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What is the biggest misconception about being a successful author?

The biggest misconception about being a successful published author is that when you finish your precious manuscript an agent will magically appear, sign you to a large publishing house and the money will roll in. All you have to do is write something.

The truth is writing is hard work. I spent more than forty years in various business industries in marketing and business development creating public images. I won the Dallas Business Journal Award in 2000 Retail for a shopping center in Dallas, Texas The Centre at Preston Ridge.

Writing a book can’t be that hard or so I thought.

I began my author journey after 9/11. I had just won the Dallas Business Journal Award when I was laid off. It took me two years to write eighty-eight pages, “A Dream is a Wish the Heart Makes”. I wrote and tore up many times before I felt ready to publish.

Excited with my new baby no agent came forward, no big publishing house came knocking on my door. I was told you have to have an established audience of thousands before an agent or publishing house will even talk to you.

Instead, I self-published. In 2004, the concept of being an indie author was unthinkable. When an agent heard you were an indie author they said you were a heretic and should be banned from the publishing world. Self-publishing was a new concept on Amazon. The self-publishing company I spent my hard earned dollars with did not follow through on their promises. Over the time of my contract, I lost a great deal of money and would years later assist a list of indie authors like me to sue them. Under several different publishing names, the company still exists making promises they cannot deliver.

The writing was still calling me to express myself. I wrote a series of self-help books that are based on forty years of my life where I explained how to use spiritual practices to change a life from fear to fun. In 2014, I rewrote my Dream book now called, “Do You Have a Dream 5 Keys to Realize Your Dream” which is available as an audiobook in my voice, an eBook and a workbook all available in bookstores and online. I won the 2016 bronze Spiritual and Inspirational Global Ebook Award, 2017 Texas Non-Fiction in Spiritual and Inspirational Award, 2017 Best Books Finalist Award. Still, no publishing house or agent has come calling.

While writing my non-fiction books I began the journey of writing fiction. If I thought writing a self-help book was hard, making up stories to entertain was three times as hard. Storytelling has a lot of rules that I am continually learning.

In 2014 after a trip to Jerusalem, Israel I chose to write an alternate history of Albert Einstein, “Einstein’s Compass a YA Time Traveler Novel”. Again, using my many years of exploring mystical teachings I wondered what if Einstein met spiritual beings who assisted him with his miracle theory? After four years of research and empty white pages on my computer, my novel has a completed first draft. God willing the book will be out by the end of 2018.

Now that my novel is in the hands of an editor, I spend my days on social media marketing my books. It is a full-time job. I spend as much time on my books as I would have to work for a company. Now the company is me, Modern Mystic Media.

There are millions of books on Amazon. Finding the right audience in the sea of good books and famous authors so people will find me and my baby is a hard work. Yet I am determined to have my work read. I love writing and connecting people with ideas that entertain, that make them think and maybe learn something.

When I write a press release of my new books or awards and send it to local and national media, most ignore me because I am self-published. You have to be with a well-known publisher for newspapers and media to pay attention.

The hallowed halls into a publishing contract are so slim there are many so-called experts that want to sell you software, textbooks, THE shortcut to publishing success. I have taken many seminars over the years in writing and publishing to where I think I can spot a scheme. Still, I have to monitor the impulse to buy that one thing that promises to sell more books.

In the future, you will see a lot of me everywhere. And, no agent or publishing company is helping with a big check or has opened doors. I show up every day and do what it takes to make my work visible.

Check out my books go to www.ModernMysticMedia.com. And, you can find me on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo in bookstores and online.

Sign-up to read a pre-launch copy of “Einstein’s Compass a YA Time Traveler Novel”, go to www.GraceBlairAuthor.com if you signup and read it, please review the book. The only way indie authors like me sell books is if readers will write reviews then Amazon and its algorithms will push my ratings to rise to the top of the charts. Finding one reader and one fan at a time may someday accumulate into thousands.

If you want to write books do it because you love it. However, you may spend more money than you make. Know its hard work and no one is going to chase you down to make you famous. You will be alone in your journey. You have to put the seat of the pants and the seat of the chair, staring at a blank page and find the story inside your creativity that will make the reader turn the page to find out what happens next. Then be responsible for publishing and marketing.

“The #writer must let his fingers run out the story of his #characters, who, being only human and full of strange dreams and obsessions, are only too glad to run.”

Ray Bradbury, The Zen of #Writing

Grace Allison’s “Do You Have a Dream Workbook 5 Keys to Realize Your Dream”, is a 2017 Best Book Awards Finalist in the category of Spirituality/Inspirational.

Grace Allison’s “Do You Have a Dream Workbook 5 Keys to Realize Your Dream”, is a Best Book Awards Finalist in the category of Spirituality/Inspirational.

Lubbock, Texas November 9, 2017—Allison’s book, which has been enjoying success since its publication in 2017 has been recognized for excellence. It presents a fresh approach to personal empowerment and energizing both inner and outer resources for achieving the things you want in your life and even exceeding your dreams. The Amazon Best Seller can be found in an E-Book, Audio Book in Grace’s voice and Workbook.

Allison says, “Our world is in the process of change, and change is one key element to most peoples’ discomfort and distraction from their happiness. Change does not have to be difficult.” Her book lays out in practical and doable steps how to align and strengthen the inner spirit with your outer life. It shows how to shift your inner experience from feeling out of control to expressing inner freedom, inner strength, peace, confidence, and love.

Author Grace Allison is a modern Christian Mystic and an award-winning self-help and motivational author who has assisted thousands to find their spiritual wisdom to solve everyday challenges.

Grace Allison describes herself as “a prime example of someone who pulled herself up by her bootstraps and took notes along the way.” When she turned to writing, she chose subjects that she was intimately familiar with—and their scope is surprising. She lives in Lubbock, Texas, where she leads workshops and maintains a private health and success coaching practice.

 

LOS ANGELES – American Book Fest has announced the winners and finalists of The 2017 Best Book Awards on November 9, 2017. Over 400 winners and finalists were announced in over 90 categories. Awards were presented for titles published in 2015-2017.

Jeffrey Keen, President, and CEO of American Book Fest said this year’s contest yielded over 2,000 entries from mainstream and independent publishers, which were then narrowed down to over 400 winners and finalists.

Keen says of the awards, now in their fifteenth year, “The 2017 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of the Best Book Awards, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”

Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Wiley, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, St. Martin’s Press, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Rowman & Littlefield, New American Library, Forge/Tor Books, John Hopkins University Press, MIT Press and hundreds of independent houses contributed to this year’s outstanding competition!

Keen adds, “Our success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

American Book Fest is an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world online community.

American Book Fest has an active social media presence with over 96,000 current Facebook fans.

A complete list of the winners and finalists of the 2017 Best Book Awards are available online at American Book Fest.

 

 

http://americanbookfest.com/2017bbapressrelease.html

 

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For more information or to arrange media appearances, contact:

 

Grace Allison, Author

[email protected]

www.ModernMysticMedia.com

806-543-

THIRD ANNUAL SHORT STORY CONTEST FOR TEXAS AUTHORS BRINGS OUT THE BEST

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Authors have once again allowed their creative minds to open up and expand the Universe in which they live with short stories that capture one’s emotions through the everlasting aspect of storytelling.

 

In this, the third volume of award-winning short stories, the reader is taken on a personal ride of growth and understanding, then through history both factual and fictional as they explore each side of wars. Then fear grabs hold of you and shakes you with terror before unleashing giggles and out-right laughs. Those are just a few of the emotions one will experience as they read these 23 short stories from all parts of Texas.

 

Texas Authors, Inc., a nonprofit organization that supports and markets Texas Authors teamed up with Texas number one eBook store EBG247.com to help promote the contest which had thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs.

 

The winner of this year’s contest winners are:

 

Fiction/African American

1st Place – Renne Siewers – Swish, Swish – The Mistake

 

Fiction/Biography

1st Place – Ernie Lee – Heart Over Mind

2nd Place – Darlene Prescott – Early Wanderings and Unholy Revelations

 

Fiction/Contemporary

1st Place – Dale Wender – Concho Diary

 

Fiction/Fantasy

1st Place – Grace Allison – Neville’s Pond

 

Fiction/Historical

1st Place – Dick Elam – “Who’s Truman?”

2nd Place –  George Ramphrey – Texas Two Step

3rd Place – Joseph Willis – The Lesson

 

Fiction/Horror

1st Place – Larry Morris – Nightmare

 

Fiction/Humor

1st Place – Aaron Ward – Supererogate Park

2nd Place –  Curt Locklear – Bee in the Car

 

Fiction/Inspirational

(Tie) 1st Mark Allen – Plain Brown Wrapper

(Tie) 1st Julie Cosgrove – The Highway Chair

3rd Place – Ken Ingle – Never on Friday

 

Fiction/Paranormal

Sandra Fox Murphy – Passage

 

Fiction/Romance

1st Place – Jan Sikes – Broken Promises

 

Fiction/Suspense

1st Place – Joe Kilgore – Twenty-Ten

2nd Place – Robert DeLuca – Faithful Forever

 

Fiction/Science

1st Place – Aaron Ward – Panner’s Final Problem

(Tie) 2nd Place – Larry Morris – All in Good Time

(Tie) 2nd Place –  Jan Sikes – The Forgotten

 

Fiction/Techno Thriller

1st Place – Charles Breakfield & Rox Burkey – The Enigma Chronicles – Remember the Future

 

Non-Fiction/Essay

1st Place – B Alan Bourgeois – Authors Revolution

 

 

This wonderful collection of short stories can be purchased for $14.95 at one of the sponsor’s websites.  $2.00 from the sale of each book is donated to the DEAR Texas literacy programs, which helps get books into the schools, libraries, and readers who may not otherwise afford them. The book is available in paperback, eBook and soon as an audiobook.  You may also purchase last year’s book at http://Vol3.TxShorts.com

 

To learn more about DEAR Texas and it’s Book Festival Network, or its Literacy programs, please visit their website athttp://DearTexas.info

 

Sponsor/Member Organizations:

EBG247.com

GateKeeperPress.com

TxAuthors.com

Grace Allison, Winner 2017 Texas Author Inc. Wins Best Spiritual and Inspirational Book Award

Grace Allison’s “Do You Have a Dream Workbook 5 Keys to Realize Your Dream” has been awarded by Texas Author Inc. First Place in the category of Non-Fiction-Spiritual/Inspirational.

Lubbock, Texas August 12, 2017—Allison’s book, which has been enjoying modest success since its publication in 2016 has been recognized for excellence. It presents a fresh approach to personal empowerment and energizing both inner and outer resources for achieving the things you want in your life and even exceeding your dreams. The Amazon Best Seller can be found in an E Book, Audio Book in Grace’s voice and Workbook.

Allison says, “Our world is in a process of change, and change is one key element to most peoples’ discomfort and distraction from their happiness. Change does not have to be difficult.” Her book lays out in practical and doable steps how to align and strengthen the inner spirit with your outer life. It shows how to shift your inner experience from feeling out of control to expressing inner freedom, inner strength, peace, confidence and love.

Author Grace Allison is a modern Christian Mystic and an award-winning self-help and motivational author who has assisted hundreds to find their spiritual wisdom to solve everyday challenges.

Grace Allison describes herself as “a prime example of someone who pulled herself up by her bootstraps and took notes along the way.” When she turned to writing, she chose subjects that she was intimately familiar with—and their scope is surprising. She lives in Lubbock, Texas, where she leads workshops and maintains a private health and success coaching practice.

5th Annual Contest is Largest Collection of Texas Authors. Readers of the exceptional titles selected for Texas Association of Authors.

(TX Authors) Best Book Awards, would agree that they are winning reads and top-tier selections in their categories. By any measure, the distinguished books from this year’s

forty-eight winners are of stellar quality. Readers will love to fall into the pages and climb out with the greatest of satisfaction. This is the fifth year for TX Authors to select winning titles by Texas Authors. A sample chapter from each winning book can be found, along with the previous year’s winners at http://Books.TxAuthors.com.

The winners from this year’s contest received their prestigious awards at the Celebration of Authors Gala event in Houston on July 29th, which is a part of the 2nd Annual Authors Marketing Event happened July 28-30. Authors attended this paramount event learned new ways to better market themselves and their books in this ever-changing world of publishing. Each award-winning author will have their book(s) on display and for sale during the weekend event. Texas Authors promotes authors from the Lone Star State in a variety of ways. The association leverages the knowledge and expertise of various authors to promote their works locally and globally.

 

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For more information or to arrange media appearances, contact:

 

Grace Allison, Author

[email protected]

www.ModernMysticMedia.com

806-543-3308

 

Do You Feel Creatively Stuck?

 Do You Have a Dream Workbook 5 Keys to Realize Your Dream 
 Grace Allison 
 Religion 
 Modern Mystic Media 
 June 9, 2017 
 200 

Do you feel creatively stuck?

Have a dream but lack the confidence to make it come true?

Do You Have a Dream Workbook 5 Keys to Realize Your Dream will alter your consciousness in a fun and playful way.

Take charge of your life use the powerful 5 keys on life and living, advancement and how to create positive change.

1. Write your dream

2.  Align your body, mind and soul

3. Forgive

4. Affirm who you are

5. Write & realize your dream

Creativity is a joyful and spiritual experience of incitement the inward feeling of excitement that changes the molecules and cells.

Find your incitement your joy your dreams NOW!

Why I Write What I Write: Self-Help Books That Saved My Life – by Grace Allison

Writing and self-publishing books can change lives – including that of their author. US indie author Grace Allison describes herself as “a prime example of someone who pulled herself up by her bootstraps and took notes along the way”. When she turned to writing, she chose subjects that she was intimately familiar with, and their scope is surprising. Over to Grace to explain precisely why she writes what she writes…

I’m not sure why other people write self-help books, but I wrote mine to save my life. I was struggling with what was going on around me and inside me. I was unhappy, and I knew there had to be more: more joy, more happiness, more fulfillment.

Having been raised by abusive parents—an angry alcoholic father and a mentally ill, eventually suicidal mother, I was put in charge of her three siblings when I was only ten years old. My life was bleak and devoid of friends or any kind of social life. I ran away and married at sixteen, managing to find a husband who was just as abusive as my father. After divorcing, I found another husband to “rescue” me, but he was essentially a replica of the first.

The Turning Point

Ultimately escaping a second dysfunctional marriage, I decided that if I was going to be rescued, I would have to be the one to do the rescuing. That became a turning point, and I began my quest for methods and techniques that would give me real empowerment.

So I started looking for keys that would help me produce more of the experience of life that I was looking for but hadn’t managed to secure.

Cover of Do You Have a Dream by Grace Allison

The book that saved its author’s life

There are countless techniques out there, and it felt like I must have tested most of them. Some worked for me, most didn’t. Eventually I was able to distil them down to a manageable set, and I really worked them.
What I learned from applying these simple keys was how to align myself with the presence of Spirit within and become aware of the illusion of need that produces unproductive thought forms and negative energies. Once I had done that, I saw how to release the illusion and fill the need to receive all good things. I discovered that the change that happens within does not have to be a struggle; rather it can be created with ease, and grace.

For the first time in my life, I felt safe.

The end result of that adventure was my first book, A Dream Is a Wish the Heart Makes: Or, if at first you don’t succeed, change the rules.

Ten years later the updated Dream Book is now available with a new title, Do You Have a Dream? 5 Keys to Realizing Your Dream, and is available in an ebook, workbook and an audiobook narrated by the author.

My Second Book

Cover of Einstein's compass

Second book now in progress

Over the course of my adult life, I also became a serious student of the spiritual. I found that, often, psychological principles and practices were incomplete, but could be filled out by adding the missing spiritual. It was through immersing myself in this field of study and experience that I came up with my idea for my second book, Einstein’s Compass, currently in progress.

By applying and refining the principles that ended up in my books, I transformed from a victim of life to a successful entrepreneur, providing coaching on lifeskills and business success practices. I also developed a health/nutritional counseling practice, and entered into a happy, successful marriage with a partner instead of a protector.

Now, rather than needing to be rescued I am able to take care of myself.

After having endured two unsuccessful marriages, I have created a loving, caring relationship with my husband. I have a financially comfortable lifestyle. My body at age 65 is healthy, youthful and strong. I am more creative in my life, writing, traveling and able to be of service, giving of myself to others. When challenges come my way, I have flexible boundaries to take care of myself and greater intuitive knowing and confidence in myself and of my environment.

What I have achieved, you can too. While it may not be easy, it is much more simple than I would ever have guessed.

OVER TO YOU Has writing what you write changed your life? Do you have an interesting personal story to tell about why you became an author? We’d love to hear about your experience. Join the conversation via the comments box.