Creativity Archives - Marcy McKay

What’s Your Word for 2020?

Creativity, Fear, Lessons, Lifestyle, Marcy McKay Books

I’ve always loved the New Year – 365 days of possibilities. I used to adore making resolutions. Creating endless lists of all the ways I could improve. Write it down! Make it happen!

Others don’t indulge in goal setting. My husband is the latter. He just strives to do his best and stays chill about it. That’s an absolutely foreign concept to me …

I’m not making any resolutions this year. From what I learned about healing trauma since our house fire in 2017, goal setting just doesn’t speak to me right now and I’m honoring that. It just feels like too much work, and almost abusive.

If you’ve already color coded your goals for this year, I say GO FOR IT!

Instead, I have picked ONE WORD to be my guiding light for 2020. It feels simpler, more achievable. My word for 2020 is …

[Read more…]

Frustration, Procrastination & Other Gobbledygook

Books, Creativity, Fear, Lessons, Marcy McKay Books, Publishing

It’s been six months since my family had our house fire. I’ve experienced losses I never imagined, and I don’t mean the ‘stuff’ under that roof. Thanks to the firemen, the damage-restoration service was able to save 99% of our belongings. That’s a HUGE blessing, but we’re still never going back. Financially, it makes more sense to move elsewhere.

Our two kids were ages three and one-month old when we first moved into our home in 2000. I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear a bazillion times to my babies there. We had pumpkin-carving parties each October and ‘Pizza, Family Movie Night’ on Fridays (’til the kids became teenagers and preferred hanging out with their friends over us on the weekends).

My husband and I laughed and screamed and cried together in that house. We had a Gawd-awful 1950’s pink bathroom in the hallway I always intended to redo but now, I’ll never get the chance.

If that’s not enough pain… [Read more…] about Frustration, Procrastination & Other Gobbledygook

How to be a Writing, Publishing, Marketing Rock Star

Creativity, Publishing, SkipJack Publishing, The Art of Writing

Writing is hard work. It takes time, patience and practice to take a story inside your head, then put it on paper in a way that readers find compelling. On top of that, marketing is a totally different skill set, but it’s mostly left up to the author, whether you’re traditionally-or-indie published. Overall, the publishing process can be confusing, every-changing and downright scary.

I love learning from others in the industry. Insiders who are generous enough to share their mistakes, their successes and everything in between, so that the rest of us can be on the fast track of knowledge. That’s why I’m excited to share … [Read more…] about How to be a Writing, Publishing, Marketing Rock Star

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

Creativity, Marcy McKay Books, News, Publishing, Uncategorized

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

How to Overcome Fear to Achieve Your Goals

Creativity, Fear, Uncategorized, Writer's Block

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…

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

Creativity, Fear, Marcy McKay Books

As 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.

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