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$uccess

Your Path to a Successful Book

Our $uccess blog will feature writing, marketing, and publishing tips we continue to learn since writing our 2009 INDIE Finalist workbook $uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book keeping our readers abreast of the everchanging skills required to write, publish and sell a successful book. We will also have guest commentators. Achieving your goals as a writer is what matters. Anything we can do to help you get there is our goal. We welcome your comments and hope you will sign up for our bi-monthly (or whenever we have enough material) newsletter.

Archive for August, 2008

Writing Tips: Learning and Stretching

Monday, August 11th, 2008


I read our entire book called $uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book all over again when I received my published copy 3 days ago. Instead of reading like a writer or editor, I read it like a consumer, hoping not to find any errors. Instead, I only wished I had added more. The Hill team learns something new every day.

We practice what we advise. See chapter IV, the Hill Team Hints… “Keep learning”… We all attended writer’s workshops, in Las Vegas and Mexico, recently, and will be conducting new classes (memoirs and fiction) next week.

The tip I am adding is to stretch. It would have been easier to write a book that is comfortable for us–chefs, food, travel. Instead, we took the advise of a mentor and friends and upped our learning curve. This new writing venture has led back, or rather forward, to many more food and wine endeavors, a television appearance and teaching and travel opportunities.

At Rancho La Puerta, I re-learned to stretch my body and my mind. After stretching and hiking up a (small) mountain, I ate organic food straight from the garden, even garlic! Then, I participated in a class on a subject that was completely new and different, a stretching experience.

Brenda C. Hill
Books By Hills
Where & What in the World Blog
$uccess Blog

Books & Authors Radio Show

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

We are excited to be featured on South West Blend’s “Books & Authors, Creative Writing and Publishing” Radio Show. We’ll post a reminder later in the week. We hope you can join us.

‘Books & Authors, Creative Writing & Publishing’ Radio Show – Join SouthwestBlend.com Editors Nancy J. Reid and Lisa D. Smith for this special show airing live on Friday, August 15 from 11am -1 pm PST. Guest Authors include Maralyn D. Hill & Brenda C. Hill – $uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book; Mark David Gerson – The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write; Melody Groves – Arizona War: A Colton Brothers Saga; Denny Durbin – ‘Lazy Enchilada… Redefining Success; and Julia Alvarez – Once Upon A Quinceanera: Coming of Age in the USA.

Read more & Listen Live!

Maralyn & Brenda Hill
Books By Hills
$uccess Blog
Where & What in the World Blog

Writing – Memoirs vs Autobiography

Monday, August 4th, 2008


The Hill Team, Brenda, Norm and I, were discussing the differences between autobiographies and memoirs. We each put in our thoughts and then we had Brenda research the old fashioned way, off the Internet.

She discovered they do differ according to some seasoned writers. Lou Willet Stanek, PHD and author of Writing Your Life, said, “The two methods are kissing cousins.” An autobiography covers the whole of life and generally requires dates and research. A memoir can be only one year, or one day, a snip it of memory. Amazon has some good reviews of Stanek’s book.

Everyone seems to agree that there is more editorial leeway with a memoir. We cover this in the “You Can Write a Book Successfully,” seminar we are giving June 16, and wanted to double check our own thoughts. Fortunately for us, what Brenda discovered with her research, agreed with what we had all thought to be true.

Maralyn & Brenda
Books By Hills
Where & What in the World Blog
$uccess Blog
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