Marcy McKay

Award-Winning Author

Audiobooks: A Narrator’s How-To Guide for Authors

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Have you ever wanted to take your eBook or paperback (fiction or nonfiction), then turn it into a Audiobook?

Of course, you have. You can hear Reese Witherspoon or Hugh Grant in your head, narrating your story as you write it.

ACX.com (owned by Amazon) has made it easy for authors to create Audiobooks. It’s another way to monetize your product; plus, the Audiobook industry is a huge, growing market.

The good news is the process is pretty much free for the author (I didn’t spend a dime). The bad new is ACX (Amazon) sets the Audiobook price, but then the author and narrator split the profits 50/50.

In honor of Pennies from Burger Heaven now being available on Audiobook… [Read more…]

How to Overcome Fear to Achieve Your Goals

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In honor of the one-year anniversary of my release of Pennies from Burger Heaven, I want to talk about achieving your goals. It took me 20 freakin’ years to become a published author, sixteen of those where I wrote every. single. day. I completed four novels like that.

What do you want?

Do you want to get out of debt? Do you want  to start a business? Do you want to write a novel?

We all know the basics of goal setting:

*Write down that goal, then break it into small, actionable steps.

*Consistently work toward that goal. The more often you do, the faster you’ll achieve it. Everyday is best, but do the best you can.

*Think positive thoughts along the way.

I also want to prepare you for the dark side of trying to achieve your goals, when you truly put yourself out there. I’m talking about BIG goals, the kind that takes your breath away because you want it with everything inside you, but aren’t sure you can pull if off.

If you’re trying to make your dreams come true, then…

[Read more…]

Turning Failure into Success

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turning-failure-into-successFailure. It’s part of life, but even after 50 years, it still doesn’t seem to be any easier to swallow the bitterness as it’s shoved down my throat.

That really is the wrong attitude. I just said, ‘it’s part of life’, but clearly, I still dread it.

We’d all be much better off if we learned… [Read more…]

Pitching Pennies at the Austin Film Festival

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pitching-penniesI attended the Austin Film Festival this past weekend. My screenplay of Pennies from Burger Heaven made it to the second round of the AFF contest, with over 9,100 entries (read that post here: From Novel to Screenplay). It’s a huge honor, which granted me admission to special workshops and panels just for those who placed in the competition. Incredible!

I also entered the AFF pitch competition where I gave a 90-second pitch about Pennies to judges. I’ll tell you up front, I did not achieve my goal to make it to the finals again (I did that in 2005), but please don’t stop reading.

This post isn’t about writing. It’s about … [Read more…]

From Novel to Screenplay: How Pennies Performed at the Austin Film Festival

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camera-affAs you know, I took my novel, Pennies from Burger Heaven, and turned it into a screenplay last spring. Next, I entered it in the Austin Film Festival screenplay competition. They had a record number of entries this year — 9,100 screenplays!

It took me 7.5 weeks to write the screenplay. That’s not enough time, but it’s all I had before the contest deadline.Here’s how Pennies performed …

I made it to the Second Round. That’s the top 15%, or the top 1,365.

Am I proud of myself?

YES!

Am I disappointed?

Yes.

Wouldn’t it have been cool to final, or better yet, to win the whole shebang? There’s a mishmash of emotions swirling inside me, but I have to remind myself this was only the second screenplay I’ve ever written, and the first one was over 11 years ago in 2005.

Writing a screenplay writing is completely different than writing a novel. Each is its own kind of hard. Each requires a different set of creative skills, which I discussed in Turning Your Novel into a Screenplay.

What Austin Said about My Work

The form part of AFF letter said, “This year’s scripts proved to be incredibly competitive, and featured a high-standard of exemplary stories, including your own. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and you should be extremely proud of your success.”

The handwritten comment on my letter said, “Your twist on the crime genre by having a twelve-year old homeless girl as the detective is fresh and compelling. Good work!”

I’ll receive my reader’s notes about Pennies in December, but I’m delighted. I was scared (terrified, in fact), but I wrote a screenplay, and made myself enter the contest. That may be my biggest victory.

I’m Pitching Pennies Next Week

I’m attending the Austin Film Festival, October 13 – 16, 2016. Because I’m a “Second Rounder,” I get to attend special workshops and round tables for the top 15%. Maybe, there will even be a special ribbon on my name tag!

But, wait! There’s more!

I’ve also entered the AFF Pitch Competition. I’ll have 90 seconds to sell them on my story. I made it to the finals when I competed back in 2005, so NO PRESSURE, Marcy!

Send Good Vibes My Way

I’ll do my pitch on Friday, October 14, between 10:45 am – Noon. There are 160 participants total, with 16 people in the 10 different pitching sessions. I can’t recall if 10 or 20 folks make it to finals on Saturday night.

Please send any and all good thoughts my way next week.

What advice to you have for me as I compete in the Pitch Competition?

Please leave comment. Let’s talk. 

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Pick up your FREE copy today of the mystery, The Moon Rises at Dawn  (SkipJack Publishing). Read, enjoy, repeat.