anthology | Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Group Projects

Here we are at Tuesday again. Can we pretend this got posted on Tuesday? I fell behind yesterday and forgot to go back to proof this post. I need to plan better. LOL.

Yesterday’s idea originated when I visited one of my Facebook groups. This group came together months ago. We’re authors who write in a variety of genres. We’re self-published, hybrid published, and traditionally published. We write with different heat levels from sweet to spicy hot. Why am I telling you this? Well, because there are over one hundred of us taking part in a group project. Sorry for being vague, but we aren’t saying a lot about this project yet.

My point for using Group Projects for my title and inspiration for my muse is because working on a project with a group can be fun and beneficial. (And maybe a little stressful.) Think of the exposure a group of authors can provide. For my November release, imagine the promotion with this large group of over one hundred. I’m looking forward to publishing this book. No, I’m down-right excited! ❤

It’s inspirational and exciting when a member will post a cover image of their book, or tell us they finished their book. You know they’re champing at the bit to release it. They inspire me to have my cover made.

When this project came into existence, it inspired me to breathe life into a book I had started many years ago in a different genre than what I write now. However, nothing is the same except the hero’s name. LOL. The original idea sits back and waits for me to, one day, use that storyline.

I’d like to take part in more group projects because of their inspiration and encouragement.

Multi-author anthologies and boxed sets usually entail writing shorter stories, and we all know I struggle with finding the time to pull away from a current work in progress, and writing short. This project allows us to write whatever length we want. We aim to please. 💙

Of course, we’ll have a logo on the books to make them easy to find and to stand out as part of the group, and we’ll have a website.

Authors, how do you feel about taking part in an anthology, boxed set, or group project? What inspires you to do this?

Instead of coming up with ideas for weekly Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse posts, which I’m not good at, anyway, I’ll start posting for this topic monthly. I’ll have to brainstorm ways to fill in this spot so there isn’t a long gap between my posts. I won’t make promises because, hey, I have books to write and a business to run. Thanks for reading.

Images are from Pixabay. Inspiration for the Muse graphic is my creation using a Pixabay image.

Obviously, the two western looking images are hints at the location for my setting in the aforementioned book.

Welcome to week number twelve of the Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge. Hashtag #MFRWauthor

All authors with blogs are welcome to participate.

Week 12:

My Contest Experiences (Win, Lose, Get Signed?)

This is a simple answer… I have little to no experience with the big contests because I don’t enter the kind of contests this topic refers to.

As I write this, I do remember entering a contest to win a wedding ring for my (ex) husband. Of all things, you had to write the reason why he deserved it. I didn’t win, but I poured my heart out and wrote about all his good traits at being a husband and father. They were true.

Short Story:

Another time I had entered a short story contest. Many of you have heard me say I’m not good at writing short stories. One day I’ll see if there is anything I can do with that one because I think it can turn into a longer story.

Poetry:

Oh, I entered a poetry contest. My poem had been accepted. Yay! I’m sure most entrants had been accepted. Why? Again, I’m almost sure the sole purpose of this contest was to get entrants and their families to purchase the anthology. I don’t have proof of this, of course, but I’m assuming. Back then I was naïve and didn’t care. Yes, I purchased the book. Wouldn’t you?

There’s a story behind why I wrote the poem I had sent them. It had been inspired by Desert Strom if something like that can inspire anything. It’s titled “A Star in the Storm.”

How about you readers? Tell us about your contest experiences.