration of Flavors of the South.

On or after May 12, 2014, check out her blog at:

Grateful Thanks!

This is a time of year to give thanks and I want to say how very grateful I am for all of you. Those of us who are full-time authors and speakers rely on you to help spread the word about our books and events. If our books do not sell, if we do not get booked to share our knowledge and experience at events, then mortgages and electric bills cannot be paid, and food cannot be put on the table. That’s why I am truly thankful to everyone who has purchased a book, come to an event, or told a friend about me. I have been writing and speaking full time for more than ten years and it is only because of you that I can continue to do this. Thank you!!!!

People often ask how they can help me, or other authors and speakers, and there really are a lot of ways:

1. Like us on Facebook. I have two Facebook pages: facebook.com/lisawysocky for people I know (or at least have met), and facebook.com/thepowerofawhisper, where horseman Sam Powell and I give tips about horses and life. The way this business works is the more Facebook followers or Twitter followers an author/speaker has, the more likely he or she is to get booked. Also, the author’s agent or representative has an easier time in structuring good book and sponsorship deals.

2. Follow us on Twitter. Same principle, the more the better! I am on Twitter @lisawysocky. I cannot stress how important having a lot of social media followers is to people like me. Other sites you can follow someone on are: Linkedin and Google+, and there are a host of opportunities at Goodreads.com. Just search for your favorite people, they should pop up.

3. Like, share, and comment on our posts. When a prospective agent or publisher looks over our social media pages, they like to see an active and engaged audience. Same goes for anyone who books us for an event. It only takes a second to share a post or tweet, and less than a minute to personally tell a friend about us, but it means a lot. Writing is a time consuming task and authors do not always have the time we need to attend to all of our social media. If we are posting or tweeting, then we are not working on our manuscript’s word count for the day, or revising our next speech.

4. If we are in a city near you, please come see us––and bring lots of friends and neighbors. If you can’t make it, encourage others to attend. Just like every other author or speaker out there, I understand how difficult it is to break away from your daily routine of work and family. That’s why I am thrilled to see you walk in the door to an event. Besides, you might even have a fabulous time, and who knows what other cool people you will meet!

5. Book us for an event, and there are many forms of this: 

    • Host an author for an afternoon tea in your home or church––and invite all of your friends (if nearby, most authors will come free if they can also sell books)

    • Gather your class or book club for a phone or Skype chat with an author. Again, there is usually no cost involved in this.


    • Most authors also speak on topics that relate to their books, so think creatively to figure out how your favorite author can impact your annual meeting, regional or national conference, training day, quarterly sales meeting, or other event. Find author and speaker contacts through their website to determine the correct person to ask about content, fees, and scheduling. (Fine mine at LisaWysocky.com/contact)I help people with horses learn more about themselves and their horse, and I also help non-horse people at corporations and associations learn amazing leadership lessons from the horse herd. I love doing this and know other authors have incredible information to share as well.

6. Buy a book, or three or ten. A great book can become a treasured item. Books also make great gifts. Libraries are always looking for donations of new books, and this includes school and private libraries, as well as your local public library. When it comes to people who don’t read, a wise librarian once told me that the non-readers had not yet discovered a book with information on a subject they were passionate about. You could be the person to open the door to a brand new world, and all it takes is handing someone the right book.

7. Write an online review on the book’s page on one of the major book seller sites. Quality reader reviews help other readers find books they will enjoy. Plus, an honest, helpful review shows publishers and event planners that the author has an engaged audience, and that there is interest in his or her work.

When it comes down to it, for publishers, it is all about the bottom line, and rightly so. Publishers have to make a living, too. If books do not sell, authors are not invited to write additional books. The ultimate result is that many wise and creative people can no longer make a living doing something they love and are very good at doing. That’s why good sales numbers are so very, very important. That’s also why I am so thankful for you, for all the support you have shown me throughout the years. Truly, I would not be here without you. Kudos to you all.

Lisa